Ascanius walks out into the street, cigarette in one hand, and a crystal tumbler of finely aged scotch in his other that he took outside with him from his local hideout. Today, he will go on a old fashioned rant. He begins to speak...

This speech was inspired by Spunky’s speech “Who are your ancestors?” I felt though that question required a much fuller answer. This will be a rambling speech of mine though, and I’ll jump around a lot, as I tend to do. But, here goes.

To start with some stupid stuff: As many of you know, my ancestry generally has gone under the name SpikeSpiegel. I have also been known SpikeS, ViciousSpikeS, and well... DeadlySpikeS. Other names include: MarcelloRubini, AntoineDoinel, RageAgainstTheSpikeS, LaszloKovacs, VictorWard, LaughterInTheDark, TouchOfEvil, HenryBemis, Slothrop, Aeneas, and a bunch of other random names... Many of which were in variation of SpikeSpiegel. Many of you already knew that, but I can't assume that everyone knows or really cares. I felt like rattling it off since many chose to do so when Spunky took his turn at speaking.

Those names have all passed away obviously. Many fell into obscurity even in their lifetime. Some were of note, but none of them were too special.

Ascanius takes a break, downs a bit of his scotch, and continues with a louder voice, as if on a pedestal...

As for being born into a position, there aren't too many times when I've been given something directly, but I can claim it has happened to me. There are certain skill-sets known to certain bloodlines. However, there are people who show up with new lines and are great from the start, and they usually do get a chance at some point should they live so long.

Nepotism is common though, and generally could you expect anything less? This is all about being part of different families. Lines tend to get respect from the get go. If we were in another business, other than crime, the same thing could be said. A butcher's son gets an easy in to start working with meat. The same can be said for a librarian, a banker, a lawyer, or a police officer.

Cliques are going to exist no matter what, and we have to expect certain ancestries to run together for an indefinite period. This is something we should expect, but it is not something we should damn. There are lines that have run together for several generations, and though they help each other out, and supply each other with positions, there’s always room for new blood to breach into these groups. It does happen, but I won’t exaggerate how often because it is seldom. However, if you consider that there are also new cliques that begin every so often, it’s really not something to be concerned about. There’s always a way to fall into a group of friends. It comes down to getting noticed, and I will discuss that further on.

Either way, I do like seeing new blood get chances, and when given the opportunity, personally, I do enjoy helping people to learn this world. If they do prove themselves, my line has helped put people in positions that would normally have gone to those of older blood. In the end though, it comes down to trust, and people do trust people with more established lines. It is hard to fault anyone for this. Trust is everything at the end of the day. Should we be more open to trusting new blood? Absolutely.

As a whole, uppers should look out for new talent, but generally they already are. It's hard to say though who is talented. New blood is generally quiet, and for someone to really be brought into the inner circle of a family, they have to engage others. In itself, this action can be surprising given the common reticence of new blood to show their voice. Having a voice is the key way to get noticed, and if you’re silent, you will just be a name, and nothing more.

Thus, the real trick for a new person to get somewhere is for them to develop a voice. However, for them to really be respected and trusted, it needs to be the right kind of voice, and that's not always something you can train. In the past, I have contemplated helping people learn this talent: "Speech." It is the most important thing here, and though it isn't always exercised in the streets as it should be, it is applicable in any area of communication here.

I hope that leaders, hands, and other uppers alike all perhaps make it more of an effort to really teach those under them, even those not so new, the proper form of speech. It's not all about politics, but that does have a lot to do with getting somewhere around here. Politics is a very vague term, but if you are politically versed, and diplomatic, you can get quite far. However, if you are silent and simply work away at training, there always seems to be something shifty about those people.

I can also state that there are those that are quite vocal, but they aren’t really saying much of anything of value. In some cases even, they are saying things that are degenerative completely to what this whole thing is about, and their straying from the proper form sets a very bad example for others. The streets are littered with a lot of garbage. That is blatantly an understatement. It makes things very rough to sift through for what is actually meaningful, and at times golden. There are some current golden pieces out there to be read, but they usually get passed over on because of the pulp sitting out there in the streets. There is room for pulp, but it depends on the nature of it. If it’s bettering out community, then it’s not garbage, and should be read. However, there is a very miniscule amount of this.

