#jane absolutely despises wearing make up too. so she doesn’t ever need to worry about mirrors in that sense.

[a-shadowedvales]

jane does her best to avoid mirrors at any cost as she finds her reflection somewhat distorted in them. she sees who she is, knows it’s her, but her face always looks a tad askew; like her eyes are too far apart, or her lips are a little smaller than she thought they were. overtime, this becomes so prevalent that if she looks into one for too long, her perception and surroundings instead hold a similarity to the upside down. in the bathroom, the shower behind her drapes with tangled vines; the sink is running, but it releases the same black liquid that she was coughing up after closing the gate. her own body and face will transform into that twelve year old girl with a shaved head and a tattered hospital gown.

it gets to the point that she begins combing her hair elsewhere, and brushing her teeth with her eyes closed so she doesn’t need to look in the mirror, or using the kitchen sink. she does open up about these experiences with her therapist in 1986, and is given techniques to help distinguish between what is real and what isn’t. these mental tools do help, but sometimes, even if it’s just a flash, blink and you’ll miss it, the glass will show her what’s not really there. ultimately, it’s why there’s no mirror in her bedroom both in hopper’s cabin and the ives’ house. even when she’s nearing adulthood, becky stands in the bathroom with her when jane has no choice but to use it, and assures her niece that anything she may be seeing is not real.

[noona-clock]

Confusion & Coincidences - Part 3

Genre: Regency!AU

Pairing: Yongguk x You

By Admin B

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

It had been a week since you’d finished reading Pride & Prejudice, and you were already itching to pick it up again. You had enjoyed it even more than Sense & Sensibility, and you hadn’t thought that at all possible!

But ever since turning the last page, the characters had stayed with you. You wondered what Lizzy and Darcy’s life was like now. They were most certainly happily married as their love for each other had blossomed so fully by the end of the story. But did they have children? Did Lizzy ever feel lonely in so enormous a manor as Pemberley? What about Lydia and Wickham? What about Jane and Bingley?! Kitty and Mary?! Charlotte and Mr. Collins?! Oh, god, what about poor Charlotte?

You were currently scribbling your thoughts down to your own cousin - thankfully, not one so repugnant as Mr. Collins - since she had written to you about purchasing the novel not too long ago. She had surely finished it by now, and since no one else you knew had read it, you were keen to discuss it with her.

Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. The Earl of Blackman had mentioned it during your extremely awkward run-in the other week.

But you weren’t about to seek him out to talk about it, now, were you?

“Y/N!” your mother called up the stairs, startling you so much that you scribbled a jagged line across half of your writing paper.

“Oh, drat!” you murmured as you hastily set your quill down and attempted to wipe it off (to no avail, obviously). “What, mama?!”

“Get dressed for an outing, my dear,” your mother replied.

“...An outing? Where are we going?”

“To pay a visit to Mr. Kim.” Her tone was one of exasperation as if you were supposed to have known this already.

“Mr. Kim? Whatever are we paying him a visit for?”

You heard her let out a sigh before she marched up the stairs, coming to stand in your bedroom doorway. “To see the Earl, of course.”

Your head jerked back in surprise, and you turned around to make sure your mother could see just how confused you were. “Why would we go see the Earl?!”

“Because I changed my mind. You have absolutely no prospects, and apparently, you have absolutely no desire to find yourself a husband. He’s our only option at the moment, and I am desperate.”

...Of course. You should have known.

“Mama, I am not going,” you stated with the simplest but utmost conviction. Because you weren’t!

You absolutely and completely and totally and utterly and vehemently refused to go.

So... tell me why you found yourself bouncing along the road in your family’s carriage not even an hour later. On your way to Mr. Kim’s estate.

Because your mother had a very specific talent for breaking you down. Mostly because she was stubborn and had a habit of continuing to bug you until you gave in.

Which is exactly what had happened tonight. You had refused to go, and your dear mama had kept saying ‘but I am desperate.’

‘You need to get married eventually.’

‘It’s not like you’ll be getting engaged tonight.’

‘It’s just a social visit!’

And then finally, ‘I’ll give you two pounds to buy as many books as you like.’

