#what if ballister became a shapeshifting ?

[sabindark]

Sacrifice

Part 2

[riririkinzi]

THE SILVER PROMISE AND THE GOLDEN BETRAYAL

An au in which Nimona and Ballister have more help and Ambrosius pulls his head out of his ass sooner.

THANK YOU AGAIN @mavka12 FOR THE HELP!!!!

And if you wanna hear the Gloreth version HERE

- Same stuff happens in the Gloreth version but when the wall was fully built, and people stopped going over, not even a knight, everyone rejoiced that the genocide is over.

- But Nimona still kept the sanctuary and army, cause they need to be prepared for any calamity.

- She send out the shapeshifters to spy on the kingdom and institute without being known for any updates.

- When she heard the news on Bal during the knight Ceremony, Nimona knew she Bal would be the perfect candidate as her right hand man for the job cause he's  knew the institute inside out.

- Nimona knew the only way to convince Bal is by recruiting him herself, so like they encountered the same way in canon but when the destruction happened, instead of taking him back to the lair, she took him to the sanctuary beyond the wall.

-  When Bal woke up, he was suprised by the unfamilar surrounding, and was greeted by the heelers and Nimona, then the asking happens like in the movie but with him wondering where he's in.

- Nimona explained that he's in the sanctuary of the Silver society, in the woods and most importantly beyond the wall.

- This completely shocked Bal from everything when he met Nimona, and asked why they took him, and wondering if there's suppost to be monsters.

- Nimona snapped him out of it saying there's no monsters at all, it's just a twisted lie and that she have to explain to him soon but he needs rest first.

- Later when Bal got out of bed, Nimona showed him around and explained everything from the sanctuary, he was quite intimidated, and nervous at the magical creatures and those with non full human blood .

- The fact about monsters is just a twisted lie, and the truth of Gloreth, and why she's doing this.

- It shocked Bal so hard, realizing that everything from the Whitewall is just a twisted lie a propaganda, he can only imagine how shocked Ambro would be that his bloodline is just a lie.

- Nimona explained that not only why she recruited Bal but one of her spies was able to find proof for his innocence, and showed him the footage of the Director switching his sword with the other that started it.

- Nimona revealed to Bal the fact that the institute's jacked system, and the ignorance of Poverty, and the real vunerable

- She made him choose that he must join them to clear out his name and take down the institute, or let them live a lie for more than 1000 of years.

- Bal accepts and joins Nimona, and so when Bal settled in his new room, she gave him new clothes and stuff, and tells that he had to get a tattoo to be apart of the sanctuary unless he has skin condition.

- So when Bal got his tattoo, they strapped him tightly and lay him down something cozy so it won't cause trouble, but Bal handled this like a champ that the tattoo prep was a sucesss, it was placed at the back.

- Things were going well for the next few days until Bal started to vomit frequently, the healers confirmed that Bal is actually pregnant.

- This meant that Bal must refrain from combat battles and training or any heavylifting during the pregnancy, and luckily Nimona and the others were there to lookout for him, but Bal felt that he wishes Ambro was there.

- Meanwhile back in the kingdom, Ambro became depressed and emotionless, he felt like he could have done something, so Bal would stay with him.

- The baby's Labor was a day before the due date, and the way she was delivered is in the lake.

- After the baby is born Ballister and Nimona name him Orion and Ballister notices that his son has poliosis.

- Ballister doesn't care about that and loves his son regardless of what he looks like and Nimona has a soft spot for him.

- After the baby is born, a year and a half passed as they prepared to confront the director.

As the 2 head to the kingdom, appearing infront of the knights, Ambro and the director, exposed her with the footage.

- But the director denies it and saying their lying, the knight believed Bal while the others doesn't and Ambro's stuck in between.

- The fight like the canon happens except crispy scene.

- When Bal struck the sword to the ground around Ambro, his last words to him before he and Nimona escape are "Everything we grew up believeing is just an exaggerated lie" with a harsh cold glare.

- As he and Nimona escape with a smoke bomb. The director knew she's from beyond the wall so she sent Ambro and the knights to go beyond and find the 2.

- One of the spies  got notified on that and fled to Nimona about the news, she alert the sanctuary citizens to prepare everything for evactaution and fighters/magic users for Battle.

- Meanwhile for Ambro during the preperations, he wanders into the vault and looks through every book and scroll about the Gloreth, until he found  a small old journal, that belong to Gloreth.

- In that journal is when Gloreth wrote the truth about her and Nimona, how they used to be best friends, how her parents influenced her that she's a monster, making her go back to the shadows and regretting it every single day.

- She regretting betraying Nimona but Gloreth knew it was the only way to protect Nimona from small minded folks clouded by fear.

- Soon as she got older and was sent to knighthood, she was commanded by the royals to exterminate the mythicals beyond the wall, and that's how Nimona formed the Silver society, to protect those from Gloreth and her army.

- Ambro was stunned and shocked that he froze in thought immediently, his mind repeating in circles of the words "It's just a lie" over and over for a bit realizing Bal was right, everything in the kingdom, the will of Gloreth, the bloodline, the legacy is just a lie and a propaganda.

- He knew he had to do something, so he hid the Journal with him back to his place, as he prepare himself for the expedition, the day came, citizens wished the knights a good luck and go beyond the wall, while for the Silver society.

- Citizens evacuated way before the knights came and was left was Nimona, Bal, guards and the protecters prepared for a battle.

- As the knights arrived, before the battle began, some knights joined the protecters saying they don't want to live in a lie and are tired of everyone expecting them to follow their family's footsteps, and wants to be free and so did Ambro, which lead Todd taking the lead.

- As the battle begans for a while the protecters won and the knights lost.

- After the battle the protecters accepted Ambro but wasn't ready trust him, so they gave him a warning that they got eyes on him if he makes a move, so half of the protecters, Nimona, Bal and Ambro return to Whitewall to finally take down the director and disband the institute.

