~*Chapter II: Modding the Ropes*~
Being "alive" was a very strange feeling for Ivan. All of the objects on the ground or anything built wouldn't interact with his body. He just now realized that he was gliding through a dream all his life and registering was just the start of his life. He could touch everything he could see, and would feel satisfaction in knowing how it felt. Rough, smooth, silky, bumpy, sharp, painful, all that was there.
But he hates rocks.
"Why is Kyle taking so long?" Ivan whined. "It didn't even take that long for me. How hard is it to choose a username?"
*Krankenstein is already taken*
"CRAP"
*Switchfoot is already taken*
"AAARGH!"
Ivan could not wait much longer, so he just went wherever his feet took him. Unfortunately for him, it took him flat on his face, which wasn't quite as far as Ivan has planned; it really only took him 2 feet away from the registration building. New to objects outside his home, Ivan unknowingly stuck his foot under a rock and, when lifted, tripped his entire body unto a hard pavement. There was a noticeable amount of blood on his face and nose and possibly a bruise or two on his knees. This was honestly the first time he has felt pain. Running into things, falling down the stairs, smacking himself with a pot only generated laughter for Ivan. So when he got up, he let out the loudest, hardest, most vile curse word he could create.
Even though that relieved his anger towards the rock, he looked around and saw many "O_O" faces staring at him. Citizens ranging from men, women, children, mazzelhs, Sonnies, and more all staring at him. His mother and father were quite into the world of AG and taught him all he knew. So he knew exactly what was going to happen:
"CUSSS!" "HE CUSSED! MODS!" "SOMEONE GET HIM!" "OOOH YOU'RE GONNA GET BAAAANED...." "HEY THIS GUYS CUSSING!"
"OHHH WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUUUT UUUUP!" Bellowed a voice out from the background of people snitching. "JEBUS I'M GETTING TO IT!"
The crowd of citizens moved (and got pushed) in order to create a middle pathway for the stranger to pass through.
"OMG IT'S A MOD! "HEY MOD, WHERE'S MY MERIT??" "HEY SHUT UP YOU DON'T GET THOSE BY ASKING!" "YOU WANNA TUSSLE PAL??"
"Yes yes, I'm a mod! Thank you Captain Obvious! Alright, now who's the pakistan that cussed?"
The crowd either turned around to face, or pointed, towards the lone figure with a expression. It didn't take a baby to know that he was in deep doo-doo. The mod drew ever closer to him, when his figure was made clear. He was a gruff, rough, tough man with whiskers around the middle-bottom of his face. Fur adorned his wardrobe; his boots, gloves, and part of his cuirass were all fur. Under the fur, he wore a soft-leather breastplate, for flexibility. Iron chains connected the fur on his pauldrons to keep it still. What was REALLY noticeable was the almost-whole wolf pelt that looked as if it "hung" from the back of the mod. The head and the mouth reached and wrapped over his face.
"Hey kid!" Lectured the mod, "Can't you read? It's practically everywhere you look! The 'terms and conditions'? It says right in there, not in fine print but it's there, that swearing and vulgar language is forbidden, unless you censor it! And no, we don't exactly have a lot of men with sound horns beeping you out every time you cuss, so we ask you yourself to do it! Hey! Are you even listening to me?! Why I even have half a mind to--"
The turned more into a :[ face this time and was about to turn into a :'[.
"Ah jeez..." said the mod surprised. "Uhh, hang on kid, lemme just look at your profile.." He poked the top of Ivan's sternum. A translucent, square image appeared beside Ivan revealing his information. He maintained his posture and expression, lest he fear he will invoke the wrath of the mod.
"What??" the mod exclaimed shocked, "0 AP? Is that why you didn't know the rules? Well why didn't you say so??"
"Because I was stricken with terrible, everlasting fear?" Ivan retorted.
"Err...sorry kid, I'm like that all the time. With so few officials and so many delinquents, I'm swamped with work. Sometimes, I don't even get to sleep!
"That sounds...rough" Ivan realized, " I don't think I wanna be a mod anytime soon..."
"You're telling me! Hmm, alright, tell ya what: I'll tell the boys I'm taking off work early and show you the ropes. Mod style!"
The mod squatted down on all-fours and signaled Ivan to jump on. His new expression is now a ^_^. He quickly jumped on his back, before he changed his mind. The fur was soft and bushy, yet the head at the top horrifying.
"By the way!" The mod called from infront, looking back at Ivan, "I'm NoNameC68! From now on, if you got anything to report, be sure to see me or some other mod. I tell it like it is, unlike some people... Okay, let's ride!"
NoName swept the ground with one leg and took off with great speed. "Oh yeah! You might wanna hold...on...to..." NoName looked back and saw that Ivan was 10 feet from him, eyes dazed, and doing a headstand. He came back.