Trash talking is pretty much the big thing out there in the streets these days, and it is very disappointing because this seems to be what gets the most attention. I know that many of us know of days when disrespect was taken very seriously. People were killed for just an inch of disrespect in the streets. The standard of what we expect people to act like in the street has definitely become horribly lax.

The same can be said for what we witness in coffee shops, but the standards there have always been a bit lower. It really depends on what voice the person uses there. The duality there between a regular Joe and say a godfather is very vague and it’s hard to tell which voice the person is trying to use. I think the coffee shops should remain a bit more causal, but there are times when certain things, like rank, bridge over, and I have seen Godfathers talk well below their rank, not that recently though.

Someday perhaps there will be a renaissance of general speech activity. There has been some movement towards some old school mentalities returning to our world, but this needs to be on a much wider scale. I have noticed some of this start to blossom under leaders like the great Goku.

My line wished to make a push for speech requirements within crews, throughout all the cities. Within DeadlySpikeS’ last few days, he wrote a proposition about it. This sort of thing should probably be revisited, as it will help those who are new feel much more welcome if they are actually interacting with their peers, with a proper briefing of how said interactions are supposed to work in the streets or other venues.

Coffee shop demeanor has seemed to blossomed and flooded over much of our talk here, but I have a feeling that there's a way to encourage more people to stand on soapboxes. Speaking makes you real. It paints a fuller picture of a person’s character. People take speeches much more seriously, and there is far more accountability to those things said here. This is a good lesson for people of new lines and old alike. Accountability for words is extremely important, and I feel that a copious of that has been lost over time.

So, returning to the point, it is trust that gets people positions. Respect is something closely tied with that. If that is a trait you can build on a new line, then that's the ideal way to grow into a position without nepotism. I know many people who by choice have forgotten their ancestry's history just so that they could prove themselves once more. Of course, there are some that have done this to escape a stain on their line, but there are success stories within that tactic too. In many cases, this has proven to be fruitful, but it is only because these people knew how to behave, and how to prove themselves to others.

For real new blood, this can only usually be done through proper schooling of the ways of this world. Proper schooling, of course, is rare, and I would love to see more of this done. It requires tighter restrictions though, and I think the core of it all has to do with rank requirements as people have drifted away from the old ideals for this. I wish to see a world with greater respect for rank, and a greater respect for those that are vocal, especially in their ideals. Debating is a very important skill, but in recent history, it has usually turned into a pissing match, and not so much articulation of points of views or ideals.

Hopefully, some of this is heeded for the sake of those both of new blood and of old. A renaissance in the art of speech is something that we could all use. As for nepotism, it’s just something that needs to be expected, but perhaps with implemented requirements, more people won’t slide by purely on it and newer lines can shine through in this world. My line has watched many people rise up, even to fame, from just their first ancestor stepping onto these shores. Even so, those of us with older lines, should reflect on this, and consider how we can continue to shine or in some cases shine again if we have chosen to be mute in the more recent times. It is the duty of the older lines to help trickle these skills down though, and try to take more people under our wings. Let us help embellish the faces behind the names that we don’t know through teaching because a sharp suit isn’t everything. A collaborative effort within this community of ours is a very powerful tool, and I know that we can bring a positive change for all. Insight into our brethren in the community is quite a beautiful idea, and it will make us all happier, better, and stronger.

Ascanius falls back into the darkness into a crowd of people in black suits to get more scotch and cigarettes. His feet hurt from standing for so long, and so he goes off to relax somewhere while people absorb his rant.

What the hell r u writing about? Don't have the lucidness to read it now, maybe tomorrow...

Ascanius laughs

Yeah, if you're inebriated this might not be the right thing to listen in on, but it might make sense through sober reflection tomorrow.

Still did't read it all (i'm sure its interesting)... I'll finish it tomorrow, promised.

But, one thing i know: Spartans didn't wonder how strong the enemy is, how powerfull it is...

They just asked: "Where is it?"

