#and that he was a little erroneously trying to move too many mountains at once in his first life

[letsjam-art]

silly idea time

idk how this idea even started but the outfit i had in mind was way back from a doodle in 2021 or 2022, basically my 'what if' for temperance ending only instead of being wildly ooc and wearing a collared button up johnny becomes a cowboy. and because i was listening to vagrant song from wtwtlw (that whole ost really, and hardspace shipbreaker) i had the bright idea that johnny would finally become what his class in the ttrpg was an homage to and wander around collecting stories n telling them n kind of being a dead man walking/ghost story/witness/helper-bard r smthn but having been extremely tempered by the experience of v choosing to die for him, being shocked enough into actually thinking about his beleifs n what have you, humbled enough now to want to listen to others hed choose this path of wandering the continent of na, maybe for the first time in a long time actually taking in life around him yadda yadda. in my little scenario i also had it that even if/when the next corpo war broke out or the nusa annexed more free states, he wouldnt get involved like he used to, cause i think its interesting to muse on how a profound experience would greatly change someone so stuck in their ways like johnny. i think hed still be motivated by guilt and avoidance at first, but it would evolve into something more like a calling/altruism as he takes more seriously and uses more intentionally the time he was given as a dead man walking

also i realize how much of this 'outfit' is just putting v in a hat and calling them johnny like its some perry the platypus thing (also idk how to draw hats)

[fromthewifecage]

Travelling with Erron Black (aka: Take me home, country roads)

Anonymous asked a question I’ve been stuck at the airport for hours now :( so due to that could I have some headcanons of what it’d be like traveling around with Erron please? I’m sure it’d be more fun with him around lol

First off I must apologise that I couldn’t do this when you sent it. It was my birthday. and I was really rather drunk, so oops. I hope you can still enjoy it even though it’s a couple of weeks later, and I hope you were able to board that flight and get home very soon after you sent this to me x

Erron Black has been around for a long, long time, so he’s been to many places through both work and pleasure. If the pay cheque is large enough he’ll go wherever you want him to.

Younger!Erron Black:

During his youth he travels on horseback. He can ride a horse with the best of them, and will love to go riding with you/teach you if you’re willing. If you can’t ride for whatever reason then he’ll try to get you into a carriage/cart. He loves horses and loves to spend time forming a bond with a horse and if you do too it means not only does he think you’re a decent person, but it gives him an excuse to spend more time with you (because this (idiot) man is going to find it super awkward to tell you exactly how he feels for you).

If Erron is on a job that takes him further than a horse will find comfortable, he’ll use the railroad. He enjoys the noise of the wheels spinning on the track whilst he lies back against the side of the railcar and relaxing by cleaning his guns. After he finishes tending to his guns he’ll watch the countryside changing as the train rides through each county. If he has time he’ll jump off the train and explore any of the towns that caught his eye, getting back on the next train through the town.

As he gets older and technology advanced, he tries automobiles, motorbikes, flying and public transport, but finds nothing beats riding a horse.

If he has to travel by car, then he wants an open-topped one. Not only does he miss the outdoors and nature, but he’s a really rather tall man and those long legs of his need some room to move and stretch. He especially hates flying or the underground, he feels like a “Goddamn sardine in a Goddamn can”. If he has the time he’d rather go by boat than fly to his destination.

Black Dragon!Erron Black:

Going from the warmth of the South to the chill of Russia is a huge shock to his system. Kano pays Erron enough to actually make that move, but that doesn’t stop Erron from constantly complaining about the cold. This much snow comes as a huge shock to the system and Erron’s ponchos do fuck all to block out the windchill. Kano is walking around with a shaved head and a sleeveless Gi (and over the years he wears less and less, the exhibitionist, tut tut) and doesn’t bat his eye at the cold, but Erron suffers.

Still, when there’s sufficient coin he takes that job in the Ural Mountains. He doesn’t sleep under the stars as he will if it’s a warmer climate, instead he’ll find a thickly walled log cabin and wrap himself up in furs. If he’s on vacation/holiday with a partner then he’ll ensure the cabin is stocked with enough firewood to last the entire length of the stay, after all, you’ll both be naked pretty much the entire time.

He knows next to nothing about Russia before he moved out there, but takes the time to learn the local area, then the myths and legends, so he has something to talk about when wrapped up in the blankets by the roaring fire. He talks of Baba Yaga and her chicken legged hut. He’ll tell you of Silver Hoof and present you with a necklace with a beautiful peridot pendant, the stone appeared where the goat stomps his right hoof. Erron Black may play the loner, but inside his chest beats a deeply romantic heart.