So, really, it was less of a talent for breaking you down and more of a talent for bribing you. Which worked almost every time.

What can you say? The prospect of a good book is a powerful thing.

When the carriage rolled to a halt in front of Mr. Kim’s stately manor, you followed your mother out, murmuring your ‘thanks’ to the footman who assisted you.

As it usually did when you were about to engage in social activity with anyone outside of your family (or Alice), your heart began to beat just a bit quicker. A knot of nerves formed in your stomach. Your palms became slightly wet, and you silently thanked the societal gods for the fact it was proper for ladies to wear gloves. Most of the time, you hated the restriction. But when they successfully hid your nervous, sweaty hands? They were most certainly a good thing.

You liked Mr. Kim, of course. He was always very friendly, and he never once made you feel uncomfortable. But you despised small talk, and all these social visits consisted of was small talk. It was really quite painful, and you had suffered through too many in your lifetime to count.

Mr. Kim’s butler escorted you and your mother into his drawing room. The man himself stood from his writing desk to greet you, a shining smile gracing his lips.

“Welcome, my dear ladies,” he said kindly. “Please, sit.”

He gestured to a sofa, and you followed your mother in perching politely on the edge. As much as you complained about your mother, you found you always somewhat copied her in these sorts of situations. She knew what she was doing, and she was just so comfortable talking about this and that and the weather.

At a ball, it was much too easy to get lost in the crowd of people and not worry about someone noticing you weren’t socializing or dancing (though the Earl had done a fine job dispelling that notion...). But when you called on someone like this? When it was just you and the other person, sitting across from each other? There was no way to hide.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Mr. Kim asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

“Oh, we were just in the neighborhood, and my dear Y/N brought up that we haven’t seen you since the ball!”

Okay, well, that was just not true. But your mother knew what she was doing, so you simply grinned.

“That’s right! What a delightful ball it was, don’t you think?”

“Oh, very much!”

The two of them jabbered on about the ball, discussing the refreshments and the music and the dances and everything which made you want to curl up into a ball and cast the world away.

“Although my cousin didn’t really seem to enjoy himself, but that can’t be helped.”

You could feel your mother’s posture straighten. “Oh, that’s right! Your cousin was there, was he not? Well, why could it not have been helped? He doesn’t enjoy balls?”

“No,” Mr. Kim chuckled. “He’s quite a shy fellow. Doesn’t really like to meet new people, and he doesn’t dance if he can help it.”

Your mother reached out her hand and set it on your knee, patting you there gently. “Sounds familiar to me,” she said with a barely hidden sigh.

“You know, the two of you are actually quite similar,” Mr. Kim pointed out after turning his gaze on you. “You would probably get along swimmingly!”

Oh, great. That’s the last thing your mother needed to hear.

The words ‘I highly doubt that’ almost escaped your lips, but you held back, simply pulling your lips into a slight grin and nodding your head.

“Where is the Earl?” your mother asked. You had to applaud her for how casually she spoke because you knew she was dying on the inside. “We didn’t get a chance to really converse with him at the ball, I would love to get to know him a little better.”

“Ah,” Mr. Kim said with a disappointed sigh. “Regretfully, he has gone back to London. He was only here for a brief visit. It appears he prefers the bustling city over the serene countryside.”

“Well, that doesn’t make sense!” your mother laughed. “If he does not care to socialize, why live in a city surrounded by people?!”

“I suppose we could say the same thing about us,” Mr. Kim laughed. “Just the opposite.”

“Ah, yes, you are right. How clever you are, Mr. Kim!”

As the two of them rattled on and on, you couldn’t stop your brain from wandering. The mention of the Earl going back to London had sparked another connection in your brain.

You thought of when Mr. Bingley suddenly went back to London in Pride & Prejudice. Of course, he had gone because his sisters forced him to. They had surmised he was falling in love with Jane Bennet and wanted to destroy any chance of the two engaging in a romantic relationship.

This was, obviously, not the reason the Earl had left. In the book, Jane was over halfway in love with Mr. Bingley and so was disappointed to find out he was no longer residing at Netherfield in Hertfordshire. You were certainly not halfway in love with the Earl; you had spoken to him once! You barely knew him at all!

