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  1. A group of four men have been taken into questioning after a Korean child went missing in the Little Seoul area. Earlier tonight screaming was reported coming from the walls of the "Lucky Buddha" Casino, in Little Seoul. A police raid conducted found four children of Korean decent, and one of caucasian decent, locked in a secret-room hidden within the casino. A group of israeli men were taken in for questioning, aswell as the owner of the Lucky Buddha. It is believed at this time that they worked in collaboration to commit these atrocious crimes against the children of our city! (See below for a picture of the ring-leader) Although the men, aswell as the owner of "Lucky Buddha" were all working in cohorts to commit this disgusting act of trafficking, our sources managed to acquire a picture of the ring-leader before he was taken in for police questioning. The man pictured on the right is believed to be the ring-leader of this entire operation, and the main point of contact between the abduction-ring and the owner of "The Lucky Buddha". Currently awaiting trial to be charged for a 6-month-long child abduction and trafficking scandal. It is believed the profits from this child-trafficking scheme funded the purchase of their casino known as "The Lucky Buddha", which then gave them a new source of revenue and thus more equipment to commit child abductions with. The owner of "The Lucky Buddha" is believed to have funded this entire operation, paying this kidnapping child-trafficking ring out of his own pocket! Our sources have confirmed that he was let out on bail, as he was seen driving his Ice-White "Cheetah Classic" tonight. It is reported that the "Lucky Buddha" casino continues to open, despite the case being held against its owners for crimes against minors. Username: Comment: * This article was posted with a VPN, any tracking results in the pinging of an IP adress in South-East Malaysia *
    6 points
  2. The idea of having a official status is not a original idea on it's own but rather one that has been around this community for over a decade long. Many of you are familiar with the process of legal and illegal factions obtaining the 'official status' and what exactly that means. For new players who haven't heard of this system, it's the state in which a faction progresses on the server into it's highest form. Something that marks the pinnacle moment in a faction's life, those who have shown quality roleplay, dedication and have strived to set a standard for other factions to follow in their foot steps have in return been rewarded with being a 'official' faction of the server. What follows is your faction being marked at the top of the page along with others, in-game benefits such as drug and weapon supplies at a frequent rate for official illegal factions as well as a few other bells and whistles such as custom colors on forum names. Official status in my opinion is something that this server not only needs but can highly benefit from, not only does it create competition on the server but it sets the bar higher and higher for every faction that has the ambition to reach this goal. It creates a transparent community with the faction management team in which you're communicating with on a regular basis, allowing you to express your questions or concerns that you may have as a faction of the server and in return keeps people engaged in the community. The thought of official status gives leaders and members something to work for, something to look forward to achieving, it gives new factions something to be inspired by and to give meaning to their hard work. In my personal opinion the current system regarding illegal roleplay is flawed in several ways and I know I'm not sharing this opinion alone. As a person who's been granted the privilege of being a drug supplier, I have seen some changes that are in the right direction but I feel it's not enough. Writing a story for a supplier application should not be the only requirement to receive a large sum of weapons and narcotics, but for now that's the only thing that's in place. People need something to look forward to that motivates them every time they log in, something to keep things fresh. Those who should be rewarded are the factions who have put in not only the effort but the quality and roleplay standard that this server wants to portray as a whole. I'm looking forward to see some community feedback about this to see how many people support this system.
    5 points
  3. 5:27 PM 8:47 PM 9:01 PM 9:08 PM 9:12 PM 9:41 PM
    5 points
  4. Short description: Since it's easy to add, here are a few new animations that could be added Detailed description: Extra smoking, vehicle, phone, cop, bar animations Commands to add: See additional information. Items to add: The corresponding items to the animations like the current smoking animations have a cigarette How would your suggestion improve the server? Speaks for itself Additional information: For reference a few screenshots of the animations: https://imgur.com/a/2Iqlhk9 Important 1: Almost all animations require the corresponding items like cigarette, blunt, notepad, cellphone! Important 2: Please make sure to add the blunt and-/ or maybe a cigar so players will have more options. Important 3: Since the animations are blocked inside a vehicle, please allow the special vehicle animations to be done inside a vehicle. Important 4: All noted animations will have more variations, please check the other variations as they are most likely good to be added too. (Male/Female-Vehicle/Van) Phone animation amb@world_human_leaning@male@wall@back@mobile@base base 2900 / requires mobile phone amb@world_human_leaning@male@wall@back@mobile@idle_a idle_a 4166 / requires mobile phone Vehicle animations - requires vehicle animation script permission - has generic-low-van variations amb@code_human_in_car_mp_actions@smoke@low@ds@base idle_a 5933 / requires cig, blunt, cigar amb@incar@male@smoking_low@enter enter 10333 / requires cig, blunt, cigar amb@incar@male@smoking_low@idle_b idle_d 9866 / requires cig, blunt, cigar amb@code_human_in_car_music@generic@ds@idle_a idle_a 3033 / requires nothing amb@code_human_in_car_music@generic@ps@idle_a idle_a 3333 / requires nothing amb@code_human_in_car_music@generic@rds@base base 3500 / requires nothing amb@code_human_in_car_music@generic@ps@idle_a idle_a 4233 / requires nothing Smoking animations - check variations amb@code_human_in_car_mp_actions@smoke@std_rds@base enter 6666 / requires cig, blunt, cigar amb@world_human_smoking@male@male_b@base base 8400 / requires cig, blunt, cigar amb@world_human_smoking@male@male_b@idle_a idle_a 9500 / requires cig, blunt cigar amb@world_human_smoking_fat@male@male_a@idle_a idle_c 15000 / requires cig, blunt cigar amb@world_human_smoking_fat@male@male_b@base base 8400 / requires cig, blunt cigar amb@world_human_smoking_fat@male@male_b@idle_a idle_a 9500 / requires cig, blunt cigar amb@world_human_smoking_pot@male@idle_a idle_c 4166 / requires cig, blunt cigar Police animations / writing ticket (@timeofdeath FD - check variations) amb@medic@standing@timeofdeath@base base 2000 / requires medic notepad amb@medic@standing@timeofdeath@base base 2000 / requires medic notepad amb@medic@standing@timeofdeath@exit exit 7833 / requires medic notepad amb@medic@standing@timeofdeath@idle_a idle_b 5866 / requires medic notepad Bar animations - check variations amb@prop_human_seat_bar@male@elbows_on_bar@idle_b idle_d 7533 / requires nothing amb@prop_human_seat_bar@male@elbows_on_bar@react_shock left_back 10800 / requires nothing amb@prop_human_seat_bar@male@elbows_on_bar@react_aggressive exit_left_back 5466 / requires nothing Lifting weights amb@world_human_muslce_free_weights@male_barbell@base base 9500 / requires barbell More animations to come if these will be added.
