#and then to cap it off with ‘i see you nimona’

[bikananjarrus]

so nimona huh

[jamiedc-they-them]

Past and present create a future (Platonic)

Requested Imagine:

"Hello!!! I was hoping if you still take Fallout requests if so, can you do a platonic child!reader with Cooper Howard/The Ghoul HeadCanons

The reader kinda reminds Cooper of his daughter, Janey but she’s ten and lived most of her life on the wasteland, and her personality is completely different, she’s cautious, blunt, and sarcastic kinda like Wednesday Adams but a bit personality mixture with Lily Iglehart & Nimona.

I just wanna see what their dynamic would be like, I’m a sucker for the found father trope."

Summary: Out in the wastelands, Cooper finds something he doesn't want to find: a reminder of what he's looking for.

AN/ This one is a bit shorter. Focused on the dynamic and more of like a scene showing that growing bond came to mind. I hope it's ok, anon! Reader is 16, as well.

You're a teen, he's seen plenty of those. Most try their luck with him, and then their lives end as teens.

You just don't even seem to clock him. Just lost in your own world.

He sees you walk into a shop, and walk out with a small pocket knife.

He follows you, and sees you sit on some stairs, using it to try open a can. It's not going well.

"You're using the wrong part of it," he says before he can stop himself.

You pause, looking up to him. Your eyes don't do the usual widening at both who and what he is. You just wait for him to explain further.

"You're killing the blade fast doin' that," he says.

You look at the can. He goes to offer some advice, when you fix it on your own.

You give him a thumbs up. For a moment, he flashes back to doing that stupid pose, and how his daughter did it too.

"You lost, mister?" you ask, dragging him back to the present.

"What?" he asks, gruff nature kickinvg back into gear.

You hold his gaze, looking unimpressed by his attempt at striking fear into you, "you look at me how other people do. Like I'm someone they know."

"How'd you figure that?"

"The grief in the eyes."

It's blunt, but he actually feels the hit of the words.

“Don't know what you're talking about,” he says as a warning.

“Comment like that says otherwise,” there's a teasing, but softer edge to your town. He tells himself its why he doesn't draw his weapon and threaten you.

“What’s your name?”

“Y/N. But, rarely have I been lately with people remembering me as someone they actually know.”

He nods. A moment goes by as you finally have the can open, taking out what looks to be a kind of bean.

“You been alone for a while?”

You shake your head, “parents died a small time back. Tried to put up a bounty but had no caps.”

“Who killed them?”

You shrug, “some raiders. Let me keep my notebook.”

“Your notebook?”

You nod, putting the knife down and taking out your notebook. You open it, showing him its content.

Its art. Drawings of people and places. He thinks back to his daughter. In his heart, she is alive. Somewhere, somehow. Maybe she turned out like you. A creative person figuring themselves out, but a survivor.

“There that look again,” you say, “I'm sorry if this set something off.”

“No,” he says, “nah, you didn't, kid.”

“Well, well,” some cunt from behind says. You lean to the side, getting a better look at them, before rolling your eyes and continuing on with your beans, “seems the old Ghoul found a heart, boys.”

He doesn't have to turn around, as one of the aforementioned cunts walks into his line of vision, leaning on the stairs near you.

“Bradly,” you greet.

“Shitsquek,” Brad says back, “you know the drill.”

“What makes you think the caps, yet alone give them to you?”

He leans close, “you know what will happen.”

“You said that the past five times,” you point out, voice and face neutral, “sometimes I feel you just things like that make up for your lack of actual personality.”

“Your last name wouldn't happen to be ‘Jenkins’ would it?”

He swears he can feel the town shift then and there.

Brad backs off from you, looking at him, “n-no,” he says.

“Stutter says otherwise,” you point out.

“Can it!”

“I can't put the lid back on.”

Brad goes to say something, but the Ghoul whistles.

“Now, even before my little friend there made oh so clear the bullshit of your life; I have a feeling you might just be the Brad I'm looking for, as you look a hell of a lot like him,” he says, holding up a poster.

“You draw this?” Brad asks.

You nod, “told you said I needed inspiration.”

“You said you'd give it to Tiffany!”

“I did,” you shrug, “she said it would fetch a high enough price.”

Brad tries to go for your knife. His hand is gone the next moment. You grab your knife, driving it into him.

The Ghoul. spins around, on instinct blowing another friend away.

He hears a gun be cocked, then a choking sound. Another has your knife in his neck.

Then, silence.

The Ghoul takes his shot from his inhaler, before looking over the rest of the townsfolk.

“Anyone else?” he asks.

Everyone either continues what they're doing or shuts themselves inside. He chuckles.

He turns back to you. You retrieve your knife, then sit back on those stairs, eating your beans.

“You good?” he asks.

You nod, “thank you,” you say.

He nods, “where will you go now?”

You shrug, “just keep moving. Maybe Tiffany can give me some caps as thanks.”

He shuts his eyes. He sees his daughter. He has a full chat with her ghost, the image of the innocent girl he protected, and looks back to you once he opens his eyes again.

She said one thing to him:

“Look after them.”

“Well,” he says after a sigh, “why don't we split the caps, and you come with me?”

You pause your beans, looking to him, “why would you do that?” you ask.

“Because,” he says, “you're someone who deserves to see more of whats left of this shithole of the world and draw it in peace.”

You tilt your head, considering it, “who do I remind you of?”

He steels himself, then tells you:

“My daughter.”

That's all you need. You stand up, putting your notepad away, and walking to him.

“Then let's go get the caps and find her.”

“Thats it? That's all it took?”

“You're honest. People rarely in this world are anymore.”

He watches you walk off, still eating beans, to find Tiffany, and he looks down to his left. Janey beams up at him, proud.

He shakes his head, before following after you.

For once, something in his heart that he once thought lost:

Hope.

[powerfulblob]

Nimona Trans Happy dances !!

aaaaaah so excited about this

BREAKING NEWS

ND Stevenson just posted this on his Substack : I’m putting it here so there’s an image-described version of it somewhere on the web.

[NOTE: ALL ART BELONGS TO ND STEVENSON, @gingerhaze! I’M JUST REPOSTING HERE SO I CAN INCLUDE AN IMAGE DESCRIPTION]

[ID: Text in dark red handwriting that reads “I’ve been getting to talk about Nimona a lot lately! Which is great because it’s one of my favorite things to talk about!” All text in the comic will be in the same dark red handwriting. end image description]

[ID:

Part 1: Text reads “Nimona is a webcomic-turned-graphic-novel I made ten years ago.” An arrow connects the text and points to a cartoon of ND Stevenson: He holds a picture of a shark with arms, legs, and boobs running to the left. He has short red hair, wears a striped shirt, jean shorts, striped pants, and boots. He wears an earring in his right ear: The other ear is hidden because of the angle. Small lines float from his head in a circular pattern.

Part 2: Text reads “there’s a shark with boobs in it and they gave me a medal for it.” An arrow connects the text and points to a cartoon of Nate: This time, he wears a suit, and wears a medal. He wears an earring in his left ear: The other ear is hidden because of the angle. Small lines float from his head in a circular pattern.

Part 3: Text reads “it’s about to be an animated movie” 

Part 4: Text reads “the movie is really good” 

Part 5: Text reads “most of you are probably aware of all this but idk I don’t know your life.” Below is a cartoon of Nate in a T-shirt: He has an ear piercing and a slight stubble.

end image description]

[Image description:

Text reads “anyway there’s one question I‘ve been getting a lot:” 

Below, ND Stevenson has a conversation with an unseen person.

Unseen Person: So... The main character is a shapeshifter. Unseen Person: Is this a metaphor for transness? ND Stevenson: haha, looking back that seems obvious! but at the time I had no idea! ND shrugs, smiling slightly. He wears a sweater.

end image description]

[ID: Text reads “and so”  “caught up in the glow of hype and nostalgia” Below the text, Nate goes onto a computer propped on a stack of books. He smiles, and a few lines float off his head.

He says “hey!” “let’s head back to Tumblr and see what I was posting about Nimona back in the day!” 

Below that, there is a cartoon of a search bar, cursor, a few lines, and sound effects that read “tik tik tik.” The URL reads “gingerhaze.tumblr.com.” 

end image description]

[ID: A screenshot of a post on Nate’s Tumblr. It is an illustration of Nimona and Ballister. Ballister has grey armour, iron prosthetic hand, black hair and a mustache and beard, as well as a red cape. Nimona has several piercings, a chainmail top, dark grey dress, and short red hair with an undercut. The two seem to be in thought, with Ballsiter frowning, hands on hips, while Nimona puts a finger to chin, as if in thought. The author’s text reads “I just kind of really like drawing both of these dudes.” The tag reads “Nimona” in all caps. It was posted 11 years ago.

end image description]

[ID: Screenshot of a post on Nate’s tumblr. A user caled fylum-gordata replied to the photo, saying “Nimona’s a dude. MIND BLOWN.” 

Nate replied with: “Haha, "dudes" = "people in general" in my vocabulary. Nimona's a girl, but she can certainly be whatever gender and sex she wants, depending on her mood. Since she's a shapeshifter and all. Y'know.” The post is tagged with “Nimona” and was also posted 11 years ago.

End image description]

[ID:

Part 1: A cartoon of Nate’s face. It has a blank expression with his mouth closed but stretched out. Part 2: Nate says “oh” “buddy”

end image description]

[ID:

Illusration. Nimona, with a grin, says “I’m your new SIDEKICK” while Ballister, with a blank but angry expression, says “No.” 

Nimona, this time has more developed muscles, the same costume, arm and leg hair, a beard, and chest hair text underneath reads “I had so much fun drawing Beefy Dude Nimona on today’s page that I started wondering what it would be like if she’d been a beefy dude from the start.

The post is tagged Nimona. End image description]

[ID: A cartoon of Nate. He seems a bit angry or frustrated, almost, and says “BUDDY” presumably for not seeing this in hindsight earlier.  

end image description]

[ID:

A user called strix-alba asked “Hi! I have a Nimona question. When she’s being a beefy dude, for example, or something without a clear gender, does she switch pronouns? Does she generally stick with female ones? Or does Nimona not really care because she’s a shapeshifter and there are waaaaay too many other things to focus on?” 

Nate replied: “She’s been an octopus, a cat, and a giant flaming monster. I don’t really think it mkaes a whole lot of difference to her what the sex of whatever body she’s in at the moment is. All her bodies are different sizes and have different parts. She adapts to each one to use it in the best possible way, but it doesn’t change HER. I can’t say for certain if she’s ALWAYS identified as female, but during the timeframe of the comic she does.” 

The post is tagged with “Nimona” and was posted 8 years ago.

end image description]

[ID: A cartoon of Nate looking shocked, eyes wide, mouth open, saying “BUD” with the U and the D getting bigger and bolder.

end image description.]

[xandriagreat]

Ballister | Chapter 1

Prologue | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

Notice/warnings: screaming/yelling, fear, CAPS, death, burning/burns

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Everyone in the kingdom was watching the students of the Institute doing their outside test training.

The test was to see how well the students could attack their monster dummies.

At one point during the test, a 10 year old redhead commoner girl, who was being chased after by some knights, jumped over the fence and into the testing area. 

Everyone, including the students, stared at her as she picked up a training wooden sword and then started to attack a training monster dummy, knocking it down and ‘killing’ within seconds. 

She was wild but yet showed skill and passion.

After ‘killing’ the monster, the redhead girl looks at everyone for a moment as she stands up tall with pride and purpose. Then she raised the wooden sword to the sky and shouted, “I’m here to slay monsters and protect our kingdom!”

The next thing everyone knew was that the redhead commoner girl was tackled by the Institute guards, pinning her to the ground.

The redhead girl screamed loudly while being pinned down.

“STOP!” a loud voice shouted from the royal box.

Everything stopped as everyone looked at the person who shouted.

It was Queen Valerin.

Everyone continued to look at the queen while Queen Valerin looked at the redhead commoner as she asked someone to get her something. 

Then the queen was handed a microphone. “Bring her to my office.” Queen Valerin said into the microphone, pointing at her.

The guards were confused but still did what they were told and took the redhead commoner to her office.

◇

The redhead commoner was taken to the queen’s office. A guard watched her, to make sure she didn’t run off or take anything while the other guards left.

The redhead commoner looked around the queen’s office as she waited. 

The queen’s desk had a holographic computer, a cup of pens, some paper, and a photo of a 9 year old boy of Prince Stevenson, the queen’s son. 

The office windows led to a balcony and looked over the kingdom.

The redhead commoner hummed softly. 

Then the redhead commoner looked at Queen Valerin when the queen came into the office. 

“So… you wanted to see me?” the girl asked a bit nervously and confused. 

The queen nodded and said, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Ok, what do you want to talk to me about?”

“I noticed when you jumped the fence and attacked the dummy monster. You have a different way than everyone else.” the queen said, smiling softly. “You have a different type of bravery.”

The redhead commoner was still confused. “Is that good or bad? And why is it different?”

“It's good.” Queen Valerin reassured. "Well, most bravery have strength from their family and ancestors, but with you, I see you have the heart of a hero. I want to ask you. Would you like to be a knight?"

The commoner’s eyes widened as she asked excitedly, “Wait- Really?!”

The queen nodded with a smile. “I’ve had the thought of what if a commoner could be a knight for a while. I wanted to see if you want to be a knight to help change.”

“Yes!” the redhead commoner exclaimed.

Queen Valerin chuckled softly with a smile. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

The redhead commoner took a breath to be calm. “Nimona. My name is Nimona.” she said, smiling big. 

Queen Valerin hummed and nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Nimona. Do you have a last name?”

Nimona got quiet for a moment before saying, “It’s Crimsonthorn. Since I am from the crime family Crimsonthorn… But I’m willing to change it so that people can see me as good. Like Rosas, Loveheart, or something.”

The queen chuckled softly again, “We’ll talk about that later.”

Nimona smiled again and couldn’t help but hug Queen Valerin, making the queen laugh softly.

◇12 years later◇

Today was an exciting day for the kingdom.

For tonight was the knighting ceremony.

But this knighting ceremony was different. Because this knighting ceremony has a test before the ceremony and there’s only one cadet, who was a commoner of a crime family. This commoner worked so hard to climb her way up to be a knight.

◇

Nimona Roselove was in the rafters of Rosedome, watching the news that was on the jumbotron.

Her red hair was cut short but it was still long enough to put it in a small ponytail while the back of her head was shaved. She had dyed pink side bangs that perfectly frame her face. She was wearing black pants and a dark pink tank top. She also was wearing a black jacket over her, having the hood over her head as if to hide.

Nimona smiled softly when the news showed the clips of her progress of becoming a knight. But then her smile faded when the news reporter asked some people about her becoming a knight. The responses were negative about a commoner becoming a knight, mostly saying they don’t feel safe about this.

The screen of the jumbotron showed a photo of Nimona in her rose gold armor as the news reporter asked, “So tonight, only one question remains. Will the Kingdom accept this knight who might not be right?”

Nimona looked at the crowd as some people in the crowd shouted, “NO!”

Nimona sighed, hugging herself as she sat down on the metal floor.

Then she heard someone climbing up the ladder. She looked over to see Gloreth Goldenloin, the descendant of Ambrosius, entering the rafters.

Gloreth has long flowing blonde hair that reaches to the middle of her back. She wears yellow pants and a white tank top with a teal light jacket.

“There you are.” Gloreth said, smiling at Nimona as she walked over to her. “I figured that you would be somewhere that was dark.”

Nimona gave a weak smile at her. “Hey, Gloria…” she said as her smile faded to a frown.

Gloreth sat down next to her and looked at her. “Are you excited about this? Or are you just going to be pretending to be a broody 'shadow' on the biggest day of your life?” Gloreth asked, pulling the hood off of Nimona’s head.

“I'm not pretending to be a broody 'shadow'. I'm just… thinking.” Nimona explained, looking at Gloreth for a moment before looking down. “I’m thinking… This is my thinking face.”

Gloreth hummed and nodded. “Hey, Thinky-face. Look at me.” she said softly. 

Nimona looked at Gloreth, who was still smiling softly at her. “You worked harder than all of us.” the blonde woman said. Then Gloreth gently grabbed Nimona’s shoulders and playfully shook her as she chuckled, “You’re going to do great at this test and you’re gonna be a knight, Nim!”

“Alright. Alright.” Nimona laughed softly with a smile, shaking the hands off her shoulders.

Both women look down at the crowd, smiling softly.

Then a thought hit Nimona, making her frown again. “But… what if they still hate me?” Nimona asked, concerned and worried.

Gloreth looked at Nimona again, noticing her concern and fear. “No one hates a hero of the realm.” Gloreth reassured still smiling softly. “They're gonna love you.” 

Then Gloreth placed a hand on Nimona’s as she added, “Like I do.”

Nimona looked at Gloreth and smiled at her as she gently squeezed her hand.

“So, they are going to want to date me?” Nimona asked jokingly.

“Well not exactly like I do- you know what I mean!” Gloreth said with sass.

Nimona laughed softly and leaned her head on Gloreth’s shoulder, smiling.

◇

The knights were getting ready in the locker room. Most were finishing getting their armor on and some were talking with each other while waiting to each get their swords by the squire.

Normally the knights’ armor was white and gray but Nimona and Gloreth’s armor were different. Gloreth’s armor was a golden color while Nimona’s armor was a rose gold.

Nimona was able to get her rose gold armor on but was struggling with her left armor shoulder pad that connected to her armor sleeve. “Oh come on!” she growled at it. 

Gloreth noticed after getting her golden armor on. She walked over to help. “Need help?” Gloreth asked, walking over to her.

Nimona nodded. “Please…”

Gloreth helped Nimona get the armor shoulder pad on, along with the armor sleeve.

“Thanks.” Nimona said, smiling at her as she moved her arm. “Hopefully this doesn't fall off. And if it does, who cares.”

Gloreth nodded.

Nimona got her gloves on as she waited to be handed her sword. As she got her gloves on, Todd Sureblade walked over to her. 

“Hey, Nimona.” Todd called out to her.

Nimona looked at him and then turned around. “Nope!” she said loudly, starting to walk away to get out of the locker rooms.

“Whoa, no!” Todd said, grabbing her wrist to stop her.

Nimona stopped to turn around and glared at him. “What do you want?” she asked with a growl.

“I just want to talk to you.” Todd said, smiling a prize smile.

Nimona sighs as she looks down before looking at him again and says with a warning, “It's either something nice or don’t say it.”

“Listen,” Todd started, sounding sincere “I just wanted to say, I know I've always been tough on you and I never thought you belonged here.” 

Nimona looked at him like he was going to say more. “And?”

Todd looked at her confused. “And what?” he asked, tilting his head to the side for a moment.

“Is there more?” Nimona asked with warning.

Todd looked at her as he tried to hold in a laugh like she said a joke. “Oh, did you think I was gonna keep going? Or like...did you think I was going to apologize for how I treated you?” Todd laughed loudly. “That’s hilarious! You’re so stupid. I love it. It’s so funny.”

Before he walked away from her, he punched her left shoulder pad (the one piece of armor that she struggled to put on), leaving a dent and feeling a bit loose.

Nimona growled at him as Todd called out to everyone, “Hey everybody! Nimona thought I was going to apologize for treating her like the trash that she is!”

Some of the knights start to laugh.

Nimona glared at him as Todd got some high fives from the other knight. She took a breath to calm down to keep her temper in control.

The squire went to Nimona with her sword. “Your sword.” the squire said, handing the sword to her.

“Thank you, Diego.” Nimona said to the squire as she got her sword, nodding to the squire with a soft smile.

Her sword was interesting. Her sword blade was red with a dark pink glow, the hilt was black, and at the tip of the handle of the hilt there was a red gem.

She put her sword away in her scabbard and attached the scabbard to her belt as the squire pushed the cart out of the locker room when done handing out swords.

Then The Director entered the locker room. “Knights and cadet!” the Director called out to everyone.

Nimona and the Knights quickly line up and stand at attention as the Director walks in.

The Director was a tall and thin blonde-haired woman with pale skin, a long neck. She wears a long silver dress. Her blonde hair is in a tight bun and wears a net overtop her head with a translucent veil around her neck. She carries a staff which holds a white gem at the top.

She looked at the knights and smiled at them. 

