Tenth District, Ravnica, Tuesday (Fandom Time)

[deathsmajesty]

"Welcome to Ravnica, darling," Liliana said grandly as they stepped out of the portal. "Mmm, the air doesn't usually smell like smoke; RageFest is already going strong. Excellent, I was a little worried that I'd brought you here too early. Seems like they got a jump on things this year."

Before them spread a huge city; plane-wide, in fact, though Liliana didn't expect Summer to see much more than the Tenth District. Ugh, what, was she going to hang around Sixth and play a...sewerball match...or whatever it was called? Hardly not.

"My townhouse here is in Precinct Five," she continued. "It's the University District, so things are usually less raucous around here, but the students are usually good for a couple of big parties. Just be wary of anything the Simic host, darling--you'll know a Simic if you see one, trust me. My suggestion is to stick to Tin Street, the Transguild Promenade, the Great Concourse, and Gateway Plaza." A lot of proper nouns that Summer had no context for, but that was fine. It wasn't like Liliana had planned to just drop her off here in an ecumenopolis to sink or swim. She intended to partake in some of RageFest's activities as well. "So, darling, play tourist and amble? Or was there something particular you wanted to partake or indulge in?"

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[somethingwithturquoise]

"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!"

[deathsmajesty]

"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.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"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.

[deathsmajesty]

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."

[somethingwithturquoise]

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.

[deathsmajesty]

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?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"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).

[deathsmajesty]

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..."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"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.

[deathsmajesty]

"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?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"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.

[deathsmajesty]

"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."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"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."

[deathsmajesty]

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.