    4 points
  5. TWO YEARS @_creamy @LilManiac @Ms KarMagick πŸ–€@Vorras@Effect@Birdie@Dougie
    4 points
  6. Username: Gh0stRider Comment: Comment removed to preserve credit score.
    4 points
  7. 2bb80f2f9e636095197699b6dba75260.mp4
    4 points
  8. This thread documents the development and background of Frank Milanesi, an Italian American male living in Los Santos. Chubby Checker - Let's twist again Frank Milanesi was born in New Jersey in 1978 to a father involved in organized crime, John "Joe" Milanesi, an associate for the DeCavalcante crime family. Living in Elizabeth, New Jersey for most his life, Frank only recently got to Los Santos at the age of forty two. "Before you meet Frank, you should learn a bit about his father. See, Joe, Johnny, John Milanesi was an associate for the DeCavalcante for six years before his arrest on December the second, 1999. They had John working the bar and cleaning up after the shift was up. It was a pretty good gig, especially when got offered extra money in return for assisting his then boss, Samuel Amari, with a couple debts owned in downtown Jersey. Joey accepted without hesitation, guy had five kids, he had to make ends meet and a little extra money might go to the wife or the kids or the fucking in-laws, somebody. But, he got in over his head, first he was telling some guys he owed Sammy money, then he was shoving people, punching them, threatening to burn down their stores, actually burning down their stores... I mean the guy really didn't give a fuck. He just had a very stoic mindset that he was gonna' do what he wanted, and ultimately, that's probably why John Milanesi is off our streets and rotting in a jail cell somewhere in Jersey. I think they moved him after he ordered the death of [REDACTED]." "Back on topic, Joey got pinched for racketeering, extortion, battery, assault and arson. Under the Rico Act, Johhny Boy also got the addition being linked to an illegal enterprise of supposed criminals. Below is the mugshot of Johnny on the day of his arrest. After pinching John and over thirty members and associates of the DeCavalcante crime family, the family itself was about done during 1999 and the early 2000s, and if we're talking modern day? The DeCavalcante's aren't anything, they're forgotten, beaten out by the Five Families across the pond. Regardless, the DeCavalcante's crumbled to some C-I's, the remnants of their family seen in small quantities all throughout North Jersey, but nowhere near the degree it was prior to the December Second Raids. With the current state of the DeCavalcante's and the sudden disappearance of the Milanesi's family income, Frank was left with his mother, before she was arrested too, but we'll get that ina' bit... " "Well, Joey kept his mouth shut and didn't say shit about anyone to nobody, unfortunately, a couple of those thirty arrested gladly broke the oath in return for lenient sentences and possible parole hearings. Greed was a disgusting thing, and it was major reason John ended up spending the rest of his life behind bars alongside the people he once considered friends, luckily, he still had connections and used them while incarcerated. The Milanesi's were taken care of by close friends of Joey, his son, Frank, spending most of his time learning the tricks of the trade around his "uncles" that acted like a sort of physical representation of a father, which [REDACTED] but, to put it into shortened terms, Joe wasn't the best father to his son. He was never really there, and when he got arrested he wasn't allowed to see his boy, he wasn't allowed to get much of anything, so he prayed his friends on the outside could do their duties and protect his family, which they did. They raised Frank into a fine young man with street and book knowledge. Joey went away when his boy was twenty one, and I think he was around... fifty nine or sixty, old boy was born in the forties, saw crime organized under Italians." "Frank had a regular childhood for someone with a father who was a nobody in a small-time family, the most he ever saw that was mafia related in his child-hood was the constant disappearance of his father late at night, talks with strange men in vehicles during late hours, envelope exchanges on the park bench down the street from his childhood home, and a couple verbal altercations where his father made his intentions very clear to harm one or more people on a list of occasions. Frank's mother, Debra, wasn't too phenomenal. When she wasn't cooking, cleaning, or smoking on the patio she spent time counting her husbands money, assisting him with his job, which got her pinched down the line too. Arrested at forty nine for money laundering and tax fraud. She was a real pity party at the trial, crying and kicking and wailing like a goddamn banshee. She said she couldn't let her little boy grow up without a mom or dad, but that cocaine addict probably didn't even care, she just wanted out of the shit she dug herself in. She also claimed that the New Jersey Police Department [REDACTED] her while in custody. Like her husband, to the surprise of many, she kept her mouth shut, and in return her boy got to grow up with the second best thing to parents, intricate criminals. These friends of his father are one of the major reasons Frank is aggressive and quick to confrontation, but, he also has the charm and humility of pious man. If he doesn't hate you the moment he meets you, you'll probably become the guys best friend." "From what evidence I've gathered, Mr. Milanesi and his rather sudden move to Los Santos still remains unknown, I haven't found anything out of the ordinary so far, but with my cases against both his parents, maybe it's finally time I take him and his son down, because, we all know that family habits just don't disappear. The guy hung around wiseguys in Jersey, but he doesn't know anybody in L-S, it seems like suicide to me. He'll step on a lot of toes, that's for sure, knowing him." "If I forgot to mention, Frank has a piece of shit son named Micheal or Mikey, another Milanesi by blood. Sadly for Frank, his wife divorced his ass and took a majority of his money about three years back in April. He's living on fucking scraps, and his deadbeat son doesn't do much but follow his equally as useless father's footsteps. From what I gather, the kid is just like his father, but he's not a bad talker, quite the charmer, really. His father is more of the muscle at this point, just loud and quick to smash a chair over somebody." "And, he's got a record himself, that's why I'm still on this assholes case. He just won't give up, the guys as stubborn as a fucking mule, and it's getting on my nerves, I'm praying he fucks up and gets arrested or that son of his turns C-I. Uh, nothing major, battery, assault, threatening and intimidation. He's a real class act, a tough guy, he talks with a big mouth and has a bigger ego, even though he doesn't amount to shit, but he's not ungrateful, he's a real loyal guy, like his father, but, it isn't gonna' help him any down the line. His son might flip, his friend, hell, whoever he works for might flip. Everyone nowadays wants a reduced, sentence, I should know, I got a C-I myself... or had one." " I wanted to end on the note that I'll continue to report any findings if I capture anything, I appreciate you listening, whoever I'm going to give this to. It's November the twenty eighth, 2020, this is Austin Schwartz, New Jers-" *CLICK.* - Audio recording from Detective Austin Schwartz, Wednesday 11-25-20, 6:03 AM
    3 points
  9. Starting up a competition soon; capture yourself. Stay tuned for details. Competition is ON!
    3 points
  10. Illegal rpers; I think this will be great for our own sector of rp legal rpers;
    3 points
  11. I respond to this 11-page monstrosity knowing my response is likely to be drowned and unheard, and that little will change because of this topic, but I want to say my 2 cents about this issue. @Smilesville's last post is brilliant and says a lot: there is no legitimacy to the scale of how much robbery happens on this server. Robbery is treated like a script job for illegal players. Robbery is one of the main circuits from which criminal characters, especially low-ranking criminals, gather guns by stealing them from other criminals, or more commonly, "legal" characters. I know for a fact that many criminal characters are intentionally targeting people they think have firearms so that they can score up to 5k and snag a gun. You start with one gun, you rob a second gun, now you have two guns. You give the second gun to a homie, now your outfit is twice as strong. Rinse and repeat. Stonks. We're supposed to be RPing a realistic-ish world, but there's nothing realistic about the third world country that our characters live in. Why would any law-abiding citizen in their right mind stay in a city like Los Santos where robberies happen all day every day in every single neighborhood? My character has been robbed, all of my character's friends have been robbed, it's actually canon IC knowledge that my character has that robberies happen everywhere and at any time, constantly. Why does any character even stay living in this shit-show city? It really fucks with my immersion as a roleplayer, and it fucks with any person who is RPing a realistic regular character that our city is so corrupt and dangerous that the police literally can't do anything about the fact that people rob with impunity here. I have literally seen people robbing on the busiest IC streets in the city on a regular basis. It's retarded. My problem isn't even "losing" or "taking an L my dude," no, fuck that. My problem is that I literally cannot roleplay in the public without bringing the risk closer and closer to 100% that I am getting robbed. Yes, robberies happen in real life, but holy shit, I don't worry about getting robbed while I'm having a picnic at 9 AM in a public park in downtown. I don't worry about getting robbed while I'm standing outside of my apartment having a cigarette. I don't worry about getting robbed while I'm on the beach in a heavily touristed area. Is it theoretically possible? Yeah. Does it happen? Well according to the numbers crunched above, to something like 0.17% of Los Angeles's population in a year, if the numbers are to be believed. I hate the fact that I cannot really enjoy RPing anywhere because someone driving by seeing two people standing and talking sees an easy mark. I hate it that I need to ICly and OOCly be worried that I'll be robbed just because I'm spending more than the time it takes me to run to my car on the street. That's not realistic. That's not immersive. That ruins roleplay. Robberies are usually not fucking interesting. For anyone. The meta is to walk up with a gun aimed or a knife pointed and then, woo, you instantly win the roleplay! Amazing how that works! "I have a gun aimed at you, so you now need to do absolutely every single thing I tell you, and if you don't I kill you and/or shout non-RP fear." Everyone in this city has guns. And to the people who are like "that's not realistic" fuck that, we're living in Los Santos. Our characters are following their legal rights to carry a gun in this city. This city has gun laws, every single person without a criminal record is allowed to legally apply for a concealed carry license, and in Los Santos, electing not to carry a gun is literally unrealistic behavior and non-RP fear. Why would any rational person in Los Santos not exercise their legal right to carry a gun when literally every single law-abiding person they know has a horror story of how they've been accosted, mugged, robbed, beaten, threatened, attacked, shot at, or how they know people who have been shot? It only makes sense in your first month or two, but if your character doesn't start carrying a gun after that it's because you are blatantly roleplaying them ignoring the threats their life faces every single morning they show their face outside of their apartment door. I joined this server with a character who had no reason to carry a gun. I ignore the CCW/PF licenses because "guns don't make sense for her." Guess what, assorted bottom-of-the-barrel criminals of Los Santos. Your fantastic roleplay changed that. My character has been robbed. My character's friends have all been robbed. My character's friends have been involved in robberies where people were viciously beaten and murdered in addition to robbed. (On a side note, because I imagine people will mock me for "u just mad u got lacking" or "sry u lost some assets whiny legal RPer" or whatever stereotypical shit criminal RPers say, I actually enjoyed the RP of the first robbery, the robber properly roleplayed her emotional state, clearly scouted the area first, and acted like a real life robber did. She also realistically roleplayed a sense of urgency and took whatever we gave her and ran off without any question. All of us liked that RP. It was 3v1 and we did not just blast her, it was good RP from all sides. The 2nd time I was robbed was really retarded, but the players involved were gentlemen OOCly at least, and their leader was doing his best to make them RP having a sense of urgency. My problem with robbery RP is that it happens way too much, that it's usually barely RP, that the whole point of it for most criminal RPers is to score some easy money and guns. And most importantly, that the culture of robbery on our server makes it so that our server's heavy roleplay setting becomes less friendly for roleplay. So yes, it's realistic in a city like Los Santos where such a disproportionate amount of criminals are really unrealistically violent, aggressive, and active that everyone carries a gun. And it's realistic that when you carry a gun you start to think of how and when you'll use it, if you'll use it. It's a big decision all gun-owners have to make. And it's realistic when your character knows everyone gets robbed and robberies always happen that they'll know the chances of them being robbed when a masked individual approaches are like 90+%. It's realistic for them to think they're about to be robbed whenever some black guys or some Mexican guys walk towards them on the street. It sucks that that's the Los Santos we RP in because that's not really realistic to real life, but that's the Los Santos we have thanks to shitty criminal RPers. Oh well. The only way to fix this is to make some stricter OOC rules about robberies. I hate that. I hate OOC rules getting in the way of RP. But the solution here is definitely not "report all the bad robberies." That's how you make a lot of really boring, frustrating work for really over-worked admins, and it solves nothing. You report and prosecute one shitty robbery RP, 40+ more happened in the 5 days it took to solve. You can punish every shitty robbery, and they'll still keep coming. You address the source, not the symptom.