- They fought off more knights while the  protecters stalled them so the 3 can reach the directors office.

- And when they finally did, the director readys her lazer staff to shoot right at Ambro at his shoulder luckily, and one of the shifters sucessfully grabbed it quickly before more calamity happens then another from Nimona's army grabbed the director as she's now arrested.

- When she surrendered, Nimona grabbed the her neck saying that she's started it all for her sick fantasies to keep up the legacy that's just a twisted lie all those centuries, that Gloreth never slayed monsters, she slaughtered innocent mythical creatures and exterminated them that almost lead to genocide.

- She told her that what everyone believed is just a lie, Gloreth was just a child that betrayed her friend all because she was different, that adults taught her hate and fear.

- The monster never destroyed the village at all it was all on the villagers being clouded by fear all because of a girl who can shapeshift who they think she's a monster, and that girl was Nimona.

- The director was stunned but admits that she killed the queen and framed Bal and explaining why while slandering Bal in everyway, but she didn't know that it's being recorded live for the whole kingdom to see.

- The people are shocked from the truth yet outrage at the Director that they gathered infront of the institute, shouting that she deserves to be executed, that Queen Valerin and Ballister deserves justice, and to take down the wall and the institute.

- Soon as she's executed, Ambro announced the whole kingdom the truth of Gloreth and everything happending that Nimona decided not to disband but to restart the institute, the system, history and everything in the whitewall and taken the wall down as people are finally free to travel the world if they wished.

- Soon Bal told Ambro that he was pregnant while he was gone and had a child, and was shocked, but he can meet him when it's over.

- When Ambro met the child, his heart was melted and cried a bit when he held him.

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

I've talked a bit about how Comic Ambrosius has memory issues regarding events that happened prior to the canon (his childhood, the joust, etc) but I'd like to explore the fact that this would naturally mean he has memory issues regarding events that happened during canon, and that the existing memory issues didn't go away.

I headcanon that even after understanding that the joust was his fault and trying to atone for it, he'd occasionally forget the reason that Ballister has a prosthetic arm. He'd get as far as asking about it, but the look on Ballister's face would always remind him. I imagine he'd sometimes forget that Ballister was the one who poisoned those people and default back to thinking it was Jaderoot from the Institution, even blaming himself for not knowing or stopping it, to which Ballister has the heavily unpleasant task of reminding him what really happened. I strongly believe that he would forget that Nimona and the monster that caused his disability were the same person, especially once/if Nimona re-entered their lives and he became comfortable with her again. He'd just simply forget she had anything to do with it, and assume that it really had been some Institution experiment gone wrong and this was just his partner's old sidekick, Nimona, the shapeshifter who comes around sometimes.

Sometimes Ballister corrects him, but sometimes he gives him a few hours or days to live in the ignorant reality he made for himself. Because Ballister knows he made it for a reason.

[williamlandon]

BALLISTER VILLIAN AU????

I’ve thought about this for awhile now and I finally did it and I love it. I’ve also kinda thought of some lore and here’s what I have so far.

————————————————————————————————————————--Some Lore: Ballister was adopted by Queen Valerin when he was young and became the prince of the kingdom.

During his coronation to become king, he was framed for murdering his mother and his appointed knight, Ambrosius, cut off his arm in an instinct without any thought.

He managed to escape the city walls without anyone noticing thankfully, but where would he go? He knew nothing about the outside world, if anything it was just as dangerous as staying in the kingdom with a harsh title, if not more dangerous.

While running into the forest, he was found by a skilled archer who was also a shapeshifter. They met when Ballister stopped by a tree to catch his breath and an arrow had been fired into his left eye. After realizing what she had done, the archer curiously dragged the unconscious yet still breathing body to her hideout.

After he woke up, she interrogated him. He told her that he was recently framed for murder and was running for his life. He also told her that he was the soon-to-be king.

She realized that he could be quite useful in her plan of revenge on the kingdom, since she too had been outcasted.

She said she would let him stay and use her resources if he helped her in a plan of revenge. After all, he would need her bandages and food if he wanted to survive out here, and he didn’t want to make an enemy he knew he couldn’t defeat. So he cautiously agreed.

After getting Ballister patched up, the archer introduced herself as Nimona.

Months pass by and they have turned to a life of crime. Atleast 3 times a week they visit the kingdom to steal resources such as food, drinks, extra scrap for patching or building, valuables, info about who the real murderer of the queen is, and weaponry.

One day when out looking for extra spray paint cans for Nimona’s vandalizing gig, the fallen prince had over heard the Squire talking to himself. “I should’ve told the prince that his sword was switched by the Director. None of this would’ve happened if I was successful.”

In an instant, Ballister was enraged. The Director did it. She was to blame for his mother’s death. “Nimona, new plan. And this time, our objective is the Director.”

Later that night Ballister found his sword covered in the Director’s blood. He had done it. She was gone. And he can finally rest. Right..?

And within a few minutes, his ex-appointed knight Ambrosius had busted into the office when alerted with the Director’s cry. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Well if it isn’t the golden boy?”

After the Director’s death, Ballister had taken back his crown and title as king. He may have enlarged his murderous title, but he didn’t care. Not this time. Consumed by his anger and grief, Ballister became the evil king in every fairytale. The kingdom was in his bondage, there was no escape. No one to stop him.

