[video]

[eatsfish]

[ Though Oswald's network posts are usually on the formal side with a professional sense to them, this time it's a bit different. He's not sitting at his desk or standing to make a speech, the background instead implying that the video is being taken from inside his own home. The atmosphere is a bit more personable. ]

Hello, Genessia. I realize it's been... well, a while since we've spoken. It seems that, on occasion, the dream docks like to take their time. [ He smiled, but if you looked close enough you might see just a flash of how frustrated he really was about it. That tell was gone in the blink of an eye, though. ] Regardless, I would like to apologize for my absence. I'm aware that I've missed quite a bit, which is in part why I've only now announced my return though I've been back for a short while.

Waking up after such a time away was, as you might imagine, an incredibly disorienting experience. I felt that in complete ignorance would be an unfitting way to address all of you, though there is still plenty I'm not yet caught up on. While I am informed of the many issues surrounding Everglade currently, including Miss Sutcliff's disappearance, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for your patience while I work to properly and accordingly take action. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope to be seeing more of all of you from here forward.

Comments

video;

[misalignment]

[ Wow. One of the only actual adults popped back in. He almost missed feeling uneasy politician vibes. ]

Oh my. You look exhausted. I hope your week off helped ease your disorientation. I could never brave those docks, myself. What if it left me on a cliffhanger? Ha ha.

How long were you gone from your perspective?

video;

[eatsfish]

[ To have Akechi be the first to respond what somewhat of a relief. It would have been somewhat unfortunate had he left while Oswald was preoccupied.]

Do I? I had hoped I was hiding my condition a bit better. [ A polite laugh. ] It did, thankfully. Admittedly I was apprehensive myself, but it felt like a necessary course of action. [ He did end up experiencing one hell of a cliffhanger, but he didn't feel that to be relevant. ]

Quite a while. A year, at least.

video;

[misalignment]

Ah, but what kind of detective would I be if I fell for your ruse? Not to worry, everyone else most likely will. [ All this polite laughing. ] Necessary? How curious. Can I ask what made you finally do it? [ Bet he's got a better cliffhanger than you do. ]

[ A surprised look followed by a short low whistle. He most likely would have have avoided everyone for a week too. ] A good year, I hope?

video;

[eatsfish]

Very true. I should have known that you of all people would be able to see the truth. [ They're just going to laugh themselves silly. ] It felt irresponsible of me to not know what was happening in my own city. I've been here for a while, after all. Gotham was... very much the same, really. [ He tried to make that sound like a positive thing. ] An eventful one.

video

[shiningheart]

Uh, sir?

Excuse me, sir, I have a few questions?

Um... about... everything in this post, actually. I just kinda wanna clear some things up really quick.

Do you have like... like a second?

video

[eatsfish]

[ Oh. A skeleton.

He'd almost forgotten how strange it was here. ]

Of course. Go right ahead. I'll do my best to answer them.

Re: video

[shiningheart]

Who is Miss Sutcliff? And how common are random disappearances, do people just up and vanish all the time?

Also I think I read something about the dream docks but like... how do those work? You check yourself in, right? This isn't something that happens out of the blue?

... Also have you seen a semi-truck anywhere? It's kind of important that I know where it is, if it's here.

Since... it's on fire.

text;

[stairsbro]

you are so fucking rude

text;

[eatsfish]

Good to see you again too, Dave!

text;

[stairsbro]

you cant just NOT tell the world youre going to the docks dude
i thought there was like 2 fucking kidnappings but literally nobody gave a shit about the first one
as in yours
but i guess you just kidnapped yourself for a good long brain download sleep
in the fucking rerun tubes
your clock is fucked btw
how dare you
thats like months man

video

[immortalrose]

[A rather prim and proper fellow dressed in a handsome black suit (all accessories included), appears upon the screen in what seems to be a rather spacious white and silver chrome office. The large windows behind him reveal the breathtaking backdrop of Nova City, his current place of employment.

While this regal gentleman looks like an executive of some kind, he's nothing more than a mild-mannered curator with a penchant for trouble and mischief.

Or so he claims.]

