Some Things Never Change

[MessengerOfDreams]

MessengerOfDreams was the last one expected to walk into Niklaw's Tavern out of the arranged table on the left window corner. Literally.

As he walked in, he nodded at Buffooner, who immediately tossed him a glass cup. MoD reached out to catch it, but it bounced off of his fingertips and onto the ground, where it broke into two jagged halves.

“♥♥♥♥,” he hissed in embarrassed frustration.

“Oi!” Buffooner's tone would have been more intimidating were he not stifling a subtle chuckle. “Careful there, you git! I ain't made of money!”

“This isn't money,” MoD smirked, “it's glass.”

“Bah,” Buff tossed a plastic cup in his direction, “drink like a king. If you can manage.”

“Plastic! So regal!” was the returned quip. “You never spare any expenses around here, do ya!”

“Only the best for our moderators!” Buff replied flippantly; it wasn't like moderators were kings around here, so it was funnier in retrospect, like a weird in-joke. “So, whatcha want to eat?”

“Mmm... I'll take one of your burgers, if you will. Extra cheese.”

“Like your jokes?”

“You want a tip, you old ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥?” Accented with a devious laugh.

“Alright, alright!” Buff chuckled as he departed into the kitchen. “I'm on it!”

“Yeah, you better run!” MoD shook his head in laughter as he approached a line of brewery taps. He never drank much so he found himself playing eenie-meenie-minie-moe with the various taps until he picked one, with a name he didn't recognize or really care about, just so long as it tasted good.

He strolled over to the table where seven others waited, some as old as the site itself, some just recent members, but all good friends. Aro, Mr Saxman, Aznchau, Venexis, Myst, Mile2401, RedLink and Panik sat around the rectangular table in nice wooden chairs of their own. He nodded back to Panik, who sported a shirt with a large exclamation point over it and a fedora similar to his.

“Didn't know fedoras were a new trend around here,” MoD quipped.

“Me either,” was the response from Panik. “By the way, nice blingin' cup.”

MoD had to chuckle. “It is, ain't it? A genuine ladykiller. Ka-chow.” The last word was as dry as a desert on Mars, and he plopped into his seat in satisfaction, enjoying the vibe of the room.

“Heh, you'd think that for the most famous spot in the city, they'd actually give you some nice silverware,” Myst mused with a slight smile, twiddling her empty plastic cup around with a finger. “Not that I'm complaining, it quite adds character. Makes a statement, of sorts.”

Aznchau laughed at that. “Trust me, Myst,” he said, “I have a big-ass stack of those at home. The only statement those make are 'I'm broke.'”

“There's a slight slight difference between a gorgeous restaurant-slash-tavern,” she returned with an eyebrow raise to accent her smile, “and your... I'm going to take a guess and say your apartment that looks like it was raided by Animal House? Yes? No?”

Everyone laughed at the statement without guilt; it was pretty obvious that Myst never meant her jabs. Indeed, even as they laughed she turned a slight shade of red; easily visible in her light skin. She twiddled with an earring, trying to look nonchalant. Venexis grinned and gave his girlfriend a soft clap on the shoulder; a common exchange of affection between the two.

“Fun fact- Niklaw's Tavern is actually the first dedicated historical building in the city,” Mile2140 noted as he adjusted in his seat, drink in hand. Mile, not Miles, but Mile was noted for being a new member who had become swiftly known as the guy who would become one of the site's greatest historians. He didn't seem like a history geek, with a straight-out-of-the-eighties mullet, leather jacket and ripped jeans, as much as the missing member of Aerosmith.

“Fun fact- no one gives a damn.” Even if you had never heard his voice, you'd probably figure out that it was RedLink granting a gratuitous smirk to Mile, slamming down an empty glass. Several snickers came as a reaction to his statement, but Mile just settled for an eye roll. “I pity you,” he replied in mock sadness.

“Eh, the feeling's mutual,” Red gave an accomplished grin, as if he just knew he had sent out a life-ending zinger. The table laughed as Mile gave another eye roll as a half-baked response.

Aro giggled the longest, catching her breath before adding “No offense against you, Mile, of course. But that was a good one, y'know?”

Mile spared a grin before taking a swig of his root beer. “Course!” he replied with mirth. “I've come to expect it.”

Sax was the last to speak, usually a quiet person. “So, anyway, Venexis,” he stated matter-of-factly, “why did you invite us all here?” It figured that his rare statement would be so factual, but it was going to be brought up eventually.

The attention shifted towards the front of the table where Venexis had taken residence on the left hand side, next to Myst, as could be expected. Before he could say anything, Aro took it upon herself to guess. “Did you get a promotion? Like, moderator or something?”