Ambrosius fled before he was captured by the new king’s servants and before the wall was sealed off. He was alone now, and even worse, his best friend, the man he loved, was his enemy. Alone in the woods, he wondered what he should do next. If he could do anything at all.. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————

I will post more about this au bc I am honestly in love with it so far. I may also write a fic about this au too I’m sure about that yet, but if I do stay tuned! <3

[calyxthenerd]

Can I have a canon divergence fic where Bal is from outside of the wall and is a descendant of a witch/elf sorceress, he encounters Ambro during his first time outside the wall

I was leading the mission to explore outside the wall, the past few months have been so confusing, one day, a huge chunk of the wall was simply gone, and the whole legion of knights was sent to wait for a threat to appear, we waited for a whole month, barely sleeping, having to have food brought out to us, but then the consensus became that there was no threat, it either had be slain long ago, or never existed, most people believe the former, after all, it’s hard to accept that what you’d believed your whole life, but I knew better, looking at the pink mouse nestled on my shoulder as I led our group into where we would set up camp next, I thought about how we’d met

////////

I was walking around town, buying supplies and food for the journey, when suddenly a random teenager stopped in my path, I sighed “look kid, i appreciate that you’re my fan, but I’m really busy right now, I’m very sorry”

“Geez, I knew you knight folk were stuck up, but the arrogance really is astounding” she shot back

“Okay, I’ll bite, if you don’t want an authograph, what is it?”

“I can help you”

He frowned “help with what?”

“Your mission, outside the wall, I can help”

He tried not to laugh “really? How can you help me?”

“I’ve been outside”

He suddenly got serious “You’ve been outside?”

“Yeah, I have, and I think I can help you not get lost or die out there, but first I need to show you something, and you have to promise not to freak out”

“Alright, I promise, what is it?” She proceeded to drag him into a dark alley and transform into a crow, he immediately made her his lieutenant, and, as they say, the rest was history

////////

Everyone was asleep, even Nimona, who was resting against my side as a bloodhound, but he was wide awake, keeping guard, when suddenly he heard a rustle in the trees nearby and shot to his feet, drawing his sword and waking his loyal friend in the process, when suddenly, random man, wearing a hooded cape emerge, making him get into a fighting stance and Nimona growl

He raised his hands in a peace offering “I did not come with any intentions of causing harm, I simply wish to investigate you, for your kingdom has been a mystery for the spellcasters guild way too long”

Ambrosius frowned “The spellcasters guild?”

“Yes, but I see one of our own has already been sent to your kingdom a few eons ago” the dark haired man looked at the girl

“First of all, who are you? Second of all, what do you mean?” He furrowed his eyebrows

“I am Ballister the Bold, and your friend there, is one of the Elders of our guild, Nimona the Valiant” he pointed at the shapeshifter, now turned back into a teenage girl “She’s a legend among us, she was cursed with immortality centuries ago, and then was assigned to a small, blooming village on the other side of the crescent river, the kingdom you currently reside in, and she stayed there, building it up with her influence and power, until it was ready to be torn down and rebuilt anew” the spellcaster explained

“Yeah, how do you think I shapeshift, dude?” she asked

“What. The. FUCK???” Ambrosius yelled

[stories-me]

Potential Character for Mrs. Kelsey and Tumblr 8/6/2024:

Nimona, Seemingly Teenage Shapeshifter:

What she’s from: Nimona.

Personality:

Nimona is a rebellious and thrill-seeking individual who wants to overthrow the institution and initially only decided to work for Ballister because she was bored. She desires to kill her enemies and tries to do so when given the opportunity, and is only stopped by Ballister who tries to serve as her moral compass.

Despite her sadistic traits and liking to prank and scare people, Nimona hates being called a monster, as it reminds her how she was once attacked by villagers for her shapeshifting abilities, and betrayed by her friend Gloreth after the latter was manipulated by her parents to see Nimona as a monster.

Nimona would grow to become best friends with Ballister, but after he finds out that she was the creature in Gloreth’s stories and their friendship got broken by Ballister pulling out a weapon, Nimona would go on a rampage, burning down part of the kingdom’s city and putting civilians in danger.

However, after being humiliated and mocked by the civilians when she was knocked out by several of the city’s security drones, Nimona tries to kill herself by using the sword of Gloreth’s statue before being calmed down by Ballister, which caused her to start hugging him. When she saw that the Director was going to use her cannons to destroy half of the city, Nimona stopped her by turning into a giant bird and going to the cannons before they were fired. The relationship with her and Ballister stayed solid even after her presumed death, and she was extremely happy when he found out she was alive.

Background:

Nimona was a shapeshifting girl who 1000 years before the movie’s events, tried to find somewhere she could fit in, and one day met a girl named Gloreth. The two would become friends and they would often play with each other. However, when Gloreth’s village saw Nimona shapeshifting, they became horrified and attacked her, and when Nimona tried to talk to Gloreth, she was manipulated by her parents to see Nimona as a monster, and told her to leave her village. Saddened by this, Nimona would start to accept her treatment as a villain and decided to cause havoc and chaos everywhere around her.

She is first seen in the movie vandalizing one of the Institute’s posters, and after seeing a report about Ballister Boldheart, who had been accused of being the killer of Queen Valerin, she decided to go to his lair and talk to him. There, Nimona asks him to become his sidekick and commit crimes with him, unaware that Ballister wasn’t interested in villainy and that he wanted to prove his innocence in the death of Queen Valerin.

After a series of incidents in the movie (Spoiler alert).

The next few months, people would start to see Nimona and Ballister as heroes and make a memorial for Nimona who was presumed dead, with even a remorseful Todd honoring her memory. However, when Ballister goes to his old lair, he finds Nimona alive and is extremely happy.

How she is like me:

When we do bad things, we both feel pretty upset about it. Also, deep down, we’re both good people. I usually try to avoid doing bad things by mostly just keeping certain thoughts of what I’d LIKE to do inside my head. I usually try to recompense by apologizing and being as nice as possible. Nimona began her recompense for her time as a would-be villain by killing the Director.

