So, with the recent wipe out we have found ourselves in the midst of a new era. It would seem that the existing families are now spreading out amongst the 7 cities creating not one or two super powers as the norm might be, but spreading out to create many and hopefully 7 fairly equal ones. Already we see New York, Chicago and Philly with 3 families in and the others seem to be on the path to doing the same. I think it would bring a healthy balance to our world if each city were to be equally as strong. Although we must be careful not to overindulge in the amount of people we grant auth to, it would be great to see a diverse society. Again though we must be careful, as we do not want to return to a time of shameless whoring and fierce competition between families for the services of the fresh thugs and civilians.

I can't help but feel a little excited at the prospect of each city becoming a unit, rather than divided by the districts and frequent wars occurring. This new era could be just what we've been waiting for to bring stability and may allow us to progress in terms of a network of organised crime. I don't expect all sunshines and rainbows, but it's been a long time since the cities were ran the way they should be in my opinion.

It's all down to the current set of leaders and I feel they need to get their heads together early on, as opposed to going off in their different ways and becoming isolated within their cities. It's important for them to make certain arrangements and agreements in order to ensure that the community will now flourish from this point on. 

The world is currently a partially painted canvas, it's down to the leaders to guide us to the end product and mould the world how they think would be best. In the past I think there's been a lot of rinse and repeat after each regime change, now's the time to bring real changes to the table and try to do what's best for our community. Not an easy task but if they can work together, I think we can make the most of what we have.

You're a daisy if you do.

~Doc~

Having some sort of balance of power would be nice.

I am all about the peace, mate. Hopefully it will follow after the recent war.. Hopefully. With that being said, i think things'll manage from this time forth. We have experienced crew leaders that took on the job to stabilize the situation after the void it created on this place with many leaders dying, some i liked, some i didn't, lets be honest now.

Chuckles..

On the big picture of things, wouldn't doubt their experience one bit on reshaping this place of ours and creating a better, safer one for all of us.

Realistically, though, what are these changes? You (and others) say "it's time to bring real change and help the community," but I don't even know what that looks like. Prior to the war, the GFC tried making changes and trying new ideas, and now those men are being seen as nothing more than mediocre leaders. Was the LA exhibition a failure? I don't know. Were the discussions led by Guevara about the free movement of peoples lost on our world? Seemingly not, since everyone has 14 days to find the crew that's best for them without being held down in their crews. Not to say Guevara caused this policy, but simply that it's not something new to this regime.

I think it's really easy to jump on the utopia train, but there is no utopia (and no, I don't mean the deceased leader). In the coming weeks, we'll rebuild, grow, and earn money with increasing efficiency. As those resources expand, we'll have to decide what to do with them. And 99% of it will go exactly the same way as before; BGs, MIAs, HQ Forts, Gambling, and CAs. And that's the meat of this world; money and power. That won't change, no matter how many times we come to the Streets asking for peace and "betterment".

I don't mean to shit on this parade, but after every conflict and with every new set of leaders, we hear requests for "something new," and it never happens. So how about we manage our expectations a bit more realistically and see what actual changes we can make instead of asking for some kind of idealized "community". Talk to your crew, work with and make a difference with them, and be the change you want to see. It's harder than speaking in the Streets and asking for change, but that's how life goes. In my experience, you will have a greater impact by interacting with your own people than by speaking out here.

I hear your thoughts Orsik, but as I stated I think we are in need of a much better balance of power across the board. Too often we see power pinpointed in 1 or 2 locations, I think it will bring something more to this place if we could bring about the right sort of balance. I honestly feel this would be a massive factor in creating a better environment.

In terms of what other changes are needed, each person has their own ideas on how they would like to mould this world if given a chance.

Don't get me wrong though, I hear what you say and we should not encourage having something new for something new's sake. I just feel that this time around the leaders need to work closer together and put the required effort into all matters as opposed to just letting things run their course. This is not a slight on the previous regime, I just feel now we are in a better position to take all opinions into account and come to decisions instead of just enforcing the ideals of 1 or 2 people who have the biggest guns because saying no would mean death.

I think we have a pretty good balance of power (crew-number wise) in place.

just enforcing the ideals of 1 or 2 people who have the biggest guns because saying no would mean death.

Prem's bloodline mentioned something about this a while ago. He has this certain way with words, but the quote I'm thinking of in particular is "Where I come from we vote with who has the biggest guns" or something of that nature.