“Yeah!” Panik found the idea enthusing. “You're like the guy who deserves it!”

With an amused grin, Venexis shook his head. “No, actually. Like I've said, I turned them down.”

“Multiple times,” MoD nodded with a respectful smile. Ven knew how curious his friend found it that Ven had never had a penchant for such big jobs, but how... characterizing it was. Not many things on MoD's mind went unspoken, whether out of his mouth or not.

“What?” This was still, apparently in its third time, news to some members, like Mile, who was a big fan of Ven's. “You're like, perfect for it!”

“Ah,” Ven laughed, “I never really wanted such a big responsibility. I came here to chill.”

“Mmm...” Sax mused. “Then if it's not that...”

“Did you propose to Myst?” Well, you couldn't say that Aro wasn't bold, interrupting with the start of more plausible guesses. Red sniggered in anticipation of Ven's reaction, but Myst found this amusing, of all things, and quipped “I don't know, did he? Cause, if he did, I'd certainly like this situation brought to light.”

Ven had gone considerably red and a tad bit sputtery, causing Red to break out in laughter. Mercifully, MoD decided to deviate with “Well, then, if it's nothing... predictable, then what brings us here together, tonight?”

Ven smiled. “So, I actually get to answer my own question? Sweet.” Everyone laughed at his innocent comment and said “Well, it's actually the seventh anniversary of me moving here to Runouw City.

Almost as if he was the 100th customer to a ice cream store, his table erupted with cheers, congratulations and every sort of celebration short of confetti and a big check. Not many people celebrated their site birthdays as much as their real birthdays, but Ven was an exception, as he usually was. The celebration died down as everyone got their bearings.

Red was the first to speak, with the very couth words of “...okay. So, what's the big damn deal?”

MoD slapped Red in the shoulder, a typical reaction of the uncoordinated young man.

“Damn! That ♥♥♥♥ hurt!” Red barked in annoyance, although it wasn't so much, say, a rottweiler bark as much as it was a chihuahua bark. MoD responded with an apt “Learn to have some manners, you dumb ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.”

Panik looked embarrassed by the both of them. “Guys! You shouldn't be swearing in the company of... everyone else!” MoD noticed that his glance was towards the ever-cheerful Aro, who seemed unaffected by this. MoD knew this meant nothing more than the obvious chivalry that Panik had in his list of respectable ideals, but he had a feeling Red was going to open his mouth, so he passed a drop-dead glare towards him, daring him to speak. Red decided, sagely, not to. Good man.

Aro noticed Panik as well and grinned. “Well, honestly, I don't give a damn,” she stated simply. “So, anyway, Ven, seventh year here! Yeah... so, I've never been to an anniversary of... how long you lived here... so what's it like? Should I have bought a gift?”

Ven chuckled. “Don't worry, Aro, if I had wanted gifts, I'd have asked for them. I didn't really plan much. Just a night out here and all.”

Myst tapped him on the shoulder. “Didn't you bring something?” she asked. “I thought you had put something in your pocket.”

Ven turned somewhat red again as she mentioned that. “Oh! Uh... yeah... that...” he sighed, reaching into his suit pocket. He looked very out of place among the casually clothed group- even Myst was wearing a spray-painted t-shirt and some baggy jeans. It was somewhat endearing, really.

Ven scratched the back of his neck as he pulled out a deck of cards. “Well... actually, to be honest, this was all I brought as party material.”

Everyone else blinked in unison, surprised at the choice.

“Uno?” Sax murmured in surprise.

Aznchau couldn't resist a joke. “Or as Red calls it, One.” Almost immediately, everyone laughed, if not so much for the joke as for the fact that someone cracked one against the king zinger that made him react by punching Azn in the arm and calling him a tool.

“He got you good,” Mile grinned, satisfied.

“Bah. That's still Azn, 1, Mile, zero.” Red sneered as Mile's smile faded into annoyance as he realized his point was true.

“But seriously, Ven, what the hell?” Red continued. “You brought Uno to a tavern? You're a real boring ♥♥♥♥, y'know that?”

“Sorry,” Myst cracked a wan grin, “were you expecting some strippers in a vat of beer?” Such a joke was usually outside of Myst's chosen perimeters, so it brought a level of surprised “Ooh-hoos” from everyone except Mile, who was still wishing he could come up with a good one to use on Red. Myst was about as red as could be as she explained “but really, we're not exciting people. If I were to hold a secret party, the main attraction would be some Wii Sports. Like a boss.”