SwizZz, listening to the words of Spike, butts in after the extremely long but lovely and informative speech.

I myself am not a "New Bloodline" but i have stayed away from the streets for a very long time, not because of my abilities to speak but more because of the attitudes of others towards the speaker. Also because of the strong urge to take everything written the wrong way if your already paranoid and on the edge and  read something that's not to harsh but yet eye brow raising, the worst thing is thought of.

Now for example this morning we had a new live that came to our world and was it spamming no, it was actually role played out not great but it was. Now I'm not pointing the fingers because I, myself laughed but we shouldn't laugh and joke we need to bring those people in and show them the proper way. Then maybe, just maybe the Streets can be filled with great tails again. and wonderful speeches.

Ehh but who am i but a smoke cloud in the background.

SwizZz lights a joint and resumes his stroll down the streets whistling his favorite funky tune.

I haven't yet ever had the proper in-depth experience here that I believe is necessary to properly develop a presence, both in and out of the streets and businesses. I do however find this whole thing very interesting and with having what I can only call an 'old soul' myself I am rather sorry that I never truly got to see the high standards that you speak of. I would certainly like to see such a thing returned at some point, even if it is briefly or only among certain families and factions. I do see a good bit of what I personally consider great writing around and I think more than a few people have a well developed voice, but I can understand that compared to the times you have seen it must seem like such things are few and far between. I will keep this thread in mind as I start my journey into the streets and businesses of Mafia Returns; thank you for such a great read.

I would say that the most obvious and alarming decline in "street presence" began with the meteoric increase of available protection across our streets. There have been two distinct types of gangster who have arisen in this era, the vocal behemoth and silent colossus.

The former first of all, is an individual with copious amount of protection who takes to the street or coffeeshops to impose themselves, their often mistaken views and their misguided vision upon everyone else. It is hardly surprising just how much looser these people's tongues became when they employed 50, 100 or 210 guys to stand at their back, because they knew this excluded them from physical retaliation from the vast majority of mobsters on our streets. This prevented them from needing to exercise caution when they spoke, because now they were availed of this protection, they had virtual free rein to do as they pleased and to everyone else it meant having little choice but to sit back and tolerate it. This was a terrible development for our world and one which it has struggled to recover from.

That decline in quality, skill and ultimately respect has been prevalent on our streets for a very long time. To the point where some people have either deluded themselves about their own skill or more sadly still, actually believe they have the ability to operate as ably as their less protected predecessors did. This is nonsense. I've gone from disappointed, to disgusted to downright disheartened by some of the idiotic behaviour I've seen produced by people who should, but apparently don't, know better and their only saving grace is their kingly protection levels. So rather than being slapped down, they continue to rise and they continue to convince themselves of their own greatness and nothing changes. Standards slip and mediocrity becomes the norm.

If these vocal behemoths weren't bad enough, we've seen the rise of the silent colossus. These are individuals who remain in the shadows until such a time as they are thrust into a leadership position on account of their protection levels, usually coupled with a penchant for violence. That skill set is well suited to being an enforcer for someone else, but when placed under the spotlight these people are non-existent. In some ways, these people are even more damaging to our thing because they demonstrate the need to do nothing but survive, kill and hire bodyguards and ultimately you will be rewarded.

Given that the path to success is seemingly paved by your protection levels, why should anyone feel the need to hone a worthwhile street presence? If I have enough bodyguards, I'll ultimately get whatever I want anyway without speaking or I can say pretty much whatever I like and there isn't anyone outside of my own family to pull me back in. That is sadly the age we live in and it will only improve when we seek to change the paradigm. I'm sure someone will eventually say that doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity and I couldn't agree more.

Our problems aren't nepotism, misplaced trust or stifling of new blood, not really. These are all things that will always exist and will vary from time to time depending upon whichever faction is prevalent at any given time. But, I think the actual concern lies much deeper and can't truly be addressed until something is done to remove the reliance on protection and realigns the focus back on to the quality of the individual. We would live in a much different world if your actions made you vulnerable to more than the elite 1% of the world.

