Put this off long enough and I see @(you need an account to see links) checking my profile every other week to make sure I begin this and see it through.
Hoping for regular installments but no guarantees because life can surprise you and you never know lies around the corner.
Each post on this thread will tell a story about someone or an event. Before I commence, I would like to state that the information you read in the following thread is gathered from primary and secondary sources with a touch of biased opinion.
It's pretty hard to start because with any essay or any good read, the introduction has to capture you or entertain you, it has to surprise you and keep you guessing.
Just like an introduction, one man on this forum embodied all of those qualities. One man alone united a bunch of misfits and 'randos' and established a sense of camaraderie on this forum that I have never witnessed on any other before and nor have I since he departed. Not many knew him, but I have no hesitation in stating that anyone who crossed paths with him wished they knew more. A man without a face but the personality of a fucking champion the Greeks probably based their myth's on. A man who's loyalty, righteousness and trust became his downfall and just like Achilles did on the battlefield, he proved himself to be greatest force on this forum to this day.
The man
The myth
The enigma Mod.
He joined this forum looking for answers. His account freshly frozen for something he didn't do, he came wanting answers as to why his legit hard neopoints and weapons were frozen on his main he worked his ass for.
He joined this forum looking for like minded people who enjoyed the same things he did but we all know how hard it is to establish yourself on the forum. It takes weeks, even months, to be recognized.
But he stayed because of something little known. It wasn't much but it was enough to entice the dude to dedicate himself to the forum.
On one of his original early posts, he was repped by then Moderator and my dear friend @(you need an account to see links). It was John's generosity of spirit, repping a newbie a whopping 5 points for being helpful that convinced him to stick around.
I learnt that information very later on and since then I do my best to have that same influence, just so we can unearth someone as endearing and engaging as Mod.
Our friendship started with me branching out for the first time.
Rather than just bumping my sales thread, I made a thread in the freshly opened Photography subforum.
It was there we first communicated and it was that night he earned my trust.
Like I stated previously, I was just as closed off as him and had it not been for him trusting me with some sensitive information, we wouldn't have gone as far as we did.
I quizzed him about this years later, like why would he tell me when he refused to tell anyone else. And that's when he told me that he didn't plan to stick around and had it not been for John he would have been long gone.
After the first night we spoke, it was almost ritual to get on cK as soon as you woke up to see what the other had been upto and which threads we could both comment on.
It was a slow start, not many people were active and he became the cornerstone - involving as many people as he could, tagging people and quoting as many posts as he could with relevance.
I began to see just how funny the man could be and so did everyone else.
Our bromance however was solidified on this fateful thread; (you need an account to see links)
It began an illustrious back and forth where we forged plans and began the Krue.
It was with his backing I took the daring step of creating cKYMCMB Krue and it was with his support we recruited talent.
Hypothetical question for all readers How strange would it seem to you, if someone you met on this forum who you spoke to reguarly and considered a friend, told you that they signed up with the same fake birthday as you?
11 Jan 1990.
It was a complete coincidence that Mod and I signed up to cK with that birthday.
One might call it fate.
During this time, I saw a struggling kid who was recently scammed trying to establish herself on the forum. She seemed quiet and shy but from the glimpses of her personality I saw, she was full of sass and confidence but didn't have an avenue to flourish. She plays a very big role in the story to come and she is what made us whole. She was my protege, the one I entrusted with everything I had to give and everything I had to say. I felt a great bond with her and I shared my thoughts with Mod who had nothing to offer but support. When I formed the Krue, I knew we had to expand and it was she who I recruited first. Her name is @(you need an account to see links) and I say again, she made us whole.
Once the Krue was established, we began recruiting more members. Krue was going to be the biggest group of talented people on the forum. Artists, musicians, top sellers, skilled gfx designers and others who simply embodied what I envisioned for the Krue. @(you need an account to see links) became our second recruit and before long anybody who was anybody on the forum at the time was in Krue.
I had constant requests from people to let them in including @(you need an account to see links) @(you need an account to see links) @(you need an account to see links) and many others but Mod and I always kept a tight leash on things. You had to prove yourself worthy and we both made those calls together.
