And never mind that noise you heard

[maskormods]

WHO: Everyone who wants
WHERE: A charming De Chima Park
WHEN: September 2-9th
WHAT: The tale of the Gibbering Mouther and you
WARNINGS: NPC (possibly PC) death, body horror

De Chima, city of technology, of medical advancements, and of.. horrible gibbering monstrosities of madness and mayhem? That’s right, for this week only, the beautiful face below has taken up residence under the bridges of a local De Chima park, only a few minutes drive from downtown.



Yeah. Heroes are seriously needed.

Those, imPorts and natives alike, that come within a quarter of a mile of the beast will begin hearing maddening whispers, a cacophony of voices and guttural sounds from the mass of mouths. These whispers can have a few initial effects: the person simply freezes, standing still and becoming entranced with the noise until someone helps them; moving in a random direction in utter confusion; or attacking the nearest person in their distress. Finally, though, the creature will compel them to come closer, closer. Once people come too close, the monster will absorb them into its wriggling mass, killing them and adding another horrible mouth to the whispering creature.

Those strong of mind or will can resist simply being absorbed, but will have to contend with the many bites the monster can inflict, as well as blinding spittle — that’s right, all of the creature’s mouths can spit globs of nasty up to a distance of 15 feet that explode like a flash grenade and blind anyone looking at that moment. For any imPort that does get eaten, the mouther will find the nanites too much for it and will spit the body out (after a light, lethal gnawing. but at least you aren't part of the horror and can do your on respawn). Also, the ground around the mouther is incredibly hard to walk through. We're suggesting range attacks, but follow your heart. 

On the bright side, you’re heroes! You can fight this, you can win. It’s a tough monster, but with enough effort imPorts can kill it. When the creature vanishes it will leave behind all the loot (wallets, watches, all other non-biological items) that people absorbed into it were carrying. Curiously, these items also include some (strictly non-magical) items that seem out of time — gold coins, maces, quarterstaffs and other fantasy medieval paraphernalia.

On the downside, the monster came in with re-spawn. An hour after being killed, another one will ooze its way into the universe under a nearby bridge. Some tag-team monster hunter shifts may be needed until this dimensional instability ends. 

 

Have fun, and ask any questions on the OOC post here!

Comments

Jonathan Walsh | OTA

[drivesadesk]

Jonathan is not here to fight a gibbering mouther, or any other sort of creature. In fact, he's not even aware that anything's going on, and is just going around De Chima submitting job applications when he sees some people staring at something under a bridge. Naturally, he goes to investigate and sees...well, he sees a hideous monstrosity.

A hideous gibbering monstrosity. When he hears that disturbing sound coming out of all those mouths, Jonathan just stares in shock and horror, not moving as the creature slides closer.

[fireandhoney]

Finn doesn't know how he gets into these messes. One moment, he's at the park, looking for a spot to draw, the next moment, he sees something huge and ugly. It's like if Hermeous Mora and Sheogorath decided to collaborate on a monster.

And like a fool, Finn has decided to go in for a closer look.

As he nears the beast, he can hear whispering that seems to pierce right into his skull. He does his best to ignore it when he sees a certain someone.

"Jonathan!" Running towards his boyfriend, Finn tries tugging on his arm.

Keith | OPEN

[lonered]

[ I. Pre-Fight ]

Okay. So Keith hasn't been in this world long, but the fact that trouble keeps showing up in new and, erm, interesting forms is something he's starting to understand as a regular occurrence. Fine. He hadn't come to De Chima with any particular monster-fighting agenda in mind. On the contrary, he just has been exploring the porter cities in his spare time because it seems like a good idea to get to know this new world for when shit inevitably hits the fan.

And here it is. Hitting. The whispers are starting. "Did you hear that?"

That's about all he gets out before he freezes, entirely caught in the susurrus spell. Help him out?

Eventually one way or another, he does shake the enchantment, and he moves towards the source of the sound. He's mostly recovered from the whispers in his head. Peering around a corner he catches sight of the monster thing in the distance and holds an arm out to stop anyone nearby. "...I think we've got a problem."