    3 points
  12. Young Thomas pictured with his father, Eliyahu Berg, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn - 1984 β€œDo not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34 *Tommy speaking* "Where do I start? My childhood was nothing out of the ordinary; school, fights, girls - feels like a cliche movie, but it's not. First five years of my life was spent in some old, vintage ass Bay Ridge apartment in Brooklyn. All you could see was the sun, I'm serious. That place had something magical to it, right nearby was Sunset Park. That was to the north, then you had Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, there was an awful lot of things to do, can't remember being bored. But, after I turned five, we moved to Tel Aviv. It was this fuckin' classy ass place that my dad scored, he was workin' in Israel, made us a good few bucks, worth the while if you ask me, but that ain't the point. When we moved, I started writing a lot, something to pass the time when I wasn't outside, breaking windows and fucking about, that unfortunately was the only quote-on-quote productive thing I did with my days back then, but at some point, I left all that shit behind, got with the wrong group - typical teenager bullshit, ended up dabbling in all sorts of drugs, got into everything imaginable, fucked me up bad. Started going to therapy, got kicked out, everyone was dissapointed, even my father. I can see why, but that hurt. That didn't matter to me though, I just wanted to be 'Tommy', whatever the fuck that meant. Now, when I turned eighteen, I went straight to boot camp, from there - I became a Marine. Served as the Command Sergeant Major of the 4th god lovin', pistol-totin', motherfuckin' Marine Division. I got discharged eventually, did up my time. I saw a lot of shit I never thought I'd see, but that don't matter. Someone asked me if I regret the shit I did, if I did it - I said I had no time to look back and be mad, not nearly enough time. So here we are, thirty years later - living in "The City of the Saints" or an even shittier version of this god awful city - "The City of Angels" - what a load of horseshit, but I digress. What else are ya' gonna do?"
    2 points
  13. INTRODUCTION Hello. This guide is meant for people who want to realistically portray a modern-day Italian-American mobster. This guide is still a work in progress and receives updates over time. The final form of it is meant to cover all aspects of LCN roleplay and to be the main lighthouse for those who are new to this RP and those who need extra guidance. Chapter 1: Creating a Character Name: Selecting a correct name is essential. How do you know what names are correct and which ones aren't? First of all, you want to have an American first name and an Italian surname. Secondly, you want to make sure that the last name you select is NOT famous or even worse - the lastname of a known mafioso. You can do this by simply entering your surname into a Google search. You don't know what names you want? You may use Fantasynamegenerator website or any other to generate both American and Italian names. Examples of good names: Steven Gialano, Peter Scaldi, Harold Galifani ect. Age: Since you will be starting up fresh in the criminal underbelly of sunny Los Santos, it's best if you roleplay a young guy 18-28 years old. That is the perfect age for you to be worth something already. Sure, you can be older, but remember that being older will not grant you any perks. You must also take into account your character's position. If you are starting a faction or joining one that will give you a high rank (underboss/captain), you might want to start with an older character. Background: You must form a solid background for your character before even approaching this sort of roleplay. It will help you know your character better and will also make a good impression OOCly on the faction you are attempting to join. It is recommended that your background is that of a struggling person as NOBODY joins organized crime out of boredom. You must also have your reasons for willing to take the extra step, wether its greed, desperate need to put bread on your family table, hunger for power, path of revenge or anything else. Appearance: Take whatever you've seen in the movies, grab it by the neck and toss it off the roof of a 12 story building. These days mafiosi dress like your casual civillian. Nothing that draws attention. You have full creative freedom on anything past that. As far as vehicles go, always pick something simple that does not draw any attention. Avoid sportscars at all costs. Mobsters do not want to be noticed by the IRS so they will often hide their wealth. Personality: Before you come up with your character’s personality as a mobster, you first and foremost need to come up with it as a human being. Always keep in mind that even the most hardened criminals are, at the end of the day, humans just like everybody else. They all have their quirks, their flaws, their own priorities and life concerns. Considering you will spend a good chunk of time yapping with your fellow gangsters about simple things unrelated to crime, having a fleshed out backstory is key. Maybe your character’s wife divorced him recently and paying alimony annoys him to no end, maybe your character’s son is going to study law school and he can’t wait to tell everyone about it, maybe your character is having a bad day ever since he poured a cup of coffee out on his favorite shirt in the morning. It is all in your hands, just be creative and realistic. Chapter 2: Ranks and mechanics of a LCN faction Hierarchy: The hierarchy of LCN factions is rather simple to understand. Below is an image of a hierarchy tree of a typical LCN family as well as descriptions of each specific rank and their duties in the organization. Rank explanation - Boss: The highest position in the family. He gets a cut of all the operations the family is involved in and has full control over each part of the organization. Bosses come in different forms, some choose to be a dictator that keeps all of the hard-earnt money from the family, others tend to be more charitable and treat their underlings good as well as re-investing the money into the family. All the captains in the family elect a new boss once the old one is gone, however sometimes a person may take the position by force and influence. Despite being the CEO, a boss can not lay their hands on another made man. They may issue fines or even order a hit as punishment, but it has to be with proper reason. Rank explanation - Consigliere: Also known as an advisor, a person of this position has a direct line to the thoughts of the boss and often is an older member of the family that holds a great amount of respect and trust from the soldiers all the way up to the boss himself. Consiglieres are often times intelligent as they are the main advisor to the boss and are supposed to help the boss refrain from making any mistakes. Rank explanation - Underboss: This is the first rank of the so called "administration" of a mafia family. An underboss is the core middle-man between the boss and the captains as well as the soldiers. He is the official second-in-command and is selected for this position solely by the boss himself. An underboss also keeps an eye on what's taking place within the family. If any issues arise, he will either take care of it himself or forward the info to the boss so he can make a decision. Often times, an underbos is also responsible for collecting all the kick-ups from the captains and forwarding them to the boss. Rank explanation - Caporegime: Also known as capo or captain, this person is like a mini-boss of their own. They command a group of associates and soldiers who carry out orders, plans and day-to-day activities. Caporegime is also the first "administration" position. The group of associates and soldiers that a caporegime commands is often referred to as a "crew" or "faction". This rank is directly responsible to the underboss and boss. Rank explanation - Soldier: An inducted member of the family, also sometimes referred to as "wiseguy", "good fella" or "button man". When you become a soldier, you also become a "made man" which means that while you generate income you are untouchable without proper reason within the family. In older times, you would need both of your parents to be of Italian descent to become a soldier, however these days it is only required that you at least be of Italian descent from your father's side. Often times a soldier will run their own crew of associates or have some under their wing and reporting directly to them. Soldiers report to and kick up to a caporegime/captain/capo who is a highly respected member within the family. Associates and outsiders are supposed to treat soldiers and all the ranks above a soldier with immense respect. They are also given more information and know more about the inner machinations of the family. Soldiers are also meant to be teachers to all the associates looking to become someone. Soldiers will often teach an associate the ropes, tell them what to do and not to do, who is important and who is not. Rank explanation - Associate: Introductory rank where a criminal needs to prove his worth and value to the family. An alternate way of referring to an associate is calling them "connected". Every associate has a soldier they report to, or in very rare instances the captain (caporegime) himself. You become an associate when a soldier notices your work and takes you under their wing. Being under their wing means that they will protect you (minimally) and help you run your schemes. From that point on, you are expected to pay a percentage of your illicit earnings to the soldier you report to. As an associate you are a worker bee for the family and also the go-to for all the dirty work that needs doing. Associates can be of any nationality, religion or ethnicity. While a soldier may coach and help an associate, the associate himself is not really protected within the criminal world and can be seen as "expendable" by his superiors. Becoming "Made": Being made is simply becoming a full member of your organization and a part of "this thing of ours". This means you are to be respected more and grants you a few privileges, as well as more responsibilities. Usually there is a ceremony for when a new criminal is initiated into their respective family, but the way it goes