“Everyone, this day is an important day. This day will change history.” The Director said, walking down the line. “Reminder. There's no greater calling than protecting this Kingdom from evil. Never let your guard down. Never weaken. And always have the will of Ambrosius with you.”

“Yes, Director!” everyone in line said together.

The Director smiled at them and nodded to the knights to excuse them to go into their seats in the stadium.

“Thank you, Director.” each of the knights said as they left the locker room to get to the knight’s seats that’s near the royal box.

Gloreth gently gave Nimona a reassuring hand squeeze before leaving with the other knights.

Nimona smiled at her before talking in a breath to be calm and looked at the Director expecting a big speech from her.

“Nimona,” the Director started, smiling softly at her, “after today, the kingdom will see you for who you really are.” 

Nimona nodded to her and said, “Thank you, Director.”

The Director walked out of the locker room to go to the royal box as Nimona went to the gates that lead to the field.

◇

Nimona took in a breath as she waited for the gate to open to the field. She looks through the bars to see what’s going on.

The stadium was completely filled with all classes, the high and low classes. The only seats that weren’t filled yet were the knights' seats and the royal box.

Nimona was excited but also nervous as she looked around more.

At the other end of the field was another gate. On the other side is a robot ‘monster’ that Nimona has to defeat.

The ‘monster’ was made by the science department. It was a safer option for everyone in the kingdom and there would be no monster attack.

“Everyone, the knights!” the announcer over the P.A. said with excitement as the knight went to their station seats that’s near the royal box.

The crowd roars with cheers when seeing Gloreth, who waved to the crowd before going to her seat.

“My Lords and Ladies, Her Majesty, The Queen!” the announcer over the P.A. said still with excitement as Queen Valerin entered the royal box with her son and The Director.

The crowd cheers and applause to the queen.

Nimona took in a breath, getting herself ready mentally.

“Alright everyone! The moment we’ve all been waiting for! After this test, will this be a knighting ceremony or just an experience that just failed. Now let’s see if this commoner ‘knight’ is a worthy knight!” the announcer over the P.A. said as both the gates to the field opened.

Nimona walked out to the field as some people in the crowd cheered while some people jeered.

When Nimona got to the center of the field, she looked at  the other gate as it opened and out came the ‘monster’.

The robot monster was a dragon with tentacles on its back. There was a red light on the chest, representing the heart and life source.

Nimona inhaled and then exhaled as she grabbed the hilt of her sword, ready to fight. 

“Here we go.” she whispered to herself with a smirk, pulling out her sword and charged at it.

The robot monster roars at her and charges at her, starting to attack her with the tentacles.

Nimona starts to slice some of the tentacles as she gets closer to the ‘heart’.

But before Nimona got close enough to the ‘heart’, the robot monster slapped her away with it’s tail. The slap almost sent her flying across the field, which made everyone in the crowd gasp.

Nimona tumbled across the dirt of the field, losing her left armor shoulder pad, her armor sleeve, gloves, and sword in the process.

When the commoner knight slid to a stop, she noticed that her sword was only a few feet away from her. Nimona growled as she looked at the monster, feeling her face turning red. 

The robot monster roared at her and Nimona screamed at it in response.

Then Nimona got up and ran to the monster again, picking up her sword in the process.

The robot monster charges at her again, attacking her with the remaining tentacles.

Nimona slices the tentacles more violently this time, getting more closer to the ‘heart’.

Memories flashed before her eyes as she attacked and sliced. Memories of her training, her purpose, and what she’s fighting for.

The next moment that Nimona knew was that she got close to the ‘heart’ and stabbed it with her sword.

Nimona panted as she watched the red light fade to black. 

Nimona pulled her sword out and took a few steps back. Then she raised and pointed her sword at the 'monster' as the robot monster fell to the ground.

“She did it!” the announcer over the P.A. exclaimed excitedly. "She's a worthy knight!"

Nimons heard some cheers from half of the crowd while the other half was in shock, which made her smile.

◇

As Nimona went back to the locker room, there was a loud roar that could have been heard from everywhere.

It sounded it was from beyond the wall.

Then The Director’s voice was heard over the speakers, saying, “Don’t worry everyone. The guards and knights at the wall will take care of that monster.” 

Then the sound of one of the cannons goes off and there was silence from beyond the wall.

Nimona could smile a bit.

But then her smile faded as she thought about the roar.‘The monster sounded like it was calling out to something.’ she thought as she got to the locker room.

She normally kept her thoughts to herself, since most of her thoughts noticed that things are odd or different.

It's lonely but it's alright.

◇

Nimona was in the locker room, washing up and freshening herself up after her battle while the field got cleaned up and got the stage ready for the ceremony.

She couldn’t believe it. She’s going to be a knight!

Nimona was able to get her armor back on by herself. The only things that were missing were her left armor shoulder pad and armor sleeve, because both of the armor parts were flattened during the battle.

Nimona didn’t mind it.

She looked up when she heard footsteps walking over to her.

It was Gloreth. 

“Gloria, hey.” Nimona said, smiling at her.

“Nim! You did a great job!” Gloreth exclaimed excitedly, running over to her and hugging her.

Nimona laughed as she hugged back. She laughed more as Gloreth kissed her cheek a few times.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on stage?” Nimona asked, looking at Gloreth after they finished hugging.

“Yeah but I wanted to see you one more time before you are knighted!” Gloreth said, smiling softly. “Also, I wanted to see if you were alright.”

Nimona couldn’t help but chuckle and nodded. “I’m ok.” she reassured her, gently rubbing her hands with hers.

Gloreth hummed softly, nodding a bit.

Nimona smiled back softly. “Hey, mind helping me put my cape on?” she asked as she let go of her hands to grab a red cape from her locker.

“I thought you hated the cape.” Gloreth said, tilting her head to the side a bit.

“Yeah… but I want to look my best.” Nimona said with a chuckle.

Gloreth nodded and helped Nimona get the cape on.

“There we go.” Gloreth said, wiping out the wrinkles out of the cape after putting it on Nimona. 

“Thank you.”

Nimona was smiling and humming a happy tune as she was going to get her sword from her locker.

Gloreth noticed the humming. “What’s going on?” the blonde woman asked. “You normally hum a tune when you’re excited.”

“I’m just excited about being knighted,” Nimona started, then she mumbled under her breath, “and the surprise for the queen.”

Gloreth heard the mumble and gasped excitedly, “Oh! What is it?!”

Gloreth looked in the locker to see if the surprise was there.

“It’s not in the locker!" Nimona laughed, blocking Gloreth from going into her locker. "I’m not going to tell you yet! You’re going to have to wait!”

"Aw, come on!"

Then both women stopped messing around when they heard footsteps walking over.

It was The Director.

The Director was confused to see Gloreth there but was calm. “Gloreth, you need to get on the stage on the field. The stage is ready.” Director said, walking over to the two. “I’ll be out soon after.”

Gloreth nodded. “Got it.”

Gloreth smiled at Nimona before leaving the locker room.

When Gloreth was left, Nimona looked at The Director, who smiled softly at her.

“Did you bring the surprise?” The Director asked softly.

Nimona nodded. “Yes. It’s with my friends, Ocean Sealine and Meredith Blitzmeyer.”

“Good.” The Director hummed, nodding softly. “The surprise will be on stage after the knighting.”

Nimona smiled and nodded in understanding.

The Director left the locker room as Nimona got her belt with her scabbard on before she picked up her sword.

Nimona put the sword away in the scabbard before she went to gates that lead to the field again.

◇

Nimona looks through the bars to see what’s going on as she waits for the gates to open again.

The stage was set for the ceremony and there were a few people on the stage. The people on stage were Gloreth, The Director, and Queen Valerin.

Queen Valerin was center stage while Gloreth was on her right and The Director was on her left.

Nimona could hear chatter in the crowd then the crowd went quiet as the announcer over the P.A. said, “Alright everyone! It is time to Knight the Knight!”

The gate opened and Nimona walked out to the field as the lights went out except for the spotlights on the stage.

‘Here we go.’ the commoner knight thought as she ascended up the stairs to the stage.

Nimona felt that she was floating as she got on stage, facing the queen.

“I’ve been looking forward to this moment.” Queen Valerin said to Nimona, smiling softly to her as she stepped forward to her.

Nimona smiled back and nodded. “Thank you, your Majesty.” she said humbling as she knelt down, ready to be knighted.

Queen Valerin looked at Nimona, still smiling softly at her, before looking at the crowd.

“My people. Starting today, any of you should be able to hold the sword. If you want it. If you earn it.” Queen Valerin said loud and clear to the audience and to the live broadcast. 

Some of the people in the crowd started to talk among themselves for a few moments before going quiet again.

“I’ve watched this young woman earn it many times over. Like you all have seen today.” Queen Valerin continued, pointing her hand at the commoner knight.

Nimona was excited but nervous. She worked so hard and persevered against all odds to get here, proving that she wasn’t like her family.

“Your sword.” Queen Valerin said, smiling softly at her.

Nimona pulls her sword from its scabbard and hands it to the queen hilt-first.

Queen Valerin held the sword by the hilt in a strong grip.

“I hereby pronounce you, Lady Nimona Roselove, Hero of the Realm.” Queen Valerin declared, knighting Nimona with the sword.

Nimona was truly touched. 

She looked up and smiled at the queen.

Then her smile faded as she glanced at the crowd of the Rosedome. 

Everyone in the crowd was quiet.

Nimona let her head hang down, feeling that she didn’t prove herself.

But then a couple people start to applaud. Then a few more start to applaud. Then finally the whole crowd in Rosedome joins in.

Nimona lifts her head and looks at the crowd.

“YES!!! ROSELOVE!!!” Gloreth exclaimed happily loudly, clapping.

The crowd’s applause turned into a deafening roar.

Nimona smiled as she started to cry softly, overwhelmed with happiness now that she was now accepted.

Nimona looked at Queen Valerin, who was smiling at her.

“Congratulations, Lady Roselove. Let a new era of heroes begin with you.” Queen Valerin said, handing the sword back to Nimona.

Nimona smiled and nodded as she took her sword back. She put it back in its scabbard as she stood up.

She couldn’t control herself and hug Queen Valerin, which made the queen chuckle and hug her back.

When they were done hugging, the crowd quieted down as a square table with a medium size colorful gift box on top was put on the center stage.

“What’s this?” Queen Valerin asked when she turned around and saw the gift box.

“It’s a gift for you, your Majesty. It’s from Nimona.” The Director said, smiling softly.

The queen looked at Nimona and chuckled softly as she walked to the table. 

Queen Valerin tried to pick up the gift when she got to the table. But she couldn’t. “Oh! It’s heavy” she said out loud as she went around the table.

‘Heavy?’ Nimona thought confused. ‘It’s not supposed to be heavy.’

Nimona heard a voice inside her just shouting at her, ‘Something is wrong! You need to stop this!’

As the queen was starting to open the gift, Nimona started to run to stop her from opening.

��WAIT-!” Nimona started to shout with left arm reaching out to stop.

But it was too late. 

The gift was opened and a fire explosion went off, sending everyone on stage almost flying back.

Nimona landed hard at the near edge of the stage.

A high pitch ringing rang in her ears.

She slowly sat up in shock to see the fire burning the stage, shock and angry faces looking at her.

Before Nimona got up, Gloreth pointed her sword at Nimona as if to say ‘stay down’.

Nimona and Gloreth lock eyes with each other in shock and horror.

As the shock settled, Nimona felt a painful fire burning pain on her left arm traveling up to her neck.

Nimona screamed loudly in pain.

Knights start to run onto the field to get Nimona.

But then one of the jumbotron screens fell off from the jumbotrons.

Gloreth jumped out of the way before it crashed onto the stage.

The jumbotron screen crashed onto the stage, making a crater.

Nimona’s spot on the stage caves in, because of the crater, causing Nimona to tumble down it, ripping the cape, and putting out the fire on her arm. The ringing stopped and Nimona’s hearing went back to normal as she got onto her knees, panted heavily. 

She looks up to see Gloreth and knights looking down at her.

“Arrest her! She killed the Queen!” a knight shouted.

‘The queen is dead?’ Nimona thought worriedly.

Nimona’s heart beat fast as she forced herself to get up and went down a sewer tunnel, disappearing into the shadows.

◇4 months later◇

A 15 year-old British-Pakistani boy was in an alleyway. 

The teen had a scar over his right eye and his right arm was a black robotic prosthetic. He had long black hair that went to his shoulders and two different color streaks in his hair, a light blue and dark indigo. He wore a black pants, a dark indigo sash around his waist, a light blue shirt and a blue jacket with both right sleeves removed. He also carries a black satchel.

The teen boy was in front of a framed poster that had knights and the word ‘kingdom’.

The teen got a spray paint can out of satchel and started to spray paint, crossing out ‘kingdom’ and then writing ‘kingdumb’.

This made the teen chuckle with a smile. Then he looked at a nearby news report on the holographic newsstand as the news reporters appeared on the screens giving warning to anyone who would listen.

“Nimona Crimsonthorn, the Queen Killer, is still out there.” a news reporter said with a warning. “Everyone is scared.”

The teen walks through the crowd to get over to the holographic newsstand, interested. 

As he walked over, he bumped into someone from the passing people. 

“Freak!” the person said to him.

The teen looked at the person and hissed at them, scaring the person away. Then he continued to walk the holographic newsstand.

The teen stood in front of the holographic newsstand, looking at the screens as the news reporter continued, “Not since Ambrosius’ monster has anything been so hated.” 

“From interviews from the other knights earlier, say, quote: “She never should have been a knight to begin with.” and “Because she wasn’t one of us, and she hated us for it.” end quote.” another news reporter said.

“Nimona Crimsonthorn no ordinary commoner! She’s vile and has no place in this kingdom!” the first reporter said with warning. “She’s a murderer! A monster!”

The teen looked at the wanted posters of Nimona as he got his headphones on. “She’s perfect.” he said to himself, smiling a devilish grin.

[mischiefxmuses]

*UPDATING THIS TO ADD THE STARTER CALL*

So I will be starting off the event on hiatus but then around a lot more. Below are all muses for plotting etc... I will do a starter call nearer the time but if you want to do any big plots etc... just like this and I'll hop into DMs. All plots will depend on the roll. For starters I will likely be dropping most threads pre-event except for very plot heavy threads but I'll try to wrap them up prior (may not happen because I am on hiatus) but we will see. Please specify which muse and who for otherwise I probably won't do them. I don't have the brain capacity to decide muses. xD Will cap at 3 starter requests per mun (not including plotted threads) and each muse at 4 starters. Please spread the love among my muses.

Went in willingly:

Henry Creel, Billy Loomis, Charlie Weasley, Iorveth, Hera, Kirby, Loki, Peter Hale, Yennefer of Vengerberg, Lyanna Stark, Nimona

Dragged in:

Angel, Charles Xavier, Cleo Mckinnon, Cordelia Goode, Dream, Fleur Delacour Weasley, Galadriel, Harwin, Hunter, Jorah, Rabastan Lestrange, Satine Kryze, Silco, Sion Val Palpatine, Tenel Ka Djo, Percival De Rolo

Starter Call

Henry Creel (1/4)

Doom - Monster: Living corn attempting to eat characters. It is still the size of regular corn.

Billy Loomis (0/4)

Plotted:

Stu - Characters are greeted by two beings the size of children but with pumpkins for heads arrive with a cart, gesturing for characters to get in.

Tara - Monster: Ghosts

Jill - Monster: Murderous clown

Charlie Weasley (3/4)

Fred - Characters encounter a pit trap, so obvious they almost want to explore

Lou - Characters reach a dead end, full of pollen spores, which when inhaled make characters feel drunk for the next hour.

Hagrid - Characters encounter a pit trap, so obvious they almost want to explore

Iorveth (0/4)

Hera (0/4)

Plotted:

Avarr - Monster: Giant spiders

Ahsoka - This portion of the maze is full of people except their faces are blank, no eyes, nose or mouth. It feels like they’re staring at you anyway, slowly walking toward you wherever you go.

Kirby (0/4)

Plotted:

Stu - Monster: Skeletons

Tara - Monster: Living corn attempting to eat characters. It is still the size of regular corn.

Loki (1/4)

Zoya - Characters reach a dead end, full of pollen spores, which when inhaled make characters feel drunk for the next hour.

Peter Hale (0/4)

Plotted:

Beverly - Monster: A swarm of bats

Allison - Monster - Minotaur

Yennefer of Vengerberg (1/4)

Dru - Monster: Masked murderer wearing the Ghostface mask

Lyanna Stark (1/4)

Sansa - Monster: Werewolf

Nimona (2/4)

Laudna - Monster: Stormtroopers

Faye - The area is just absolutely full of croaking frogs. They aren’t dangerous but they are loud and difficult to step around.

Angel (0/4)

Plotted 1. Buffy - Characters reach a dead end, full of pollen spores, which when inhaled make characters feel drunk for the next hour.

Charles Xavier (1/4)

Steve - Monster: Stormtroopers

Plotted:

Jean - Monster: Ghosts

Cleo Mckinnon (1/4)

Fliss - Characters reach a dead end, full of pollen spores, which when inhaled make characters feel drunk for the next hour.

Cordelia Goode (1/4)

Addison - Characters enter the area to be met with high speed winds, strong enough to push people around

Dream (0/4)

Plotted:

Elijah - Characters walk into this portion of the maze to immediately be caught in a giant spider web, trapping them.

Fleur Delacour Weasley (0/4)

Plotted:

Roxy - Monster: Dementors

Galadriel (1/4)

fiona - Characters are greeted by a giant rushing stream going all the way across the maze that they must cross in order to keep moving.

Harwin (1/4)

James - Characters find this section of the maze to be extremely cold, with frost hanging from all of the corn stalks and the icey ground beneath their feet making the terrain difficult to traverse.

Plotted:

Baela - Monster: Stormtroopers

Hunter (0/4)

Plotted:

Feyre - Monster: Living scarecrow

Rowena - Monster: A swarm of bats

Jorah (0/4)

Plotted

Daenerys - Monster: Gritty

Rabastan Lestrange (1/4)

Xeno - Monster: Gelatinous cube

Satine Kryze (1/4)

Dinah - Monster: Murderous clown

Silco (0/4)

Plotted:

Avarr - Characters enter a portion of the maze to find it completely dark.

Sion Val Palpatine (1/4)

Sabina - Monster: Vampire

Plotted:

Samara - Characters enter a portion of the maze to find it completely dark.

Soren - Characters are greeted by a giant rushing stream going all the way across the maze that they must cross in order to keep moving.

Sheev - Characters enter a mud filled portion of the maze, where their footsteps feel heavy, and every push further seems to sink them farther and farther into the mud.

Ashley - Monster: A hoard of geese

Tenel Ka Djo (0/4)

Plotted:

Leia - Monster: Minotaur

Percival De Rolo (1/4)

Ransom - Characters enter the area to be met with high speed winds, strong enough to push people around

Vex - The husks of corn emit a poisonous gas, making characters weaker the longer they breath it in

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: August 2023

Ugh where did the summer go?

……….FILM……….

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) Artwork, story, and the turtles' characterization were all 10/10 for me. Big turtle fan so that's already enough for me to like this. But for me, the writing was real weak. The supporting mutants didn't really have much personality and the comedy really only relied on pop references. Was Mondo Gecko a surprise favourite? Probably because he had a lot of personality and his funny moments were from that characterization and not from a name drop. I love the ninja turtles so maybe I'm too close to this. All I'm saying is that this was fun and good and I hope a sequel gets made so that the other mutants can be given a little more depth.

Nimona (2023) Really great! Some of the earlier scenes felt...visually empty...but that third act more than makes up for it. A different beast than the comic but a great example of adapting for the medium. Really beautiful on all levels.

The Report (2019) I came into this a little late (apparently missing all the torture scenes so no complaints) but it all made sense to me! It really committed to the chronology of events but did a good job of showing the consequences/contradictions between sides. But I mean was it a good movie? It felt like a full story and the acting was great so I guess so. I dunno I always find based-on-real-life movies to be tricky.

……….TELEVISION……….

Poker Face (Episode 1.01 to 1.06) I love everything about this show. Its structure (Columbo-style where you see the murder first and then watch it get solved), its cast (mystery-of-the-week means rotating characters with Natasha Lyonne as the excellent anchor), and its style (from the fashion to the title credits)...everything is a swing and it nearly all lands for me.

