[DTA won! :D] Click or press space to see more art! Art guide: 1. Full-colored fullbody! He's a long boi. 2. Quick colored headshot. His mouth opens all the way, but it's not exactly a look that puts others at ease. 3. Color-doodle- Erik hates his job. 4. Four different color-doodle expression studies! 5. A trio of darker color-doodles. Mmmnn pizza. 6. Original reference art by @Mathlet_foox --- Name: Erik Lobson Nickname: Erik, Servant (his boss), Vessel (the Voice in his head) Species: Half sentient weasel-wolf-worm-string-thing, half eldritch parasitic fungi Pronouns/Gender: He/Him Size: Erik's quite large; imagine a long tiger, and you're pretty close. Age: Erik is immortal, but he was in his mid-thirties before that happened. Abbreviated backstory: Erik used to work for a church on his planet that worshipped a group of Immortals tasked with protecting planets and the 'commoners' that lived on them. It paid okay, if it was a bit boring. He ended up getting awfully curious about *what* such a powerful group could need to be worried about- and what, for that matter, could actively threaten even one planet, let alone a whole planetary-system's worth of them. After a heap's worth of digging about in old lore and asking all the wrong questions, Erik figured out that the being all the Immortals were worried about wasn't actively trying to kill people- just destroying individual worlds when they reached dangerous levels of entropy. If they weren't taken out of the picture, a planet could explode... and that isn't a chain reaction anyone wanted. When Erik tried to tell everyone about the misunderstanding, of course, he got promptly exiled. Nobody believed a purple fluffball over the word of an Immortal protector. Someone noticed, though. The entity quietly destroying the planets ended up sending a messenger to Erik in the form of a strange fungus. It wanted to use Erik to try to form some sort of resistance to actually get people off the planets before they had to be destroyed. Erik agreed, and the fungi merged with his skull and front paws, granting him a small portion of the destroyer entity's power... in exchange for being the constant eyes, ears, and sometimes mouth for said entity whenever it desired. It's a lot harder to convince masses that they need to ignore their gods-slash-heroes and escape their world before it gets imploded, though... --- Random Details: - Erik enjoys pizza. Pepperoni and Canadian bacon, specifically. - He's quite socially awkward. He doesn't really like confrontation, which makes the whole 'recruit whole planets to relocate' thing hard. - The fungi didn't originally have a name. Erik calls it "Earl". - Erik can hear Earl's voice in his head as a different tone to the destroyer entity's voice. It serves as a constant second opinion and background monologue. It got old REAL fast, if he's honest. - The fungi can spread across his body to channel additional power to Erik's form- however, this is mega painful for both of them, and usually a dead last resort. - Erik has a collection of stupid shirts. Puns, dumb logos, you name it. He likes collecting them. - The only groups of people who really believe Erik's claims so far are a cult that have dedicated themselves to the destruction of worlds and the 'eventual glorious return of the Eldritch Destroyer'. Erik doesn't vibe with them, but Earl insists that they can be useful. Since Erik has a direct (if usually quiet) line to the destroyer entity, he's regarded as a sort of prophet. He just wants to eat pizza and save the world. How did he get here. - He's actually really good at rollerskating! Or, well, he was. Now he's got eyes on his front paws and it's a bit disorienting. Erik is more average now. - The fungi takes nutrients it needs from Erik's body. Earl likes asparagus. Erik hates asparagus. Cue squabbling with himself. - Erik's favorite movie is Moana. Earl, meanwhile, enjoys rainforest documentaries. - The string on Erik's nose is a second tongue! It rests in a groove in his palate, at the roof of his mouth. The end just kinda always hangs out. It's too long to comfortably fit in his mouth for more than a few minutes.
Music: The Bidding (Tally Hall Cover w Lyrics) - Chonny Jash Art: @PitchBlackWings, @Mathlet_foox (original reference) OC: @Mathlet_foox