Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Morgan Berselius The town called Redmouth-- or Turnipvale, in these dark days-- is probably quite familiar to some of the multiverse by this point. After all, it is the same place that almost got ravaged by no less than two different horrible abominations against nature and reality within the past month or so. This was also where the Watch first met the man named Morgan Berselius-- and where the divine warrior has set up shop on at least a temporary basis.

The so-called 'Dark Man' is sitting on the stoop of the ruined cathedral at the center of town, idly watching ominous clouds roll across the distant horizon. They're staying far off for now, thankfully-- but that could change at any time. But for now there's /some/ peace to be had.
Josuke Higashikata This is also the place where the Hamon-warrior and Stand-user, Josuke Higashikata, has come to seek Morgan out. What he sensed from that sun-powered abomination... it bore telling. He doesn't quite know what Morgan will be able to do, but... maybe it'll at least be some comfort that the positive aspects of the sun are still there...

Josuke's in that mostly brown-colored outfit, the one he'd worn when he'd come here to help the last time. He's actually still got a few bandages from that last time; even with Hamon, getting burned is no picnic, and doesn't go away immediately. So he might be holding his arms a little stiffly, and might wince if he moves his arms a certain way.

When he sees Morgan, however, Josuke offers a merry wave... and instantly winces. Ow. OK no, don't do that, it hurts. He starts to head over in Morgan's direction, though. "Hi there," he offers, with a bit less than his usual energy. Not only because he's still hurting, but because... well, his expression is a lot more serious, and these hot-blooded shounen types only get serious when there's something REALLY IMPORTANT (at least to them) going on.
Morgan Berselius The contrast is perhaps a bit unsettling; Josuke may not be the biggest guy around, but he's a sizable sort, and definitely looks like he eats his wheaties for breakfast every morning. By comparison, Morgan is... Not. And yet, for some reason, the local Elite just seems... in better condition, overall.

You know, if you ignore the bags under his eyes and the look of perpetual tiredness and overall weariness.

Morgan glances away from his distant vigil as Josuke approaches. "Hey," he says, patting at the marble steps next to him. "Didn't think I'd see people coming this way on their own volition much. What brings you around this neck of the wasteland, Josuke Higashikata?"

"From the look on your face," he murmurs, "It seems like you've got something on your mind."
Josuke Higashikata Josuke nods to the observation. "Yeah, I do have something on my mind," he admits. "It's about that 'Solar Tyrant'. I... felt something when we went to that temple. When I fought that priest. See, this energy I can use... it's called 'Hamon'. My ancestor, Jonathan Joestar, taught me how to use it. I'm told it's... very similar to the energy that the sun produces. That's why it's so good against vampires, undead, and other things that flee the sunlight.

"I didn't think it was going to do much to him, since he was already powered by the sun," Josuke continues. "I just wanted to make him stop for a second and think. At best, to be surprised so that someone else could clobber him." He looks at his hand. "It seemed to work... but when I sent that charge into him, there was a momentary connection to... something. And that SOMETHING flashed back over the connection. I felt... it's hard to describe. Just a flash of... what it feels like to be out on a really nice, warm day... all the good things. The warmth, the smell of the grass -- all that."

He pauses then, and looks at Morgan, a worried expression there. Worried, but also determined! "...I think the good side of the Solar Tyrant is still there. That makes me feel a lot better... but it also makes things a lot more difficult. I want to try to bring that back out, but I'm not sure how."
Morgan Berselius Morgan is silent as he listens, only occasionally nodding to signal that he's still paying attention as Josuke winds through his words. Eventually, there is silence. It lasts for a good long moment... before Morgan breaks it with a long, tired sigh and leans back against his elbows and the steps behind him. "It would be nice if it were so easy that you could just... do that."

"I'm not surprised you felt something resonating in there," he continues, his gaze turning towards the perpetually setting sun. "It's... Related to what happened. I guess I should start from the beginning."

"Once, Othrys was like a lot of worlds out there, I'd wager. Nothing like the desiccated husk that it is today. Gods and man lived in harmony with one another, and the troubles we had were downright mundane by comparison to what we deal with today. And then, one day, the Titans came. You saw one, the cloud with the bloody rain. That was one of them, a god from far beyond the world. The old pantheon tried to fight against them, but the titans were too strong. At least at first."