[ II. Fight ]

But hey a monster is a concrete problem that can, in theory, be fixed by swinging a sword and/or other various weaponry options at it. By now, Keith has been joined by the Black Lion, the lion-shaped somehow-sentient robot-ship that has been shrunk down to actual lion-sized for his stay here. Thanks, nanites. Anyway, thankfully it can still fly, and Keith sees no issue with riding atop the thing like it's some space-age mount. It works, and he's never had any fear of the sky.

So the thing darting back and forth around the gibbering mouther, hitting it with slashes of claws and sword and strategically fired lasers? That's Keith. If he sees anyone else engaging the monster in combat, he'll join in.

If he happens to catch sight of someone in danger or struggling in the difficult ground or in the monster's clutches, he'll swoop in with little warning other than a "Grab my hand!" to drag them aboard the Black Lion Express.


[ III. Post-Fight ]

Eventually with enough time the monster is defeated. This seems great. At least at first. Keith is happy to employ his new (and still being figured out, apologies to everyone who needs healing and is now a guinea pig) healing abilities and first aid.

He can also be found looking through what the creature dropped, frowning and toeing at a strange and distinctly out of place looking mace.

Until he hears the whispers again. "...that can't be good."

Pre-fight

[spaceforged]

“I heard it.” Shiro breathes as the whispers curl in his ears and sound far, far too familiar. He shakes it off out of sheer will and frowns at how still Keith is. “Keith?” He reaches out to shake him by the shoulder. “Hey, snap out of it. Stop listening to them. We need to focus. Keith!”

He mentally reaches out to the Black Lion tied to him and calls it to them. It hasn’t been far. He is never far from his lion these days. The beast rumbles as it drops from a roof above to land at Keith’s side and brace against him.

“Keith!”

WTF, and other Stories, by Oliver Queen | OTA

[reborningreen]

Oliver, in full Green Arrow regalia, responds to one of the first reports of this thing, not really thinking it is up his alley, but feeling he should try. He approached the area,. hearing people scream, and slowly edged closer.

Spotting the thing, hanging off the bridge via a cable, he swears. And takes several pictures. The victim is dead already, and in case this goes badly, he wants documentation. He sends it off elsewhere, then sets his bow as he aims for one of the largest eyes.

"What are you?" He pulls out one of his toughest arrows, this one made of carbon fiber with a diamond-tip, and fired it into the beast.

There is a roar, and a scream, and the beast flails out large pseudopods, some of which have eyes and mouths on them, toward Oliver. Oliver swings away, landing well away from the thing, drawing and firing a sparkler arow, sinking it into another eye just as it goes off. There is another roar and this time, the thing spits toward Oliver with several eyes.

Rolling away, he swears.

"What does it take to take you down?"

[governorkang]

Kang's only in De Chima that day because of the rumors he's been hearing. Whatever this thing is, it sounds familiar, something spoken of in horror stories from home. When he first hears the voices, he does freeze for about a minute before he's able to shake it off and head towards the screams.

"I think it's a Gibbering Mouther," he curses in Nerakese, checking what spell components he has available. "If I remember right, it's not too hard to kill. It's just getting close enough that's the problem."

[divaricate]

Wanda also came dressed for some bullshit and starts throwing balls of scarlet magic at it. She's near enough to the emerald-clad archer to hear his last quip and last couple of shots at it.

"Apparently more than this." Which sucks for them, at least for now.

Abigail Hobbs | OTA

[am_i_a_monster]

1
Abigail's heard the stories of the beast in De Chima. Ever since the strange dreams a while ago, she's been thinking about her father.  He seemed like a monster to her; he was a cannibal that had wanted to kill and eat her -  in his sick mind that would make her a part of him forever. The creature in De Chima sounds like a literal version of that.  It's terrifying; she wants to stay away, but feels a need to confront it, as if she would somehow be confronting her dad.  She makes her way to the park armed with her rifle and knives.

Abigail stands still, watching the creature kill a random victim.  To anyone nearby,  it may seem as if she's been entranced by the gibbering whispers, until she mutters.  "He really became a part of it."

2.
Once she's past her initial shock at seeing the creature, Abigail steadies her nerves and climbs a tree in the park, across from the bridge.  She finds a strong branch to sit on and aims her rifle down very carefully.    Every time she has a clear shot, with no innocents in her way, she fires dead center into one of the creature's eyes.   It feels good, almost like a revenge on her father or rather, revenge on the twisted thinking that drove him to his crimes. She actually smiles as she shoots.