Jury Duty (Episode 1.05 to 1.08) The premise never got tired and the ending is such a great cap to the season. Really recommend and the show really did luck out in getting Ronald Gladden as the lead.

……….YOUTUBE……….

toy movies for adults forever by Caleb Gamman and Feeling Cynical About Barbie by Broey Deschanel Hey I loved the Barbie movie and I think it's okay to be critical of the media we love. Neither of these felt like they were simply taking on the big fun successful movie for the sake of being contrarian and raised a lot of thoughtful points. VIDEO (Caleb Gamman) VIDEO (Broey Deschanel)

No Way Home Was Kind of Sexist by CJ The X Without spoiling the main thesis of this video, I really appreciate how they encapsulated the third movie. It truly does stand apart from the other two movies and it's a shame business got in the way of this trilogy sticking the landing. VIDEO

When a DEEP Character Pretends to be SHALLOW… (Hobie Brown) by schnee Ha really digging into Spider-Man vids this month and I really enjoyed the character breakdown. Schnee has a lot of great writing-based videos and I recommend checking them out.

……….READING……….

Jingo by Terry Pratchett (Complete) Always enjoy Discoworld novels centred around the Watch but I wasn't sure if the main thrust of the book was going to be...you know...a little racist? Turns out I had very little to worry about as it sends up most tropes and perspectives in a lighthearted-yet-sensitive way. Gosh I love this series.

Batman: White Knight by Sean Murphy & Matt Hollingsworth (Complete) Started this as single issues years ago but never finished...until now! Rereading, I realized I fell off because the politics were a little wonky at the beginning and reading "gatekeepers" over and over again kinda lost me. But having now finished it, it mostly worked, but I'm just a sucker for a story that can bring in a big cast of villains to fight at the climactic finale. Lots of cool ideas so I'll likely check out more from this world.

Lure by Lane Milburn (Complete) Slice of life with some light sci-fi elements and a lot of commentary. It's beautiful and it stuck with me but I think I was expecting something more psychedelic or surreal so it didn't quite land with me. But that's okay it was still an engaging read.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 9 (Hardcover) by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Stuart Immonen, and more (Complete) Big Spider-Man month. I always liked this take on the clone saga and while it means there's only a small amount of Ultimate Scorpion, it's memorable. This stretch really does a great job of blending the big drama with the personal stakes (dating MJ & Kitty Pryde! Aunt May finding out Peter is Spider-Man!). Also very excited to get into Immonen's run as his work is just...so good.

……….AUDIO……….

Self Titled by Dead Man's Bones (2009) After seeing BARBIE I was reminded that Ryan Gosling's spooky rock album and it's not fair how good this is. Like it doesn't have any right to have this much personality and charm.

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Tuesday Crew is busy in the mines fighting back the dangerous Dragonettes (full recap here) while the Mof1 Crew is dealing with the aftermath of taking out a Gingerbread mob boss!

Snakes of Wrath (Weast Coast) Finally got my kickstarter copy of the game and can't recommend it enough! It took a few plays to get into the groove of what you can and can't do, along with sorting out the strategy, but it's a nice breezy game with beautiful art and good quality tiles. Big fan.

And that's it! See you in September!

[vivaciouscynner]

There is a trope that I wish was more popular. It's what I like to call the Villain's Bad Day trope. I've really only seen this in fanfics and sorta maybe once in a blip from a DC comic.

Basically it's where a villain is having just a shit day and it just shows to a point where the "hero" is like, "Alright, stop, what's going on? What's wrong?" And it goes on where the villain is reluctant to reveal what's bothering them until the hero sorta coaxes it out of them. And then it sometimes leads to a date. And I just want to see more of that in the shows that we watch.

I want to deviate away from the whole hero & villain banter episode after episode, but also encapsulate that hero and villain have a HISTORY.

Nimona sort of does this, but more what I'm looking for is this:

[warning first person narrative - GASP]

She threw the crate at my head, which was scary by itself, but her wind-up was so slow that I dodged it easily. The force of it cracked the bindings and caused the wood to splinter all around. She could have easily followed up with another strike, but she instead paced back and forth like a wild animal. Her mind looked like it was elsewhere.

Honestly, I was a little offended not getting her attention.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Are we doing this or what?"

"FUCK OFF!" she barked back.

I immediately let down my guard for just a moment. Something was off. She usually taunted me with a grin. "Alright, time out. Time out. Truce!" She narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm serious," I took off my utility belt as an act of good faith. Anyone who knew me knew I would never do this. Even though we've been fighting each other for 4 years, we knew each other enough that we couldn't quite call each other enemies. "See? No bag of gadgets." She rolled her eyes. I closed the distance between us, but I did stop myself at about 3 feet from her. I wasn't completely stupid. I put up my hands to show I had no intention of fighting and had no surprises. She folded her arms.

I asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Can we just-" She took a breath and squinted closed her eyes into a squint. Frustrated and angry about something. "Can we just do this later? Also I distinctly remember saying to go fuck off."

The fact she wasn't attacking me meant two things. Something really was bothering her and she was in no mood to actually fight. I took a couple relaxed steps closer. "Come on," I pleaded, "I know we're not frie-" her eyes rolled in their sockets at what I was about to say. I rolled my eyes at her too, but I huffed a little laugh because of it. "Okay fuck you too, but also, tell me what's wrong."

She hesitated a moment, but I knew I got her to come around the second her shoulders slumped. She cracked her neck and started telling me how it all went wrong when she woke up to blaring alarms and her client demanding things she doesn't quite remember agreeing to. It was one mishap after another. I one point I genuinely asked her, "Tell me who your client is and I'll beat'em up. Free of charge." We both knew she couldn't give names, but she chuckled at the gesture. And to cap it all off she actually managed to break a nail in the worst of ways. She said, "Fucking classic that it splits down the middle like a big fucking cherry on top." She showed it to me by hold up her hand and my face immediately twisted.

In my line of work, I've seen some things. Stab wounds, broken bones, massive bruising, but a split nail always got to me in weird ways. Just the thought of how it feels makes me shiver. I raised a finger to have her wait a sec and I went back to my belt. I left it on the ground but what I took out would help. When I walked back, I handed out a flip nail-clipper with a file.

She looked at me carefully before taking it. I shrugged and encouraged her to take it. And when she did, I managed to hear a muffled, "Thank you." She was still a little guarded as she began to file her nail. She kept one eye on me the whole time. When she finished, she balled her hand into a fist a few times and sighed a breath of relief. She rolled her hand at me with it to return it.

She asked me, "Should we get back to it?" She got into a defensive stance.

I said, "I have a better idea." She twitched a brow at me. "You know the ice cream place on 34th?

This time she quirked both brows at me, "You... want to eat ice cream with me? Then what, arrest me after? No thanks, I'm good."

"I wouldn't!" I cleared my throat. A little embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean for my voice to be that loud. I wouldn't." I looked around shyly as she began to lower her fists.

"You're serious." Then she caught on. I couldn't hide my blush. "Oh shit. How long? Wait. Really? Me? I was ready to tear your head off like 20 minutes ago."

"You wouldn't have. You say you would, but you wouldn't." I huffed at her, "I know you well enough to know your favorite shows. We've LITERALLY talked about them in our fights."

She finger combed her hair to think about it. The black curls having the subtlest bounce to it.

At this point she took so long to think that I almost accepted that as her answer. But then she said, "The one on 15th is better - it's also open at this hour."

I laughed. I forgot how late it was. There was only one ice cream shop open passed midnight that doubled as a bar. "Alright, the one on 15th." I smiled. Maybe too long and shook my head to stop staring at her. "Meet in an hour so I can shower and fix the cuts you gave me?" I smirked to let her know I didn't actually care.

"See you in an hour then," she smiled back.

[genderfluid-druid]

[ID: A series of gifs from the movie Nimona overlaid with relevant tumblr posts.

Image 1: Nimona talking excitedly with a mace slung over her shoulder. Post by @ corvidsahoy: “the moral of nimona is that the government sucks and weird little trans girls should be allowed to kill anyone who wrongs them”

Image 2: Ballister doubling over after Ambrosius cut his arm off. Post by @ ballisterboldheart: “okay insane actually. ambrosius could have aimed for the actual weapon that was being fired. or the wrist. but no. he went for the bicep up to the shoulder. he took the entire arm. overreaction overcorrection. its how they were trained you see. even a whiff of a problem and you destroy the whole thing. you turn a weapon at your own people just to make sure you kill the monster. ough. the themes. the parallels.”

Image 3: Nimona in her small, long-haired girl shape, on the verge of tears. Post by @ rusted-phone-calls: “she defaults back to her child form when she feels helpless she thinks she’s still the same as she was all those years ago i am on the floor crying rn”

Image 4: The Director firing up her weapon with a look of determination. Post by @ beeftony: “The way Nimona said transphobia is the real danger to society by having the main villain literally point a cannon at a crowd of civilians to kill a ‘monster’ who only lashed out because that society couldn’t accept that she only wanted to be loved for who she was in all her many facets.”

Image 5: Ballister saying something emphatic, then realizing he’s holding a broken bottle and hiding it sheepishly behind his back. Post by @ local-space-gay: “Ballister is everything I want in a canonically gay character. Pathetic. Silly. Accidental adoptive father. Traumatized. Has a boyfriend who chopped his arm off. Wet cat energy. He’s got it all.”

Image 6: Nimona in shark form clicking her teeth. Post by @ tristenthekitty: “when people complain about ‘too much gender-fluid/non-binary/trans rep is with shape shifters’ I counter with: every gender-fluid/non-binary/trans person [caps] wants to be a shape shifter [end caps]”

Image 7: Bal and Ambrosius kissing at the park. Post by @ offonaherosjour… (truncated username): “Congrats to Ballister Boldheart and Ambrosius Goldenloin on adopting a ???-year-old kid”

Image 8: Nimona in her massive grief demon shape, preparing to fall on Gloreth’s sword, with Bal holding a hand up to stop her. Post by @ honorarypines: “Nimona movie said that sometimes all it takes to save one’s life is one person who makes effort to understand them and im in fuckin tears!!”

Plaintext caption: Nimona (2023) + text posts

End ID]

Nimona (2023) + text posts

[spammreviews]

All the 2023 films I’ve seen so far, ranked:

16. You Are So Not Invited To My Bar Mitzvah

Pretty much every scene in this film goes like this:

*modern pop-song blares ridiculously loud, making all dialogue practically unintelligeble*

Main Girl: OMG, Alex is totes hot AF, no cap, for real, for real.

Other Teen Character; I love Tiktok. And pronouns. 

Adam Sandler Character: Wow, teens today sure are craaaaaazy.

*the music spontaneously cuts out as something funny happens. We get ten different cuts of ten different character reactions*

Random Side Character: Wow, this sure is craaaaazy,

*another pop song comes on, this one is also way too loud*

15. Air

This is a Nike commercial. Characters with dimensions or personalities? Who needs those? Themes? Hah! This film wants to have themes, but those themes are “Michael Jordan is successful, and that’s cool. Buy Nike”. 

This film is devoid of energy, pathos, or creativity. It tells a story in the most bland, watered down, and commercial way possible.

It mentions the fact that Nike shoes are made by enslaved children in other countries once and then never again.

14. Maestro

This is a biopic about a queer jewish communist conductor most active in New York during the mid 1900s.

Unfortunately, this film treats Leonard Bernstein’s Judaism as merely a detail to be ticked off in a checklist. Anti-semitism is also briefly paid lip service, only to never be brought up again. 

It’s unclear how Judaism even affected Leonard Bernstein. 

Leonard’s sexuality is mentioned more, but the film seems similarly uninterested in exploring this feature of Mr. Bernstein. We barely see how it affected him.

Leonard’s communism is basically just removed entirely.

Despite a majority of the film taking place in New York in the mid 1900s, the film is uninterested in capturing the experience of living in that time or place or creating any sense of atmosphere.

Most damningly, the film is completely uninterested in Leonard Bernstein as a composer. Say what you will about Bohemian Rhapsody, but you could tell that the creators of that film cared about Fredey Mercury’s music. I don’t know if the creators of this film cared for Leonard Bernstein’s music. 

We don’t see how Leonard’s experiences affected his music, or how his music affected his life. 

There lies the rub, this film is completely uninterested in Leonard Bernstein as a human being. Instead, it’s interested in giving us a series of meaningless vignettes which do nothing except show off Bradley Cooper’s directing.

The film does look nice, I’ll give it that, but it doesn’t use its directing and cinematography to say anything.

As a result of the film’s disinterest in Leonard Bernstein as a person, our main character is devoid of any depth. Unfortunately, so are the 20 other characters in this movie. The portrayal of Leonard’s relationship with his wife is laughably awful, with the two of them re-uniting and getting over years of disagreements for no real reason. The relationship between Leonard and his daughter, as well as the other characters in this film, fair just as poorly.

Finally, while Bradley Cooper is an amazing actor, his performance here is hindered by two major problems. Number one, the fake nose. It looks really stupid. Number two, his voice. As young Leonard Bernstein, his voice is fine, when he’s old Leonard Bernstein, he’s putting on an old man voice that sounds like Tom Waits impersonating a train engine.

13. Dungeons and Dragons

Ok, there’s a huge jump in quality with this one. Dungeons and Dragons is a fun film with a great cast who all seem to be having fun. It’s filled with humor without losing any of its sincerity, the action scenes are energetic and creative, and there’s a clear love and respect for the game. 

12. Nimona

You know what, here’s a link to my Letterboxd review of this film:

https://letterboxd.com/thejam24/film/nimona-2023/

11. Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Similarly to Dungeons and Dragons, this film actually likes its source material, and it doesn’t let its humor get in the way of its sincerity. It’s not afraid to be silly nor is it afraid to be sentimental.

Almost all of the members of the ensemble cast are given an arc: Rocket deals with trauma, Starlord deals with trauma, Gamora  does her arc in the first film again, Drax matures a bit, Nebula learns that she doesn’t need to prove herself and that she can be a good guy, Mantis learns to stand up for herself, and that dude played by James Gunn’s brother learns the power of self-confidence.

Groot is the only character not afforded this, even though he does get some badass moments.

Overall, this film just drips witch charm and genuine enthusiasm.

 

10. Godzilla Minus One

What this film succeeds at is portraying Godzilla not just as a villain, but as a dark, unknowable eldritch force. 

I won’t say all that much more, because I’ll do a Godzilla ranking some day, and I’ll go more in depth about this film.

9. Blackberry

You know The Social Network? This is very similar, but instead of Mark Zuckerberg, we get a much nicer who is slowly fucked up.

Unlike Air, this film actual criticizes the industry it’s in, and how it’s impossible to actually be ethical in it. We are shown that actually trying to make a good product in the tech industry simply isn’t a good business model. Capitalism incentivizes cruelty and punishes empathy.

This very sad idea is wrapped up in a rather fun package, with a large cast of distinct characters who all bounce off each other well.

8. Barbie

I don’t need to review this. You’ve seen Barbie. We all know it’s a delightful film with a fun theatrical nature, and that it works as a simple but effective investigation of the patriarchy which kids can understand. Also, “I’m Just Ken” slaps, and I’ve been listening to it unironically for months.

7. Talk To Me

Why does no one talk about Talk To Me anymore? It was the biggest thing ever for a month period, and then everyone forgot about it. That’s a pity, as this film slaps. It’s not a deep film. The hand is like drugs, and the main character uses it to deal with her grief, but she ends up hurting those close to her.

There’s also questions raised about trying to help those who don’t want it, how it can hurt both you and the person you’re trying to help. However, sometimes people do need and actually want help but are just unable to ask for it.

This question is very important to the end of the film. 

This film is ceaselessly cruel, especially to that one kid. God, I feel so bad for him. 

There is one scene in particular which is so visceral and unflinching, and it comes right after a very light scene of comedy.

This film also has this deep sense of loneliness, as it’s marked by a sense of being unable to communicate with others. Maybe that’s why it’s called “Talk to Me”. 

6. Asteroid City

I vibe with this film so much. It is delightfully silly, extraordinarily colorful, and ceaselessly creative. Basically, you like Wes Anderson, then you’ll enjoy this film.  

One thing Wes Anderson is great at is portraying bad family dynamics. While this movie is surreal in so many ways, the families in this film feel real.

This film uses the story-within a-story framework in a genius way, poking fun at the artistic process by portraying it in a simulated environment, and then doing the same with the nature of human relationships.

I feel like I need to see this film two or more times if I want to really understand.

5. Beau is Afraid

This is my favorite kind of film: horrifying, psychological, and extraordinary confusing. 

The reason why this film isn’t higher is because it is simply put, to much. 

While their are three hour long films from this year that definitely earn their runtime, Beau is Afraid most certainly does not, with the film often feeling repetitive, as we often get multiple scenes which serve to say the same things within the story. It’s like Ari Aster wrote the same scene two or three different ways and didn’t know which version to cut, so he put all three in them.

I’m being very vague for three reasons:

One, I watched this film, like, seven or so months ago and my memory is fuzzy.

Two, I don’t want to spoil anything.

Three, I’m kind of scared of talking about this film. I want this to be short, but if I start talking about details like the penis monster or that fairy tale section or the purpose of hair within the film, then this will devolve into a nonsensical rant. 

This film kind of invents its language through the use of eighteen or so different motifs. It also uses its locations in just the bizarrest way, where we get to know these locations very well, and then we’re given pieces of information which completely change the way we see those locations. 

This whole film is just a nightmare. However, the film, especially Joaquin Phoenix, goes to great lengths to sell you the bizarreness. 

4. Oppenheimer

I think Oppenheimer does what the best biopics do, in that they are an attempt to understand the main character. This film doesn’t claim to know exactly who Oppenheimer is, rather, it’s trying to figure that out.

Oppenheimer, the person, is a riddle we have to decipher.

Oppenheimer’s change in morals, were his opinion of the bomb shifted only after he made it, is something that is…interesting, and the film puts a large emphasis on it, connecting it to other times that Oppenheimer’s opinion appeared to change drastically, like with communism. 

This film also doesn’t tell you what to think about Oppenheimer, or about any of this. 

This film also has one of the best explosions in any movie ever, and the explosion scene is one of the many examples of how the film uses sound. There’s a scene featuring the sound of stamping feet which sounds absolutely traumatic. 

Both the sound and visual editing of this film are extremely violent. 

Oppenheimer is a guy who has repeatedly done something bad and not faced any consequences. And, when punishment finally comes, it’s for something extremely minor. 

Unlike the other biopic about a jewish communist with an interesting profession and a complicated sex life, this film is actually interested in all four of these aspects, spending time on all four and how they affected Oppenheimer. 

This film is actually enthusiastic about physics, and that’s nice.

Overall, this film is definitely worth the hype.

3. Spiderman: Across the Spider Verse

I love how much love the two Spiderverse films have for comic books and superheroes. The first film was basically one giant love letter to superheroes, the medium of comics, and to Spiderman in particular. It explained how we need heroes to look up to, and how they can inspire us to be better. All the while, it paid sincere tribute to comic books and their unique form of storytelling.

This film then asks the question of what a superhero even is. However, it is still a love letter to superheroes. It understands something fundamental about Spiderman’s appeal: he is just an ordinary person. This is important because it shows that we all have the capacity to have the heroism of Spiderman. After all, Peter Parker’s actions are just him trying to emulate the ordinary powered adults in his life- but that’s a topic for another time.

Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse uses the whole “canon event” thing to discuss how anyone can be a hero, but it also dives into an important idea: the way we romanticize suffering, and how that connects to superheroes. Spiderman is a character who goes through hell regularly, and we admire him for that, but our admiration of perseverance can often turn to a puritanical idea that suffering leads to purity. 

In this film, both Miles and Gwen are kind of putting themselves through hell because they think that it’s the only way, and that’s how to be a good person.

That’s why Miles doesn’t tell anyone that he’s Spiderman, he doesn’t want anyone’s help. It’s been pointed out that there’s a scene where Miles tries to carry two cakes at once but ends up ruining them. This can be seen as symbolic of him trying to balance his social and spider life. However, the idea isn’t that Miles should cut everyone else out of his life, instead the idea is that he needs other’s help. After all, carrying two cakes is easier with two people.

