November Event Log

[kaisoumods]

November Event
Dominant Element: Shadow
Waning Element: Light

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An unnatural darkness blankets the city this month. The sun will not rise for most of the month, leaving the city in a state of perpetual darkness. Thanks to the Shadow element's dominance, this darkness will seem even deeper than usual. Plants die and the weather turns cold. There's a state of unease throughout the city as the nights wear on.

City Night Life

While in the past many unusual incidents have gone unnoticed by the general populace, it's a lot harder for the local people to shrug off the disappearance of the sun. According to the news, the entire area around Kaisou is caught in this endless night. And what's worse, as time passes, the phenomenon only seems to be growing in size. Theories to what's going on are flooding everywhere, from skeptics attempting to use science to explain what is scientifically impossible to conspiracy theorists touting...well, the usual array of conspiracy theories. Aliens, government experiments, ghosts, birds - you know the drill. No one has a clear answer to what may be causing this though. The general atmosphere among the city's populace is uneasy at best, with occasional pockets of panic popping up as the nights wear on. It doesn't help that the normal folks still keep noticing the unusual things going on around them. Wasn't this supposed to stop after Halloween? All the Spirit Halloweens have vanished from the city, so why hasn't everything else?

Without the sun, the plants begin to wilt and die, while the temperature keeps getting colder and colder. The crime rate begins to climb, and sun lamps quickly sell out in every store. Some places in the city try to make the most of the situation, by having sales on glow-in-the-dark items and special happy hours. In Undertown, there is a plethora of vendors selling light-enchanted items and scrolls, though none of them are very strong due to light element waning this month. As for everyone else, they are just trying their best to continue on as normal. School is still in session, with all the usual activities.

Even if one travels to the stable gates, they will find their own day cycle has been disrupted. Both Kanto and Stardew Valley are stuck in perpetual nighttime. This causes a lot of anxiety among the folks of Stardew Valley, as they thought they'd had one more month of harvest. Meanwhile the nighttime in Kanto has caused all the nocturnal Pokémon to be out and about at all hours.

The Other Side

According to several cultures, early November is the time of the year that one is more able to communicate with the dead. With the Spirit Vein acting as unstable as it is, this will more than hold true. During the first half of November, AU characters will swear they see signs of folks that have passed either in this life or their past life. Sometimes it's subtle, the smell of their grandpa's cologne or a sensation of receiving a loving embrace when you're alone. For others, the signs will be much more obvious: a ghost standing in their living room or taking any plate of their favorite food that's offered to them. Attempts to verbally communicate with these spirits will be limited, at most they can only communicate a couple words. You can offer them things they'd like, such as their favorite foods or drinks. They'll gratefully take these items and the things will become as incorporeal as them as they take it back to the afterlife.

Most of these visits are friendly in nature. That is, unless you've gotten up to some real bad things (murder, I mean murder) and made yourself some enemies in the beyond. Then your visits will be a lot closer to terrifying hauntings, complete with thrown furniture, deathly wails, and bloody messages on the walls. It's rough, but you did kinda bring this one on yourself.

Further Tearing

Just as the normal people continue to notice the strange things going on around them, the tears from last month are continuing to appear. Tears full of demons, spirit realm creatures, and monsters from other worlds will keep appearing throughout the month and attempting to snatch anyone who is nearby. Best to continue up your patrols and do your best not to get trapped in the spirit realm yourself. And that's not the only problem. Once again random items are falling out of the sky and at your character's feet. If they aren't falling, they are appearing out of thin air in front of them whenever the Spirit Vein above flickers. Some of these items are useful, sure, but a lot of it just seems like it's random junk that happened to fall into this world.

On top of everything else, a new type of tear begins to appear....or rather, reappear. OU characters may remember the labyrinths they woke up in when they first arrived on this crazy ride. These labyrinths had closed themselves off back when you reached the city, but now? They are reopening themselves in various spots around the city, possibly open for anyone to wander in and see for themselves what's inside. Some of these labyrinths remain unchanged from the day you first saw them, especially for people who are newer or haven't been strongly affected by their time here. However characters who've grown and changed since their arrival in Kaisou may find their labyrinths shifting and changing to reflect that. These labyrinths after all are reflections of their own states of mind, and will change to reflect that. (note: in other words, OU players can use the labyrinth given to them on their app or modify it to their liking). While those who have a peaceful state of mind will have a rather peaceful labyrinth? Those with more confliction might fight more danger within.

