>(2/3)

"I know most of you have a dozen or so questions about the young...mutant man I just paid the same respect you'd show me. There's a lot for me to explain and a lot for me to hear about from that young man. For now, all I'm going to say is for every one of you to swallow that pit in your stomach, walk up to him, and pay him the same respect I've shown him that you show me: he's more than earned it."

A still silence fills the air.

The Maggia affiliates stare at their familial patriarch with bewilderment shining in their eyes.

You observe Silvio's standing form and wait to see if he will take any action against his unresponsive family or wait for them to do his bidding.

It'd be a pleasure to address this disrespect to yourself personally but you're curious as to how the old lion would handle this situation. Letting it slide will make him look weak despite appeasing his men and would count as a slight towards you, which you would never forget, so he'd obviously take some form of action. A scolding would probably dig deep considering the old man has done more for them than they have ever done for him but you'd hardly consider it enough. Drastic action would be too much for them and likely impossible considering Silvio's outnumbered but he could just order one of his men to execute someone who's not a made man of his as a lesson as well as a warning. Sofia's around, however, so he definitely wouldn't kill anyone.

The sound of metal chair legs scraping across marble breaks the silence, takes you out of your thoughts, and draws the attention of everyone else in the room.

Little Sofia Manfredi hops down from her poker table chair and gracefully strolls to you with a smug smile on her face.

You give a warm smile back before holding out the back of your left hand.

Sofia kneels and kisses the back of your left ring finger.

The room stares in silence at the sight of the little olive skinned girl paying her respects to the towering dark-golden-brown-skinned horned devil that is you.

Little Sofia stands back up and skips back to her poker table seat.

Not a minute later, several men and woman in formal attire rise from their seats to make their to you.

One by one they pay their respects and one by one groups of Maggia members rise to do the same.

A few minutes pass by until every Maggia affiliate in the lounge bar has paid you their respects.

You let out a pleased hum and look to Silvio when the last man has kissed the back of your ring finger.

>(3/3)

The old man is staring in his granddaughter's direction with a blank look on his face.

You walk up to him with your lieutenants guarding your sides and put a hand on his shoulder that brings his attention back to you.

"Let's go take a seat at the bar. I wonder if the bartender stocked up on my favorite since last time."

Silvio blinks at you and sighs.

"...Yeah, let's."

The four of you walk to the relatively empty bar and sit down with your lieutenants to your right and Silvio in the stool to your left.

You turn your head to Silvio.

"Have you read the will?"

Silvio nods his head.

"I read it earlier when you brought it to me but I had to read it again to confirm what I saw was real, Don. You're the sole inheritor of all Wilson Fisk's legal assets and belongings with me written down as the executor of his will." A laugh escapes Silvio's lips. "I can't believe you actually put that down and got Wesley to sign it along with doctoring Fisk's signature on the thing. People who know my real relationship with Fisk wouldn't believe a damn word of the sentence confirming me as the executor. Fisk and I have been trying to kill each other for years. Speaking of which, that bit about your father being an old friend Kingpin wronged...that isn't a lie, is it? At least not exactly."

You stare into Silvio's grey eyes.

>[ ] "...What do you mean?"
>[ ] "...No, it isn't but my father was never Kingpin's friend."
>[ ] "...Did you know? When we first met, did you know who I really was?"
>[ ] "...Let's focus on Kingpin, don't you want to know how it went down?"
>[ ] "...Don't you want to know how I got Wesley to play along?"
>[ ] "...Before we dive into that or anything else, we should be talking about your status in my organization."
>[ ] "...Bartender! Drinks, now!"
>[ ] Write In.

>First Thread:
https://archived.moe/qst/thread/2424210/#2424210

>Previous Thread(s):
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=A%20New%20Mutant%20Quest

>Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/r4mTphVV

>>2905556
>[ ] "...No, it isn't but my father was never Kingpin's friend, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."
>[ ] "...Before we dive into that or anything else, we should be talking about your status in my organization."

Nice to see you back boss!

>>2905556
>[ ] "...No, it isn't but my father was never Kingpin's friend, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."
>[ ] "...Before we dive into that or anything else, we should be talking about your status in my organization."
oh shit we back in this

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2905853
Good to be back

>[X] "...No, it isn't but my father was never Kingpin's friend, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."
>[X] "...Before we dive into that or anything else, we should be talking about your status in my organization."

>(1/2)

You really don't want to talk about your father right now. Telling Marcus the truth did next to nothing about your feelings towards the subject. Besides that, there are more important things to discuss.

"...No, it isn't but my father was never Kingpin's friend, but I'm sure you already knew that."

Silvio stares back into your eyes for a moment.

"I do now. When I first met you, I had this strange feeling that I knew you, Don. Hollow eyes, dark skin, and an understandable yet alien ruthlessness: I had a few nightmares about a man with those traits even after I got to know him." A laugh escapes Silvio's lips. "You'd think I'd be so used to running for my life that one incident shouldn't have mattered as much but it did. It's one thing to hear stories about a man tearing his way through an army to reach you and another to see him do it in person. When you told me your name, I thought nothing of it. Reyes is a common Latino name and a lot of mixed people like yourself tend to have two different ethnic names. It was only until I read the will did I realize who you were. I should have seen it sooner but my old age has been getting the better of me as of late."

You sigh.

"...Before we dive into that or anything else, we should be talking about your status in my organization."

>(2/2)

Silvio hums.

"Yes, we should. I have no fantasies of being an independent power from you or being made your right hand: you have an army better armed than mine and I have only just barely joined you. Feel free to help yourself to Hammerhead's territory after Lonnie's taken care of him. I only ask that you let me keep his family's men in my side of your organization. As for my personal status in your organization, I suspect you'll keep me on as a lieutenant of sorts equivalent to a caporegime. I don't know if you have a councilor advising you but I could take role if you wish or want to have that as a position."

A curious hum of your own rumbles in your throat.

He's not asking for much in terms of status but he wants most of Brooklyn to himself. Hammerhead's men are likely to rebel against you if you decide to keep them so letting Silvio have them wouldn't be a bad thing. You can keep him on as a councilor or a consigliere of sorts and give him some organizational power or just have him be your personal councilor. Doesn't seem like he'll care much if you choose to do so or not. Might be good to have him advising you though considering his experience.

You turn to your right and see your right-hands with thoughtful looks on their faces.

>[ ] "I think we should discuss the actual structure or lack there of in my organization before I decide on anything to do with your family and the New York Maggia."
>[ ] "You get everything you're asking for but I don't need you as my councilor."
>[ ] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor with no power over anything you don't directly control whatsoever."
>[ ] "Domain over one in four of New York's boroughs is a bit too much, don't you think? Let's say you keep half of Brooklyn under your control."
>[ ] "Hammerhead's men and turf go to me."
>[ ] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor and official fourth-in-command behind Ren and Marcus respectfully. I don't need to tell you what will happen if you abuse your power or my trust."
>[ ] "You say you don't have thoughts of being my second-in-command but you want to be my councilor?"
>[ ] "What do you two think?"
>[ ] "Bartender! Drinks, now!"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2906175
>[ ] Turn to Ren and Marcus. "What do you two think?"
This not only shows Silvio that we have absolute trust in Ren and Marcus in matters like this, but it also shows Ren and Marcus that we value their input at times like this.
The choice ultimately comes down to us regardless, but it's the thought that counts.

>>2906175
Oh, and also
>[ ] "You say you don't have thoughts of being my second-in-command but you want to be my councilor?"
before doing >>2906202
Seeing through his contradiction should be just enough sliiiiiight domination for this meeting on top of the respect gestures. Either way I still want Ren and Marcus' input on this before we have the last word.

>>2906175
I'll second >>2906202 >>2906210

But I do definitely want him as a councilor. You don't get old in the game without knowing what you're doing.

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2906340
>Voting closed
Fine, I'll lurk then.
Seriously, though. My timing with this is damn comedic.
I'm the same anon that vote anyway a couple times, just to be cheeky.

>[X] "You say you don't have thoughts of being my second-in-command but you want to be my councilor?"
>[X] "What do you two think?"

>(1/3)

You wouldn't mind having Silvermane himself serving as your councilor but his claims of not wanting to be your second-in-command are suspect when he's asking for that position associated with the third-in-command of the Mafia and Maggia.

Turning back to your left, you give Silvio a look.

"You say you don't have thoughts of being my second-in-command but you want to be my councilor?"

Silvio chuckles.

"Assuming you have one, it doesn't necessarily have to be a position of power. I would be grateful if you chose me to be it either way. You're young, Don. There's a lot you already know but a lot more you can learn. For all you have in intelligence and power, you lack wisdom. I can help you by advising you on matters if you want me to. With what you've accomplished in just two days, I don't doubt that you'll make due without my advice but I'd like to impart all I can to someone who can use it before I die." A warm glow shines in his gray eyes. "Sofia is too young and all I have left of my children: I can't let her lose her life like her father."

You blink at the old man.

>(2/3)

He seems to be telling you the truth: all he wants to do is council you. Despite what he wants, he probably knows as much as you do that Sofia has no way out of this life wherever she goes. The Maggia is as wide-spread as any other criminal syndicate; they might be all but gone in New York but there'd still be plenty in the world. All a world-prancing Sofia needs to do is run across one Maggia soldier with dreams of grandeur and a large enough crew who'd forcibly marry her for some sort of claim on New York, however fucking worthless those are these days. Little Sofia's safe under your rule and going to be for as long as you decide she'd be around, which is going to be a long time considering the way she got every one of Silvio's men to pay their respects to you.

You turn back to a surprised Marcus and Ren.

"What do you two think?"

Marcus, sitting closest to you, goes first.

"I think we should accept his offer, Kojo. I'm not sure whether he should be a councilor with power or not, though. He could step in for whenever Ren and I can't but at the same time, like he said, he's just barely joined up with us: the boys probably aren't going to answer well to someone they don't know, respect, or understand as their definition of an OG. Either way, we have a former crime kingpin with over half a century of experience on call for whatever situation we might need help in. As for turf and Hammerhead's men, I say we let him keep Brooklyn and Hammerhead's boys. We can manage one borough, not all of them, and so long as Silvio pays his dues and fulfills his responsibilities to the crew he's cool; besides, we're going to need more blood with our level of experience managing the other boroughs. Hammerhead's men are gonna be nothing but a headache trying to get them to conform to our way. They'll be better off in Silvio's side of things." He leans back on his stool to stretch himself out and give the girl to his right line of sight to you.

Ren goes last.

"I agree with Marcus, Reyes-sama, but I think you should have Silvermane as a councilor without power: he does not know you and you do not know him. His experience may prove invaluable but there is always the possibility he might take advantage of his position to feed you misinformation or poison the men against you. Take his advice with a grain of salt and keep him on a short leash. I am unsure if it wise for you let him keep Brooklyn to himself. On one hand, it will appease him and endear you to him as well as take care of a management position for a borough. In the other, it will give him a vital portion of the city. Hammerhead's men are better off under his control than yours but that will give him more soldiers to add to his army. I can see only upsides and downsides to these decisions that cancel each other out."

>(3/3)

A hum rumbles in your throat.

They both have good points and Ren is right: there's no real right or wrong answer here, as there really never is. Her being standoffish is understandable.

You turn back to an amused looking Silvio.

>[ ] "...What?"
>[ ] "I think we should discuss the actual structure or lack there of in my organization before I decide on anything to do with your family and the New York Maggia."
>[ ] "You get everything you're asking for but I don't need you as my councilor."
>[ ] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor with no power over anything you don't directly control whatsoever."
>[ ] "Domain over one in four of New York's boroughs is a bit too much, don't you think? Let's say you keep half of Brooklyn under your control."
>[ ] "Hammerhead's men and turf go to me."
>[ ] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor and official fourth-in-command behind Ren and Marcus respectfully. I don't need to tell you what will happen if you abuse your power or my trust."
>[ ] "Bartender! Drinks, please. We need something to get our thoughts going."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2906590
>[ ] Give equally amused look back at Silvio. Things are going smoothly enough, humoring him won't be so bad.
>[ ] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor with no power over anything you don't directly control whatsoever."
>[ ] "And now that that's settled... Bartender! Drinks, please! I hope you remembered to stock up on my usual favorite..." Wolfish grin at potentially-spooked bartender - unless it turns out he's ridiculously competent and expected this to happen, what with you dropping in as much as you did these past couple days.

>>2906590
>[ ] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor and official fourth-in-command behind Ren and Marcus respectfully. I don't need to tell you what will happen if you abuse your power or my trust."
Although
>[ ] "I think we should discuss the actual structure or lack there of in my organization before I decide on anything to do with your family and the New York Maggia."
Basically let him know that's what the plan is but we need to discuss some restructuring first.

>>2906590
>>2906608
>>[X] Give equally amused look back at Silvio. Things are going smoothly enough, humoring him won't be so bad.
>>[X] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor with no power over anything you don't directly control whatsoever."
>>[X] "And now that that's settled... Bartender! Drinks, please! I hope you remembered to stock up on my usual favorite..." Wolfish grin at potentially-spooked bartender - unless it turns out he's ridiculously competent and expected this to happen, what with you dropping in as much as you did these past couple days.

>>2906611
>official fourth-in-command behind Ren and Marcus respectfully.
I'm afraid ambitious Maggia might try to off Ren and Marcus to raise Silvermane's status.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Give an equally amused look back at Silvio. Things are going smoothly enough, humoring him won't be so bad.
>[X] "Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor with no power over anything you don't directly control whatsoever."
>[X] "And now that that's settled...Bartender! Drinks, please! I hope you remembered to stock up on my usual favorite..."

>(1/2)

Silvio's ideas and proposals are reasonable. Marcus and Ren both have their views on the ups and downs of his consulship and the downs of a counseling position with power outweigh the ups of one with none. You don't know what the old man finds so amusing but you'll play along and celebrate the occasion with a drink.

A grin spreads across your face.

Silvio chuckles.

"That girl's protective of you, Don."

You blink all three of your eyes at Silvio as a loud slam reverberates through the bar counter and air. Turning to your right, you see Marcus looking at the same thing you are: a red-faced Ren with her head buried in the counter.

Another laugh from Silvio draws your gaze back to him.

"That's something she needs to get a hold of but keep her close to you: woman like that are hard to come by."