Outworld!Erron Black

Shao Kahn makes Erron an offer he can’t refuse, so the outlaw then moves to the warmth and beauty of Edenia. Erron never really feels at home anywhere, but when he arrives in Outworld with its myriad of inhabitants, especially those working at the Kahn’s Palace, he realises maybe they all feel like he does, an outsider in a strange new world, and so Erron slowly finds himself feeling at ease with his surroundings for the first time in his life. He soon considers himself an Outworlder and will introduce himself as such. After all, what is left back at home in Wickett save the bones of all those he once knew?

Using portals is a novel experience, but as it’s such a quick and convenient journey through one he can brush aside any ill effects such as nausea. He doesn’t feel squashed into a tin can or claustrophobic, so he’s now happy travelling from Outworld to Earthrealm or anywhere Shao Kahn demands of him.

None of this changes once Kotal becomes Kahn, only Erron is now less worried he’ll end up with a massive hammer through the skull.

Any flavour of Erron Black:

If Erron invites you travelling with him, whether accompanying him on a job or a holiday, then be prepared for going off the beaten track. He’s been there, done that, and if you seriously suggest a holiday to Benidorm or a regular package holiday, then he will not be impressed. He researches meticulously, he’ll find that cute little hideaway that is not going to be featured in ‘Traveller's Guide to Outworld’ or ‘Tripadvisor’. He wants time to relax, explore and fuck.

He’s like Bear Grylls, only not a wanker. He knows how to survive in the middle of a desert for as long as it takes to get back to civilisation. He can make a canoe for two out of 3 shoes and a sock. He can build a still out of a juice box and a toilet roll if you run out of booze. It’s only an emergency if he’s fallen down a wall and broken every bone, not just most of them (and he’d still insist he was ok to fight the bear).

He will however wake you at 4am to start the trek up the mountain or keep you going with “Just one more mile, sweetheart, you can do it”, even if you’ve got blisters upon blisters.

[toasttz]

