560 - hope you've got your things together

[hard_talker]

[so many letters in so many days - Mark hasn't seen this much mail on his desk since he was back home in Arizona. he tucks them all carefully away into a wooden box he made for the purpose while he was away in Fairfield, and then takes the other one he'd saved out of its hiding place. on a whim, he reads it over again, and finds himself as touched by Steve Rogers' words as he was the first time he read them:

"Care about these people, be their voice, understand their feelings. Give them the very best of yourself as often as possible. Never lose hope when things get ugly. I want you to fight and always believe that things can get better because they can."

he shakes his head, sighing softly - and then a notion strikes him. maybe it's intuition, maybe it's a flash of something else ... a sign that he's doing something he swore never to do: grow up. whatever the reason, he spins around in his chair and clicks the broadcasting equipment on without fanfare, this week. no music, no rude noises, no filters, no nothing]

Hey. Guys. York, C, Phoebe, Doc, everybody.

I want to know where we're at with our various safety plans. Call me crazy, but I heard a couple things today that gave me the wicked heebies, and ... I just ... I wanna know.

As for the rest of you - whoever we've got left - anybody feel like hearin' anything in particular, tonight?

[on a whim, maybe just to make himself calm down a little, he'll put some fare that's a little more chill than usual]

Comments

dictacted;

[sonatilove]

... I don't like this music.

[samson]

[Heathen's not Bowie's best work, as far as Brock is concerned, but its inclusion makes him stupidly homesick.

After a second, he puts this on over the journal and lets it play. The quiet pops in the audio should make it pretty clear that this is Brock playing the vinyl Mark lent him.]

[indirectcause]

[Well, that's a maudlin music choice there, buddy]

Hell if I know if these guys have any plans. [His will be the same as always. Stick with the group, deal with whatever comes, try to ignore the nightmares later]

...You okay, man?

[delincuente]

Oh man, I haven't heard "Boston" since middle school.

[Some of tonight's list is a bit mellow for her taste, but she keeps listening quietly for a few minutes, mulling over his words. She hasn't been paying much attention to any goings-on today, but something in Mark's tone does strike concern.]

So, what's going on?

[silentrunning]

[Chell answers. Per usual. He's not lost her.]

What've you heard? And... anything you wanna play. Could you use some company? I could stand to get out of my room.

[hard_talker]

[he knows that vinyl sound, and he's pretty sure he knows where it's coming from. he'll let it play out, then:]

Hey, man. How's it goin'?

[hard_talker]

[he was going for mellow, but maybe he overdid it... he's been in a weird mood the past week, it's entirely possible]

Not really. Lost a lotta friends the last couple weeks, and now I got the creeps on top of it. Feels real good, y'know?

[hard_talker]

That's just it, I dunno, but ... I read somethin' weird in the journal today, an' it gave me the creeps. ... And maybe I'm jumpin' at shadows, but three years in this place? You learn to pay attention to the creeps.

[hard_talker]

It was a rhyme ... 'couple of people heard it in their sleep the other night, and it ...

I dunno, remember when I was talkin' about hearing voices while I was asleep, and not bein' able to remember what they said? It ... it reminded me of that.

[hard_talker]

No? I can play somethin' else for you, take the edge off. What'cha usually listen to?

[sonatilove]

00! [It's the only music group left in her universe, after all.] But Sonata sings now! Happier music.

[samson]

[Bingo, Mark! You get a prize.]

Alright. Getting ready for the other shoe to drop -- it's been awhile since something's happened, you know?

[delincuente]

Yeah? What kind of weird thing?

[She gives an appreciative hum at the last part.]

Hm, kind of had the opposite affect on me. I'm pretty sure I don't notice half the creeps here anymore.

[hard_talker]

Yeah, I do. S'kinda why I asked. If somethin' goes wrong ... I dunno, we lost a lot of the older residents. Lotta Blanketeers gonna get caught with their pants around their ankles.

[silentrunning]

[And Chell recalls what she'd paged back through the journal and saw, and she felt a shiver slide coolly down her spine.]

Something about taking seven? I... didn't hear it, but it doesn't bode well. I saw it in the journal. That's some scary shit. I think people should take it as a warning.

[She's wondering right now how many people are actually left in the Castle.]

Do we need to make a tally of who's still left?

[samson]

Yeah, I know... you know, I met somebody a couple weeks ago who didn't know the castle feeds on us? Whoever's going around welcoming the newbies isn't doing a great job.

[Not that Brock is going to volunteer to do it, either. Semantics.]

Anyway... in a pinch, my cabin always works for a kind of safety zone. Aside from other residents blowing it up, usually nothing castle-y happens there.

[hard_talker]

Of who's left? No, that should be on CastleNet, York keeps that pretty current, last I knew.

It's more ... we need to keep an eye and an ear out for weird shit. Least, that's what I'm coming up with on my own. I'm not good at plans. I'm just good at freaking the fuck out.

[silentrunning]

[When she speaks up, her voice is very earnest.]

I'm coming up with the same. That's all we can do, really. Keep our eyes open and our ears too and help anyone we can. I've never had to make a plan in my life, Mark. So I'm not good at it either. But I will help you. Since you're the Castle newsbearer. I'll report anything I hear or see to you and Phoebe. Since I don't know any of the people you mentioned in your broadcast. But whatever this shit is, I'm not going down without a fight.

[She's not feeling as sure as she sounds. This whole mess has given her the creeps. But Mark's one of her best friends, and if she can help him, either by keeping her eyes open or by staying calm, she will. Freaking out wouldn't help now. One freaked-out person could trigger the freakouts in others.]

Mark

[originalcopy]

Depends on what we need to keep safe from. I've got something if those bug alien things make a move. Probably work against a few other things too.

This place isn't great for making solid plans...

[not_nikkiheat]

Things have been quiet for too long. I feel like something's going to happen soon.

Dictated

[the_effect_she_has]

...Give me something hopeful.

[Katniss said quietly, resting her chin on her knees, as she sat in her bed, listening to the radio.]

[kungfuwitch]

[She cringes]

I keep meaning to have another meeting but things keep coming up. [A sigh] I'm sorry, Mark. I feel like I'm letting everyone down with this Code Blair thing.

[indirectcause]

[That is indeed a really crappy feeling]

Sorry to hear about your friends. ...What sort of creeps? [It's hard to tell, when you're permanently nervous if there's something he should be pin pointing his general paranoia at]

Mark

[encryptedlock]

The hangar's stocked and in good condition. It can host probably thirty people for a week, but it'd be crowded. Fifteen or twenty would be better. I have the second Danger Room set up to host at least twice that many but I'd rather not tell anyone outside of my friends about that in case there's a leak in the castle somewhere. That's kind of a last resort measure. Northern outpost is fully stocked, and I'm starting to put supplies in Fairfield, too.

Problem is, Carolina just arrived here from Fairfield today. Castle pulled her back. Not what I'd call a good sign.

[hard_talker]

Never heard of 'em, but I'll give anything a listen once. ... Who's Sonata?