You let out a laugh of your own.

"Alright, you get Hammerhead's men, I get the rest of Queens, you keep Brooklyn as my lieutenant, and you get to be my personal councilor with no power over anything you don't directly control whatsoever."

Silvio hums.

"Good. I'm sure your lady friend will be pleased."

"Nope!" Marcus shouts out.

>(2/2)

You look to your right and see your closest friend holding a struggling Ren in a one-armed headlock.

Marcus clucks his tongue.

"Ren, I have no idea what the fuck's wrong with you but I'm doing this for your own good."

Another laugh escapes your lips.

Marcus turns his head to you.

"Kojo, you mind telling me what the fuck is happening with this crazy bitch right now?"

You let out one last laugh.

"Ren gets that way when she's embarrassed; it's adorable."

The Japanese girl stops fighting against Marcus' grip and falls limp.

Marcus glances down at her before returning his gaze to you.

"I don't...What the...How the fu-...Ren?"

You smile and nod.

"Yup, give her a few minutes and she'll be up again. Don't tease her about it if you want to keep her from giving herself a concussion."

Marcus blinks.

"...Think I'm going need a few minutes to process this myself."

You grin and turn to the familiar, perplexed face of the barkeep.

"And now that that's settled...Bartender! Drinks, please! I hope you remembered to stock up on my usual favorite..."

The man nods his head and begins the process of making you your drink.

A few minutes later, he sets a margarita glass of your favorite drink on the counter in front of you and a shot of whiskey in front of Silvio.

>[ ] "...Now, let's talk about my father."
>[ ] "¡Salud!"(Translation: Cheers!)
>[ ] "Now, want to hear how Fisk died?"
>[ ] "Wanna know how I got Wesley to play ball?"
>[ ] "It's time to talk about my organizational structure or lack there of."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2906919
>[ ] "¡Salud!"(Translation: Cheers!)
>[ ] "It's time to talk about my organizational structure or lack there of."

Hold off on anything's regarding kingpin until we're a few drinks in. Important stuff first while still sober. Though I'm also partial to not saying anything about it since the less Silvio knows the better when he's inevitably questioned about the will.

>>2906919
>[ ] "¡Salud!"(Translation: Cheers!)
>[ ] "It's time to talk about my organizational structure or lack there of."
Then once we get that settled and after a few drinks in us
>[ ] "...Now, let's talk about my father."

>>2906919
>[ ] "¡Salud!"(Translation: Cheers!)
>[ ] "It's time to talk about my organizational structure or lack there of."

We should keep the details about kingpin to ourselves unless we're asked, even as the boss we don't want to be known as someone who runs their mouth, also remember this is incriminating stuff.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "¡Salud!"(Translation: Cheers!)
>[X] "It's time to talk about my organizational structure or lack there of."

>(1/2)

There's no need for you to talk about how things went down just yet and in such a crowded area. The Fazioli may be Maggia turf but word will still spread, jeopardizing your inheritance if it gets out. You need to reform your organizational structure and maybe delve into the subject of your father if you're still up for it after several drinks. First things first, the celebratory first drink.

You take hold of the margarita glass as Silvio takes hold of his shot glass before moving yours to him.

"¡Salud!"

Silvio smiles and puts his glass by yours.

"Salute!"

The two of you clink your drinks together and down them in one go.

Sighing, you set your empty glass on the counter.

"It's time to talk about my organizational structure or lack there of."

The old man sets down his empty glass.

"Did my council appointment bring your gang's structure into perspective or have you been thinking about it ever since you first made your move, Don?"

You shrug.

"I've been thinking about it ever since I convinced you to kneel, actually. There's no way I could keep you under me if I stuck with a street gang structure."

Silvio nods his head.

"I'm quite impressed that you've managed to hold onto and run an entire borough with a single street gang. How have you had it organized? I'm curious."

As you part your lips, the bartender refills your drink after having refilled Silvio's. You take the glass up to your lips and finish it in one gulp before setting it back down.

"I'm at the top of the pyramid with one of four lieutenants, representing four different major racial groups, as my right-hand. Recently, I've demoted my Latino and White representatives to an enforcer and my personal assassin respectively. Under them are my foot-soldiers, who answer to both my lieutenants and I. We all live in one place together but that's going to change soon. Our affiliates are members of our protection racket and tributary protectorates. Members of the protection racket are charged monthly while our tributaries are charged weekly. The tributaries aren't other gangs but really pimps and drug dealers ranging from small-time to moderately big-time. All of them have to follow the rules and guidelines I set to keep their business quiet or they get made an example of."

Silvio lifts his whiskey glass to his lips and takes a gulp.

"That's a lot more structure than you give yourself credit for, Don. Not good enough to run New York but I can see how you managed to run the Bronx. A close-knit multi-ethnic gang led by a multi-ethnic mutant with experience, power, and intellect would go a long way until they had to make changes. I'm assuming you demoted those two lieutenants because they weren't suited to be so in wake of your new rank. There's one last thing I'm curious about: why does your group have no name?"

>(2/2)

You shrug again.

"Never felt the need to have one. The crew know who they follow and what they are even without knowing my real name or being given one. I'm their boss and they accept that. They are mine and they understand that."

Silvio hums.

"Interesting, you make it sound like you're leading a cult. Maybe you could go on without giving your...our group a name but it's good to have one in this business especially when you're at the top of the food chain. I can understand the benefits of not having one, however."

A curious hum rumbles in your throat.

>[ ] "Los Reyes, nosotros somos Los Reyes."(Translation: The Kings, we are The Kings.)
>[ ] "The Kings, there; that's a name."
>[ ] "Los Reyes Cazadores."(Translation: The Hunter Kings.)
>[ ] "Los Reyes Diablos."(Translation: The Devil Kings.)
>[ ] "Los Luna Reyes."(Translation: The Moon Kings.)
>[ ] "The Monday Kings."
>[ ] "El Luna Diablo."(Translation: The Moon Devil/The Devil Moon.)
>[ ] "El Diablo Cazador."(Translation: The Devil Hunter/The Hunter Devil)
>[ ] "El Diablo."(Translation: The Devil.)
>[ ] "El Rey Diablo."(Translation: The King Devil.)
>[ ] "We stay nameless, that's how we stay one step ahead everyone."
>[ ] "Marcus. Ren. You two have any ideas?"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2907381
>Stay nameless

>>2907381
>Or the King Consortium

>>2907381
>[ ] "We stay nameless, that's how we stay one step ahead everyone."
Though Kojo knows deep in his heart that cool names are good shit when done right, he knows being vague and indiscernible is the key to victory and not fucking up or getting fucked up.

"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate."
>Sun fucking Tzu himself

>>2907381
>[ ] "We stay nameless, that's how we stay one step ahead everyone."

>>2907540
>>2907550
>Sun fucking Tzu himself
kojo instinct so killer he was born with knowledge of the art of war

File: 1518934976_321.png (39 KB, 964x646)

39 KB PNG

>>2907381
>>[X] "We stay nameless, that's how we stay one step ahead everyone."
At least for now, but yeah. The guys in charge don't really need a proper name. You do as you're told and you're fine.
Names help solidify your group against others. But our enemies won't be around long enough for it to matter.

I liked the names though. Especially, "El Rey Diablo"

>>2907550
>Sun fucking Tzu himself

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2907593
You didn't expect that to be a real Art of War quote did you? It is.
Kojo is truly THE baller minotaur devil of the concrete jungle labyrinths of NYC

>>2907593
Well I mean, kingpin probably read it and we seem to have his knowledge/memories.

>[X] "We stay nameless, that's how we stay one step ahead everyone."

>(1/2)

As much as you love badass names, picking one for your crew throws away one of your greatest advantages. Names give your enemies something to look for in place of nothing. There are dozens of names people have given you but none you've chosen for yourself and none that can fully describe all that is you.

"We stay nameless, that's how we stay one step ahead everyone."

Silvio accepts your decision with a nod and has a gulp of his whiskey.

"Let's start from the top of your pyramid, Don. You demoted two of your lieutenants so I assume the two you brought with you are each going to get one of the four boroughs that are left. I take it you'll keep Manhattan for yourself so that'll leave room for one more lieutenant to take the last one. Or you can split the other boroughs in half, if you wish, with Brooklyn being the exception to avoid having four powerful lieutenants in favor of one and six weaker lieutenants. It'd hardly be fair but you'd have an easier time staving off potential rebellions from the seat of Manhattan. Splitting the other boroughs into thirds and fourths would lead to having far too many lieutenants. Four lieutenants for the four other boroughs that are not Manhattan is the structure I'd recommend the most. Those two you brought with you are loyal and would die for you. Limiting their power would limit their ability to serve you."

You take hold of your refilled margarita glass and down all of it.

>(2/2)

"I could have told you that myself just as they could've. Problem with that is I'm not really planning on having either Marcus or Ren as lieutenants: the idea I have in mind is that they're going to be my second and third-in-command respectively. I'm going to be CEO of Fisk's company, which I'm totally renaming, and Marcus is going to be my COO; the public eye is going to be all over us especially because of Fisk's death. We'll take care of the not-so-legal side of things and step into the underworld to take care of business whenever we can or have to. Ren is going to be my under-boss leading the organization when us boys can't and taking care of business when we can't."

Silvio blinks at you before taking another gulp of his whiskey.

"That's a very interesting arrangement and a reasonable one. I forgot to take the public view that would be cast on you being Fisk's sole inheritor into account. I don't understand why you'd have your right hand take a public role but I'm sure you have your reasons. Only factors left unchecked would be the open lieutenant positions and the borough Ren herself would take control of. I suppose you can keep her situated in Manhattan but that would leave you with three open lieutenant positions instead of two."

A thoughtful hum rumbles in your throat.

>[ ] "Let's discuss how to organize the bottom of my pyramid."
>[ ] "I'll keep Manhattan for Marcus and myself; Ren can take the Bronx, we grew up there and she knows the people."
>[ ] "I'll keep Manhattan for Marcus and myself; Ren can take Queens, it's just as, if not more, diverse than the Bronx so she'll have an easy time adjusting."
>[ ] "I'll keep Manhattan for Marcus and myself; Ren can take Staten Island, there's more money to squeeze out from there than there is in the other two open boroughs."
>[ ] "Ren stays in Manhattan with us, it's best she remains close by for communication."
>[ ] "Do you have any recommendations to make lieutenants for the open positions?"
>[ ] "Ren, what borough would you like to rule over or do you want to stay close and help manage Manhattan?"
>[ ] "Marcus, what do you think?"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2908035
>Ren, Marcus, what boroughs do you want?
>What do both of you think

>>2908035

>>Ren, Marcus, what boroughs do you want?
>>What do both of you think

>>2908035
>>[X] "Ren, what borough would you like to rule over or do you want to stay close and help manage Manhattan?"
>>[X] "Marcus, what do you think?"
Thinking Ren should take the Bronx, but input is good. My assumptions are weak.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "Ren, Marcus, what boroughs do you want?"
>[X] "What do both of you think?"

>(1/2)

While the public view might be on Marcus, he could possibly manage a borough and fulfill his responsibilities to you on the legal side of things as well as the illegal side of things. It'd also limit the amount of open lieutenant positions to one. You don't care much about what boroughs are distributed to who so long as you keep Manhattan and the Bronx is given to someone you trust.

Turning to your right, you see Marcus smiling at a wide-eyed Ren.

"Ren, Marcus, what boroughs do you want?"

Marcus turns to you and joins Ren in the wide-eyedness.

"Kojo, I don't think I'm gonna be able to manage a borough while playing corporate officer. I can step in and handle things with Ren or in place of her when I can but the public eye is going to be over me too. You don't just replace a guy high up on the corporate ladder with some street rat with no last name or education and expect people not to ask questions."

You hum again.

"We won't know unless we try. Besides, I don't have anyone else with the skill or experience that can take leadership of a borough. Maybe you can find someone or mentor one of our boys to fit a lieutenant position or your own if things become too much to handle. For now, choose which borough you want."

Marcus lays in thought for a moment.

"Staten Island or the Bronx. Both are connected to Manhattan and I'll be either raking in cash managing Staten Island in the safety of a white sub-urban borough or keeping the streets we used to wander through as kids safe. I don't mind either one."

You blink at your best friend before turning to Ren.

"Which borough do you want, Ren?"

>(2/2)

The Japanese girl doesn't skip a beat.

"The Bronx, Reyes-sama. As Marcus said, I would be keeping the streets safe. I do not want things to ever revert to how they were before us."

You blink again at Ren and glance at Marcus before returning your gaze to Ren.

The Bronx was something you knew they cared for but you didn't know just how important it was to them.

"What do both of you think?"

Marcus shrugs.

"I'm cool with Ren running the Bronx. She's one of us and she can more than handle it. If you mean the right-hand and under-boss thing, well, you already know how I feel about that."

Ren glances at Marcus before turning to you.

"I have no need or desire for wealth, Reyes-sama, so I do not care if Marcus has dominion over Staten Island. I am more than happy to serve you from the Bronx and to fulfill my responsibilities towards you as your chosen under-boss."

You pick up your refilled margarita glass from the counter and down the drink with one gulp before setting it down for the bartender to refill again.

>[ ] "You both get the boroughs you want."
>[ ] "Marcus, you're right; you're staying and helping me with Manhattan. We'll find two other lieutenants for the last two boroughs."
>[ ] "Any of you have suggestions for the open lieutenant position?"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2908839
>[ ] "You both get the boroughs you want."
I'd say give Itsuki the last borough.

>>2908839
backing >>2908898

>>2908839
>[ ] "You both get the boroughs you want."

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2908837
>Maybe you can find someone or mentor one of our boys to fit a lieutenant position or your own
I was going to emphasize this.

>>2908898
>I'd say give Itsuki the last borough.
Also seconding this.

But, voting's closed.
Heh.

>[X] "You both get the boroughs you want."

>(1/2)

Their picks are reasonable and set in positions suited to reinforce your personal territory. Marcus might be or might not be able to manage Staten Island but only time will tell. You don't have broad selection of lieutenants to choose from so you can't keep the two of them in Manhattan with you.

"You both get the boroughs you want."

Marcus and Ren nod as you turn back to face Silvio.