Morgan closes his eyes, leaning his head back as if stretching-- or maybe just staring away from the sun. "These were the deities who forged the world; the only reason they could not fight back is because they restrained themselves for our safety. But, to protect the world, they once again took up the might with which they ordered creation, tossing aside all gentler aspects to become beings of pure power. And for a time, they drove back the Titans and all seemed good. But when it came time to surrender that power, much of the pantheon had grown drunk on it."

"The Solar Tyrant was once the leader of our little band of deities," Morgan explains. "The parts which once shepherded humanity, which represented justice and good governance and rule of law, the sun which nurtured our fields and lit our lives, all of these were cast aside in exchange for becoming something strong enough to fight the Titans. Perhaps you felt some lingering connection within the Tyrant to those parts of itself which it once embodied."

"If you want to restore the sun, you'd need to subdue its wrath and restore its fallen aspects. But if you did that, then the sun may no longer be strong enough to drive back the Titans as it did that day we took the caravan. It's a balancing act. One force contains the other, you know? If you really wanted to, you'd need to search out the Sun's old holy sites, relics and the symbols of covenants with humanity and try to restore them. That'd be step one, I think."
Josuke Higashikata When Morgan begins his story, Josuke finds a place to sit down nearby. The Japanese tend to 'listen loudly'; they tend to speak small statements in appropriate areas -- things like 'I see', 'is that so?', 'really?', and the like -- to show that they're listening to the speaker. Josuke does this, but still remains mostly quiet and doesn't interrupt while Morgan tells the story.

Though when Morgan finishes, Josuke considers the implications. "The Titans are still around... so if I were to remind the sun of its positive aspects, it might make it harder for the sun to fight back against them... but things can't stay like this. Living beings will die if this keeps up."

The suggestion to restore some of the old holy sites gets a nod and a thoughtful 'hmmm'. And then he gets an idea. "...Does praying to gods here make them stronger?" he asks. "Like... if people were to be reminded of the positive aspects of the sun, and then were to pray to the sun that it would be strong enough to fight off the Titans, would the not-Tyrant Sun still be able to fight them?"
Morgan Berselius "Prayer and sacrifice both do," Morgan answers, thumbing vaguely in the direction of the great big gothic cathedral they're both sitting next to. "Back in the day, places like these were where we did that, mostly. But, you saw what they were doing back there. Human sacrifice, an entire population dedicated to doing nothing but worship for their entire lives, generation after generation. It's possible, I suppose, if you got more people praying to the Sun, it'd be better off than it is. I think it'd be hard-doing, myself."

"Anyway. A lot of the Titans and a good number of the Pantheon were broken down or sealed away over the course of the war. So at this point, it'd be kind of a tossup, you know? You're right though, something does need to change, somewhere." Morgan frowns, nodding in the direction of one of those huge stormclouds wayyyy over on the horizon. "Like, that thing there. If I can figure out how to kill it, or weaken it, or /something,/ then there'd be less risk about messing with the Sun and the rest of the remaining Pantheon. Likewise, if we found a way to restore the gods who were sealed away or slain, that'd go a long way to improving things, I think. More guys like me running around putting out fires would help a lot."

"Anyway, it's an idea. I think you'd need to do some legwork, though."
Josuke Higashikata "Well... gods aren't that simple, are they?" Josuke asks. "If you make sacrifices and prayer to a god's violent side, it's only the violent side that gets stronger, right? Like Hathor and Sehkmet? It was the same goddess, but Hathor was gentle and nuturing while Sehkmet was violent and ferocious. They both were supposed to represent the sun, though. So maybe if people start giving those prayers and sacrifices to the good side of the sun, it'll make it a little stronger. After the holy sites are restored, I mean."

He grins. "I don't mind legwork. As long as I know where I'm supposed to go, it's not that bad." Though then he looks at that cloud as morgan indicates it, with a thoughtful pout on his face. "What IS that, anyway? I know you said it was a Titan, but... what exactly ARE they? Why did they show up? What do they want? Or are they just those chaotic 'watch the world burn' sort of beings?"
Morgan Berselius "It's possible," Morgan says, scratching idly at his cheek. "Worth a shot at least. Though I do have to warn you, those places are still connected to the god that sanctified 'em. If you start messing around with them, chances are good that you'll start attracting the attention of the sun's divine servants and the like. Not that you can't handle 'em, necessarily. Just, be aware of it."