As nice as your utopia-esque ideas of peace love and harmonious balance sounds, that's simply not the way it works. How did the powers at be become the powers at be? They shot their way to the top. Surviving through wars and taking down their enemies on the way to the throne.  I'm not trying to suggest that we abandon our code and become power hungry. Start shooting at each other and what not. That's bad for business.

I think Orsik said it the best, and my bloods used a quote somewhere along the same lines to a certain revolutionary minded bloodline that roams the streets quite often. "Be the change you want to see", I could use some zen poet quotes but I think that's zen enough for my family's liking.

I believe this is a beautiful thing for our world.  For the first time in a long time we don't see no one as a dominant force.  This day in age now it'll show the importance at building alliances and planting new seeds to grow.

This is also the perfect time for new high ranking mobsters to evolve

At the moment there is no dominant force, but there will be. There always is. That is the life we lead.  As Orsik said "And that's the meat of this world; money and power. That won't change", it won't change, and do we all really want it to? Are we not attracted to the thrill, the danger, the unknown? If we wanted a world where we were all equal and all got along we would have chosen this life of drug-running, loyalty and secrecy to the family? Where gun training, mugging, pickpocketing and making profits on gambling and drugs are a staple of our life. I am excited and interested to see where the recent war leads and how long peace will last on the streets and in the cities. There will always be someone who eyes absolute power, whether it is in a few weeks, months or longer, that is the only certainty in this life. I am in for the ride and I look forward to see how things develop in whatever way they do. 

As BadBoyForLife said, "At the moment there is no dominant force, but there will be. There always is. That is the life we lead." Things are fairly balanced now, but eventually the balance will shift one way or another for whatever reason and there will end up being 1 or 2 great powers like before. 

I can't help but feel a little excited at the prospect of each city becoming a unit, rather than divided by the districts and frequent wars occurring. 

It is an exciting prospect indeed, to see a few individuals completely rebuild a city from the ground up into an empire, is it not? However, what is happening now is nothing different from what has happened many times before. If you are implying that cities have not been units before and just districts, then I would have to wholeheartedly disagree. It has been quite common for most cities not involved in competitions, but not all of them, to come from one original family or leader. But nothing lasts forever. Even the most unified of cities can grow apart, and they have. As new districts grow themselves I think it is natural for them to become more of their own entity. As to what that means for the future of the city, that depends on the leaders themselves. 

"They shot their way to the top. Surviving through wars and taking down their enemies on the way to the throne." I hear what you say FartBarf, but this time around it's a little different to a take down and the new regime set up, it was more about survival than who took out who.

"Are we not attracted to the thrill, the danger, the unknown?" Exactly BadBoyForLife and for once it truly is the unknown, well relatively and it has the chance to be. For once we don't know have 1 or 2 districts towering over the rest. We have a chance to allow each city to grow and the unknown factor to be there for those who are now starting to train their guns. It will take a lot of observing to figure out who's really honing their skills as a hitter now and which families are dedicating themselves to that particular art form.

Of course there will be one or two powerhouses eventually, we may see some cities grow quicker than others, but we will also have plenty of potential threats in the background and this hasn't always been the case, many people are usually fully aware of the gun power each district has. This is mainly due to a lot of the previous leaders having branched out from the powerhouses themselves. This time around the cities seem more independent in a sense that they are growing from within rather than being shifted across from cities like Philly or New York as has been a regular sight in the past.

"What next?" Jaded pondered a little bit. She was watching the current reign like a hawk. She wanted to know what they said they would do and if they were following through. Now was not the time to slack. There were cities to rebuild and things to set back into place, such as standards. So she did what anyone else could do, she watched and she waited.

While she waited she listened to speeches and watched the people reply. Soon she had heard DocHoliday and she had somewhat of a reply.

"While I cannot say what is next I can say what I hope to see. I hope to see cities rebuild. I hope to see people actually be given the chances they deserve. I hope that at some point whatever they did not like about the past reign that they do not carry it into this one. Otherwise what was the point of removing former reigns if you are just going to do the exact same thing?

I hope to see change for the better. I hope to see many more people growing. I hope to see new faces to the shores really learn how to do things that they love. And most of all, I hope to continue seeing the streets being active. "

With her thoughts out of her head and put into words, Jaded wandered off the streets and into the alleys.