Silvio finishes off his whiskey glass before setting it down.

"Interesting reasons behind those choices. All you need to do now is find someone suitable for Queens and divide the men you have now however you wish to between yourself, your two in-commands, and whoever you pick. Moving onto the bottom of your pyramid, integrate the tributary pimps into your organization. It won't be hard: they don't have enough men or enough resources to hire men willing to go against you. You can keep them unorganized and have them pay their individual dues to you or your lieutenants governing over the pimps to keep the risk of them coming together down in favor of going through the hassle of collecting from them individually. It's not too troublesome but you could be better off choosing one person from your gang or one pimp to govern over the others in each borough. My family directly controls prostitution in Brooklyn so you'll just have to worry about the other boroughs. Drug dealers are a more complicated issue. You could keep the street dealers as tributaries, meet with the distributors and talk of integration, or cut out the middle-man by meeting the makers themselves and set up your own drug dealing operation. Be warned, in all likelihood the makers are going to be cartel. I recommend keeping the street dealers as tributes or integrating low-level distributors before taking a step up. Anyone high up is going to be cartel or a major drug ring affiliate and you can't risk crossing or meeting with them until you get full control of New York City. I'm sure you can handle them but you'd be cutting off potential allies and risking public exposure by starting things off with a war."

>(2/2)

You hum before downing yet another refilled glass of your mezcal margarita.

He has the same idea you had about integrating the pimps but you gave no thought towards the drug trade. You've always had a loathing for narcotics ever since you could feel that emotion. They're a cheap way to control people, a pathetic method for people to escape their problems, as every other method is; and they attract the scourge of parasites that mooch off children. It'd be easy for you to sell them but hard to stomach the stench of it. At the very least, you can relish in the misery of those dumb enough to buy from you. Those who poison themselves with that shit deserve what they get. You'd also be flushing out all those parasites, which is another plus.

>[ ] "I'll integrate the pimps and keep them separated."
>[ ] "I've already made plans to put all the pimps under one answering to me, should probably check up on that when this is over."
>[ ] "The street dealers stay tributes, I don't need to get any further involved in the drug trade."
>[ ] "I'll shake down some small-time street dealers for a meet with their distributors."
>[ ] Write In.

This took longer than expected.

thinking of realistic yet not so complicated ways a criminal syndicate would be organized is hard

also, blue-balls hurt like a bitch

>>2909432
>[ ] "I've already made plans to put all the pimps under one answering to me, should probably check up on that when this is over."
>[ ] "I'll shake down some small-time street dealers for a meet with their distributors."

>>2909432
>[ ] "I've already made plans to put all the pimps under one answering to me, should probably check up on that when this is over."
>[ ] "I'll shake down some small-time street dealers for a meet with their distributors."

>>2909432
I'm thinking we should change up how the dealers work. Set up a code or something. Nothing dangerous to kids, things like that. Anyone who breaks it will get reported to the relevant hero (once we have the app in play).

>>2909726
I like this idea. KOJO KNOWS YOU in full effect.

Voting closed, writing now.
>>2909726
Kojo already has a code set in place, in the Bronx at least. I mentioned part of it back when you guys were tracking down Zebra Daddy.

>>2909816
Gotcha. Couldn't remember if it was brought up or not.

>[X] "I've already made plans to put all the pimps under one answering to me, should probably check up on that when this is over."
>[X] "I'll shake down some small-time street dealers for a meet with their distributors."

Your time is important and you can't waste it going place to place player to player collecting payments. Besides, you've already got Zebra Daddy getting the Bronx pimps together. The pimps in the other boroughs will likely be integrated the same way or not depending on how you feel they should. As for the drug trade, may as well: this way you can make your men loyal street dealers adhering to your rules. Bigger cut doesn't hurt either. Time will tell if you decide to dive in and meet with a cartel.

"I've already made plans to put all the pimps under one answering to me, should probably check up on that when this is over. I'll shake down some small-time street dealers for a meet with their distributors."

Silvio smiles.

"It's good you've made preparations for this. Thinking ahead will take you a long way, Don." His lips straighten into a thin line. "I suppose there's only one thing left for us to talk about."

A sigh escapes your lips before you down another serving of your margarita.

The bartender starts pouring more of it from the blender pitcher as soon as you set the glass down.

>[ ] "...And what would that be?"
>[ ] "...What did you know about my father."
>[ ] "...Nope, I'm going to go take care of Kingpin's vassals now before they realize what's happened. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "...Nope, I'm going to go have a celebratory workout using some muscle head from Harlem. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "...Nope. It was nice talking with you but we need to go home and make sure a party is properly supervised."
>[ ] "...Yes, I started a party without you. Wanna come with back to the gang base?"
>[ ] "Before we go, make sure you start a news conference after word of Kingpin's death spreads and present the will. I'll step in some time after and collect my inheritance."
>[ ] Grab the pitcher from the Bartender's hands and down the entire thing.
>[ ] Write In.

Most of the time spent writing this update was used thinking of any loose-ends i may have left out.

>>2910032
>thinking of any loose-ends i may have left out
Like any good QM should.

>>2910022
>[ ] "...What did you know about my father."
We can do the other options or stuff afterward or later on. Right now we need info from the old lion.
i-it's not like we give a fuck about our father's legacy o-or anything...

>>2910022
>>[X] "...What did you know about my father."
It's time.

>>2909726
>>2909810
>I like this idea. KOJO KNOWS YOU in full effect.
Indeed.

Also, when he eats your soul, KOJO REALLY KNOWS YOU

>>2910022
>[ ] "...What did you know about my father."

File: 198904d9a704d0f1f0c29223e(...).jpg (10 KB, 235x306)

10 KB JPG

>>2909438
>also, blue-balls hurt like a bitch

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "...What did you know about my father?"

>(1/2)

No use being coy or trying to drink away that feeling in your chest.

You need to hear what you can.

"...What did you know about my father?"

Silvio stares at you in silence for a moment before parting his lips.

"Augusto was a peculiar man, Don. He fought like a demon and shot like a cowboy with a side-job as a surgeon." He lets out a small laugh. "That man didn't seem to have any desires of his own or aspirations. He carried out whatever Kingpin ordered him to without argument, collected his money, and went home. It was like he was a machine with only one use."

A familiar, hollow feeling washes over you. The pounding in your chest slows to a stop and all the tension disappears. All that is you smolders away inside until only blackness remains. Your watchful gaze softens into a half-lidded stare.

Silvio widens his eyes at you and the scent of fear oozes out of his pores.

Blinking, everything you are returns to as it was before.

"...Huh, so he was like me at the time; I'm not remembering him wrong."

The old man relaxes, grabs hold of his refilled whiskey glass, and takes a drink.

"...There was one moment I recall that made me doubt Augusto was the man I thought he was. It was on the day after he was ordered to take my life. We were in his hospital room and he was at my mercy. I had no intentions of killing someone with such ability even if he killed so many of my men: he could've proven useful to me if he had lived long enough or approached me after he crossed Kingpin. I asked him how he, a man who cut his teeth in the Bronx, could fight the likes of Taskmaster to a draw." Silvio laughs. "Augusto smiled and said that in his youth he constantly fought with a mad bull he called his girlfriend to stay alive. She fought him in the streets, in restaurants, and in the sheets. He seemed so...happy recalling her." His eyes move from yours to the horns on your head. "...I really should have figured it out sooner."

A small laugh escapes your lips.

"You should have."

The two of you sit in silence and have another drink of your chosen alcohols.

>(2/2)

It seems as if no one really knew your father. Not you, not Silvio, not Dan, not Kingpin, and certainly not Wesley. The only one who could probably tell you who he was is your mother, who's death the cosmic manifestation of Death itself confirmed to you. Maybe finding someone who knew Thema would show some insight into who your father was but everyone from your parents' generation has either moved away from Hunts Point or died.

On the bright side, your father left you more than just a gun and knowledge of who your mother was: he left you with the same brand of mental illness he had that rendered you an emotionless puppet before your mutation.

...

Maybe your father really was just like you when you were a child but he felt happiness, anger, and protective of you, which would prove otherwise.

Maybe you were the way you used to be because of trauma, you lived through hell ever since you were an infant and remember seeing children your own age being raped, or because of that whole dying before you were even born thing, which might have actually had a supernatural effect on you since souls and death are real, instead of just inheriting it from your father's genes.

Maybe you are the way you are now because Charles Xavier looked into the abyss that was your mind and yours looked back into his, or dying again re-altered your soul instead of mommy dearest's super mutant genes canceling out daddy's shitty human genes.

Maybe it's a combination of everything.

You don't understand and probably never will no matter how much you want to.

You don't even understand how you went from daddy issues to this.

>[ ] "...Got anything you want to say or ask, Silvio?"
>[ ] "...I'm going to go take care of Kingpin's vassals now before they realize what's happened. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "...I'm going to go have a stress relieving workout using some muscle head from Harlem. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "...It was nice talking with you. We need to go home and make sure a party is properly supervised. Could you have someone drive us?"
>[ ] "...I started a party without you. Wanna come with back to the gang base?"
>[ ] "Before we go, make sure you start a news conference after word of Kingpin's death spreads and present the will. I'll step in some time after and collect my inheritance."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2910049
>i-it's not like we give a fuck about our father's legacy o-or anything...

...

ah, someone's finally pointed that out

>>2910642
>Anything else, bud
>Spread the news about kingpin
>And find me some people (tech expert, and mutant expert)

>>2910642
>[ ] "...Got anything you want to say or ask, Silvio?"

>>2910642
>[ ] "...Got anything you want to say or ask, Silvio?"

>>2910642
>>[X] "...Got anything you want to say or ask, Silvio?"
Got council?

>>2910642
>Kingpin's vassals
Am I forgetting about when we learned about these?

>>2910653
Oh hell, TSUN TSSSSSSSSSSSSSUN

>>2910642
>[x] "...Got anything you want to say or ask, Silvio?"

Late gonna go to bed, will update in morning.

>>2911208
Eh, you didn't learn so much as you naturally know from eating Kingpin's soul. Also, Diamondback from, like, three or four threads back.

>>2911275
Wait what's the deal with Kojo being dead before being born, and Kojo dying a second time to gain back emotions? I don't quite remember these

>>2911295
First(really third) meeting with death. She told you about it when she brought up being the first to hold you as a baby.

>>2911275
>naturally know from eating Kingpin's soul.
Ah. Duh. Yeah.

Voting closed, writing now

>[X] "...Got anything you want to say or ask, Silvio?"

As much as you want to go and either party off your stress or take it out on someone, you should at least see if the old man has anything left to say.

You sigh.

"...Got anything you want to say or ask, Silvio?"

The old man's eyes take on a warm glow.

"Don't let yourself be held down by your past or the past of others, Don. Come to terms with things and move on. The future is bright and we have one, you showed me that. For a long time, I've been waiting for the guillotine to fall down into my neck but you pulled me out of that rut, albeit unintentionally. Don't be like me and live in the past, whether it's dark times or your glory days."

You widen your eyes at the old man before looking down.

"...Easier said than done."

Silvio lets out a hum in agreement.

"But if you don't, it'll tear away at you inside for the rest of your life."

You raise your gaze back up to Silvio and stare at him in silence.

His words have merit and that glow in his eyes isn't the same as those bleeding hearts' pity.

It reminds you a lot of how your father first looked at you when he realized you were his son.

...

...

Seems like you're done here unless you have anything else to say or ask.

>[ ] "...Silvio, how does it feel like to be a father and a grandfather?"
>[ ] "...Family, what exactly is a family? I don't mean what the Maggia calls its different branches, I mean an actual family."
>[ ] "...Thank you, Silvio."
>[ ] "I'm going to go take care of Kingpin's vassals now before they realize what's happened. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "I'm going to go have a stress relieving workout using some muscle head from Harlem. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "Do you have anyone that can drive us home? I don't feel like carrying anyone back home or ever again."
>[ ] "A day or two from now, when word of Kingpin's death has become public knowledge, start a news conference and present the will. I'll step in immediately after or some time after that."
>[ ] "Find me some people knowledgeable about biology specializing in mutants and someone who can construct weaponry as well as body armor."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2912334
>[ ] "...Thank you, Silvio."
>[ ] "Find me some people knowledgeable about biology specializing in mutants and someone who can construct weaponry as well as body armor."

>>2912334
Backing >>2912339
Family questions aren't for right now. Gotta wait for more development later.

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2912403
>Family questions aren't for right now. Gotta wait for more development later.
yup, just added em in because kojo's having a moment of weakness and will likely never ask again until some shit happens or silvio gets close enough to us

>>2912495
Voting closed, lurking now.

>[X] "...Thank you, Silvio."
>[X] "Find me some people knowledgeable about biology specializing in mutants and someone who can construct weaponry as well as body armor."

>(1/2)

Now is not the time to ask the man about family no matter how much you want to: you don't know him personally, there are a lot of people around you, and it just doesn't feel right at the moment.

You do appreciate his advice, however.

"...Thank you, Silvio."

The old man smiles.

"No need for thanks, Don, I was just fulfilling my responsibilities to you as your councilor."

A laugh escapes your lips.

"Okay, I rescind my thank you. Good job on doing what you were supposed to do, Silvio."

Silvio chuckles.

"Thank you, Don. Now, is there anything more you feel we should discuss or anything you need from me?"

You let out a hum.

>(2/2)

There's nothing you really need but a few things that could prove useful. You don't quite understand the precise limitations of your mutant body or the properties it really has that make it so powerful yet fragile. There's bound to be a few underground biologists running shady experiments on mutants that can give insight into your own biology.

Besides that, there's also the matter of equipment. The Bratva provide paramilitary gear but that's not going to be enough to stand against the future age shit Hydra and SHIELD are capable of outfitting their men with. Both conflicts aren't likely to spiral into open war so it'd be good to keep buying Bratva gear for your foot-soldiers and keep a personal black-ops strike force of your most capable killers outfitted with future age shit of your own to systematically pick apart your enemies.

"Find me some people knowledgeable about biology specializing in mutants and someone who can construct weaponry as well as body armor."

Silvio nods his head.