Miles does learn this lesson, as he does attempt to reveal to his parents that he’s Spiderman at the end.

In the story, Miguel represents this romanticization of suffering, believing that is what makes a good Spiderman. Miguel is this stoic hero who cuts himself off from all human connection. 

In that way, Miguel serves to make a meta point. Comic writers often make Spiderman go through hell, and this misery often comes from Peter being cut off from his connections to others, most infamously when Peter Parker’s marriage was erased from existence. The reason for this is that Peter’s suffering makes him more “relatable”.

Miles learns his lesson by seeing how Miguel acts. In the beginning, Miles belief that he has to carry all of his problems himself is similar to Miguel’s belief in canon events. Miles believe this is his fate, and Spiderman have to suffer, as does Miguel.

However, Miguel is miserable, and so is Gwen, another character cutting herself off from those around her.

Oh god, I didn’t intend to write this much. Basically, what I’m saying is, Across the Spiderverse’s themes of the romanticization of suffering work on a meta level and on a psychological level.

Oh, also, the film is fucking gorgeous. Every scene is just a blast of color and energy and beauty and life. This film makes full use of the medium of animation, incorporating a dozen different styles. One of the first scenes of this film has a three dimensional character fight a two dimensional person.

The stylized yet detailed animation allows every fight scene to be filled with this jaw dropping kinetic energy.

And the soundtrack? Oh god, the soundtrack is intense and ferocious and just plane fun at points, mixing jazz and rap and pop and electronic and punk and the usual tropes of film soundtracks. 

I think I need to move on, or I’ll be talking about this film forever. I want to turn this film into a powder and snort it.

2. The Holdovers

This is a perfectly cozy movie. It has a wonderful atmosphere, some delightful acting, and a great sense of humor. Paul Giamatti's character is the perfect example of how to write a character with dimensions, and his performance just oozes charm. I would not be surprised if there are people who will have a tradition of watching this film every December in the years to come.

This is not a unique film, but that’s its charm. It’s as familiar as a warm hug.

I like when films use Christmas as a sort of oppressive force. Christmas feels lonely in this film, as being alone in a time centered around family feels lonely.

Killers of the Flower Moon

This is an extremely precise film. Every movement of the camera and every framing of a scene is purposeful.

I love Scorcese’s sense of humor. This whole situation is weird. It’s awkward. It causes people to act silly, like when Leonardo Dicaprio tries to flirt. 

Scorcese is really good at giving these films the comedy they deserve.

The two main characters of this film, Ernest and Molly, are top tier characters.

What makes Ernest a great character is that he is a truly despicable person who’s also an idiot in a rather charming way. 

Something interesting I noticed about Ernest is that he keeps mentioning how much he loves money and how every other character called him greedy at least once. 

The thing, is Ernest actually doing this because he loves money, or is he doing this out of pride? 

We get one scene , the gambling scene, where Ernest indulges with his money and actually seems happy about gaining it. Other than that, Ernest seems rather uninterested in money beyond it being necessary for his survival. In contrast, we see Robert De Niro’s character actively getting annoyed when he’s refused money. 

Then again, the acclimation of wealth to Ernest may be something he takes pride in.

Moving on to Molly, I feel so bad for her. She’s an ordinary person who never asked for this and did nothing to cause this to happen. She also simply does not have the skills to deal with this. This is a situation she is not able to deal with. She’s not a hero, her goals are the survival of her and her family, and that’s it.

It’s also interesting the way this acts as a microcosm of colonialism in America. Some native Americans have a bunch of stuff, and a bunch of white people want that stuff so they come over, act kind of nice, and then slowly kill everyone. In that sense, it makes sense that our main native American character who has a disease. She’s one of many characters who’s disease is used against them. 

Oh, and also, we see many poor white characters used as pawns by the richer white characters as part of their schemes, often using racist rhetoric when they do that, but not using that rhetoric when talking amongst themselves.

The motivations of Robert De Nero’s character and others like him isn’t racism, it’s money. However, they use racism as a tool and as an excuse, often blaming the violence on the Native Americans themselves, and using the government’s apathy towards Native Americans as a way to get away with their crimes. We are told that “You have a better chance of convicting a man for killing a dog then for killing an Indian.”

Basically, these schemers are taking advantage of the Osage people.

Ernest’s relationship with Molly is a microcosm of this, with him using her trust of him to slip poison into her insulin. 

I also love the way the film uses language. Usually, the characters speak english. However, there are multiple scenes where native americans use their native tongue when talking to white people as a way to sort of gain a slight amount of power. After all, they native americans are being forced to adapt to a different language, so Molly speaking in osage to Earnest forces him to make that same sacrifice.

The real reason for why this film is in number one is for the ending, which sees Martin Scorcese making a cameo that sort of redefines the entirety of the film we’ve seen so far and almost seems like a commentary on his career. There’s the idea that this is probably inaccurate, as there’s no real way of perfectly portraying this actual historical event.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, every performance in this movie is fantastic, whether it be Lily Gladstone, Leonardo Dicaprio, Robert Deniro, Todd from Breaking Bad, or Brendan Frasier- who appears in three scenes and absolutely steals the show with an insane amount of energy.

All of these actors give so much fire and humanity to many absolutely stunning conversations about insurance fraud. I’m serious. I don’t think insurance fraud has ever been more poignant and tragic.

[bylightofdawn]

WIP Sunday Monday

Well since AO3 has been down all night, I decided to work on the next chapter of Seeds which I've been poking at off and on all week in between editing and then dealing with my family being in town. So this is technically cheating in that I didn't write it all today but it's also Monday we are already cheating. Jaster and a certain spoiler character have a very frank discussion with one another regarding the future. Know that by clicking the cut you are potentially going into spoiler territory for Seeds etc. It is super rough and not edited as always.

Hopefully, AO3 will be up tomorrow and I can work on posting the next chapter of a AWBST. But for now I"m going to put my devices away and maybe watch another episode of Strange New Worlds until bed time. And try to resist the overwhelming urge to rewatch Nimona at midnight. It's been a constant brainrot ever since Thursday when I watched it. I miiiiiiiiiiight have bought the graphic novel today because A03 was down and I couldn't explore fanfics for the fandom. >.>

“Welcome to my office.” Arla drawled laconically and accepted the bottle of ale from Jaster without comment.

If he was being honest with himself, he’d half expected her to reject it and he wouldn’t have blamed her in the least considering the treatment she’d faced at Death Watch’s hands.

Though he noted she hadn’t opened it just yet to prove that it wasn’t doctored in any way, he twisted the cap off his bottle and moved to sit on one of the benches near the edge of the terrace where he could look out over the city.

“Pretty daring of you to sit there. Aren’t you worried I might try and solve all of Tor Vizsla’s problems by shoving you off the top of this building?” Arla asked with cloying poison in her voice as she approached on silent feet. “You’re not wearing a jetpack or much in the way of armor.”

“I rarely wear one if I can avoid it. Not a big fan of them if I’m being honest.” Jaster murmured and took a measured sip from his ale. “As for my being worried about you tossing me off this rooftop, assuming you could overpower me, the defensive shields are built to prevent objects from penetrating it from both the inside and outside. I don’t think the Senate wants their guests to get tipsy and have unfortunate falls off the edge of their diplomatic quarters.”

That garnered a soft huff of laughter from the woman as she twisted the cap off of her bottle and tossed it at the edge of the terrace. Predictably, it bounced off the shield and clattered to the deck harmlessly.

“A girl can dream, I suppose.”

“See, those kinds of comments are enough to make a man nervous.”

“Good, you should be.” She arched one brow at him in a challenging manner and this time it was Jaster’s turn to bite back a snort of amusement.

“As fun as verbal sparring with you may be, Arla, I would like to have a real and honest conversation with you. So can we lay down our swords and talk like two adults?”

She narrowed her eyes at him and finally settled onto a nearby chaise lounge. “I’m listening.”

“I know you chaff under the restrictions put upon you here. So I would like to offer you a compromise. I am willing to write up a pardon as soon as the Jedi Healer declares you are fit to be released from their treatment and I will put you on the first ship back to Mandalore where my people will assist you in trying to transition into a new life wherever you want. You’ll be set up with a stipend until you can get your feet underneath you and settle into your new life. I don’t want to toss you out into the cold with no help or assistance, and I don’t want you to be left vulnerable to Death Watch tracking you down.”

“You aren’t worried about my voluntarily going back to them?”

“You may be a really good actress, but I think you’re being genuine with your anger and rejection of Vizsla’s zealotry. You’re also an incredibly strong woman, and I cannot see you volunteering to go back to such an abusive situation.”

Arla fought to keep her expression neutral but Jaster’s words…the offer he made, it actually touched her on a genuine level, and she felt emotion choke in her chest briefly. The temptation to take the out that he was offering…was almost overpowering.

She could…walk away from all of this.

But then, the anger and seething hatred that curled around her heart as a black chain tightened at the thought that Tor Vizsla still drew breath in this universe, which was unacceptable.

She took a long pull from the bottle to give herself a few moments. The spicy and sweet flavors of genuine Mandalorian ne'tra gal flooded her mouth, a comforting taste of home.

“What’s your price for this amnesty?” Arla finally asked with a jaded-looking smile.

“Nothing; I’m not going to make you trade for your future like it’s coin to be exchanged. Yes, it would be helpful if you were willing to give us intel into Death Watch, but I’m not going to hold this over your head as a bribe or as a threat.” Jaster stated with a matching cynical twist of his lips.

“And no, that’s not because I’m trying to impress you or make some high-handed gesture. You’re a child of Mandalore that was stolen away from your home and forced into a life you had zero say in. As Mand’alor it is my duty to see to it that you are returned back home and the debt that I owe your parents would demand I at least try and give you a proper headstart on the beginning of the next phase of your life.”

“Those are all very pretty words and noble proclamations but I learned a long time ago not to believe in people’s empty promises.” The blonde woman stated coolly

“Then let me have the chance to prove your worst assumptions about me and mine is incorrect. What does it cost you but a little time and potentially misplaced faith? If I disappoint your expectations, are you truly any worse off than where you started?” Jaster asked, making an expansive gesture with his free hand.

“Unless, of course, I was foolish and trusting enough to give you the intel you seek only for you to go back on your word.” Arla pointed out before taking another measured sip from her ale.

“You strike me as many things, Arla, but a fool isn’t one of them. If you decide to play ball with us but wish to wait to see if I am a man of my word first, so be it. That can wait until after the peace talks have finished and we return home.” He shrugged one shoulder and tilted his bottle in the direction of the city that glowed beyond the edges of the terrace’s lofty heights.

“I doubt Death Watch is going to uproot its entire operation in the next few weeks. I can be patient if that’s what you wish. Vizsla and I have been fighting this war almost as long as you have been alive. Right now, I want to try and focus on building a better future for our people and this place is the first step in that plan.”

“Aren’t you worried about Tor Vizsla putting a spanner in that plan?”

“Of course but I’ve done everything I can to try and minimize the ways he can impact the peace talks. All parties are aware Death Watch is here on the planet. Our people aren’t going about alone and presenting potential kidnapping targets for Vizsla and his thugs.”

“Inaction will only get you so far, eventually, he’s going to force your hand.”

“I know, which is why I’m hoping we can bait his impatience enough that he will force his hand first. I doubt he has the credits or support to sustain a prolonged war so far away from his home base. The CSF have cracked down on the local bounty hunter guilds and strongly advised them to not hand out any new bounties to Mandalorians for the near future. Apparently they didn’t appreciate the way we conducted our last hunt in Coruscanti space.” Jaster mused, voice as mild as a summer breeze which had Arla’s shoulders drawing up tense once again.

“Because you blatantly skirted the line of what is an allowable hunt when you murdered my friends.”

“As I have said, I am sorry for the deaths of your friends and had I known what Tor Vizsla’s recruitment tactics entailed, I would have approached the situation differently. But I’m not going to apologize for my people defending themselves. Your friends did have the option to lay down their weapons.”

“Like any self-respecting Mandalorian would lay down their weapons in such a situation.” This was said with a thinly veiled sneer.

“You may be right, I cannot say we would not have done the same thing had our situations been reversed. But that would have been our choice at the end of the day and you are ultimately responsible only for the choices you make. Hindsight is, as they say, twenty-twenty and we all must live with the consequences of our actions. Be they good or bad.”

[etherealblasphemy]

Adventure of a Lifetime

these just get longer and longer...

TW: Cursing (Cal has a very dirty mouth), mentions of injuries, mentions of angsty backstories (*laughs maniacally*), transphobic slur

Their wounds were finally healed. In the weeks it took for the gash on their chest to close up enough that it no longer needed stitches, Calrex found themself slowly warming up to these strange outlaws who had practically adopted them as one of their own. Cal was still wary of them, especially knowing that Draven was after them as well. They’d yet to wrangle the story out of them of exactly why that bastard was hunting them of all people.

   With a yawn, they stretched their thin arms high above their head, cracking their neck to get the kinks out of it. Patton finally told them the night before they could start walking around the ship for more than a couple minutes. Though they’d never admit it to anybody, Patton had quickly become their favorite, with his paternal antics and constant smiles.

   They swung their legs over the side of the cot that had been their home for the past few weeks as Patton happily doted over them, monitoring the cut across their chest. They were still unsteady, as the father-like figure had only allowed them to begin walking earlier that week, and only for short bits at a time.

   “Believe me,” he’d told them. “You don’t want any chance of your skin beginning to dissipate again.” Thankfully, they’d listened to him, and now they could finally use their legs for what they were made for.

   Cal stood cautiously, testing out the strength of their limbs. Figuring they were sound enough to stand, they took a tentative step forward on uneasy feet, not used to Patton’s absence. They didn’t fall, which they considered an ‘okay’ to step forward further. Letting out a breath of relief, their foot landed firmly on the solid floor. Smirking, they headed for the door. Now that Cal could move freely, they were going to explore every inch of this mysterious ship.

   The doors opened as they waved their hand to reveal a long hallway splitting off into several other corridors. “Who in the heavens designed this place?” they muttered, craning their sore neck to look around at the pristine white walls. It was certainly boring.

   “Oh, you’re awake already!” they heard. They turned their gaze from a brightly lit panel to down the hallway, where Patton poked his head out from behind a corner. “Follow me, I made breakfast for everybody!” They opened their mouth to ask why a kitchen was necessary in a spaceship, but their stomach interrupted them, growling loudly. Patton giggled. “Looks like I finished at the right time!” he laughed, the sound melodious and reminiscent of- Cal stopped their thoughts there.

   They obediently followed the antlered man, who took them through a maze of hallways until they could smell the food and knew the kitchen was close. Patton waved his hand in front of a little panel, and the circular doors beside him spun open. Inside the room were the rest of the crew members Cal had met. L.O.G.I.C.- Patton and Roman had begun calling him Logan during their time on the ship- was seated at the table, his eyes scanning over pages of a leather-bound journal as he jotted down notes with a jet black feather that sparkled in the light. Roman was scouring through the cabinets, his hair mussed and unruly at this early morning hour; a bag of makeup that was definitely his was on the countertop, its contents spilling overboard. Anxiety was sitting on top of the countertop like a feline, contently munching on a piece of toast with what looked like jam smeared on top.

   “Oh, Calrex, how do you feel today?” Logan asked, looking up from his notes and noticing them. They shrugged, not really sure themselves.

   “I dunno. Bored, for one. Not much you can do in a cot for three weeks straight,” they complained, heading for a chair. Patton, meanwhile, headed for the cooking devices, where Cal noticed he had been making some sort of dish they had never seen before.

    “What do mean, ‘bored?’ Believe me, young noble, there is so much just waiting for you!” Roman cried, triumphantly grabbing a small jar from a cabinet, proceeding to struggle with its cap as he tried to open it. “...Anxiety could you... maybe help?” he mumbled. Sighing, the emo grabbed the jar and twisted it open with little effort, handing back to the embarrassed prince.

   Cal snickered. “And just what do you have in mind to entertain me, Princey?” They smirked, a hand on their cocked hip. The prince grumbled something with a spoon full of jelly in his mouth, snarfing it down like a hungry orphan.

   “How you feel about robbing a bank, Calrex?” Logan asked, adjusting the navy blue ascot tie he wore beneath a black waistcoat. Cal’s smile widened, showing off a mouth full of sharp fangs.

   “Positively! I feel very positive about robbing a bank!” they shouted with glee, already fantasizing about the destruction they’d wager. “Which one are we going to? How much are we taking? Can I use a blaster?!”

   “Calm down, Calrex, it’s a simple operation so we may acquire the necessary funds to continue our “intergalactic punk acts,” as Anxiety refers to them. We are headed to an aquaterrestrial planet known as Levian, and we will only be taking as much as we need.” Logan smirked. “If the commoners nearby decide they would like to take back the money they used to pay egregiously overpriced taxes, however, then that is entirely up to them.” Cal huffed.

   “Well, look here, everybody, the robot has a heart!” they exclaimed as Roman choked on his jam, laughing.

   “Aw, he’s actually a big softie when nobody’s around to see it!” Patton said giddly, overly excited for both the upcoming adventure and Logan’s slip of character. “Anyways, I’m setting course for Levian as soon as we finish breakfast, so eat up everybody!” The other four hummed in acquiescence, munching on the food Patton had prepared for them. They all joined Logan at the table, though Anxiety allowed Cal to take his seat, leaning against the window behind Logan.

   “So, tell me, Calrex,” Roman was saying, finishing off the last spoonfuls of his delicious jam, “why is it that you’re an outlaw? Whose feathers did you ruffle?” They hesitated briefly, the tension of their shoulders only noticed by the cameras in Logan’s eyes.

   “...Actually, I’m not that sure myself,” they sighed, running a hand through the tangled locks of their hair. “I ran away from my orphanage, so I guess some people might consider that ‘criminal.’ According to my wanted posters, though?” They trailed off, licking their smiling lips, enjoying the suspense as the others leaned forward, eager to find out. “I destroyed an entire galaxy system, and killed everyone.” The table fell silent, taking a tense turn.

   “Did you really?” Patton asked, his brows slightly furrowed.

   “Well, of course I didn’t!” Cal cried, offended. “I wish I was strong enough or as badass enough to actually do it, but, nope, I can’t even hold my own in a fight…” They snarled at long-forgotten memories, bitterly recalling past grudges and losses. “Nah, I suspect it was some sort of shit Draven put together after- nevermind.” They cut themself off suddenly, gripping the edge of their seat tightly in their palms. The crew members noticed, but remained silent, inferring Cal’s story was one like their own- painful, and not to be discussed.

   The rest of breakfast was quiet, most dialogue pertaining to one of them asking another to pass the butter. At one point, however, Logan asked Roman to pass him the salt, to which the prince replied, “I don’t think I can lift Anxiety, though.” That got a laugh out of the rest of them, however short-lived the relief of silence was.

   Patton soon left for the cockpit, Roman following him. Logan turned his attention back to his writing, mumbling something about cross-space travel, leaving Anxiety and Cal to shuffle their feet awkwardly. The earthling coughed into the sleeve of his hoodie, feeling the silence stretch longer than he wanted it to.

   “So, you like robbing banks? Who’re you, Nimona?” he asked, his voice small and tinny in the thick silence that preceded it. Cal nodded, thankful for something to distract them from something other than the quiet scratch of Logan’s pencil on notebook paper, paying no mind to the second part of his dialogue, more than likely a reference they wouldn’t understand.

   “I’ve had quite a bit of practice over the years. A little nick of a galleon or two here, a little swipe of a jewel or three there, the usual. Most of it I give away, though. There are people who’re starving out there, so if going hungry one night means another person doesn’t die of hunger, I’d do it in a heartbeat,” they mused, gaining a faraway look in their eyes. Anxiety tilted his head, smiling softly as he saw Logan pause from his writings out of the corner of his eyes.

   “Say, why don’t we talk to Thomas? He’s always fun,” Anxiety proposed, getting up and heading for the door. He stopped in front of the circuit board on the wall next to it and typed in something on the number pad. Cal watched him with confusion before a hologram appeared next to them. They shrieked in surprise, Anxiety sniggering with mirth.

