View attachment 49156 As the trio continued to talk, apparently there were some people that were staring at Ignis that were both male and female. She figured they probably liked the dress she was in, since she couldn't think of any other way that people would stare. There was even one guy who she saw that walked right into a lamp pole. She couldn't help but laugh mischievously at it, doing absolutely nothing herself and still getting enjoyment. Now she understood what that old lady was saying when telling Ignis about her youth. It certainly gave Ignis a wanting to just walk around and mess with some people. Beuce had suggested getting their hair done, and Ignis didn't really need that done. She always kept her hair clean, and it was pretty much already styled, but if the boys wanted to get theirs done, who was she to stop them. "Well," she looked around to see where exactly they would go in the village for something like that, then turned her head to Beuce "You're both free to spiffy yourselves up as much as you want, but are you sure you don't want that dress that was inside that store while you're at it? After all, I can't think of anyone but girls that try so hard to make themselves look good for events like this."
View attachment 49154 As Beuce and AJ finished up their shopping, they met Ignis outside and Beuce complimented Ignis on her new dress. Ignis tried not to, but her face ended up turning red from the compliment and she looked away. Maybe it was because she was trying to blend in, but being in this dress messed with her usual personality. Normally she wouldn't care one way or another on how she dressed, but now it ended up making her feel nice. It was certainly different, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to keep it up or not. "Well, at least I didn't have to con my way to find some clothes to wear." She turned her face away to try and hide her embarrassment, "So what do you think we should do now, huh Mr. "Royal Inspector"? It still seems pretty early, and I'd rather not deal with that crowd trying to get into the castle right now." Much as she tried, Ignis couldn't think of anything to do in this small village, so she had no ideas on how to kill time herself. Hopefully the boys had an idea, or it would be a very long day for them.
View attachment 49146 After Ignis had gone upstairs, she began to change into the dress that was gifted to her. At this point she had resigned herself to wearing it, being the only natural way to get into the castle without standing out, but at the very least the dress was a gift. Plus there was the added bonus that the old lady was actually nice to talk to. Though admittedly, it was amazing that the dress was in Ignis's size. That was probably the one thing the lady hadn't thought about when giving it away; either that, or she had a very keen eye on her. Chalking it up to just lucky coincidence to make things easier Ignis continued to change. It didn't take too long to get off her normal clothes, but it did take longer to figure out how to put on the dress in the first place. Luckily it seemed like the dress was simple enough to put on, which baffled Ignis's mind, considering she couldn't think of any dress that was simple in the least. Taking some time, she finally managed to get the dress itself on and put the choker on. She looked in the mirror and figured it was probably best to change up her hairstyle to match. She preferred it messy, but messy hair would stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of a crowd of well-dressed people. Thankfully her sister had helped her out with her hair before, so she knew how to style it. She hadn't changed it too much, but now her ponytail was more clumped and able to hold that accessory, and after finishing with her hair, she put the gloves on and then the earrings and necklace. She looked at herself in the mirror and almost had to admit that she didn't mind wearing the thing. But it still bugged her that she couldn't really fight in the outfit, so hopefully nothing came up that caused a problem. She tossed her clothes in the suitcase and walked back downstairs. Ignis caught the kind woman's eye as she got down and couldn't help but go slightly red in the face. "I hope you don't mind, but I had to put my clothes in the case that you were keeping the dress in." "Oh no, not at all. I'm sure once your business is concluded you'll want out of it as soon as possible. But just remember to have fun however you can, alright? Oh, and don't worry about returning it when you're done, you never know when you might need it for another opportunity." The old lady grinned almost mischievously. "Umm, thanks, I think?" Ignis wasn't sure if she wanted to dress up again, but it wasn't like she could say no. "Well, I need to find my friends. It wouldn't be good if we got separated for too long." With that, Ignis thanked the old lady one more time and walked outside, at the very least fitting in with the crowd a little more. She also realized standing out there that the dress was designed differently than every other female's dress that was worn, and she wondered why that was. Maybe the old lady got it from another country or something? As she wondered, she began to look around for AJ and Beuce, looking at all the shops. Eventually she found them browsing the wares in their choice of store and figured she'd wait outside for them to finish. She found it funny though that the longer she stayed in the dress the more she came to like it. Yet again she was thankful her family wasn't there to see her.