Kelsey Notes:

Sometimes when you’ve made a bad decision your mind can trick you into thinking that you’re better off digging the hole deeper

For some people emotions can be very strong, especially when we feel that we’ve hurt the ones we love who help us

It was difficult for Nimona to problem solve her way out of a situation when others misjudged her. 

Unfortunately, how people judge us can be out of our control, what we do have control over is our reactions to certain situations.

It is more difficult to stop ourselves in the moment and control how we handle a situation, especially when we don’t exactly know how to solve the problem

When we remain calm people want to be around us, when we get agitated quickly other people can feel those emotions making it less likely for them to want to be around us or help us

Overall, you may not know exactly how a problem is going to get solved but you can always trust that your support system will be there to help you through it and generally receive the best outcome possible

[xandriagreat]

Ballister | Chapter 15

Prologue | Last Chapter

Notice/warnings: crying, wounds/injuries/scars, kiss, angst, fluff, almost swearing

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The whole kingdom had to evacuate and got help from the group’s village.

It turns out that the village was a mythical village, filled with humans and monsters mythicals.

Some of the people of the kingdom weren’t sure about this but this was the help that arrived and they’re kind when they arrived.

So they accepted their help and became grateful for the help.

◇

Nimona blinks as she wakes up, groaning a bit.

Everything was a bit blurry to her for a moment before she gently rubbed her eyes and she slowly looked around. 

Nimona noticed that she was in a sometype of medical tent and was laying on a portable medical bed. 

She could feel that she wasn’t in her armor anymore but she was wearing some type of dress that feels really soft.

Nimona slowly sat up and looked at herself to see that she was wearing some type of medical and summer dress mix, which was pink.

She noticed that her hair was down when some strands of her red hair fell in front of her face and felt that her hair wasn’t tied back.

She could also smell lavender nearby and also noticed someone was sitting in a chair next to her on her left side of the bed.

She turned her head to see who the person was.

It was Gloreth. 

She wasn’t wearing her armor but was wearing some type of medical and summer dress mix, but it was yellow.

The blonde woman was holding Ballister’s satchel and was looking at it, getting lost in thought.

Nimona noticed that Gloreth had a some type of burn scar that traveled up her neck and ended at the tip of the ear. 

“Gloreth?” Nimona croaked, her throat very sore.

Gloreth jumped and her eyes lit up when looking at Nimona.

“Oh my- Nim! You’re awake!” Gloreth breathed excitedly, putting the satchel down as she got up from the chair and went to her.

Nimona waved weakly at her and said, “Hey…”

Gloreth gently hugged Nimona, who hugged her back.

“So… What happened?” Nimona asked when they were done hugging, looking at Gloreth.

Gloreth sighed and sat down on the bed, looking at Nimona for a moment. 

“After you passed out,” Gloreth started to explain, “people from the group helped everyone of the kingdom to evacuate. And then help arrived and everyone got help. The kingdom started to get fixed up again.” Then Gloreth chuckled and added, “Omar, the person who walked over to ask if we needed help, wasn’t joking when saying that the people from their village are different.”

“Let me guess…” Nimona chuckled. “Giants, cyclopes, orcs, witches, merpeople, sirens, elfs, fairies, and shapeshifters. The basic beings and things that we learned in our identifying monsters lessons?”

“Yep. Along with humans.” Gloreth chuckled, nodding softly. “They’re all very good beings and very kind.” 

Nimona hummed and nodded. “I bet…” she chuckled softly before going quiet, looking down for a moment.

“You ok?” Gloreth asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I don’t know…” Nimona said, hugging herself. “These past five months have been a lot…”

Gloreth nodded in agreement. “Yep…”

The two women got quiet for a moment.

The silence got a bit awkward.

“So… um…” Nimona started, breaking the silence as she looked at Gloreth. “How’s everyone? Are you ok? You have a really bad scar.”

“Oh! Everyone is good.” Gloreth said with a soft smile. “Everyone is amazed by the beings and the outside world.” Then she pointed at the scar and added, “You mean this? It was from The Director but I’m ok, I promise. One of the mythicals, the people of the village, gave me some type of healing lotion, which smells like lavender.”

Nimona hummed and nodded before looking at Ballister’s satchel. “I noticed that you were holding and looking at Bal’s satchel.” she said as she went back looking at Gloreth.

“Yeah…” the blonde woman said, nodding. “I looked inside it… that boy is a big collector… sorry but what pronouns did your sidekick use?”

“Ballister used he/him pronouns. And what do you mean by that? He’s a big collector?” Nimona asked, tilting her head to the side.

Gloreth nodded as she got up and went to get the bag. She walked back to her with the bag. “There are a lot of things inside of this bag.” she said, opening the bag when she sat down on the bed. “And there’s one thing that’s familiar.”

Gloreth reaches inside the bag while Nimona looks at her to see what is going to be pulled out. Gloreth pulled out Nimona’s sword out of the satchel.

Nimona’s eyes widened when seeing her sword. “My sword.” she gasped softly. Then Nimona noticed that a note was attached to it while Gloreth nodded as the blonde woman handed the sword to the red head woman.

Nimona took the sword from Gloreth and began to read the note.

To Boss:

I got this when I got the evidence of The Director’s confession. I thought that you would want your sword back, since it’s yours and you worked really hard for it. So you deserve to have it. Even if you’re not a knight of the Institute anymore. You’re still a hero. In my eyes, you are a hero. I hope that you like it!

-Your sidekick, Ballister.

Nimona stares at the note and feels tears peeking at her eyes. Her body started to shake as she started to cry, which made Gloreth get worried.

Nimona tried to calm down but ended up coughing, choking on her tears. “Sorry…” Nimona choked out, her hands covering her mouth as she coughed again.

“Hey. It’s ok…” Gloreth reassured, carefully taking the sword and putting it to the side, along with the satchel. “Do you want anything? Like hug or-”

Then Nimona quickly nodded as she lowered her hands from her face. “P-please… hug…”

Gloreth gently pulled Nimona into a hug and held her close. 

