The falling mask

[lordpat]

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Chapter 1.

"I have been a person that never lets personal viewpoint disagreements ruin friendships and control my life."


Blackyoshi enters the site after being abscent for about 3 days. His PM mail has two new messeges. One of them says "You are awesome"; the other one says "PLEASE READ. JUST READ. REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Blackyoshi looks at the writter of this last PM. Blackyoshi sighs. He opens the PM.

Dear blackyoshi:

First of all, I wanted you to tell you that my 21st LDC entries are complete.

Now to the real deal. You probably already know it, but MoD was found dead in the Suggestions topics. Everybody is freaking out, so take it easy, ok? There are rumours that the level portal is going to be closed for a matter of security, I hope that's not the case, or else my only reason of being in the tier list will be gone .

Jokes aside; it is very, very important that you DO NOT enter the Suggestion topic: not because of the murder (a lighting never strikes twice in the same place), but because of the moderators. They are getting very paranoid, I can see why. Its not that they will kill you, but they are afraid of anything, and in the middle of the night....an old Reggie user is a strong suspect. Just to be safe, do not enter there, ok?

lordpat

Blackyoshi jumps to the chat, the types "/list" and it seems that only one user besides him is online.

14:56:05-hi
14:56:22-Hello
14:57:06-I recieved a PM, so I know what happened, are you ok?
14:57:31-I've been better, I guess....everything is just too confusing. We are searching for clues, but we've found nothing yet.
14:57:43-Is it true that the portal is gonna be closed?
14:58:01-Yeah, I think so....it is very dangerous. We don't want other members to be damaged.
14:58:04-k
14:58:12-Also, about the LDC...
14:58:42-Probably closed as well. Its a shame really, I was hoping my sequel to be awesome. :<
14:59:12-When this LDC continues, we can both continue our entry
14:59:32-And the Reminder...he's gonna be back, because I am awesome, and so is he.
14:59:43-kewl
15:03:56-gtg
15:05:04-bye :<
15:05:14-bye

Blackyoshi logged off
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Chapter 2.
"It just goes to show that we can't be alone."

...cave, French teacher, MoD, closed portal, MP3, By, bad spelling, warning, Naruto, Bleach not, Brando, anime, theme, Mechanical Chaos, LDing, tile mixing, Rooftop Run, sonic, MoD, fear, paranoid, levels, PM, MP3...dead?, murder, Koopa Parayoshi, TimeWarper, WITBLO, 21st LDC, Deep Secret Paradise, water, food, polution, Serious Discussion, fear, wonder what the murder is gonna do, wonder what the moderators are gonna do, moderators, User Reps, Doram, Venexis....Venexis, MoD, Destinations, what is Ven gonna do? Calamari Cove, Squid, ShadowSquid, post-counting, Scardy, awesome lvl, Sk, MP3, complexity, my mind, wonder what I'm gonna do? Level portal!

Lordpat enters the level portal, he suddenly sees a level called "To all Runouw Users", he opens it and plays it.
The level was quite flat, no decor: just a plain grass land with some signs in it. The music was Secret Course #2.

Sign #1: For those who don't visit the Forums very often, I'm making an announcment: thanks to the things that have been pasing lately, I'm afraid I'll close the level portal soon.

Sign #2: We recommend users to NOT enter the Suggestions topics, and be really careful with what you do.

Sign #3: It is very sad, but it seems that is what I have to do. ~MP3Amplflier~

Lordpat views his posts: only two of them were red; one of them was Demonik's tabern, the other one was 21st LDC Chasm.

Lordpat decides to open the 21st Chasm LDC, which said that the contest was also going to be closed. Dissapointed, lordpat enetrs the chat.

It seems we can't do anything about it. Chances are we are going to close the chat as well
What?
hallo people
Hey lordpat
Hi lordpad
Wait wut? THE CHAT TOO?
The chat is a bit safer than the portal, since you need at least 10 posts to enter, but we are suspecting that it may be an old user. And the chat would be really dangerous in that case.
Awwwwwwww
I NEED SK, THIS MAY BE MY LAST CHANCE TO PLAY TF2 WITH HIM!
hi
Did you get my PM?
Yup
They are saying the may close the chat...
I know
We just do this to protect Runow users, including you. Its not that we enjoy having no chat or level portal.
I know, but isn't this a bit too extreme?
No, it is not. We are really searching for the killer, we cannot just have another used dead for a whim. So it is really thanks to you that we are closing the level portal, and maybe also the chat.
...
So stop whinning and let staff members do what they know to do. The less you complain about it, the faster it will finish.
Yeah, I got your point.
I have to go, bye
Bye Bog
Bye Bod
Bye
Hmm...I think I'm leaving too. Bye people.
k
bye

Lordpat enters the Site Discussion, two new posts can be seen: one said "Tribute to MoD" and the other one said "Important news" both posted by Runouw himself. Lordpat clicks the first one.

Messenger of Dreams: the legend.

