First Session: Sprinkles

Keen

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And he didn't even acknowledge the joke.

"Oh, well, I'm bad at explaining this, so we should probably move on. I accidentally mentioned that off-handedly to some people, and they always get uncomfortable with it or misunderstand. But really, don't worry, I've been fine. It's not a one-way relationship. I take care of him, and he takes care of me." There was some mild discomfort on Sprinkles' face from trying to justify themself, but there was more pride in his work than anything.
 
Romi

Romi

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Valli had his opening, and he wasn't giving it up.

"I'm not referring to it being a one way relationship," Valli said. "Just that it's your only significant relationship. It isn't healthy to rely entirely on one single person and expect them to meet all your emotional needs, and it isn't healthy for them to reply on you for all their emotional needs."
 
Keen

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"You say it's not healthy like you know the full story, but you have you lived my life? Lucky for you, I've lived my life for an entirety of five years. Some would call me an expert on it. I'm not trying to be rude, but I've been fine. What's healthy for everyone else might not be healthy for me, like being here, going to therapy, on a magical island that shouldn't, and I'm pretty sure doesn't, exist. Dad was fine. I was fine. The only thing not fine is this weird nightmare-delusion-thing."

After that rant, Sprinkles realized he went too far and tensed up, looking fearful. "I'm sorry. I got too emotional. I really didn't mean to be rude."
 
Romi

Romi

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Denial was not just a river in Egypt, as they said, and Valli remained impassive, even as Sprinkles snapped. They looked nervous, which was... well, not a good sign. It generally meant a bad thing.

"You're acting defensive," Valli pointed out, drawing their attention to the behavior. "Even when speaking about things in very general terms. You don't know that if you're stabbed in the heart, you will die. You don't know that, because it hasn't happened. But you can assume it's true, because all evidence points to the fact that it is. NEK0 aren't humans, but they're built on a human template. Unless there's evidence otherwise, all indication is that NEK0s have the same social dynamics as humans."

He wasn't even touching the probably doesn't exist. He'd get to that. Or, more accurately, he likely wouldn't. It was a defense mechanism, and if he dealt with the things causing the need for it, it'd eventually fall away.

"You don't have anything to fear in these sessions. There are no wrong answers. We're having a discussion, and speaking your mind is perfectly acceptable."
 
Keen

Keen

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During times like these, Sprinkles regretted never really learning how to be polite. He knew the basics. Enough to get through a conversation online or a roleplay session with his Dad, but not enough to instantly know how to treat someone formally and politely after screwing up so badly. Or that may have just been him having trouble knowing how to act when everyone was so different.

"Speaking my mind isn't acceptable if it means I still have to keep going to these sessions. Think about, if I speak my mind and you decide I'm not mentally well, then speaking my mind was the wrong decision. There are definitely wrong answers.

"And I'm being defensive because you're wrong about my life. Online, I can easily walk away. It's no biggie. Here, I can't walk away or stop talking or else you'll report back to whoever that I'm not behaving."
 
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Romi

Romi

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Defensive. Defensive defensive defensive. It was obvious how the session was going. They had come into it fully expecting an us versus them, with them and their father on one side, and Valli on the other. But this was not the first time he'd gone into a session with someone who was combative.

"As I mentioned, I don't report back. The only situation I'll report back is one where you simply refuse therapy entirely." Better to clarify that first. But he couldn't exactly argue the points about trying to 'impress' Valli in order to get a clean bill of mental health.

"I'm curious to know why you feel your emotional needs are different from the needs of other humans."
 
Keen

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"Oh, sorry, then." Valli did say that clearly, and Sprinkles was aware enough to know that sometimes he jumped to conclusions too quickly.

After covering his face a bit to give himself some time to think about his answer, he looked and Valli with an unsure expression. "Well... I'm basically human, but I'm different from them too. Like you said, I don't need to sleep, I'm weak, and I'm great at endurance stuff. I was made to be adaptable to anyone I served. Housework, sex, roleplaying, babysitting, I bet I could even learn to use a weapon if I needed to act as a bodyguard. A weak bodyguard, but still something. Why would I be made to be weak-minded?"
 
Romi

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He felt like he had his foot in the door with that, and he was going to wedge it open ever so slowly.

"What makes you think that's weak-minded? Humans need stimulation - it isn't weak, simply a function of a normal human brain. Humans can't survive in sub-zero temperatures without clothing, but that wouldn't be described as being weak-bodied. It's simply how they are."
 
Keen

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"A human built to withstand sub-zero temperatures not being able to do that is a failure of a creation and it reflects badly on whoever made them. I was custom-made to be everything my Dad wants. If I'm damaged, why would he want me? It means he wasted money on a broken product and the one who made me was bad at their job. He's sensible enough to get rid of damaged goods and replace them. And I'm confident I'm saying that because I was never considered a damaged good."
 
Romi

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He gave her creators too much credit, didn't he? But that was easy enough to explain away. Easy enough to carefully point out the flaws in their logic.

"You need to eat, don't you?"
 
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