down varies differently between organizations. Soldiers also sometimes have their own crews of associates. Making money: Forget what you've been told about "honor" or "omerta" or any of those things. Today's mob is all about money, money and more money. The whole purpose is to make money. If you're a good earner with a cool head - you'll go far. If you idle around and do nothing - you'll be an associate forever. Now, how exactly do mobsters make their living? By any scheme they can muster up. Literally. You would be wrong to think that a true mafioso stops scheming for a minute. Sure, the ''mainstream'' ways of dealing dope, weapons and extorting businesses are there but it's much more. For example, you may get yourself running some sort of a scam, perhaps even set up your own illegal card game. If it makes money - it's good enough. If you are struggling to come up with anything, don't be afraid to ask others for advice. Kickups: This might be a little shock to some, but every mobster is supposed to give a cut of his earnings to the person he reports to in the family. Money goes up, shit goes down. Don't oversweat yourself, but make sure your envelope is solid if you want to impress fellow mafiosi. There are no minimum or maximum amount one needs to put in, however a super low amount may be taken as an insult. Vouching: One of the most important, if not THE most important piece of mob politics. Vouching is a process where one person puts in a word for another person while risking his reputation, or even his life in the process. If you vouch for someone, you are either giving them a boost and a good word to the higher-ups or you are saving them from some trouble they might have gotten into. However, you must remember that it comes with a risk, if you vouch for someone and they turn out to be someone very unreliable, or even a snitch - your ass is on the line too. Even for the fuck ups they make - your ass is on the line. This risk ensures that mobsters only risk their reputation and life only for something they know for sure is true. Vouching can also happen when someone recommends an associate to be inducted into the family. Opening the books: "The books" refer to the made man status. If someone tells you "the books are open" it means the family is allowing some associates to become soldiers. If someone tells you "the books are closed" it means that for the time being there's no way of becoming made. Traditionally, everyone in the family would be notified of this process in one way or the other and all members that are already made should not have any beefs with any of the associates getting a promotion, however it varies from family to family. Making your bones: Historically, this term refers to finding out if an associate that has been proposed for membership has what it takes. Making your bones meant murdering on behalf of the mob with no reward in mind other than proving yourself. However, since murder is a high risk these days and attracts a lot of unwanted attention, many LCN families have shifted to alternatives. For example, you may be asked to cripple another person in order to make your bones. Do note that in roleplay servers, most LCN factions do not actually adjust to realism on this point and may ask you to carry out a murder in order for this step to be completed. Chapter 3: Approaching an LCN faction Great, so you've created a decent character, you understand how things work. Time to join a faction of like-minded individuals. How you do this will either make or break your attempt. There are many correct ways and many incorrect ways, but I will dissect only two of more popular methods that are valid. Remember that there are many other ways as well if you are creative. So let's dive into it. Moneymaker route: This way requires most effort but it also guarantees the best chance of you being accepted with open arms. First of all, you should create a scheme and put it in action. As long as it makes money and it's realistic. You might be selling knock-off watches on the street, boosting cars, creating fake charities, anything works. When you have your operation up and running, you will want to hang out at places where the members of your faction hang out. Come there often, get drinks if it's a bar or a club or whatever. Get to know the people that frequent it, make yourself known. Maybe even let someone there "accidentally" know that you for example sell fake watches or something. Just as bad as you want to make money, so do other mafiosi. You will be probably checked out and approached by someone who is already connected, they'll try to take a bite of your action - let them. If you're under their protection, it's a good gateway in. Friendship route: This route has a lower success rate, but it is easier to perform. Again, you will need to go to a mob-infested neighborhood and hang out there often, make friends with the people around. Let it be known you're struggling, you're in need of work. Chances are, there will be a mobster who takes a liking to you and needs a guy to help with a scheme. Take it from there. Victim route: This primarily works for more established and somewhat wealthy characters. If you have a character who is getting their store shaken down for protection money, you may just pay the criminals in question just to get a way in. A lot of store owners are actually interested to pay the fee to the mob just so they could make friends in it, get help with all or any moneymaking schemes they have in mind, often involving their business or simply to get a loan that the bank isn't willing to give. Chapter 5: Mob Politics The world of La Cosa Nostra is a very political one, maybe more political and technical than any other criminal organization in the world. While the mob rules are broken on almost a daily basis, it’s rarely a given that the one breaking them will be punished, meanwhile the one that follows the rules to the letter might be on the receiving end of something they may not like. What makes it the way it is? Some mobsters are savvy and good at politics and influence. Others just aren’t. There is no clear cut ruleset you should follow in order to be good or bad at mob politics, oftentimes your fate will be decided for you, especially if you are a low ranking member. With that being said, it is a game of who you know, what evidence you have, what reputation you have and how much money you bring in for your borgata. Yes, money you kick up has a factor here as well. If you are keeping your bosses’ pockets fat, they will be less inclined to rule against you in a sit down, though do not expect them to always rule your way. Knowing how much treachery there is in the life, one must always keep their ears and minds open to what is happening around them and interpret correctly, or else they will fall like many other mafiosi have. Politics also play a huge part in how certain situations could develop. For example, former Lucchese soldier John Pennisi mentions how he was not touched in a club brawl, just because a Genovese captain heard he was on his way to get inducted into the Lucchese crime family, and his name was passed around. Chapter 4: Pro-tips TIP #1: Do not use any non-local "slang" or Italian words. Majority of today's Italian-Americans couldn't speak Italian even if their life depended on it. TIP #2: Don't wait to be spoonfed, create your own schemes and roleplay. People like that are valued both on an IC and OOC level. TIP #3: Do NOT base your roleplay on ANY TV series, movies or any other form of pop media. TIP #4: Do not try to join by simply coming into a mob-run place and asking for jobs. You will most likely be dismissed and laughed at. (Exception is when you apply for a legit job that the place is recruiting for) TIP #5: Crime takes up only around 10 percent of a mobster's day-to-day lives. Make sure you showcase your character's personality and talk about regular shit like sports, politics, cars or anything else that guys chat about. TIP #6: Remember that every mobster knows that there are law enforcement agencies out to catch them. Be careful of how your character behaves if you don't want to be caught on your first day. You may even roleplay paranoid in some instances. TIP #7: Don't be afraid to ask. If you have ANY questions OOCly, contact one of the more known LCN RPers in the community, they are most often more than happy to help out and talk to you. TIP #8: Be creative. Creativity unlocks so many doors in this type of RP and it will also make your time RPing a mobster more fun not only for yourself but also those around you. TIP #9: If you want inspiration, take a look at respected LCN factions within the community, analyze their screenshots to get a boots-on-the-ground understanding and don't be afraid of not knowing everything from the get-go. TIP #10: If you want to learn more, read through Department of Justice reports or some newer articles on the mob. I will post some links down below. Chapter 5: Mothers, Women & Kids Though the typical mobsters tend to have full potential to be cruel scumbags to fellow wiseguys and other people, you'll often find them chivalrous and showing courtesy to women, even more than your average civilian in most cases. It goes back to the roots of how Italian-American families have always been. Starting with the household, these guys love their mothers more than anything in most cases. Remarking something off about a guy's mother is the stupidest thing you can do. These guys can butcher bodies, tear them apart without any sense of remorse, but when it comes to facing their mothers they're no better than little puppies. The scene in Goodfellas where the guys stop by Joe Pesci's mother's house, end up stopping by for food is a great example of this. Then there are wives. Most of these guys hold a great amount of respect and hospitality towards their wives. It's contradictory in the sense a lot of the wiseguys happen to have a girlfriend on the side. But that's for later. Whatever may the guys be doing outside, as soon as they step into the household? They make up to be reasonably good husbands. It's not often they'll curse or use profanity around a woman. They take good care of their wives and families, trying to be the best providers they can be. They don't deserve any prize, but just because of how the culture goes, they know for a fact their superiors in the criminal world wouldn't see a wiseguy the brightest