Who is that girl I see staring straight back at me?

[umbrastaff]

who: Lup, the IPRE gang + friends
what: Finally stepping into vat and getting a hot new bod.
when: Backdated to the end of February
where: Casa del Taako
warnings: Weird necromantic shit, very quick nudity.

For Taako

Alright, alright. I'm.... I'm doing it. Just.... give me a sec?

[Lup's voice is a little harsher than she meant it to be, and a quick look back at her brother makes her feel bad. It's not his fault that she's being so nervous about this whole deal. It was her own worries that kept her stalling for longer than needed.]

Sorry. It's fucking weird, that's all.

[Hovering in front of the tank in the spare room in their house, the skeletal form of Lup's lich self was reflected in the strange membrane and murky water. Her body was in there, a living, breathing one with a heart that actually beat and everything. Loki's vessel was amazing, but she never got tired, never even got a bruise and it always required a bit of awareness to keep on, like when you walked in very high heels.

With time, her tactile senses has also grown more and more dull, a disconnect between herself and the Lup -shaped sock she had inhabited for more than 120 days.

It was long past the waiting time now, but here she was. Still hesitating.

Barry had done this several times, she reminds herself. He was still his nerdy, sweet self. Nothing had cocked up when he had done it, so she shouldn't be afraid - and while Taako was no necromancy specialist, he was the (second) best wizard in several multiverses, and she trusted that he had pulled this off right.

Everything in there was fully Lup... but was she still fully Lup? (A decade in an umbrella.)

She couldn't stall forever.]

Do you have that towel, Koko?

[Her voice isn't the steadiest, but she's floating even closer now, bony hands reaching into the tank.]

For IPRE and friends

HEY BITCHES, I'M BACK!

[The door is thrown open, and while her hair is still wet, Lup is dressed and very lively. Her heart is beating so loud that its making her head hurt a bit and she's intimately aware of all the motions and happenings a real body has, and it's exhilarating and tiring at all once.

She was gonna take a nap for a DAY after this.]

Gonna take up the title of hottest twin again~!

[It had just been a quick text to people that she was gonna go corporeal, and then... well, it might have taken a little longer than she intended, so she had to make it up to everyone.

Hugs were in order.]

Comments

[spellslots]

[Taako doesn't bother telling Lup that she can take all the time she needs, she knows that. It's the same reason he simply waves off her apology instead of really responding to it, because he gets the anxiety, he gets that she's not really mad at him.]

Got you a real fuzzy bathrobe, do not ask much this cost.

[He thought it might be a nice treat.]

[umbrastaff]

[ Lup looks back at her brother, touched by the promise of a nice bathrobe after this fucking ordeal. It makes her stall just a little bit longer before her lich form completely sinks into the vat, and the last thing Taako sees is her skeletal hand making a thumbs-up before sinking in as well.

Then things go quiet as time slowly ticks by. There's nothing really visible in the tank thanks to the fluid, but around the minute mark, the whole thing wiggles a little bit.

A push later, and the membrane tears open, washing out both gunk and Lup on the poor spare room's floor.

Lup gasps as if she'd been drowning, and it quickly turns into coughing. She didn't have Barry's expertise in this shit, after all. ]

[spellslots]

[In retrospect he maybe should've put some towels down or something, but he can just cast prestidigitation a dozen or so times to clean this all up, it's not really a big deal. He just needs something to think about other than the tiny thrum of anxiety in his chest.

If this fucks up, it'll be his fault, and he doesn't want to have done that to Lup. She's been through enough, he just wants her to be back in body and comfortable and happy, as grateful as he is for the shell Loki made, it's not the same.

So he's by her side the second she's out of the tank, relieved to hear her breathing even if it's a bit labored, and glad that the fluid doesn't seem to be particularly sticky. He hadn't expected it to be, not since he saw Barry's tank and how quickly the dude had gotten back into this clothes afterwards, but - still.

Taako drapes the robe around Lup's shoulders and rests a hand on her back, rubbing gentle circles.]

Take it slow, Lulu, I'm right here.

[umbrastaff]

[How weird was it to breathe again? Maybe that was why she had inhaled clone tank water as her first breath, because how do you even work your lungs? Lup felt like everything was on manual there for a moment - but the coughing (and slight retching) cleared that up fairly quickly.

She's got limbs that she's not falling out of, is the first thing she fully notices. Then how nice and soft that robe is. The texture is almost overwhelming, which tells her just how numb she had become in her vessel lately.

Taako's hands on her back grounds her, though, and she wipes her hair from her face so she can look up at her brother.]

That was fucking nasty.

[She croaks, voice a little raw from all the coughing.]

...hi, Koko.

[spellslots]

You're the dumbass who became a lich.

[It's not really an admonishment, just something to say for the sake of talking. That isn't a new concept for Taako, who adores the sound of his own voice, but right now it's to give Lup a focus.]

How ya feeling?

[umbrastaff]

Mmm, can't argue with that.

[ Lup leans a little against him and smiles. ]

I feel... a lot? Like... it's super weird, I know it's just been a few months since I had flesh, but at the same time it's been twelve years? And I'm just... loud.

[ She touches her chest, a little amazed. ]

I'm alive.

[spellslots]

I get it.

[He doesn't, really, but he understands that it's difficult and probably a little confusing, reconciling the time alone compared to the time here.

He has no plans to move, so he just keeps Lup wrapped up while she comes to terms with the whole bodies and feelings thing.]

You're gonna have to be a bit more careful with yourself now, huh?

[umbrastaff]

Oh yeah, definitely not getting myself killed in at least a month.

[She gives her brother a little kiss on his forehead, and then ties her bathrobe closed so she can try to stand up.

It's a little unsteady at first, but Taako is a good crutch and Lup is stubborn. Well on her feet, she laughs again and wiggles her toes.]

