[video]

[cowled]

[When the video opens on Bruce, much of his 'friendly neighborhood playboy' demeanour is muted. He looks a little more serious than normal, though his tone and expression remain congenial enough.]

As some of you may have noticed, passports have been delivered to our suites. It's very likely that these herald another landfall, and given the fact that our population is significantly increased from what it was in November, I'd like to warn people about what we might encounter.

[Attached is a file, landfall.doc. It contains things like details on the llothi, the mausoleum, the ruins, the temperature, sorts of plants found, soil samples, etc.]

You have Miranda Lawson to thank for those. Sadly, she's no longer among us, but I doubt she'd want her research to go to waste.

[A slight pause, barely notable before he continues.]

And that brings me to my second point of business. At one time, a foreigner was keeping a list of people we might be looking for in the event that they arrive. However, I think it's past due we started a compilation of the names of those that have left us. Since disappearing from this place seems an almost instantaneous process, it could be weeks or even months before we become aware of some people's departure, and I believe that process is best expedited for everyone's sake. Most recently, at least to my knowledge, we've lost Miranda Lawson, Favrielle nό Eglantine and Lina Inverse.

[Not mentioning Jason Todd? Not mentioning Jason Todd.]

I'd appreciate any other names you might have.

Additionally, given the current state of Keeliai, I think it's an opportune time to rekindle the idea for a Foreigner-lead council. Councilman Tarrlok, a word to that effect? I think an elected representative from each Sector would be a good place to start.

And if there is anyone well-suited to the role, I'm happy to hold nominations.

Comments

text; anonymous location; encrypted 85%

[wilsooon]

[He hasn't seen Bruce this serious outside of the whole Batman thing. Not in public. Which makes him think maybe something is wrong, and given the subject matter... It's not a huge mental leap to make.]

Were you close to them?

video | same encryption

[cowled]

[Oh, he knows who it is. Or at least, he can make a very educated guess. But Bruce Wayne would have no idea, and that encryption is crap, thus...]

A lifetime of being hounded by the media has left me rather wary of answering questions from an anonymous source, Mr...?

video;

[wintershepherd]

Periwinkle went home a few weeks ago.

video;

[cowled]

I'm sorry to hear that.

[video]

[poeticverses]

[Council? That's interesting]

I am sorry for your losses, monsieur.

[A pause, as he's seriously debating asking about this but...]

A council?

[video]

[cowled]

[He waves a hand in a sort of dismissal of the sentiment. He's not about to show the fact that he's bothered in a public forum.]

It was first discussed some months ago. Certain individuals thought it would be beneficial to have a foreigner-run political body, to organize and better look after our own.

video

[una_persson]

I'm afraid I'm too new to have any nominations for a council, but I should be very interested in how it progresses.

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[cowled]

Of course. I'd also be interested in any input you might have. I'm allergic to politics, personally, I only suggested it to get the ball rolling. Too much more of this and I'm concerned I'll break out in a rash.

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[demon_brat]

[This one is unlocked. And features Damian with a (fake) faintly puzzled expression.]

The llothi were not exactly interested in paperwork.

[I'm-here checking in, son, one. Also looking for clues as to whether he should be doing something.]

video;

[cowled]

Not even remotely. I think they were more interested in the whole 'eating the foreigner population' party trick.

[His tone is a little sour. Oh, 'Bruce Wayne' didn't even go to the mainland, but he did hear his fair share of horror stories.

Also: Bruce gives a little roll of one shoulder. It's a gesture meant to work out tension, for a businessman that is fairly overworked. But it's also an invitation for Damian to come see him if he'd rather talk privately.]

video;

[neverleftharlan]

Death the Kid. [He figures if they're naming names...] Disappeared a while back. Didn't know him well, but figured I should mention it if no one else had.

video;

[cowled]

Not that I know of, no. But thank you, Mr...?

[Video]

[tactile_telekinesis]

I'm pretty sure Marceline is gone.

[Video]

[cowled]

Superboy.

[A nod of greeting.]

I'll add her to the list.

text; anonymous

[justlittle]

[Bean downloads the document, reading it over then deleting it before anyone can trace the download to a particular location. He has all the information he needs now.]

Are we likely to dock at the same port as last time?

video;

[cowled]

I'm not entirely certain. I haven't heard anything to the contrary, but that's not saying much in Keeliai, I'm afraid.

[audio]

[gathersnomoss]

Lina left?

[audio]

[cowled]

To my knowledge, yes. I'm sorry, were you close?

video

[backwordscompatible]

[She's trying not to look too pleased at Lina being gone. One never knew if she and Bruce had actually been friends. Besides, the overall tone of his video message was less than jovial. That was a pretty big clue. So she stuck with business publicly, holding up her own passport to show she received it.]