"I'll do my best to find mutant specializing biologists but it's unlikely I'll turn up with anything, however, so don't get your hopes up, Don. As for a gear manufacturer, I'm assuming you mean someone that can construct high-tech equipment the Bratva can't supply you with. If so, I've heard a few rumors about a man who specializes in making such things. He's known for outfitting so called 'super villains' and is protected by them which is why I haven't made an effort to have him taken care of. I'll have him tracked down and give you his location or set a meeting between you and him if I can."

Another hum rumbles in your throat.

"I'm fine with just the manufacturer, if that's all you can get me."

"Is there anything else you need, Don?" Silvio asks.

You place a hand under your chin.

>[ ] "Actually, I forgot to ask you something. Have you ever heard of Hydra?"
>[ ] "The gear manufacturer, what's his name?"
>[ ] "I'm going to go take care of Kingpin's vassals now before they realize what's happened. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "I'm going to go have a stress relieving workout using some muscle head from Harlem. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
>[ ] "Do you have anyone that can drive us home? I don't feel like carrying anyone back home or ever again."
>[ ] "A day or two from now, when word of Kingpin's death has become public knowledge, start a news conference and present the will. I'll step in immediately after or some time after that to claim the inheritance."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2912656
>I'm going to go work out
>A day or two from now, press conference
>What's the gear guy's name

>>2912656
>>[X] "I'm going to go take care of Kingpin's vassals now before they realize what's happened. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."
I think Kojo's earned some fun.

Gonna wait for a tie-breaking vote instead of rolling. Kind of seems like a moderately important decision.

>>2913250
I'll back >>2912820 mainly because I want to make fighting Luke Cage for practice a thing.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "The gear manufacturer, what's his name?"
>[X] "A day or two from now, when word of Kingpin's death has become public knowledge, start a news conference and present the will. I'll step in immediately after or some time after that to claim the inheritance."
>[X] "I'm going to go have a stress relieving workout using some muscle head from Harlem. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."

>(1/2)

It's likely you're going to work closely with the gear guy so you may as well learn his name now.

"The gear manufacturer, what's his name?"

Silvio takes a gulp of his whiskey.

"He goes by the Tinkerer; basic street name, I know. Don't know his real one but I'm sure you'll learn it soon enough."

You groan.

It looks like you're going to be hearing a lot more stupid names in the future.

"...Still a better street name than Felon."

The old man raises an eyebrow at you and takes another drink of his whiskey.

"Anything else, Don?"

A hum rumbles in your throat.

You've already asked for all you might need but you forgot to discuss how exactly Silvio should handle his side of the inheritance scheme.

"A day or two from now, when word of Kingpin's death has become public knowledge, start a news conference and present the will. I'll step in immediately after or some time after that to claim the inheritance."

Silvio chuckles.

"Planning a grand unveiling of yourself to the world, are you? I suppose it's fitting to the situation. Life is more surreal than most people tend to realize. We do have costumed so called heroes and villains fighting one another almost once a week for the 'fate' of our city and Manhattan has been leveled so many times there's a specialized construction team that can rebuild all of it in a single month. I'm sure some people will be suspicious but everyone else is going to eat the story up and you'll be the talk of the town for a week to a month or so before an alien invasion happens."

You shoot Silvio a blank look.

"You're forgetting that I'm a mutant. Magneto went full mutie Jewish Nazi on Manhattan a few months ago but it's still being talked about today while no one can remember what happened to Genosha. For as long as I'm still around, people are going to be talking about me."

The old man blinks at you.

"...I completely forgot about all those things."

You laugh.

"And here I thought you were a racist."

Silvio chuckles again.

"Somewhat so, your horns just meld seamlessly with your hair whenever I look at you. Anything else you need, Don?"

You hum again.

>(2/2)

There's really nothing else you can think of other than some stress relief to get that you-just-killed-Kingpin attitude back; Silvio helped you kind of regain it but you've still got shit to work out. Your methods of stress relief are torturing, killing, star-gazing, strategizing, conquering, attaining power, hopping around, letting your powers loose, and fighting. There's nothing you can conquer right now, no one you want to torture, who's alive; no one left you want to kill that you can, the sun's still up, you don't know how to gain anymore power, you've done enough strategizing, hopping around isn't going to do it for you, you don't want to get the X-men up your ass, and you can't really fight anyone in a manner of which that would count as an actual fight instead of a slaughter.

But there is one person in a yellow shirt that comes to mind.

Grinning, you down your last margarita before turning in your seat and stepping down from your stool.

"I'm going to go have a stress relieving workout using some muscle head from Harlem. Have someone drive Marcus and Ren home, they'll tell you where."

"It'll be done, Don." Silvio says from your side.

You take a few steps to the Fazioli's entrance and glance back at the bar.

Marcus and Ren are both giving you concerned looks from their seats.

You wave goodbye at them before continuing onward to the entrance.

Sofia waves at you with her free hand as you pass by her poker table, a gesture you happily reciprocate.

Reaching the front door, you push it open with one hand and step out into the fresh air.

You take a deep breathe as you look up into the now auburn sky.

Night will fall in a few hours and by then Kingpin's vassals will have heard the news.

Yangsi Gonshi, Golden Tiger, the Dragon Lords, the Rivals, Black Mariah's Rat Pack, and Owl's gang.

Blinking, you turn to Manhattan's direction and scowl.

One or two you could understand but six fully unintegrated vassals is too much.

You can get the fight in with Cage now or dash through Manhattan one end to the other introducing yourself to Kingpin's vassals before they start tearing each other apart over his remains.

>[ ] Hop your way to Chinatown, it houses the bases of operations for the three triads that control the low end of Manhattan that's connected to Staten Island and Brooklyn.
>[ ] Make your way to Harlem and breeze past Chinatown, you can choose to fight Cage or talk with Diamondback and Cuda when you get there. The Triads are small-time trash that'll likely kill one another off and leave the turf open for you to sweep in, anyway.
>[ ] Make your way to Midtown and get to Mariah's warehouse. She's a drug grower, distributor, and dealer that uses kids to do all of it...
>[ ] Breeze past Chinatown and Harlem to Washington Heights. Owl's a super and possibly a mutant, that's the only interest you have in going after him because he is pathetic power-wise controlling just Washington Heights and Inwood.
>[ ] Write In.

oh god, four hours again

most of that time was spent thinking of suitable vassals kingpin would have

was tempted to add in big man and the enforcers but figured kingpin wouldn't tolerate big man and the enforcers would be with Kingpin

>>2914237
>>[X] Make your way to Harlem and breeze past Chinatown, you can choose to fight Cage or talk with Diamondback and Cuda when you get there. The Triads are small-time trash that'll likely kill one another off and leave the turf open for you to sweep in, anyway.

>>2914332
Ditto

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2914237
>[X] Make your way to Harlem and breeze past Chinatown, you can choose to fight Cage or talk with Diamondback and Cuda when you get there. The Triads are small-time trash that'll likely kill one another off and leave the turf open for you to sweep in, anyway.

Getting late, will update tomorrow morning either before or after my class.

One question before I get ready for bed, tho: what'dya think of Silvio and Kingpin's vassal situation?

oh wait that was two

>>2914698
I appreciate you and your late, inconsequential, votes.

>>2914761
I think Silvio's been cowed (but we should keep an eye on him), and we're going to have to review Kingpin's vassels on a case by case basis to see if we can find useable resources among them

>>2914761
What >>2914814 said
I feel like Silvio is skirting the line between based and okay. His character is great. He's been useful in providing us knowledge and greater world context that he's nice enough to keep alive - for the time being. I have no clue if he'll turn on us, though befriending his granddaughter will put a stop to that for sure.
As for the vassals, I have no clue what any of these are. We're definitely gonna slap the shit out of Black Mariah so she stops using kids. Go with that old "I grew up like shit as a kid, stop making other kids grow up like shit too." anti-villain mentality. It also fits Kojo IC because drugs are a shit method of control and power.
I'm curious about Owl's gang, whatever their deal is. Not to mention who the Rivals and the other three are (unless they're Triad sects, then they'll eat each other up on their own).

>[X] Make your way to Harlem and breeze past Chinatown, you can choose to fight Cage or talk with Diamondback and Cuda when you get there. The Triads are small-time trash that'll likely kill one another off and leave the turf open for you to sweep in, anyway.

>(1/2)

The triads are small time, Mariah isn't worth wasting your time, and Owl is a gnat. Diamondback's crew is the group most likely to sweep up the fat man's turf. You can get that fight in with Cage before meeting with Diamondback or vice versa. If Diamondback refuses to kneel or accept integration, you can probably get Cuda to join you in massacring the Rivals for the hell of it. The big black bastard wasn't so much loyal to Kingpin for the money but loyal to what being under Kingpin represented him as: one hard ass motherfucker.

You hop forward into the middle of the street before flipping backwards onto the roof of the Fazioli.

When your feet touch the lounge bar roof, you take off towards Manhattan.

It takes you two minutes to hop your way through Brooklyn and into lower Manhattan via the Manhattan bridge supports.

Kingpin let lower Manhattan remain evenly split by the three Chinatown triads because of their connections to the actual OG triads back in China: Wo Shing Wo, Sun Yee On, and Wo On Lok or Shui Fong. All three are given different kinds of support by the original triads in favor of getting their merchandise imported into the states but the original triads don't have much to lose if the three Chinatown triads are wiped out. The fat man would've done so and kept business with the original triads for a cut of their merchandise if they didn't loathe him for being backed by The Hand.

You land on a rooftop and blink.

Numerous memories that aren't yours flood into your mind.

>(2/2)

A groan escapes your lips.

"Just how many ancient secret societies are there and how the fuck is it that Fisk was connected to two of the motherfuckers?"

Shrugging off your thoughts of resurrecting ninja assassins, you focus on the immediate situation and continue making your way to Harlem.

A minute of rooftop hopping passes by until you reach Midtown.

Black Mariah doesn't have any actual turf to speak of. She supplied Kingpin with her custom made drugs only she knew the recipes for and in turn was allowed to operate in Manhattan so long as she paid dues to him. Apparently, she got her start in Harlem with the Rivals and moved down into the middle of Manhattan after she had a falling out with Cottonmouth, her ex-boyfriend who ordered that drive-by on Cage the other day. Mariah could take Kingpin's turf for herself but her and her kid soldiers would be slaughtered by the Rivals when they hear the news and decide to make their power grab.

It takes you three minutes to make your way through Midtown and the Upper East Side of Manhattan to East Harlem.

Harlem, being the shithole that it is, wasn't taken over by Kingpin because of the resources he'd have to spend on keeping his flag in place. The Rivals were already a thorn in Rigoletto's side before Kingpin killed him, opening an opportunity to take over all of Harlem that the Rivals immediately took. By keeping the Rivals as vassals, Kingpin got a percentage of the earnings from all criminal activity in Harlem without having to pay hazard fees he'd get from directly controlling the territory.

You can make your way to Harlem's Paradise, the Rivals hangout night club, or stop by Sylvia's to get a hold of Cage's scent and maybe have some dinner on his tab again.

>[ ] Hop to Sylvia's, the Rivals can wait.
>[ ] Hop to Harlem's Paradise, may as well get it over with.
>[ ] Breeze past Harlem to Owl's turf, you can easily break him and then finish your business in Harlem.
>[ ] Turn back and hop to Mariah's warehouse, maybe you can bring the Rivals Mariah's head as a gesture of good faith.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2916002
>>[X] Turn back and hop to Mariah's warehouse, maybe you can bring the Rivals Mariah's head as a gesture of good faith.
Bird in the hand is worth two in the cage.

>>2916002
Backing >>2916364

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2916002
>[ ] Turn back and hop to Mariah's warehouse, maybe you can bring the Rivals Mariah's head as a gesture of good faith.

Customary late, worthless post to let you know other people exist out there and agree with what's going on

>>2916593
I appreciate you.

honestly surprised people didn't jump straight to cage fight

>>2916618
Fun can wait, we need to take out Black Mariah

>[X] Turn back and hop to Mariah's warehouse, maybe you can bring the Rivals Mariah's head as a gesture of good faith.

You do have plenty of time on your hands and it might be better to settle things peacefully with Diamondback than offing him. Harlem's unstable and going to be a hassle to bring order to if you decide to eliminate the Rivals, but then again you did unify the Bronx so you could do it if you wanted to. Probably not worth the effort for how much you'll get out of it, though. At the very least, you'll just have the Rivals to worry about after this.

Turning back to face Midtown in mid-air, you take off from the next rooftop you land on back to the center of Manhattan.

It takes you another three minutes to return to Midtown.

You hop around blocks of skyscrapers until you land on the roof of your destination.

Two skyscrapers are by the warehouse and the building is connected to two other ones by opposite street curbs that obscure it from public view. Mariah's warehouse entrance is likely sealed off from the inside of the other buildings or they're fronts to conceal her drug operation. There's two alley's for each skyscraper separating them from the complex.

Besides location, Kingpin didn't bother learning the layout to make this even easier for you.

>[ ] Close all three of your eyes and take in the air through your nose.
>[ ] Jump down to the alleyway to your right.
>[ ] Jump down to the alleyway to your left.
>[ ] Collapse the roof beneath your feet.
>[ ] Peer out into the world with only your third eye.
>[ ] Sit down and project your soul from your body.
>[ ] Write In.

I feel like I overthink things. Like, I mean, who cares about the location of a warehouse in Manhattan but at the same time why the fuck is there a warehouse in the business central of the world where there could be a bunch of other shit? Maybe it's nothing but it feels like a weakness when it takes a lot of my time that could be spent writing.

>>2916697
>>[ ] Close all three of your eyes and take in the air through your nose.

Let's go with mundane senses first before scoping spiritually

>>2916813
Ditto, but let's check with both just to be sure

>>2916697
Backing >>2916817

>>2916710
Dude fucking relax. Maybe it's an old building holdover from decades ago, who knows? This quest is still good.

>>2916825
I know, I know.Just hard for me to despite how minor things really are.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Close all three of your eyes and take in the air through your nose.

As easy as it'd be to scout out the entire place with your third eye, you should at least check things out with your mundane senses first.

You drop onto all fours, close your three eyes, and take in the air through your nose.

The horrid scent of hallucinogenic drugs fills your nostrils.

Leaping back to your feet, you raise a hand to cover your nose and let out a snarl.

Most drugs smell horrible but the acid shit Mariah is brewing in there takes 1st place, in your informed opinion.

