Permavid, about a day after reports of the monster roll in

[governorkang]

[Short, and to the point:]

The creature in De Chima is a Gibbering Mouther. I know of it through whispers and horror stories on my own world - I don't know if it's actually from my world or a similar one, but that's what it is.

Those that don't have strong wills are advised to stay as far away from it as possible so that the voices can't take effect. Good news is, it's killable, though it doesn't go down easily. I'd heavily recommend attacking from a distance. Anything explosive and aimed at the body rather than the mouths seems to work best. It also seems to favor bridges, so that gives us an idea of where to find it. And further good news, as far as I can tell, there's only one at a time to contend with.

Comments

[voice]

[hordinglife]

The body only? What about if you tried to send a bomb right into one of its mouths. Would that make a difference?

[Because the thing is horrifying. She doesn't even think Beast Island would have something like that. But she's not going to get close enough to punch it, so.]

[governorkang]

That should work, too.

[hordinglife]

Good. What's the deal with the monster, anyway? Does it have anything it likes to eat or something it avoids?

[governorkang]

It's been eating people, but beyond that I have no idea.

[hordinglife]

That's not happening to me. But I know how to get something inside of it as long as I see it with its mouth open.

[governorkang]

Good luck. And be careful. Don't try to take it on by yourself.

[hordinglife]

I'm not crazy. This isn't enough data for me to want to go head to head with a monster like that.

video;

[fireandhoney]

That thing nearly ate my lover.

[governorkang]

They got lucky.

[fireandhoney]

Him having acid for blood helped. Melted a few of the thing's mouths when it bit him.

[governorkang]

Yes, I imagine it did. That reptilian blood is something.

[fireandhoney]

It really is.

[He's guessing Kang at least knows of Jonathan. Saves him having to explain things.]

I also managed to zap it, and between that and Jon's blood, he's alive.

[governorkang]

Did you manage to take it down?

[fireandhoney]

Sadly, no. I was mainly concerned with getting him to a healer before he bled to death.

[Even knowing that death isn't permanent here for imPorts, Finn would rather not see his boyfriend die.]

permavid

[eloquentness]

"A Gibbering Mouther," got it.

[ Iris is already writing this down - and if she looks like she hasn't gotten much sleep, it's because she hasn't. ]

What do you mean by 'voices'? I know it has multiple mouths, but most of my reports have mentioned the eating part, not the speaking part.

[governorkang]

That's how it lures people in, with whispering voices. It's extremely unsettling and takes effort to ignore.

[eloquentness]

I see. [ jotting this down, ] Some Bwitter reports mentioned it, but nothing too specific...

I'm still working on the big write-up for the paper. If we're lucky, it'll be out tonight online and tomorrow morning in print. Which isn't great, I know.

[governorkang]

But it's something. Thank you, Miss Iris.

How have you been? You look tired.

[eloquentness]

Of course! And I'm fine, [ she smiles, her expression softening. ] I imagine I'm nowhere tired as you might be, considering you know what the Mouther is.

It's just - it's been a busy news week over here.

[governorkang]

It... could be something worse. Something bigger, smarter. That's what I tell myself.

[He smiles wryly.]

If things go as they usually do, we should have some peace and quiet soon. At least for a little while.

[eloquentness]

True, but you're not working alone. We'll get this together.

[ she laughs, ] I sure hope so. My paper's also been involved with salary negotiations, so that's been its own headache, but... one thing at a time, right?

[governorkang]

[He shrugs.]

Oh, I have no intention of dealing with this alone. Like I said, I'm not sure it even is from Krynn, and even if it were, that still doesn't make it my responsibility. And, there's more than enough imPorts here willing to take a turn. [A pause.] I just want to make sure everyone knows how to deal with it.

I'd heard something about that. How's that been going?

[eloquentness]

You've saved a lot of people with the warning, so seriously, thank you.

[ at his question, she sighs, her exhaustion becoming more obvious - ] It's going. I'm not making direct negotiations, but some of the higher-ups have been fighting the reporters and photographers in pretty ugly ways. I'm just hoping I can keep advocating for those on the ground floor.

[governorkang]

It's the least I could do. We don't need any more reason for the Natives to hate us.

[At that, he grimaces.]

Negotiations. One of my least favorite things to do.

[eloquentness]

Yeah, they're not exactly a walk in the park. Much less so when you're one of the bosses, but I feel like they should be ending soon. If others can find their common sense and hold onto it for more than 5 minutes, at least...

[governorkang]

Good luck with that. What's that phrase I've heard here? Common sense isn't so common?

[eloquentness]

That would be the one. I only wish it weren't so true.

[obediences]

This is really helpful. Thanks, Kang.

Has anything else like this from your world ever come through before?

[governorkang]

Only a building, several months back. It disappeared along with everything else from imPort worlds after a few weeks.

[obediences]

Damn. Sitting and just waiting around for it to dissipate in a few weeks seems untenable, this time around.

[governorkang]

The crystals and the faeries went away quickly. Hopefully this will, too.

[obediences]

In the meantime: just try not to get eaten?

[ the driest joke. ]

[governorkang]

[He returns it with an equally dry smile.]

Exactly.

perma-private | vid

[obediences]

Another question. And this one doesn't have anything to do with bridge monsters—

[ Luther never activates the video format on his communicator, but with the giant dragon, he figures he can probably relax that a bit. Not like Kang cares how human Luther does or doesn't look. ]

Out of curiosity, what kind of volunteer positions do people fill at SELF? What kind of help do you need, these days?

Private

[governorkang]

We have volunteers who work at the swear-ins, like the ones you met before. We also have volunteers who pick up clothing donations, go door-to-do to businesses all over the Porter cities, and prepare the brochures. And, there are paid positions at the office in Heropa.

Right now, though, we're most in need of people to help renovate an office we just purchased in Nonah.

Private

[obediences]

[ Luther visibly chews that one over. Mulling, before he responds: ]

I work at a moving company, and have a power that I use to teleport myself around. So I could bounce between cities and pick up donations pretty easily. And depending on the renovations— I mean. I have super-strength. I helped knock down walls when we overhauled our basement, back home. And I can carry furniture easily.

[ It's a listing of qualifications more than a Can I help?, Luther approaching the offer sideways like he does most things, but it's something. ]

Private

[governorkang]

Very useful powers. What city are you located in?

Private

[obediences]

My job takes me all over, but I'm based in Nonah.

Private

[governorkang]

Perfect. You can handle pickups there, and help with renovations. Since it's a volunteer position, there's no minimum amount of hours required. You just do what you can, and if other duties need to take priority, let us know so we can find someone else.

Private

[obediences]

[ An exhaled breath. ]

That sounds great. If there's one thing I've got, it's spare hours for something like this. It's a good cause.

Thanks, Kang.

Private

[governorkang]

Thank you.