Shortly after this time, there had been some staff changed and cK Staff were looking for Moderators. John was demoted and Mod and I both threw our names in the ring.
Everyone thought he was sure thing - he was funny, genuine and spent lots of time online helping people or trolling them. But that wasn't the case - Joe had a direction he wanted to take his Moderator team and it was announced that Nayfee, Bettser and I would be joining Kylae and I_royalty_I as part of the Moderating team.
I felt for him. He didn't give himself much of a chance but with EVERYONE saying he was going to be "Mod the Mod" I'm sure it got to him.
It wasn't to be then and he knew it wasn't to be later. He bounced back quickly and didn't let the rejection phase him. I offered many time to help him establish himself as a seller on this forum but he refused.
Said he wanted to earn a living by working hard, finishing his degree and making his parents proud. That was his primary goal and anything short of that wasn't worth spending time on.
He had his ideals and he stuck by them 'til the end.
Funny and charismatic as he was, he was in many ways a gullible fool. As it was then, we had different circles of people we would communicate with daily. Whereas I was trying to get ahead in terms of selling and making the right contacts and doing my duties as a Moderator, he would kick back and have a blast everyday. Perhaps we was lulled into a false sense of security because of the trust he had in me Mint and Simmie but with a series of bad judgement calls, he put his faith in the wrong people who left him disappointed and betrayed.
For him, privacy had always been a big big issue and as someone who always kept other peoples secrets, he couldn't fathom why they wouldn't afford the same to him.
Needless to say, it fucked him up a bit and he started withdrawing from the forum slowly.
I was there to take him through my processes and how I protected myself online, teaching him what I knew as he had done the same for me, teaching me many life lessons along the way.
When you're there for someone through their grief, it creates a bond that can be very lasting.
Somewhere in all of this, with Simmie and Mint becoming BFFs and Mod and I having a well known bromance, we all kind of became family.
That's not to say we were complete, far from it. If Mint made us whole then, it was this dweeb who asskissed relentlessly who held us together for the longest time.
As I said earlier;
I don't have time for people who are too loud and obnoxious. Mainly because when it comes down to it, I too am loud and obnoxious.
This kid though.
Jesus fucking Christ he was sooo fucking annoying when I first saw him on cK.
Always pining for attention, always making stupid comments and it didn't help he had foot in mouth disease.
But somewhere somehow, and I've always said grudgingly, he earned my friendship mainly because he and Mint and became such close friends and he brown-nosed his way into Mod's heart too.
His name was @(you need an account to see links).
It's safe to say he idolized me, I was an older brother figure he always wanted but never had.
When the talk of Fam came up, I didn't want the little shit. He had a crush on Mint but him trying to deny it lead to him saying they were siblings (fuckin NASTEEEEE) which meant Mod had to be their dad.
Fine by me, Simmie was low maintenance for me, I understood her insecurities and knew the right things to say. Things came full circle when Raj became active and Mod's family became complete.
When the Pokemon userbars were released for the second time, we all made sure to get fitting userbars.
Mint and Raj got Charmander to rep Mod and Simmie and I got ourselves Cyndaquil. To this day, Raj Mint Mod and I still use our orange userbars and I don't think any of us would have the heart to change it to anything else.
I saw Mod guiding and teaching Raj and Mint about many things where life was concerned. Where he was mostly patient and funny, it allowed me to be the hardass.
Mint would sass back, Raj would regurgitate puns to annoy, Mod would try and keep things real and entertaining and I would insult and belittle to show my affections.
That's the story.
The story of where we got to our peak.
The story Mod would want you to know if you asked him.
All that anyone needs to know is that the end was quick. He went off one day and he never returned.
But there was much much more to Mod than anyone knew, anyone but me.
I've seen an insight into who he was, how his thought process worked and what he wanted for himself.
What he looked like, where he was born, WHEN he was born, where we went and where he is right now.
Everything I've said in this post is 100% true to my knowledge and I maintain what I'm about to tell you is also the truth.
