Liliana Vess Defiant Necromancer

Actually, as it just so happened, they weren't entirely proper names that meant nothing to Summer at this point, who had, in fact, been doing a little...informational pregaming, here and there. This wasn't just a big party vacay for her, after all. There was some potential business groundwork to be done, but now that she was here, she was eager to set that all aside for a bit and just enjoy herself, which meant...

"Bright-eyed tourist," she said, with a firm nod and nary a missed beat, the bright-eyed part in full swing already as she took a deep breath and already had to tamper down the urge to just bounce on her toes a bit. "Just to kick things off. Familiarize myself with your townhouse as homebase and the surrounding area to get it in firm now as sort of an anchor, you know?"

Stick to a generally designated area? Liliana. Please. Like she was coming here to make good decisions?

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Fine, but if you ended up indebted to the Orzhov, or on a Simic table, or, ugh braiding hair in Vitu-Ghazi, nobody can say Liliana hadn't tried. (That was, mind, going to be the extent of her trying. Again, Summer was an adult who could do what she wanted.)

"Of course, darling," Liliana said. "My maid can show you to the guest room and let you get a feel for the house." The maid was, of course, a zombie. Because Liliana. "If you want to hand over your Jello supplies to the footman--" also a zombie "--he can set everything up in the kitchen for you, too."

The townhouse wasn't as vast or sprawling as the mansion back on Fandom, of course. It was much narrower, and the rooms were correspondingly fewer and smaller. The downstairs was limited to the entry hall, a parlor, a drawing room, a formal dining room, a half-bath, and the kitchen, while the upstairs had the master bedroom, a guest bedroom, and a full bathroom, complete with a deliciously deep soaking tub.

"Feel free to prowl around, darling. Mi casa es su casa and all that." Though she assumed Summer would know that that offer didn't include the main bedroom. "After that, I'll show you around the neighborhood, including the coffeashop that Ignis has a feud with, and then we'll hop on the trolley and see more of the city."

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If nothing thus far in Summer's various exploits had killed her yet, she certainly wasn't going to change that in Ravnica, dammit.

She snorted faintly, because, god, she knew all about that fued and it was most of the reason her research became independent instead of through Ignis, King of Grudges, himself, and felt that surge of excitement that she had to pamper down a little, lest she just become stupidly giddy in front of Liliana.

"Perfect," she said. "And I do need to know if this coffea really is just coffee the way caf is just coffee, no matter what anyone tries to tell me. Ooh! And shopping! As much as I' sure pink tank tops could become all the rage in this city I'm with enough time, I do want to get myself some good Ravnican fits, too, you know? When in sprawling plane-wide mega-city, blah blah blah..."

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Had she gotten tired of filtering all the information out from the eloquent rants Ignis had polished up about the man? Liliana had been there a number of times, both before and after their little spat and while she would be the first to admit it was nothing special, she still didn't see what had been so downright offensive about it. A perfectly adequate coffeeshop for an area highly populated by academics.

"Oh, it's honestly just coffee," Liliana said. "Slightly different strains of beans, but there's only so many ways to add hot water to ground up coffee beans. Though, if we do get some, you simply must drink it spiked with bumbat. It's not RageFest if you don't start drinking damn near immediately."

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"Oh," Summer assured Liliana emphatically and with a dutiful shake of a bestickered water bottle, "two steps ahead of you there."

Look, she only had so much time left on that early-twenties immunity to the worst hangovers, and she planned on riding it to the fucking ground if she had to.

"But that does remind me that I'd also like to try and acquire as many different Ravnican booze as I can, so I can start experimenting on how they're going to react to the gelatin as soon as possible."

What a fucking neeeeerd.

"Oh! And a market of some kind, although that's obviously lower priority because that's probably more helpful after all this smoke clears, you know? Boozy coffee and cute clothes are, like, the priority right now."

Because she had her priorities right, dammit.