Well, here goes another rant then:

The argument of the vocal behemoth and silent colossus seems like a just one. This is definitely one of the better breakdowns I’ve seen said about our issues with “presence” since it takes into account a lot more than simply lack of speech.

Based on what I’ve said previously, I suppose my issues are with the silent colossus more so than the vocal behemoth. The vocal behemoth doesn’t scare me so much because usually, there are still people around who are willing to tear such a person apart verbally, risking their lives and their lines to do so. There are also people willing to cut them down physically if it comes to a widespread consensus that they are inept.

The vocal behemoth is far from something new, and every generation has had to suffer it. I do believe there is some truth in the idea that protection levels encourage this sort of behavior, but at the end of the day, protection does not mean everything. Regimes lead by the vocal behemoth types are generally short fused. Defining a vocal behemoth archetype is rough though because there are people who are vocal and perhaps cocky, but it comes down to the sort of message they’re trying to achieve in speaking. A vocal behemoth with a cause is something I could stand by. If their speech is shallow, there might be an issue as their real intentions aren’t being portrayed, and this can prove them to be underhanded.

The silent colossus is what really scares me because they are far greater in number, and in some cases, they can be an example for others. There have been leaders who have fallen into this category, and the people under them usually follow suit. Someone who earns a rank (potentially without deserving so), builds a gun, and builds up protection doesn’t need to speak these days, and I think it’s pretty clear that the vocal behemoth even is a dying breed because of this. I would rather potentially know the personality of someone from their speeches than not know anything except for that person’s statistics.

All of this doesn’t just come down to public speeches though. The silent colossus is silent in most forms of communication, and this is where I fear that people will draw their own style of living. They will simply slide by in rank as they build and in many terms amount to nothing when they reach whatever crux they can. My fear is silence across the board which in turn would cause lives and thus deaths to lose emotion. This would encourage cliques in leadership, and thought that has been a problem for ages, if it’s really just about staying on top, then there’s no reason for people to write say a war speech.

This is back where nepotism falls into play, and my argument for general speech and the teaching of players to be vocal. Cliques will always exists, but even still, if people are actively talking, not necessarily by means of a public speech, there are ways for them to gain the aforementioned idea of a level of trust. There are things that we can’t change in this world, like protection levels, but the world would be far better off if people were more actively speaking, in all forms.

Critical speech is something that I believe is of the highest importance, but at a basic level, there is a downward turn in communication in general and this is something that leaders should take into their hands. If they choose not to, the silent colossuses will grow in number and power, and the little guys won’t even have a drive to get anywhere due to lack of direction and the idea that nepotism will beat them out even if they tried. A concern for people’s drive at the lower level can affect those at the top the hardest.

The role of leaders has changed drastically since protection levels have become a means to retain power. It would seem that they would find the silent colossus a more desirable candidate as a crew member. This is a short term gain for them even if the person is working under them for months. At the end of the day, everything comes down to drive for someone in this business. Even the silent colossus fails, and I can cite this at the godfather level several times over in recent history. However, it is more alarming when those people of more minor CV’s lose the drive to work.

This world can easily turn into a dystopian wasteland, with people standing at the top collecting funds from their bribes police officers and maintain levels of protection and radiating fear on people. I do fear that people with a loss of a sense of role will not last in the long run, and perhaps will die out. If that happens, leaders will lose their armies, and what is a leader without men under him? Clearly, he would not be a leader.

Leaders can encourage people to make a role for themselves, and be involved in more than simply menial tasks. Having role is the key to this world. It gives people that drive, that motivation. If enabled and encouraged by those above to have some sort of task and some sort of voice, things like nepotism won’t even be of a concern because they will feel like they are part of a collective work and not just faceless and mute slaves.

Street presence is a nice thing to want, but far more important is granting people a feeling of inclusiveness. If a movement is made in the right direction, protection levels will not have the same value and the silent colossus and vocal behemoth will fall into a melting pot, perhaps tar pits. Whatever creatures craw out from those pits will be new unique personas, and hopefully a new sense of community would rise, not so concerned with the whittling of bones as tools, but rather the creation of a true social set of empires and factions. With the way things stand now, the degenerative and cancerous nature of silence only continue to set us back.