The internet is a storm of URLs, wi-fi and strings of dangerous code, whirling and thundering. Out in the wilderness you can only survive so long unaided, but in here, behind the mellow yellow windows, a safe and comforting place awaits. This place is a respite from the internet; the fire crackles invitingly and alluring rainbow-coloured drinks are poured into glasses. Exciting chatter fills the rooms from tables bustling with friends, eating from trays of warm, rustic carum bread and hearty stews. Gentle music comes from the band in the background.
[image description: a busy tavern lit by orange light]
Come in, chat away, have a great time! The old location may have been overrun by the Codekind, but this new building has three-meter thick walls, three floors and turret bedrooms to rest in at the top! We’ve returned, free from the battles of the secret pages! A safe micro-community of equality and no judgement. Hang up your HTML-reflective suit at the door and settle in with a drink and a meal.
Notice Board: Free candy in the bowl on the counter! What types of candy are there? Yes.
Brighty appeared again, having thought of one of her favorite songs (Satisfied). She felt like she just had to sing it as the lyrics formed in her mind. With the power of Code she made her own microphone appear, and hopped onto the stage.
“A toast to the groom (to the groom, to the groom, to the groom)
To the bride! (to the bride, to the bride, to the bride)
From your sister (Angelica, Angelica)
Who’ll always be by your side!
To your union (to the union, to the revolution!)
And the hope that your provide (provide, provide)
May you always (always… )
Be satisfied!”
Hoping that some person might know the Hamilton song, she tossed the microphone in the air.
Ivy leaped forward, cutting off of her Heather song. Personally, she liked the Heathers songs better than Hamilton songs, but what was not to like in Satisfied? Ivy also loved the part that the song was at, and thought that she could do the ‘rewind’ bit quite well. So she continued after Brighty.
“(Rewind, rewind, helpless, satis-satisfied)
“I remember that night, I just might (rewind)
“I remember that night, I just might (rewind)
“I remember that night, I remember that –
“I remember that night, I just might
“Regret that night for the rest of my days (rewind)
“I remember them slider boys
“Trippin’ over themselves to win our praise (rewind)
“I remember that dreamlike candlelight
“Like a dream that you can’t quite place (rewind)
“But Alexander,
“I’ll never forget the first time I saw your face . . .”
She stopped and there the mic in the air.
Ivy then tried her hardest, and poofed, then re-poofed to sit beside Snow (I think?) as she drank her own lemonade from like 10 years ago.
She caught the mic.
“I will never be the same
Intelligent eyes in a hunger-panged frame
Set my heart aflame, every part aflame
(This is not a game)
You strike me as a woman who’ll never be satisfied
I don’t know what you mean, you forget yourself
You’re like me. I’ll never be satisfied
Is that right?
I’ll never be satisfied… ”
She threw the mic.
Lilacpaw who loves Hamilton randomly caught the mic.
“My name is Angelica Schuyler”
“Alexander Hamilton”
“Where’s your fam’ly from?”
“Unimportant. There’s a million things I haven’t done but
Just you wait, just you wait.”
She threw the mic and hoped that someone would catch it
“So so so
This is what it feels like to match up with someone at your level–what the heck is the catch?
It’s the feeling of freedom, of seeing the light
It’s Ben Franklin with a key and a kite! You see it right?
The conversation lasted two minutes, maybe three minute, evry’thing we said in total agreement
It’s a dream, and it’s a bit of a dance
It’s a bit of a posture, it’s a bit of a stance
He’s a bit of a flirt, but I’m a’ give it a chance
I asked him about his family, did you see his answer? His hands started fidgeting, he looked askance?
He’s penniless, flying on the seat of his pants.
Handsome, boy, does he know it!
Peach fuzz and he can’t even grow it!
I wanna take him far away from this place, then I turn and see my sister’s face and she is…”
“Helpless. . .”
“And I know she is…”
Riv threw the mic, nearly dropping it.
“And I know! she is
“Helpless . . .
“And her eyes! are just
“Helpless . . .
“And I realise
“Three fundamental truths at the exact same time”
“And I know she is…”
“And I know she is…”
“They send me away
“To find them a fortune
“A chest filled with diamonds and gold
“The house was awake
“The shadows and monsters
“The hallways they echoed and groaned”
“I sat alone, in bed till the morning”
“I’m crying, ‘They’re coming for me'”
“And I tried to hold these secrets inside me”
“My mind’s like a deadly disease”
“I’m bigger than my body
I’m colder than this home
I’m meaner than my demons
I’m bigger than these bones”
“And all the kids cried out please stop you’re scaring me
I can’t help his awful energy!
God d*** right you should be scared of me
Who is in control?”
“And all the kids cried out
“Please stop! You’re scaring me!”
I can’t help this awful energy
God dang right you should be scared of me.
Who is in control?”