Nimona clings onto Gloreth, crying more while rubbing her back.

“It’s ok, Nimona… It’s going to be ok.” Gloreth reassured.

Nimona calmed down after a while. She looked at Gloreth, who was smiling softly at her and gently wiped her tears away.

Nimona smiled back softly, sniffing a bit, “You sure?”

“Yep.” Gloreth said, nodding. “You’re not alone this time. You have people who can help, talk, and listen.”

“Like you?”

“Only if you want. I can just be just a friend who lets you cry on their shoulder. Nothing more. But only if you want.” Gloreth said softly.

Nimona stares at her for a moment before nodding softly with a soft smile. “I would like that. We can be friends. I can be the shoulder for you too.”

Gloreth smiled back and hugged Nimona softly, who hugged back with a chuckle.

◇seven months later◇

A lot has changed with the realm.

The rule of ‘never let your guard down’ was changed to ‘only have your guard up when needed’. 

The cannons have been removed from the wall.

That gave everyone a sense of calm, even the knights and guards.

There were new homes, new businesses, and new buildings.

The hole in the wall has been re-made as a welcoming archway, allowing all people safe passage to travel in and out of the Kingdom as they please.

The remaining standing part the wall has become has completely changed into an open community with a park.

The Humans of all classes and Mythicals got along very well.

◇

Nimona was on the remaining standing part of the wall, seeing a great view of the kingdom with how far it's come along with new change since the wall was down.

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. 

She was wearing black pants and a dark pink tank top. She also was wearing her black jacket around her waist. 

Nimona didn’t mind if she got stared at because of her burn scars. 

She also had Ballister’s satchel with her.

‘Some of us don’t get the “Happily ever-after” we were looking for. Maybe it’s not that kind of kingdom. Or maybe it’s not the end of the story.’ Nimona thought as she looked out.

Then for a moment, Nimona thought that she saw Ballister run past her. She turned around to see it was just one of the other shapeshifting kids who had blue and indigo hair. The kid was playing with the human kids.

Nimona smiled softly at them and sighed softly.

“Hey, Nim!” Gloreth called out, walking over to her.

Nimona looked at her and smiled.

Gloreth was wearing white pants and a yellow tank top with a teal light jacket over her. Her blonde hair was cut to an A-line cut and had some red highlights. Her scar from The Director has faded and healed that you can’t really see it.

“Hi, Gloria.” Nimona chuckled.

Gloreth and Nimona smiled softly at each other for a moment before hugging each other.

Nimona and Gloreth have been dating again for a couple of months now. They’re going slow at the moment, nothing too big at the moment like small kisses when it’s just them and simple dates.

Then they went down the stairs to get to the main ground floor, walking hand in hand.

They looked around to see how much everything had changed.

Everything is calmer.

Nimona and Gloreth got to the ground floor and walked over to a place that was near the hole of the wall, where a memorial of Ballister’s sacrifice was being celebrating.

A lot of people put flowers, drawings, and letters of Ballister.

Nimona looked at the memorial, smiling softly. Then she noticed Todd walking up to the memorial with flowers.

Todd had an arm in a sling but that wasn’t the only thing that he got from the incident. He had 3rd degree burns almost all over himself and a lot of scars, which did healed over time, but he did look different.

Todd placed the flowers by the memorial. He looked at Nimona and nodded to her with a soft smile before walking away.

Nimona smiled a bit and went to look back at the memorial.

Gloreth pick up one of the drawings and looked at it with a soft smile before handing it to Nimona.

Nimona took the drawing and looked at it.

It was a sweet drawing of Ballister with blue writing that reads: “We love Ballister”

Nimona smiled sadly at the drawing and held it close. 

She was still in mourning and missed Ballister but she did honor his sacrifice.

Nimona and Gloreth walked around the kingdom after visiting the memorial.

They walked by the edge of the woods at one point of their walk. 

Nimona stopped and looked at the woods, which got Gloreth’s attention.

“You ok?” she asked, looking at her.

“Yeah…” Nimona replied, nodding softly. Then she pointed at the woods and added, “I’m going to take a walk there. Maybe stop by the mansion. I promise I’ll be okay.”

Gloreth hummed and nodded in understanding. “Okay, I was going to get lunch. Want me to bring some pizza?” she asked.

Nimona nodded with a smile. “That does sound nice.”

Nimona and Gloreth gently kissed each other before going to their different destinations.

◇

Nimona went into the woods and got to the mansion.

She opened the main door and looked around as she walked in.

Everything was the same, just covered in dust. 

It’s been a few months since she’s been here ever since she moved in with Gloreth as a roommate.

“Hm…” she hummed as she looked around, remembering the memories with Ballister.

Then she got an idea.

Nimona began removing dusty curtains, piles of wood from the windows, and fixing some lights. 

She started to clean up a bit and even decorated the place.

Finally she went to the evidence wall and took it all down except for the drawings that Ballister made. Then she begin making her own little memorial for Ballister with the drawing from the memorial and putting up the photos with both of them.

Nimona took a few steps back and looked at it, smiling at it.

The ‘lair’ was filled with light and love, a place where you no longer want to hide in the shadows.

Nimona smiled at the new look of the main floor of the mansion. 

She took in a breath, taking it all in the change.

Then there was a knock on the entrance door, which got Nimona’s attention.

She ran to the door with excitement.

Nimona grabbed the door handle and swung the door to see if Ballister was alive somehow.

There was no one.

Just sunlight shining over the woods with a gentle gust of wind blowing by and the sounds of birds chirping in the distance.

Nimona’s shoulders dropped a bit in disappointment but she couldn’t help but smile and laugh softly at herself.

Then a light blue light appeared from behind her and called out in a familiar accent voice, “Hey Boss.”