From the Tabletop #9

Welcome back. Let's talk about Exalted again! Last time, our new team had assembled and-- oh, right, I totally forgot we had a fifth Exalt. We have Zatch. Zatch is basically if you fused Albin and Rakis, I guess? But due to a change in work schedule, he's barely gotten to play with us. So, maybe we'll get to talk more about him later. He's Volkenstein's successor character, and it seems like his player has a good beat on him. Just real-life issues is all. Right, so, we were in need of some traveling funds, so we took on a job that was perfect for us - hunting a wild beast! No moral ambiguity or broken kneecaps required! So, we set out into the fields to find this dinosaur-like monster we needed to take down. En route, we discuss if there were any last-minute actions or supplies required. Doran: I could use a drink, frankly. Albin (OoC): I roll introduce fact. There are, in fact, large lizard creatures who naturally produce a form of booze in their stomach from the fermented fruit they eat. GM: Yeah. Okay. They're called Keggers. They are barrel-chested lizard creatures. You eat one, you're definitely getting drink. Doran: Glorious. Proceed the circle of three Solars and a Lunar all repeatedly failing their perception checks. GM: Guys, I think you're hunting an Indominus Rex, since its stealth rolls... well, let's just say you guys shouldn't be having this hard of a time of it. Suddenly, a big-ass dinosaur was upon us and we scattered around to combat it. Each of us defaulted to our usual combat tactics: Rakis mounted Wormsworth, Doran readied his sword, Albin prepped his Prayer Piece rifle, and Kharas... immediately mounted it. This created a little, brief, inter-party tension as Albin readied his flame-thrower rifle at the dinosaur. Kharas: Hey, wait a sec! You might hit me! Albin: I never miss. Kharas: I'M STILL UP HERE! GM: Roll attack. Albin: *Rolls freakishly well.* GM: Congrats, you don't hit Kharas. Kharas: You singed off my eyebrows! GM: You're in warform. You don't currently have those. Kharas: ... IF I DID, YOU'D HAVE BURNED MY EYEBROWS OFF! Ultimately, with a little coordination, the dino went down. We then proceeded to carve it up for its hide, meat, and a couple of us even took trophies. We even made "metric craptons" of dino-jerky, which we sold for a tidy profit, insofar as we couldn't bring it all back ALA Oregon Trail. But the dino hunt went well all-in-all. Afterwards, we realized we need to head towards Great Forks, but then had to find a way to cross a river. The ferry was our best bet, but money had gotten tight and we had to have a way to bring Wormsworth. Kharas attempted a rather clever gambit of disguising himself as a noble and forcing the issue, but the captain of the vessel was stern. Ultimately, we agreed to pay a price once we had arrived, which settled things, as Albin had done business previously with one Master of the Eternal Golden Paradise - a young philanthropist and patron of the arts and sciences. And Kharas, using Twin-Faced Hero, managed to "persuade" Master to paying their way, if you get my drift. Later, Kharas would use this as leverage against Albin, demanding a cool leather jacket. Albin and Doran worked together to make a badass leather coat for him, under the proviso it would have enough belts, pouches, and zippers to qualify him for a modern-day Squeenix character. Kharas happily agreed. Arrival at Great Forks more or less went off without a hitch (barring a gang of roving youths who attempted to sell Albin and Doran cutlery. I legit have no idea what to say on that and thus, will just move on). We even got to meet Teddy, one of the Giakell triplets (of which Albin is one member). Teddy is a huge, mountain of a man, quick to laugh, but became concerned when Albin mentioned that what they were doing was effectively hunting down serial killers. Teddy advised Albin to be careful in this pursuit, and Kharas, Rakis, and Doran played with the many, many nephews and nieces Albin had been blessed with due to his brother's undying love of his wife. Eventually, a lead with the guild took the circle down to the docks - whereupon I missed a good part of the conversation due to going to make popcorn and grab a soda. I return to hear Rakis explaining, at great length, how plan to BURN DOWN THE ENTIRE DOCK so we could investigate a ship belonging to a rich, now MIA, man who may well be tied to the mob of killers we've been after this whole time. Albin quickly shoots this plan down, insisting that there's no need to set fire to his hometown for something as straight-forward as this. Eventually, we also realize we could just have Kharas transform into a crane and inspect the ship anyway, as he did when he investigated the man's house as a cat. Let it be said - Rakis doesn't do things by halves. Eventually, clues began taking us north, so we bid farewell to Albin's hometown in order to cross the Yellow River. Albin then explains that there's an underground road they could use, leading to a trading town, partway across - called Yellow Shower - because I was really abusing "Introduce Fact" rolls this game and I am, in fact, 13 years old at heart. There, we even got to meet Albin's sister, Simone, who married a nobleman of the town, and we got to bum a free meal off them before we departed. We did fart around in Yellow Shower a while, but honestly, not much came of it. I also introduced facts about a local booze, Sewer Brue, a potent concoction sure to put you on the toilet for some time after drinking it, and that Yellow Shower was plagued by platypi, native to the region. Kharas took the chance to hunt one, in order to add it to his heart's blood. The platypus, not the drink. On the other side, however, all sorts of Hell broke loose, as Kharas, once more, became a bird and attempted to survey the above-ground scene, just in time to be fired upon by local hunters. He zipped back to the ground and transformed into a platypus in order to hide. Kharas: *SCARED PLATYPUS NOISES* We then asked the hunters for some advice as to where to go next, which ultimately sent us in the direction of a cave, which we spent... entirely too long standing outside of, debating if this was some "Cave of Wonders" shit and would slam down and kill us all if we ventured in. But ultimately, we headed in, and were immediately beset upon by a lesser fairy, who Albin and Rakis straight up merc'd without much hesitation. Afterward, we ventured further down, whereupon we found a cleft in the rock. And this happened: Doran: I guess I'll have a look and see what's down there. I have a merit where I naturally resist hot environments. GM: Yes, but if it's magma, you'll still suffer environmental damage. ... Hey, wait, didn't you write that Doran will die in boiling magma last time? Albin: Oh, crap. Doran: ... Okay, I'm going to have a look, but you're going to hold onto me and at the first sign of trouble, you're going to pull me back from it. Albin: Can do. Thankfully, Doran did NOT die in boiling magma and I was forced to sign a blood oath that I would not erroneously clickbait again. However, legit clickbaiting is A-OK! Moving on, eventually, we found a ways down, deeper into the cave. Rakis and Kharas both had ways of getting down, but the less-athletics-based Doran and Albin did not. And they also met a spirit flame serpent thing that apparently brews really good tea. Rakis then returned to try to help the others down, leaping up and easily getting Albin down safely. However, his return trip was a little less successful, as he ultimately dropped Doran on his face. On the upside, I finally got to roll those medicine dots I've had since I started this campaign. So there's that. Afterwards, we moved further in and found a colossal forge and its guardian - a four-armed giant creature who was quite talkative, but spoke in riddles. Doran and Albin questioned him for a while, and deduced he was no threat. He also helpfully proposed that Moonsilver could be used to bind the cursed aspects of Doran's artifact blade. We also disposed of the cursed Soulsteel garrot wire with help from the giant and his forge to completely destroy it. Doran: Well, I guess that's one cursed artifact down now. After tiring of bothering the giant (who was definitely talking about the Alchemicals and Autochthon, but I only knew that in the meta-sense and, thus, couldn't act on it in-character), we opted to try the last doorway available to us. Whereupon, all four of our circlemates throw lousy strength rolls, barely budging the door. Rakis then summoned Wormsworth, who easily threw the doors open on our behalf. Albin: I think it says something when a circle of Exalts failed to budge the door, but Wormsworth just did it no sweat. Kharas: Shut up. So, we went down into the mines whereupon we realized, Sol dammit, we HAD Moonsilver the entire time - the hammer Albin bought for Rakis back in session 2 was a Moonsilver weapon! So, we decide to do what you should never do in a party and split the party. Albin and Doran returned with the hammer to the giant's forge to ask for his assistance while Rakis and Kharas moved deeper into the mines in order to find what was down there. Albin and Doran use a crap-ton of craft charms and bond over their mutual tasks together over the last few sessions (moving each other up from Minor to Major intimacies as close friends), while Kharas and Rakis get ambushed by brigands deep in the mine and they proceed to kill the shit out of a lot of dudes. Kharas, at the end of the battle, began interrogating one of their number and the following happens. Kharas: Alright, you told me what I need to know. Get out of my sight. Random Baddie: *Gets up, flees* Rakis: By the way, Wormsworth just burrows out of the ground and eats the fleeing guy. Kharas: DUDE! I was actually going to let him live! Rakis: *SHRUG*. So, don't mess with Rakis, I suppose is the lesson here. Join me next time for D&D, because I currently have no more Exalted to talk about for a while! We're all caught up. Next time, in D&D: we meet dwarves! We meet demon cultists! We kill kobolds! See you there!