My, my... [Augustine reclines in his chair just a little.] Who pray tell are you?

video

[eatsfish]

[ Though Oswald had never seen the man before, it was plenty obvious that he was the type that wanted to be seen. Rather he was actually someone important or not was something he'd have to wait and see, but it was probably best to treat him like he was for now. ]

Oswald Cobblepot, mayor of Everglade. And you?

Re: video

[immortalrose]

The Mayor?

[Augustine couldn't help but blink a little at that revelation. Is this seemingly average looking bloke really the Mayor of Everglade? That is moderately surprising. He half expected "Dracula" himself to be the Mayor or some ferocious looking werewolf, not...this.

There's both disappointment and curiosity in his gaze.]

Bună ziua, Mayor Cobblepot. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. [He greets with some semblance of respect.] I'm Augustine Gheorghe Vlad Tepeş of House Drăculești. However, I'm taking an indefinite break from my illustrious family in favor of working as the curator of the Nova City Museum.

action;

[acrostic]

[ WOW.

Hope you can dodge this heavy decorative clock from the hallway being chucked at your head. ]

action;

[eatsfish]

[ That. That was exactly what he had been avoiding all week. He'd known to expect practically anything out of Ed, now more than he ever did before, but a clock being hurled at him was admittedly something he hadn't expected. ]

Ow!

[ Oh, deja vu. He'd done his best to get out of the way in time, but he'd still taken a hard hit on his shoulder. Any notion he had of sentimentality seemed to be knocked right out of him as his voice picked up in volume. This was going to be a bumpy reunion. ]

What the hell are you doing, Ed?!

action;

[acrostic]

[ There's a second object (a book) that follows it but it misses him by about three inches since he moved. Once he's looking at him, Ed's quickly holding a finger up ]

No! [ Quieter: ] No! What the hell are you doing? [ Is there anything else on this table he can hit him with? Mail, car keys, a letter opener... He grabs the latter, holds it up like he's about to make a skilled knife throw where the target is the center of his forehead.

Only to deflate a second later and put it back down. Yeah, we're not trying to kill Oswald. ]

You've been avoiding me. [ There's no venom. ]

[Video] -> [Private Video]

[fairysoul]

They do like to take their time, yes. [She sees that frustration, despite how fleeting it is, and she understands it.]

Glad to see you back.

[She switches to private after that. She hasn't interacted much with Oswald so far but she knows who he is. And, as the Guardian of Fayren, she's concerned about the situation in Everglade.]

[Private Video]

Any news about Grell? As I've already told other Guardians, me and my deputies are willing to help as much as we can.

[Video] -> [Private Video]

[eatsfish]

Is that spoken from experience? [ Probably not, but he was still curious. ] Thank you. I appreciate your kindness.

[Private]

I certainly wish I had news to give. It's still difficult for me to comprehend all of this, truthfully. Considering how proficient she is in taking care of herself I never would have expected Grell of all people to end up in this situation.

[Private Video]

[fairysoul]

Actually, yes. It is. [She went to the Dream Docks with Zeref several times. And some of her guildmates did as well.]

I agree. [Which makes it even more worrisome.] Is there any particular task related to the current situation or to Everglade in general you'd like more urgent help with?

private video

[captain_by_the_book]

You're late.

[ Cassian's sitting in his office in Attleton, looking about as happy as a wet cat. ]

Put your hounds on a leash, or if you can't, keep them confined to Everglade.

private video

[eatsfish]

Time is, unfortunately, not something I can control.

[ He could tell they were going to have a pleasant interaction. ]

That sounds an awful lot like a threat, Mr. Andor.

[captain_by_the_book]

It's not a threat, it's a demand. I'm not going to interfere in Everglade's internal affairs but when your problems lead to the Guardian system as a whole being made a mockery of it becomes my problem.

[Video]

[scarlet_devil]

Fancy seeing you again.

[ Remilia is one of the few trying not to let Everglade go completely to hell. And she is not amused. ]

[Video]

[eatsfish]

Remilia. [ He nodded a greeting, though it was obvious that she wasn't happy to see him. ] It's good to see that you're still here.

Re: [Video]

[scarlet_devil]

I'm not going anywhere if I can help it. If I seem annoyed, that's due to the rather... eventful month Everglade has been having.