   “What is up, crew buddies? Who’s the new pal?” the hologram asked, turning to Cal with a smile that seemed too real to be digital. The hologram looked similar to Roman, though with light chestnut instead of blond hair swept over his warm brown eyes. He was donned in a bright red charvet shirt, though not much else. The image cut off right below his chest, an electric blue edge fizzing in the air like real-life glitches.

   “Hi, Thomas!” Anxiety greeted, waving at the hologram, who waved back. “This is Patton’s newest childling.” Cal stuck out a hand before realizing the person apparently named Thomas was just a hologram, and shaking hands would most likely be one-sided.

   “The name’s Calrex Bennova. Most people just call me the Pirate, though, seeing as I’m wanted in nearly every system there is,” they offered, quirking a side of their lips. “Who’re you, exactly?” they inquired.

   “As Anxiety said, my name’s Thomas, your local, friendly AI! I’m basically the ship’s mind.” Cal narrowed their eyes, raising an eyebrow. “Logan was the one who programmed me, and he takes the more logical side of things, so he programmed most of my functions. Anxiety wrote down most of my speech patterns, though,” Thomas explained. Cal noticed Logan straighten at the mention of his new name.

   “Oh no, you, too,” he said, pressing his lips into a thin line of frustration.

   “Yah, Patton sort of changed your name in my database and I think Anxiety put a lock on it, so I guess I’m calling Logan from now on!” Thomas said cheerfully, shrugging his digital shoulders nonchalantly. Logan closed his eyes, taking a deep, audible breath.

   “Ooh, hoo, hoo, I’m really regretting not leaving when I had the chance,” he muttered under his breath. He snapped his notebook shut, placing it delicately on the table as Cal and Thomas continued to examine one another.

   The hologram tilted his head suddenly, his brows furrowing. “Ah, sorry, pals, but Patton and Roman are summoning me right now, so I gotta dash,” he said before the image was promptly cut off, nothing more than white static and garbled speech.

   “Well, shoot,” Anxiety said, pouting. “There goes our only escape from boredom.”

   “Nonsense, Anxiety, I can easily help with that.” Both Cal and Anxiety raised their eyebrows, clearly not seeing how the intellectual could possibly entertain them. “I recently memorized the entire Requiem scripture, which, despite its facade to be a book on religion, is actually quite an interesting commentary on our humanity and philosophy-”

   “Nope, I’m good,” Anxiety said sharply, shaking his head fervently. “I’m going to go join Patton and Roman, so see you guys.” Anxiety finger-gunned the both of them, at which they cocked a confused eyebrow at the earthling’s antics, and make a hasty retreat from a possible hour long lecture on intergalactic morals. Cal breathed a laugh, rolling their eyes. They cast a side glance at Logan, catching him watching them intently.

   “Don’t even think about it,” they warned. “I’m not about to be your next victim.”

   “Very well,” Logan conceded. “Shall we join our crew mates?” Cal shrugged, getting up as Logan did the same. He waved his hand in front of the blueish panel, the doors opened, and they walked through in silence.

   It didn’t take long for them to reach the cockpit, weaving in and out of a labyrinth of white-walled hallways. Anxiety was waiting for them there, Patton and Roman seated in the pilot chairs, small holograms flickering over their gazes. Cal’s breath stopped momentarily as they took in the sight of the room.

   Behind them was a wall filled with buttons and wires and levers and all sorts of things that made no sense to them. The floor was transparent, giving the illusion of walking out right onto the stars. A faraway cluster of stars painted the heavens beneath them a neon purple, the celestial skies dark as a raven’s fallen feather. In front of them were two high-backed leather seats the color of marble, holographic screens popping up in front of them to deliver information. Ahead, the entire wall was one seamless pane of glass, not a single fingerprint visible.

   It reminded them of happier times, when they could tell themself their childhood myths without triggering some painful memory. They bit their lip and focused on the stars twinkling like divine dancers slowly reaching their svelte arms towards them.

   “...bank,” Logan was explaining, likely describing how they would go about robbing whatever establishment the robot had chosen. They cursed silently, having heard not a word. “Calrex, are you paying attention?”

   “What? Who, me? Yeah, of course. I get a blaster and destroy everything in my path, got it.” Logan’s eyes narrowed, unimpressed. “Okay, fine, I got a little distracted by the stars and everything. Just tell me what I have to do, I’ll be fine.”

   “Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to take part. You have only just healed, and you hardly know anything about us. Robbing any establishment is more than just pointing a weapon and demanding resources- it is a carefully crafted dance where everyone knows the parts they must play in order for the performance to go as smoothly as possible,” Logan replied. Roman snorted.

   “I thought we normally just go off the cuff and end up with you ranting how certain damages could’ve been avoided if we’d just listened to you,” he laughed, his reflection in the glass smirking.

   Logan pursed his lips. “You see what I have to deal with?” He gestured towards the prince, who smiled and waved. Cal shook their head sarcastically, fooling the robot. “Roman’s a handful and he’s emotional and he’s illogical. Is that not the worst possible scenario for any being to encounter?” The crew mates shook their heads, biting back giggles. Logan sighed. “Well, I’m frustrated now.” Cal barked out a laugh, shaking their head as they let out a long sigh.

   The hologram called Thomas appeared suddenly next to them, frightening them. “Fucking Calypso! Don’t do that!” they yelped, jumping about a foot in the air, a hand clasped over their heart. Thomas cracked a smile, sheepishly apologizing as he rubbed the back of his neck.

   “Language, Calrex! Anyways, we’ll be arriving soon kiddos, so grab onto something,” Patton said, turning his head slightly to direct his words at the three behind him.

   “What bank are you guys robbing this time?” Thomas asked.

   “You’ll see,” Logan said, bringing out a pair of glasses from a breast pocket on his chest. “You all remember your illusions? Oh, Cal, you never gave me your answer. Do you want to take part in this? You’re free to leave at any time, now that you are sufficiently healed, though I must warn you that Patton does not like goodbyes.”

   Cal thought for a moment. They and the crew had slowly warmed up to one another, though neither ever asked each other why Draven was hunting them. But in the few weeks they had been in the med bay, they had felt a sense of familiarity. A sense of home. A sense of belonging. It had been something they hadn’t experienced for a long time, something they only ever felt in wispy dreams that floated beside them in the heavens, mixing and mashing and creating beautiful creatures they knew they had seen somewhere beforehand.

   Before them was a chance to finally have a family. No longer would they be alone. No longer would they be living on the streets. No longer would they be unwanted.

   “Sure, if you want me,” they replied, lifting their head to the purple and navy skies, brilliant white stars continuing their immortal ballet. Logan nodded, Patton clapping happily. They let out a breath they hadn’t realized they’d been holding in. Part of them had latched onto distant memories that had begun fading, of the constant rejection, the endless days where they were told over and over again nobody wanted them today. Not yesterday. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never.

   “That settles it. Come with me, we need to figure out a way to disguise you. Along the way I’ll explain our usual tactics,” he said, adjusting a pair of metal-rimmed glasses on his nose. He blinked, testing his vision, and determined his sight was not deterred by the pieces of convex glass. He grabbed Cal’s arm and led them out of the room, ushering them into one nearby. “Grab a stool, I believe we will be landing soon,” he instructed, grabbing a stool for himself. Cal followed the orders, and soon felt the familiar rumble of a spaceship entering a planet’s atmosphere, adjusting to the pressure and weather conditions.

   “So, tell me, how exactly do you plan to disguise the most wanted outlaw whose face is plastered on every building you could think of?” Cal asked, lacing their fingers beneath their chin, settling their arms on a knee, feeling the ship begin to rock as the ship  prepared to land.

   “Roman will cover your scars, though I have no idea how, and I will provide you with an attire that should cover any other distinguishable features, yet still be functional should we encounter unnecessary problems.” With that said, the AI strode over to a chest in the corner of the room and opened it with a flourish, revealing dozens of clothing items packed neatly into the cramped space.

   Cal’s eyes were immediately drawn to one piece. Though folded, they could tell it was a silk dress the color of faded cream. Logan noticed where their gaze fell and picked up the dress. As the garment whoosed into the air, a cerise ribbon fell out of the chest, falling on the floor in a heap, and Cal rushed to pick up the gorgeous material.

   “I think I know how we can disguise you, Cal,” Logan simpered. They could practically see the gears turning in his head, his attention now focused on a chest beside the open one. He opened the smaller trunk, which contained beautiful jewelry and accessories. “Thank Calypso Draven’s nobles have such exquisite taste.” Pulling a few bracelets from it, Logan stepped back, surveying the items the both of them had acquired and looked at Cal, shoving the dress and bracelets into their arms. “Try this on.”

   “For a someone as serious as you, you seem to know a lot about fashion,” they remarked, already shoving their pants off. They knew one of them had taken their shirt off to treat their wound, and besides, it’s not like Logan wouldn’t turn around anyways- which the robot had indeed already done. They pulled off their shirt, throwing the dress over them quickly, eager to see how the dress fit them. Around their waist they wrapped the cerise ribbon, tying it in the back. They slipped on the bracelets and told Logan he could turn back around.

   He studied them, more focused on how well they would stay hidden rather than how the garment fit like a glove, giving them the appearance of a feminine being, a radical change from their previous experience. “It’s very flattering, Calrex. The guards should easily fall for this. Shall I acquire Roman for you?” Cal shrugged, nodding as their hands roamed over the soft fabric, marveling at its beauty. It had certainly been a long time since they had even dared to wear something so pretty, so untouched, so perfect.

   It was a rogue feeling, one that dreamed of wearing dresses and slacks and jerseys and slips, unconcerned who thought what about them. But as they grew older, they had learned to forget these childish fantasies. They couldn’t afford wearing what they wanted, not if they wanted to stay hidden for as long as possible before Draven eventually found them again and they had to run for their life.

   They had worn a dress once in their lifetime, a grey sleeveless one that tightened around their waist and puffed out slightly as though they wore a crinoline underneath. The best part of it was that no one had called them a girl or a tranny or anything except Calrex. That day, they had felt weightless, able to conquer anything. Pity the euphoria had ended so quickly.

   With a start, they realized Roman had entered the room, Logan likely taking his place as copilot. The prince was mumbling to himself, carrying the bag they had noticed in the kitchen area. “Roman?” they asked, unsure what he was doing. The prince looked up, startled, and proceeded to gasp dramatically.

   “Oh, I didn’t know Calypso herself was alive and well! You look absolutely stunning, by the way, but you shall look ravishing as soon as I’m done with you,” Roman said, smiling wickedly as he whipped out what looked like an eyeliner pencil from the bag. Cal inwardly groaned, ready to have their eye poked out or worse.

   The prince got to work quickly, constantly swiping his blond hair back as he grabbed foreign objects from his bag, twisting open tubes and popping the lids off of jars. At long last, he stepped back to survey his work, and gave a satisfied sigh. “Take a look,” he said, pulling out a mirror from the seemingly bottomless bag. They take the mirror gratefully and held up it.

   Cal nearly dropped it in surprise, taking in their transformed face. No longer were they the scrubby outlaw on the run for far too long, but an untouched person who had never seen poverty or war. They now took on the visage of a dainty damsel who had not yet met with death’s grim grip, their cheeks full and lips pursed, ready for the sweet taste of love. Roman had highlighted their cheekbones, covering their scars with mounds of concealer, and added dark grey eyeshadow to give their eyes more depth. They patted their cheek, seeing their reflection copy them, confirming they were real and not some illusion Roman had whipped up like magic.

   They turned to Roman, smirking smugly. “How do you do this? This is incredible!” they gushed happily, ready to woo all the guards and have a good time. Roman shared their content, and the two began to exchange make-up tips they’d garnered over the years as Patton’s voice came over the intercom.

   “Hey, kiddos, we’ve landed! Me, Anxiety, and Logan are all ready, so come on out whenever you guys are ready!” Cal hid a snicker, hearing Logan correct Patton’s grammar as the intercom shut off.

   “I guess we join them,” Cal said, handing the mirror back to Roman. “Let’s go have some fun!” they cheered, exiting the room, promptly getting lost before Roman led them to the docking bay, where they rejoined the others.

   “Oh, dear Calypso, Calrex, you look wonderful!” Patton squealed, running to hug his adorable child. They thanked him, grinning gratefully. “Right, let’s go do whatever Logan planned!” he cried with excitement as the robot took a calming breath, ready to go off on the Drisine for already forgetting the plan. Cal watched them, a bittersweet smile on their face. It had been a while since they’d witnessed scenes like this, been apart of scenes like this. Deep down, they hoped this sensation blooming in their belly like a rose at midnight would last, that maybe they could go on more adventures than just this one.

Lord Condor Finch’s Royal Bank of Taxes and Tributes was exactly like its name: huge, overzealous, and an obvious candidate for mockery and tomfoolery. Though imposing at first sight, the overuse of gold leaf was laughable, the guards sleeping were they stood was pathetic, and the amount of currency it actually contained in comparison to other banks the group had been to put a beggar’s tin cup to shame. It was perfect for the heist.

   “So I know you already explained, everything, but why this bank of all places? I’ve been on the downlow for a while now, but even I know how crappy it is behind the scenes,” Cal was saying as they hiked up the long flight of cracked marble steps that led to the entrance.

   “Easy,” Logan began. “Lord Finch is a moron. Thusly, his security systems are vastly inferior to others I have encountered. Besides, he taxes his people needlessly, some to the point of starvation, so by distributing the wealth within the vaults, not only might we save some lives, but the common people will begin to take our side, benefitting us in the future,” he explained as they finally reached the end of the stairs.

   Anxiety bent over, panting for breath. “Give me a second, okay?” he wheezed, catching what little air remained in his lungs. Patton fussed over him, offering a canteen of water from his satchel. Anxiety shook his head, saying he was fine.

   “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” Roman said, fixing the lapels of his white suit jacket. The copper on the goggles perched above his ever-present flower crown shone brightly, nearly blinding Cal as the prince turned in the sunlight. “The steampunk aesthetic belongs to Remy, and to Remy alone.”

   With that said, the group moved. Cal stuck with Roman; their jobs were to distract the tellers. If the Generals broke loose, Cal had a blaster hidden within the handbag they clutched nervously. They were hoping for chaos.

   Roman laced his arm with theirs, giving his most charming smile. “My dearest sister-”

   “We don’t look anything alike, try again.”

   “Roman glared at Cal. “My dearest friend,” he started again, “what a lovely day for us to go to the bank to make a withdrawal!” Cal sighed, raising an eyebrow. “Quiet, I’m a great actor, I just have unique methods.”

   “You can say that again,” they mumbled under their breath. Roman playfully whacked Cal’s arm, huffing in exasperation. Cal’s attention, however, was already gone as they entered the massive bank. Despite its shady purpose, the bank was a magnificent sight to behold.

  The golden wall stretched up for what must have been forever, curving into a domed ceiling, where a chandelier made of thousands of crystals glittered, reflecting rainbow patterns onto the walls. Dozens of little stalls were lined up against the walls, all leading towards a single door in the back of the room, which undoubtedly led to the vaults. Above the door hung a ginormous portrait of the irascible Lord Finch in all his glory, sporting a cape of loon feathers and too many medals pinned across his chest like some feeble attempt to give credence to his leadership abilities.

   Looking around, there were only two or three tellers. Cal grinned. This would be easy. Roman grinned, too, sharing a knowing glance with the pirate. “I’ll take the mermaid,” the prince said, gesturing subtly to a fair maiden currently combing through aegean and peacock locks, cream seashells poking out in some places, looking bored out of her mind. “Can you handle the other two?” Cal glanced at the tellers on the opposite side, seeing a merman who definitely had to be the mermaid’s brother or something and a young girl whose eyes were the color of amethysts. They nodded, a wicked grin forming on their lips.

   “I got this,” they said, hurrying off to the neighboring tellers. “Good morning,” they greeted, smiling sweetly as they approached the tellers. The merman stood at attention immediately, jolting awake as the young woman waved cheerfully. Cal headed for the woman. She would prove to be more a challenge. “My mother recently made a deposit here, but she would like to withdraw the amount. She’s fallen terribly ill, you see, and needs the money to pay for her medication,” Cal alleged, batting their eyelashes seductively. They could practically see the young lady melt at the charms they had picked up from the streets over the years.

   “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, miss,” the woman said, speaking as though she had a bag of marbles stuffed in her mouth. “What was her name?” she asked. Cal swore under her breath. “What was that?”

   “Nothing. Her name is, uh… Cassandra. Cassandra Ildris,” Cal offered stoically, swallowing the lump in their throat as the young woman brought up a hologram, pressing a dainty finger to the screen to scroll through a long list of names written in electric blue. The young woman furrowed her eyebrows.

   “Hmm, I don’t see your mother’s name on the list. Are you sure she made a deposit here?” the teller asked. Cal nodded insistently.

   “Perhaps she used one of her other names. She’s been married twice now, including my father,” Cal explained. “If you just check all names under Cassandra, it would likely be fastest,” they said, leaning down slightly, watching the teller’s gaze glance down before meeting with Cal’s eyes again. They smirked mentally. Too easy.

   “All right, but I’ll have to ask Damien to help me. I’m not that good with technology,” the teller confessed, laughing nervously. “Damien, could you come over here and help me?” Cal grinned. Perfect. Glancing upward, they saw a small wooden beam painted white to match the walls. If they aimed just right, they could bring it down and trap the tellers. It might not be exactly what Logan had planned, but it would certainly be more fun.

   The moment the merman called Damien entered the stall, however, a shout came from the other side of the spacious room. Cal turned to see Roman back away from the stall, the mermaid saying something unintelligible, waving her hands furiously. With a burst of mist, she cast a spell. The result nearly made Cal choke on their laughter.

   Roman shrieked as he felt his now enlarged head, nearly double the size it had been before. At that moment, Anxiety chose to run in, who took one look at the enchanted Roman and said, “Oh, my God, it’s finally big enough to fit your ego!” He fell to his knees, laughing hysterically. Cal soon found themself unable to contain their own giggles, laughing as well as Roman began panicking.

   “Um, help!” he cried.

   “What did you do to Faerin?” the merman asked, running out of the stall towards the prince, who immediately began backing away, walking around like a drunk man as he tried to hold his head upright. “What did he do to you, my princess?” he asked the mermaid as Cal watched on. The other young teller ran out from her stall, joining the merpeople as they exchanged words, Damien’s eyes soon boring into Roman’s. “You will pay, you vicious fiend!”

   “Oh, I should probably help him,” Cal mumble under their breath, pulling out their blaster. “Eat crystal, motherfucker!” they cried, firing the gun up at the chandelier. They didn’t know what to expect, but an ominous rumbling emanating for the ceiling was hopefully a good sign. From the corner of their eyes, they noticed Anxiety rush towards Roman, grabbing his arm and getting him away from the tellers and whatever Cal had initiated. They glanced up to see a myriad of spider cracks running across the ceiling, just barely touching the chandelier. “Hmm. That’s probably not good,” they said, beginning to head towards the back of the room, where Anxiety and Roman were headed.

   They took one step forward and heard a resounding boom echo through the interior. They gulped, eyes widening, and bolted for the earthling and prince, not one second by their side before they heard a loud crash, turning to see the chandelier hitting the floor, the crystals smashing into smithereens as the brass structure holding it all together pinned down the tellers, trapping them all together. From behind them, Cal heard someone enter the room.

   “Nicely down, you two- dear Calypso, Roman, what did you do?” Logan said, a large, bulky creature Cal assumed to be Patton following behind, carrying several medium-sized satchels, the coins creasing in the fabric. Roman whimpered softly, embarrassed. Anxiety rubbed Roman’s back reassuringly, calming the prince down. “We should probably leave,” Logan remarked, eyeing the enraged merman chanting in a foreign tongue.

   The others agreed and they ran for one of the tall gilded windows by the door, where they had formerly agreed they would exit, as Logan knew the guards would more than likely block their original entrance. The creature known as Patton leapt first, his body weight easily shattering the glass panes. With a whoop, Anxiety jumped out, pulling some sort of martial arts move as he dove out the window, rolling as he hit the ground. Cal shot their blaster once more, firing randomly at a wall before diving out the window after the prince and the robot had clambered through awkwardly.

