Kuku steps out of a car and stands on a podium.  He begins to speak...

FRIENDS, I MUST BRING SOMETHING TO YOUR ATTENTION!

There exists, at this moment in time, a serious conflict in our society, on our Streets.  This is not, a so often we have seen, a war involving weapons and ending in death, no.  This is a battle of words, ideas and ideals.

Kuku looks around, people know he's being serious because be rarely pauses during his speeches.

We have the journalists and reporters, men like CommissarKuku who command large audiences and stir debate.  They are the quality press, the broadsheets.  

And then we have the self-declared "Creatives" - like Sally and Sisyphus and ScottMcCall and others of his ilk.

What, exactly, do these fantasists offer to our community?  Do they discuss current affairs?  Analyse politics?  Do the report on the rich and varied history of this thing of ours?  Do they fund, and run, contests?  

THE ANSWER TO ALL OF THIS - WHICH YOU ALREADY KNOW, IS THAT NO THEY DO NONE OF THESE THINGS!

Instead, the congregate on the Streets, talking to themselves, and claiming to have seen aliens and werewolves, and Teq, and Marleau Zombies.

To describe these wretched beings as creatives is an insult to creatives.

Surely the time is ripe for newspapers, and commentary, not fantasy and fantasists?

I'd like to discuss the level of harm being done to the Streets by the fantasists.

Can it be repaired?  And if so, how?

"I'd like to correct CommissarKuku on at least one thing, and you'll not hear me come and argue or debate with him often, but to say that we do not fund and or run contests is absurd. In fact, journals show my line funding and running (or helping run) contests in many cities. Take for example..."

Sully thumbs through old flyers and announcements.

"Ah yes, THIS PAGE HERE!"

"In fact, our lines were trying to -help- your father actively engage the community at large. Were they met with kindness? No. What did your father do? Offered 1 million dollars in ILLEGITIMATE funds to anyone who did not partake in the contest. That's not the only one our community has funded though."

"Boxing tournaments with William Bowden and Jack Mezzo."

"Then there were many, and I reiterate the word... MANY... competitions that our line helped The Ivory Towers put on. Just look at THIS OLD FLYER. Anything from pick pocketing competitions, to scavenger hunt types of competitions, shooting competitions, many more than just your run of the mill writing competitions. So if you continue to spread your vitriolic lies and hate, at least have your facts right, good sir."

"In the end, rest well, enjoy your life, stay healthy!"

Sully - do not attempt to sully the Competitive Writing Community, fostered by my father.  That's scandalous.

It is ridiculous to accuse my father of offering $1M to anyone who didn't enter that competition - that would be the entire society, except for the three person who entered your little contest.  

Retract that accusation.  My father stole a lot of money, but not that much.

As for that other flyer - I must know how you arranged this "On December 31st a guest judge (or panel of judges) will be invited to select the crew with the best overall theme."

So, tell me how you manged your judges?

Commissar, whereas your facts are slightly wrong, as Sully has pointed out in great detail, I can't help but agree with the bulk of the topic here.

Everybody loves a story every now and again, however to speak of werewolves and aliens in these streets is absurd. We are mafia folk, and these streets are not for stories of anything your head can concoct at any given point. If we're not careful these kinds of stories could drive people away from these streets and discourage activity.

There is a place for these stories though, the back alleys of these streets are a place where anything goes, no matter how important or interesting.

It also seems strange to see the same person reply to themselves, in their own story, with more of the story. I imagine this is in an attempt to make themselves look like they are more active than they actually are around here.

All in all, I could do with less of the fantasy, save that for the bedroom!

FAKE NEWS!  GET YOUR FAKE NEWS HERE!  EXTRA EXTRA!

So. much. journalisming.  

As seems to be the custom these days, 'journalists' and 'reporters' like CommissarKuku don't care about facts or truths.  They see the world through their rose colored glasses and assume that the majority of society thinks as they do.  They call their drivel quality work and and set it their life's goal to shut down any speech that does not conform to their nonsensical viewpoints.  They fail at every turn to acknowledge the quiet majority who wish to live upon these streets in peace and freedom to live their lives as they choose to live. 