View attachment 49145 As Ignis waited downstairs, she heard shuffling sounds coming from above her. Most likely it was the old lady, but it sounded like something big was being moved around. It kept bugging Ignis a little on what it was that old lady was trying to get, considering the topic beforehand was about the ceremony taking place. There was a small thought that crossed her mind, but she doubted it would happen. After all, things like that only happened in children stories, and no one acted like that in real life. Soon enough the old lady came back down with a small suitcase of some sorts. It definitely was well taken care of though, as it looked nearly brand new, and Ignis seriously doubted this was something the lady just went out and got. "You see, I used to go to lots of parties when I was around your age, so I always had this on hand. Out of all the things in this house, I've taken care of this the most." The old lady laid the case out on a table and opened it up. "I think it would suit you just as well as me." Ignis looked inside and began to feel all sorts of emotions at once. For her though, on the inside at least, it was more along the lines of fear, sadness, and regret. Inside the case was white and blue dress, complete with a choker, a necklace, earrings, and even a hair piece. Part of her wanted to scream at the world for pulling such a cruel joke on her, while another part wanted to thank it because not only was this lady being kind enough to give Ignis anything, but even she had to admit it was a very nice dress. Torn between wanting to say "no thank you" and "thank you very much", she simply starred for a minute, trying to figure out a reaction. The old lady seemed to chuckle at the sight of Ignis and her confusion. "Well, I certainly didn't think that'd be the impression I'd get. I must ask, do you go to parties very often?" Clearing her throat, Ignis regained her composure and replied back. "Actually, not too often, no. My family would be invited to some, but I tried my best to keep away. They never really suit me." "Hahahahaha!" The old lady let out a small laugh, almost akin to a cackle, "Believe it not, I felt the same. The only reason I went to those parties was because I enjoyed making all the fools who thought themselves so great and handsome feel like fools when I turned down any offer they gave. And believe me, the looks on their faces were some of the best moments of my life." Ignis couldn't help but crack a smile at this old lady. Figuring from the way everyone outside acted, she thought the whole town enjoyed going to these sorts of things, but there was actually someone more like her. It made Ignis crack a grin and let out a small laugh. "Do me a favor, will you? I've only kept this around and well-kept because it had so many fond memories for me, but I think you should take it and go to that party. Who knows, you might find a way to enjoy yourself just as I did," winking at the end of her sentence. At this point Ignis couldn't rightly say no, so she nodded to the lady and took the case. "Okay, if you insist. Do you have any place I can put it on?" "Go ahead and use the upstairs." The old lady pointed upward, "Plus you can use the mirror to put on that annoying head weight." Being unable to hold it in, Ignis let out a laugh, taking the old lady's advice and went upstairs. She was just thankful no one from her family was around, or they'd hang it over her head forever.