You couldn't make anything out through the horrid smell and it's quite possible that the air in the warehouse is toxic.

>[ ] Jump down to the alleyway to your right.
>[ ] Jump down to the alleyway to your left.
>[ ] Collapse the roof beneath your feet.
>[ ] Peer out into the world with only your third eye.
>[ ] Sit down and project your soul from your body.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2916999
>[ ] Peer out into the world with only your third eye.

Well let's see how trippy it gets

>>2917029
Ditto, but we gotta destroy this place sooner rather than later

>>2916999
>[ ] Peer out into the world with only your third eye.
If this noxious fucked up shit affects our mutant smell this way, how trippy of a mindfuck is it gonna look like to the third eye?

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Peer out into the world with only your third eye.

You tried doing things the normal mutant way now it's time to do things the cosmic eldritch way.

Closing your material eyes, you let that which is you flow out into the world through your third immaterial eye.

You feel, taste, hear, smell, and see various toxic energies that repulse you yet are absorbed by you all in an instant.

Energy is energy whatever the nature may be.

The factory has two levels: the Wicked One in an oil suit and mask is sitting on her wooden throne counting worthless, lifeless, tasteless, green parchment beneath your vessel and little half-naked puppets in oil masks manipulate the material elements to suit the Wicked One's will close to Mother Gaia. A material doorway inside exists on the right side of the building that leads to the little puppets.

An all-encompassing feeling of revulsion washes over you the moment you open your eyes.

You fall to your knees and move your hand from your nose to cover your mouth.

The overwhelming sensation of rot is too much for your body to handle, however, so you keel over but manage to catch yourself just in time to avoid falling face first into your own vomit.

Breathing in life-giving energy and breathing out toxic wisp after wisp, you see immaterial toxic energies waft off your yellowish-green vomit like smoke from a fire.

A few minutes pass by until you feel well enough to pick yourself up but the feeling of poisonous rot still aches in your physical being.

You let out a bellowing groan as you wipe your mouth with the sleeve of your red and black checkered shirt.

The soul you have may be capable of absorbing toxic energies but your body can't process or stand the presence of that shit in it.

>[ ] Collapse the roof beneath your feet, it'll be a grand entrance and air out all that fucking poison.
>[ ] Sit down and project your soul from your body, maybe you can try not absorbing the toxic energies somehow.
>[ ] Hop down to the alley at your right and go in through the door.
>[ ] Write in.

>>2917319
>[ ] Collapse the roof beneath your feet right over Black Mariah. It'll be a grand entrance and air out all that fucking poison.

>>2917319
>[ ] Collapse the roof beneath your feet, it'll be a grand entrance and air out all that fucking poison.

Voting closed, writing now.

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>[X] Collapse the roof beneath your feet right over Black Mariah. It'll be a grand entrance and air out all that fucking poison.

The risk of polluting your body with anymore toxic energies isn't worth going astral and there's little point sneaking your way in through the ground.

A grin spreads across your face as an idea comes to mind.

You hop over to the section of the rooftop that's over Mariah's head and stomp down on it when you land.

The entire rooftop cracks and crumbles into the building, taking you along for the ride.

Dark purple gas and toxic energies breeze through the spaces between the broken pieces of asphalt into the fresh air.

You move a hand to cover your nose and bear the stinging in your exposed eyes.

The moment the roof finishes caving in, a woman's muffled cry comes out of the rubble beneath you.

A laugh escapes your lips as you look down at the sorry sight of a bloated woman in a hazmat suit and gas mask just barely peeking out of the pieces of the ceiling.

It'd be good to kill her now or drag her somewhere quiet to discuss your business.

An even better solution would just be to rip off her gas mask and let her die of her own devices; you can take her head after that.

>[ ] Rip off her gas mask, it's too ironic a death to pass up.
>[ ] Tear off her head, you can keep it as a trophy or hand it over to the Rivals or maybe both.
>[ ] Stomp down on her, you want to see her pop like a bloody balloon.
>[ ] Drag her out of the rubble and hop to a different rooftop, you do need someone who knows the drug trade despite how despicable she is.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2918192
>[ ] Rip off her gas mask, it's too ironic a death to pass up.
>[ ] Tear off her head, you can keep it as a trophy or hand it over to the Rivals or maybe both.
>[ ] Stomp down on her, you want to see her pop like a bloody balloon.
All that. All in order. Ironic death first to savor it. Tearing her head off lets us have it for other reasons and to avoid it popping off when we stomp her body like a pimple.
Taking her soul is an honor the fatass doesn't deserve, and memories of drugs and disgusting degeneracy is something we don't need. Better to watch it disappear into the aether and fuck off to who knows where, than to infect us or give us some wack-ass soul-indigestion.

>>2918216
....i completely forgot about soul ripping

>>2918232
Good reasons tho

>>2918216
+

>>2918216
Ditto

Voting closed, writing now.

stg, fuck 10+ minute late buses

>>2919085

Fucking public transit

>[X] Rip off her gas mask, it's too ironic a death to pass up.
>[X] Tear off her head, you can keep it as a trophy or hand it over to the Rivals or maybe both.
>[X] Stomp down on her, you want to see her pop like a bloody balloon.

>(1/2)

The fat bitch is worth to you more dead than alive and you don't want to know what it's like to be a parasite or taste the essence of one. Arranging an ironic death is always fun for you, whether it's making a gang leader's crew beat them to death or having twin sisters kill one another. You would've had Kingpin killed the same way if it wouldn't pose a potential threat to your inheritance plan and stomped down on his stomach too if it couldn't have been possibly linked to you.

With a tooth gleaming grin, you bend down and rip off Mariah's gas mask before throwing it aside.

Mariah closes her lips shut and glares at you even as the toxic gas makes her eyes water. She manages to hold her breath for a full minute before gasping in the fumes. The fat black woman coughs out the gas only to breathe more of it in reflexively. Mariah repeats the process until her eyes roll to the back of her head, foam drips out of her mouth, and her facial muscles begin to twitch.

You take her seizure symptoms as proof of death and seize the woman's throat. Flexing your fingers, you tear them through the arteries, veins, trachea, esophagus, thyroid, and spine: separating Mariah's head from the rest of her body. Warm blood shoots out of the torn blood vessels like a fountain for a moment, splashing on your already blood covered hand and right shirt sleeve before seeping around Mariah's severed head. You take hold of the severed head by its black hair and lift it up with your blood dripping hand as you raise yourself back to a standing position.

>(2/2)

A laugh escapes your lips at the sight of Mariah's slack face.

Lowering Mariah's head, you look back down to her corpse and stomp down on her stomach with moderately less force you used to tear through her neck. The body under the cracking asphalt still caves in from the force of your stomp. A wide array of various familiar looking yet deformed organs shoot out of the fresh stump of her neck and splatter against the wall along with light brown sludge you recognize to be belly fat and even more blood.

You burst into a fit of laughter for a minute before staring curiously at the sunken corpse beneath your feet.

Souls are trapped within the body but you haven't seen what happens to one when they remain in a lifeless body.

Also, you can't help but feel the urge to eat the actual physical corpse thanks to all that blood pouring out of it.

>[ ] Hop to another rooftop and use your third eye to look into Mariah's severed head, you do have enough time to delve more into this mystic shit, which you really should considering all the crazy shit you can do now.
>[ ] Examine the blood on your hands, blood doesn't look any different from when you were third eyeless, which is...strange.
>[ ] Lick some blood off the back of your head holding hand, you are feeling kind of hungry and haven't tasted blood in a while or with your third eye opened yet.
>[ ] Make your way to Harlem's Paradise, you can't exactly eat at Sylvia's or fight Cage with a severed head in hand.
>[ ] Make your way to Sylvia's, you can pick up Cage's scent and maybe throw the head at him but you doubt they'll let you eat there without calling the police.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2919446
>[ ] Hop to another rooftop and use your third eye to look into Mariah's severed head, you do have enough time to delve more into this mystic shit, which you really should considering all the crazy shit you can do now.

And then

>[ ] Make your way to Harlem's Paradise, you can't exactly eat at Sylvia's or fight Cage with a severed head in hand.

>>2919446
>Mystic skull shit
>Look at the blood
>Taste a little
>Harlem's paradise

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Hop to another rooftop and use your third eye to look into Mariah's severed head, you do have enough time to delve more into this mystic shit, which you really should considering all the crazy shit you can do now.
>[X] Examine the blood on your hands, blood doesn't look any different from when you were third eyeless, which is...strange.
>[X] Lick some blood off the back of your head holding hand, you are feeling kind of hungry and haven't tasted blood in a while or with your third eye opened yet.
>[X] Make your way to Harlem's Paradise, you can't exactly eat at Sylvia's or fight Cage with a severed head in hand.

>(1/2)

First things first, finding out what happens to the soul after physical death.

You hop out of the rubble onto one of the still standing rooftops of the complex before making your way to a more private rooftop a block away.

Landing on the rooftop, you close your material eyes and peer out into the world with your third.

That which is you spreads out to exist in a globe encompassing two entire blocks.

Your existence is greater than what it once was ever since you first fed.

The Wicked One's soul still resides in its severed meat body albeit in two pieces.

Obeying your will and ignoring your instinct, that which is you pulls back to concentrate itself on the Wicked One's vessel.

What is eons to that which is you passes by until a familiar nothingness warps into existence inside both pieces of the Wicked One's sundered vessel. Slowly yet surely, the Nothingness all know yet few understand spreads inside the vessel's pieces to fully envelop the screaming confused soul. The Nothingness disappears, leaving the pieces empty.

Opening your material eyes, you see a familiar figure standing in front of you with black wafting off her immaterial form.

The woman curves her black lips in a smile and points a finger just a small space away from your third eye.

"Your soul's eye has bloomed well since I last saw it and I can see you've fed yourself well." An otherworldly laugh escapes her lips. "I'm going to enjoy watching you lose yourself."

You part your lips to say something but she slips out of existence beyond your perception's reach.

Blinking, you dismiss her words as taunts and focus your mind on what you saw.

Death enveloped the soul inside the body and left it with nothing. Whether she ate it, transported it, or just stuck it inside her for safe keeping is unknown to you. The aura you have didn't affect her and you didn't feel the urge to devour her, which would make sense considering you hunger for souls and Death is whatever the hell cosmic incarnations like herself are if there really are others. All you've learned is that Death's existence is fundamentally different from yours which isn't really new but you now at least understand somewhat how.

You shrug and turn to Harlem's direction.

There's other shit you need to do.

>(2/2)

Raising your right hand to check on the severed head, you notice a glimmer of sunlight shine off the fresh blood covering the back of your hand.

It's never come to mind how blood hasn't had any changes in appearance despite being a literal life water.

You narrow your eyes and stare intently at the back of your hand. A few seconds pass by before the shining energies of the sun and breezing energies of the wind become clearer to you. It isn't until you wait a full minute do you notice the energies flowing into the blood on contact and the countless glimmering energies already inside the droplets.

Humming, you move the back of your hand to your lips and dab a bit of the blood with the tip of your tongue.

A pleasurable feeling strokes your body when your tongue tastes the robust, savory, energy filled blood. Your mouth waters as a groan rumbles in your throat. Slowly, you drag your tongue along and back again across the blood covering your hand, savoring the delightful taste and the pleasure you feel from doing so. It takes you two minutes to finish lapping up the blood and half of one to stop yourself from going any further.

Part of you is grateful that no one was here to see this but another part is curious if Ren would've found it cute you were licking the back of your hand like a cat licks the back of its paw only with blood from a person you decapitated in place of fur.

It seems that blood is partly like the air and the sun: it's filled with positive energy like both, not noticeable at first like the sun's energies, revitalizing like air, but is compact with various positive energies unlike both. Also, it's a hell of a lot more tasty now with your third eye than it was with just your mutant senses.

Curiosity and literal bloodlust sated, you lower your head holding hand and take off to Harlem's Paradise.

It takes you four minutes to land on the rooftop of a building parallel to the Rivals hangout.

A bouncer guards the entrance, as with every other night club, and the line seems to stretch around the building.

You can't walk in through the entrance without difficulty and the severed head you're holding isn't going to help you with so many people around.

>[ ] Hop to the roof of Harlem's Paradise, you like caving in roof ceilings.
>[ ] Take a step off the edge, walk up to the bouncer, and show him the head: you're sure he'll be understanding even if the bystanders aren't.
>[ ] Close your material eyes and peer out into the world with your third, it's the easy way but the easiest way.
>[ ] Sit down and leave your physical body, you haven't really done this yet but it's never too late to experiment in relatively important situations.
>[ ] Jump around to the back of Harlem's Paradise, back entrances are always so fun to get into.
>[ ] Sniff the air, you could do with the smell of blood and coke after having to smell that fetid acid shit.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2920101
>[ ] Jump around to the back of Harlem's Paradise, back entrances are always so fun to get into.

The rest are a bit too public for us considering we're set to inherit a megacorp in a couple days

>>2920101
>[ ] Jump around to the back of Harlem's Paradise, back entrances are always so fun to get into.
What >>2920437 said. If we're gonna drop anonymity slightly later, we need to setup for that. Even though we killed Mariah the way we did, but fuck her AND her shitty drug operation.

>>2920101
WAIT NO FUCK
CHANGING MY VOTE >>2920620 TO

>[ ] Sniff the air, you could do with the smell of blood and coke after having to smell that fetid acid shit.
then
>[ ] Jump around to the back of Harlem's Paradise, back entrances are always so fun to get into.
in that order

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Sniff the air, you could do with the smell of blood and coke after having to smell that fetid acid shit.
>[X] Jump around to the back of Harlem's Paradise, back entrances are always so fun to get into.

It's always good to check in with your nose first before you leap into the fray. You never know if someone's brewing explosives, concocting narcotics that pollute the air with poisons, or if they're possibly a mutant. The Rivals might own the night club but you wouldn't put it past them to be doing that kind of hazardous shit in public. Cottonmouth did order a drive by on what a lot of people constitute as a Harlem landmark to hassle a fucking bullet proof man.

Closing your eyes, you take in the surrounding air through your nose.

The delectable scent of blood from the severed head in your hands is wafting through the air alongside the distinct scent of various people and drugs: weed, coke, heroin, and ecstasy or, how the people of Harlem would probably name it, Malcolm X.

