video; backdated to The Secrets

[sassymaru]

A moment of your time, if you please!

[It's Shadowmaru, perched on the porch railing of his little Olivine cottage. But, alas, the former AI looks... rather less than his usual calm self. His hair is more out of place than usual, falling out of the short tail he's tried to put it up into.]

I'm aware I'm not the only one to receive some odd messages. However... the nature of them is somewhat disconcerting.

[He holds one up to the camera.]

"He's so pretty," and some coarse language... then "I never seen a pretty man before. Like pretty like a girl pretty."

[His expression is mildly alarmed by this.]

The other is no better. Behold! [Again, he holds one up.] "I don't know if I want to take you under my wing or. Do less than polite things with you."

[He sets them aside, carefully, as if they may bite him.]

I hardly think I need to state why these are distressing notes to read. Less than polite things? I... scarcely know what to say to this!

Any of this!

[Which translates to: help I have no idea how to process this information, in Shadowmaru speak.]

Comments

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

[Shinobu can't help but grimace.]

Well, they did say they were on a mission of love.

[sassymaru]

This is hardly expressions of love and romance.

This is simply lewd.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

I'm not arguing the point, but it's what the Indeedee said they were doing.

[sassymaru]

Then they must have been tragically misinformed.

Or outright lied to.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

Or intentionally obfuscating - they wouldn't explain any further.

But I'm not sure if the cards were meant as declarations of love in themselves - mine were completely platonic - so much as a way to encourage love through honesty. Stripping away pretenses and such. Which is still terrible, and raises the question of why they'd be doing such a thing, but still.

[sassymaru]

May I say I envy that? I would have vastly preferred declarations of platonic feelings.

These are... unseemly.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

I don't blame you for feeling uncomfortable.

Still, just because people think things like this doesn't mean they'll act on those thoughts, especially if they know it would make you uncomfortable. And I doubt they had any idea that those thoughts would find their way to you like this.

[sassymaru]

I should hope they would not.

I've... no desire for such things. Human beings - those feelings are for their hearts. Not such as mine.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

[Shinobu wonders if he's happy about that, but now's not the time to ask even if it was any of his business, and it's not like there's anything wrong with it if he is.]

You were changed when you were brought here too?

[sassymaru]

Indeed.

[Shadowmaru's never been secretive about it. There's never been any reason to.]

I am an AI unit, developed by the police force.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

AI Unit?

[Forgive him; his knowledge of artificial intelligence is still a bit lacking.]

[sassymaru]

Artificial Intelligence Unit. A... "robot with a heart", they say.

[For all the good it did people outside of the BP division. And the people close to them.]

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

[Shinobu has questions. Many questions. Such as "why did they create you that way," and "do you mind it," and "did you have any say at all in your development even after the fact or did your creators just do whatever the hell they wanted with you," but he's not sure he should ask. And he's probably bringing his own baggage into it in any case.]

Being transformed into a human must have been quite an adjustment then.

[sassymaru]

Indeed.

However... I am used to human beings. Not so much a shock as it could be, were I not acclimated to them before.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

That does help, yes.

[Though being acclimated to various kinds of entities isn't quite the same as becoming one, as Shinobu knows from painful experience.]

[sassymaru]

Though we never covered this sort of thing...

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

Does this sort of thing ever happen in your world?

[sassymaru]

Mysterious anonymous notes of lewd origin?

No.

It does not.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

[Does it not happen at all, or just not happen that he knows about? Not that Shinobu is going to ask that, because rude.]

Sorry, I wasn't clear - I was thinking more on the order of people's thoughts being recorded on mysterious anonymous notes. Or in general.

[sassymaru]

Ah - I see. My apologies.

But no, I cannot recall it ever happening.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

So that aspect probably doesn't help here either, does it?

[sassymaru]

No. Sadly.

None of my previous experiences have prepared me.