MoD was found dead in the Sugestions topic, and we are doing our best to catch the killer. But I just wanted you guys to remember what MoD was and still is in Runow.com.
MoD started as a normal member, doing his best to shine in the portal. He got more and more involved in the Runow.com forums, until he actually was promoted a Global Moderator. And the things he made...
He stands out today as the second best level designer of all times (only being Volcove above him), seeing how he's made wonderful collabs with Venexis, like Alligment of Fates and his masterpiece Destinations, a level series that trully showed how incredibly artistic he was, complemented with Venexis' gameplay tricks. But undoubtely, Dark is really his best known and powerful creation. Creating his own world: beautiful and tetric at the same time.
But let's not forget about his stories, in particular "Once There was"; a beautiful, very popular story which also won the RV summer 2012.
He also helped many designers, he encouraged them and it is very sad to see him gone.
Rest in Peace, MoD, eternal legend.

Lordpat thumbs-up the post, and returns to Site Discussion. He is about to click "Important news" when his computer runs out of battery. Lordpat rages.
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Chapter 3.
"it doesnt make sense"

Report:
It seems we are going nowhere at all. Blame me if you want, this is just absolute nonsense. As werid as it may sound "dying" in a topic it is possible. After some tough investigations, we came out to these conclusions:
MoD's data was completely (and like he would say "utterly") erased. And so was EVERY single link he had to Runouw.com. We suspect that the "murder" gave MoD some sort of virus someway that did that. It is very strange, since he blocked every single link he had to Runow.com, he can't connect us with Skype or anyway at all.
I have no idea how someone could make that, but he did. He made a virus so annoying and freaking evil that destroyed MoD's every single connexion with Runow.com.
His last forums visited were the Suggestions topic, where there used to be a topic. Now however, that topic is completely gone. I'm quite unsure of what happened. But I can tell you something, this guy is no amateur. If we don't keep our eyes opened, he will strike again.

Suyo.

...strange, hacking, MoD, dead, justice, good, light, glory, proud, pride, MoD, hate, death, world, stupid, bad person, bad moderator, getting what you deserve, deserve, deserve....justice? False justice. False sistem, broken sistem, abuse, power, tier list? another lie. Monopolly, idiot, false glory, true glory, Sax, good designer, MoD, good designer, disgusting person...

Report 2:
Now we had figured out, and confirmed that my theory: MoD was infected with a virus by another user, just by entring the topic. Sadly, we could not identify who made that topic, which puts us in a awful situation.
We must considerate who would want MoD out of Runouw, and you know there are lots of them. Everysingle member of the Anti-MoD force is a suspect, maybe it was even an alliance between them. Or maybe it was someone that wants Runouw.com to be dead, which thought (and quite smartly) that MoD's death will lead us to chaos and troubles. I can name about 1000 examples of those, but I would rather not to.
We've been searching for clues, but againt, we had found nothing that could help us. We are moving foward, but very slowly. We don't know if someone is getting "murdered" again. This whole situation is so confusing and so annoying...I wouldn't doubt to shut down the portal or the chat, but I would preffer to speak about that with the rest of the staff.

Suyo.

A topic appeared in the News topics
About MessengerOfDreams...
It is very sad to us to announce MoD's death. His data was erased, and the last place that he had been was the Suggestions topics. We are searching for clues there, so it's not allowed for members to enter there. I must tell you, sadly indeed, that all his links to Runouw.com are gone too, so it is very unlikely to see him back. Runouw will soon post a tribute for him.
One warning: be careful. Obey the instructions of the moderators every single moment, and do not be afraid of calling them if you see something strange. In this moments, rules need to be respected, so at any sign of trouble whatsoever, we won't be afraid to ban normal users.
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Chapter 4.

"Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality"

Dear MP3:

Yeah! I already finished my masterpiece, and it is so beautiful and epic at the same time. You will need lots of lucks to beat me.

I wanted to congratulate you. Your new comunity topic, I think it is brilliant. Keep it this way and you'll became a GloMod trully soon, just make sure you don't take away my spot, ok? XD

It is clear that you care a lot about the users a lot. I'm sure you would do anything for them.

Anyway, see ya soon.


...Dark, WITBLO, Explosions in the Sky, Alive, MP3, MP3, MP3, duel, music, Destinations, Alligment of Fates, Alive, Alive, I am Alive, Explosions in the Sky, I'll always be Alive, gameplay, gameplay, blackyoshi, challange, innovation, Krazy, MP3, Anticheism, YCED, Brawler, gameplay, gameplay, MP3, MP3, This song...hope, freedom, being Alive, being the best. Shinning, showing the world....what I am....I am Alive, are you Alive too? Duel, duel....MP3.

MoD decides to keep hearing the music for a bit more. He can feel the feeling of beauty coming out of it. Suddenly, the song stopped, it seemed that an old program was executed out of nowhere and made the song stop. Slightly dissapointed; he closes the program and the song as well.