3.
Abigail can't resist the gibbering forever.   She eventually leaves the tree and begins walking randomly and unluckily towards the creature. She's only pulled out of her daze when she sees people being consumed by the creature. It's horrifying when it's up close.  There's no way she can think of this as some larger, mystical becoming part of another creature forever.  It's people being eaten alive.

Abigail pulls one of her knives out and begins slashing at the creature's mouths, cutting off the monster's teeth with her knife powers.  She occasionally closes her eyes when she sees spittle about to land nearby and then immediately opens them to return to attacking the creature.  Perhaps someone trapped in the creature's grip wants her to save them?  Or someone wants to save her before she becomes trapped herself?

#3

[anathemic]

At first, Anathema had been fairly content to stand on the outskirts observing this catastrophe, just trying to understand more about it; she'd steeled her mind against those whispers, mustering together every last scrap of her psychic defenses. It helps. It also helps that she hasn't been in the area as long as Abigail has.

And so when she sees a girl, around her own age, be swept under the bridge and drawn towards the monster's maw, Anathema's clear-headed enough to finally drop her pretense of non-interference, pick up her skirts, and run straight for it.

"Hello! I would really recommend getting away!" she shouts; a burst of flame materialises out of nowhere and gets hurled into one of the mouths that isn't currently snapping at Abigail.

This is not the sort of problem she's used to unraveling, but she also couldn't just stand there.

Lacey Burrows | OTA

[harvesthoney]

1.  
Lacey hadn't planned on encountering a monster.  She's wandered into this situation before the viral videos. But she wants to help since she's there. She considers using her electrical generation to shoot beams of electricity from her fingertips.  She decides that could be dangerous.  She's still learning to control it and worries she'll accidentally hurt the people in its grip.

She uses her optimism inducement instead.  She approaches people seemingly entranced or walking randomly, and gives them a simple light touch, a pat on the shoulder, or a gentle tap on the arm, resulting in the person feeling a sudden burst of optimism.  When it works, the optimism is enough to break the trance.

"C'mon, we need to go this way."   Lacey instructs.   "We can get out of here, no problem!"   They can escape together or the person she's trying to help may have too much optimism and try to fight the creature instead.  Oops. 

2.
Lacey is affected by the gibbering and tries to attack the person next to her.  She is a sitcom-based, very bad fighter.  She swings her fist and narrowly misses them, hitting only the air.   She then attempts a roundhouse kick, as she's seen in movies.  This time she misses, falls down and has a hard time getting up due to the aberrant ground.  She growls and when she does stand, electrical sparks are shooting out of her fingers.

1

[insincerecharm]

Rebecca Atherton is not a person with a death wish, though people who don't know her might see her as such. She's often the type to dig into dirty details and crazy goings-on. If there's danger? She's going to be there, trusty hidden cameras on her person, filming and reporting-- and if she's real lucky, saving lives while she's at it. That's exactly what has led her to be in De Chima. Problem is she got a liiiittle too close in her overzealous intentions and got a little tranced by the luring whispers. She wasn't attacking anyone, which was maybe a good sign at least, but she seemed completely frozen to the spot. She didn't see anything, hear anything, except... it. Them? She doesn't even really notice when she's tapped on the shoulder, either. Until a second or two later, at least. She blinks and glances around, staring confused at the woman at her side, ushering her to follow. Somewhere between the confusion and the confidence boost, Becks comes back to awareness. "Oh, shit. Yeah, let's go!" She doesn't know why she suddenly feels so amped and certain that everything's going to be okay, but she'll take it.

I don't feel so good... | Closed to Luke, Lucina, Bodhi, and Peter

[faithfulson]

When reports of a horrifying monstrosity in De Chima came in, one that could apparently drive people mad with distress just by existing, Luke had immediately volunteered to scout it out and come up with a plan to stop it. The descriptions they had received of the creature hadn't quite been enough to prepare him for the actual sight of it, and he had to fight against the urge to grimace in disgust as he hung back with a pair of binoculars, observing it. He could tell the area around it was... strange; it sort of reminded him of the swamps of Dagobah, but instead of being teaming with life, there was just a sense of despair and foreboding around it. Not even the Force seemed to want to get anywhere near it, not that it was easy for him to even do. Any time he tried, all he could hear was faint whisperings that made the Dark Side seem tame in comparison; none of it made sense and he got the distinct impression that he would go mad if he tried to sort it out. He pulled the Force tight around himself instead, shielding his mind and he kept his focus.