...But, still. It was a little odd.

As one would expect, you thought about what happened after Jane and Lizzy found out Mr. Bingley had left for London. To be quite honest, you’d sped through the book so eagerly, the timeline got a bit jumbled up. You were fairly certain you remembered, but you wanted to be sure.

You sat on Mr. Kim’s sofa as politely as you could, trying your best not to fidget and contributing to the conversation with at least a hint of thoughtfulness.

But you let out the most relieved, inward sigh when your mother announced you had better be on your way.

You nodded your head and dipped into a small curtsy, thanking Mr. Kim for his time before following your mother out to the carriage.

As soon as its wheels halted in front of your home, you practically leaped down to the ground and strode inside.

After springing up the stairs and locating your book, you flipped through until you found the chapter relaying Mr. Bingley’s departure. Your eyes flew across the page until the words jogged your memory.

Of course! After learning that Mr. Bingley was now in London, the Bennets decided to ship Jane off to London, as well, to spend some time with her aunt and uncle.

Well, that was good news. There was no way you would be going to London just because the Earl was there. Your mother didn’t actually believe you stood a chance with him, surely. It would be a colossal waste of time to send you to London seeing as she had no idea you’d spoken to the Earl; as far as she knew, you’d met him at the ball and so ended your acquaintance.

Yet another relieved sigh escaped your lips as you set your book down and flopped back onto your bed. This anonymous female author could write a good story, but she wasn’t writing your story. You were most decidedly not going to London.

Your mother appeared suddenly in your doorway, popping her head in and advising you to call on your handmaid to pack your trunk.

“Pack my trunk for what?” you asked.

She replied without missing a beat.

“We’re going to London.”

Part 4

[blaperile]

Homestuck^2 - Reactions Chapter 9 “How Goes The Eulogizing, Dear?” (Pages 236 - 262)

CHAPTER 9. How Goes The Eulogizing, Dear?

...Okay, I've got no predictions about this chapter based on the title, haha.

"Dear" sounds like something Candy Rose or Candy Kanaya would say to the other one, but we've only just focused on them?

So yeah, no idea.

Let's see!

Page 236:

Oh jeez.... NOPE, IT'S THE CROCKERSHIP.

Content warning for child abuse... oh no. I'm happy that we're probably going to see Yiffy but... what is Jane going to do to her? :'(

For a second I thought Jane was talking about Jake, but then I realized it's probably about Tavros' whereabouts.

Page 237:

PFFFFFFF, no, she was talking about Gamzee.

So, does she miss him after all? Does she regret having him thrown off her ship and leading him to his death?

I still wonder what's going to happen to Gamzee's body. He was left all alone in that closet. Is he going to be retrieved and revived by Jane?

Page 238:

Jesus GOD, she's writing an eulogy about Gamzee. Dammit.

Nope, she really still doesn't give a shit about him, she just wants to look good in front of Gamzee's worshippers.

Page 239:

Pff, of COURSE we needed to have Jake's ass right in front of the camera at one point. xD

Page 240:

If Jane would bother learning more about Alternian culture, she'd know true kismesises don't just hate each other's guts. They don't absolutely despise each other, there's still some sort of respect and seeing the good things in the partner. They're PARTNERS after all.

True kismesises would know what to say about the other.

And if Jane were like that, she'd know what to say about Gamzee.

Page 241:

There's Yiffy! :O

Wow... white hair like Rose, relatively short hair like Rose as well, a black tail, pink tie and pink shoes... interesting design!

And she's chained by her ankle like the Cherubs, oh my god.

Page 243:

Ooooh, so the others know Jake's on the ship! That's good, I was getting worried John and Tavros would be concerned for where Jake had gone.

That's really good, then John and Karkat can take that into account in their plan.

Hmm... I'm starting to wonder, what if it turns out that Yiffy can see Brain Ghost Dirk? Through heightened dog instincts or something.

Page 244:

Pffff, HERP A DERP.

Is Jane looking for images to broadcast during the eulogy for Gamzee or something?