   “FUCK YEAH!” Cal shouted giddily, a wide grin plastered across their face. The others rolled their eyes lightheartedly. Their mission, however, was not over yet. They still had to get away. Their grin grew, showing off sharp fangs, as they raised their blaster, squinting at a couple nearby trees as they jogged after the gang, nearly tripping over their feet. With a laugh, they fired a final time, directly hitting the trees, setting them aflame. Immediately, the nearby guards, all dressed to the nines in their saffron red and midnight blue uniforms and shiny black boots, ran to the fire, panicking. “That should distract them for a while,” Cal whispered-shouted to their companions, who cheered as they ran around trees, jumped over small fences and walls, and avoided any more destruction.

   They all sprinted towards the nearby wooded marsh, tall pines sprouted up, outstretched towards the emerald sky dying down to a husky, smokey blue. As they reached the brackish waters, the sounds of confusion fading away, the water began seeping into their boots, the thick fog that hung in the air suffocating them, the setting sun blinding them.

   “Yeesh, Logan, why do you always pick the worst places for us to hide the ship?” Roman grumbled, still holding his head so he wouldn’t fall over like a newborn. Logan simply shook his head, not bothering with a response. They continued trekking around the edge of the shallow parts of the marsh, heading deeper into the wildlands where they had hidden their ship. “Shouldn’t we see it by now?” Roman asked as a soft whisper cut him off.

   “He-llo?” a voice called from all around, as though the voice wasn’t coming from just one place at one time, but rather every place at every conceivable moment. The crew froze, all looking in different directions. Cal glanced at the water a few feet away, where the water was much deeper than where they stood, and shrieked when they saw a pair of yellow eyes watching them from underneath the surface. For a moment they thought it was Draven before realizing he would never go anywhere near a marsh, too afraid of getting his precious cape wet.

   “Who are yo-u?” the voice asked, echoing across the otherwise silent swampland. Cal stared down those eyes, convinced the voice belonged to the body that held those eyes. “Who are yo-u?” they repeated. The voice sounded familiar. If they closed their eyes, they could almost picture-

   “Cassandra?” Cal spoke aloud. The eyes in the water were unwavering. By now, the others had noticed the yellow eyes, too, and were coming up behind Cal, ready to fight off whatever foe was calling out to them.

   “Who-o is Ca-ssandra?” the voice said as the eyes rose slightly, revealing slivers of a face soaked in water. “Who are yo-u?”

   Cal stepped forward, cringing as they felt the water and dead pine needles spill into their boots, soaking their socks. “My name is Calrex. Cassandra… Cassandra was a friend of mine. You sound like her,” they told the eyes. The eyes seemed satisfied with the response, blinking slowly as they registered the answer.

   “My na-me is Mi-la,” the sighing voice replied. Without warning, the eyes leapt into the air, bringing with them a face, body, and mind. Before the astounded group floated a young girl, skin blue as the water she lived in, eyes wide and unblinking. Water droplets coated her body, clinging to her skin as though it didn’t want to leave, forming a dress that covered her like a ball gown, the water becoming long, draping sleeves and a high collar. Her sweeping hair that spilled past the small of her back was made of reeds swaying in the breeze; in fact, her entire body swayed as though she was made of liquids herself. “Yo-ur not suppo-sed to be he-re,” Mila said, waving a single finger childishly to emphasis her point.

   “Our spaceship is here,” Cal told the water nymph. “Do you know where it is?” they asked, having a feeling the nymph did indeed know the location of their hidden ship. Mila nodded shyly.

   “I kept it hi-dden for yo-u,” she whispered, drawing both her hands close. “Ingare nadia,” she chanted quietly as the water began leaping up just behind her, dancing like bolts of energy. As the water parted, fragments of cool white metal appeared. With a giggle, Mila lifted her hands into the air as if praying, and the water enveloping the ship did the same, raising the bulky vehicle in a bubble. Logan stepped forward, ready to get away from the chaos they had created at the bank. Mila suddenly whipped towards him, throwing up a wall of transparent water to block him from continuing forward.

   “Mila, you want something from us, right?” Cal asked, remembering previous encounters with water nymphs that had not ended well. Mila nodded, her lips parting into a youthful smile.

   “Tw-o things,” the nymph said, holding up the equivalent number of fingers. “One, a ki-ss from the pri-nce,” she said, blushing as she glanced at Roman, who flashed her a charming smile. “Tw-o, an apology for hur-ting Fae-rin... She’s my only fri-end.” Mila ducked her head.

   “It doesn’t seem to bad an offering. I say we take it,” Cal proposed, turning to the others. Logan shrugged, as did Roman. The creature known as Patton squealed, indicating an agreement. Anxiety, however, stepped forward.

   “Undo whatever spell was cast on Roman and I’ll be your friend,” he offered. In a more gentle tone, he added, “It’s got to be lonely, out here all the time, when nobody ever stops by or says hello.” Cal’s brow raised. They’d have to ask about that later.

   “I’ll be your friend, too! It would be an honor to share a friendship with such a magnificent young lady such as yourself,” Roman commented. Patton barked, agreeing with the earthling and the prince. Logan sighed, muttering something along the lines of, “I’ll offer companionship as well.” They all look expectantly at Cal.

   “What, do you really think I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like Mila? She’s cool enough, I wanna be friends with a water nymph,” Cal remarked, turning back towards a smiling Mila. “So, what do you say? We accept your offering, what about ours?” Mila lifted her yellow eyes ever so slightly and grinned, nodding.

   “I would li-ke more fri-ends,” she mumbled. She drew closer to the group, her feet barely skimming the surface of the marsh, until she floated in front of Cal. Mila shyly extended a hand. Cal grinned back at the little nymph, grabbing the hand and shaking it firmly. “Ke-ep your end of the de-al first,” she said as she drew her graceful hand back.

   Cal glanced over at Roman, who stumbled forward as Anxiety shoved him forward, the shadows on his face just barely concealing his smirk. “Go on and kiss the girl,” he said as Roman’s eyes lit up at the phrase.

   “Oh, I love that movie with the mermaid!” Roman exclaimed as he neared the nymph. “Perhaps we can show it to Calrex tonight?” he inquired, pursing his lips as he batted his eyelashes.

   “Only if you get us out of the mess you caused,” Anxiety replied. Roman scoffed, but turned towards Mila, who had sunk halfway into the water to be eye level with the dashing prince. Flashing her his trademark grin, the prince leaned over and pecked the young girl on the cheek as she blushed, giggling in a manner that echoed across the marsh.

   “I apologize most deeply, my dear Mila, for hurting your friend. Do accept my most sincere and heartfelt apology,” he said, bowing deeply. Mila laughed, a tinkling sound that reminded Cal of fairies.

   “It was fu-nny hearing it from the wa-ter,” she mused. “Th-ey tried to mi-mic it, yo-u flirting with Fae-rin and fai-ling.” Mila turned towards the others, whose interests were now piqued with curiosity. “He to-ld her, ‘Yo-ur eyes shine like the mo-on on a cry-stal ni-ght,’ ‘Yo-u’re the mo-st beau-tiful sea crea-ture I’ve met.’” Mila burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as Cal glanced at Roman.

   “You called her a sea creature? No wonder she cast a spell on you!” they uttered, shaking their head in exasperation. Roman spluttered, unsure how he could spin some sort of witty response from this humiliation. Mila sighed.

   “Yo-u kept your bar-gain, now I ke-ep mine,” she proclaimed as she throw her hands up in the sky, waving them as though she was signaling some passing ship. “Vocifere, caban!” With the enchantment cast, a cloud of smoke encapsulated Roman, dissipating to reveal the mermaid’s spell had been reversed.

   Roman clapped both hands over his face. “Oh, my gorgeous head is back to normal! Anxiety, do I look okay? Because a prince has got to slay,” he asked. Anxiety laughed, disguising it with a cough.

   “You look fine no matter what’s happened to you, don’t worry,” he reassured the prince. “Anyways, Mila, thank you so much for your help,” he thanked the nymph. “We might not be able to come back for a while, but we’ll try to return as soon as we can.” The nymph smiled happily, waving. The wall of water blocking Logan suddenly dropped down, scaring the robot. With a few more thanks and a couple vociferations of the marsh water soaking their feet, the group finally clambered onto the ship.

   As the door shut, Cal swore they heard Mila say, “Go-od luck, Pi-rate. Fi-ght and pro-sper.” Perhaps it had just been the wind.

   “Alright, kiddos, let’s get out of here before the guards find us!” Patton said, morphing back as he threw the heavy satchels off his shoulders, heading for the cockpit. Cal felt a breath of relief rush out of them as they followed the Drisine. They’d done it. Nobody had gotten (fatally) injured, no guards were firing at them as the ship started up its engines, and they had actually done something.

   “What a heist,” Anxiety sighed, leaning over the copilot’s chair, dangling his arms in front of Roman’s face.

   “That was certainly an ordeal,” Logan huffed, settling onto a stool as Patton skillfully guided the craft into the air, where they could easily see the miniscule figures of guards and peasants all grouped around a hole in one of the bank’s back walls. A pile of golden coins shimmered on the ground, spilling from the vault inside the building. “Hmm, looks like the commoners are taking advantage of Lord Finch’s private income,” the robot noted.

   “I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink or two,” Cal stated. “Calypso knows after all this, it’s gonna take at least seven Harvey Wallbangers to forget the sight of Roman’s head double its size.” Lighthearted laughter overtook the cockpit as Roman groaned, wishing he, too, to forget what would likely be held against him for the rest of his life.

   “Let’s just head over to Remy’s already,” the prince pleaded.

   “Alright, I’m setting course for there now,” Patton said. “Boy, I won’t forget that adventure of a lifetime. And Cal got to be a part of it!” he squealed, his smile practically crushing his cheeks. Cal quirked up a corner of their, the feeling of apprehension beginning to sink in.

   “If you don’t mind,” they began nervously, “I’d like to keep having more adventures with you guys. At least I wouldn’t be bored.” A silence fell and immediately Cal knew they said the wrong thing.

   Patton squealed even louder, confusing the outlaw as to how the windows had yet to break from the high-pitched noises. “Oh, we would love that!” he exclaimed as he got up from the pilot’s seat to hug Cal tightly, Roman huffing as he took over Patton’s duties to fly the ship. Though first surprised at the kind gesture, Cal felt themself relax, awkwardly wrapping their arms around the Drisine to hug him back. The warmth that followed was something they remembered feeling a long time ago, when they were still an innocent child.

   Yeah, they could definitely get used to this.

WOOT WOOT WOOT ANOTHER CHAPTER UP! I hope all you lovelies enjoyed this new installment! (It was so much fun to write the bank scene)

Hey guess what I was inspired over the weekend for a chapter that probably won’t come up for a while so here you go:

“I will give you world. Every night, I'll let you know how much I love you in a hundred different ways. Every morning, when you wake up, I'll be by your side, whispering sweet nothings, telling you how beautiful you are, how your eyes look like the heavens when you're excited, how you are the bravest person I've ever met. Every day, I'll sing a ballad of praises for you. I will make you and this entire universe see how much you mean to me, because lavehsea, I’m so in love with you I might just burst, and dear Calypso this went so much better in my head.”

Hmm, may have just spoiled what that story’s about... heh.

AnYwHo, thank you all for reading, reblogging, and leaving likes :)

TAG LISTO (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@asofterfan

@alix-the-skeleton

@hufflepuffsscrewdriver

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@sanderssidesstuff

[xandriagreat]

Ballister | Chapter 14

Prologue | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

Author's note: strap in everyone, this is a big chapter! Also a huge thanks to @vanessafangirl13 for helping with this chapter.

Notice/warnings: chaos, shouts/yelling, screams, CAPs, pain, injures/wounds, crying, weapons, suicide attempted, death, destruction

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Gloreth sitting in a chair that was by Nimona’s cell, waiting for her to wake up. She held herself as she waited.

Then she looked at the cell when she heard Nimona groaned and woke up.

Nimona looked around to see where she was before looking at her.

“Gloreth…?” Nimona asked as she sat up.

Gloreth nodded and said, “I see that you’re up.”

Nimona hummed before she touched her neck nervously, her breath becoming shaky with fear and sadness.

Gloreth could see that Nimona was scared and… sad?

“Nimona, you won’t be taken to your execution until you tell us where your sidekick is.” Gloreth explained softly. “We just need to st-”

“I don’t know where is his…” Nimona interrupted, looking down.

That caught Gloreth off guard. 

“What? What do you mean?” the golden knight asked the burnt knight.

Nimona sighed and looked at Gloreth, almost close to crying. “I told him to leave…” she explained, trying not to cry. “I told him to go to a safe place… I don’t know where he is…”

Gloreth stares at her for a moment before she starts to open the cell.

“What are you doing?” Nimona asked, looking at her surprise.

Before Gloreth could say anything, a group of knights, which was Todd and his friends, walked over. “Did she talk?” Todd asked when they walked over.

Gloreth was quiet as she looked at the group. Then she nodded before saying, “But she doesn’t know where he is…” 

Todd hummed and nodded to his friends to get Nimona.

Gloreth’s eyes widened as the cell opened and the friends started to grab Nimona, putting cuffs on her.

“Wait!” Gloreth ordered but it wasn’t heard.

The knights got Nimona out of the cell and took her down the hall but not to the execution room. Instead they took her outside, where a hover van was waiting.

“What’s going on?” Nimona asked with shouts, confused and scared as she was led outside. “Gloreth?! Gloreth!”

Gloreth was about to run after them but was stopped by Todd grabbing her by her shoulders. “The Director told me to tell you that you need to stay here.” Todd told her.

Gloreth glared at him and growled, “I swear if you or any of your friends hurt her while looking for her sidekick-”

“I am just doing orders that The Director told us to do.” Todd interrupted, glaring down at Gloreth before walking away to catch up with his friends.

Gloreth just stares down the hall, her mind running with thoughts. She wanted to run after them, stop them, get Nimona out of the kingdom and to safety.

But she just stands there, alone in the hall before sighing before leaving the hallway.

◇

Nimona was sitting in a seat as the hover van moved.

The hover van has been driving for about 15 minutes.

She noticed the van going into the woods. She was scared of what’s going to happen. 

Then the van stopped and the sound of the hover-bikes stopped by, along with the sound of the driver door opening and closing.

Nimona looked at the doors as she heard footsteps walking over.

The doors opened and two of Todd’s friends grabbed Nimona to get her out of the van. 

Nimona put up a fight as she was pulled out of the van but she was shoved up against a nearby tree.

Todd glared at her as he walked over to her. “You brought a monster into our home.” he said to her, getting about three feet away from the burnt knight. 

Nimona glared at him and growled, “I didn’t bring him in…”

Todd had his hand curled up into a fist. “You should have stayed in the gutter where you belong, or even better, be executed with the rest of your crime family.” Todd growled, raising his fist to punch her. “Now-”

But then there was a loud scream-like-roar that could be heard from everywhere.

Todd puts his fist down and looks at his group, asking, “Did you hear that?”

Everyone in the group nodded.

Then the ground shook.

Everyone looked at where it came from and they saw some trees in the distance fall down as the ‘thing’ moved.

A look of dread appears on Nimona’s face. “Oh no…” she whispered, horrified and worried.

The movement was heading to the kingdom.

“It’s headed straight for the city. Alert the Institute!” Todd ordered the knights.

The knights nodded and the two knights let go of Nimona as one of them started to alert the Institute.

Todd glared at Nimona as he grabbed her. “And you…” he growled, punched her in the stomach, making her scream and fall to her knees. “If that thing destroys the kingdom, it’s on you.” 

Then he unlocked her cuffs before getting out a blade dagger and threw it on the ground next to Nimona. “Do us all a favor and just get rid of yourself.” he said to her before turning around to the knights.

Nimona looked at the blade as Todd said, “Let’s go!”

The brunt knight looked up to see Todd and most of his group rode on their hover-bikes while the two others rode in the hover van.

She looked at the blade again, the words of what Todd said started to get to her as grabbed the blade. But then she looked at her burned scars. 

It had almost the same color of the rest of her skin but a bit paler. There were still scars and bumps.

But it was healed.

Nimona stared at it for a moment before looking up to see where Ballister’s movement was.

‘Girl, get up… Girl, get up! You need to get up!’ Nimona thought, putting the blade dagger in her sword scabbard and slowly forcing herself to get up to her feet.

◇

Gloreth was talking with some knights when an incoming report arrived. 

The golden knight and the knights looked at the incoming report.

[Incoming Report from Thoddeus Sureblade: Found the monster. It’s heading to the kingdom from the south side.]

Gloreth got worried but she quickly put on her brave face as she looked at the knights when one of them asked, “Captain? What do we do?”

“Randall, inform The Director. The rest of you are with me. We need to get the other knights, guards, analysts, and scientists informed as well and we’ll need barricades. We’ll need the street cleared to protect the people from possible danger.”

The knights nodded. “Yes, ma’am!”

The group of knights followed Gloreth while Randall ran to find The Director.

It took Randall a while to find The Director but he was able to find her after about three minutes of looking.

The Director was heading to her office with her guards when Randall ran to catch up with her.

“Ma’am, incoming report from Sir Thoddeus!” Randall said when catching up to her.

“And? What is it?” The Director asked as they got into her office. 

Before the knight could tell the report, the ground shook again.

It shook harder than before as the diorama of the kingdom rattled and the miniature statue of Ambrosius toppled over.

The Director looked at the diorama of the city with worry before she ran to the balcony to see what’s going on.

◇

People of the kingdom looked around to try to understand what’s going on while barricades were starting to be set up at Avenue A through F.

“What’s going on?” one person asked.

“What is that?” another asked.

Gloreth was reassuring the crowd with some knights as barricades. “Everything is fine. You all need to get to safety.” Gloreth reassured. “Everything is-”

Suddenly there was a low growl.

Everyone froze when hearing that. They all looked at where the sound came from. 

It came from where the city meets the edge of the woods.

First there was black smoke appearing from the shadows, then white flaming eyes appeared from the darkness, and then a huge paw of huge black metal made out of scrap metal that’s connected to a huge monster of smoke and darkness.

Everyone gasped in shock and horror when seeing the monster appear.

Gloreth’s eyes widened as she stared at the monster with one thought going through her head, ‘Sidekick?’

◇

The Director stares at the shadow monster in fear from her office balcony.

“It's happening.” she breathed in fear, looking at her hands as they started to shake for a moment. Then she curled her hands into fist to make them stop shaking as she looked at her guards and Sir Randall.

“Sound the alarm. Sound the alarm!” The Director ordered them as she turned back around to look at the shadow monster and pointed her staff at the beast. “Hit it with everything we’ve got!”

The guards and knight nodded, doing what they were told by sounding the alarms and sending a message to the whole Institute staff to send everything that they got to the monster.

◇

Ballister, in his shadow monster form, looked around at the kingdom as he took a step into the city.

He glared when the sirens began alerting everyone around the area. 

“MONSTER ATTACK! MONSTER ATTACK! THIS IS NOT A TEST! MONSTER ATTACK! MONSTER ATTACK! MONSTER ATTACK! MONSTER ATTACK! SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER!” An automatic voice said from the speakers.

Ballister growled at that.

Then he let out an explosive scream-like-roar before taking a big step into the city, which made the people around scream and ran to get away.

“It’s the monster!” a terrified citizen shouted, pointing at Ballister as they ran away.

Ballister sighed as he took a few big steps before looking at a nearby speaker.

“MONSTER ATTACK! MONSTER ATTACK! THIS IS NOT A TEST! MONSTER ATTACK! MONSTER ATT-”

Ballister smashed the nearby speaker with his big shadow foot as if to say ‘SHUSH!’ while he growled at it before he continued to walk.

All the knights looked at the monster in fear and panic while Gloreth looked up at Ballister with fear and awe. The golden knight looked at the other knights, seeing their fear.

“Everyone stay calm-!” Gloreth started to order but a few knights accidently fired rocket launchers at the monster. “NO!” Gloreth shouted, her eyes widened in horror.

Two of the rockets missed Ballister and hit two buildings instead, starting a fire. But one rocket chipped Ballister’s shoulder, making him scream in pain. The wound was a white light instead of red blood.

Ballister stopped walking for a moment to let the wound ‘heal’.

That gave Gloreth enough time to look at the knights and ordered, “We need to get the people to safety. We need to get them to safety now!”

The knights nodded.

Gloreth and the knights ran and helped get the people to safety. 