Willing to put my hand on a stack or catholic bibles or slaughter a goat in the name of Allah to prove it.
He's long gone and the truth is finally coming out. If you ever read this, I'm sorry for betraying your trust brother.
Mod was born on Planet Vegeta three years before its destruction. Mod had been inside his incubation chamber for three years since his birth when his father Mod Sr. and his mother Mrs. Mod decide to release him. Mrs. Mod made the decision to send Mod away to Neopia in an Attack Ball because she believed the planet Neopia was under grave peril.
After crash-landing on Neopia, the baby Mod was found in the woods by an old man named Modan and became his adopted grandson. He was then given his Neopian name, Domenic. At first, Domenic was extremely violent and ill-tempered, not obeying Modan at all, but one day he fell down a deep ravine and hit his head, suffering severe head trauma that sent him into a coma and very nearly killed him and caused him to suffer long-term amnesia. After he woke up, he had lost all of his Saiyan aggression due to not remembering his mission, becoming a kind and mild-mannered young boy. His Grandpa Modan taught him martial arts and told him about such things as the city and people, as they lived in a very remote place in Tyrannia, with no communication with other people.
Modan one day discovered Domenic's full moon transformation, and thus told him to never look at the full moon. However, one night Domenic did, and he transformed into a Great Ape, causing him to unknowingly kill Modan. After his grandpa's death, Domenic stayed at his home, carrying out his daily life of survival. From a young age, Domenic developed the impression that his birth parents abandoned him in the mountains as a baby, leaving him for Grandpa Modan to discover.
As he grew older, his memories started flooding back to him. He found runes and letters of his mission in the Attack Ball which he was sent to Earth in. In those runes he was told to find something he could only acquire on (you need an account to see links) and it was there he learnt his fathers deep dark secret. His father, Mod Sr. was in fact the infamous Doctor Sloth. Hell bent on destorying Planet Neopia, Doctor Sloth had created a treacherous monster named Cell who would implode upon touching Planet Neopia. Realising what he must do, Mod used Instant Transmission to teleport himself and Cell to the outskirts of the galaxy and thereby saving us all from certain death.
That's the truth.
He died for us.
And he's not coming back.
The last bit of our conversation;
[26/04/2014 5:45:55 AM] Popeye: Sorry but I gotta go, gonna try to take a shower. I'm dying right now. I'll be back later if you're still up.
[26/04/2014 5:46:15 AM] Ryan: sounds good bro
[26/04/2014 5:46:18 AM] Ryan: ttyl
[26/04/2014 5:46:23 AM] Popeye: Take care of Mint and Raj.
[26/04/2014 5:46:26 AM] Popeye: <3
R.I.P Domenic Sloth
Born January 19##
Son, friend, not a mod.
A cruel ending to a promising life.
Though he may be gone, the mark he left on this forum and the impression he made with its denizens will never be forgotten.
Gone, yes, but he will never be forgotten.
We spend a lot of time in front of artificial screens,
sometimes we forget to look out the window and realize reality itself is waiting in our absence.
The clraik staff are hardly ever divided in opinion, we always saw things similarly.
At the very least we have the same goal in mind but see different paths to get there.
However, one thing split us apart in 3 very separate directions.
Kevin vs Me vs Andrew
You had to pick a corner, you had to back one and shit was getting real.
We all had claims and none of us could agree who was right.
I still don't think it was ever settled.
The time was Summer 2013
cK was booming and we had TC's all day all night all week all month.
People sleeping on cam, people hooking up on cam, people dancing and singing on cam, people getting naked on cam...
The possibilities and happenings were endless.
But with so many different people, different cliques and different timezones one thing united us all.
This is the lore of the official TC Summer Anthem.
Didn't matter if you loved it or you loathed it, didn't matter if you sung along or got pissed off at us for overplaying it and left, didn't matter who played it first and made it stick or who came along later and tried to claim it as their own.
All that mattered was the anthem got TC's going and set the tone for the rest of the day, night, week, month.
All that mattered was having a good time and making the most of summer.
All that matters is knowing that we run things, things don't run we.