But the topic shifts. Morgan says little about Hathor and Sekhmet, mostly because he's unfamiliar with the names. But the Titans, those are a topic he's more well acquainted with. "Oh, well, those assholes," he explains, "They're not quite that bad, but I'd wager what they want is pretty much the same in the end. So, the sun, right? It's the sun. Sun's the sun. There's the god of storms too. Sea, earth, fire, night, so on and so forth. Lots of different gods. But each one represents and mediates something or other, often aspects of the world around us. Without them there to do that, nature goes... all fucky, you know?"

"So anyway, the Titans, these foreign gods, are things... /outside/ of that. Outside of nature. Weird, abominable forces. What they want, as far as I know, is to supplant the Pantheon and become the ruling gods of the world. And what /that/ means is that /their/ natures suddenly get to play major roles in how the world works. As you might be able to tell, that'd be bad news in general. But that's how gods work; if they aren't able to... express themselves, so to speak, onto a world, then they never get to put down roots, develop and grow. But right now, they're all primal power, you know?"
Josuke Higashikata Josuke shakes his head. "Oh, definitely not. I'm not planning to do all this by myself. I probably wouldn't be able to handle them all myself. Especially since they're not really weak to any weapon I can bring to bear. I don't know if there are any others in this world that are able to fight, but getting them into this might help. And people from outside the worlds generally have a fair amount of luck with things like this. There will probably be others that wouldn't mind helping."

Even if Josuke has to sweeten the deal somehow...

Morgan explains the workings of this world, and Josuke nods. "That... makes a lot of sense, actually," he replies. "I've actually heard of a couple worlds like that. One said that every blade of grass, every mote of sunlight, every gust of wind, has a god devoted to it. That's a lot of gods."

The mention of the Titans and their purpose gets a frown. Well, more like a pout. He has that kind of face. "Couldn't they create their own world? Even if they got together? Pooled their power? Then they'd have a world to rule and leave this one alone?"

A pause. "More practically... there's no sense bailing out the boat too much if it's still got a hole in it -- the Titans being the hole in the boat, of course. Though I'm pretty sure getting rid of them isn't going to be as easy as fixing a hole in a boat..."
Morgan Berselius "That's something I don't know the answer to," Morgan replies with a tired shrug. "If I were to hazard a guess, it's because they weren't strong enough to. Or maybe they don't have the ability to create something as stable as the old Pantheon could, so all they can do is parasitize on an existing world. Or maybe they're just lazy and don't want to start from scratch, with all the patience and time and fuss. Who knows?"

The Titans, presumably.

But you'd need to actually talk to them to figure that out.

"Seriously though," he asks, arching a brow, "A god for every mote of sunlight? That's just way too many gods. An unreasonable amount of gods. Can't imagine even beginning to deal with that kind of shit."

Dealing with humans is already like herding cats as-is.

"As far as others in Othrys go--" Another shrug. Morgan looks... tired, all of a sudden. "I don't know if there are, anymore. Bendigeid, the god that chose me, was one of the last. If there are any others, I haven't met them in a long, long time. That might change if we can restore some of the others. Might be a good first step, before trying to turn one of the tyrants inside out."
Josuke Higashikata Josuke nods. "If they're from outside, they're probably not anything we can understand," he figures. "Or, well... not me. I'm only human, my mind is too small. At least that's what all the science fiction stories say. Though I don't know how much of that I can go by, to be honest. But I don't have anything else to go on." Better safe than splattered, right?

He nods at the mention of that being too many gods. "That's what I think. I understand keeping all that straight is a big pain in the butt." He tilts his head, noting the tired look. But he also agrees, "Even if we COULD handle the Titans alone, we couldn't handle them AND the rest of the gods."

A pause then, "I mean. If you'll let me help that much. I know this is your world, and there are some that don't really want people from outside to meddle in their world's affairs."
Morgan Berselius "Don't sell yourself too short. Human minds can conceive of things far beyond the limits that nature sets out for them," Morgan answers, shifting his weight from one arm to the other. "Anyway, I'd be kind of a dick if I told you to stay out of things. I was the one who called out to the multiverse to begin with, right? Go nuts. Just, be careful. This world isn't as safe as some of the others out there."
Josuke Higashikata "Maybe so," Josuke agrees. "Though that's a definite last resort; I don't want anything like that in my head." Not anything that could do what that rain of death did. However, he does nod at the words of being careful. "THAT is definitely a good idea, yeah. I admit I do stupid things, but I do calculate the risk. I'll do what I can to help. I don't know if I can help much... but I'll try."

Josuke stands up, and offers a hand to Morgan, for a handshake. Presuming Morgan accepts, that handshake is a firm one. "I promise."