View attachment 49138 Ignis looked at her own pouch with munny that she was dragging around. It hadn't really crossed her mind about using it to buy stuff, since she hadn't actually bought anything in a proper store since joining this whole escapade. At the very least she had saved up quite a bit, but she wasn't really sure if there was an exchange rate or not when comparing munny to another world's currency. Or maybe Beuce meant they just took it as it was without any exchanging. She looked around trying to see if he couldn't find anything to wear. There wasn't anything that Ignis was even remotely interested in wearing as she looked through the windows of the buildings. The pit in her stomach kept growing as she knew eventually she'd have to take something, and not only did she not want to wear anything, she couldn't even say they looked good. They all looked stuffy and heavy, and she was ready to just break into the castle through brute force. As she kept looking, she noticed an old woman was having a hard time lifting up some bags, and she figured it wouldn't hurt to help her out while looking around. She patted Beuce on the arm and pointed in the direction of the woman, letting him know she was going to help her out. "Excuse me miss, but do you need some help" Ignis bent down and picked up some bags, which she guessed was filled with flour or something, since it folded in as she lifted it up. "Oh, thank you very much. I haven't been able to move as well lately do to my age, so it's very appreciated." The woman thanked Ignis as she tried to pick up another bag. "Here, I can carry that as well," Ignis claimed as she lifted up the second bag, leaving the old lady's hands free from work. "I used to do a lot of heavy lifting back home, so it's fine with me." Ignis followed the lady into her house and laid down the bags where they were needed. Doing labor like this almost made her smile, thinking of years past where she would help out around the house with her sister's planting. It was always an annoyance to her, but it was enjoyable helping her out just to be with her. Though it also reminded her of the smell from the fertilizer bags, and Ignis began to wipe the memory away for now, not needing to be reminded of that part of the past. "Do you mind if I ask you question, ma'am?" She had noticed that the lady wasn't dressed up like some of the other townsfolk and found it curious. "Are you planning on going to that coronation ceremony? It seems like a bit deal around here." "Oh no dear, I'm too old for those kinds of things. What about you? I haven't seen you around here before, so I would guess you were here for the coronation?" The old lady stared at Ignis with almost a penetrating look. Ignis felt a little uncomfortable with the old lady's stare and averted here eyes. "Actually, me and some friends were just passing through. Our boat took us here, and it wasn't our intention, but since there was the ceremony and all, we figured why not go. The only problem is, I don't exactly have clothes to wear." "Well, that's no good. Wait, here for a minute, I'll be right back." The woman walked upstairs and left Ignis curious as to what she was doing.
View attachment 49132 Ignis continued to pout as Beuce made fun of her and having to wear a dress. She wanted to knock him around for making fun, and it didn't help anything with him saying he didn't like dressing up either. She had no interest in playing dress up for anything, and there was a reason that she skipped out on pretty much all the parties held back in her world; at least while she was still well known and her home wasn't a pile of rubble. "You can joke about it all you want, I don't like dresses or parties or anything fancy like that." She kicked her feet up a little as she continued to walk. "It's not like I don't like dresses because I've worn them either, I just can't stand how they look and would keep me from being ready for any fight. They're a nuisance, and anyone who spends so much time worrying about clothes like needs to get a new hobby." She continued to look around, wondering where they were going to find clothes. The few times she was forced, and by that, blackmailed, into going to parties by her father, she went in her normal everyday clothes and stayed in the corner away from everything. All people seemed to talk about were themselves and how well they were doing. And if she were to come across that Duke at the party while dressed up, she would die of embarrassment. The guy was weird enough, but it just made her think of all the weird people that try to take advantage of others for their own reasons. Just the thought of it made her face flush red. "No no no no no no! If I wear a dress and let people see me in it, it'll ruin my image!" She got up behind AJ and Beuce and gave of the scariest aura she could muster. "Realize that if we do this, you are not to speak to anyone else about it, understand!? Or you're going to suffer!"
View attachment 49120 Having Beuce tap of her shoulder, Ignis figured that was his way of saying "Time to go". This old man wasn't going to help them in any way, so it was best to just figure out a way into the castle. As they walked away, she could hear the old guy talk about using the kingdom for himself and she couldn't help her face drop down. "He does realize that we can all hear him as we walk by, right?" She continued to walk with the crowd, which was now heading into the castle. They needed to find a way into the castle, and figured they would have to sneak in. While blending into the crowd would usually work, they stuck out like a sore thumb. AJ talked about blending in as well, and also something about finding some princesses of heart. That rung a bell in Ignis's head as she remembered where she saw the names before, and make a "oh!" motion silently, realizing why the names sounded familiar before. Though that hadn't changed their situation. She began to think of ways in, but there was only one that she could think of, and she would personally rather die than do it, but they weren't left with much options. "Well, there's only one way to get in I can think of, and I really hope you guys can think of something else." She let out a giant sigh and sunk down a bit, feeling the weight of the words she was about to say. "We're gonna have to dress up and sneak into this coronation ceremony..." She jumped into Beuce's and AJ's faces with pleading eyes. "Please tell me you have a better idea! I don't want to wear a dress! I can't stand them!"