[captainunderkrupp]

Erroneously Heroic

Emmet Brickowski seems to fall into being an accidental hero no matter what world he's in. And this one has superheroes. Who are weirdly insistent on him being a superhero, too.

Cross posted for Tumblr exclusive readers ^v^

A Trip to the Museum | 1

"Em! Keep up!" the teacher called, after Emmet got glued to yet another display description.

"Oh! Sorry!" Emmet squeaked, running after the rest of the class. He wanted to grab his buddy's hand, but the last time he did that, he pulled away and his arm hurt for a couple minutes from being yanked so hard. So, he was just going to keep his hands to himself, if that was ok!

The teacher (Emmet couldn't remember her name. Mrs. Sketcher?) just sighed and shook her head. She seemed kind of sad, or maybe tired. Either way, she just told Emmet to stay with the group.

Emmet's class was getting to go to a museum! They were being led by the curator, who said he was happy to see the Southeast Bricksburg Elementary School Third Grade. With a special voice and everything. Emmet really liked him, and he was really interesting, but he also skipped over some really interesting stuff on the descriptions of the displays.

"Alright, we can't see the Artifacts wing today, because it's being remodeled..." Emmet heard distantly as he noticed another plaque, one about raptors, and was mildly surprised when there wasn't just a chorus of 'awwww's. I mean, they were missing a whole section of the museum! That's disappointing! But he supposed he was already busy enough with what he could see.

He hummed to himself as he moved on to the next display, something that he'd heard on the radio. His mom had let him listen when he'd found an old one in the thrift store. "Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough..."

Emmet skipped on to the next display, and the next, and then he had to duck under something to get to the next one, and then...

He looked up, and realized he didn't know where the group was, and that there were no more displays to read because he was surrounded by construction.

He gulped. He couldn't get in trouble for wandering away from the group again! And he thought he was getting better at that! He looked around, trying to see if he could spot them, but all he saw was dust and leftover tools. Despite being the middle of the afternoon, it was dark, gloomy, and empty.

