Recently, I was speaking to a young man named Premeir, of the eponymous bloodline.  He's now dead, sadly, RIP.

But we were arguing, back and forth, about the very, very, very long-running feud that are taken place between the Kuku and Prem lineages.

And I got to think...  Which lineage won?  Can it be measurable?  Is it over?  Will it ever end?

The first time the lineages fought was a straight gunbattle, the Prem killed the Kuku, though these distant descendants bore little resemblance to the prominents that would later be produced.

The next notable event in the feud's history, was when a Kuku, then engaged in a war of wits against a prominent Philly outfit, gave a speech slating a Prem and producing evidence of monies provided to him by the Philly outfit.  The money was paid to the Kuku to publicly insult the Prem, or so it was claimed.  In an astonishing act of Machiavellian craftsmanship,  the Kuku, an incognito gangster named BillW, caused the Prem, Godfather of a major city, to start a war with Philly, first words, then bullets.

The end result?  The Prem, his crew, his and city and their crews were wiped out.

And on it went.  The Prem bloodline produced many Godfathers and many of them were targeted by stealthy BG assassins.  Dozens, if not hundreds, were murdered.  Kuku's bloodline, of course, did not account for all of them, but did for some.

It's hard to quantify the dollar value that this cost the Prem lineage over the years, but it surely runs into tens of millions.

And then, of course, there was the Winter of Discontent, when a Kuku played a leading role in the build-up to the most powerful Prem Godfather that ever lived being taken down, along with Roman.  Many, many others joined in this revolt, but various members of the Kuku lineage fouht and fought well.

At one stage, a Prem Godfather was so incensed by the attacks, military and intelligence led, that he bullied other leaders in this thing into starting a treaty aimed at stopping the member of the Kuku line and others.  It failed.  The Prem godfather died.

And for a period of time after this, various members of the Kuku lineage bloodline hunted anyone associated with the Prem bloodline.  

On another occasion, a Kuku member leaked information to a Prem Godfather, about a descendant of the Iocaste bloodline speaking ill of him (the Prem).  The result?  Prem wiped out a city.  The Kuku wanted that city wiped out, but manipulated the Prem into doing his bidding.

And on the flipside?  What has Prem's bloodline done to Kuku's?  

Basically, killed a lot of low-hanging fruit; gangsters and Goombas and not much more.

Never wiped out his city, never shot his BGs, never actually killed anyone from the Kuku lineage who'd as much as gotten Made.

So, my friends, what I'd like to ask you is this.

Who won the Kuklinski/Premeir feud?

I'd say the lineage that reached Godfather multiple times "wins" in this one to be honest... But that's just me.

Henri shakes his head sadly and walks away.

Spoken like  true fool, HenriDucard

We are not talking about the relative merits of the bloodlines and their achievements, we are talking about the feud that they engaged in.

Who won?

Dubliner listened with a bit of interest. He's fairly new to this organization--to this business, so hearing a bit about past occurrences interested him a tad. However, he thought this seemed like more of a sad case of overdrawn vendetta. Not to say there no place for vendetta in the underworld. However, standing on a street corner trying to coerce innocents who have no stake in a feud to pick a winner just seems...unnecessary. Both parties have their reasonings for reasons that Dubliner likely wouldn't understand as the two parties appear to go way back. But searching for assurance from strangers seems...off.

Dubliner wouldn't dare make assumptions about neither kuku or Prem, but simply to put the squabble in the past where it happened and where it belonged. He knew it wouldn't change, but felt the need to wish them both the best in their lines.

As far as the overarching question goes, "I think I'd agree with Henri in that Prem's line, as it stands, when all is said and done, will be the line most likely remembered for great things. I'd rather be known for running a city and having multiple Godfather's in my family than for letting a fight drive my line's motivation for just about everything. A tip of the hat to Kuku-, however, for being able to pull off Machiavellian-esque intrigue like you have in the past. Pretty impressive, to say the least."   

Dubliner, I appreciate your input, but could we please focus on the feud?  Not the individual bloodlines?

I said what I said for a reason, but it wasn't caught I suppose.

I hesitate to say who's winning because I hate seeing perennial feuds in this organization because, in the past, I've seen feuds drag the entire underworld into death and decay. Both sides have their good and their bad in this. Ideally, I think this should be met and dealt with to avoid future bloodshed between the two parties, but like I said, It's not my business and it's not my place to say who's "winning". I wish the best to both of you in any and all future endeavors you have, however. Best of luck.

Hasil realizes that only one answer is going to be entertained and keeps walking.

On the contrary, Hasil, I will discuss any answer of merit - the problem is that people aren't looking at the substance of this issue.

Henri had been standing in the shadows nearby. Deciding to feed the troll, he walks back up the group and addresses the child.

"You're asking for the removal of the focus on "bloodlines", yet you want input on who is 'winning' the feud that is going on between who? Oh wait right...your bloodlines. And still you say I speak like a fool?"

"Regardless, I believe it's only a feud if both sides actively trade blows and somehow I doubt any of Prems bloodlines bothered to give you the time of day."

"Now in case you can't see me...you'll notice I'm about to walk away. That means that I am no longer a part of this conversation, just for your information."

Henri rolls his eyes and WALKS AWAY. 

...

Oh, hello, Premier.

Good to see someone from your lineage back on these Shores.

So, I was just looking back over the historical journals, and couldn't help concluding that the Kuklinski lineage landed many significant blows against the Prem bloodline, and all that the Prem bloodline managed in return was to kill (or have killed) a few dozen unmade members.

What do you say?

In the end, its not the words of our enemies we remember, but the silence of our friends.

Ah, hello Shaggs.  I remember your family well.  They were weighed and found wanting.

Premier - you and I, and our related lines, have been, well at least friendly.  I can't speak for you, but there's a form of respect.

Your lineage did what they did, consistently, but it was always understood that it was business.

You are both losers. 

You'll have to pardon me as I have been away from the life of crime for some time and am not positive I remember all the bloodlines or parties involved... If memory serves me, would this be the same Kuku- that was once nominated Street Orator of the Year? 

I just checked my lineage journals, Romance, and can confirm that a distant relative was indeed nominated Street Orator of the Year - if my records are correct, he would have won it, but the competition was rigged, a symbol of the terrible corruption endemic at the time that he was trying to fight.