#dr futterman

Liliya thought she'd hate everyone at Sinyala. She really did. Everyone there is a bigoted, rich, hedonistic, heretical bastard and she wants them all dead. Mother Gooseberry actually rather dislikes religion, finding it rather dull and restrictive, but she's immediately captured by how violent and sexual Liliya seems to allow herself to be while also swearing up and down she is a vessel for God and speaks with his tongue. Their first meeting is little more than a kind wave from Gooseberry, an aggressive whir from Dr. Futterman, and a raspy grunt of acknowledgement from Liliya as she slinked away into the shadows. But as she observed Gooseberry during trials, she appreciated how competent the woman was. She was skilled with her drill, and strangely gentle with the faces of the reagents she mangled. It was fascinating. Liliya began noticing that she enjoyed watching the woman work, weirdly enough. It eventually bled over into leisure time. Liliya didn't tend to relax during her down time. She was typically working on furthering her plan to destroy Murkoff or praying, but Gooseberry kept interrupting her. It annoyed Liliya at first, but the more it happened the more she noticed disappointment when Gooseberry DIDN'T show up. She finds the woman weirdly charming and potentially useful. Eventually, they reach a delicate agreement that Liliya will allow Gooseberry to visit so long as Gooseberry promises not to insult Liliya's beliefs. Gooseberry happily agrees, but asks if Liliya would then be willing to allow Gooseberry to host a sort of "girl time" deal with her where they do makeup and manicure each other's nails and Gooseberry does a bit of gossiping while Liliya listens. Liliya hates to admit it to herself, but she is actually rather fond of the mundane friendship she seems to be forming with Gooseberry. It makes her feel weak and soft and she hates it, but she cannot deny how nice it is to just... be. To exist with no other expectations for a moment. It is tempting. She is still loyal to her mission, but she does allow herself this one kindness every once in a while. She'll repent for the lapse afterwards.