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"Tin Street Market," Liliana decided immediately. "I have no idea what's actually open right now versus what's closed and hunkered down for protection or shoved open and looted, but we can figure that out while we're there. This is a great time to go shopping, honestly. Most places will be low on stock but they'll have something available, because if the Gruul and the Rakdos don't get some merchandise to destroy, they'll start thinking bigger."

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"If you don't offer a fire sale, they'll just make one themselves," Summer mused, in a sing-aong voice of excitement that settled into a wistful sort of sigh, and a fond shake of her head. "Oh, this is going to bring up some memories, but, unlike the Apocalypsr, there's still infrastructure underneath it all, which I, quite frankly, really appreciate!"

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"Well, they've had ten thousand years to work out the kinks," Liliana said. "I can't imagine anything so big that it would bring the Tenth District to a standstill, never mind the entire city."

We call that foreshadowing, kids.

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"Mmmm. Challenge accepted."

But not really, ohmygod, Summer wanted to make mad bang in business here, and it was so much easier building from already existing stuff than from ashes.

"After all," she chipped brightly, "maybe jello was the missing ingredient needed to bring Ravnica finally to its knees."

Or at least a few of its denizens. Heyyyyooooo.

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Eyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Not that Summer really needed jello, especially around RageFest. "Well then, let's get you settled and then go! Tram around the city to get a feel for the different Precincts? Or straight to the probable heart of things."

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Summer opened her mouth to answer with her gut feeling, stopped,reconsidered with a tilt of her head and a squinting of her eyes, and considered it just a little bit more.

"Traaaaaaam it up first," she decided, dragging it put with an uncertainty that she hoped to clear and solidify into confidence by the end of it. Which she succeeded in, nodding firmly. "Yes. Getting a feel for how to get around the city is pretty foundational, but also, like, could open the doors for something I think of until I, like, you know, saw it."

She would try to reign in her impulses to go running off at every interesting thing, but no promises! She was pretty sure it would be fine. If they started with the important stuff like how to get around, then maybe that just meant cutting Liliana's tour guide duties short early, which Summer doubted she'd have an issue with.

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She most certainly wouldn't! She had RageFest plans of her own, though some needed to wait for Ignis' arrival, after his shift ended.

Once Summer had sufficiently familiarized herself with the house and after a brief walking tour through the neighborhood, they ended up at the trolley station associated with Prism University, and didn't have to wait long before hopping on the their ride. "Benefit of living on the Green Loop?" she said. "It circles the entire District. You'll want the Red, White, or Blue Lines to get around the interior of the city, but no matter where you get on the Loop, you'll eventually make it back to the townhouse. It passes through every Precinct but the First, and through every guild's territory, save the Izzet and the Orzhov. You're a Gateless, someone who has no guild. Do you know about the guilds, darling?"

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"I've sort of gotten a vague overview," Summer admitted, "but it's sort of, like, an on-paper breakdown of the most basic idea of them? And how they definitely feel divided in very broad strokes that don't all all seem rife for conflict and logistical nightmares. But, hey. Like you said, they've had thousands of years to work it out, so good for them. You do you, Ravnica. And you've been pretty great about mentioning who and what to avoid so far...."

And she launched into a breakdown of her understanding of the different guilds thus far, which will be presented vaguely and handwavily, because, ohmygaaaawd, who had the tiiiime?? But, in general, it was mostly on the mark in a very Summer way, which meant that clearly the biggest takeaway was AAAB.

(All Azorius Are Bastards).

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Preach.

Liliana nodded through the recitation, adding more details as necessary. The Selesnyans were cultists, albeit 'nice' ones. The Gruul clans has been done dirty by the rest of the guilds, Selesnyans, Simic, and Azorious specifically. The Dimir had only just been confirmed to have existed at the Decamillennial, and all information about them was thin, sketchy, and often contradictory--only to be expected from a guild that specialized in information.