Nimona whips around and her face lights up with a beaming smile when seeing the blue shapeshifting light fully formed into a familiar teen who she hasn't seen in 7 months.

“Holy sh-!” Nimona started with surprise and thrilled in her voice but was cut off when Ballister hug attacked her.

The both of them fell onto the ground, making both of them laugh.

“You’re back. You’re back!” Nimona breathed, crying softly as she hugged and held Ballister close. “I missed you so much…”

Ballister nuzzled and let out a soft teary chuckle, “I missed you too.”

[athina-blaine]

you can't carry it with you if you want to survive (Nimona 2023) - Chapter 2 (Preview)

(Note: this is not the finalized draft; anything featured is subject to edits or deletion)

Chapter 1 (Recap) Ambrosius braced himself against the quiet, waiting for the sharp prickling of his pulse to steady. He didn’t know how long he stood there before he became aware of a dull pain in his hand.  His glasses. At some point, he’d squeezed them so tightly they��d snapped in half, the glass puncturing his skin. He stared at the thin ribbon of blood running down his hand until it had stained his white sleeve red. A deep, bitter frustration burned behind his eyes. He’d never get through reviewing his documents now. Not unless he wanted to give himself a migraine so bad it could actually kill him. The night was lost. He’d upset Ballister for nothing. His jaw tightened. Fuck it, he thought, chucking the crushed glasses across his desk.  He needed a drink.

Chapter 2 (Preview)

Raising the glass of dark liquid to his lips, Ambrosius downed it in a single smooth gulp, grimacing as it seared down his throat. Setting the glass down, he rapped the counter with his knuckles and the bartender appeared before him once more, promptly refilling his glass.

Ambrosius had never considered himself a fan of drinking. He drank, yes, but that didn’t translate into liking to drink. He’d imbibe in challenging social situations or to have fun with the right person, but he didn't drink excessively. He didn’t like the feeling of losing control.

Tonight, he had no such reservations.

As Ambrosius brought the glass back to his mouth, his shaky hand caused the liquid to spill over the edge. He watched as it trickled downwards and dipped into the groove of his thumb, staining his bandage. 

He’d have to change that now, he thought distantly as he reached over for a napkin.

After Ambrosius had decided on his course of action for the night, he’d tended to the cut on his hand, cleaning and bandaging it. He then replaced his uniform jacket with the hooded sweater he kept in the office for colder days—it was one of the few comforts he allowed himself, but he also didn’t want to dirty up his uniform jacket. If he did, the stupid thing would need to be sent out for dry cleaning.

Sighing, he took another burning sip, the dark liquor having begun to take its toll, numbing his lips and the tips of his fingers. The sounds of the bar—poor-quality speakers blasting music, sporadic conversations, the rhythmic clack of pool balls—blended into a low, static hum. The bright purple fairy lights coiled overhead cast an otherworldly glow upon his hands. It all served to blur the lines of reality as he took another searing drink.

In the midst of his haze, he was unaware of the seat next to him being taken until its occupant had leaned well into his personal space.

“WHAT'S UP, NEMESIS!”

Ambrosius jumped and spun around, coming face to face with a pair of scarlet eyes and a grin punctuated with sharp canines.

“It’s you,” he said stupidly. 

The shapeshifter’s grin widened. 

As the initial shock of her appearance subsided, Ambrosius had to resist the urge to collapse completely over the bar, overcome with exhaustion. Of course she’d be here.

Instead, he straightened up, fixing his eyes on his drink. “I can’t say I expected to see you here.”

“Between the two of us,” she said as she settled into her own seat, “I think we both know that you’re the odd man out.” She held out her phone. “You’re kind of blowing up my feed, man.”

From the corner of his eyes, Ambrosius watched her scroll through a dashboard filled with images and videos of the ambush interview he'd endured earlier that day, along with more pictures of him at the bar at that exact moment.

Is this how a leader behaves when his policies are a joke? said one comment with several emoticons. #KingRegentAmbrosius

Can't handle a little criticism, so he drowns his sorrows, said another. So disappointing. #KingFail

That reporter was right to grill him. So glad people are finally starting to see through all this nonsense. #WakeUp #Gloreth #BringBackTheWall

The shapeshifter stashed her phone away, looking a bit sheepish, and Ambrosius could only imagine the face he must have been making. She cleared her throat.

“Sorry,” she said. “You get the idea.”

In response, he took another sip from his drink, unable to muster much more than annoyance at nosy bar patrons and gratitude that Ballister didn’t have an account.

“But, like, I imagine there is a reason you’re out here getting blitzed, right?” the girl asked, twirling a discarded straw wrapper between her fingers. “Because, frankly, I never took you for the type. You know, no drinking, no smoking, no swearing, that sort of thing.”

Wrong on all counts, he thought morosely. The haunting image of Ballister's eyes from earlier that night, anguished and miserable, briefly flashed in his mind as he quickly finished off his drink. Placing the glass back on the table, he reached out to get the bartender’s attention, feeling her gaze like a weight.

“It’s complicated,” was all he managed.

“Uh-huh,” she said as the bartender stepped away again, eyes following Ambrosius’ hand as he reached for the glass. “And what happened there?”

“Where?”

She gestured towards his bandage. Before he could reply, however, she held up her hand. “Wait, let me guess,” she said with a grin. “Epic. Ninja. Ambush.” 

With a shout, she waved around her straw wrapper like a sword, mimicking the sounds of a dramatic combat. Her performance had it all—betrayal, a break-up, a noble sacrifice, until she had collapsed over the bar in a faux-death, tongue trailing out of her mouth. 

His lips twitched. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s about what happened.”

Grinning, she sheathed her wrapper and bowed, and Ambrosius chuckled, a bit delirious by this point. 