View attachment 49118 Rydia continued to stay out of the conversation with Dastgir as he got angry about her ignoring his personal tale. She didn't really care if he got upset, since she wasn't around to get all buddy-buddy with these people. In fact, she wasn't even sure why the guy started sharing that story of his in the first place. If it was because Rydia had told him about her world, that was only to clear up a misunderstanding about Seiryu, nothing more. It seemed pointless to her to learn about people's pasts, since it didn't really effect the present situation. Hey, Seiryu, get this guy to stop complaining already, I'm tired of listening to it. Rydia wasn't interested in coming out right now, so she just spoke to Seiryu in her head. Outwardly, Seiryu began to sigh as she dealt with her host's immaturity. "I don't think she'll be coming out right now. She doesn't like to deal with people in general, and keeps away, for the most part. When you started that story of yours it just made her uninterested and she didn't want to hear it is all. Like I said, you shouldn't take it personally."
View attachment 49111 While Ignis was safe on the boat, she had been knocked out still from the stress of the last few fights. It was fine with her though, since there was no way she was going to get any kind of rest at any other point. While she was unconscious her thoughts began to wander to her home and her past. The last fight struck a chord with her so much, being unable to help a friend. It was her hometown all over again, and she didn't enjoy being helpless. She had tried to get stronger to escape that memory, but it was almost as if she hadn't made any progress at all. All she dreamed of while out was the past few years and how they seemed to amount to nothing. It made her angry, but at the same time it also made her lose some hope. She had to remind herself that she might be strong enough by herself, and that was why there was a band of them. Too bad for them at this point they were all separated. Halfway through the first day of the trip Ignis began to regain consciousness and pulled herself up from the side of the boat. She was amazed that she hadn't moved at all from that position, and now her arm was completely sore from being in that position. It wasn't like there was any place to move and stretch about though, considering the size of the tiny boat. AJ offered some food to Beuce, which he didn't accept, and Ignis took the food instead. If Beuce didn't want to eat, that was his choice, but she knew better than to go without any sustenance for a time. She grabbed the fruit that AJ had and took a bite, looked out to the distance. All she could see was water, and it made her mind wander even more. Questions began to flow through her head about what to do when they were done with this journey. She still had to go back home and deal with her own issues, but this last experience made her wonder if she was ready to fight. Even with all her allies it wasn't simple to fight her enemy, and it might be better to train some more. At least now she had her body back, and it was better than that curse she had dealt with. She began to continue in her thoughts through the rest of the trip, not falling asleep at all, just thinking. She hadn't even noticed the passage of time until eventually in the distance there was land with a castle and small town. Finally they had reached their destination, and she was ready to get going to wherever. AJ got off the boat and Ignis followed suit, looking around at the hustle and bustle of the crowd. They were all working hard and chatting; apparently it was a big day for someone. From what she could overhear, it was coronation day and two people were the stars, a "Princess Anna" and "Elsa". She tried to think on why those names seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember. She passed on it, knowing that at some point she'd remember, or knowing they're luck, they'd just run into them at some point since they always seem to meet some kind of famous person in these worlds. Just as Ignis was about to walk into the crowd to learn more, a short man came up to them and requested if they knew the princesses. Ignis didn't trust the man, hearing the way he asked his question just didn't sit with her. "We personally don't know anything about them, but from the looks of it, you could probably learn something by asking the people of the town. We're just passing through." She turned around and grinned a little, wanting to mess with him a little. "Can't promise you'll get much though, seeing as how you're from a place called 'Weaselton' after all."