Emmet was beginning to panic as he realized he didn't know which exit might lead back to the main part of the museum, and to his classmates. And it was so dark, he was starting to get scared. And all that scaffolding that led up to the ceiling seemed to be looming...

In his panic, he didn't realize he was backing into a display that hadn't been taken down during the construction, for some reason. He spun around, suddenly coming face to face with an open display. He was at the end of a hall, very much away from any decent exit. He winced as it wobbled on its display, but was relieved that it didn't fall. The rocky purple base seemed to stabilize it.

Emmet stared at the item for a moment. He could barely see it in the dark, but the rocks themselves seemed to glow... he couldn't quite read the description, but he could make out this artifact was donated by... It was a very pretty thing, despite its plain nature, outside of the base.

Suddenly... despite all the warnings given by the curator and the teacher at the beginning of the tour of not to touch...

He very much wanted to touch it. And not only that, something in the back of his head said it was ok, that it was fine, that he should really touch it right now. It was practically calling his name.

Deciding that if it was left in the construction area, it wasn't that easy to damage, and he reached out...

The moment his fingertips touched the orange of the main block, the light of the purple flared.

A police officer smiling, then glaring. The teacher and the curator, calling for Em. A bright orange vest, and a calming blue cape. A baby laughing. Blue and pink hair. So many bright colors, swirling, meeting, and then something dark in the middle of it all--

Emmet woke up. He felt a little funny, and then realized he was sitting upright in a chair. And he was remembering something, what was it--

"Hello, little buddy."

Emmet jumped, and realized there was a table too. Across from him was a police officer, dressed in much darker clothes than what was in the TV shows. And with more zippers. The man was smiling brightly, his eyes big behind his glasses.

"What's your name, little buddy?" the nice officer asked. Emmet could see himself in the reflection of the glasses, just slightly.

"Em Brickowski," Emmet said, a little quietly. That's what he liked people liked to call him, anyway. Or it was close enough.

"And how old are you, Em?"

"I'm eight and a half!" He threw up eight fingers, and struggled for a moment to hold up a ninth half way before just going with the eight.

The officer chuckled. "That's great! I'm going to ask you a couple questions about that brick on your back, ok Em?"

Emmet was confused. A brick on his back? He spun around to try and see it, but he didn't really have much of an option to do that, and ended up nearly falling out of the chair he was sitting in. He ended up craning his neck around, and was confused by the color, but then he realized: it was the artifact. The one that was previously on the display. Oh no.

"I didn't mean to touch it!" he protested. "I just was curious about the displays, and I got lost, and--"

The officer held up his hand, silencing Emmet. "That's ok, Em. We're just glad you're alright." Emmet relaxed, happy that he wasn't in trouble. He really didn't want to get in trouble. He followed the rules as best he could... "So, you did touch it?" Em nodded. "Do you remember anything after that? Any funny dreams?"

Emmet paused. Now that he thought of it, he... did. There was something, full of color, that he knew hadn't happened... at least, he thought...

There was that whispering again. Something in the back of his head saying don't talk about it, don't tell them, it's a bad idea...

And he decided to tell the truth.

"I never have any dreams," he said honestly. He didn't remember having dreams before, ever. Everyone had them, apparently, but he couldn't remember his, or something.

The officer looked confused, but almost relieved at the same time. Like if Emmet's answer was different, he would have had to do something he didn't want to, but wasn't expecting anything else to come out of the kid's mouth.

"Alright, then, little buddy," he finally said, smiling. "We're gonna call your parents now, ok? Can you hang tight for us?" Emmet nodded really fast; he could be really good at that! As long as no one told him to stop fidgeting. He could stay in the chair, at least. The cop smiled, and left him alone in the room.

That confused Emmet a little bit, since he didn't get left alone very often, but then his teacher rushed in (Stevens?) and hugged him, and his field trip buddy came in after her and apologized for not letting Emmet hold his hand. Emmet just grinned and said it was ok, he was ok. Especially when his parents came in a little while after that, and he had a new friend named Larry.

His parents took him into another room, somewhere kind of dark and with a giant machine in it. The police officer explained that some of the workers were going to take the brick off Emmet's back, which was a relief, considering that it was really heavy, and he kept falling over.

They also said it wasn't going to hurt, but that's also what the doctor says when he gives you a shot, so Emmet cried until it was over, heat still on his back as his parents hugged and kissed him and the cop said "Sorry, little buddy," over and over again until he fell asleep once more.

He noticed that the whispers were gone when he woke up.

AO3