Placing his glass down with a clatter, he rubbed his tired eyelids. This wasn't how he'd imagined this encounter going. “Remind me again what you said you were doing here?”

“I didn’t,” she said, crumbling up the wrapper into a small ball. With a flick, she shot it at his face, where it bounced off his nose. “You first.”

Scrunching up his nose, Ambrosius picked up the wrapper and inspected it, squeezing it until his fingertips grew pale. One of them was going to have to give in, and, frankly, he didn’t like his chances in a battle of wills. More than that, though, he figured he owed her that much. The thought brought with it a sigh.

“Bal and I had a fight,” he said, tossing away the trash. 

She glanced over at him. “What, like a fun, nemesis fight? With swords and bombs and stuff? Or like a lame shouty fight?"

“He didn’t shout.”

“Boring,” she said, digging into her ear with her pinky finger. “What did you guys fight about?”

But he shook his head, raising his glass. “Your turn.”

“Oh, come on, that’s barely an answer,” she whined. “Things that concern the boss concern me too, you know. It’s sidekick privilege.”

In lieu of an answer, he knocked back another deliberate, long sip. With a groan, she tossed her head back.

“Fine,” she said. “I mean, I don't see why I have to spell it out for you, but whatever. I just was in the area and figured you could use a check-in. This,” she made a vague gesture towards him, “doesn’t scream someone who’s got their shit handled, okay?” She crossed her arms. “There, happy?”

“You …” he said, blinking. “You came here because you were worried?” 

“Yeah.”

“About me?”

“Yeah, man, who else?” she said, eyes fixed on the table. “What’s with the third degree here?”

He dragged a hand across his face, the realization hitting him hard in his inebriated state. Here he’d been, steeling himself against her presence, only to learn that she had come here out of genuine concern for him. He wanted to sink under the table and vanish through the floor.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I haven't been treating you very nicely, have I?”

“You’re fine, man,” she said, picking at a flaking dent on the table. “We don’t have to like each other to look out for each other. The boss says you're cool, so you and me? We’re cool.”

“I do like you,” he insisted gently, and knew he deserved the subsequent scoff.

“Sure,” she said. “You look at all your friends like you're trying to figure out whether something died nearby?”

“Well,” he said, thinking back to the former fellow knights-in-training he’d associated with before Ballister. “Some of my old friends, maybe.”

“Sure, man.” She swiveled around in her chair and reclined back against the bar, her brow creased. “Whatever you say.”

Eyes returning to his glass, Ambrosius watched the swirling dark liquid distort his reflection. It wasn’t enough to just try placating her. If he wanted to appease her, he was going to have to put a little more of himself on the table.

“You want the truth?” he asked.

She shrugged, her frown having escalated into a full-blown pout. Something about it made him want to laugh, and, with a jolt, he realized it was because Ballister would pout in exactly the same way when he wanted to play Ambrosius’ emotions like an accordion.

“You sure?” he said, fighting to conceal the amusement in his voice. “It’s actually pretty stupid.”

Rolling her eyes, she swiveled back towards him. “You know that just makes me want to know more.”

Despite his efforts, his lips broke out in a grin, and he signaled the bartender over to settle his tab. He then turned to the shapeshifter and motioned her closer. She gave him a suspicious look but complied, tilting her head forward, and Ambrosius leaned close to her ear.

“The truth is,” he stage-whispered, “I'm jealous.”

“You’re what?” She leapt back. “Of who?” She pointed to her own face. “Of me?” 

Nodding, he downed the last of his drink, his grin contorting as the fiery burn seared his throat. Setting down the empty glass, he rose to his feet, and her eyes widened.

“Hey, whoa, hold the fuck up,” she said, jumping up from her chair as he turned away from the bar. “You can’t drop something like that and just walk away.”

“Actually, it’s pretty easy,” he said as he weaved through the bar patrons. He threw his grin over his shoulder. “See?” 

With a groan, the shapeshifter rushed after him. In a blur too fast for his eyes to follow, Ambrosius found his shoulders burdened with the angriest-looking monkey he’d ever seen, nearly toppling him over.

“I bet you think you’re real cute,” said the monkey. “But I’ll let you know right now that I’ve got that market cornered, pal.”

The menace in her voice, coupled with the soft fuzziness of her face, almost broke his composure entirely. His knees nearly buckled under the weight of both his suppressed laughter and the monkey as he turned towards the doorway. 

His good humor vanished, however, as he came face to face with the lens of a camera phone. The shock hit him like a bucket of ice-cold water, and even though the woman holding the phone looked embarrassed, it wasn’t enough to make her want to lower it.

Before Ambrosius could open his mouth, though, the air shattered with the ear-splitting shriek of a baboon, its large, glistening fangs spitting flecks of saliva into the woman’s face. The woman screamed and ran.

“Some people,” said the monkey, picking at its teeth. “No respect for a person’s privacy.”

Ambrosius brought a hand to his ringing ears. If he had been even slightly drowsy before, he was wide awake now.

“Thanks,” he said, dazed.

“Don't mention it,” she said, jumping off his shoulders and landing on the stairway railing as a small field mouse. She glanced back at him. “Like I said, we’re cool.”

Ambrosius watched as she scurried up the railing and disappeared from view. After a brief pause, he followed suit.

[Chapter 1 on AO3]

[tylerspicknell]

Now that I think about it, a Nimona series could work.

It could show the world outside the city and how they everyone in and out of it is adapting to this new situation.

More importantly, it could lead to the secret behind Nimona’s powers, and reveal where she came from and why she is what she is. My theory: she is one of the last of a race of mystical shapeshifters that was hunted to near extinction by humanity.

I also want to see how Ballister and Ambrosius met and became a couple (and hopefully have one or both of them propose to one another).

[sabindark]

Ballister shapeshifting Au

Ballister : Nimona -!