View attachment 49106 Continuing to shoot bullets at the statue as it became wet and frozen, some of Rydia's bullets began to shatter bits of ice. She wasn't sure if they were actually making any real damage on the statue, but the most she could do was shoot and soak it while breaking what was on it already. She probably figured if she had more experience she could shoot water with enough pressure to slice through the statue, but that wasn't something she was able to do right now. Even the host of Seiryu beforehand was barely able to do so, and he had much more time practicing with techniques. She began to hear as Dastgir talked about his home and stuff, and it began to turn into a long-winded story. About the third sentence in she stopped caring and gave control of her body over to Seiryu while she tucked her consciousness away and ignored what was going on. Hearing someone's personal history wasn't something she was interested in, and she really didn't care either. All she wanted was to finish up whatever they were doing so she could get back home and continue what she was doing. Though the thought made her wonder what she really was doing, since two nations were in a war and all she was doing was running around and keeping people out of harms way. It made her wonder when exactly she stopped caring about other people, but it didn't matter to her. All she wanted was to do her own thing. As her partner turned around and apologized, Seiryu was the one to respond instead and stopped firing. "Sorry, but Rydia took off shortly after you began your speech. She wanted me to tell you she doesn't really care about your life's story; that it's your business, not hers. Don't take it personally, she does it to everyone when personal things start to come up in conversations."
View attachment 49105 As they continued walking, Dastgir apparently wanted the final word since he seemed to read Rydia's mind and told Seiryu that she wasn't going to one-up him. Watching as he put a note down in his book, it made Rydia slightly curious as to what he was writing about. Since it wasn't her business though, she left it be. Reaching the statue, the first thing Rydia heard from Dastgir was that it was a dog. She wasn't sure why it was that big of a deal to him, but it certainly seemed to catch him off guard. Then he ended up freezing the statue, but he only managed to freeze the area around where he placed his hand. After doing so, he tried to apologize, thinking he upset Seiryu about what he had said, then began to completely freeze the statue. Pulling out her guns, she began to shoot rapid fire bullets at the statue, covering in a layer of water. "You don't have to worry about Seiryu, she doesn't get upset about much. Just prideful to a fault and always needs to have the last word." Continuing her assault, she began to think about what Dastgir said about myths and stuff and figured a clarification was in order. "Oh, and something you should know, where I come from all the spirits are born from myths of all worlds and all times. In Seiryu's case, she's born from legends about dragons, and while not all of them pertain to her, just think back to how long the thought of 'dragons' has existed and you can start to comprehend how old many of the spirits in my world are. It's annoying how she talks about being old and superior about stuff, but to an extent it is kind of warranted." Finishing her own thoughts, Seiryu decided to join in once again. "On come on, I don't brag. I simply state facts about myself. There's nothing wrong with a spirit as old as me giving out advice and correcting those who need it." Huffing a little, Rydia began to fire shots faster at the statue "Though that doesn't stop her from being irritating in the end."
View attachment 49100 Rydia was fine with leaving things as they were and heading to the statue that they had to break, but Seiryu apparently had different plans in mind. It was annoying most of the time when she had to deal with Seiryu's constant interruptions normally, but now it was like they were getting buddy-buddy, and Rydia had no interest in that. Too bad for her though, she shared her body, and it wasn't exactly an equal sharing of usage when it came to Seiryu trying to one up people. "Ah, so you're only a few centuries old, huh? You're nothing more than a newborn child in my eyes." Rydia kept walking as she tried to keep Seiryu down, to no avail. "Also, just so we're clear on the subject, depending on who my host is I can be male or female. Since I'm a spirit born of myths and legends, I change depending on whoever I inhabit. For Rydia, I'm a female, but I was a male back with my last host. So don't go putting down notes in that book of yours without getting the facts first." Rydia grumbled a little under her breath, wishing Seiryu would just be quiet. She had been told the same thing about the spirit when they first met, but to Rydia, it seemed exactly the same as day one. Hearing Seiryu try to one-up Dastgir was like listening to a petty child.