You open your eyes and look back down at the entrance.

Caving in the roof and showing up with a severed head isn't likely to inspire confidence, walking up to the bouncer with a severed head in hand in front of a lot of bystanders is way too public for a soon-to-be megacorp CEO, and you really shouldn't be fucking around with your supernatural abilities right now especially after you just saw Death in the immaterial flesh.

As usual, going in through the back door is the most efficient method of getting what you want.

You hop from to rooftop to the other parallel building facing the back of Harlem's Paradise.

Someways off the center of the back wall, is a metal door with a padlock: something you can easily break into.

One more hop takes you down in front of the back door.

There's a few simple ways to go about this and a few complicated ways.

>[ ] Knock on the door, you don't want to be an impolite guest.
>[ ] Break the padlock and turn the likely locked door open, you're sure they won't mind: padlocks are cheap but their lives are costly.
>[ ] Kick the door down, you honestly couldn't give a shit if guns started popping off.
>[ ] Sniff the air to see if there's a guard behind it, this is the sensible thing to do.
>[ ] Close your material eyes and look out into the world with your third, may as well scout out the entire block and then some: you don't really know if Diamondback's inside.
>[ ] Write In.

https://twitter.com/Afungi3

Finally did it, literally took me two minutes.

>>2920849
>[ ] Sniff the air to see if there's a guard behind it, this is the sensible thing to do.
>[ ] Knock on the door, you don't want to be an impolite guest.
They know who we are. They've heard stories about us. And we're right here at their door.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Sniff the air to see if there's a guard behind it, this is the sensible thing to do.
>[X] Knock on the door, you don't want to be an impolite guest.

Your nose always knows even if your third eye will always know more.

Once again, you close your eyes and take in the surrounding air through your nose.

The distinct smell of a weed smoking hoodrat a little ways from the door is noticeable through the night club's plume.

You open your eyes and knock on the door with your free hand.

A muffled rattling sound goes off behind the locked back entrance.

You raise an eyebrow at the metal door and wait.

Two minutes of relative silence go by.

Either there's some kind of password you need to get in or the door guard is high off his ass.

>[ ] Knock on the door rhythmically, a lot of gangs in the Bronx actually had this kind of knock act as a password.
>[ ] Knock on the door hard enough to dent it in, that'll get their dumb ass up.
>[ ] "Do you want me to get Cuda here so he can kick the door down and slap your ass with his dick?"
>[ ] "I have something Diamondback would like to see."
>[ ] "Tell Diamondback the kingpin wants to meet with him."
>[ ] "Get off your ass and open this fucking door before I kick it down and break my foot off in your ass, pothead!"
>[ ] Break the door down, you don't have time to deal with this pothead fuck.
>[ ] Close your material eyes and look out into the world with your third, may as well see what the pothead's doing and who even is in the place.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2921398
>[ ] Knock on the door rhythmically, a lot of gangs in the Bronx actually had this kind of knock act as a password.
>[ ] Make the last knock in the password rhythm be hard enough to dent the door in, that'll get their dumb ass up.
>[ ] "Tell Diamondback to get off his ass and come see me. I don't have all day."

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2921420

Seconding

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>[X] Knock on the door rhythmically, a lot of gangs in the Bronx actually had this kind of knock act as a password.
>[X] Make the last knock in the password rhythm be hard enough to dent the door in, that'll get their dumb ass up.
>[X] "Tell Diamondback to get off his ass and come see me. I don't have all day."

There are other things you would rather be doing right now; being playfully aggressive will get you the attention you need but likely set the Rivals on edge.

You knock on the door with a smooth rhythm that steadily grows fiercer before you cultimate it with a casual, steel-caving tap of your knuckles.

A muffled squeal resounds behind the metal door.

Grinning, you return your free hand to your side.

"Tell Diamondback to get off his ass and come see me. I don't have all day."

Muffled footsteps scurry away until they are out of your hearing range.

You take enough steps back to give yourself room for a very possible standoff. Bullets may bounce off you but you can still get stabbed and you also don't want to ruin your only casual yet fancy shirt. This way, you can give yourself enough distance to hop away before they completely come out with guns and avoid getting slashes in your shirt.

The sound of locks being unfastened and sight of the door knob turning happen after a few minutes pass by.

A black man in a fedora with a drawn bowie knife in hand is the first to walk out of the door. Some Puerto Rican wearing shades and a fancy black suit follows Fedora out with a M1911 in his gloved hands. A bald black man in a fancy suit walks out after the Puerto Rican with spiked knuckle dusters. Finally, the familiar, towering form of the Cuda walks out holding an equally familiar M249 light machine gun with one hand followed by a bunch of mooks sporting submachine guns, handguns, and assault rifles.

The man in the fedora takes point while the Puerto Rican and other bald black man follow behind at his sides.

Barracuda leans back on the night club wall, observing the situation with an amused smile.

The nonsequentials spread out in the space behind their apparent leaders and train their firearms on you.

None of them seem too unoccupied by you to notice the severed head in your hand.

>[ ] "You're Diamondback, I presume?
>[ ] "Kingpin's dead."
>[ ] "I don't need to tell you who I am, do I?"
>[ ] "Put down your weapons. If I wanted you all dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Besides, there's only one person here that's capable enough to so much as scratch me."
>[ ] "Cuda! Get over here, you big black sonofabitch!"
>[ ] "Now might not be the best time to tell you this, Cuda, but I killed Dan."
>[ ] "I brought you a present; consider this a gesture of good faith."
>[ ] "Now, which one of you can recognize this bitch?"
>[ ] Hold out Mariah's head to fedora man.
>[ ] Toss Mariah's head to fedora man's feet.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2921836
>[ ] "Now, which one of you can recognize this bitch?"
>[ ] Toss Mariah's head to fedora man's feet.
>[ ] "Cuda! Get over here, you big black sonofabitch!"
>[ ] "Kingpin's dead."

>>2921836
Backing >>2921990

Family dinner to attend to, will close voting and start writing when I'm back

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2922314
Alright I have internet again. I fucking swear something knocks down my cables at least once a month. I haven't been able to participate lately but I just wanted to say that you the real MVP boss. Keeping trucking along even if there's only one vote. Hopefully I'll be able to catch some votes tomorrow.

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>[X] "Now, which one of you can recognize this bitch?"
>[X] Toss Mariah's head to fedora man's feet.
>[X] "Cuda! Get over here, you big black sonofabitch!"
>[X] "Kingpin's dead."

>(1/2)

Being friendly or professional doesn't work with gangs. Unlike syndicates that are more "civilized", there are no pleasantries, there are no bloodless resolutions, and there are no compromises unless one side knows for damn sure they will be permanently crippled or wiped out. You are not a business man: you are a despot. Kingpin fooled himself into believing that he could somehow be both. Unlike him, you won't make the same mistake. You understand these people, you understand this life, and you understand your place in it above all else.

"Now, which one of you can recognize this bitch?"

With a casual flick of your wrist, you toss Black Mariah's severed head to the fedora wearing man's feet.

The black man eyes the head with passing interest before kicking it over onto its stump. His eyes widen in realization as a grin spreads across his face.

"Hey, Cornell." The man turns his head back to look at the bald black man. "Come check what the cat dragged in."

Cornell raises an eyebrow at the fedora wearing man and struts over to him.

"The fuck is it, Diamondback?"

A snicker escapes the gang leader's grinning mouth before he looks back down to the head.

"Just look at it, Cottonmouth."

You resist the urge to laugh at just what's about to happen.

File: Spoiler Image (72 KB, 786x393)

72 KB JPG

>(2/2)

The now identified Cottonmouth clucks his tongue and looks down to what his boss is staring at. He blinks before widening his eyes as a horrified expression makes its way onto his face.

"What the fuck! Mariah?! Motherfucking sonofabitch, shit!"

Diamondback and Barracuda let out a hearty laugh as the shades wearing Puerto Rican shakes his head.

"Ah, Cornell. You think a nigga who been in the game for as long as you have would've been desensitized to this shit by now but you still act like a bitch at the sight of a little dismemberment."

Cottonmouth pushes the gang boss back.

"Nigga, you try seeing someone you fucking know with their head chopped the fuck off!"

Diamondback calmly glares back at the man.

"Easy, nigga, or I'm going to."

Cottonmouth scoffs at Diamondback and stomps back to his position all the while giving you a cautious stare.

You let out a laugh and glance at Barracuda, who is also laughing at the childish infighting.

"Cuda! Get over here, you big black sonofabitch!"

Barracuda tilts his head at you before walking over, pushing back the nonsequentials in his way with just his physical body.

"Well, shit! The motherfuckin' mutie boss of the Bronx himself is a nigga. Do I know you, 'cause ya look familiar and say my name you like you know me."

You ponder whether or not to answer before deciding to get to the point.

"Kingpin's dead."

The two leading black men blink at you, glance to one another, look back to you, and burst into a fit of laughter.

You twitch ever so slightly.

>[ ] Stomp down on the ground, remind them who they're laughing at.
>[ ] Flick the air at Diamondback, show them just how easy it is for you to hurt someone.
>[ ] Clap your hands, that'll be enough to get them to shut the fuck up.
>[ ] Wait for them to finish laughing, you can laugh at them as much as you want when they find out you aren't joking.
>[ ] Let out a full-force growl, the prey shouldn't mock their hunter.
>[ ] Tell them how you set the assassination part of your master plan, that will get them to stop laughing.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2922352
Thank you, anon.

>>2922611
>[ ] Laugh along, but AT them not WITH them. The way you checkmated Kingpin is still funny to you after the fact, so you can play this up your own way for a short bit.
>[ ] Flick the air at Diamondback, just enough for his hat to fall off and for him to feel the force behind it. This will not only get him off-guard and further beneath you, but serve as a small hint of how powerful you really are.
>[ ] "You wouldn't know a joke if it shot you in the head." Turn up the dominating and menacing aura. "Speaking of which..." Tell them how you set the assassination part of your master plan, leaving out Felon's role entirely. Inwardly revel in how great it was. It may be their place, but this is YOUR fucking show.
Hope this is good enough.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Laugh along, but AT them not WITH them. The way you checkmated Kingpin is still funny to you after the fact, so you can play this up your own way for a short bit.
>[X] Flick the air at Diamondback, just enough for his hat to fall off and for him to feel the force behind it. This will not only get him off-guard and further beneath you, but serve as a small hint of how powerful you really are.
>[X] "You wouldn't know a joke if it shot you in the head." Turn up the dominating and menacing aura. "Speaking of which..." Tell them how you set the assassination part of your master plan, leaving out Felon's role entirely. Inwardly revel in how great it was. It may be their place, but this is YOUR fucking show.

>(1/2)

As much as you want them to shut up, stomping on ants is beneath you. The way you completely entrapped Kingpin and took everything from him is the real joke here: a man everyone thought was infallible got outmatched and lost everything in the blink of an eye. What many thought would take years you accomplished in a single day. They'll regret ever showing you disrespect.

You let out a fit of your own booming laughter back at the two laughing black men.

The volume and frequency of their laughter slowly dies down until they're left staring at your laughing form with uneasy, stiff expressions.

Grinning, you stick out a hand to Diamondback and flick at him with an okay amount of your strength.

The sound of cracking bones and a rubber band-like twang emanate from your flicked fingers as a gust of wind blows into Diamondback's face, sending his fedora flying off his head.

Diamondback and Barracuda's eyes widen at your casual display of force.

A small laugh escapes your lips as you return your hand to your side.

"You wouldn't know a joke if it shot you in the head." A cackling laugh escapes your lips. "Speaking of which, you should have seen what happened to Kingpin." You let out a wistful sigh. "I had Silvio 'Fucking Silvermane' Manfredi himself post men at the Baccarat hotel exits and had one half of my best killers set up shop in the nearby parking lot to prevent any escape by ground. I led my other half in assassinating all the snipers Kingpin had on the nearby skyscraper rooftops and placed a sniper of my own on the best vantage point to the inside of the penthouse. The first shot he took got caught by the state of the art bulletproof window. I stepped in by crashing through the bulletproof glass, killing his men, and dragging Kingpin's fat ass out of cover. When I gave my guy the okay, a 12.7×108mm round passed through the side of Kingpin's head and blew off the other side of his face on its way out."

>(2/2)

The two black men stare at you in a tense silence.

After a minute, Barracuda grins.

"Daaaaaamn!" He hollers and laughs out. "You one hard ass mutant motherfuckin' nigga, ain't you!? I definitely feel like I know ya, but who the fuck are you?!"

You let out a chuckle and part your lips to respond before you see the other black man change his position to face the both of you.

Diamondback raises his knife some ways away from his throat with the blade pointed in your and Barracuda's direction, guarding his most vital area.

"Why are you here, prince?"

Barracuda glances at Diamondback and clucks his tongue.

"Diamondback, the fuck you think you doin' pointing that thing at me?" He levels his LMG at the man, drawing the aim of a lot of mooks away from you. "Nigga, I will fill you with holes and piss in 'em."

The gang boss glares at the both of you in silence.

You could probably diffuse this situation or just start wading through the Rivals with Cuda, which you could go for right now.

>[ ] "I'm here to continue the deal you had with Kingpin only you'll be under my protection now."
>[ ] "I came here to assimilate the Rivals."
>[ ] "You're going to put your knife down and order your baby-faced bitches to stand down before someone gets hurt."
>[ ] "I brought you a token of good faith: I'm sure you can put it together yourself."
>[ ] "I brought you a token of good faith and you raise a fucking knife at me? Be grateful I didn't level you along with this eyesore of a nightclub when I could have."
>[ ] "Now might not be the best time to tell you this, Cuda, but I killed Dan."
>[ ] "Do it, Cuda. I'll cover you."
>[ ] Stomp down on the ground, remind people who has all the power right now.
>[ ] Lunge at Diamondback and tackle him to the ground, crushing him in the process.(Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC14)
>[ ] Lunge at Diamondback and tear out his throat.(Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC16)
>[ ] Close the distance between you and Diamondback before breaking his knife.(Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC18)
>[ ] Write In.

I have my night class today so I can probably only get one or two updates in when I come back from my first class.