Perhaps if such people really wanted to produce high-quality journalistic and reporting works they would learn that they have to set aside their bias natures.  They would learn the key to producing such works is through less talking and propaganda-making, and more listening to their fellow community members away from the public red-light corners.  

But atlas, these individuals are to in-love with their own voices and they simply can not help themselves. 

Ladies, I hope you all find you someone that loves you the way that CommissarKuku loves CommissarKuku!

Oh there is hope!  You would like to educate yourself.  This is indeed a noble thing.  The word I used was not identifying a person.  It was an expression.  In this context it means...

She pulls out a dictionary and begins to read.

a detailed conspectus of something of great and multi-faceted complexity, with its elements splayed so as to be presented in as discrete a manner as possible whilst retaining a realistic view of the whole.

What does creativity mean if not to use words, objects, and the likes in ways that are unique and unexpected?  Do you "get" what every painter is trying to convey in their art?  Do you "like" every string of sounds that a musician composes? Does your failure to "get" and "like" the final result diminish the creativity of the piece? 

I am certain that we could walk through the Louvre and disagree about what we believe to be the most creative pieces in the museum.  Does this mean that the pieces we don't appreciate have no right to be there?

You failed to see the play on words, but that is alright.  I won't hold it against you.

"I'll make no retraction. I stand by my words, unlike some. Let me get you a direct quote from your father."

He flipped through the pages in his hand again.

"Here you go."

Therefore, I implore you NOT to enter Flash Fiction, and instead give your speech here. Leave a copy it on this notice board, and I will give you $1M.

No competitions or rankings (though maybe something special for the standouts), but a guaranteed $1M for every entrant as per Flash Fiction rules.

"This implied that, using the rules put forth for my line's competition, your father offered a guaranteed 1 million dollars, essentially to everyone, if they did not partake. All they had to do, was write in his. No competition, just a free $1 million to write for him instead of in another friendly competition. Left open for everyone, including your father. Don't believe me? Here's the flyer for yourself."

Sully handed out the flyer, further demonstrating the Commissar's destructive taint on the writing community at large.

"Don't be like your father. You still have a chance to be better. Then again, everyone knows you won't be any different from him. They just like the pot stirring and drama that surrounds you like ants to sugar. Anyway, I've said enough. Remember, I make no retractions to my statement. I stand by my words. You'd learn well to do the same. Then maybe you wouldn't be as worried about leaving your city because, what were your words?"

I can't leave my home city, because almost everyone in this society wants to kill me.

"I feel bad for you. At least I don't have that problem." 

Sally grumbled softly as she rummaged through a pile of old journals and genealogical notes. From the myriad notebooks and typed transcripts for new novels, she pulled a single slip of paper, stepping forward to place it on Kuku's podium with a sigh. 

"I realize that the list of your father's misdeeds and shortcomings is rather long. And I would never expect you to remember every person he ever stepped on in this thing of ours. But I would like to submit the following for your consideration.

In your earlier statements, you insist: " 
 

It is ridiculous to accuse my father of offering $1M to anyone who didn't enter that competition - that would be the entire society, except for the three person who entered your little contest.  

Retract that accusation.  My father stole a lot of money, but not that much.

 "And yet, my records of that period prove otherwise. Have a look. He clearly stated:" 

...I implore you NOT to enter Flash Fiction, and instead give your speech here. Leave a copy it on this notice board, and I will give you $1M.

No competitions or rankings (though maybe something special for the standouts), but a guaranteed $1M for every entrant... 

