The sun already began to set, diving rapidly into the Pacific ocean. Africanus always enjoyed such vistas, it was a special treat his indulged in during his trip to Los Angeles. After the novelty had faded he retired to a nearby coffee shop. Once inside, he carefully browsed the overhead chalk board that listed the various blends and prices. He already knew what he was going to order but pursued the menu regardless until it was his turn to order. With his hot cup of java in hand, he ventured to leather club chair by the window and got comfortable. He seat by others, people like himself, members or at least prospects to the honored society. It was part of his job to size up the mark, to distinguish from citizen and gangster, and thug from mafioso. After partaking his cup of coffee, he was hungry for conversation and began to speak.

"While, I'm relatively new to This Thing, I've observed that for the most part, as participants of This Thing, we often find ourselves abiding by some principles. Elements for example such as omerta, discretion of family matters, respect of station and sanctity at a brother or sister's funeral. Many of other principles and personal codes exisit that seperate the mafioso from the thug. I am curious about your own principles and your own convictions."

Africanus pulled out a pipe from his jacket, lite a match and ignited the tobacco. He began to puff away as he awaited a response to his query.

JM_Browning looks up from his newspaper and ponders the young man's question.

My own principles and convictions are what makes me who I am. If your not gonna be a man who leads, you had best follow someone who does it well, always do a better job than what was asked of you and if someone fucks with you, make sure you fuck back!

JM_Browning sits back and takes a sip of his coffee and lights a cigarette in anticipation of hearing someone elses code of conduct.

Zed was twirling his baton with his police cap slightly tilted. Leaning against a light pole he over heard a man asking about what others believe in.  Zed though this would be a could chance to state what he believes in.

Well for me, as an officer of the law, I believe in keeping the peace.  Stopping crime.  And throwing crooks like yourselves in jail.  That is, unless, I get a little kick back, if you you know what I mean...

Zed holds out his hand waiting for his bribe money.

Overhearing the exchange he looked past Zed to the pair of CA's ordering coffee, he wondered how they'd feel about this cop trying to muscle in on their business. Glancing over at JM_Browning he knew that man's great great and then some grand pappy was partially responsible for how Tom felt about things

I don't go in for the feeling of vengeance that JM would take if wronged, however the rest of it hits home alright.

Tom pulls out a crumbled packet of smokes and begins to twirl in in his hand, one tab falls into his palm, he lights up the smokes, takes a long draw and exhales

I do also find that common sense generally works in most situations. New or old on these shores there are many places about rules, regulations and the such. Many follow these guidelines, some stray back and forth depending what suits them at the time. The key to succeeding here now is mainly longevity and power and to get those which many want it pays to behave.

Africanus returns to his chair with another cup of coffee.

"I appreciate the input from the three of you thus far." Africanus reaches into his jacket and tosses Zed_McGlunk an envelope of money.

"I have to agree with both of you though, hard work, a backbone and common sense are a fine recipe for a man. Longevity and power are means to the end and you are right, to get those things you need to play by the rules of our honored society. Outside of that, I offer everyone the professional courtesy of being a gentlemen and giving everyone the time of day. I reckon people have long memories and manners are free. Even if you don't like someone, doesn't hurt to be polite."

Jaqen had been eavesdropping on the gentlemen like the sneaky man he was, but it was not to be rude he did so, it was because the subject which Africanus had brought up intrigued him. He sipped his coffee silently as he continued listening intently, when all gentlemen had said their piece, Jaqen placed his cup of coffee on the table and got up from his seat, as he turned around to face them, he bowed his head as a sign of respect before he spoke.

"If I may share my own beliefs on this matter," he said and looked at Africanus, when he received the nod to continue, Jaqen cleared his throat and looked at the gentlemen as he continued. "I've been quite the silent type for a while now, mainly because nothing that interested me was ever brought up in these streets, not to the point where I actually felt like I had to partake in the conversation. And I believe that if my ancestors were able to, they would most likely have slapped me in the face by now for not showing myself out here sooner.

I feel that in these times, there's a big difference between what it means to be Men of Honor, and Made Men, some might feel they are one and the same, and they used to be, but sadly that isn't the case anymore. Men of Honor in my eyes are those who still hold the values of old close to their hearts, men and women that would die for their beliefs, and regardless of rank, carried themselves with respect to the extent that you could easily have mistaken them to be button men, men and women like that earned their respect long before they received their rank, even from the leaders, those were Men of Honor, believers of respect, loyalty, family and honor above all else.