too, if a guy cannot keep his family situation in control of his ability, and let it spiral out. For this reason, the connected guys know they have to keep their wives happy however they can. For some wives, it could be expecting anything materialistic from time to time, be it jewelry or expensive clothing. While some expect and hope for their husband to be home every day for their dinner. It's a woman to woman thing, but the guys usually try and live up to it. Reason being simple, they have enough on their plate all day at work, they don't expect and want another headache once they're home. But at the end of the day? Just like anybody else, guys aren't an exception from the usual problems a married couple could have. There's always problems they deal with as a man of the house. It can be any little problem that every other parent faces, but possibly magnified because they're likely to be out of the loop being busy with their own work until it becomes a major problem or hearing somebody else. They may have overdue bills, kids dabbling in drugs, dropping out of schools, in-laws that could possibly be pestering them, and of course wives could be naggy too. The woman usually handles household work, and looks after the kids, though the pressure could be felt. Though these guys come over society's conventions and live scandalous lives, murder people left and right, when it comes to marriage and family they're not much different like anybody else. Arguements over dinner, spending of money, disagreements with kids, indifferent sex. Now speaking of girlfriends, it ties to the roots of the mobster lifestyle. Being unfaithful. And there's a plethora of women out there who are attracted to this lifestyle, aggressive and available. To add to this, wiseguys usually socialize a lot more than civilians. Be it in their forties or fifties, they are always involved in something social. Be it having dinner with their family, helping kids to bed, kissing their wives, then going out again for a few hours, nightclubs, bars, fanciest restaurants. It's a natural human tendency to be drawn to anything they're surrounded by every night, which in a lot of cases happen to be charming women. They succumb to these temptations, so that they can go home and keep things calm in their household. If not all, most wives of connected guys completely know what's going on in their shadows. They know what they signed their lives for when tying the knot. The woman usually knows not to ask about business and what goes on when he's out of the house. As long as one isn't sloppy and a complete jerk about the fact, not having his own house and family involved with other women, it usually doesn't grow to be a problem. Again, girlfriends can be another source of stress too. If the man had one woman busting his balls, now they're two or three. More problems to hear about and deal with. And speaking of girlfriends, the easiest way to earn yourself a trip is to mess with a connected guy's girlfriend, wife, or daughter. Possibly the stupidest thing one can do which is extremely hard to recover from. Even if a wiseguy would've broken up with somebody, it's only for one's best to still run off of her like she's caught the clap. Find somebody else, period. Again as always, unwritten rules but the consequences are extreme. Chapter 6: Friends & Relationships Connected guys spend time day in and out with each other. They might be playing cards, hanging out in their favorite joints, games of pool, hug and kiss each other like brothers, attend other guys' family meets, kids' birthdays. Interestingly enough, they care about each others’ family as their own, not hesitating when it comes to pulling an errand or two for them if a guy can’t be there or do it himself for any reason. Now naturally, one could easily say they're like /friends/. But that's one analogy to be not mistaken by. You have no friends. You can't afford to be or have one. Being a friend in its literal meaning could be trusting anybody to their fullest, sharing all the thoughts going in your head to them. But in the life, it can mean being vulnerable. Now naturally, guys get close to each other. They are all friendly, sharing laughs and having a good time, but not friends. The reason being, the word 'friend' has value less than a grain of salt when you're asked by your higher to take the apparent 'friend' out. As a matter of fact, the guy who might kill you is likely going to be the one closest to you. That's what you can count a 'friend' for in the life. So in general, the guys are lonely for the most part. When they're with their family, they might want to be with their girlfriends. When they're with them, it may be they want to be with other girlfriends. When they're with the other ones, and at this point they're likely thinking to be with other wiseguys. Now again, drawing to the point being with wiseguys they worry about being whacked. To put it simply, they don't make any effort whatsoever to make deep connection with anybody. You don't often see them ever open up fully. They spend most of their time happily running their schemes, cheat & kill people. It comes back to the nature of work. The only ones they can trust is their own self. Again, all of the above only serves to be the typical behaviour and mindset. It should in no way restrict you from getting creative with your character and have a few traits out of the norm. Chapter 7: Going to "College" Going to prison, for someone dedicated to a life in organized crime is not unexpected. While your feelings going in may vary between characters (Some being more frightened than others), prison can be one of the most rewarding things for your character. Very rarely will you receive a better chance to forge connections with other gangs and characters. This section will go into some information about both GTAW’s prison system specifically as well as general information on how to conduct yourself realistically in prison. Prison systems in the United States, especially on the west coast are self segregated by race. This is especially true on GTAW and pretty common knowledge in the general populous. This segregation is enforced by the two main prison gangs, The Ayran Brotherhood and The Mexican Mafia through their various surrogate gangs. This leads into the very first rule of prison RP. Don’t piss off the prison gangs. Now, this rule serves as a guiding line. Not only is it a sure fire way to get your ass in trouble, it’s also wildly unrealistic. You are in their house and your character would be very aware of this. You are no longer on the streets and your character would quickly begin to understand that the guards are there to keep you in the jail, not to protect you from each other. However, this is and ends IC, OOCly the county jail has a strong OOC community. Leading to the second rule of prison RP. Always join the prison discord, participate in jail events. Upon entering prison on GTAW, request an invite link to the inmate discord. Because of the wide variations in playtimes, it’s not always easy to have a set schedule. To work around this the LSSD discord has an inmate channel used for the OOC coordination of events like work details, canteen time and general RP around the cellblock. Many people make the mistake of never joining the discord and miss out on these events, leading to them getting the wrong impression about the jails RP. I actually recommend spending a longer amount of time in jail if it means you get to experience the events. Don’t RP a know it all. A lot of guys think because they are experienced street criminals, that their knowledge would transfer over to jail. This is just not true, your first time in prison is your first time in prison. It’s ok to admit this to others in prison and by doing so it lets the prison's lifer population give you the best experience possible. It’s ok to RP a newbie, they’ll show you the ropes IC. Chapter 8: Murder Murder is an inevitable part of the life, but it isn't like it is portrayed in the movies. There are quite a few things to know about ordering or performing a hit. So, first of all, every wiseguy knows that in today's world it is quite easy to get caught for killing someone and then you're off the street for a while. That's why it happens rarely these days, but when it has to happen, all cards have to be played perfectly. Ordering a hit: There are two main keys to ordering a hit. First off, who is the target. If the target's a made man, you must have a very strong reason for their death. If they're a petty associate that causes you issues? You still need permission, but it's far easier to acquire. Murder of a soldier or any rank above without the OK of the boss is a deadly sin, there is no way one can slither out of that. Once you've got the ability to get rid of someone, you need to pick who will do it. Usually it's an associate looking to prove himself, or a soldier who's ready to follow orders or is close to the target. When you order a hit, you have to be vague in case someone's listening and also you can't give any details to the assassin. Once you've given the order, your job's done. Performing a hit: You've been given an order to kill. So how do you go about it? This really depends on your character. If your character is street smart or smart in general, he will want to do it quietly and make sure the body's never ever found. If your character's a meathead who snorts a few lines to start his day he might actually do a messy murder that will land him in prison. If your character is paranoid, he might take tons of extra steps to make sure no evidence is left behind and after the job he'll still be going crazy that he might've skipped something. There are many ways of performing a hit and it's up to you and your creativity how to carry it out. Mental toll: One of the most eye-poking mistakes is mobster characters who are cold-blooded killers. Sure, there are those people that are complete psychopaths, but that comes with a cost too and it is difficult to even portray properly. You must really think about your character and his background when you consider what mental toll a murder will take on him. Killing a person in real life isn't like shooting an enemy in a video game. Depending on who your character murdered, he will most likely be having nightmares, maybe even develop a constant never-ending fear of getting caught, he might fall into depression, he might start