>>2923374
>[ ] "I brought you a token of good faith and you raise a fucking knife at me? Be grateful I only took your out-of-style fedora off and not the rest of your diamond head with it. Mariah here already knows a thing or two about that, hmmm?"
>[ ] "Besides, I'm here to continue the deal you had with Kingpin only you'll be under my protection now. I hope I've made myself plenty clear."
>[ ] "Cuda I got other shit to do, but let's talk over drinks sometime." Telling him about Dan can wait for later once the Rivals are handled. Having him try to beat your ass for revenge right here right now, however futile, won't make the Rivals deal go down any better.

>>2923430

Seconding this

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "I brought you a token of good faith and you raise a fucking knife at me? Be grateful I only took your out-of-style fedora off and not the rest of your diamond head with it. Mariah here already knows a thing or two about that, hmmm?"
>[X] "Besides, I'm here to continue the deal you had with Kingpin only you'll be under my protection now. I hope I've made myself plenty clear."
>[X] "Cuda I got other shit to do, but let's talk over drinks sometime."

There's no need to start shit. You don't really want to have to go through the annoyance of keeping Harlem under your direct control. What you do need, however, is to stand your ground.

You frown and glare at Diamondback.

"I brought you a token of good faith and you raise a fucking knife at me? Be grateful I only took your out-of-style fedora off and not the rest of your diamond head with it." A menacing grin spreads across your face. "Mariah here already knows a thing or two about that, hmmm?" You let out a laugh. "Besides, I'm here to continue th deal you had with Kingpin only you'll be under my protection now. I hope I've made myself plenty clear."

The fedora-less man lowers his knife and stares at you cautiously.

Barracuda in turn lowers his LMG, returning the mook's focus back on you.

A minute of contemplative silence passes by.

While waiting for a response, you turn to Barracuda.

"Cuda I got other shit to do, but let's talk over drinks sometime."

The towering black man shoots you an amused look.

"Where exactly, my nigga? I'm down for it but I still don't know how you know me, ya na'mean?"

A hum rumbles in your throat.

The Fazioli might be good but it's a bit tacky and Silvermane probably wouldn't like how ghetto the black man is. Evo's in Parkchester would be good: it's in your own turf and has a nice selection. However, this is all assuming you should show your face in public before the grand reveal and inheritance. It'd be less yet more conspicuous if you went out for drinks with Cuda after the inheritance. Maybe he knows of a bar under the radar for people like you two.

"Now, why should I agree to that?" Diamondback finally says, taking you out of your thoughts.

You shoot the gang boss a flat look.

>[ ] Persuade him to join you without cowing him, it'd be better for your relationship.(Uses Critical Persuasion Roll freebie)
>[ ] "I've got an army with military gear while your boys are still sporting peashooters and wearing shitty ass kevlar."
>[ ] "Have I not made it clear who the fuck I am and what I'm capable of?"
>[ ] "Silvermane himself saw the inevitable and bowed to me."
>[ ] "Cuda, light this insolent little bitch up."
>[ ] "I'm the man who killed the Kingpin, who the fuck are you?"
>[ ] Stomp down on the ground, that'll be reason enough.
>[ ] Lunge at Diamondback and tackle him to the ground, crushing him in the process.(Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC12)
>[ ] Lunge at Diamondback and tear out his throat.(Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC14)
>[ ] Write In.

>>2924210
>Because the only reason we're having a conversation instead of a massacre is that I don't feel like ruining my shirt. If you want to make yourself more troublesome than getting a new shirt you'll find out how expendable you are.
>To Cuda: Know any good dives? I tend to stand out.

>>2924250
I write and rewrote that 15 times and I'm still not happy with it.

>>2924210
Backing >>2924250

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2924250

Backing, and I like how it turned out

>>2924664
Well thanks anon. I'm hoping to save that crit persuasion roll for a better moment. Probably something involving kingpins daughter.

A little upset I missed the previous vote that explicitly implicates us.

>[X] "Because the only reason we're having a conversation in place of you and your entire gang getting massacred is that I don't feel like ruining my shirt. If you want to make yourself more troublesome than simply finding a new one, you'll realize just how expendable you are."
>[X] "Know any good dives, Cuda? I tend to stand out."

You don't want to bother being friendly with him, telling him about your men is overkill, appealing to your own ego will only have him brush you of, revealing Silvio's affiliation with you will just make him say the old man's washed up, there's no need for violence just yet, and stomping down has the slightest chance to make Diamondback feel like he's actually of some importance; it's best and more amusing to let the fucker know just how trivial this situation really is to you.

A grin spreads across your face.

"Because the only reason we're having a conversation in place of you and your entire gang getting massacred is that I don't feel like ruining my shirt. If you want to make yourself more troublesome than simply finding a new one, you'll realize just how expendable you are."

Rage flashes in Diamondback's expression before returning to its cautious look.

"...I'm going to need a minute to convene with my associates."

You raise an eyebrow as Diamondback walks back to who you assume and are most likely his lieutenants before turning to Barracuda.

"Know any good dives, Cuda? I tend to stand out."

Barracuda raises a hand to his chin and hums.

"I guess there's one for niggas like you. Been there once or twice on Kingpin's orders. Was kind of a stand-out being the only nigga without a costume on and being the only nigga but they was cool. Mothatfuckas bitched about me not being discrete while they wore those fucking Halloween costumes, though. I don't remember exactly where it is but I can show you where in Queens."

A hum of your own rumbles in your throat.

From the way Cuda puts it, the bar he's talking about is one for either super-villains or another fucking secret society. It's most likely for super-villains but there's still that small chance.

Your nose twitches, taking you out of your thoughts, as a strange, faint scent wafts through the air.

>[ ] Glance in Diamondback's direction, it's likely coming from him.
>[ ] Close your material eyes and look out into the world with your third, this way you can find the source wherever it may be.
>[ ] Sniff the air, the scent is...foreign.
>[ ] "Does the bar have a name?"
>[ ] "I know one of Diamondback's guys is Cottonmouth but who's shades?"
>[ ] "Who did you see at the bar?"
>[ ] "Is it a super-villain bar or some secret society kind of shit?"
>[ ] "Now might not be the best time to tell you this, Cuda, but I killed Dan."
>[ ] "My name is Kojo, by the way, Kojo...Reyes."
>[ ] "Say, who do I remind you of?"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2924779
>[ ] Sniff the air, the scent is...foreign.
>[ ] "Does the bar have a name?"
>[ ] "I know one of Diamondback's guys is Cottonmouth but who's shades?"

>>2924779
I'll second >>2924782

On my way to my night class, will update tomorrow morning my time UTC-8

>>2924782

Backing

late night half-asleep question, what song do you think would be Kojo's theme song?

like, maybe, he can have several depending on the stages of his character and one general theme song applying to the core of who he is

this has been sleepy late night question with Afungi i'll be more coherent eight or nine hours from now

>>2925479

It's difficult to pin down considering our sociopathic tendencies, my first bet would be a metal song and he wouldn't look out of place on a metal album cover

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2925903
I can see that. Maybe some combo of metal and orchestra.

>>2925911

Definitely, maybe something by Savatage?

>[X] Sniff the air, the scent is...foreign.
>[X] "Does the bar have a name?"
>[X] "I know one of Diamondback's guys is Cottonmouth but who's shades?"

There are few things in this world that should or could smell foreign to you. Whatever it is, it's probably not good. Surprises at a time like this are never any good, in your experience.

You close your three eyes and take in the surrounding air through your nose.

A vaguely metallic yet extremely foreign scent emanating from Diamondback's directions is wafting through the surrounding haze of narcotic smells.

Opening your eyes, you spare a glance at Diamondback and see his shades wearing "associate" holding an open slit magazine loaded with glowing purple bullets.

"Does the bar have a name?" You ask Barracuda while observing shady pop out a normal .45 bullet from his M1911's chamber and reload his handgun with the purple bullet filled mag.

"Nah, they say it's The Bar with No Name which could be its name but that's too fuckin' stupid."

A hum rumbles in your throat as the three Rivals leaders debate in hushed whispers.

"I know one of Diamondback's guys is Cottonmouth but who's shades?"

Barracuda clucks his tongue by your side.

"He's the nigga you're staring at right now."

You blink and train your gaze back to the Cuda.

"Wait, that's his actual street name?"

The big black man lets out a laugh.

"For real, dog."

You raise a hand that you bury your face in and shake your head.

There's such thing as a good simple street name, but there have been far too many overly simple ones you've heard as of late.

An all too familiar sound of a handgun being cocked stems some ways away from your left, taking you out of your thoughts.

Returning your hand to your side, you glance to your left and see Shades standing with his gun pointed at you.

A friendly smile spreads across his face.

"If you are who you say you are, you wouldn't mind if I shot you right here, right now, would you?"

You frown.

This is so obviously a ploy.

>[ ] "...Gut shot, go ahead."
>[ ] "Cuda, shoot this bitch up; I'll cover you."
>[ ] "Why do I get the distinct feeling those bullets you just loaded in your .45 are supposed to be meant for Cage?"
>[ ] "The fuck did I say about pointing weapons at me?! Get your pale, Puerto Rican ass out of my face and bring back your bitch of a boss!"
>[ ] "Tell me, why do you follow Diamondback?"
>[ ] Lunge at Shades and tackle him to the ground, crushing his insides in the process.(Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC14)
>[ ] Lunge at Shades and tear out his throat.(Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC16)
>[ ] Stomp down, lunge at Shades, and crush his .45 while he's unbalanced. This will likely trigger hostilities.
>[ ] Stomp down, lunge at Shades, and tear out his throat while he's unbalanced. This will definitely trigger hostilities. (Combat Skill Roll, +3 modifier DC14)
>[ ] Write In.

File: 9JGix1.jpg (274 KB, 1680x1050)

274 KB JPG

>>2926099
>[ ] Lunge at Shades, pull his .45 right out of his hands, remove the magazine and eject the one weird bullet already loaded in - leaving the gun completely empty in your hand within seconds, while you hold the magazine and unspent bullet in your other hand.
>[ ] "You think I'm fucking retarded, you (insert fitting Puerto Rican insult here)? You think I couldn't smell the weird coming off of these? You think I don't know they're made for bulletproof fucks like Luke Cage?" Pocket the magazine along with the free bullet. "You think I'm just gonna stand here and let myself be a free test target for your pasty Puerto Rican ass?"
>[ ] Throw the empty gun at his gut, exercising your power and strength just enough to knock his ass off his feet and straight to the ground.
>[ ] "You try any shit like that again, pointing a weapon at ME, I'll tear you apart and make a hat from your entrails for EVERY nigga to stare at."

>>2926246
It took a while to make this response. I feel like referencing Diamondback's tryhard edgy fedora would have also worked somewhere near the end there, but I had no idea how to fit it in. Either way, this approach not only lets us keep the weird bullet magazine and the single weird bullet (in case we need to use our super strength to throw it at someone) but this shouldn't let hostilities happen.
If Shades tried that shit on his own, that's his own damn fault for getting rekt so easily and losing the magazine.
If he did it with Diamondback's say-so, then he just lost the magazine of weird bullets to us - making the burden of fucking-up fall on Shades instead, letting us avoid any antipathy in the process.

>>2926099
>Diamondback I suggest you reign your Chihuahua in unless you feel like dying over a $(how ever much that shirt cost) shirt.
>Start counting down from 5. If Shades twitches rip his throat out. If diamondback has done nothing at the count of 2 kill Shades then him.
If Cuda just watches/helps if we slaughter them ask if he's interested in running Harlem.

>>2926099
Yeah uh, fuck my vote in >>2926246
I'm backing >>2926287 especially if we can loot the gun with the weird bullet magazine too.

>>2926246
>>2926280
While I can appreciate the enthusiasm, it gives away a bit too much, might come off as us being afraid of the rounds, and most importantly leaves someone who just tried to play us alive. This isn't even our whole night. Diamondback needs to step in line or die.

>>2926305
Yeah I realize that, which is why I'm backing your option in >>2926287 instead

>>2926287
>Diamondback I suggest you reign your Chihuahua in unless you feel like dying over a $(how ever much that shirt cost) shirt.
stolen shirt
>Start counting down from 5. If Shades twitches rip his throat out. If diamondback has done nothing at the count of 2 kill Shades then him.
Taking one earth cracking to shattering step per number and increasing the volume of your voice to thu'um level shit on 2?

>>2926367
As much as I'd like that no. Stay calm and don't change posture from one of assured dominance. As for the shirt I'd assume he'd have a rough guess of cost.

>>2926398
It's a test. Basically if he only does things we want by using force and at the last second he'll be too troublesome to be worth anything and easily replaced.

>>2926367
What >>2926398 >>2926408 said.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "Diamondback I suggest you reign your Chihuahua in unless you feel like dying over a, say, $40 to $50 dollar shirt. I'm not exactly sure: I stole it."
>[X] Start counting down from 5. If Shades twitches rip his throat out. If diamondback has done nothing at the count of 2 kill Shades then him.

You kind of want to find out what those purple bullets can do, but you don't want them to be tested out on you. While calling Diamondback out on his boy taking the lead over him may be fun, it'd likely piss him off to the point he'd order Shades to open fire. Best for you to further affirm how inconsequential this is and stick with your established position of composed dominance.

"Diamondback, I suggest you reign your Chihuahua in unless you feel like dying over a..." You look down at your only somewhat formal shirt before looking back up to Shades. "$40 to $50 dollar shirt." You shrug. "I'm not exactly sure: I stole it."

Shades shoots you a look as Barracuda lets outs a hearty laugh.

A grin spreads across your face.

"Five."

The look on Shades face morphs into one of caution.

"Four."

A strong, palatable scent of fear starts to permeate the air.

"Three."

Some of the nonsequentials start to shake.

"Tw-"

Diamondback stomps his way past the Puerto Rican to you, turns to him, and points a finger at his previous position.

Shades clucks his tongue and sighs as he lowers his gun before following his boss' command.

Diamondback turns back to you with a stiff expression on his face.

"You get 10% of what we collect monthly, you don't involve yourself in our affairs, and you don't send a fucking nigga like Cuda to babysit us."

You frown.

It's a start to your relationship but a really fucking bad one: Kingpin got 30% in the arrangement he had with the Rivals. Not even under your flag and Diamondback's already trying to cheat you.