"It's been ten thousand years, but there was recently a time when the guilds no longer existed. The Decamillennial saw the original Guildpact shattered and the guilds disbanded, and there were plenty of places where that was celebrated as an end of tyranny. 'Thralldom's End' they called it." For a moment, Liliana looked almost wistful, though the expression vanished quickly. "Shockingly, that sentiment was heaviest in areas where the Orzhov held the most sway."

As they passed through each area, Liliana pointed out landmarks, gave juicy historical tidbits and stories, and pointed out the areas where different aspects of RageFest were happening.

"Oooh, look, the Gruul clans are making a big for more territory here....ahh, they've moved the fighting pits out here, look...oh, darling, that's one of the Rakdosian carnariums. Only eat meat from around here if someone is very clear on the provenance...or if you are fine with it being a literal mystery..."

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"I mean," Summer said, with a somewhat guarded sort of caution that was balanced with her oh-so-casual shrug of her shoulder, "I've probably had worse before..."

Yes, that mean probably exactly what you thought it might, and if she did spend a lot of time with the Gruul clans, well....

"It's almost hard," Summer admitted, and not just to change the subject swiftly, "to know where to even start. Maybe I'll let my new fit determine my first direction and just see what I end up after that..."

Gruul.

It was definitely going to be Gruul.

That particular string had probably been the one left unplucked the longest, really.

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"The biggest Rakdos fighting rings have carnariums built in, so the people lugging the remains away have only a short trip."

Somehow, she didn't think Ignis would approve of the efficiency in this case.

"Oh! The Izzet goblins have come out to make the most of it, look!" Liliana pointed out the trolley window towards the end of their loop. "They strap themselves to various contraptions, usually rocket-powered, and see who can go the furthest distance the fastest. Usually, though, it's a matter of who can make the biggest spectacle of themselves exploding. I'd suggest bringing a parasol, but I'm less interested in picking body parts our of my hair."

And in what was a stunning change of topic from exploding goblins, "What kind of drugs do you prefer, Summer, darling?"

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"Rain poncho," said Summer, in response to the exploding goblins, thr click of her tongue basically a vocal form of a disappointed snap of her fingers. "I should've thought to bring a rain poncho!"

And if the question threw Summee off at all in the slightest, there was no indication of it, giving a thoughtful hum as she watched the goblin a little longer and turned back to Liliana just in time to avoid anything that might threaten all those mimosas she'd had a brunch earlier to make a reappearance.

"I mean," she said, "that's kind of like asking which kitten in a teacup I think is the cutest, isn't it? Also, it kind of depends on what I'm, like, doing, you know? Am I partying? Fighting? Fucking? Just trying to ride the vibe for a bit? Trying to see God? Trying to be god?"

So....any. Any drugs, Liliana.

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"Izzet for drugs that will make you feel like you can do anything and defeat God," she said. "They have you going a mile a minute, and the come down is pretty rough for anything but the highest quality. Performance enhancers. Exactly the kind of drugs you'd expect from a guild of mad scientists."

Fantasy meth. Izzet made fantasy meth. (And cocaine.)

"Golgari are fungus experts. You want to hallucinate? Have a full-on religious experience and see the face of God? Want to feel completely unmoored in time? The Golgari have you covered. Selesnya for most other plant-based drugs, particularly your opiates. The Simic for designer drugs, though most of them are created for non-human systems. Also, non-opioid painkillers. Rakdos are your common, street level suppliers, though if you're looking for a lot at once and don't have any connections within the guilds themselves, the Orzhov are your best bet. They will also generally guarantee the quality and purity of what you buy. With Rakdos, it can be a crapshoot, especially at RageFest." She pointed to what looks to be something like an open-air market mixed with a carnival. "A good place to wander through and try different things, though it's fully under your own recognizance, what you try and how quickly and everything."

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"I once huffed an entire K-Zax array and ended up killing God, once," Summer noted proudly, as if that actually meant something to Liliana, "so if I manage to stumble into something here that can beat that? Then I'll be impressed."

