“Not to refer to her properly,” Finkelstein sighed. “I was already doing that.” He spoke slowly, enunciating his words as carefully as possible. 

“You made me realize that there [i]is[/i] a common variable between all of my living projects which I thought to have turned out less than completely successful,” he explained. “I was too caught up in the initial design framework to realize they [i]were[/i] operating successfully -- I merely forgot to take into account a single parameter in the context of their minds. Namely, that they are all female. They naturally require extra [i]guidance[/i]. Carver was easiest for me to get distracted in my frustrations, because her female mind wasn’t in a visibly female vessel. I was referring to her properly, I just wasn’t dedicating enough of my mental resources to taking into account what that [i]means[/i]. So when I upgraded her body to be more resilient to her hooligan friends’ destructive behaviors, I took the liberty of adding features that would remind me to be more specific and attentive to her.”

Carver’s metal jaw dropped as he listened to the perfumed rubbish coming out of his creator’s mouth. Jewel’s lip began to twitch as her fingers curled into tight fists.

“So you see, I have [i]hardly[/i] been derelict in my responsibility toward my creation,” the doctor continued, completely oblivious to their reactions. “If anything, I’ve gotten [i]better[/i] in that regard. It’s hardly [i]my[/i] fault that she decided to damage my wheelchair and run away before I could make her comparatively simple mind recognize that fact.”

He smiled up at the skellington. “I understand that my neural complexities are a bit difficult to keep up with, even for other men, but I know that [i]you[/i], Jack, are able to at least somewhat match pace.”

Carver opened his mouth to roar out a response, but the sound came to a sudden creaky halt in his throat as Jewel took two quick steps forward and slapped her husband so hard he fell sprawling sideways out of his chair.

“[i]You![/i]” She snarled. She reached down to lift him up by the collar of his lab coat until his face was inches from hers. “Are the single most [i]infuriatingly stupid[/i] man I have ever met! I am [i]ashamed[/i] to share a brain with the likes of you.”

Jewel didn’t merely let him fall back to the floor; she shoved him backward as hard as she could before releasing her grip.