“We're pimping in our swagger,” Ven chuckled, enunciating the words correctly, which, retrospectively, was incorrect to do. “Like Fifty Cent and Buster Rhymes.”

Sax chuckled. “Alright, I'm cool if the majority is. Deal?”

“Actually, I think our food is coming up,” Aro interjected just as Ven had tossed his first rotation of their hands, causing him to stop short and awkwardly reach around everyone to pick up their cards and return them to his deck. As Buff came forward with a first tray, MoD looked up at the myriad of objects along the wall that was a staple decoration, and something caught his eye that caused him to start laughing loudly, causing many raised eyebrows.

Buff placed a burger in front of him and asked “What's got you going, MoD?”

MoD stopped laughing to point at a large knife and asked “How long's that been there?”

Buff looked up at the knife, which had “Bigger Knife” inscribed in fake blood. With a chuckle, he slapped MoD on the back and said “Oh, for years now! You never noticed?”

“I never noticed!” MoD laughed still. “That's rich!”

Azn looked up and gave a chuckle of his own. “Hah, Brando. What, did he autograph that to Niklaw way back when?” With a sparse chuckle, he added “Back when Niklaw was Niklaw?”

“Yeah,” Buff answered with a tone that suggested he was gathering his memories again. “Back when Issue Two came out. Ah, memories.”

Aro, Mile and Sax gave the three curious looks, not understanding the situation. Buff finished setting down the last of the plates and addressed them. “Back at the start of our fair city, almost eight years ago, Brandobrawl wrote a faux biography of us to spice it up around here. It was a smash hit, and it started a massive writing boom.”

MoD grinned at the last half. “A writing boom I've benefited from.” Everyone understood him there; he was one of the few original members still writing for the city, and around the world.

“Ah, that!” Mile snapped his fingers upon piecing the info together to create something he remembered. “I remember when I first read it I thought it was the real deal.”

Buff chuckled. “Ahaha! Trust me, fighting off real spammers was about as fun and adventurous as an episode of Cops. As in, not really that fun at all.”

“Don't remind me,” MoD groaned. “I remember when I started I was expecting to get an actual banhammer.”

Azn sputtered a laugh at that statement. “Oh my god, seriously? Only you, MoD.”

Buff gave a wide grin for memory's sake. “Anyway, I have loads of people to serve and only Avole to help me. If you'll excuse me, I will get to work on that.” And before the goodbyes could start, he ducked out swiftly without looking back.

MoD chuckled. “Ah, those were the times. So long ago.” His gaze was somewhat melancholy as he looked at more of the wall. “Mile, if you want some of the best history of the olden days of our city, look no further than these objects on these walls. All the memories of our first year sit around here.”

Ven grinned in anticipation. “Well, this is probably more interesting than your childhood card games. Especially told by an expert storyteller. Have at it, you guys!”

MoD nodded and he and Azn scanned the walls. Ven, despite not having been in the city during most of the first year, looked in case he could find something as well. Azn was the first to light up, pointing at a bumper sticker. “Hah! The first of the series!” he noted.

Everyone turned to the sticker and laughed, as the saying was still around today. The bumper sticker was white and had a crude drawing of Yoshi on it, and in plain computer text, read “I just had a spontaneous sh*t in my pants. You can't be serious with this.”

“Ah, Superyoshi,” MoD laughed. “A crazy, outspoken son of a ♥♥♥♥♥ and God bless him for it.”

“I remember when he first said that,” Azn chuckled. “What was it, he was at an art ceremony for an amateur and he saw that he had plagarized one of his friends' art?”

“Who was that, Megaboy?” Venexis ventured with a guess.

“Yeah, not the way to start off here,” MoD chuckled. “I remember Suyo, he was like” here he imitated Suyo's German accent, “ 'I...a...I just took a spontaneous ♥♥♥♥ in my pants! You can't be serious with this! You... this is Hunter's work, and damn good work, but certainly not yours! You goddamned idiot!' And then he jumped up and tackled the kid to the ground, even though he was only, what, twelve?”

Others laughed at MoD's impromptu retelling of the outrageous co-admin's antics. “Ah, politician was nothing but a title for him.” Panik stated. “He did things that would be... unbecoming of another politician, but for him it was fitting.”

“Hey, at least he wasn't screwing every chick he saw,” Aro grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Not that there's a very balanced girl-guy ratio, but still.”

“Hah, a crazy inspiration for us all,” Red concluded.