The murky area around it coupled with the bridge gave it a rather defensible position. Anyone trying to approach it from just about any ground level angle would be at a disadvantage, and likely attacked before they could get close. Still, it didn't look tough; he was sure between him and Lucina, they could knock the thing out of its misery if they could get close enough. Bodhi could assist with minor injuries, though he was loath to bring his boyfriend in on such a task, knowing what his powers did to him. If they could get someone to hang off the bridge to distract the creature, it would lessen the chances of him and Lucina being hurt. It might even make the task easy.

And he even knew someone that could stick to things.

The next day found him in the spot again, this time with Bodhi and Lucina by his side. He hadn't known where to find Peter, however, and had to settle for calling him over... and as a result, waiting longer. He wasn't going to be impatient -- he knew better -- but... he did occasionally sneak a glance at the time on his communicator, silently wondering where he was.

"C'mon, Peter," he murmured faintly, as if that would summon him.

[made_up_names]

It's not every day that you get summoned to fight a D&D monster with freaking Luke Skywalker. Be still his nerd heart. He'd texted back immediately, of course, and then hit traffic, of all the stupid things. Turns out that people fleeing from a horrific monster tend to back up the roads? And given that Luke asked for Peter and not Spider-Man, he can't just swing through the city instead. Also, he now hates the De Chima bus system, just saying.

He finally rushes up, late as hell, mildly out of breath (which is impressive for him). He might have run the last mile or two when the bus refused to take him all the way to the horror creature terrorizing De Chima. "--Hey, sorry I'm late," he says, gulping in air. "I had - whoa."

Peter's mouth falls open as he takes in the monster from their position. It's bigger than he was picturing? Then again, the last time he fought one of these, it was a plastic mini that Ned had spent hours painting.

closed to she-ra

[fauxmarth]

[she'd beaten it down once already, that putrid thing. that it's the same one, come again and again, isn't clear to her yet...and frankly, it doesn't matter. it matters more to just kill the thing for good, as many times as necessary.

yet.

she can't.

she already failed once, letting a dear friend pay the price. and others. how many others? there's a chorus in there, a sound that's left her legs heavy as lead. are they even there? is she even there? she is, but she can't wholly tell, trapped in place by the swollen mass edging its way toward her that's left her stricken in place.

she knows to be afraid, but she can't speak it. she knows to fight, but she can't lift a finger. her eyes, fixed and unblinking, behold gnashing teeth and contracting muscle drawing nearer, and still she can't move. not even to avenge Luke? those people?

why--]

[swordsense]

[A monster attacking a city, killing and hurting civilians, is something that is doubtless going to get the attention of Adora. She may not have a flying horse anymore, but she still owns a wingless horse, and that's exactly what she's charging into the park today. It's faster than running, and it's brave, but even a well trained horse would scream and bucks at the smell of the strange monster haunting the greenspace, and that's why she's hoofing it through the foliage, transforming and hurrying towards the sounds of screaming.

When she spots the monster, She-Ra momentarily freezes, the terrifying amalgamation of muscle, mouth, eye, and teeth far...far...more disgusting than she'd initially imagined. She feels the whispers in the back of her mind, urging her onward, which she had of course intended to do anyway. Only, much faster, and with a large, holy sword in hand. But maybe not with the intent to swing it.

Her eyes remain fixed on the eldritch horror, but a faint movement off to the left, much closer to the beast catches her attention. Her mind processes things slowly, muddled by the confusion but somewhat bolstered by the Sword's power. Blue. Unmoving. Frozen. Afraid? Danger?

...Lucina!

That cuts through the influence much more swiftly than the sword could manage, and with a bellowing roar deep in her chest, She-Ra speeds from a sedate trot towards her doom a full on charge to bring it. Yes, she's realized what's up now.]

Lucina! Move!

