Dammit, robots!

[notvitiligo]

[Well, this is... weird. Having a head that isn't squishy and skull-shaped and covered in hair is bad enough, but the light source inside feels strangely warm. Possibly the heat from the pumpkin hot chocolate is sticking around, which is at least convenient with the cooling weather. Still, annoying.

[But Jessica isn't one to let the Gardens' embarrassing cosmetic bullshit get in her way, so she's resolutely keeping to her routine. It has to wear off eventually, right?

[(Definitely lodging a complaint with the management of the cafe, though.)]

Comments

[cobbledtogether]

...? Yes.

[Damn skippy she knows, but she seems a little perplexed about why Jessica is bringing it up now.]

[notvitiligo]

Well...

I think I got one of yours.

Um, your memories. From the leaves. When I caught one. Yeah.

[cobbledtogether]

[Oh. She ponders that for a second, then asks in the stilted, clumsy tone she sometimes uses when unsure of her words:]

What...was the memory?

[notvitiligo]

[Her wince doesn't show on her current face.]

Um... There... really wasn't a lot. Just...

[Squirm. It's difficult to describe, particularly at the strength of the memory. There's almost a twinge of pain even now. She forces herself to look at Lambda.]

There was a lab. And... scientists. Doing... stuff that's way on the other end of ethical and legal.

Torture stuff.

[cobbledtogether]

[It doesn't sound all that different than the one she received, and for once she is able to pick up on someone else's discomfort, even with that person not having proper facial expressions at the moment.]

Understood. I...am sorry.

[It doesn't bother her that Jessica saw what she saw, and it doesn't sound like the memory held any information that might be new to her. But... She can recall how distressing it was to experience the one she came upon, so she feels bad Jessica had to experience the same thing.]

[notvitiligo]

Huh? I dunno why you'd apologize. None of that was your fault.

Are you, um, OK with it? The... me knowing, not... yeah.

[cobbledtogether]

Because... The memory is distressing to experience.

...? Should I not be?

[notvitiligo]

Well, there is that, but... still, not your fault. Uh, thanks, though. It's definitely messed up, what they did to you.

[Noncommittal shrug] It's just... y'know, memories are kind of... private. It's like if I read your diary or something. Hypothetically. I mean, it's cool if you're OK with it, I just, uh, wanted to make sure you knew.

[cobbledtogether]

...It is fine. You...did not intentionally intrude.

[Not that Lambda would have been especially bothered even if she had. What Jessica saw was just a factual event, so she sees no reason to be bothered by her knowing of it.]

[notvitiligo]

Cool.

Um... Just to make sure... you know that sort of thing is usually seen as totally terrible and a bad idea by normal scientists, right?

[cobbledtogether]

[She just tilts her head at that, doing an admirable job of looking like she doesn't get it despite a sizable portion of her face being covered by that visor of hers.]

[notvitiligo]

The... um... torture thing?

[Lambda r u OK]

[cobbledtogether]

...My pool of experience is too limited to draw an accurate conclusion from.

[notvitiligo]

Hah. I guess that's true for most people.

But... yeah. That... really shouldn't have happened to you.

[And now she's particularly worried about Lambda.]

Uh... so... I'm not a therapist or anything, but... if you want to, um, talk about stuff... Well, you know how to get hold of me.

(Of course, I'm assuming a lot of stuff here...)

[cobbledtogether]

...No. I...am fine.

[Despite her reply, though, her brow furrows behind her visor at Jessica saying that shouldn't have happened to her.]

[notvitiligo]

All right. Offer's always open.

[Not sure what else to do, she pats the cyborg's shoulder. Then feels sort of silly.]

[cobbledtogether]

[It probably doesn't help that Lambda's only immediate reply to this is to silently stare at the hand patting her.]

...Understood.

[notvitiligo]

[Well, at least that's overwith.]

So, um. Other than that really awkward thing, how've you been?

[cobbledtogether]

I have not recently received physical damage or experienced mental distress otherwise.

[So... Good? Good.]