Made Men, in my eyes are those who believe that the rank itself demands respect, my opinion about that is that men and women earn their respect, not because of their rank, but because of how they conduct themselves, they may as well be a Thug if they're going to act like one, because I sure as hell wouldn't show them any respect if all I saw from them was a bunch of crap that disgraced the rank that should be cherished. But if you carried your new rank with such elegance, that even the Heart of Fire would envy you, you've truly earned to call yourself Men of Honor and Respect, a man would bow his head in respect for you, as I always do until someone shows they're not worthy of it.

Being a man of old, my own beliefs tell me to stand firmly by the words I speak but to admit when I am wrong, because honesty is what got me this far, and I would die for it as I would for respect, I feel if I wasn't prepared to do that, then there is really no point in me calling myself a Man of Honor, nor any point in me leading a family to begin with, as I have no idea what my young faceless men and women would grow up to be if I didn't have a set of values that I was willing to die for. Would they even follow a man into battle if they did not know he was willing to die for them?

Because family to me is everything, especially the men and women that took their oath before the Heart of Fire, we share the same spirit, and you can bet your life I would die for them if they were wronged. For the same reasons I would die for my own beliefs - respect, even if I do not demand that you show them any, and I want them to earn it in our communities as they have earned it from me, if you wrong them without them doing wrong by you, then you wrong me as well, and that is something I would not tolerate as a Man of Honor, when my family honor is at stake, I will defend it as I would defend my own life, to the last breath."

Jaqen had been speaking for so long that he was lost in his own world, when he finally finished and snapped out of it, he looked at the men sitting before him and smiled. "I guess this is what happens when you don't get out enough to share your views, you keep on rambling, I would like to thank you personally, Mr. Africanus, for the lovely discussion you've brought up. And I look forward to see some more responses." He said and bowed his head to the gentlemen, he asked a waitress for another cup of coffee as he sat back down at his table and turned his chair so he could see the gentlemen, and so that they could see he was paying attention as well.

Batman appears out of the blue .

You and I... with what we do... what's at stake... we can't fail. Others don't understand, but even if it's... impossible, we still have to succeed.

I believe that the one's closest to you , you gotta cherish . Honesty, without it, makes each and everyone of us vulnerable. With honesty comes loyalty. I believe that if there is a code of honesty within one another, loyalty would not be a problem. Just like any decent relationship in real life. if there ain't no honesty  in it, don't even think about loyalty existing. If everybody were honest in the first place, stuff like being disloyal, or in this case, cheating, would be avoided. If it is not obvious enough, a simple example is where the girl has feeling for another guy who is not her partner, if she's honest, they'd break up before any serious shit happens. Or, if the girl really loves her respective partner, they'll sort things out. So either way, breaking the "loyalty" between one another can be avoided. Same goes in here. Solve it before shit happens. So that's the code I live by. Honesty and loyalty.

Batman vanishes.

Deathstalker was on his way to HQ when he saw Africanus and other familiar mafiosos talking about principles he greet Africanus with a smile and stop to listen in their conversation..

Time passed by only Africanus and Deathstalker left, Africanus asked Deathstalker, "How about you do you have any principles, let me hear about it?"

Deathstalker grins and said..

Of course I do, everyone of us do, in fact because of our principles we live and also die because of others principles, I got some few principles in my life most of them wasn't for me but for the people I treasure most, I want to treat them and respect them as I treat and respect myself, I want to love them as I love myself, I want them to feel like I feel, even the fact that we all here struggling in the life that we choose to take, we all deserved to live another day because we or most of us choose this path for the good or for the sake of our own family.

Vaticus sat adjacent to Africanus, listening intently to the discussion. He was slouched in his chair, dragging languidly on a cigarette. Before long, he spoke..

"I, like many, value the principles of honesty, loyalty and respect. I've found the majority of those who distinguish themselves here tend to consistently demonstrate these principles. I also think the main cause of relationship breakdowns (between friends, crewleaders, a leader and their crew, etc) can usually be traced back to a failing of one of these three principles. Being honest, respectful and loyal, appropriate to the situation, is a definite advantage when aiming to distinguish yourself as a mafioso, as opposed to a thug.

Additionally, I think that being truly distinguished or remembered as such a person, ultimately comes from your interaction with others and the reputation that you mutually construct with those people. Afterall, your reputation, while being influenced by your actions, is mainly created by the perspective of others.

Given this, I think it's best to always aim to be friendly, collaborative and treat others how you'd prefer to be treated. This provides for more amicable and mutually beneficial interactions, and allows you to demonstrate how honest, loyal and respectful you really are.

That's my two cents at least."

Vaticus half-shrugged, then moved his hand towards the ashtray beside him. He crushed the life out of the smoldering cigarette against the metal plate, then resumed his relaxed posture.