[Leaping with all her might, the Princess of Power slams down into the earth between Lucina and the monster, sword cleaving a probing tendril of muscle free of the mass, leaving it to wriggle and die at her feet. Hurting people was something she didn't like doing, but killing monsters was her job.]

Step back!

luther | locked to ashley

[obediences]

Once upon a time, De Chima had been Luther's old neighbourhood. A nice place. He still visited occasionally to hit up favourite cafes or the library.

Today, though...

He's taken up position a little over over a quarter mile away from the bridge, having found the border where that awful whispering doesn't drum in his ears anymore. The sound has been steadily pulling people towards the monster, like a troll under the bridge, a spider at the heart of the web.

Actually killing the thing is a bigger problem than he can manage with fists alone, and Luther knows when a danger is out of his league.

He could call in the Umbrella Academy, maybe. Pull them all into battle. They've been good at it before, with the zombies at Lake Tahoe.

Maybe.

Luther is still standing at the edge, agonising over that exact question, when he notices other imPorts appearing. Not just curious bystanders, but uniformed heroes, including a few Aegis agents he recognises — probably an official deployment — and so before he's fully thought about it, his feet have already started carrying him over to Ashley Williams.

"Hey. Ever seen anything like this before?"

[cannotrest]

After the briefing they'd gotten about this... thing, Ashley's armored up and toting a sniper rifle rather than anything closer range. The whispering effect reminds her uncomfortably of what the indoctrinated have said of the Reapers; the absorption adds a touch of the Thorian. She gives Luther a nod when she catches his eye - he'd done good work with the Force heist - and is pleasantly surprised when he comes over to join her.

"Not with all the... mouths," she settles for. And here she'd thought the Thorian had been icky looking. This is just gross. "Some things back home had similar effects, though."

And they'd never really figured out how to beat indoctrination. The Reapers playing nicely for a change isn't exactly the same thing.

oppeeeennnn

[solarcharged]

[ All right, Apollo's seen worse. Not much worse, mind you, but in the ugly evil bastards stake this is maybe in the top five. Diving in close and punching amorphous blobs of mouthy mucous seems like a bad idea, given how many horrifying blob monsters he's tried (and failed) to punch in his time, but luckily Apollo has a few other tricks up his sleeve.

High above the city itself, a glittering golden streak of fire and sunlight roars towards the city. Apollo's closing in on the scene after a good three hour sunbathing session beyond the Earth's atmosphere, overloaded on the power of the sun's rays and intent on raining golden, fiery hell down upon the creature beneath the bridge. He swoops, arcing high as he tries to keep that much-needed distance from the creature's treacherous whispers while also maintaining a clear shot. ]

Aerial assault, incoming! [ He warns, hoping that at least some heroes on the ground might get out of the way of what comes next: a solar flare, dazzling and lethal, scorching a blast of pure concentrated solar energy down upon the creature in a golden laser bolt, cauterising a fleshy chunk out of the beast's hideous flanks. ]

[desmodusdraculae]

[Kirk had flown in with Apollo, unsure of exactly how he could be of help, but he figured he'd figure it out once he got there. It isn't the first time he's jumped into a situation that seemed beyond him before, and he doubted it would be the last.

This... thing he found them going after, however, is proving to be . Most of what he does is up close and personal, and the very last thing he wants to do is go near it. He finds himself just outside of the danger zone, trying to figure out a plan of attack when he hears Apollo's warning. Without skipping a beat he leans into a crouch, covering his eyes in the crook of his arm. Apollo's light is too strong; he'd be easily blinded if he didn't take precautions.]

Tell me it's dead.

[Kirk slowly dares to peak out of his hiding place at the smell of burned monster, and looks over at his teammate.]

molly and klaus | closed

[viciousmaukery]

The thing is, unlike quite a few other imPorts, neither Molly nor Klaus really thought they’d be facing the mouther today. The park in De Chima was a good place to meet up, and Molly had earlier seen a group of imPorts stagger away from a bridge looking the worse for wear but triumphant, so he’d thought, well, it’d be safe now, right? Monsters, upon being killed, tend to stay down.