"Okay, this time, hold on to me! Grab the shoulders or something!" Ivan nodded.
NoName swept the ground with one leg and took off with great speed (again). They flew through all the nameless buildings that the citizens of Armorgames took residence in. The further they rode, the closer one particular building came into the distance. Ivan was in a state of pure bliss, except for the part about riding on a mod. He was quite happy, until that turned into an expression of fear, when a nearby citizen was in the way. He wanted to draw back his hands to block the view, but that would just send him 50 feet backward. He instead squinted his eyes and braced for impact. Any minute now, they would collide, and both of them would have to cuss the frustration out...Yet, there wasn't one.
"That's one of the beauties of being a mod, kid!" NoName called. "People can see you, yet you can faze right through them as is necessary!" Ivan looked back at the citizen, who stood there, eyes blinking, but continued on his merry way. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's where we're going to kid. The Newcomer's Forum, where you can introduce yourself and be one......"
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"Fufufufufufufu....Excellent. Nemo's in sight." >:]
A shadowy figure with binoculars was spying on the two off in the distance towards the Newcomer's Forum. He jumped down from one end of the building to the next, this time landing on a lower level. He took refuge in the darkness, lest someone catch him in the act. Like a spider, he crawled around the side of the building and into a small space where little light shown in.
"No one can see me..this is perfect!"
"Hey, what are you do--AAGGH!" *ploop*
Smoke issuing from the hand, the mysterious figure has shot the bystander with a "+30 inactivity" dart. The unfortunate witness to the near-future crime is now imitating a ghost account and is swaying back and and forth.
"Now then.. prepare to be the victim of the best prank ever, Nemo...fufufufufuFUUFUUUFUU!"
"Hey! Quit shouting, I can hear you fro--AAGGH!" *ploop*
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"..with the masses! Here, people get to know you, and you may even make a new friend or two! So let's get you inside.."
"Uhh NoName?" Ivan shuddered. There's a dot in the midst of the backlight..."
"Oh it's just a piece of Logo floating or something," NoName assured, "It'll burn up sooner or later."
"It's getting bigger..." said Ivan with increased paranoia.
" Hmm... It seems to be bigger than I thought, yes... Maybe it's just going to turn into a Logotite, someone'll put it back where it belongs..."
"Now it's just...floating there.."
"Oooh really? Lemme see!"
The figure lay suspended in the backlight light, where everyone can see. For a moment, it lay still, but suddenly, it thrusts forward a leg, and shoots down, the target being NoName.
"OH SH" *CROOM* *crack*
Just attacked by the mysterious figure, NoName jumps up and lets out a painful cry, holding his face. Ivan , being on top of NoName when attacked, gets thrown into a nearby house, where his back suffered a slight bend.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" The figure standing before the two is exploding in laughter, slapping his knees. His garb, dressed in ebony black all over, covered his entire body. The material was a rubbery content, for those close quarters where he must squeeze out an area. Wide, blue eyes shown through the mask worn, where only the ears poked out. The mask also fit the muzzle, with nose holes the size of dimes for the figure to breathe. The tail was dyed black for stealthy purposes.
"GRAAAGH! STROP!" NoName bellowed, still holding his face.
"ROFL"
"YOU PAKISTAN!"
Strop, still laughing, replies, "How do you like my prank, Nemo? Took me 5 months to learn that trick!"
"That wasn't a prank! That was EVIL!" NoName wipes the rubbery smudges off his face "Oh I WILL get you for this, Strop. One of these days," promised NoName, shaking his fist. "I was just dropping off one of the newcomers out the kindness of my heart, and I get repaid with THIS??"
"Woah woah, take it easy Nemo!" replied Strop, taking a couple steps back, "Okay, I promise you, no more pranks on you until you prank me back! So wait, where is the new guy anyway?"
NoName motions over to Ivan, who removed himself from the slight crater in the wall, ignoring the badgering from the citizen who owned it.
"Wait just a minute... A minute... I know this guy!" Strop runs over to Ivan.
"You do?" said NoName and Ivan.
"Yeah! You're FireTrent's kid, aren't you? I haven't seen you since I was still in College!"
Ivan, with a shocked expression, shakes Strop's hand with uncertainty.
"Man, that guy needs to get up on his AP. 5 years, and still only Wood Squire. At least your mom has something going."
"Uhh yeah..she likes hunting Sonnies, alright.." Ivan groaned, remembering the incident at his house.
"Well hey! 2 mods showing you around is better than one right? Let's go!" Motioned Strop with spirit, ignoring the slight growling from NoName.
Together, with Strop on the left, Ivan in the middle, and NoName on the faaar right side for obvious reasons, walked down towards the Newcomer's Forum and awaited Ivan's first thread.