Page 245:

OH SNAP. Yiffy's throwing the bowl right at the screen.

Oh man, Jane's not going to be happy about this. I... hope we're not going to get Doc Scratch - Handmaid vibes here. I swear to god, if Jane gets a broom now...

Page 247:

WOOOOOOOOOOOW, look at her... It's like she came straight out of a Japanese manga, oh my god.

And she's got a red text colour! Interesting! I wonder, is it the exact same colour as Dave?

*checks*

Nope, it's different.

Oh no, Yiffy's wearing a collar... I hope Jane isn't going to hurt her through that...

Page 248:

Here we go, I was hoping I'd be wrong. :(

Page 249:

Jane, dammit. What have you become... where's the time when you were sweet and innocent? Can't we have that Jane back? :'(

Page 252:

Eeesh, so Jane KNEW about Yiffy for a long time. Even got her into academy... and then she does this to her.

Goddammit Jane, she isn't even a Troll. She's definitely got twisted ideas about Trolls, but Yiffy isn't even one. Heck, she's as innocent as can be... WHY JANE. WHY.

Page 253:

What? Why would Jane want to use Yiffy during the ceremony for Gamzee? Does she want to use Yiffy to make a statement and try to have the rebellion surrender?

Page 255:

I... I'm basically speechless. Jane, you've gone totally off the deep end.

Page 256:

HOPY SHIT THE THEME OF THE SITE HAS CHANGED.

This is ominous... are we going to see into Yiffy's dream??

Oh man, I'm INSANELY curious right now. Like I mentioned in my previous post, with how much focus these four teenagers have been getting, you'd almost start to think they're going to play a SBURB session.

And now this... is she going to wake up as her dream self???

Is she going to be a Hero of Space like Jade? They do tend to wake up early on Prospit compared to the other players, so it could be....

Oh boy.

Page 257:

Ahahaha, that was clever. Now that the lights have turned off, we see how these kids are doing in the middle of the night.

I love how Harry "became an idle chum". Reference to those early days of Homestuck again!

And hey, now we know Tavros's chum handle has GG for initials! =D

I wonder what Yiffy's hypothetical chum handle would be. For both Harry and Tavros it's the same initials as their mother, so perhaps TT?

That would be pretty funny, then we'd have the initials of 3 of the original B1 Kids (Rose, Dave and Jade), and it's fitting that John would be the only not represented because his chum handle was always a special case.

...I'd laugh if at some point Vrissy changes her chum handle to GT. Maybe if she's feeling in a particular mood to distantiate herself further from Vriska she decides on a whim to change her chum handle too. :P

Page 258:

Ahahaha, I didn't think we'd be actually seeing Vrissy's conversation with Tavros. We found out much sooner what GG meant than I thought we would. xD

Crack theory, soon Vrissy, Harry and Tavros all fall asleep and somehow, for some reason, they all dream the same dream together with Yiffy.

Page 259:

Ha, looks like we'll be switching between the two conversations for a little while.

And now we've got confirmation which of the two options Vrissy had been feeling earlier in the bell tower, whether she was emotional or just gagging. Turns out it was the latter, if we can believe what she says here. xD

I like how she censured the "u" in bucketload.

Page 261:

Oh boy, sounds like John, Rose, Jade and Kanaya were talking about Dave... I wonder just how much they know. DOES Jade know Dave's dead or...?

I'm curious to find out about that.

Wait what? What's going on with Vrissy at the end? Is abundantChewtoys right that Vriska was texting this and Vrissy's getting her phone back??

Page 262:

Ha, that could also be true, that Vrissy just fell asleep right now. It reminds me of that time Dream Rose yarnbonked Dream Dave and it caused Dave to fall asleep on his keyboard and it caused him to keep sending weird keysmashes to John who thought Dave was just being a jackass. xD

....

OH GOD THAT'S THE END.

LITERALLY.

WE'RE CAUGHT UP AGAIN! :D

Hallelujah! Praise the lords! It's been a while since I got to be in this position again, I've been trailing behind ever since the Epilogues came out.

WOOHOO

Alright, time to go out and explore the rest of the website and see what else is going on. 8)