Sure, some exceptions can be applied, but this one’s not fiendish or anything. So he’d taken Klaus and they’d gone walking, with Molly chattering about fortunes and ale and the worst people who’d ever asked him to read them a fortune. “So really,” he’s saying as they come up on the bridge, “what else could I do but pull a card? And this fellow seemed at least amenable to going to see a physician, so I just pulled the Magician and...and...”

He stops, the whispering beginning to rise in his ears. For a moment he’s still and quiet, eyes vacant and empty.

Then he whips around with a snarl as if to try and rake Klaus across the chest with his fingernails.

I just want you to know I rolled a 1d20 to resist the whispers and got a 2.

[hellogoodhigh]

There'd been talk of some sort of monster under the bridge in De Chima. Pictures and videos surfacing that looked like something out of a bad horror movie. But he'd also heard reports that some of the imPorts had already killed it, which is why he doesn't think twice about Molly asking him to take a walk in the park.

It's nice, being able to catch up like this, and he loves listening to Molly's stories- trading a few of his own in turn. But when they approach the bridge... Something is wrong.

It starts slowly, at first. A whisper against his ear. Then rises, a ghostly choral that paralyzes him in place, making his heart clench in his chest and his hands begin to shake. He's there, back there, back in the mausoleum with the ghosts clawing at him, whispering his name-
That is until Molly comes barreling through the waking nightmare, claws extended, raking him across the chest. The pain is enough to bring him present, and the scent of blood rises as he stumbles back and nearly loses his balance.

"Molls-?!"

Closed | Niko, Poe, Ruby

[namesaquestion]

[Of course Nikolai's excited to go fight a monster. Who wouldn't be? A chance to shine and be heroes! Or at least, one of the ones who helped take down whatever the thing was in De Chima. Not that Nikolai knew what it was or cared. He's be a Hero and he'd use it to work out some of his anger and frustration re: Archer and not being allowed to go after the man.

He'd already called Ruby up about tag-teaming the thing, but even with her, his own darts and a pokemon or two out, that thing looked strong. Too bad it wasn't a pokemon because then he'd want it for his own. But it wasn't and Nikolai'd matured enough to admit that maybe having more imPorts with him before he tackled that gibbering thing was a good idea.

So he'd asked Poe. The man seemed capable at the very least, and Niko supposed he was willing enough to lend the other a pokemon.] You ready? Ruby's gonna meet us there. Do you want to take a pokemon to fight it, or-?

[Come to think of it, he wasn't sure of Poe's powers other than 'Fly Stuff', nor did he know if Finn would join them, and he hadn't been able to locate Bodhi.

Eh, if all goes well and it was weaker than it looked, he'd try and get Bodhi to come with him for another go-around at the thing. Same with Finn if he didn't join in this time.]

[flightforfreedom]

All set.

[ He was, for once, packing: a handgun holstered to his hip. It looked piddly compared to what they were up against, but appearances could be deceiving.

He tossed the carpet down on the ground and stepped on, holding his hand out. ]

Climb on.

Closed | Niko, Bodhi, Archer (and Finn right at the end)

[namesaquestion]

[Nikolai was nothing if not driven by his ego and while the first fight with the Gibbering Mouther had been good, apparently natives had filmed parts of the fight and put it up on the internet. Including the part where he offhandedly handed Ruby one of the cooler looking loot items. (He'd kept one of the blueish bandannas. It was now tied to Mutt's collar). But mostly Nikolai focused on the parts of him and how he'd been a Hero.

Of course he was a Hero.

Hence, he wanted to go fight it again. Maybe make it a more spectacular fight and maybe make the Majority Report... whenever that came back. Hell, the Mouther was decently strong. Strong enough that Nikolai wasn't willing to fight it alone. It would have been awesome if he could, but directing two pokemon in the heat of the moment was hard and not something he was willing to do outside a training session with Archie.

And given he hadn't been able to find Bodhi the first time-

At least this time finding him's fairly easy.]

Hey. I'm heading to fight that thing in De Chima again. Do you want to come? I'll lend one of my pokemon if you need it.

arrives late w starbucks

[onlydoubts]

[ While not great shakes in a fight, Bodhi could be useful for a thing like this. A healing hand and ability to generate a shield, if need be. He's heard the reports, seen the news - this thing was bad news, and Nikolai had fought it once already, so --

After a moment, he nods. ]

Just tell me what I gotta do.