taking drugs to numb the trauma of having to take a life. Roleplaying impacts of this is both good roleplay and good character development. Shelving: One of the most commonly used alternatives to solve internal issues without murder is to shelf people. Shelving means that once a mobster breaks the rules or upsets his superior, he is shunned from all of the family's activities. Fellow mobsters are ordered to not do any business with you, to not even talk to you. You're no longer connected and you mean nothing. Although, there have been many instances where mobsters are brought back in from their shelf periods. Remember, that in LCN factions you shouldn't go around murdering people - try ALL other alternatives first. It's insanely difficult to get away with a murder in 2021. Chapter 9: Modernization 90 percent of the information that you will stumble into about the mob online are heavily outdated. Especially documentaries. It is important for you to understand the modern-day LCN landscape. Even the dumbest of mafiosi know that they're being watched and that everything they do can be easily traced. Everyone in the life is trained on how to take basic measures to ward away attention. Even the schemes themselves have changed. Mafia went from running numbers on the streets into online casinos, from driving around with a few hookers in the car to craigslist adverts for "escorts" and more! When thinking of a scheme, carefully think out if that scheme would work in 2021 and what's the most modern way of doing it? What's the safest way? Chapter 10: Applying the knowledge It is important to note that considering the fact LCN is a criminal society, there are no handbooks being handed out to new members. When criminals get hooked up with the mob, they don’t know every single mechanic until way later. How do they learn? Through experience. Nobody tells you what’s right or wrong, outside of the criminal’s mentors as well as the higher ranking members while you are an associate. While in some instances criminals do read internet sources as well as books on the topic of LCN, a lot of them come into the game by a learn-as-you-go method. Therefore, you should take into account the learning process for your character. Another important thing to note is that generally, RPing a know-it-all is mostly frowned upon by most mob factions and you should make your character a real living, breathing person. USEFUL LINKS: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/nyregion/10mob.html https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/10-bronx-and-westchester-based-members-and-associates-gambino-crime-family-indicted https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/seven-members-and-associates-gambino-and-bonanno-crime-families-indicted-racketeering https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2uSLdAAa4UEp_3ZpFElgfA/videos https://aboutthemafia.com/ http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=8&page=1 http://theblackhand.club/forum/ https://thenewyorkmafia.com/ CREDITS: @Copa Cabana; @Flow; @Henning;
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  14. 18st Gang Overview The Barrio 18, also known by the nicknames Mara 18, La 18 or 18th Street Gang is a large Mexican & Central American street gang that was originally founded by Chicano & Honduran street gang members in the Koreatown area of Los Santos in the mid to late 1950s. The Mexican American street gang members in question identified as Chicanos and were disaffected members of a local SureΓ±o street gang, the Clantone 14 gang. These disaffected members of the Barrio 18 gang left Clantone 14 when the latter refused to allow Central American immigrants into their street gang in favour of keeping their membership based strictly towards Mexican Americans and the Chicano subculture. These events led to the formation of the Barrio 18 gang and the longstanding rivalry with Clantone 14 that still exists today. The creation of the 18th Street gang was not accepted by other SureΓ±o street gang sets or Maravilla street gang sets within Little Seoul, South Central and East Los Santos. Thus, throughout the remainder of the 1960s and most of the 1970s, it was engaged in street gang warfare in the streets in order to establish itself within the city. In order to bolster its rank and file, it pursued its policy of recruiting Latin American immigrants and non-Latinos throughout the 1970s. This policy of recruiting Latin American immigrants and non-Latinos effectively made the 18th Street Gang one of the first large multiracial and multi-ethnic street gangs in all of Los Santos. Come the mid 1970s, the 18th Street gang were well on their way to becoming entrenched within the street gang underworld of Los Santos and by the turn of the decade, this aim had been accomplished. In 1978 and 1979, its presence in Murietta Valley, South Central Los Santos and Western Los Santos was officially noted by the police. The Barrio 18 saw a vast influx of Central Americans joining up with its rank and file in the 1980s through to the 1990s. These Central Americans primarily came to the Latino American and African American slums of West Los, South Central and East Los Santos from the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras though a considerable amount came from Nicaragua. These Central American war refugees and socioeconomic immigrants mostly either joined with the Barrio 18 gang or the newly formed Mara Salvatrucha, though a minority of them joined the SureΓ±os and Maravilla despite the latter two being reluctant to accept them. The barbaric nature of the proxy wars and civil wars in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua created brutal street gang warfare in the streets of Los Santos and helped both the 18th Street Gang and the Mara Salvatrucha attain their high level of notoriety for barbarism that they're so well known for today. Throughout the 1980's the Barrio 18 found a common ally in the newly formed Mara Salvatrucha Stoners. Amused by the wildness of the new 'Stoners' on the block, the Barrio 18 began inviting them to their parties, schooling them on how to carry themselves and how to be taken more seriously by the other street gangs, who didn't take too kindly to non Chicanos at the time. Over time the two gangs bonded, even working together to fight rival street gangs such as their lifelong enemies in Clantone 14 or the Drifters 13 (DFS) and Playboys 13 (PBS) gangs. Despite this, over time the two gangs' relationship began to crumble. The memory of what happened was hazy, but some stories say that the MS-13 was moving in on 18th Street territory and had allegedly kidnapped some of the 18th Street Gang's prostitutes. A more accurate tells of a drunken dispute between gangbangers at a party, in which a young but highly respected Mara Stoner was beaten to death in an alleyway. Regardless of the circumstance, a vicious gang war had started between the MS-13 and 18th Street Gangs in Little Seoul by the start of the 1990's. All throughout the 2000's leading up to 2020, the 18th Street gang have spread across the west coast of the United States and elsewhere within the country. It is known to operate in the form of street gang sets throughout various cities in states such as San Andreas, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Alderney, Liberty State, West Virginia and Washington D.C. It has a more covert and organized presence in Illinois, Liberty City, Alderney and Philadelphia. Because of deportations of its members back to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua which have taken place since the 1990s and 2000s, it has spread throughout Mexico and Central America as a result. It has a strong presence in Northern Mexico, Southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. It has a smaller yet just as powerful presence in Nicaragua with smaller pockets of the street gang's influence being found in Belize and Costa Rica. Throughout Central America, where the 18th Street Gang is known simply as Barrio 18 or Mara 18 split into two seperate categories. The Mara 18 Revolutionaries and the Mara 18 Surenos. Both groups are at odds with eachother along with with smaller Central American barrios such as La Mao Mao, La Mirada Locos, Mara Maquina along with its lifelong bitter rivalry with the Mara Salvatrucha and its respective programs, which vastly outnumber the Mara 18. In the states in which it operates, its most noteworthy enemies consist of the Mara Salvatrucha, some SureΓ±o sets, the NorteΓ±os, the Bloods and the Crips. Other lesser known enemies include Midwest and east coast street gangs such as the Latin Kings, Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples, Dominicans Don't Play, Salvadoran With Pride, Trinitarios, Γ‘etas and the Zoe Pound gang. The Barrio 18 gang is known for infighting outside of Los Santos and outside of the Southern San Andreas county of Blaine County. Infighting is common in Northern San Andreas and in other states in which it has a presence, be it in the form of street gang sets or more covert and organized. The only time that street gang rivalries and infighting are put aside is when Barrio 18 gang members are incarcerated in state and or federal prisons that have a presence of the Mexican Mafia (eMe). 18 Streeters are considered by the Mexican Mafia to be SureΓ±os in state and federal prisons and out in the streets. Thus, their sets in the streets pay taxes to the Mexican Mafia. The Mexican Mafia can call upon Barrio 18 gang members to assist in their criminal activities in the streets as well as in state and federal prisons whenever they see fit. 18th Street Decker Park Locos The 18th Street Decker Park Locos (18 DPLS) is a medium sized clique of the Barrio 18 Gang that operates on the northern portion of Ginger Street and around Decker Street in Northern Little Seoul. This particular Barrio 18 clique traces its history back to the early 1970s, when Central American teenagers formed it as a tagger crew called Decker Park Locos (DPLS). In 1978, they became a part of the 18th Street gang in Los Santos and started calling themselves the 18 Decker Park Locos (18DPLS). While in the transition to a set of the 18th Street gang, they became one of the main distributors of illicit narcotics such as heroin and crack cocaine in the whole Westside district. Almost solely because of their various prolific crimes, they were at one point, considered one of the most active 18th Street gang sets in the Westside district until the late 1990s. On March 20, 1997, the Los Santos Police Department's Gang & Narcotics Unit started a month long injunction on the 18th Street Vinewood Gangsters. This netted 17 arrests for numerous crimes that primarily included drugs, weapons, thefts and murders. 