God, she was so excited. So much so that her attempts to be cool about it slipped a little now that she was close to being right there on the thick of it, so she let out a little thrilled squeal, fists balled up by her chest like a kid on Christmas morning.

"This. Is going to be. So. Fucking. Awesome."

Edited Date: 2025-07-08 06:25 pm (UTC)

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And Liliana did laugh, but it was soft and indulgent, not mocking. "Well, here, darling. We're at the Steamvents, and we're going to hop off here and take the Blue Line to the central transit station, which will put us close to the Tin Street Market. We'll be able to--"

Just then, from either side of the trolley, a group of what looked like post-apocalyptic circus performers came crashing in through the trolley's glass sides. People screamed and put their arms up, some to shield themselves from flying glass shards, others to show they were unarmed. "Iiiiiiiiit's RageFest!" one of them announced, voice high-pitched. "And several of you lucky folks are going to help our razor witches celebrate! Any volunteers? Or are you all going to be voluntolds?"

Liliana looked at Summer and gestured, in a kind of this is your show, darling fashion.

Edited Date: 2025-07-08 06:49 pm (UTC)

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No doubt leaving a wave of wild speculation in his wake, Ignis eventually finished his full proper shift at Luke's that day entirely uninterrupted (presumably), took care of a few things, and then made his way to Ravnica and the townhouse, checking in with the household staff a moment before heading into the kitchen to make some coffee, since he expected at least a little peace and quiet before Liliana and Summer completed their tour.

He had not been expecting the several boxes of jello-making supplies in his way when he got there, though he supposed he really should have.

But since they were there, he might as well satiate his curiosity and see all what had been brought, although when he got to the molds, some of them left him with a very unimpressed murmured of "Really, Summer?", although he wasn't surprised by some of those, either.

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"So does this mean you're not interested in duplicates of this kitchenware, my 'Nys?" Liliana asked, amused, from the doorway of the kitchen. "There go your Christmas presents."

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"Oh, I wouldn't be too hasty," Ignis drawled, shaking his head as he set something back into the box. "I'm sure I'll find plenty of use for penis-shaped fondant and vulva meringue. And if anyone says anything, I can just lean into not having realized it, thus making everyone doubly uncomfortable."

But first things first, because it had been a very long workday without a proper break in it, and so he was eschewing the kitchen tools to make his way over to the doorway, one last sip from his mug before setting it aside, so that while one hand found its usual place around her waist, the other lifted to softly meet her cheek.

"My 'Iana,' he said, before drawing her in closer for a kiss.

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So weird how it was always on the opposite side from Chain Veil...

She lifted her face to his, her own arms sliding over his shoulders to twine around his neck. "Welcome home, my darling," she murmured before closing the rest of that distance for a kiss intended to make that work day the furthest thing from his mind.

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One of life truly great mysteries, that...

"It's good to be home," Ignis murmured back, much, much later, as there was a good deal of time to be made up for in that kiss, which seemed to strive to be endless, but, alas, of course, end it inevitably did.

"Summer's already good and settled in, then?" he mused, with the idleness of words just spoken to fill the space between the next kiss. "Already whisked away by the whims of RageFest?"

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"Oh yes. I showed her around the city a bit, made sure she knew how to get back to the townhouse, and then she was off." Liliana's smile was slow and she leaned in to nip his bottom lip. "Just you and I, my darling. Which means the real question is, is there any part of RageFest you're interested in exploring?"

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"The only thing I'm even remotely interested in exploring at this moment," Ignis' voice was slow like her smile, and deep and murmured against her lips which would soon be caught between his teeth as well, "just so happens to be right here in front of me."

And it would surprise some, he was sure, that he actually did have a list, albeit small, of a few things that had his intrigue. But right here? Right now? Liliana waa there before him and reminding him of what he'd missed easier that day.

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