Down the River

During the first week, all one can do is wait anxiously for news as Zodiac and the Black Order searches for answers. Finally, on November 7th, word comes in the form of the familiar text alert .

ALERT: SHIFTING GATE LOCATED IN THE SPIRIT VEIN.
Element Classification: Shadow
Danger Level: Very High
Designation: Duat
A Spirit Gate has been detected within the Spirit Vein. We have evidence that this gate is connected to the disappearance of the sun and the increased paranormal activity. Assistance has been requested to resolve the situation within. Please stop by the Zodiac Offices for more details. This mission is considered highly dangerous and should only be undertaken by those prepared.
It is also highly recommended you do not bring any symbols or items connected to YHWH.

Visiting the Zodiac offices, things are different from months previous. Professor Willow is still nowhere to be found. Instead, the more fuzzy professor is here in his stead, sitting in a doll-sized armchair someone got for him, and seeming starstruck by the other new person in the room. Standing in the room is an Egyptian woman. She's dressed in modest garbs, not unlike the kinds of clothes you'd typically see in the Middle East today. Despite her modest appearance, she carries herself in a way that only a queen could. Anyone who can sense the supernatural can read an immeasurable amount of power from her, so much so that it can feel suffocating or maddening if you look for too long. Possessed characters will feel a sense of fear or reverence towards the woman, as their patron immediately recognizes who this woman is. At her side there is a scorpion the size of a large dog, watching any who approaches her like a vigilant guard dead set on protecting her - as if she actually needs it.

The woman calmly explains that the reason the sun has stopped rising is because Ra's nightly trip through Duat has been disrupted by a interloper. The interloper is hoping to get Ra to use his power to do their bidding, and has made a deal with the god Set to help them set up countermeasures to prevent any of the other gods in their pantheon from intervening. Unfortunately, this dramatic upset of such an essential cycle is having clear effects on the mortal realm, effects that will only get worse as time passes. And so, they require outside assistance to resolve the situation before things get any worse.

The characters will be instructed to go to the Kaisou River, a river that cuts through part of town. There they will find a boat that will help them travel to Duat. Then she pulls out a deck of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and gives a character a single card from the deck. She explains that these cards have been showing up in her realm recently, and being ever the resourceful one, she decided to infuse them with some of her magic to make them useful tools. Carry them with you and have faith, and they will help you through.

Overall despite her power and regalness, the woman's demeanor is wise, kind, and motherly. That said, anyone who failed to heed the warning not to bring anything connected to YHWH will find themselves getting either wary treatment or the cold shoulder, while her scorpion companion will raise its tail threateningly at you. Should you ask, the Professor will explain that the Egyptian pantheon is "just still a little salty over the whole, you know, ten plagues fiasco".

At Kaisou River, there will be an ornate boat docked and waiting for them. The boat is lined with gold and seems to almost glow from magic. Anyone who is younger than fifteen will find they are unable to get on the boat unless they are accompanied by an adult. Characters with powers that come directly from YHWH or His faithful servants (either by canon powers or possession) will have those powers stop working when they step on the boat. Once there's enough people onboard, the boat will silently set off down the river. Slowly as it travels, it'll begin to ascend out of the water and into a river of stars that flows directly into the Spirit Vein itself in the sky. As you reach the Spirit Vein, everyone will see an overwhelming amount of spirit energy floating around....before you all immediately black out. Whoops.

The Kingdom of Night

When you wake up, you find yourself still on the boat which is now sailing through a dark cavern illuminated only by fire breathing snakes hanging around the cavern. What's worse, is some may notice that you...aren't breathing and no longer have a pulse. In other words: you're dead. You flew into the Spirit Vein and died. That's probably a lot to unpack, so take some time to do that by the light of the fire-breathing snakes.

The boat will continue on through a set of gates, docking itself on a landing on the side of the river. Climbing out of the boat, you'll spy several buildings done in the style of Ancient Egyptian architecture. Around and inside these buildings are the dead spirits of kings, pharaohs, other influential elites throughout history, and so many cats - all of whom seem to be in the midst of having a never ending party. Which aside from the lack of modern technology, it's about the same as any rich influencer party. There's plenty of food, drink, people pretending to know each other, and games. Those patient enough can learn the rules of Senet, otherwise those Yu-Gi-Oh cards do seem to have gotten pretty popular in this realm, so you might be challenged to a card duel by an ancient king. Those those not interested in human interaction, you can instead opt to play with the cats that are roaming or napping all over the place. You might as well play a few games or scratch a few kitty ears, as you need to wait for the other ships of fellow app users to catch up before you're ready to move on.