I'm pretty sure we didn't need passports the last time. Why do we need them now?

video

[cowled]

I'm not sure. It might be a new implementation of the Emperor's own design, or it could indicate a change in whatever venue we're approaching. Either way, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I really don't think we need a repeat of what happened last time. If we run into more llothi, I'm honestly not sure WE has enough antibiotics stocked to doctor the entire foreigner population.

video

[disfavored]

I hadn't brought it up again because I wanted to get a better idea of what has happened since I've been gone. But yes, I believe now would be a good time.

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[cowled]

I've hardly been paying attention, frankly. I've had a few more pressing matters than keeping up with the local politics.

Do you agree on the matter of an elected representative from each Sector?

[mrsarcastic003]

[Tim definitely noticed the failure to mention Jason--or Dick who was only a month or two before that. And he is absolutely not going to bring them up, because what am feels.

And he's not going to ask if Bruce is okay, because the answer is probably no, and besides, Bruce won't answer him anyway.]

Interesting reading.

[cowled]

I thought you might find interest in that.

[Although he rather expects Tim's done his homework already, quite independently of this.]

text;

[thewaythatiam]

I do not know if he is gone, but Peeta Mellark did not arrive to our bakery today, nor was he in his suite.

If anyone has information to the contrary, I would be grateful to hear it.

video;

[cowled]

I don't believe I ever spoke with him, but I recognize the name. I'll ask around as well.

video; anonymous location;

[shorttempered]

[After realizing his home console has essentially marked his place as "Invincible's Suite," Mark decided to pay a visit to a cafe to show his unmasked face on the network.] While I'm not saying a foreign-lead council is a bad idea... would the Kedan be okay with something like that? I mean, from what I've heard, tension is pretty high. Would creating a council make anything worse?

...I'm too new to really help on that first part, but I'll keep an eye out.

video;

[cowled]

I'm hoping it might ease some of that tension, politically speaking. If we have a unified political body, we may be able to broker possible peace treaties or suchnot. As long as we can make it clear we'd rather cooperate than not.

And thank you. I don't believe we've met, I'm Bruce Wayne.

video

[suoxi]

[ everyone inara has 'lost' has already been mentioned. ]

Land will be a welcome sight. Thank you for this information.

video

[cowled]

You're more than welcome, Ms. Serra. If there's anything at all I can do for you, let me know.

[Even amidst all the loss, 'Bruce Wayne' can still find time to be mildly flirtatious. Not in an ostentatious or pushy sort of way, just... pleasantly so. As if it's simply second nature.]

[withoutaworld]

Billy Kaplan. Teddy Altman. Kate Bishop. Shifu.

[ She grimaces and looks down. ] Those are the ones I know for sure.

[cowled]

Thank you, Miss. I'll add them to the list.

text;

[squint]

A council seems like a good idea. Good of you to bring it up.

[ HE'LL JUST QUIETLY be mulling over the information document you sent, Bruce, yup. ]

video;

[cowled]

It was actually proposed some months ago, initially, but the man spearheading it disappeared for a time. I thought it might serve us now.

video.

[traitre]

[there're a number of things here that pique his interest: the very thorough attached notes, the prospect of landfall, something about a council... but it's something else he chooses to comment on--]

Is the list truly that long that it requires documentation?

[judging from the look on his face, it's an honest question.]

video.

[cowled]

[A grimace that's not entirely feigned.]

It's becoming so.

video;

[spacehipster]

[ politics: a dangerous topic. ] I think, before nominations for a council should be considered, the idea of a council ought to be discussed first, and then agreed upon by the majority. A council with no support does nothing for the people it theoretically represents. [ and you humans kind of suck at public relations; no offense. ] That being said, I'm not against the idea of some form of government, but a council of four sounds awfully limiting, particularly if each sector receives one representative. In fact, basing a council on sectors seems arbitrary to me. Although each sector has a pool of similar personality traits, in my experience, that is not the same as sharing a belief system or cardinal viewpoints. [ a snap of his fingers as he remembers something else. ]

Another important point to consider is the, for lack of a better word, goodness of our representatives. We've no record of a person's life before arriving on Tu Vishan, correct? So, who can vouch for a candidate's moral fibre or rational mind? Why, I could tell you that I spend my days saving the worlds — and I do — but you've no way of verifying that fact.

I've more to say, but I'd like to hear your thoughts again, first.

video;

[cowled]

The idea of a council was discussed, several months ago.

[His tone's just the slightest bit cool.]

I agree that it should probably be brought up again, but this isn't something I or anyone else has simply pulled out of a hat. [slight pause] - And last time I checked, there were five sectors.