When Ballister was ‘healed’, he started his march again and made his way down the street, trying to ignore the Institute drones (that were sent by the Institute Analysts) and the weapons that were ready to fire at him.

The drones pelt his back with laser fire, which only slowed down his movement for a moment and just made him growl at them.

Then one of the drones smashed into his back, making him roar in pain while crashing into one of the buildings.

The roar was so loud that it broke the glass of the surrounding buildings’ windows, shattering them.

The people on the ground in the area ran for cover, pushing and shoving each other.

An old woman fell to the ground from pushing and shoving.

Gloreth noticed her and also noticed that falling glass and metal was about to hit the old woman.

“Look out!” Gloreth shouted as she quickly ran and grabbed the old woman, getting out of the way.

Gloreth got the old woman out of the way just in time as the glass and metal hit the ground, shattering.

Gloreth was panting for a moment as the old woman was shaky with fear. “It’s ok. You're okay.” she reassured her, helping her get to safety and find the woman’s family.

The old woman’s family ran to them. They gave Gloreth a quick ‘thank you’ before running off to safety.

Gloreth nodded to them before looking to see where Ballister was at.

Then the comms went off, distracting her.

“Hey Goldie! Watch how a real knight gets it done.” Todd said on comms to Gloreth in an annoying tone.

Gloreth rolled her eyes and started to reply on comms, “Thoddeus, this is no time for showboating!”

Then she sighed as she remembered who she was talking to before she started to help some more people while trying to keep an eye on the shadow monster.

Ballister continued to make his way down the streets when hearing Todd and his gang were riding on their hover-bikes, arriving at the scene.

“Alright monster-slayers!” Todd said to his group as he led them. “Let’s shoot some darts and break some hearts!”

Todd revved his hover-bike as he whips around a corner on the same street that Ballister was walking on, about to run into him.

“I’m gonna be a freakin’ hero-!” Todd started to shout but cut himself off when seeing the shadow monster. The man didn’t know what came over him but it wasn’t his prideful self.

Todd’s shouting got the monster’s attention and looked at the knights that just arrived. 

It distracted Ballister long enough for one of the Institute drones to fire at Ballister, making him roar in pain.

Todd screams in terror and then quickly swings around to get away, trying to race ahead of his own knights to get to safety.

“Outta my way! Outta my way!” Todd shouted as he accidentally pressed the comms button, giving everyone of the Institute a listen of what he’s shouting. “We need more firepower! This thing is gonna kill us all-!”

Todd didn’t look where he was going and he accidentally crashed into another knight on a hover-bike, making his hover-bike spin out of control.

The man screamed as his bike spins out of control and heads right for an electric Institute propaganda billboard with his photo of giving a high five.

Todd crashes into his own ‘high-five’, causing the sign to explode.

◇

The Director overheard Todd’s comms scream message before it went to static.

She started to pace back and forth in her office before stopping and looking at the diorama of the kingdom, getting an idea.

“Get me to the wall.” The Director ordered her guards.

She left her office with her guards to go to the secret passages to get to the wall.

◇

Nimona was limping when she got into the city. She looked around in horror, worry, and shock, seeing all the destruction and chaos. 

She could see Ballister in his shadow monster form in the far distance. He just swatted at something as he slowly moved.

She could see that he was in a lot of hurt and betrayal.

“What have I done?” she breathed, feeling heartbroken. 

Nimona knew that she had to do something to stop this.

Then she heard a familiar neigh. She looked and saw a familiar black stallion running down the street.

“Ares!” Nimona called out, limping over to him.

Ares stopped and looked at Nimona before going to her. 

Nimona gave Ares a hug. “I miss you… I need your help.”

◇

Gloreth, with some of the other knights, continue helping people to safety.

Gloreth looked at the knights and said, “Just keep them moving. Get everyone underground.”

“Yes, ma’am.” one knight said before leading the other knights to help the people.

Gloreth was about to get some more people but stopped when seeing Nimona riding on her horse, going to where Ballister was.

“Nim?” Gloreth called out, looking at where the burnt knight on the horse was going. “Nim!”

Gloreth was about to run after her but stopped when hearing the sounds of stone breaking. She looked at the wall and noticed that all of the giant cannons of the wall were turning inward, pointing at the kingdom.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!” the golden knight mumbled to herself. Then she got on comms to inform The Director. “Ma’am! Someone is turning the cannons INTO the kingdom!” Gloreth informed.

“Yes, I know. I gave the order.” The Director replied on comms.

That shocked Gloreth. “But you know what will happen! Firing them will take out half the city!” she argued with fear and worry into comms. “Innocent people will die!”

“And so will the monster.” The Director said onto comms, showing no sign or sound of remorse for her people..

Gloreth couldn’t believe it as she started, “But-”

She was cut off when The Director cut the comm computation.

Gloreth looked around, seeing the destruction and chaos going all around.

“What are we doing?” the golden knight asked herself. Then she started to run to get to the top of the wall to stop the order of the cannons.

◇

Ballister was exhausted and in pain when he was on the bridge. He whimpers softly and stumbles onto the support towers of the bridge, leaning on it for a moment.

When he got a bit of his strength back, he looked up and saw that straight ahead was the statue of Ambrosius.

He started to press on and got off the bridge as news helicopters, that were in the sky, caught footage of him and projected on all screens around the kingdom.

People start to run and screaming in all directions when they see Ballister.

The shadow monster was almost half a mile away from the statue when a couple of knights, who were on one of the rooftops of the buildings, fired a rocket launcher at Ballister’s back, making crash into the building and hitting the ground.

The shadow monster lay still for a moment before looking at the crowd. He could see and feel fear and hate as the people screamed at him and threw things at him while the video screens broadcast terrifying imagery of him.

The shadow monster whimpers softly before the little strength he has left and stands, slowly getting up.

The people start to run, dropping the things that they were going to throw as the shadow monster made his way to the statue of Ambrosius.

‘I guess this is it… you’re finally getting rid of your monster, Rose…’ Ballister thought as he looked at the statue of Ambrosius before looking at the tip of the golden sword.

Then Ballister moved some of the darkness on his chest, revealing and exposing his glowing light pink and blue beating heart.

‘I don’t know what’s scarier…’ Ballister thought as he stared at the statue of the man who used to be his old friend. ‘The fact that everyone in this kingdom wants to run a sword through my heart… Or that sometimes… I just want to let them…’

Ballister leaned his head back and let out loud scream of pain and sadness as he pushed forward towards the tip of the blade.

But then, the screaming stopped.

Everyone all around gasped and just looked at the scene in shock.

There was just companionable silence. The only sound was Ballister’s heart beat, which was still beating.

Standing on the tip of Ambrosius’ sword was Nimona and she had her burned scared hand over Ballister’s beating heart, with all of her might stopping him from ending himself. 

In her other hand was the dagger she was given but she held it over the side and dropped it.

The bystanders watched the dagger hit the ground before looking at Nimona and Ballister, who were now being  broadcast on the screens.

Ballister looked down to see Nimona, who was looking up at him.

“I'm sorry…” Nimona apologized to Ballister, still having her hand over his heart. “I'm sorry…” 

Ballister whimpers softly and gently tilts his head to the side as he looks at her while Nimona smiles softly at him.

“I see you, Ballister.” Nimona said loud and clear to him, still smiling softly at him. “And you're not alone.”

Ballister looked at her with a soft look before letting his heart glow with warmth and white light surrounded himself as he started to shapeshift.

Nimona took a few steps back to give Ballister some room to shift.

He shapeshifted back to his human teen form and he gently floated down from mid air onto the tip of the sword.

But this time, the form was a bit different this time.

He was covered in bruises and some cuts, his hair was a mess, his clothes were covered in ash.

Ballister looked at Nimona as he tried to walk over to her but his body was so tired that he almost fell.

Nimona quickly lunges forward and catches Ballister before he could fall. 

The burnt knight held him close in a hug as she took the satchel off of the shapeshifter while the shapeshifter started to lift his arms and hug her, crying softly to let go of the pain.

◇

Everyone is taken in by what they just witnessed. Everyone looked at them with empathy.

All except for The Director.

On the wall, The Director noticed that everyone was distracted, even the monster.

She knew that this was the perfect moment to end it.

“Fire the cannons. Kill it.” The Director ordered, not wanting to waste a second and have everything ruined. She didn’t hear the cannon being fired up or the knights and guards of the wall didn’t move from their spots. The Director got angry and turned around to look at them, started to shout, "I said fire the cannon-!"

She was cut off when she saw Gloreth, who was glaring at her. Gloreth had her fist up as if to say ‘wait’ to the knights and the guards. "No! It’s over." Gloreth said, shaking her head and she lowered her fist down.

All the knights and guards stand with the captain, following her lead.

The Director stares at them all in shock and disbelief.

“It's fooling you. Fooling all of you!” The Director exclaimed angrily, pointing at them before pointing where the shapeshifter is. “Can’t you see this is what it wants? For us to let our guard down. Well, I see what it really is! And so did Ambrosius! That monster is a threat to our very way of life-!”

“And what if we’re wrong?” Gloreth asked, speaking out. 

The Director was shocked into silence as she looked at the captain.

“What if we’ve always been wrong and shouldn’t be afraid?” Gloreth asked, putting the question in mind as she points at the world beyond the wall.

The knights and guards nodded in agreement.

The Director stares at them before bowing her head and looking at her staff that was in her hands. Then The Director had a look of being more determined as she glared at the captain and the heroes of the realm. 

She pressed a button on her staff and pointed it at them as the white gem started to glow green. 

The Director fires a bolt of eclectic energy of a laser at Goldenloin and the knights, knocking them all to the ground and hurting them.

It made a big light when fired, which got everyone in the kingdom’s attention.

With everyone down, The Director made her way into the control center of one of the cannons.

Gloreth, still alive but in so much pain, painfully got up and hurriedly tried to get inside to stop The Director. 

But The Director closed the the door, not wanting anyone to stop her from what she’s doing.

“No! NO! NO!” Gloreth screamed, trying with all her might to pry the door open, but it’s no use.

The Director began to power up the cannon.

Gloreth realized that there was no point in stopping her as the captain stepped away from the door. She got a guard and looked at other guards and knights, who were helping the hurt others. “Let’s go!” she ordered them.

They nodded and started to get out of the way.

Gloreth looked at the cannon one last time before looking at the kingdom, worried for everyone.

◇

The people of the kingdom start to panic as they try to get to safety but there is no point…

The kingdom is done for…

Nimona and Ballister were still on the sword, watching the panic with worry.

“That gun is going to kill everyone…” Nimona breathed, worriedly, looking at the crowd and trying to think of a plan.

Ballister looked at Nimona, everyone, and then at the cannon. He started to hear a familiar sound that he could hear.

Then he put on a smirk and called out to Nimona, “Hey, boss.”

Nimona looked at Ballister with worry.

“Be right back.” the shapeshifter said, pointing to the wall before hitting his fist into his metal hand. “I’m gonna go break some stuff.”

“Wait, Ballister? What are you…?” Nimona started to ask, worriedly. “It’s time to rewrite this story.” Ballister said, sounding determined as he turned around to look at the cannon.

The next thing that Nimona knew was that Ballister jumped off the sword.

“Bal-! Ballister!” Nimona screamed, her eyes widened when he jumped off.

Ballister shapeshifted into a wonderful blue Phoenix just seconds before hitting the ground and flew in up above the kingdom, flying to the cannon.

Everyone looked at him with a new perspective as he flew to the cannon.

The Director grits her teeth and is ready to fire when Ballister is getting close.

“Go back to the shadows from whence you came-!” The Director growled, pulling the lever to fire.

Ballister flew into the cannon just as it went off, causing a white explosion.

When the white faded away, the kingdom went into a black out and there where the cannon was just seconds ago, there is now just a massive hole in the wall with leaving it with a pile of smoke and dust slowly falling down with some glowing sparkles everywhere.

◇

Nimona rode on Ares to get to the broken wall, having some hope that Ballister would have survived.

“Ballister!” Nimona called out when arriving at the wall. She got off of Ares and looked around worriedly. “Ballister!”

Then she saw blue sparkles gently floating down from the sky, each of them fading away one by one.

“Come back!” Nimona begged, trying to catch one of the glowing sparkles as they faded. Then she just held her hand out as the final sparke slowly fell to her hand before fading.  “Please come back…”

Then the burnt knight fell onto her knees and started to cry, holding the satchel close to herself as Gloreth slowly walked over to her.

Nimona looked at Gloreth when the golden knight drops down next to her, offering to hug her.

Nimona leans on Gloreth, still crying softly as Gloreth comforts her the best that she could. 

Then the smoke and dust settled.

Gloreth looked up to see the outside beyond the wall and was in awe. “Whoa.” she breathed.

Nimona slowly looked up to see what she’s seeing and gasped softly.

Even though it was a bit dark, the outside world was beautiful. 

There was a lot more grass, trees and plants then in the kingdom. There was a calm river, the water gently flowing by. There were mountains in the distance.

The sky was clear, showing the beautiful full moon and stars. The stars shined bright in the sky, like diamonds but more beautiful.

It all looked amazing.

A lot of people of the kingdom slowly walked to the hole of the wall to see the outside world and were amazed.

Then, from in the woods, out came a big group of people. But most of them looked different, like they weren’t human.

The people from the group stared at the people of the kingdom while the people of the kingdom stared at the people of the group.

Then one of the people of the group slowly went to the hole and looked around at the people and the kingdom before looking at Gloreth and Nimona.

“Do you all need help?” The person asked.

Gloreth nodded. “Yes… please… we need help. A lot of us are hurt badly and our home is destroyed…”

The person nodded. “Okay, I’ll be back. I just need to inform my group of what’s going on.” they said.

Gloreth and Nimona nodded.

The person went back to the group and told them what happened.

Then the person came back and said, “Okay, some of the members of my group are going to help you all while the others go back to our village and get more help… just to let you all know that some people of our village are… different.”

Nimona couldn’t help but smile and nodded. She hoped that this could be the next chapter for everyone. Then she passed out because of pain.

[xandriagreat]

Ballister | Chapter 3

Prologue | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

Notice/warnings: pain, shouting/yelling, CAPs, arrest, beheading mention, jailbreak, slaps, attacking, falling, destroying, knocking out

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The rain was still pouring as Nimona walked around in the woods.

Nimona liked rain.

She finds it calming and she also likes the smell.

She was thinking about earlier with the conversation with Ballister, about him being her sidekick.

'I haven't made a lot of progress in a few weeks and a sidekick would be helpful.' Nimona thought with a hum.

At one point during her walk, Nimona stopped walking as she looked at the kingdom.  She was looking at one thing that stood out of the kingdom.

It was the statue of Ambrosius.

The statue of Ambrosius was a giant statue that was made of stone and gold of an East Asian man holding his sword and pointing it straight ahead as if to give a warning or an order to vanish the bad and evil away from the kingdom. 

Nimona sighed and took her hood off as she continued to look at the statute from her shadow spot.

She didn’t know how long she was there until she heard a knight shout, “There she is!”

Nimona jumped and turned around to see a few knights running to her. 

Quickly, Nimona began to run to get away...

◇

Nimona’s plan of running didn’t go to plan as she was taken to a dungeon cell at the Institute.

She was thrown into the cell by a few knights. She growled and glared at them as the cell door closed and the knights went out to get some food, the entrance to the dungeon closed.

Nimona sighed as she paced around the cell, trying to think of a plan.

Then she stopped pacing when she heard the door open again and footsteps walking over to her cell.

Nimona looked to see who was there.

It was the Director of the Institute.

“Nimona…” The Director breathed as she looked at her. The ‘What happened to you?’ look was written on the Director’s face as she looked at Nimona.

“Director.” Nimona breathed, quickly walking over to her to be stopped by the cell bars. 

The Director took a step back to be away from her as she looked at her.

That broken Nimona’s heart.

“Director… I’m innocent, I swear on Ambrosius’ name.” Nimona started, her breath shaky. “I didn’t plant that bomb in the gift.”

“No one believes that because we all saw what happened.” The Director said, her voice stern. “Also, with what was left of it, the bomb was made by some acquaintances that used to be in connection with your family.”

Nimona couldn't believe it.

She shook her head and started, “No, I have never been in any contact with Crisonthron’s acquaintances for years-” 

The Director raised her hand, to say ‘stop’, making Nimona stop.

“I feel so foolish and... I trusted you.” The Director said, shaking her head coldly. “The Queen believed in you. She treated you like another child of hers. She thought someone like you could be a hero. And it cost her her life.”

Nimona looked down as she shook her head more. “Director, please. You know I loved the Queen… I love the Institute. Talk to Goldenloin.” she said, trying to be calm. Then she got an idea and she asked, “Can I speak to Goldenloin? Or Stevenson?”

The Director shook her head. “They are both as heartbroken as the rest of this kingdom.” she said, saddened.

Then The Director started to walk away as she added, “For what you’ve done, you will soon be joining your family very soon.”

Nimona’s eyes widened in fear. “NO! PLEASE! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!” she shouted after The Director.

“What is set is done.” The Director said coldly, still walking to the dungeon’s entrance.

“PLEASE! GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE! DIRECTOR!” Nimona continued to shout.

The Director stopped at the door frame and then turned around to look at her. “We gave you a chance.” she said before leaving.

The door closed as Nimona shouted angrily, “BUT I DIDN’T DO THIS!”

Nimona breathed heavily and quick before screaming loudly as she hit the bars before sliding down against the cell wall. Then she touched her neck nervously, her breath becoming shaky with fear.

Nimona listened to the silence, nothing but some rat sounds. 

“Hey Boss.” a familiar voice said right next to Nimona.

“Ah!” Nimona exclaimed, jumping up onto her feet and looking at who was with her in the cell.

It was Ballister.

He was sitting on the ground of the cell and looking at her.

Nimona looks at him, confused. “What?! How?!” Nimona asked, looking at Ballister and then at the bars before looking at Ballister again.

“Like I said before, I know how to find things well.” Ballister said, getting up and stretching. 

“Right.” Nimona said to herself, looking to the side for a moment. Then she smiled softly and said, “Thanks for coming to help.”

“Don’t thank me just yet.” Ballister said.

Nimona looked at where the teen was originally standing but he wasn’t there in the cell.

She looked around to see where he was.

Ballister was outside of the cell now, which shocked and confused Nimona.

“I got to get you first.” Ballister said, playing his human and metal fingers against the bars as he walked over to the key panel of the cell.

“What, whoa, wait…? How did you get out?!” Nimona asked, very confused.

“I know the code.” the teen said, smiling and acting cool. He taps some numbers into the keypad while mimicking the sounds, “Beep bop boop beep bop!”

An error sound came from the keypad after putting in numbers.

The smile faded from Ballister’s face quickly into a frown. Then he punches it, destroying it in an explosion in sparks and the cell door opened.

Ballister smiled as he bowed. “After you.”

Nimona just stood in the cell in shock, progressing of what just happened.

“You coming?” Ballister said, standing up right and tilting his head to the side. “Because if you don’t, then you’ll be taken to your execution and you’ll be beheaded. You’ll have your last thoughts as you pass away after 15 seconds.”

Without a second thought, Nimona popped her lips and stepped out of the cell, not turning back now.

“Okay. But I lead.” Nimona said, starting to walk out with Ballister. “If you see anyone-”

“Hide.” Ballister interrupted.

Nimona looked at him and said “I was going to say attack ‘em. If you see anyone, attack ‘em. But also a good plan.”

Ballister nodded as the two got out of the dungeon.

◇

The two sneak through the empty halls of the Institute. But every once in a while Ballister would get bored and knock something over.

Nimona was ready to fight any knight that they would run into.

But as they got to the security room, Nimona noticed that there weren't any guards around while Ballister picked up a cup of coffee and spilled it all over the keyboard, making the screens go static and the keyboard sizzled.

“This place should be crawling with guards.” Nimona said as they left the security room and into the next hallway. “How exactly did you get past them-?”

The question was answered as they walked by a break room.

Inside the break room were a dozen unconscious Institute knights. They look like they were thrown around like dolls.

Nimona looked at Ballister and pointed at the room as if to say ‘did you do that?’.

Ballister looked at the room before looking at Nimona and answering, “They were like that when I got here.”

Nimona felt it was a lie but didn’t push it.

But then the alarms went off.

“Found them! They're over here!” a voice call out.