When the last boat of freshly dead people have arrived, numerous gods and goddesses will herd the app users back towards the boat. It gets explained that to pass the next leg of the journey, your soul will be judged by Anubis. Wanting to make sure you present your best-self to the god of judgement, they will insist on giving you a quick makeover - sitting you down to apply make up and do your hair. Once you look fantastic and ready to slay, time to head back on the boats to get your hearts cut out!

The Hall of Truth

The boats set sail once more, carrying everyone past another gate and deeper into the underworld. When the boat stops again, everyone is ushered into a grand hall. In the center of the hall, stands the jackal-headed god Anubis and a large golden scale. Everyone is instructed to get into a line, and when it's their turn? Anubis will approach them and methodically remove their heart with expert precision (good thing you're already dead huh? you barely feel a thing), and place it on the scale against a feather. Those who have lived good lives (aka none of the major sins) and didn't do anything to muck up your makeover will have their heart returned back to their chest with no scarring and be allowed to return on the boat to continue their journey.

On the other hand those with major sins, or found a way to mess up their makeover (yes I'm serious), will watch as their heart drops lower on the scale to the feather. Anubis will give a shake of the head and the floor will open up beneath the person's feet, sending them down a trap door. Anubis will also throw their heart down into the trap door, so anyone who attempts to evade this fate will need to go down there to recover their heart. At the bottom, you are reunited with your heart that returns to your body (thankfully no scarring). But now you are forced to make the rest of the journey on foot through treacherous passage ways full of crocodiles, snakes, and the most dangerous of them all: hippos.

Tread carefully and swiftly, sinners. There's no telling what will happen to your soul if you let yourself get trapped down here. You aren't completely alone down here though. Remember that Yu-Gi-Oh card bestowed to you by that woman? If you have faith in it's magic, you'll be able to summon either the monster or the ability that's on the card to assist you on your journey - it should hopefully make things a little easier.

The Confrontation

Those who lived lives approved by Anubis will have a peaceful journey back on the boats. You pass through several more gates, and sure, there is a borderline absurd number of snakes in this underworld, but most of the snakes leave your boat alone. You're free to pass the time talking to other passengers, playing cards, enjoying refreshments magically provided on the boat, or getting some rest for the trial ahead. It even seems like some of the cats from the earlier spot has sneaked on board, so you can even spend your time enjoying kitty company. Eventually, the boats will make another landing and wait for those sinners who had to take the long way to catch up to you before moving on.

With everyone reunited, it's time to to head to your reason for being here. Further down the river, you eventually come across another boat that was currently trapped within a magic barrier. Within the barrier, there are two figures. The first is a hawk-headed figure that could be no other but Ra. Ra is bound by chains, and seems rather weak from poison. The other person Professor Willow, standing over the captured and weakened god.

Yeah, that's not good.

Breaking through the barrier will take time, but you can shout at the professor for answers. As it turns out? The app users weren't the only ones with memories of a past life. Many members of POKEGO also could recall a previous life, one in a world that was full of Pokemon before it met its end. This is how he'd been able to identify what the Pokemon were despite them not existing in the world before. The stable gate of Kanto? Was just a fragment of what that world once was.

"But by using Ra's power to create worlds, we can restore that world to what it once was! For years, that's been one of the true goals of POKEGO!" Willow proclaims passionately, all while Ra mournfully shakes his head.

You can try to reason with Willow, but it seems there's no getting him to back down from his goal. Eventually, he has enough with talk and pulls out a Pokeball. He tosses it through the barrier, and once it lands? A massive serpent Pokemon called Giratina comes forth and begins to attack. This foe is more powerful than any other Pokemon you've encountered before, in fact it's very presence seems to make the realm itself quake. Work together to fight it off, and eventually the creature will decide to flee - creating a tear that opens to an unknown part of the Spirit Realm and slipping into it, the tear closing up behind it. Willow will shout after it, trying to call it back, but his calls go unheeded.

Well, that was freaky. Good thing that's the only massive serpent in- oh. Wait.

Before you can have a chance to catch your breath, the area will rumble once more. Apep, the famous serpent of the Nile and even larger snake, heard all the commotion and has realized this is his time to once again try to devour the sun god. Hope you didn't use up all your stamina on the last fight, because this is the true final boss of this realm. If you need extra aid, you can always call upon the aid given by the Yu-Gi-Oh card- you just have to believe.

