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What a mess. Shortly after the release of Issue #2, the world came unglued. Tragedy after tragedy fell upon these streets- and no, that's not in reference to the piles of dead bodies. But rather, these egregious violations of the natural law calling themselves newspapers. Rawley was committed to a weekly publishing- so his printing presses had to wait til things had calmed down. During that time, his writers were working day and night- seriously, there are no labor laws protecting members of the press and it's amazing- to fill every column inch he had.
Bella Vista Bulletin, Issue #3, Page 1
A NATION IN MOURNING:
A GINGER ON A RAMPAGE & "RONNIE WHO?"
There is much to say about the events that transpired December second and third. SpikeS has approached the Streets with an explanation of these events, but before we analyze the why, one must first understand the who, the what, and the how.
Ronnie, a crewleader of little renown who sought to crowdfund his HQ fortifications and use the inter-state underworld mail service for his own personal telegrams, was killed with his associates Beef and GordonGopher in an apparent authorized takedown by Godfather DeadlySin. Shortly after, in an alleged act of retribution for Ronnie's demise, Ginger took aim at DeadlySin and send the Chicago Godfather swimming with the fishes. Ginger discovered that his gun could, in fact, hold more than a single bullet at a time and turned to fire on DeadlySin's captain, Omni-Man- revealing the alien superhero Omni-Man to be nothing more than a regular dude in unusually tight spandex.
Arguably, the bloodshed could have ended there. But instead, a young lad hidden within the walls of the now-defunct DeadlySin headquarters emerged with a gun that would shock the nation. BeefStroganoffer, a forgettable name that has now forged an infamous legacy, suspected that without DeadlySin's protection, they would be killed as well and gunned down Boyardee- a known friend to Ginger who had worked with Ginger remove MatteoDenaro in Los Angeles just a week prior. The choice of target made it clear that even though these two hitmen were no longer taking orders- they certainly were not acting together either.
The next few deaths added to the confusion. With BeefStroganoffer now confirmed to be acting against those in power, leaders and their hands began to seek protection from their crew members. Don Bogdan fell to a failed protection attempt and once again placed the enormous burden of finding a single crewleader in Detroit on Godfather Nuccio's shoulders. Fortunately, the Godfather's death hours later spared him that burden.
Lines had been drawn. Ginger sought revenge against DeadlySin and Furio for Ronnie's death. BeefStroganoffer sought chaos with no vestige of protection. While Ginger seemed to target want to kill Furio, BeefStroganoffer would put the following in the grave:
- xander, Consigliere Crewleader of Summerlin, LV
- Satoshi, Boss of Downtown, LA
- Kairi, Godfather of Queens, NY
- Candy, Don of Bricktown, DT (which would later lead to the retirement of Candy's partner, Dollface)
- BrassMonkey, Don Crewleader of South Philly, PH
- Allie, Godfather of Brooklyn, NY
- Nuccio, Godfather of Bricktown, DT
The following were suspected to have been killed by failed protection efforts:
- Wendigo, Don Crewleader of The Strip, LV
- Obito, Consigliere of The Loop, CH
When the dust settled, eleven godfathers and crewleaders had been killed in the bloodshed. And, remarkably, Don Mokus of Las Vegas was not only able to quiet the rage of the rampaging Ginger and bring him into his HQ, but also curiously took in Heston, the RHM of the Philadelphia Godfather that Ginger had killed. Very curious indeed. Makes one wonder what it looks like inside that HQ.
In SpikeS's address to the nation, he seemed to gloss over the devastation wrought by the rogues and instead presented an argument that Ginger's actions were merited, but isolated. Not authorized, but justified. Unpredictable, but also the direct result of events that transpired a week prior which Spike recalled in remarkable detail. Another curiosity in a tapestry of curiosities in this story, to be sure.
Who could have known that young Ronnie would play the role of a handsome Austrian Archduke and throw this world into chaos? That one too many mass mails would set in motion the death of every single Godfather in the nation? Perhaps it's time the gods add a safety to that as well, lest history shall repeat itself again and again.
SATURATED AND SATIRIZED:
WHAT'S ONE MORE NEWSPAPER AMONG FRIENDS?
While bullets blazed across the six cities, another war had taken shape. A war of words- and few, if any, were comprehensible. The Bella Vista Bulletin had made its mark in its first two issues, and as confusion and misinformation ran rampant, a cry for good news rang out in the streets and coffee shops. Due to the BVB's release schedule, an issue would not be available to sate this need for news for several days.
Digiorno, god rest his soul, emerged from the chaos with one, clear message: he knew what words were. The Newparper, a landmark publication in the world of room temperature IQs, had crashed onto the scene with the kind of effort you'd see from a child gnawing on a Lite Brite. The allure of such pretty colors almost makes up for the disappointment.