MoD entered the chat and typed "/list", seeing two users online. Strange, knowing the time of the day.
Oh Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu*ck
Hi MoD. What the hell is wrong you?
MoD?
Si?
...you liked my level? It is utter-crap
Well, I'm freaking tied of your psicology. I like it, face it or die.
SuYo, I liked it too. I think you do have some talent. Bravo MoD, master of consolation.
If this level DARES to appear in the WITBLO12, I'm killing myself.
You don't know yet. I seriously don't understand this guy
SuYo, don't get too worried about it. Sometimes I think that my levels are not good, but in the end, I can always look at them and I feel proud. Unless ONE JUDGE decides to give a series I've put a lot of effor in a 16.5, which completely screws up our score.
I still dislike it.
Good for you, SuYo.I love this theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzIK5FaC38w
Nice theme. I still don't understand you as a judge MoD. I'm not sure of what I have to do to get from you the highest score.
I'm leaving bye.

MoD logs off.

[SuperMIC]

it doesnt make sense

[lordpat]

Well, SMIC, I know this story may be confusing, but that is really part of my style. You must think about it in order to understand it. And I know some things don't make much sense now, but remember this is a thriller, so some things will be revealed across the story.

However, I think that there are stuff in the story that can be a bit over-confusing. I'll try to change that, but your "it doesn't make sense" it is a bit far from being specific.

[SuperMIC]

Weeeelllllll.

For starters, I overheard your talk with by in the chat about how the story was going to be written with the usage of PMs, topics, chatlogs, etc. Okay, sure that's alright... I also overheard the chat about you not liking my above post

But I just don't really get the way you pull it off. I'm assuming with all of the nuances of italics you put in such as "by clicks on this topic and reads it" that these are all people sitting behind screens. So how the hell is someone going to die inside a topic? I feel like this entire thing is riddled with plot-holes that badly need fixing.

Another thing I have a problem with is the presentation of things. I know you're foreign so I'm not going to pick on your grammar too much (although if you could improve it that'd be stellar), however I really have a problem with the chat sections. We, as the readers, and yes I'm going to assume for everyone else that read this, cannot tell who the goddamn is speaking. Look, I understand you want to make us "think" about the philosophical things, but thinking about who is writing what is nonsense.

Furthermore on the topic of your philosophy, I feel like with some of your stories including this one you're forcing the philosophy, hiding it under layers and layers of text that try to be cliff-hangers but as MK said they're kind of like steps on a staircase. And when we don't get the philosophy, I don't really think that thinking harder would solve it. I really think you need to change how you present whatever life lesson you're trying to teach us. Write the story with the lesson in mind, don't try to force it on us every living moment of the story.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Change what you want to about the story, don't change what you don't want to.

I just don't like people talking behind my back. If you have a problem with me, I'd prefer if you didn't bring it up with several other people without my knowing.

[lordpat]

Well, SMIC, I could argue and argue about how I am showing to you my philosophies, yeah I could. But you know what? I've been thinking about it: it is just a taste.

Some people do you like having a story with everything hidden, where everything is a riddle like Doram said. It is a matter of taste. You like stories with descriptions, where everything (but the conflict maybe) is clear. I don't. I usually dislike those stories. But you know what? I can read them, I can apriciate them too. It is not a matter of bad writting solely but a matter of style. It is a style. That is why some people do like my stories, and others do not. It's not that my stories are universally awarded as crap (looks at Eternal Brother) but I agree my grammar is utter crap :3

But I just don't really get the way you pull it off. I'm assuming with all of the nuances of italics you put in such as "by clicks on this topic and reads it" that these are all people sitting behind screens. So how the hell is someone going to die inside a topic?

Yeah, that is a recurrent problem. I'll fix that XD

Write the story with the lesson in mind, don't try to force it on us every living moment of the story.

I don't get your point. First of all, there's bearly been messegues in this story so far (they will appear later). About my other stories, yes, it is true that the large part of my story is the lesson, but they are short for a reason, and besides, that is also part of my writting style.

I really have a problem with the chat sections. We, as the readers, and yes I'm going to assume for everyone else that read this, cannot tell who the goddamn is speaking. Look, I understand you want to make us "think" about the philosophical things, but thinking about who is writing what is nonsense.

Well, that is again supposed to be there to look for an active reader. And bwt, some poeple did got who the users were.

I'll recal what I told at first, this is a matter of style. I'm not making you read my story, nor making you like it. It is really up to you if you wanna think this story or not, and if you don't, good for you. I'm sure you'll have more fun reading other stories. Yes, in my stories every word has a meaning, and if you don't think about it, of course the story will seem dumb. Again, that is up to you. If you don't want to do that, then don't.

I write stories to express my feelings or my thoughts, not to make many people like it, but I still post it, so I can share it with the rest of the users. But again, this story has almost NO lesson so far, so I can't see what I am trying to force in you.

About talking at your back, I can say that I did split out some thing I shouldn't, but in my opinion are not that serious, either way, I promise I won't do it again, if it bothers you.

[SuperMIC]

Nono, I'm not saying your stories are bad, I'm just saying I as a person don't understand them. I don't speak for the 99 other percentage of Runouw people, but I find acquainting everyone's tastes to some degree is nice. But again, it's just my opinion.

[lordpat]

Nice to have that clear. But I agree with you, regardless of thinking or not, some parts are overly confusing. I need to figure out that thing of dying in the topic.

[~MP3 Amplifier~]

Oh so that's why my name was repeated about 100 times in MoD's sig. XD