View attachment 49097 Rydia half-listened to what Datgir was saying as the trials were given to each team. Apparently they were supposed to destroy some sort of statue within the time limit. She sighed a little, not really sure if this was a good thing or not. She wasn't exactly high on the list of "top powerhouse" for anything; in fact, it was one of the reasons she decided to learn how to use her guns. As she got lost in her thoughts, she felt her partner put his hand on her head and froze it a little. She might have been shorter than him, but did he really have to treat her like a child? Apparently her personal partner didn't appreciate it, since they came out to try and put Datgir in his place. "Oh, so I'm adorable, am I? I'l have you know I happen to be much older than you for one, and the only reason you think I'm adorable is because you can't see what I really look like. Saying a dragon like myself is such a thing, how rude." She turned around and pouted a little, folding her arms. "And the name's Seiryu, not 'dragon'. At the very least know that difference." Seiryu gave back control to Rydia as she put her arms back down. She almost found it funny how Seiryu got so worked up about it, but than again, she did pride himself on his background. Personally Rydia never found her adorable, more like a pain in the neck that couldn't leave her be, but she figured it best to respond to Datgir's earlier question. "The name's Rydia. I use water as my element." She pulled out one of her guns and shot a water bullet at a nearby tree, damaging it and leaving behind traces of water as well. "If you plan on breaking the metal with cold, the most I can do is soak it for you. I don't have much in terms of sheer strength." She put her weapon back and gave a slight glare to Datgir. "By the way, I don't recommend getting on Seiryu's bad side. It's not fun for anyone around when she gets angry."
View attachment 49029 Rydia stood around as she waited for something to happen. She was already getting impatient about being away from her home, and now she had to do some kind of trial with someone else to even get out of here? This day wasn't going to be at the top of her "Favorite Days", that was for sure. When she saw the pairings for groups, she noticed that she was to be partnered with that other person who apparently had just shown up. I don't know what you're so upset about. You always want to help people out, so why not just go and talk to the boy and work together? Be quiet, no one asked you. And stop shoving your thoughts in where they don't belong. You have a bad habit of butting in when you're not needed. She was thankful that her partner hadn't just started speaking again without her permission, but having it speak inside her head wasn't exactly fun either. Walking up to the guy, she put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Then, as she tried to speak, she felt her body move on its own. "It's a pleasure to be working with you, young one. How about we test an old dragon's knowledge and take that test of wisdom? I'm sure you would like something easy, wouldn't you?" Rydia pulled her arm back quickly with a look of shock on her face. She was incredibly embarrassed about what had happened, and she didn't even have a say in what trial she wanted to do. She tried to compose herself as much as possible and cleared her throat. "Sorry about that, my partner is a little overzealous about showing off. Do you have any opinions on what you want to do? I don't care too much myself." While that wasn't entirely true, she had heard someone already talking about doing the climbing trial, and that pretty much the only one she was interested in doing.
And the fact that these worlds so far seem seamless for the most part and so giant makes finding chests all the more....I'll go with "interesting"
I know Target had a goof-up a little while back about putting a release date as November 1st, and had to change it, so a lot of people are speculating that's the release date. I'm hoping October, but that might be dreaming too much.
I found that cutscene video earlier this morning when I woke up. Too bad there's nothing about the blue haired doll that looks like it came out of Tim Burton. It's kind of terrifying
After watching the videos of the event and seeing these pictures, I think I might change up my playstyle in the KH series and use more summons, or in this case, Links, because those are beautiful. I might just spam the Little Mermaid one just to see that pretty water
View attachment 48973 Ignis continued to struggle with Aux, when Luna came and helped out. They managed to get him a fair bit away when Aux got himself up and slapped them on the back, seeming to be better. Well, she would really use the word "better", but he at least wasn't moaning about right now. They were all still running for the boats, and Ignis had to pick one as well. She picked the first boat, thinking it was better than nothing, and it also wasn't quite as crowded at the moment. For the most part everyone was getting over, with only a few stragglers left behind. Her adrenaline was starting to wear off however. She knew it wasn't going to last too long, since she was practically out before this whole mess started in the first place. She got in the boat and began to feel all of her energy leave her. Looking over at the other boats, as she began to lose herself, she gave a weak smile and thumbs up to the others, trying to message that they'd be alright and would always look out for each other. She wasn't sure if they saw or not, but she had nothing left and slumped down, hanging off the side of the boat, completely unconscious and unaware of what was going on around her. Ignis is on the boat to Arendalle
I knew about this a couple days ago, but I didn't see a specific date about it. Now people get to decide if they want to look for information on KH3 or watch Deadpool 2 instead