Aftermath

Upon defeat of all the snakes, Professor Willow will realize he's out of his league and lower that barrier. As he does so, the woman from earlier appears once more, except now in her full winged goddess form. For those who hadn't pieced it together earlier, she was the goddess Isis all along. She thanks everyone for their assistance, and says that it'll take time to heal Ra and also deal with Set's treachery (from her exasperated tone, this is NOT the first time), but things should be righted once more. This was just a borrowed trick from her own book, after all.

As for Professor Willow? Her scorpion companion is quick to sting him, poisoning him with its venom, and Isis gives him a scathing look before she lifts him up with one hand and chucks him into everyone's boat. He'll live, should he get treated for the venom, though she says that won't be the case should he ever try to come near her pantheon again. And in one final act, she summons a swarm of glowing golden scarabs before disappearing with Ra. The scarabs will fly over to the boat and try to land on everyone. As they do so, their glow will brighten and you'll feel the warmth of life...before passing out once more.

When you wake, you'll find yourself on the river shore back in Kaisou, alive and well. Some Zodiac agents are there, shadowing Willow as he gets put into an ambulance. It's still night out, but...you swear you can see the first rays of dawn starting to pierce the sky, at least for a few minutes.

True to Isis's words, it takes time for things to return. It remains dark for the rest of the month. But as the second half of the month starts, the sun will slowly start to return. First by only a few minutes, then by a few hours. Then, by the end of the month, the daylight hours will fully return to normal. All the while, the Spirit Realm will slowly begin to calm itself. Tears will become less frequent, and soon the normal population will once again stop noticing things. It seems just in time for the holiday season, things will finally return to some semblance of normal.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Shadow! Anyone with an affinity to the shadow element will find themselves boosted throughout the month. This could mean a boost to their power, having more energy, feeling more inspired with creativity, having better luck on different attempts -- the boost can manifest in all sorts of different ways. By contrast, anyone with an affinity for Light will be experiencing the opposite. Perhaps their powers will be weaker, they have less energy, they're having a creative block or general worse luck - again it can manifest in all sorts of way and players are free to play with this mechanic as they'd like. It should also be noted that while YHWH is often associated with light/holy, characters with light element won't necessarily have their powers blocked in this month's spirit realm- so don't worry about that! It'll just be the general weakening.

Players can obtain free gacha through all of November by commenting here. The Yu-Gi-Oh card will only have power this month while in the Spirit Realm. After this month is over, it will go back to being a normal card!

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Another Zodiac Post will be going up November 15th to serve as an intro post for new characters and allow characters to react to developments over the network.

Comments

[a_cute_batata]

"But you tried."

Luz knew she couldn't begin to understand what Varian was feeling. She was just a girl that tended to get into things much bigger than herself. Of course, she worked with what she had, but Varian? He was someone who could clearly make things happen.

But his Labyrinth was likely the other side of that. The failures, it looked like. The mistakes. And every time something like that happened, it was a heavy weight to bear.

That part Luz absolutely could relate to.

"He got out?" Luz said gently. "Out of what? It looks like he's still stuck in that stuff."

[droptheious]

"...Sometimes you can try to do something with the wrong intentions. "

He tried and made a big mess of things. He hurt people with some of the things he'd tried. He can never let himself forget that. That intent is so important behind everything.

He nods, resting his palm flat on the surface of the amber.

"This is- it's a memory, I guess? It's- he's not like this anymore."

[a_cute_batata]

"You? With the wrong intentions? I'll admit, we don't each other that well, but I kind of pegged you as a pretty helpful guy."

Thinking about it though, the first time Luz met him, his labyrinth was like this, but with less destroyed inventions. With them strewn around like this, Luz was guessing this might be a reflection of what was happening in Varian's life right now, thanks to the portal fiasco.

"Oh. Well. That's good, right? I mean, he's better! You can talk with him again without him, you know. Being a ghost."

Luz realized a little before that left her mouth that she should probably NOT be speaking from personal experience.

[droptheious]

"Yeah...well," Varian's fingers curl on the amber as he tries to remind himself this isn't real, this is just...some echo of his own memories or...something. "People can surprise you."

Yeah, that was probably not the best thing to say, given everything that's going on in this room. Varian's near loss of his father is one of the tenderest nerves he has and his shoulders tense as he puts those protective emotional walls around him again. He doesn't want to go off on her again so soon after they reconciled - and has no idea if she means anything beyond his own father's near-death- given what they're standing in front of.