Nimona and Ballister turned around to see a group of guards rushing over to them.

“Charge!” the knights shouted as they ran.

Nimona got her hands up, ready to fight. But then she felt a sharp pain sting her burned arm, making her hold her arm in pain.

Ballister noticed the pain look on her face. 

Thinking quickly, Ballister got a nearby fire extinguisher off the wall and sprayed it at the knights, temporarily blinding and slowing them down.

“We need to go!” he says, grabs Nimona’s non-burned arm and pulls her to start running while still holding the fire extinguisher.

◇

Ballister and Nimona race down the hallway as Institute Knights pour out of some halls and rooms.

The sting pain in Nimona’s burn arm stopped as they ran.

Some knights were shooting at them across the open atrium as they ran.

“Do you have a plan?!” Nimona asked, glancing at Ballister before looking back at where she was running.

“This is one of the plans!” Ballister answered with sass, still running with her. “I break you out, chaos, mayhem, something something something we win!”

Ballister and Nimona burst through some doors into another hallway, exiting the open atrium, and quickly close the doors.

“Oh, of course! The old ‘something, something, something, we win’! What were the other plans?!” Nimona asked angrily, grabbing a nearby spear and putting it in between the handles of the doors to block those guards from entering to give them more time.

“I break you out, make a mess, something something something we win! We were doing that before the alarms!” Ballister said with sass again. “I only have two plans!”

Then another group of guards started to charge at them. Ballister pointed the fire extinguisher at them and sprayed it at the knights, again, temporarily blinding and slowing them down. 

Nimona and Ballister ran down the hallway before the guards got up with more guards.

“Those are the same thing! And both are bad plans!” Nimona argued as they ran.

“Well they're better than your plan of ‘I'm going to a throw a temper tantrum before however long before being beheaded’!” Ballister argued back.

“I was not throwing a temper tantrum!” Nimona shouted as she grabbed Ballister’s arm and turned around the corner quickly.

They hid in a dark alcove as the group of knights chasing them raced past them.

Nimona glared at Ballister as she whispered, “Releasing anger. I was releasing anger. That’s what most knights do.”

Ballister looked at her as they started to go out of the alcove and went down that hallway.

“That’s a bad excuse for anger issues.” Ballister said as they got to an open area of hallways.

Nimona felt her anger boil as she heard that. Then she got in front of Ballister, making the both of them stop walking, putting her hands on his shoulders, and started to shake him. “I DON’T HAVE ANGER ISSUES!” she shouted at him, still shaking him. 

Ballister just looked at her with wide eyes. There wasn’t fear in his eyes, just confusion.

Then he looked to the side as she continued to shake him. “Bossss. You need to stop.” the teen said, looking at something.

Nimona stopped shaking him as she looked at what he was looking at.

It was Gloreth.

Gloreth was standing in front of them in shock. 

“Nim?” Gloreth breathed, a confused small smile while a look of disbelief was on her face.

Nimona let go of Ballister as she said softly, “Gloreth…”

Ballister shook his head to steady himself before looking at both women.

Nimona looked worried and scared while Gloreth looked at Nimona’s burnt arm, a look of worry and guilt on her face.

Ballister noticed both looks of the two women's faces. “Ohhh! Nemesis…” he growled with a smile.

“Nemesis?” Gloreth asked, clearly looking hurt and confused.

Nimona looks at Ballister and then at Gloreth in a panic. “No! No! No. Glor-” Nimona started to explain but as she was about to step forward, Gloreth was about to grab her sword. Nimona froze with fear and couldn’t process what was happening.

Ballister noticed and quickly pointed the fire extinguisher at Gloreth before the blonde knight could fully grab her sword. He started to spray at Gloreth but it sparyed out only a handful before the fire extinguisher started hissing. 

Confused, Ballister looked at how much was left in the fire extinguisher.

It was empty.

Ballister looked back at Gloreth, who was wiping the foam off her face and looked at him.

Ballister gave a quick awkward smile and small laugh before throwing the fire extinguisher at Gloreth, hitting her in the chest and making her stumble back a bit.

That gave him enough time to grab Nimona and they both began running again as another group of knights and guards started chasing them.

Ballister spotted a door that looked promising to him as they ran. He and Nimona quickly went inside it.

He slams it shut behind them and latches it with a wooden beam. Then he looked at what room they were in.

They were in the supply closet.

It was dark and there were no other exits.

“Oh... Not an exit… My bad…” Ballister said with an awkward chuckle as he looked at Nimona.

Nimona was sitting down on the floor, shocked and dazed.

“Did you see the way she looked at me?” Nimona asked, hugging herself. “She really thinks I killed the Queen…”

“Everyone thinks that you killed the queen.” Ballister said to her.

BAM!

The both of them jumped and looked at the door.

The door was being battered by knight’s swords and axes. It was still standing but there was only an amount of time until it breaks.

Nimona got out of her daze state and got up, trying to figure out what to do. She got Ballister behind her as she put more planks of wood up against the door. 

“We need to get out of here.” she breathed as she tried to think in her panicked state.

The next thing Nimona knew was that she got turned around by Ballister and then got slapped by him.

"OW!" Nimona exclaimed in anger. She looked at him as she rubbed where he slapped her while Ballister said, “I’m sorry but you need to snap out of it, boss.”

“That slap didn’t really help me calm down.” Nimona said, still rubbing where she was slapped.

Ballister sighed as he grabbed her by her face with his hands to make her look at him. “Look, I can get us out of here. But things are about to get weird…” Ballister said quickly but sounded a bit hesitant at the end.

“About to get weird?” Nimona asked as if things weren't weird enough.

“Promise me you won’t freak out.” Ballister said, worried.

BAM!

The door was cracking.

“How can I promise if I don’t know what’s going to happen?” Nimona asked angrily.

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to trust me!” Ballister said angrily.

Nimona shoves Ballister away to get out of his grip and shouted, “Why would I trust you?!”

"Because if you don’t, you’ll die in this closet!" Ballister shouted back.

Nimona’s eyes widened at the realization.

BAM!

Some light was peaking through the cracks of the door.

“So promise!” Ballister said, wanting Nimona to trust him.

“I promise!” Nimona said, nodding.

“Promise promise?!” Ballister asked aggressively, pointing at her to check if she meant it.

“On my life!” Nimona said, putting another plank of wood up against the door to try to give them more time.

“Then say it again.” Ballister said loudly.

“I PROMISE!” Nimona shouted at him.

Ballister looked surprised by that. “Oh wow, even when you see what I can do?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“What do you mean by that?!” Nimona shouted, wanting to know what he meant.

BAM!

Nimona jumped and turned around to see that the door was close to buckling.

“JUST KEEP THE PROMISE!” Ballister shouted at Nimona, turning sparkling blue as he started to shapeshift.

“Alright! I’ll keep the promise that I won’t freak ou-” Nimona started to shout but then gasped loudly when she turned around to see Ballister changing into something different.

◇

The teen boy named Ballister just transformed into something and the next thing that Nimona knew was that the thing broke down the breaking door.

When the dust settled everyone saw a blue rhino with black robotic prosthetic rhino leg and some scars.

The rhino looked at the knights and smirked. “This is the part where you run.” the rhino spoke.

It sounded like Ballister.

Knights screamed and scattered as the rhino started to chase some of them.

Nimona carefully gets out of the now ruined supply closet and, with wide eyes, she watches the blue rhino knock some knights to the side.

The blue rhino laughed as he turned around and looked at Nimona. Then he started to charge at her.

Nimona felt the color drained from her face and she started to run. “Oh no! No, no, no! Stay away-!” she screamed as she ran.

But she wasn’t fast enough to outrun the blue rhino as the ‘beast’ caught up to her and tossed her up in the air. She landed on the back of ‘beast’ and clings onto him as her life depends on it.

Nimona looked at the beast as they hurtled down the corridor.

“Ballister, is this you?” Nimona asked as she continued to cling onto the back.

“It’s me, boss!” the blue rhino said with a laugh, still running.

Ballister bash through a set of closed doors while Nimona still clings onto him.

“What are you?!” Nimona asked, trying to figure Ballister out.

“I’m Ballister! I’m a lot of things!” Ballister answered with a smile.

The next thing Nimona knew was that she was now sitting in a moving revolving chair, holding Ballister, who just shifted into a blue fox. Then Ballister jumped out of her hands and shifted again into a blue hawk. And then Ballister shifted into a blue raccoon, pushing the revolving chair in a direction to get to safety.

All of the animals that Ballister turned into had a few things in common, besides being different colors of blue, they had a right front black robotic prosthetic leg/arm.

‘What is happening?!’ Nimona thought as she clung onto the chair. 

The next thing Nimona knew that Ballister shapeshifted into a blue Gorilla and he picked her up out of the chair. Then Ballister held Nimona in one arm as he leapt off a balcony, grabbed a hold of one of the chandeliers, swings on it to reach one of the columns and slid down to the floor.

Then Ballister shifts into an Ostrich when they got onto the floor. Nimona clings onto Ballister as he continues to run in this new form.

Ballister looked at Nimona, who looked terrified as she clings onto him. “Are you gonna be okay?” he asked as he continued to run.

“I don’t know!” Nimona answered, still clinging onto him.

“You promised not to freak out!” Ballister said, frowning at her.

“Right! Also you need to turn right!” Nimona said, pointing right.

Ballister looked back at where he’s running and turned right around the corner.

They were heading to the mess hall as some guards stood in front of the doors, blocking their path.

“Halt!” the knights ordered, pointing their swords at them.

Ballister smiled and shifted into a huge whale, now sliding on the floor, knocking the knights to the side, and knocking the doors open. He slid to a stop at the center of the mess hall.

Nimona panting heavily as she clinged onto Ballister, hoping that this wild ride was over.

“Huh… This floor is surprisingly stable.” Ballister said out loud, looking at the floor.

CRACK!

The floor began to crack.

“Oh, here we go!” Ballister laughed while Nimona said “Oh no-”

CRACK!

The floor gave way and they both fell through. Ballister broke many floors as he landed on them, making the both of them fall through more.

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! STOP!!!” Nimona screamed as they fell.

Ballister stops breaking through the floors at the floor of one of the grand atriums, the statue hall of heroes of the past.

Nimona landed on Ballister’s back with a loud smack, which stopped her fall. Then she slided down the side as she narrowed her eyes on him. 

Ballister couldn’t help but laugh.

Then the statues around them start to topple and crash down.

Ballister quickly shapeshifted into the rhino again and tossed Nimona back onto his back. 

Nimona clings onto Ballister as he runs down the hall, dodging the huge statues and columns that are crashing down.

All of the exit doors were blocked but the only thing that wasn’t blocked was a stained glass window of knights.

“Hold on tight!” Ballister told Nimona as he ran towards the window.

Nimona held on for her life as she looked at where he was running. “Wait- the window?!” she asked in shock.

Ballister jumped and they burst through a stained glass window, sailing through the air for a moment before dropping into a bunch of trees.

Nimona fell off of Ballister’s back as Ballister shapeshifted into armadillo while they fell through the tree branches. Ballister was laughing as he rolled down onto the ground.

Ballister shapeshifted back into his teen form as he slid to a stop. 

Nimona rolled to a stop nearby him as Ballister checked his black robotic prosthetic arm.

“Something something something, we win.” Ballister said to himself, smiling and looking up at the Institute.

Nimona slowly sat up and looked at the Institute as well.

BOOM!

The tower of the Institute, that they just jumped out of to escape, explodes. A fire slowly burning at the still standing building.

Ballister watches with satisfaction while Nimona watches in shock. 

“Bam-boom!” Ballister said, his eyes reflecting the fire.

Some pieces of flying debris of the statues landed near them. Then one of the flying pieces hit Nimona hard on the head, knocking her out.

[xandriagreat]

Ballister | Chapter 2

Prologue | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

Notice/warnings: 3rd degree burn, weapons, shouting/yelling, caps

▪︎▪︎▪︎

In the middle of the woods, there was an abandoned mansion.

Inside the mansion, there was Nimona, who was training with a medium size metal pole.

Nimona still had her rose gold armor but it was ruined by scratches and ashes stained onto it. She made a new left armor shoulder pad and armor sleeve but they were a black gray.

Her whole left arm and a bit of the left side of her neck had a 3rd degree burn from the fire explosion, still pink and some red. But yet it still works.

The back of her head was just shaved while the rest of her red hair has grown a bit. Her hair was still a bit short but it was still long enough to put it in a small ponytail. Her side bangs had a new layer of dyed pink.

Nimona stopped training with the pole and put it away before she went over to a wall.

She turned on an overhead light and looked at the wall that was covered with newspaper clippings and hand-scribbled notes. There were red strings connecting some of the photos of those tied in some way to either the Queen or Nimona.

‘Who could have done it?’ she thought as she looked at the evidence and clues that she had.

Then there was a knock on the entrance door, which made Nimona jump.

‘What? How?’ she thought as she turned around and looked at the door.

Nimona picked up a broken bottle as she carefully walked to the door.

The knocking got louder as she walked to the door.

She takes in a breath as she reaches the door knob, ready to attack anyone with the broken bottle. She throws open the door to see no one.

Nimona looked around to see if anyone was there.

There was no one.

Just rain pouring down.

Nimona closed the door, very confused. 

“That was weird…” she said to herself as she started to turn around to get back to what she was doing. But when she turned around, Nimona saw a British-Pakistani teen boy in front of her, startling her.

Nimona points the broken bottle at him threateningly.

But the teen didn’t look scared.

“Hey boss.” the teen said with a normal looking smile.

Nimona looks at the teen, confused. She slowly lowered the bottle as she looked at the teen.

The teen had a scar over his right eye and his right arm was a black robotic prosthetic. He had long black hair that went to his shoulders and two different color streaks in his hair, a light blue and dark indigo. He wore a black pants, a dark indigo sash around his waist, a light blue shirt and blue jacket with both right sleeves removed. He also has a black satchel.

Nimona looks at the teen for a moment before looking at the door.

“How did you-?” she started as she looked back at the teen but noticed that he was already exploring the lair.

“This place is cool for being a secret lair.” the teen said out loud, looking at the workbench. Then he picks up a blow torch and turns it on. “Oh! Nice!” 

“Hey! Put that down!” Nimona exclaimed angrily as she rushed over. 

The teen's eyes widened as the burned knight rushed over, making him turn the blow torch off and put it back. 

Nimona checked to see that everything was in place then she sighed.

“Who are you?” Nimona asked, looking at the teen, who was now in a revolving chair.

“I’m Ballister.” the teen said, introducing himself as he rolled to her and offering his hand to her.

Nimona nodded slowly. “Ok… and how did you-” she started but was cut off by Ballister holding her burned hand, examining and said, “Whoa, that’s a pretty bad burn…”

Then Ballister looked at Nimona and added, “I do have something that can help strengthen it.”

Nimona started to get a bit weirded out. “It’s fine. Let go.” Nimona said, shaking her arm to make him let go. 

She took a few steps back and looked at the teen as she asked, “How did you find this place and why are you here?”

“I know how to find things well.” Ballister explained, still rolling around in the revolving chair. Then he stopped at a table and picked up one of the daggers that was on the table as he added, “Also, to answer your other question, I’m here for the job.”

Nimona got confused as she went to him and took the dagger away. “Job? What Job?” she asked while putting the dagger back on the table.

“It’s all here in my application.” Ballister said, handing her some papers as he rolled around more.

Nimona looked at the papers as Ballister rolled to her, looking at her reaction.

The papers were just drawings.

Very disturbing drawings of knights being attacked by different animals that were in different shades of blue.

“These are just… drawings. Very disturbing drawings.” Nimona said as she looked at the different drawings. 

Then she looked at one drawing and exclaimed, “Oh, look! It's me… On a rhinoceros… Skewering several guards like a human kebab?! Why in the world am I riding a rhinoceros?!”

Nimona showed the drawing to Ballister, wanting an answer. But all that Ballister gave was a giggle. 

“Yeah! Do you like it?!” he asked excitedly.

Nimona didn’t answer as she looked at the drawings again.

“Well, I thought a visual aid would make my resume really pop.” Ballister said, spinning around in the chair.

When Nimona was done looking at the drawings, she looked up to see that Ballsiter wasn’t in the revolving chair anymore. “Huh?” she asked, looking around to see where he was.

“Up here.” Ballister said from up above her.

Nimona looks up to see Ballister on one of the low hanging chandeliers.

“So, about the job-” Ballister started to but was cut off when Nimona, who was so done with this not full communication, shouted “WHAT JOB?!”

Ballister looked at her for a moment before smiling and said, “Oh, my apologies! I sometimes tend to jump ahead of myself but anyway! I’m here to be your sidekick!” 

Nimona just stares at Ballister for a moment before saying “What?”

“To be your sidekick.” Ballister explained, jumping down onto the table and picking up the dagger again to carefully play with it. “You know, to help you do whatever it takes to get revenge on the cold, cruel world that rejected you. Like rob a place? Or lay low until they don’t remember you and then we rise like a fiery phoenix from the ashes to overthrow the government? Or-”

Before Ballister continued listing what they could do, he swung his arms wide and lost grip of the dagger, sending it flying and hitting something.

Ballister and Nimona, still in their spots, look at what the dagger hit.

The dagger hit and went through a painting of a family, the blade looked stuck on the wall.

Ballister chuckled nervously as he and Nimona looked at each other.

“Or… we could just… talk.” Ballister said, sounding sincere. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.” Nimona said, still staring at him and thinking.

Ballister stares back at her before shrugging. 

“The point is...whatever your dark heart desires, Boss.” Ballister said, opening his arms wide again as to present himself. “Because your sidekick has arrived!”

Nimona blinked at him for a moment. “I don’t need a sideki-” she started but was interrupted as Ballister said dismissively, “Every villain needs a sidekick.”

Nimona was taken back by that. “Wait- no.” Nimona started to explain as Ballister looked around and got distracted by something. “I’m not a-”

“Whoa!!!” Ballister explained, jumping off the table and running to the thing that caught his eye.

Nimona puts the paper down on the table and runs after him to see what got his attention.

It was the wall covered with evidence and clues of the attack.

“Sweet wall!” Ballister exclaimed excitedly. “Are these your next targets?”

“What? No!” Nimona exclaimed as she went to him.

Ballister wasn’t listening as he pointed at a photo of Todd and said, “Oh! Look at this guy! He looks so punchable!”

Nimon looked at the photo and nodded in agreement. “You’re right, he is actually extremely punchable.”

Then she shook her head to get back on track. “No- wait. It’s not a murrder wall.” Nimona said, pointing at the wall. “It’s an... Innocence… evidence… clue… wall.”

Ballister looked at Nimona then at the wall and then back at Nimona. “So… are you saying you’re not a villain or you are a villain?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Yes!” Nimona shouted.

“Which one is it? Are you a villain or are you not a villain?!”

“I am not a villain!” Nimona answered with a shout. 

Ballister still looks at her, confused. "Then... why are you still holding the broken bottle?" he asked, pointing at the broken bottle that Nimona was still holding.

Nimona look at the broken bottle for a moment. "I'm used to holding things that I sometimes forget that I'm holding it." she said before throwing it to the side.

Then she sighed as she looked at the wall. "Look, I've been framed for a crime I didn't do. And I'm sorry that it breaks your sidekick dream." Nimona said to Ballister as she turned to look at him.

Ballister stared at Nimona before nodding. “Ok… ok!” he said, smiling at her. “I can work with this.”

That made Nimona confused. “What?”

“I still want to be your sidekick.” Ballister said, walking back to the revolving chair and sitting down. “If you want me to be your sidekick.”

Nimona looked at Ballister, thinking. “I’ll… think about it.” she sighed before walking to him and getting him out of the chair.

The teen watched the burnt knight get her black traveling cloak as they went to the door. 

“Where are we going?” Ballister asks.

“I’m going on a walk. I need to clear my head.” Nimona said, putting on the black cloak over her. “Also, I need you not to be here.”

“Why?”

“Because I have a feeling if I leave you here while I go out, you’ll call the knights and I’ll be arrested.”

Ballsiter nodded and hummed. “Ok, that’s understandable since we just met… Want some company?” he asked.

“No, I’ll be fine.” Nimona said as they went to the front door. She got her hood up as she said under her breath, “I normally hide in the shadows.”