At the same time, to answer the same call for the same news in the same place, the much-respected Tommy-Vitale emerged with a special edition of his MR Gazette to tell the story that needed told.
The chaos of the day had begun to settle. With no more news to report, Digiorno tragically took his own life as his one true calling could no longer fulfill him. And the streets would lay news-less until the BVB could publish its much-anticipated third issue.
FRESH FACES ALL OVER AND
CRICKETS IN THE WINDY CITY
A visionary effort by the regime-in-recovery has filled every city but one. Don Wyzguy, taking over for Godfather Nuccio in Detroit, was able to fill both districts in a matter of hours. In fact, confusion abounded when Philli-Stein seemingly authed themselves into a Detroit district, constructed its HQ fortifications, and then dissolved the HQ shortly after.
Mokus, former RHM to the much-enjoyed and now much-missed BrassMonkey, had taken his place in Paradise with the remnants of Philadelphia folks who would not return to the city of brotherly love. Xander, the young crewleader in Las Vegas, would be succeeded by his RHM StripheGotti to head up Summerlin.
Don Amira established her husband in Hollywood in a move that shocked literally no one. BillyMastrosimone was tapped to fill Pasadena, and could think of no better aid to his work than the self-authed then un-authed Philli-Stein to be his RHM. Echoes of dynamite Downtown has left onlookers with more questions than answers.
In the east, SantoRubio and Sven worked quickly to rebuild Queens with the poetic establishment of the Desolation of Eden and Immolation of Babylon. Whoever Eden and Babylon are, they better watch out, because they are gonna be desolated and immolated real quick.
And finally, in the BVB's home city, Cadhla has moved her HQ to fill the gap left by Godfather Furio, and authed her RHM LouisFratto into South Philly to replace BrassMonkey. Walter, the distinguished former New York Right Hand Man made his way to Philadelphia to open his own HQ in Bella Vista. With his move, the last of the empty districts had been filled.
Except for one entire city.
With less than forty-eight hours until an army of sexually frustrated forklift operators invades the city and fills the gaps left by the existing regime, no public plans have been made for the windy city. Once the seat of powerful figures and regimes that gripped the nation, it now sits dormant.
Bella Vista Bulletin, Issue #3, Page 2
TAKING A LOOK AROUND
Fresh faces in the six cities have gotten to work.
The actions of Ginger and BeefStroganoffer have undoubtedly made a lasting impact on the landscape of the six cities. Because many of those working in these cities have had only a few days to forge their vision and implement it, the BVB will reserve its judgment of these leaders until Issue #4.
Retraction from Issue #2
In Issue #2, the BVB praised the work of BeefStroganoffer in the Chicago Business District just hours before the little creature wrought havoc on our world. As such, we are formally retracting our recommendation to eat at Beef's Buffet, as we now believe that the food served in BeefStroganoffer's establishment is laced with substances that may have contributed in some way to the schizophrenic madness he suffered from late in his life. The BVB earnestly looks forward to the restoration of the Chicago Business District by whomever is authorized to take control of the Windy City.
Bella Vista Bulletin, Issue #3, Page 3
MESSAGES FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD
A generation of Godfathers on the doorstep.
By the next issue of the BVB, several of this world's leaders are expected to take the plunge and embrace their role as a head of their district or city. With Amira, Wyzguy, Mokus, Martin, Sven, Cadhla, and Walter all either eligible or approaching eligibility for that promotion, it's clear that a changing of the guard is occurring. Whatever vision the slain leaders and godfathers had for their cities died with them. And instead, an opportunity for an entire new league of leaders has been born.
The Editorial Board holds that two ranks really matter: Made Man and Godfather. To "be Made," is to do something that merits the respect and mutual loyalty of your crewleader. To do something that forges your role in your crew and proves to your boss that you deserve it.
To be a Godfather, the reverse is true. Getting the rank is enough to mean you deserve it- but what will you do with the authority and influence that comes with it? It is the pinnacle of this world, and to get there means that whatever vision you have for you, your crew, your district, or your city, can become a reality with no one's authority to stop you.
As such, the BVB asks a broad question to those seeking the that rank. What will you do with it? What is your vision? How will being Godfather Amira, Godfather Mokus, or Godfather Wyzguy differ from what came before?
What comes next?
The context and content of this paper will continue to adapt and change as this world changes. Its vision, however, is to present information such that you, the reader, can choose for yourself what to think or believe. As such, the creators behind this paper would like to extend open invitations for feedback and interviews for those who feel there's more that ought to be shared. But, furthermore, we also encourage those individuals to make their thoughts known in their own way, their own style, and their own message.
Note: While we appreciate individuals stepping forward and requesting to be interviewed, not everyone can be interviewed, and not every interview can be published. We hope that no feelings were hurt with the establishment of this policy.
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