There are certainly some people who might use coming here as a sort of... blank slate, if you will. But the best men can sometimes make terrible choices, and the worst can sometimes make good ones. Saving 'worlds' is no more an indicator of inherent 'goodness' than being a police officer or a firefighter. I'm willing to judge a man - or woman - by their actions here. We have no other measure. I believe quite strongly in second chances either way.

video;

[aenseidhe]

We're visitors in this land. What makes you believe we have a right or will be allowed to force ourselves into their government?

[ Ugh humans and their human entitlement, gross. JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE HERE DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO RULE THINGS, BATCREEPER. ]

video;

[cowled]

I don't believe the intention is to force ourselves into their government so much as exist alongside it.

[C'est la vie, little scoia'tael.]

[video/private]

[depicted]

[Just fuck politics. He doesn't even care.]

Do you want to go out for drinks?

[video/private]

[cowled]

[And after all that exhaustive posturing, Bruce-- is almost honest.]

You have no idea how much.

[Bruce has been drunk exactly twice in his lifetime. This... will not be the third. But he almost wants it to. Still, his smile is rueful.]

I'm not even sure there are any establishments left that serve alcohol, honestly.

[Lie. There are three. All of them are doing so illegally, and their supplies are getting dangerously low besides.]

video

[willofjustice]

E-eh? Lina-san went home . . . ?

video

[cowled]

As far as I know, yes.

action!

[justlittle]

[Bean is bored. And what does a bored Bean do? He gathers information about his environment! He doesn't want to stray too far from his suite for fear of running into that gang again, but he can always try to learn about his neighbors.

Leaving his front door, he shimmies up the drainpipe to the roof. It's harder to climb than the tree buildings in Wood Sector, but Bean's getting taller now, so it's doable. Once he reaches the roof, he looks around and notices something incongruous. The building to his left has a skylight, while his and the other three buildings do not. Hopping the small gap between the buildings, Bean walks over to the skylight and peers inside...]

action! lmk if this works? :|a

[cowled]

[He doesn't have enough lead to line the walls. He accepted that almost immediately upon arrival. Nor does he have the resources to treat his suite like anything more than what it is - a place to sleep.

Truthfully, Bruce spends very little time there. He makes a point of coming and going as anyone would, but most of what people consider 'free time' is spent at one of his warehouses or in his office. He can explain away all his absences with relative ease - a lifetime of doing so made easier by the very nature of this city.

But he's here at the moment, and is in the process of making himself dinner. Culinary skills were never something he went out of his way to cultivate, but Alfred's absence these last eight months have made it a necessity.

He has a towel slung over his shoulder as he works, mixing together a few of his rationed ingredients to make an omelette. Hard to make a bad one, in his experience. It isn't until he's ready to slide it onto a plate that he's aware that someone is watching him.

It's nothing overt. There's no telltale noise, or a slip or a shift. He doesn't catch sight of anyone creeping in the shadows or with their face pressed against a window. It's an instinct, one of his oldest. Something that's saved his life more than once and that he's very much attenuated to.

He continues on as if he's noticed nothing. He scoops up the plate, pours himself a glass of water, juggles the whole mess on his way to his dinner table, which is directly beneath the skylight.

Where he proceeds to eat with maddening normalcy, checking off windows with casual, everyday movements as he does. The blinds are drawn on some of them (he's notorious for sleeping late) and others are either too high up to peer in save by those who have flight or shapeshifting abilities, or...

There's no obvious shadow cast across his table. No real excuse for him to look up without tipping whoever it is off to his awareness of being observed. So what he does is knocks back the contents of his water glass, draining the entire thing and casting his attention skyward at the same time.

Gotcha.

But what Batman knew with certainty, Bruce Wayne is utterly startled by, and this is the story of how he ends up wearing the last few mouthfuls of water in that glass and toppling over backwards in his chair in sheer surprise.]

video

[sophos]

How recently gone were you thinking of in terms of noting who's disappeared?

video

[cowled]

As recently as we're aware. There's a chance we might end up being wrong, but I think being safe rather than sorry is probably a good thing in this instance.

→ action; i typed this up ten hours ago and then never pressed send fml

[controlledvariable]

[She could reply to the video, but there's one name that was missing on that list.

Well, two, actually, but she doesn't think Bruce would care that much about Brandon's disapperance, except for in how it affects her (which is a strange thought in and of itself).

But the one that matters is Jason, which is why she's making her way into his suite, dressed in civvies but still careful that no one sees her come inside. She doesn't announe her presence, just finds a spot out of view of the console, so that Bruce can finish up there without any interruptions, and waits for him to be ready to talk to her.

She's not even sure if he'll want her around, but-- she'll make herself available anyway, even if that might just mean offering to spar.]

action;

[cowled]

[He doesn't acknowledge her entrance for a time. Instead, he waits until he's finished his latest round of video responses in the devilmaycare guise of Bruce Wayne before he pushes himself away from his desk to give her a sideways glance.]

Stephanie.