(Embix edit: dang is, but the alternative isn’t 🙂 )
“I paced around for hours on empty
I jumped at the slightest of sounds
And I couldn’t stand the person inside me
I turned all the mirrors around”
“I’m bigger than my body
I’m colder than this home
I’m meaner than my demons
I’m bigger than these bones”
Snowy went up to the chair and the book that she was reading and sat down to read
“Now let the healing start,
The fire’s out of guns
We keep it our hearts,
We’re like a thousand suns
Ooh, yea-ah every day, step by step, we dare to love again
And if we lose our grip,
Meet you at the end.”
“Know they’re cutting you deep,
Feel the scars in your sleep,
What didn’t kill us made us stronger.”
Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it’s gonna take
A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make
Lion looked up from her book, “Who’s up for a vacation now?” Not waiting for an answer, she added, “Great! I already have the plane tickets for us all.” And then she grinned and winked, it was her new signature move apparently.
She slipped inside, hiding herself in the shadows. The tavern’s location had been hard to find, but here she was. Her eyes, one ocean blue, one storm silver, took in the scene. People from everywhere in the internet gathered here. And now she had found it too. The Hazelpage Tavern, safe haven for all. Protected from the Codekind by programming spells and virus shields. She grinned under her hood. Her nondescript black clothes — a t-shirt, hoodie, jeans, finger-less gloves, and boots — and her shorter-than-average stature made her easy to overlook. Especially since she could manipulate shadow-code to make herself a wallflower. Nearly unnoticeable. Camouflaged. That’s what she did now. Shadow-code, the go-to programming of the Codekind, rippled over her until she blended into the background. Just another customer. Nothing to see. No need to give a second glance.
Slipping around the edges of the crowded tables, she meandered up the stairs. No one approached her. No one stopped her. No one even glanced in her direction. Perfect. The shadow-code worked. She made her way up the stairs, flipping her hood back. She had raven-black hair tied back in a short braid and lightly tanned skin. Her heterochromic eyes were really the only thing abnormal about her appearance. Those she couldn’t change. Everything else… well, appearance wise, everything but her eyes was up for debate. This wasn’t her true appearance. She’d been someone else (many, many someone elses) for so long she didn’t remember it.
Shaking off the thoughts, she slipped into an empty tower room. Room 713. Seventh floor, thirteenth room. A place for shadow-code and magic. Superstitions aside, the numbers meant a lot to Codekind, especially when combined as such. Locking the door, she surveyed the spartan room. Since the tavern didn’t house any permanent guests, the rooms were nondescript and functional. Perfect.
Procuring a black backpack out of shadow-code, she set it on the small table and got to work.
“Hehehehehehe,” Emberdawn chuckled to herself. “This is the 1000th comment on this page.”
“Well, 1000th moderated comment. There’s technically the actually 1000th one, but that’s a reply to Icy and she hasn’t modded it yet soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…”
“You beat me to it!” Lion laughed, “So close!” And then added, “Ok, you beat me by 9 hours, but still pretty closeishhhhhh.” 😛
“Well, teeeeeeeechnically, Riverpaw beat us both 😛 “
😛 Whoops
“Shhhhhh, no one needs to know – what they don’t know won’t hurt them.” Lion grinned, winking.
“Oh yay!” River joined them, grinning. “I beat you all!”
“Ooh! The 1000th comment on this page! (Unless there’s an unmodded comment 😛)” Lion exclaimed, even though it probably didn’t make that much sense to say it.
Rose stomped her feet.
For reasons no one knew.
😛
“Falling too fast to prepare for this
Tripping in the world could be dangerous
Everybody circling, it’s vulturous
Negative, nepotist”
Everybody waiting for the fall of man
Everybody praying for the end of times
Everybody hoping they could be the one
I was born to run, I was born for this
Whip, whip
Run me like a racehorse
Pull me like a ripcord
Break me down and build me up
I wanna be the slip, slip
Word upon your lip, lip
Letter that you rip, rip
Break me down and build me up
Whatever it takes
Because I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
Because I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
You take me to the top I’m ready for
Whatever it takes
Because I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes
Always had a fear of being typical
Looking at my body feeling miserable
Always hanging on to the visual
I want to be invisible
Always had a fear of being typical
Looking at my body feeling miserable
Always hanging on to the visual
I wanna be invisible
Looking at my years like a martyrdom
Everybody needs to be a part of ’em
Never be enough, I’m the prodigal son
I was born to run, I was born for this
oof whoops just ignore the first paragraph 😛
Ivy just sat down doing nothing.
This feels like a disturbing song to me, so here goes:
Another head hangs lowly,
Child is slowly taken.
And the violence caused such silence,
Who are we mistaking?
(I love this song soooooooooooo much, I taught myself to play it on guitar)
“But you see
“It’s not me
“It’s not my family
“In your head, in your head
“They are fighting