"Yeah," his tone is a little distant. "Guess I can be glad for that."

[a_cute_batata]

"Sure, but I happen to think I'm a pretty good...judge of...character."

Phillip Whittibane came to mind, and Luz's face soured a little.

"Most of the time, anyway."

Luz did notice his tone shift though, and her mind wracked at what she'd said and how it sounded, given the lack of context.

"No, I mean! Well, that if you CAN find a way to get us home, you can talk to him. I'm sure whatever happened won't be easy to settle, but you can talk, and come to an understanding. And I'm sure that he cares about you a lot."

She had to believe that. She'd get home to Maimi-no, she KNEW she already had done that. There was a lot that the two of them were going to have to talk about.

[droptheious]

He hums in assent to that. He's definitely not at a point where he's comfortable talking to her about it just yet, so he leaves it lie.

"I know he does, this-" he waves at the amber. "Happened years ago. Like I already said, it's just... a bad memory. Everything is already fine back home."

And yet it still bothers him. That this happened at all.

"I dunno. I guess I just wish I could get back there."

[a_cute_batata]

That was understandable. There were a lot of things they were likely all keeping to themselves, and they had been in a fight mere days ago.

"So it's just a way to relive the labyrinth then," Luz said, her head drooping. "Boy, of all the things this place likes to show us. But at least he's not still...like this."

Luz didn't know what caused that to happen, but clearly it took a toll on Varian's mind, or he wouldn't be reliving it again.

"Yeah. I know that feeling. How's that progressing, by the way? I mean, if you even had time to work on it."

[droptheious]

"That's what I'm figuring, yeah. Given that's how we entered this world, I would have expected maybe this would provide a way out...y'know, back to our home worlds. But that...that doesn't seem to be the case."

His feelings are mixed on this- he wants to go home so very desperately, he misses his friends. He misses his dad. But Fern is here and he doesn't want to leave his boyfriend behind. The first slivers of doubt in his desire to go home have started to sink in.

"I haven't had the chance, everything just been so...much," he exhales slowly. "I wish I could get some information, something to point me in the right direction, y'know?"

[a_cute_batata]

"I don't even see what the point of showing that unless there was a reason for it. But that's just this place most of the time: it doesn't HAVE to make sense."

Which was very annoying. Some of them had to get home and make sure things didn't happen, but Luz felt the same struggle Varian. She may have wanted to get back to the Isles, but she also loved her friends here AND Amity was here, biggest of all miracles. And while worrying about things here cropped up, she could also just do small things like go to school with her and go on dates. That wasn't something she could easily overlook.

"I know just what you mean. I think if we're ever going to get close though, it can't be just you. There has to be a team of us, investigating and finding out things all over Kaisou and finding out information with these spirit cracks."

[droptheious]

"I need it to make sense, though. I'm a scientist, it- what's the point if you can't understand it?"

He needs to be able to take apart everything and understand how it works to the tiniest detail. He needs it like he needs to breathe.

"...Yeah-yeah, you've got a point. There's way too much ground to cover for just one person."

[a_cute_batata]

"Zodiac has a whole team, and the reason we have to do what they say is because they have more information than we do. As far as we know, they're the ones that are the scientists, but they kind of keep that stuff to themselves, and give us the information later."

What was more, in Luz's opinion, was that BECAUSE they were all so different, it made it easier to keep everyone apart.

"So maybe what we need to do is start making our own teams of people! The scientists, the researchers, the theorists! Even people who aren't those things but are, you know, the adventurous type who'll get things for those less adventure inclined. That way, we keep each other in the know, and we're not just sitting on our hands when we're done with whatever thing happens that month."

[droptheious]

"They have a whole team of fortune tellers, too," he pulls a face- normally he wouldn't put much stock in that, but after the Vigor stuff back home and seeing the psychics in Kaisou...well, he's had to adjust his thinking. "They absolutely have more answers than they're willing to give us."

Which is very frustrating. He doesn't think Zodiac are evil (he's SEEN real evil) but he thinks they definitely look after themselves before everyone else in the city.

"You know...that's not a bad idea. I- I think trying to organise everyone here would be like trying to organise a bag of angry cats, but we might be able to get better answers if we pool our resources."

[a_cute_batata]

"Ah," said Luz, because unlike Varian, she knows this is a skill that can be employed and even weaponized thanks to Odalia Blight. That was some serious power Zodiac had then, and she had a feeling that if they could do that, then there were several sides to them that they were absolutely not seeing.