"And while I have neither the energy nor the interest to drudge up every single such instance, I assure you that this example was not the only one. Now following in his footsteps, when those who have been quashed beneath the self-serving quasi-agenda of your forefathers abandon their previous rackets for quieter (albeit madder) shores, you once again take it upon yourself to stir the peace and leave no respite for anyone who does not fit or serve your ideas of what mafiosi should be and do. So, if you insist on continuing your uninspired and indiscriminate witch hunt against all things that remain 'un-immolated', please do us all the favour of at least having your facts in order. If nothing else, it will support the fabrication of more convincing propaganda. Which should serve you well in the end." 

Hello,

In fairness, it should be pointed out that both Sally and Sully both presented the exact same piece of evidence (not two separate articles of evidence as it may appear to some passerbys).  Just don't want it to appear that there is twice as much than is actually being presented.

He tips his hat to Sully, Sally, and CommissarKuku and wishes them a good day respectfully.  TheMeTooMovement spots a schlub down the street and his con instincts kick in...

Sally sighed, rubbing her temples. There was no winning. There was no reasoning. There was no compromise. There'd be no last words. She knew it. That was, after all, what had driven her family to the far corners of the world in the first place. And now, more than ever, she wanted to simply hide in the shadows as they had always done... looking out for her own and allowing the insanity of the world to pass by in peace. But it seemed even the shadows weren't safe anymore. And it seemed like, maybe, they never would be again. Resigning herself to the loathsome reality that is Kuku, she gave a single soft-spoken speech before smiling at a nearby sign and climbing back into her car. 

"Your keen penchant for dissecting every word of an opposing argument is commendable. 

However, the fact still stands that - for his own benefit and entertainment - your father purposely discouraged engagement in a competition designed to support and engage the community at large simply because it did not align with his personal agenda for said community. And that a persistent pattern of such behaviour largely contributed to the current atmosphere of 'rivalry' within our community. 

Based on the actions I have seen from your lineage, it seems self-evident that you do not want a thriving community at all. In fact, you leave NO room in the streets for ANYTHING outside of regurgitated 'news', incendiary muckraking, and self-aggrandizing bickering. When - at least I believe - these streets are meant and made for so much more.

You don't seem to want anyone present in these streets at all save for yourself and those you hand-select based on their unthreatening relation to your own self-perceived regency. Anyone else... anyone at all... you will simply hound into exhaustion until there is no resistance left. That is, after all, the tactic for your systematic immolation, is it not?

So now you hand out derogatory labels to others the same way that you claim unjustified titles for yourself. You call into question anything that doesn't fit your understanding of a community you seem to genuinely believe you created... and all the while you call us crazy. 

I have to hand it to you. Good job. GREAT job, in fact. As someone whose family has suffered your persecution before I can say, firsthand, your strategy is amazingly effective. If only it was actually applied to a respectable cause.

In all seriousness, if you truly want to repair the so-called 'damage' being done to these streets, perhaps start with your own approach. As a sign of good faith, to demonstrate your distance and difference from your father's actions, might I suggest that you approach the topic from a standpoint of unification rather than inflammatory division? In which case, I guarantee, you would certainly see more reparation than you will ever achieve with your current trajectory." 

Sally - my bloodline has prosecuted those who deserved prosecuted, but has never, ever, persecuted anyone.

That is a slur, a slander, a defamatory smear, and I demand that you offer evidence, or you retract?

"Question for you Commissar,"  Isadora peaked through the crowd gathering to talk.  "In the past upon these shores, families have been lead by: dogs, ferrets, sea-food looking aliens, sponges that live at the bottom of the sea, robots, superheroes, supervillains, men and women from medieval settings, evil clowns, star wrestlers, rock stars, demons, satan himself, raccoons, space raccoons, foxes, folks heroes, legendary mythical warriors, historical warriors, one or more of the seven deadly sins, strange aliens from time-travel stories, colors, bottles of food and condiments, characters from romance novels, characters from detective novels, and many many more than I can possibly name here.  In fact, you might notice many from this list are current hands or CLs in our world at this very moment... will you be coming out against them with equal venom as you've come out against vampires and werewolves or is your hatred reserved for classic horror creatures?"