L-U-V! L-U-V! i don't really care if it's not meant to be!

[liedol]

Comments

[liedol]

. . . huh?

[ Ai sits up a little straighter. She's not entirely sure what she'd been expecting to see but this... really wasn't it. Is it one of those bot programs or something? The ones that are made to make you think you're chatting to a real person?

... How did it even get on her phone in the first place?

She thinks about backing out of the app and just flat out deleting it but... she's curious. Sitting around the apartment with nothing to do when she's so used to working has her needing a little enrichment. ]

Isn't that just common sense?
The internet's a pretty scary place!
So protecting yourself is the smart thing to do.

[deathscord]

Surprisingly Astute For A Mortal
Of Course I Was Able To Break In Regardless

[liedol]

You sure were, I guess...

[ "a mortal", huh... Well, it's on brand for the whole Grim Reaper bit so she's got to give them points for consistency.

Speaking of brands, though... ]

So is this the part where you start with the ad read?
For a premium subscription or something.
Or whatever this is supposed to sell me.

[deathscord]

Subscription?
I Am Not Selling Anything

[liedol]

Really?
I figured this was like one of those chatbot things they have on company websites
Where they try and pretend it's a real person...
So I was like "oh, they're cutting corners and using those to do ad reads now!"
And that's why it's so gimmicky, yeah?

[ 'it's a chatbot' she said, and then carried on chattering away... ]

[deathscord]

Bot?
Do You Mean Robot?
I Am Not A Robot! I Am The Grim Reaper!

[liedol]

I can see that!
You really went all in on the branding.
And this chat program is really slick...
That's why I'm thinking it's gotta be for an ad.
You'd only put this much money into something if it was MAKING you money.
So what's it for?

[deathscord]

Heh. It Is 'Slick' Because I Made It.

...

It's Purpose Is Observation.

[liedol]

Okay.

[ ... she has a horrible feeling she doesn't want to ask this question, and yet: ]

Observing what, exactly?

[deathscord]

[ "The Grim Reaper is typing..." starts and stops repeatedly. He doesnt want to upset her, considering the nature of her "death"- though he's not sure why he cares. That was the whole problem! He's ferried thousands of souls with more gruesome deaths with no issue.]

It Is Not For Anything Nefarious.

...

I Need To Know If There Is Something Particular About You That Is Interrupting My Duties.

[liedol]

You saying 'it's not nefarious' makes it sound insanely nefarious, just so you know.

...

So this whatever you're observing
is me?

[deathscord]

Does It? It Is The Truth, So You Do Not Need To Worry. Though It Is Expected You Would Be Scared Of The Grim Reaper.

And Yes.

1/2

[liedol]

[ . . .

Ai closes the app. ]

[liedol]

[ Then deletes it. ]

1/?

[deathscord]

[wait where'd she go????

No way she actually-]

[deathscord]

[the app reinstalls and starts pinging rapidly]

[deathscord]

Don't Do That Again!
I'm The Grim Reaper You Can't Escape Me That Easily!

...

Answer Me!
Hello?
Did It Not Install Correctly?

[deathscord]

...
...

okay it says it's connected why aren't you answering
test test
Answer Me!!

...

did you die??? you're not allowed to do that yet!!

...

maybe i should call?
yes, i'll call you won't ignore that, right?

End

[deathscord]

[The Grim Reaper started a Video Call.

Answer?]

[liedol]

[ Oh my God, even when she mutes her whole phone the notifications still get though, she even turned the volume all the way down and it's still pinging— a call notification?! Seriously? She can hang up, right? ... Of course not, there's no way to reject the call. Figures. No way is she actually answering this thing, though.

She lets it ring out for a good twenty seconds before the anxiety of an unanswered phone call finally gets to her and she snatches her phone back up. She fumbles with it for a second — no way is she accepting this call while letting whoever's on the other end see her — before covering the front camera with her thumb and finally picking up, chattering away at high speed before he can speak. ]

Yes, hello, I'm here! No, I'm not interested in whatever you're selling, thank you very much! Unsubscribe, cancel membership, bye bye, see you later!

[deathscord]

[ the video shows a young man of similar age to Ai sitting in what looks like a PC gamer chair with a very goth looking bedroom behind him. Not a call center for sure. He's leaned forward with anticipation, about to speak before she goes off]

Wha- wait, I told you this wasn't an ad-

... what happened to the camera? Is it broken...?

[annnnd there he goes fiddling with his camera, giving a close up of his hands instead of anything useful]

[liedol]

[ . . . Huh. That's really not what she was expecting to see and yet at the same time, it's kind of exactly what she was expecting to see??? ... He's a little old to be this deep in a chuunibyou phase, though... ]

It's working just fine. Haven't you ever heard you're supposed to cover your camera if you think someone weird's watching you on the internet?

[ 'like you' — she doesn't say but really, does she need to. ]

[deathscord]

[he tilts his head slightly]

Is that so...? Well, that's not an issue since I am not weird.

[he sits back in his seat, resting his face on his wrist like a lounging king on his throne]

[liedol]

I hate to tell you this [ does she really ] but everything about this is weird, including you.

[ she's having to actively suppress the Mom Urge to bark at him to sit up straight like Miyako does with her... ]

[deathscord]

[he makes a face that was probably supposed to be a scowl but is definitely more a pout]

Just because it's something you don't understand doesn't make it 'weird', Mortal.