Luz knew enough that even if she didn't see the evil, the potential for it was actually pretty frightening. It was pretty scary to know what they COULD do if they decided to really make a mess of things.

"That's why we'd have to find a way to share information and use each of our abilities where they'd best work! It might even help to have certain people look into certain things, so Zodiac or whoever else is at the helm don't get suspicious."

[droptheious]

"Oh yeah, to be sure," he nods. "We can't just rely on a small number of us. We need to be able to trust each other...collectively."

Which is sometimes easier said than done, admittedly, but they are all in the same terrible boat after all.

[a_cute_batata]

"Right. So I guess we should start by figuring out who CAN be trusted. That would be the first step, right? Knowing who we can tell everything to, who won't sell us out if Zodiac tries to sway them. After that, where we can meet that's safe."

Luz is absolutely doing this by the seat of her pants, but she knew this was something she hadn't had in the Isles. She was told she eventually DID have help, but obviously something had jammed up the works at the last minute.

So she wanted to make sure they didn't unintentionally get found out again.

[droptheious]

"I mean, I think most of us other worlders and the people who have the app are safe. Like I said, we can trust each other."

That much he's pretty sure of by now.

[a_cute_batata]

"You're sure on that?"

Luz knew she didn't know enough people yet to say that confidently. That Varian was able to? Told her that he'd been looking to see it for himself.

"Hmm. So let's say we were trying to keep each other in the loop without Zodiac knowing. What do you think would be the best way?"

[droptheious]

"I mean, not utterly sure. There might be some...uh people who are less trustworthy? But I've not met anyone like that yet. Everyone seems to be on the same page, really. There's a solid sense of community spirit," he shrugs. "A lot of people stood by me after the portal mess even if they had every right to- to hate me forever. I think that counts for something."

He hums in thought at that question.

"Not on the network, that's to be sure- they monitor the Libra app. It'd have to be in person."

[a_cute_batata]

"That was a pretty rough situation. But...well, you know. I know you didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. You didn't know. That won't change what happened what happened. I hope no one hates you forever though."

Varian would have never wanted to hurt anyone. It was just bad that dinosaurs came out of the whole mess, and a lot of angry people.

"Right. I figured. So that means...we have to get them gathered somewhere where they can't hear us. Somewhere like the Dennys."

[droptheious]

"Well, like I said, no one actually did hate me? Except for maybe like...one guy?" he shrugs. "It was better than I expected."

He considers the option, letting out a thoughtful hum.

"You know, that's not a bad idea. And with the time anomaly in that place, it would mean we could probably get a lot done?"

[a_cute_batata]

"I might have run into that guy, unless it's someone else? He was pretty vicious about your dabbling and gave me a tongue lashing. Not fun."

Not that Luz had minded at the time, and anyway, she and Bakugou had made up.

"Right! I forgot time stands still there! We could just say we were having a study group anyway! The trick would just be getting everyone there. I can private message a few people I know."

Luisa and Moana were definitely people she was sure she could trust there.

[droptheious]

"I mean, it might have been someone else. This is a big city. I don't even remember his name."

He was just one guy who Varian came across who was angry. Someone who Varian chose to avoid after that.

"Hm, yeah, we'd have to invite people in person, but it might be worth thinking about."

[a_cute_batata]

"Maybe? The person I defended you to was pretty intense about what you'd done, but you're right, it IS a big city. You should have at least garnered a reputation by now!"

Luz meant this with the best of intentions, which is why it sounded wrong, of course.

"Maybe even wait until the middle of next month. There always seems to be something huge and strange going on."

[droptheious]

"Really? That's- worrying,"

He really hopes there aren't more people that intense about what he did, but then...would he blame them if there were? Probably not. He frowns at the comment about a reputation, something unhappy and painful squirming in his stomach. He hugs his arms around himself, staring at the floor.

"Yeah," he sucks in a breath. "Anyway- we should get moving, see what comes next. Probably shouldn't hang out here too long."

[a_cute_batata]

"I mean, it was a pretty intense situation, but in addition to that? It makes you also the portal guy. People know that you're actually smart enough to be able to get there. I don't think too many can say that."

It was bad WHAT happened, but she knew that people would at least understand how smart Varian was too. Luz thought that was something that shouldn't be ignored. Unfortunately, not knowing about Varian's past meant Luz didn't get the double-edged sword that was.

"Right, good idea. This...from what I remember in my own labyrinth? Didn't really put my head in a good place."