And that's where it ended, with everyone scanning the walls again. Myst noticed that MoD's grin had downturned into a flat line that every once in a while twitched into a short frown that if you blinked you'd probably miss. She gave him a reassuring smile, not sure if that was the right one, and he returned the smile with a small, knowing one of his own that she almost blinked and missed herself. He then returned to the wall, scanning for an object.

However, it was Sax who found the next one. “Ah, is that-”

“I think it is.”

The first Designing trophy hung like a mug off of the far wall, engraved to 24murph. Sax, being one of the biggest designers of the modern day, grinned at his hero's trophy. “Ah, what a time, when the designs considered amazing then are probably medieval now.”

By designs he referred to the cornerstone of Runouw's city, the designer, a virtual creator where one could create worlds at their own leisure, but were mostly never materialized. Occasionally companies would hold contests and the best creations would go through the download process, where they became real sets for art projects or movies and other such things; the creator having a large say in what happened. It was revolutionary, new, fresh, and what brought people here first.

“I actually saw it in the Runouw Historic Museum,” Mile stated, “whilst studying. I have to admit it holds up to the more modern stuff.”

“Who won the most recent one,” Ven asked, “what is it, the 31st contest? Figures we should be eight years in and only have thirty contests.”

Sneakily, MoD raised a hand.

“You?” Ven asked. “I thought you didn't enter.”

“Not me,” he grinned, “AniLo.”

Ven laughed. “Hah, that's incredible. A legend just like her brother. I remember trying her first level when she was a little kid; it about broke the virtual systems at its core.”

“Don't remind her,” MoD's grin turned wan. “I still have half of our trophy for the tenth, you know.”

“Half?” Red asked. “What did you, like, cut it right down the middle?”

“Pretty much,” Ven's response caused Red's eyes to widen. “Got a welder and cut the trophy in half, and kept one half each. It's actually kind of cool.”

Red smacked his forehead. “You guys are morons,” was all he muttered, grinning.

“No argument there,” Ven responded genially as everyone went back to the wall. Not even five seconds later, MoD shouted “The Microphone!”

Most of the table jumped back in surprise at MoD's eager tones. He blinked and took a breath upon realizing his mistake, mumbled “The microphone just above us. Microphone himself, the user, autographed it before he left. He used a lot of them; he was a newscaster, a singer, a host and for a short time, a moderator. Very well known, and a good friend.”

Everyone smiled at MoD's declaration of his friend, except for MoD, whose expression stayed stoic. Myst looked at MoD's untouched plate of food in comparison to everyone else's, who had at least taken a bite. He had seemed somewhat... distant through out the entire night. She caught his glance and mumbled “Antidisestablishmentarianism?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I'm okay... I s'pose. Having a good time. Y'know...” MoD drifted off.

Ven noticed what Myst was preoccupied with and gave MoD a reassuring smile, and then spoke up. “You know, in our past, we've had some real boss dudes, even though some aren't with us now, y'know, for whatever reason? But we still talk about them, still reminisce, remember them like the boss legends they are. And whether you know it or not, we are where they were at then, now.” With an enthusiastic grin, he explained “We're designers, leaders, artists, musicians, authors, historians just like those before us. We've already created bonds with everyone here and those will live on forever.”

Cracking his knuckles, he went on. “Let's do something totally hokey and awesome and introduce ourselves, but make a statement, a statement about our awesomeness. Sax, why don't you start?”

Sax pushed a messy strand of hair out of his eye and said “Hello, I'm Michael, or Saxman. I'm nineteen, I'm known for playing the saxophone and for being one of the more recent top designers.” Not knowing what else to say, he gestured to Aro.

She smiled as wide as she could and began. “Hi, I'm Aro. I just like living, and intend to do it as best as I can.”

Picking up, Red rolled his eyes but grinned nevertheless. “Hey, I'm Red, and I think this idea is entirely lame, but, hey, I like making people laugh with crazy, random stories and goofy comments and/or zingers.”

Azn went next. “Hello, everyone. I'm Austin, or Aznchau. And I am an alcoholic.” Everyone gave a short chuckle at the short record scratch moment. “Nah, just messing. Well, I like being a voice, y'know, giving my opinions and ideas to situations and stuff.”

Mile went ahead. “Hello, everyone, I'm Mile. I've only lived here a year but I've known more about this city than many of its current inhabitants. I intend to preserve this city's legacy as its historian for as long as time shall stand.”

“Heroic,” MoD chuckled. He caught on to what Ven was doing and smiled slightly as he said “Hello, everyone, I'm Cameron, or MessengerOfDreams, or MoD, really, take your pick. I'm a moderator, one of the oldest of the site, and I'm an author as well. Most of all I'm a proud citizen.”