15 gang members were convicted in a criminal state court over the course of the 2000's; The remaining 2 gang members were deported back to their native countries in Central America. This included the Decker Park clique's top shotcaller, Josue β€œDemon” Orejon. It was alleged during the criminal trial that Orejon was a prospective member of the Mexican Mafia (La eMe) in the streets. A month after his deportation to his native Nicaragua, Buitrago was shot to death in a suburban Managua supermarket, thought to have been the victim of an armed robbery gone wrong. They were additionally involved in numerous business extortions, truck hijackings, stolen firearm sales and premeditated murders. Clashes with rival street gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha and the Clantone 14 Gang have broken out since the late 1980s. These clashes have claimed the lives of well over 50 street gang members, 4 police officers and several dozen innocent people over the course of 3 decades. During the early 2000s, the set successfully rebuilt itself amid heightened police scrutiny and violent pressure from rival gangs. Throughout the remainder of the mid to late 2000s, the clique tended to mainly rely on assistance from neighbouring 18th Street cliques such as the Calais Lil Cycos (18CLCS) and the Grand View Locos (18GVLS) in matters of settling disputes with rival gangs and recruiting new youths. This forged a very close relationship between the various 18th Street cliques across K-Town and in the nearby Strawberry neighbourhood that still exists to this day. As of the late 2010s, the clique is considered to be completely independent from the influence of other 18th Street cliques. Although a number of their members are currently serving lengthy incarcerations in the San Andreas penal system, they continue to remain quite active in the suburb. Presently the 18th Street Decker Park Locos are involved in an uneasy truce with the Mara Salvatrucha Palomino Locos (MS PLS) clique and have been since 2005 when gang wars broke out in Little Seoul involving several MS-13 cliques going rogue against, causing temporary ceasefires to be put in place amongst various West Los Santos Hispanic gangs. While there hasn't been any serious bloodshed between 18 DPLS and MS PLS, an uneasy attitude towards eachother and a bitter hatred continues to be held towards the other side. The 18th Street Decker Park Locos have a long history of fighting other Sureno and also African American gangs throughout West Los, South Central and East Los. Presently they are involved in vicious rivalries with various Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) cliques, Barrio Rockford Locos (RFLS), Ghetto BoyZ 27 (GBZ), Harpys 13 (HPS), Culver City Boyz 13 (CCB), Playboy Surenos 13 (PBS), Easy Riders 13 (ERS), Drifters 13 (DFS), Crazy Riders 13 (CRS) along with the African American Rollin 20's Neighborhood Bloods (RTB), Mid City Stoners (MCS), Carnales 13 (CNS), various Crip, Brim & Piru street gangs along with the Black P Stones (BPS).
    2 points
  15. As the title suggests- Car dealerships leaving their vehicles spawned when they are not there roleplaying or selling whatsoever is a common occurrence. Not only does this completely stunt the use of the parking lots they often claim as their "private property" (Despite being told otherwise by Property Management), it causes a great deal of framerate issues for those with lower-end PCs, and even crashes upon loading in since the game has to load in so many different vehicle models at once, unlike a trucker depot that's mostly all the same thing. I've ran into this issue often- I own a business which has a lot next to it, and the dealership consistently spawns every vehicle they can, then leaves them there when they log off, rendering me entirely unable to use the parking area designated for the entire district my business is located in. I believe implementing a rule where dealerships need to despawn their cars when they log off or swap characters would be beneficial for nearby business owners and players as a whole, not having to load in so many assets (that don't even need to be there.) There's no reason for all these vehicles to be spawned and parked up if no-one is interacting with them whatsoever. This has tried to be resolved IC, multiple times, but it becomes an OOC issue when they log out. Example:
    2 points
  16. The fabled "how did you get the gun?" and that gun allegedly holding no relevance. The robberies I've been a part of (two) have been absolutely atrocious roleplay. The first one, I went out shooting, and despite injuring literally every party and killing one, their initial response was to loot the bodies, not even bothering to take care of their own injuries or anything of the sorts. One of the robbers had ten switchblades on him, and they rolled up on me on sports bikes. Naturally, the dead guy's gun went back to the dead guy after respawning. πŸ™„ πŸ™„ No roleplay regarding their severe injuries, just robo-looting and /b showitems despite doing a vague /me pats down. The second robbery happened in Paleto Bay, by characters from South LS rolling four-deep. Robbing a Detective (on duty, with a very visible badge) just because they saw me pass an ammu-nation. Naturally, they were very dissatisfied with the lack of weapons. The roleplay was, again, extremely poor. (Especially with them flying off the edge of a cliff just to keep evading so they don't lose their guns.) I'd definitely like the whole 40 hours minimum for serious felonies like so. It's always some alt with a gun they got from a friend or a gun that's not relevant at all.
    2 points
  17. I'm going to point something out real quick. If you notice those who are arguing about having a badge or status to claim some sort of superiority are those with the massive platinum/gold donator tags that had to be specifically added to their forum accounts. That's a little hypocritical, don't you think so?
    2 points
  18. Haile Selassie I, Address to the World Evangelical Congress in Berlin (28 October 1966) An OOC preamble: thank you for stopping by this thread. I must adress first and foremost that I am neither african/afro-descendant nor Rastafari IRL, nor do I have the personal cultural or personal understanding of the finer aspects of these beliefs. This is a resource compiled from my own personal reading in exploring Rastafari beliefs through and for Roleplay. I don't mean to misrepresent or pontificate, and responses are open to objections, corrections and healthy conversation about religion if desired. Introduction: a brief history and definitions of Rastafari Rastafari is a messianic, millenarian, decentralized abrahamic religion and social movement born in Jamaica during the 1930s, with Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as its central figure. Being decentralized, beliefs may vary, but some beliefs throughout the movement's history have included (among others): pan-africanism, black supremacism, orthodoxy (f.e. literal readings of the Old Testament), anti-colonialism (White Supremacy), anti-globalization, belief in the idea of the divinity of man ("God is man and man is God"), mysticism, ecologism and use of cannabis. Rastafari is not part of any Christian denomination per se even if it holds many similar views. Out of the major abrahamic religions it is generally most closely related to Judaism. Many Rastafari claim that the Twelve Tribes of Israel were black, and particularly traditional Rastafari could be described as an african form of Zionism. Many of these core beliefs are contained in the two main commandments of Rastafari: "Love of God and love of neighbor". messianic religion: any religion (mainly Abrahamic) that believes in a 'Messiah', or a central figure usually annointed by God (sometimes God in human form!) to lead or liberate a people. In early Rastafari the figure of Emperor Selassie I was widely believed to be a Messiah bringing liberation to the African diaspora (descendants of africans in other countries, particularly those descended from slavery). After his death, there was a split in the belief of Emperor Selassie I as a Messiah, but even those who contest this still regard the Emperor very highly as a divine prophet or a religious leader of tremendous importance and divinity. millenarian: believing in a Judgement Day. For Rastafari, this is often expected to represent the day that Babylon falls and the chosen ones rise from the upheaval. More on Babylon below. decentralized religion: meaning it has no central office or teachings. Rastafari have no central figures like the Pope in Catholicism, for example. abrahamic religion: Religions descended from the God that revealed itself to Abraham, be it through lineage or spirituality. Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the major Abrahamic religions. They share monotheistic belief in God, who is creator, judge, ruler and forgiver. Rastafari refer to the Abrahamic God ("Jehovah" as Jah). Marcus Garvey Rastafari has its roots in the philosophy of Marcus Garvey. Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born on the 17th of August 1887, in Jamaica. His teachings of black self empowerment are credited as being the sources behind the founding of the religion. Although Marcus Garvey never actually followed Rastafari or believed in it, he is considered to be one of the religion's prophets, because it was his ideologies that eventually grew into Rastafari. He believed that all black people should return to their rightful homeland Africa (in Rastafari often spoken of as repatriation), and was heavily involved in promoting the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which he founded in 1914. Many people believe that what Marcus Garvey said in 1920, ("Look to Africa, when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is at hand"), came true in 1930, when Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned the new Emperor of Ethiopia, and became known as Emperor Haile Selassie I. Haile Selassie I Rastafarians use Biblical names such as Lord of Lords, King of Kings and Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah for Haile Selassie. These terms had been used throughout history to describe Ethiopian Emperors, but with the crowning of Haile Selassie I they were seen as evidence that supported his divine status. Many Rastafarians trace Haile Selassie's lineage back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. They believe that the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon found in the Book of Kings (1 Kings 10:1-13) provides further proof of the divinity of Haile Selassie I. Rastafarians believe that King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba had sex during the visit, which led to the conception of a child who was in the same line of descendents as Haile Selassie I. To many Rastafarians this shows the divine nature of Haile Selassie, as Haile Selassie is therefore related to Solomon's father King David and therefore to Jesus. Emperor Selassie himself was a Christian and rejected all claims of divinity himself, admitting that he was in fact a mortal man, but many Rastafari only saw that as proof of his humbleness and purity of soul. Rastafarians regard 'Ethiopia' as their homeland and believe they will eventually return. During periods of colonisation Africans were divided up and sent to destinations throughout the world, in most cases as slaves to whites. This is why many Africans found themselves in Jamaica and why it is regarded by many Rastafarians as hell. 'Ethiopia', the homeland, was seen as a place of fond memories of freedom and life prior to oppression. This meant it eventually became regarded as heaven. To develop this belief Rastafarians refer to Psalm 137 v. 1: - Psalm 137 Zion and Babylon Throughout the years the concepts of Zion and Babylon have evolved to represent different things, as Rastafari as a religion of the oppressed has very effectively used basic symbolism to capture a lot of meaning and feeling. In Rastafari, "Zion" stands for a utopian place of unity, peace and freedom, as opposed to "Babylon", the oppressing and exploiting system of the materialistic modern world and a place of evil. It proclaims Zion, as reference to Ethiopia, the original birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the movement calls to repatriation to Zion, the Promised Land and Heaven on Earth. Some Rastafari believe themselves to represent the real Children of Israel in modern times, and their goal is to repatriate to Ethiopia, or to Zion, referring to the Jewish held captive in the ancient city of Babylon. Babylon represents the antithesis to Zion, it's the Status Quo or the Establishment, in general terms. It was historically the White colonial world, but the concept has now extended itself to generally encompass globalized capitalist consumerist society. Babylon is actively wicked and oppressive, and seeks to chain those living within it and keep them from spiritual, personal and material development. The police is often cited as an institution in service of Babylon. Work In Progress, come again soon!
    2 points
  19. Good to see more people interested in brewing RP! The short answer to your question is that the people who are most interested in buying your craft beer and craft liquor/moonshine are probably going to be the liquor stores, because that's what is used to stock their inventory. You're pretty much free to roleplay your craft beer as being any style of beer, your craft liquor as being any style of liquor, and your moonshine as being... well, moonshine--or any real spirit. If you're roleplaying it in the production properly, you can roleplay the outcome with a lot of freedom. I'll get into a longer answer here and please don't take it as me accusing you in particular, but as someone who puts a lot of effort into craft liquor RP it's something which is a subject of passion to me, and it's where I see a lot of people who just treat the brewing system as a way to make some quick extra money. The roleplay around the sale of your liquor is really where the creativity of the role shines. After considering how your character even learned to brew and why they're doing it in the first place, you should be considering how your character made this stuff, how they're packaging it, and how they're presenting it. Realistically, very few bars, night clubs, or liquor stores would be interested in buying home-made liquor from someone because they have no guarantees about the quality or hygiene of the product. We don't know what your process looks like. We don't know what your equipment or technique looks like. And chances are good, the reality of it is that your character is brewing on improvised equipment in a non-sterile environment. This has a major impact on the flavor of the product that you're making, and I am not exaggerating when I say that poorly made liquor can literally kill someone who drinks it. It's a little bit power-gamey for your character to set up a moonshine still in the middle of the wilderness and make beer there, and then gather that beer out of what is essentially a 40-gallon plastic drum, do no roleplay about how this is even canned/bottled/jarred, no roleplay about how it's stored and kept from spoiling, and then approach bars saying "I have an excellent beer to sell you!" It is also power-gamey for your character to make hundreds and hundreds of units of liquor a day with what is essentially just a DIY jury-rigged kit; a regular guy who just decides to start brewing at home is going to be making enough beer for him and his friends to drink with weeks of effort, not enough to supply bars/clubs/liquor stores every day. That being said, do some research about how liquor is made. It's not that distilling liquor is necessarily hard--a lot of "hillbillies" make liquor IRL after all and people have been doing it for thousands of years--but it does require some knowledge, and if you want to make a product that won't explode or kill your customers/make them very sick, it requires precision. Distilling liquor is much harder than fermenting/brewing beer. Brewing a delicious beer is very difficult and requires lots of unpleasant trial and error until you find a balance of malt, hops, yeast, fermenting time, temperature, and so on that makes it taste good and not just someone farted into spoiled kvass. You cannot, as an individual, just "make" whiskey. Whiskey, by its very definition, is aged in a barrel under stable temperatures and humidity for a number of years. So if you're working at a moonshine still and roleplay that you just made some good whiskey, that is actually powergaming. It is impossible to just "make" whiskey. You can make a clear grain spirit. That's vodka. You can make "fake" whiskey by adding coloring and flavor to your vodka/moonshine, and then ICly lie to people that you make good whiskey. Of course, just about anyone will be able to taste the difference. Here are some ideas! Find an existing brewery (there are four that I know of) to work in as a brewer. This will allow your character access to a facility and equipment, probably give them means to package their product, and a legitimate avenue to sell this to business in a realistic way. Roleplay as someone who makes home-made beer/spirit, but realistically sell it as a home-made beer/spirit. You're selling a product you hand-made with passion. You might even think it's good! But realistically RP the limitations you're facing without the benefit of a full operation. Sell it to seedier bars (especially ones out in Sandy Shores) for a steep discount against their competition. Be scrappy. RP the struggle and the passion. And then build up from there--maybe your character starts getting a following for the shit they make at home, and it makes them enough money they can actually rent out a proper facility. Roleplay as someone who makes bootleg liquor and then sells it to individuals. So what, bars and night clubs have their liquor suppliers who sell them market-quality goods at an affordable rate. You'll get your own customers. Sell to people directly. Talk to people, get them interested in your liquor, and then tell them they can buy it from you by the jug. This realistically solves your issue of packaging because while bars/night clubs won't want to buy jugs off of you, an individual would. This is the roleplay that I see the least of on this server in brewing, and which I think is missing. Most moonshiners in real life sell to individuals. They sell to friends, family, and locals. There is a lot of fun roleplay to be had from brewing, whether you're doing it as part of a full-scale brewery or you're an individual looking to make some cash. Just don't cut any corners and powergame doing things which are unrealistic for a home brewer.
    2 points
  20. 2 points
  21. Bullshit 엉터리 ε»’θ©±
    2 points
  22. Feature Showcase: Helicopter Camera Information To immerse the Air Support Division and all Government Air Divisions, a Camera-System has been implemented which allows the Operator of the Camera to fully turn and zoom the camera into desired spots. Furthermore, it allows the operator to lock the camera onto vehicles as well as to direct the now synchronized Helicopter Spotlight and utilize Nightvision-Filters. Press E whilst in a Law Enforcement Helicopter to activate the camera. The camera can only be operated by one person at a time. Move the Mouse and use the Scrollwheel to Rotate and Zoom. To lock on a vehicle, use LMB and RMB to unlock from the Target. Any obstacle between the locked laser and the vehicle will unlock it from the target. Use N to cycle through the Camera-Filters (Default, Nightvision). Use H to enable the Spotlight and point it in your desired direction, All Controls are compatible with your Controller. Only passengers can operate this camera. Spotlight The System now brings the benefit of a Spotlight which will (unlike the native Grand Theft Auto V one) work during Day and Night as well as be synchronized for every person seeing it. This is beneficial for directing Ground Units to a location or highlighting certain areas. Commands & Keys E - To use the Camera. Mouse / Scrollwheel - To look around and Zoom in. LMB - When over a vehicle with your camera-crosshair; to lock onto it. RMB - To unlock from a previously locked target. N - To switch through the camera modes. H - To enable the Spotlight.
    2 points
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