inside

[arenaria]

Shell and Bell have worked out (well, Bell has worked out and Shell has tentatively commented on) a merging protocol that they think will work for them.

Shell's memories are going to be perfectly accessible, but they will not come up automatically in response to stimuli unless the resulting Shell Bell is expressly open to it. They will keep Shell's hard-earned tolerance to pain, insofar as that's separable (Shell is quite sure that she'd be able to make a pentagon if another situation as important as getting ahold of Sherlock to mint Juliet came up). All of Shell's insights about Sherlock's importance stay. Her itchy discomfort with Sherlock not getting her importance will be folded into Bell's resignation to same. The merged Shell Bell will be comfortable referring to either past in the first or third person, but will default to using "I" for Bell and "she" for Shell. She'll torch, but that's the only supernatural property Shell's bringing to the merger; she'll retain all Bell's magic. Shell looks a little older, but not much; they'll go with that, as they think torching probably conflicts with actually aging and they don't think twenty is the ideal place to sit forever and whatever Shell is supposed to be is closer. They are omitting the nightmares, good riddance.

"Last minute questions, comments, reasons to expect this to be a bad idea in some way?" Bell asks.

Shell shakes her head. She is looking forward to not being a separate person anymore.

Comments

[temporal_affairs]

"I most insistently second that question," says Nathan, "who the blistering hell are you - and babe, what happened to your scars, didn't you like those -"

"You know," says Timer, "I held out hope that you'd just think I was a garden variety alt till somebody could explain, but I suppose arriving arm-in-arm with the Joker without him even singing soprano first torched that interpretation."

"Who in the name of Maughold's left asscheek are you supposed to be?"

"Call me Timer," says Timer.

[she_sells_seashells]

"All this," says Shell Bell, "is a glitch in resurrection-with-evils. There is an afterlife, it is shit, and it does not let people who arrive there go, even if you pull on them very hard - you get forks, instead. I folded back into myself. I'm both."

[gunpowdergelatine]

"I died," the Joker adds, "but I'm fine, sweetie, look," and he taps a pentagon from Timer and teleports directly into a hug with Nathan.

[temporal_affairs]

"You died?" breathes Nathan, hugging the Joker tight and otherwise not moving.

[luminous_regnant]

"Well," says Golden. "That obviously needs fixing."

[arenaria]

"Yeah."

[she_sells_seashells]

"It does."

[temporal_affairs]

"It's not bad always for everyone," Timer volunteers. "I was fine. But then, Shell Bell would've been fine if her dead version had kept her magic. I had mine. Kept me out of the way of torturers and - such."

[luminous_regnant]

"Torturers? That's a class of people you need magic to avoid? Oh, for the love of - even ordinary worlds need serious repairs, Shell Bell's was worse than most, and she comes in saying it's shit, I'm inclined to believe her, but -"

[arenaria]

"It's very, very bad," says Shell Bell quietly.

[gunpowdergelatine]

"Terrible," the Joker agrees sunnily. "I loved it. Coulda spent the rest of forever there, but I would've missed my sweetie."

Extra snuggles for Nathan.

[temporal_affairs]

"I can't believe you died," murmurs Nathan.

"He's right there, Nate," says Timer, "technically dead or not he's there - the more pressing issue is what we're going to -"

"I'm trying not to think about you," snaps Nathan. "If you - if you -"

"Yes, yes, you're afraid that I've been unfaithful, and also afraid that we got up to something while he was Downside, the only outcome you'd consider acceptable would be if I'd spent the last century celibate, how do you feel about making like Shell Bell and importing some of my more even-keeled notions? Sell it for me, babe, he's not gonna listen to me," Timer adds to the Joker when he sees the answering look on Nathan's face.

[gunpowdergelatine]

"Sweetie," says the Joker. "I love you. He's you, so I love him too. I don't wanna lose either of you, and I don't wanna make trouble between you the way it would if I hung around with both of you all the time. Shell and Bell got sewn up and they're just fine. If you're okay with it, and it works so you don't hate yourself afterward or anything, then I want you to."

[luminous_regnant]

Meanwhile, Golden and Shell Bell have relegated their exchange of information about exactly how Downside is shit to the brainphone.

[temporal_affairs]

Nathan is silent for a long time. (Timer doesn't interrupt him.)

"If that's what you need from me," he finally tells the Joker.

[gunpowdergelatine]

"I think it'll make us both happier," he says softly. "You know, I joke about how you'll have to get used to me, but I see how it hurts you to know what a slut I am and I don't want it to, sweetheart, I love you."

[temporal_affairs]

"I thought - that you'd -"

"Lack of opportunity," puts in Timer shortly. "Till he went Downside."

"Oh, Christ."

"You and he'd be happier with our joint self keeping my opinion on the matter."

[luminous_regnant]

"I am not at all confident that even an evil will be able to edit a mate bond," Golden says.

[arenaria]

"Not the core of it. Just around the edges. The joined-up Nathan would still have it - like Alice has one - but it wouldn't come with the... monogamy clause."

[luminous_regnant]

"If it can do even that, that's unsettling," says Golden, "but I suppose whether I find it unsettling or not doesn't make it more or less likely to work. Joker, you're supplying the evil?"

[she_sells_seashells]

"They should spend a little while working out a balance of the two of them. I'm mostly Bell and not Shell most of the time. We didn't want her memories to outweigh mine even though there were more of them."

[temporal_affairs]

"Well, this will be a fun consensus-building exercise," snorts Timer. "We let the Joker tiebreak, Nate?"

Nathan nods.

[gunpowdergelatine]

"Yeah, I'll come up with the coin. Shell Bell, you wanna hit me, or should I wish up another one'a those agony beam gadgets?"

[she_sells_seashells]

"Do you need ramp-up or can I just slam you with a hundred thousand?" Shell Bell inquires.

[gunpowdergelatine]

He grins and makes a beckoning gesture. "Go for it."