All me.

{Pardon her, real hugs coming through.]

[spellslots]

[Taako rolls his eyes as he helps Lup to her feet.]

So like, I better start you on a new body already, huh?

[But it's a relief to be able to hug her properly again, knowing it's Lup, not just a facsimile with her soul tucked inside. This is so much better.]

[ohhmrburnsides]

[Magnus—sweet, slow Magnus—barely glances away from the TV screen, from whatever ridiculous game he's playing, in the direction of the noise.] Gimme like two minutes, I just gotta—

[It's Lup's wet hair that clues him in on the change. It takes a moment for it to click, but when he realizes what's up, he jumps up from the couch and tosses his gaming controller away without so much as pausing the game. (He's gonna lose anyways, so who cares.)] New body! [He then moves in to envelope her in a big, congratulatory hug.]

[umbrastaff]

I'm aliiiive!

[Shit, he was so big and strong and squishy. His hug is awesome and overwhelming at once, like she could feel every single chest hair through his shirt.]

I'm looking as amazing as always~

[ohhmrburnsides]

[A sound can be heard from the TV that sounds like a crash, distant cop cars, muffled gunfire, and disappointment. Magnus couldn’t give less of a shit right now. Once he’s satisfied with the hug, he sets Lup down.]

Don’t tell Taako I said this, but you never stopped being the hot twin. How’s it feel to be physical again?

[umbrastaff]

Magnus Burnsides, you sweet liar.

[She leans up on her tippytoes and kisses his forehead.]

I feel really amazing. A little... overwhelming, maybe? Like, I feel so much, and I gotta do things like breathe. It's different from when I just stood up all reset on the Starblaster.

[ohhmrburnsides]

I'm not lying! [he says through giggles, as that's his usual reaction to Lup's forehead kisses.]

Ugh, sounds exhausting. If you want I could carry you around piggyback style for a while until you get your strength back. Oh—uh, by the way, uh, [he gestures to his own hair,] your hair's wet.

[umbrastaff]

[ She immediately makes a face at that and recoils from him. ]

UGH, I still have clone goop in my hair! That's gross!

[ohhmrburnsides]

[He chuckles mercilessly.]

Just too excited to show off your hot new bod, huh? Y'know, you can take a shower. That is an option.

[umbrastaff]

Hey, a girl's gotta get her hug on! Shower can wait!

gently fudges this

[scholiast]

(Lucretia has a secret and it's this: every once and a while she pops by casa del Taako every once and a while just to see if anybody is about. It's a I-have-a-day-off-but-I-don't-want-to-spend-it-in-my-own-house type deal and also maybe a raid-the-fridge type deal (but only on the down-low). Either way, she's actually making herself a cup of tea when Lup comes bursting out of the bathroom, whipping water everywhere and Lucretia startles, dropping a tin of tea leaves as if caught.)

Don't do that–

(Oh, but when she turns to look, Lup is there with her arms outstretched triumphantly, gloriously, solidly real. She looks new. Lucretia can only stare.)

<33333333333

[umbrastaff]

[ Lup is beaming at Lucretia, her smile full of warmth and life and everything. She holds put her arms, prestidigitation getting rid of most of the drippy water, and then makes 'come here' gestures with her hands. ]

I'm a new woman, Luce! My heart is beating, my lungs are working and I'm pretty sure i have a headache!

[ Nobody has ever been happier from a sensory overload. ]

[scholiast]

(Lucretia goes to her immediately, wraps her in a gentle hug. Realistically she knows that Lup isn't about to break in her arms, but she feels fragile some how anyway. Tender? She can't explain it, but she's so, so happy for Lup.)

I didn't know the body was finished! How does it feel?

[umbrastaff]

[ Considering the bear hug she got from Magnus, this was pretty sweet. It meant that she could tighten the hug just enough to make it comfortable, too - and Lup takes a moment to just feel Lucretia hold her. ]

It's been finished for a while, I've just been stupid about it.

[ She chuckles against the other woman's neck. ]

It feels so much.

[scholiast]

Yeah.

(They just stand there in the kitchen like that for a long moment. It's weird, because Lucretia knows these hugs off by heart and this one is a tried and true, genuine Lup Hug™ but something... is off. It takes her a moment to realise what it is: she doesn't smell the same. She kinda smells like formaldehyde, or something. Weird. Makes sense though.

Lucretia disentangles herself from the hug, holds Lup at arm's length to examine her.)

All good though, you're back in now. Wow, Taako did a great job on this huh.

[umbrastaff]

[ Lup finally lets go and steps back a bit so she can look at Lucretia, too. She probably needs a shower and stuff, but she's got people to hug first. ]

I know, right? Maybe he should change specialty to necromancy.

[ Mixing that with transmutation had really made her the perfect body, and she's so fucking grateful to Taako for that. She hadn't needed to step into the one she was born with and feel all wrong for the first time in almost two centuries. ]

This feels really nice. I'm able to feel, even.

[scholiast]

What's that like?

(She's curious; Lup has been without feeling for quite a while now. Is it overwhelming? Lup isn't pulling away from her touch so Lucretia assumes being gentle is okay.)

I suppose you haven't been eating or drinking this whole time either. I– Lup, do you breathe when you're a lich?

(She's never thought to ask these things before!)

[umbrastaff]

Everything is so fucking much, Luce. I can almost feel my blood running through my veins, it's hella distracting. I swear I could count each individual hair on Magnus' chest when he hugged me.

[No wonder her head hurt a little.]

Nah I def don't breathe while all lich. No lungs, talking was just magic. I could eat and drink while in the vessel, but later it all seemed to get duller, you know? Feeling, taste, everything. I dunno if it was my lich form or the vessel, but either way I'm glad I'm in working order again.