>[ ] "Cuda, waste this bitch. I'll cover you."
>[ ] "Deal."
>[ ] "30%."
>[ ] "40%."
>[ ] "50%."
>[ ] "60%."
>[ ] "70%."
>[ ] "You're a real funny guy, you know that right?
>[ ] "Are you trying to fuck me? I know how much you gave Kingpin."
>[ ] "A percentage of that is a fee for your no meddling condition."
>[ ] "I will involve myself in your business however I see fit."
>[ ] "Cross me and I will flay you, disembowel you, castrate you, amputate all of your limbs, tear off your eye-lids, and hang you on the tip of the Empire State Building by your torn out entrails while your still alive as a message to everyone in our line of business what happens to those who fuck with me."
>[ ] Tear out his throat, he's already more trouble than he's worth.
>[ ] Write In.

File: Spoiler Image (36 KB, 600x400)

36 KB JPG

I completely forgot to post a pic of Shades earlier goddammit.

Here you go.

>>2926639
>[ ] Tear out his throat, he's already more trouble than he's worth.
>Can anyone do better than 10?

>>2926639
Backing >>2926662 except we hold up his dying body in the air (but away from us, don't want to have our shirt fucked up), and do the "Can anyone do better than 10? Anyone? Going once...!" as if we're in an auction - except what's being forfeit is their lives if they don't fucking answer us.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Tear out his throat, he's already more trouble than he's worth.
>[X] "Can anyone do better than 10? Anyone? Going once!"

Oh well, you tried and got spit in the face for your efforts. It wasn't you, it was him. You gave him more than one chance, when you should have given him none, and he blew it. Maybe one of his friends will be a better fit for you.

Sighing, you raise your right hand to Diamondback's throat and grab it before tearing out his trachea along with severing most of his blood vessels when you casually move your hand.

Diamondback's eyes widen as sweet blood sprays up from his torn throat and splatters under his chin as well as on the sides of his face. He takes a step back and tries to cut you but goes limp a second too soon, losing his grip on his bowie knife.

You drop his bony windpipe and hold him up by the collar of his suit some distance away from you, avoiding any potential spray of delicious blood getting on your shirt, before he can hit the ground. A grin spreads across your face as Diamonback's boys stare with horrified expressions and Barracuda lets out another one of his callous laughs.

"Can anyone do better than ten?" You change your grip to the back of the collar and give Diamondback's corpse a shake, splattering droplets of blood from his torn open throat to the asphalt instead of your shirt. "Anyone? Going once!"

Shades begins to raise his handgun to you but you see Cottonmouth moving to stop him, for some reason.

Now is your chance to act or wait and see.

>[ ] "Cuda, light them up!"
>[ ] Wait and see, maybe you'll get shot or maybe you'll have that better fit.
>[ ] Throw Diamondback's corpse at the two of them, it was fun when you did it to Woo-Jin.
>[ ] Lunge at them and take them out with one single move, the Rivals would be a thorn in your side no matter who ran them.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2927017
>[ ] "Going twice! Sold to the big nigga with the pearly whites!"
>[ ] Throw Diamondback's corpse at the two of them, it was fun when you did it to Woo-Jin. Aim more to Shades, those bullets are a wildcard here.
>[ ] "Cuda, light them up!"

>>2927017
>[ ] "Going twice! Sold to the big nigga with the pearly whites!"
>[ ] Throw Diamondback's corpse at the two of them, it was fun when you did it to Woo-Jin. Aim more to Shades, those bullets are a wildcard here.

I doubt Cuda would be interested in running things. Not that he'd be bad at it, he just wouldn't care. Still we can give him control for the time being and if he rejects it just grab Shades gun and tell him we'll be back for our 40% in a month. They'll figure it out or die.

>>2927064
Dude it's just theatrics
As long as someone competent that won't go full retard and attempt to backstab us gets in charge, we'll be fine. If Cuda doesn't wanna be in charge, then yeah he can take temp control and get someone else to replace him in a month.
I feel like Shades and all these other mooks here need to die after we told them our hand in Kingpin's death - mooks are expendable and easily recruited anyway. Cottonmouth feels a bit more cautious and less retarded than Diamondback and Shades, though with a name like that he could be one hell of a fucking snake.

Hmm, I feel like this is too important to roll but at the same time it's relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. I guess I'll give it thirty more minutes.

>>2927371
I think we're in agreement, I just don't want to mow down Shades and them immediately. Make sure to eat Cornell's soul too. I want to know everything about his operation and those bullets.

>>2927371
>>2927377
I'm okay with whatever you're going for, as long as we end up looting the bullet/magazine and eating Diamondback's soul.

>>2927377
For some reason I keep forgetting about soul eating. That could've been an option to kill Diamondback.

>>2927428
Oh whoops I meant eat diamondbacks soul. Completely messed up the names.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "Going twice! Sold to the big nigga with the pearly whites!"
>[X] Throw Diamondback's corpse at the two of them, it was fun when you did it to Woo-Jin. Aim more to Shades, those bullets are a wildcard here.
>[X] "Cuda, light them up!"

>(1/2)

You can't rely on Cottonmouth to stop Shades from shooting you with one of those purple bullets and you're going to need to lay down the law. It's best and fun to throw a Woo-Jin at the two of them. Cuda can shoot up the mooks as a lesson to them.

The grin on your face widens.

"Going twice! Sold to the big nigga with the pearly whites!" With a flick of your wrist, you fling Diamondback's body at his lieutenants.

Cottonmouth turns his eyes away from Shades just in time to widen them at the incoming corpse before it collides with them both, Shades more so than Cottonmouth.

A laugh escapes both your and Barracuda's lips as Diamondback's body pins his lieutenants to the ground. You glance at the towering black man in the corner of your eye.

"Cuda, light them up!"

Barracuda shrugs as he lifts his LMG at the Rivals, grin still gleaming.

"Never liked these bitch ass niggas anyway."

The Rival foot soldiers are still paralyzed with shock and fear when Barracuda opens fire at them.

>(2/2)

Like a bad lightning storm, the thundering of Barracuda's machine gun blares throughout the streets. He starts from the middle and blankets the Rivals to the left with bullets before sweeping over the Rivals to the right, winging some and fatally wounding the others. Barely three seconds have passed when Barracuda stops shooting yet every one of the Rivals are either laying wounded or dying.

You let out a whistle at the beautiful, painting-like splatters of blood on the streets and Barracuda's own handiwork.

Someone else with a machine gun could've done the same thing, but they most likely would have be overwhelmed by the recoil and sprayed bullets everywhere instead of the precision Cuda had. You can understand why Dan wanted the big black bastard around for more than just the debt he owed him. For all his personality faults, he's damn good at what he does. All he needs is a tight leash to keep him from going off, which you can provide if need be.

Cottonmouth and Shades begin to rise from underneath Diamondback's body.

Barracuda levels his LMG at them but you move a hand over to stop him.

The two lieutenants raise themselves to their feet and stare at the surrounding carnage.

Both of them will definitely be more willing to offer you a greater percentage than Diamondback did but it just might be better to destroy the Rivals or integrate them now. They'll never forget this which will breed resentment but will also make them fearful. You could use either Shades or Cottonmouth who know the place to tell you all about it or just eat their souls. Come to think of it, you should really eat Diamondback's soul.

>[ ] "I changed my mind, fire away, Cuda."
>[ ] "Did you two know anything about that 10% cut shit?"
>[ ] "Now, which one of you has the better offer?"
>[ ] "Take it all in, this is what happens to those who oppose me."
>[ ] "You're all mine now. Sit here, get your story straight, and wait for the police. We'll meet again real soon."
>[ ] Walk over and snatch Shades' .45 while he's still distracted, you can't risk the chance of actually getting fatally wounded.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2927919
>[ ] "I changed my mind, fire away, Cuda."

Make sure to eat those souls, it'll be useful to have a manageable gang war we can fight to give our new recruits a direction to fight in and forge bonds between desperate groups through combat

>>2927919
>>[X] Walk over and snatch Shades' .45 while he's still distracted, you want to check out this ammo.
>>[X] Write In: Wait a beat to give them hope and a chance to say something smart
>>[X] "I changed my mind, fire away, Cuda." While more interested in the ammo than their deaths.
Unless they got something really good to say, smoke 'em. We'll figure something out. Maybe just leave it a mess to dump in Cage's lap.

>>2928106
>Make sure to eat those souls
No matter what. Slurp, slurp.

>>2927919
Backing >>2928514 as well as the soul slurping when we're done. A boisterous "oh, you're serious, lemme laugh even HARDER!" Bender sort of laugh after
>"I changed my mind, fire away, Cuda."
is absolutely in-character and I like that. Kojo is all about domination and asserting said domination. Fucking with people falls perfectly in both of them.

And by "soul eating" I mean all three of them. Diamondback, Shades, Cottonmouth. Preferably after we're done here and Cuda leaves. Would rather not have people know we can straight up eat souls, at least not this early on.

>>2929168
I'm kind of up in the air on cottonmouth. So far he's seemed like the most level headed of the bunch and could be a decent lieutenant here.

>>2929192
I guess we could have Cuda spare him while he kills Shades. Then we deal with Cottonmouth personally before taking Diamondback and Shades souls for ourselves

>>2929192
>>2929196
So, shoot them up but spare Cottonmouth?

>>2929235
For the time being.

Voting closed, writing now.
>>2929284
Aight.

Also, today's my birthday so expect, like, two or three updates today.

>>2929296
Happy birthday boss! I'm running around all day myself so that works. Can only phone post here or there.

Got to take care of a few errands. Will finish writing and update when I get back.

>[X] Walk over and snatch Shades' .45 while he's still distracted, you want to check out the ammo.
>[X] Wait a beat to give them hope and a chance to say something smart
>[X] "I changed my mind, fire away, Cuda! Leave Cottonmouth alive for now!"
>[X] Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp.

>(1/2)

First priority is making sure whatever the hell Shades has in that M1911 doesn't get shot at your usually bullet-proof ass. He wouldn't have pointed that thing at you had it not been loaded with something that could possibly hurt you. The otherworldly, metallic smell the bullets have doesn't exactly give you the impression that they would have bounced off your skin like regular ball ammo. It's a possibility that Shades was unsure it would work, but Diamondback ordered him to try it out. Either way, it doesn't matter now.

You prowl over to the disturbed Puerto Rican's side, stepping over corpses as well as wounded Rivals, and swipe his .45 out of his hand.

Shades slowly turns his head to you, but doesn't say a word.

Taking a few steps away, you press down on the mag release and catch the purple bullet filled magazine with your other hand as it falls. A hum rumbles in your throat as you look into the glowing purple rounds. It vaguely reminds you of the materials composing some alien spaceships you've seen shot down: metallic in origin but foreign looking substance and structure.

A few footsteps some ways from your front draw a glance from you, revealing them to be a fearful Cottonmouth.

"We tried to fuck you." He says, revealing pointed teeth similar to Tombstone's. "There's no denying that, playa. You did what you had to do, and we get that. Diamondback's dead now, our boys can't even stand up, and you hold the power over our life and death. We've learned our lesson and we're ready to listen to what you have to say."

You focus back on the bullets, grin, and wait for an uneasy minute to pass by.

"I changed my mind, fire away, Cuda! Leave Cottonmouth alive for now!"

Thunder booms through the air again for a moment and a thump quickly follows.

You load the magazine back in the .45 and tuck it away in the waistband of your pants before strolling past a shaking Cottonmouth to Shades' heaving body.

Whether or not these bullets would work on you is a mystery you don't want to solve using your body as a test subject, but you're sure either Shades or Diamondback will know. You could've just asked them but you wouldn't know of their operations that way. Diamondback's soul has a few minutes before Death pops in to whisk it away so you've got more than enough time.

>(2/2)

You kneel over Shades' dying body, pull your arm back, will your essence to take the shape of your arm, plunge your smoldering scarlet arm into Shades, and grasp the loose strands of his being.

Shades shakes and spasms as you rip out his soul before falling limp when the deed is done.

You plop part of the delicious wisp in your mouth and breathe the rest in like sucking down large strands of noodles. A rapturous moan escapes your lips as Shades' confused soul is engulfed and consumed by your own. Returning your ethereal hand into your body, you look over to Diamondback's corpse and drag your tongue across your lips. The sight of all his pooling blood and knowledge of how good consuming his soul will feel is mouthwatering.

Rising to your feet, you saunter over to Diamondback's body. The puddle of blood around the corpse splashes as you step into it. Squatting by the body's side, careful to avoid staining your black slacks again, you stroke a hand across its chest to make sure the soul is still there. You will your swelling essence to once again take the form of your arm and sink it inside of the corpse before ripping out its soul. Instead of literally eating it, curious, you bring it back into your body along with your astral arm. The euphoria you feel when your soul devours Diamondback's is exactly the same as it was with Shades and Kingpin.

One last guttural moan escapes your lips before you stand up and turn back to a confused, disturbed Cottonmouth.

What to do with him, you wonder.

>[ ] "Tell me, why shouldn't I kill you right now?"
>[ ] "What you just saw was me eating their souls, by the way. They don't exist anymore. Not individually or existentially. I don't know what Lady Death normally does to them, but it's bound to be something better than what I do. Do you want that to be you?"
>[ ] "Why did you try to stop Shades from shooting me?"
>[ ] "What exactly are the bullets Shades tried to shoot me with made of?"
>[ ] "I'm in a really good mood right now and feel pretty great so I'm going to let you live."
>[ ] "The Rivals are through, tell the rest of your boys that."
>[ ] "Congratulations! Your the new and only leader of the Rivals, which means you're my bitch."
>[ ] "From now on, the Rivals are no more. You're all mine now and you'll do whatever I say. I'll be good to you if you're good to me. Cross me or disobey me and you end up just like the rest of your dead friends."
>[ ] Pull out the .45 and shoot Cottonmouth with one of the purple bullets.
>[ ] Pull out the .45 and shoot Cottonmouth in the head with one of the purple bullets.
>[ ] Pull out the .45 and shoot Cottonmouth three individual times. Once in the tibia, one in his chest, and one final shot to his head. (Firearm Skill, +4 modifier DC18. Roll is for brushing rust off your gunslinging style.)
>[ ] Take out the .45, eject the mag, and examine the purple bullets again.
>[ ] Write In.