Panik grinned, raising an eyebrow. “I'm Garrett, or Panik, usually spoken with an exclamation point as if one would be excited to see me. I'm an artist of any sort and damn proud of it. Myst, your go.”

“Hello, all, I'm Myst. Anything beyond that is not in a steady determination because I'm whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want to be. That is all.” She tilted her chair backward just enough to recline with two feet off the ground.

Venexis grinned, eyes twinkling. “Well, then. I'm Venexis. I've lived here for seven years to this day. I'm twenty four, and I've done everything from designing to writing to even an occasional sketch. But most of all, I'm here to enjoy my life worry-free in one of the chillest cities in the known dimension. That is all.”

It was almost reverently silent for a few minutes, and people focused in on their food, including MoD. The silence was broken by Red, who asked “So what the hell was that all about?”

Ven laughed. “I'm glad you asked, although I'm pretty sure you're being incredulous.” Speaking over Red's statement of “Incredu-wha?”, he continued enthusiastically as ever “You see, we know who we are, right? Just like we know that Mic was a microphone-loving music making news breaking dude, and that Suyo was a crazy, fast as a whip, no-holds barred co-admin and that Brando was a creative, action taking artist who knew how to brighten up boring frontier times. So if we know who we are, if someday we ever leave here as the others have, we know that we've left behind some sort of legacy for everyone to talk about.” Sheepishly, he finished with “or something,” as he stared down into his steak, suddenly intrigued by it.

“You're a hell of a dude,” Red laughed. “Take that as you will, you're a hell of a dude.”

“My hell of a dude,” Myst mused with her slight smile as she observed Ven cutting furiously into his steak. “I actually kind of liked that. It was random, and right-the-hell-out-of-nowhere, but that made it even cooler, y'know?”

“Hell,” Azn grinned, “We've all but made a trademark of random and right-the-hell-out-of-nowhere, really.”

“Supercalifragalisticexpealadocious.”

“Words of wisdom, Myst.”

“Indubitably.”

MoD smiled to himself as the situation died down and counted himself lucky for a little bit. Lucky to have such great friends, lucky to know people who knew what you felt without asking, lucky to be able to be part of such a legacy. He caught Ven's gaze and mouthed “Thank you” towards him, and simply got a grin and a thumbs up as a response.

He looked up and stated to no one in particular “So, how about that game of Uno?”

“Oh hell no!”

“Come on, Red, did you suffer a traumatizing experience with Uno cards as a kid?”

A group laugh at Red's expense. “Hah! Mile finally got a good one in!” Aro giggled.

“Haha, someone give the kid a medal,” Red grumbled. “A medal that says 'You Suck!'”

Venexis silently tossed out the cards in a haphazard deal, chuckling at his friends' antics. Some people preferred big bashes, cake and presents for their birthdays or anniversaries, but not Ven. He was more of a simple person, and somehow he knew that this kind of event would go down in his memories much better than a big gala would have.

With times like these, who needs gifts?

A/N You know, it's kinda tricky writing forum stories, because you're writing for real people with real personalities, and when you screw it up, it's kind of insulting, which is why I try not to dabble in it too much. Hoping I did a good job.

A quick note- Mile2140 is an Original Character to symbolize new users within the seven year gap between the times we remember and the story. This whole story, actually, is sort of a sandbox for characters and ideas for a possible forum story in the future, that'd be a lot different than this, but not really.

So, yeah,that's 'Some Things Never Change.' Hope I did a good job!

MoD

[Chaukai]

Your conversation has gotten a lot better from the last time I read your works. It's more natural and flows much better than before. Although, I may disagree with the amount of swearing, even the light ones, that's a small detail and really, not necessarily needing to be changed. It's an interesting work, and I enjoy it, although I'm more of a man that enjoys action. That is, movement, you know, people doing significant things or such, but for the style, this was fine, and worked well. Excellent work, good sir.

[RedLink]

*Clap Clap* Well freaking Done Mod. This story is awesome and should be bumped all the way so it can stay on the front page. You pretty much got everyone's personalities right (Mine we will get right to that) This story was entertaining to read and peaceful. I really do hope things can be that way Anyways...
1. I have feelings to you know I am not always swearing or disrespecting people But its a joke story so okay (Better be
2. How Do you know that i effing hate UNO?(UNO NOT ONE. >)
3. Nothing Here

Great Story Dude. You should write more of these. Hopefully one where we kick each other's asses
10/10
Beautiful.Amazing.Wonderful.

KEEP IT UP BRO-SEPH.