Nimona : Hey boss ! how's it flying there ? Good ?

Ballister :Nimona! Don't you dare hunt me for fun !

Nimona : hehehe 😈

[riririkinzi]

I hey guys new AU comimg up! Of Elf Ballister living in the forest parenting and taking care of Nimona the big dragon and other little dragons, that he claims as his children

Got the idea from the Game of Thrones (I never watch that show) and Wolfwalkers

FATHER OF THE DRAGONS

-Okay, so it stared in the kingdom where it's known to be against magical creatures and and magic itself

-Bal's parents are elves, his mother a sorceress and father a merchant in disguise as humans

-Since childhood Bal's mother taught him magic, while he studies like regular children

-Got a scholarship in a privelage school, that's where he met ambrosius

-At age 10 both of his parents died from the incidents, sent into the orphanage that day, still studied magic in secret, and still goes to school thanks to Queen valerin

-Got a room to stay after the orphanage when he was 18

-While practicing his spells without his human disguise, he was exposed as an elf and people were chasing while brining his mothers spellbook and other important item and ran into the woods

-While on the run, he found a giant dragon which is actually a shapeshifter named Nimona injured while being surrounded by bunch of baby dragons

-Bal used his healing spell on Nimona that the little dragons are attached to him

-Bal knew that the dragons aren't safe anywhere near society so he decided to lead Nimona and the dragons into the woods far far away and settled with them

-One day an man spotted Bal in torn and burnt clothing and covered in ashes and the dragon surrounded him in the cave as a puppy pile and nurturing them, thus he returned to the village and began spread the story of Ballister the Father of the Dragons, which became a legend after a few short years.

-Oh and what does Bal look like in the present? Well, he's either naked and covered in ashes of the dragons burned or torn clothing yet stilled covered in ahses

Art is coming soon

[fishoutofcamelot]

Pokemon AU because why not

Arthur: he would be one of those trainers who obsessively calculates which Pokemon would best balance his team. His main companion was a Shelmet when he was a little kid, but his dad convinced him to give up his beloved Shelmet with the idea that Shelmets were too weak and that he needed something more befitting of his father's legacy. Uther wants him to focus on Fighting-Types so he can one day inherit his father's gym, but Arthur feels like restricting himself to just one type is very imbalanced and would ruin his chances of success. Growlithe is his new companion, but he always secretly keeps an eye out for Shelmets

Gwen: she would catch all the ugly and unpopular ones. When asked about her reasoning for this she says, "if i dont love them, who will?" and then cries as she hugs her Alolan Muk, which she named Sweetie Pie. Unassuming in that you think she won't be hard competition, but the next thing you know her Drowsee has knocked out three of your pokemon and you're all out of Potions

Morgana: the Dark-Type gym leader. She was supposed to take her father's place as leader for his Fight-Type gym, but she's rebellious and edgy and somehow even more competitive than Arthur. Her main companion is a Spiritomb

Merlin: a member of the Elite Four. He likes to hang around Arthur and make fun of him for having taken on the Elite Four about 17 times now, but every time he loses to Merlin. Since Arthur used to be mean to him when they were kids, Merlin considers this poetic justice. Now you probably think he's got all Dragon-Types, being a dragonlord? Nope! In this au, Merlin himself is a rare shapeshifting Dragon-Type pokemon called Emrys (doesn't exist in the canon pokedex, just thought it'd be a cool idea) that has taken the form of a human - of course, Merlin isn't aware of this and thinks he's actually human. Its for this reason that he is uncannily in-tune with his Pokemon, a factor that contributes greatly to his status as the hardest Elite Four member to beat. His team is comprised of cutesie Fairy-Types - but then all of them are heavy-hitting powerhouses. So basically not only is Arthur's Machamp getting K.O'd in one hit, but its getting K.O'd in one hit by a frickin Rhibombee. Merlin finds this absolutely hilarious. His main companion is a Psych/Fairy type called Hatterene. He sucks at naming things and usually names them after the main color of their body

Elyan: his original intention was to do all Normal-Types, but then he learned about the tragic past of how Phantumps are made (souls of lost children possessing tree stumps), and now he exclusively adopts catches Phantumps bc Protective Older Brother Mode: Activated

Gwaine: Fighting-Type. The Fighting-Type gym used to belong to his father until Uther bought it out, something that made his father so upset that he fell ill from stress and later passed away. Gwaine became a drifter, wanting nothing to do with the lifestyle that killed his dad, until he meets Merlin and Merlin teaches him the value of forming friendships with Pokemon. His companion is now a Blaziken named Weed

Lancelot: he scolds the others for being so aesthetic-based with their Pokemon bc that's bad for building a balanced team, but then when you look at his team its just all sword/knight-themed Pokemon. All of them. Except for his main companion, which is a Milotic that was a gift from Merlin

Leon: he takes the Nuzlocke approach - catch the first pokemon you encounter in each new area, let them go when they faint in battle. He has somehow managed to beat the Elite Four with just a Houndoom and an Eggsecutor

Percival: he only has one Pokemon, bc he feels like that's all he needs. He just has one sole Aron, but since he couldn't think of a name he let Gwaine do it for him (which is why its name is 69)

Gaius: another member of the Elite Four. His team is mostly Poison-Type. His main companion is a Gloom, but his Toxicroak is one tough customer. Used to be the Poison-Type gym leader, but decided to retire and gave the gym to Merlin. But then Merlin gave it to some kid named Daegal, much to Gaius's chagrin. The main reason he's so hard to beat is bc he uses so many goddamn Potions

Mordred: he's just a small child starting out on his first big adventure, with a trusty Charmander by his side. He grew up in the foster system, but he has fond memories of the Alakazam that once belonged to one of his foster parents. He hopes to catch an Alakazam as well some day, or really any Psychic-type. He also follows Arthur around like a lost puppy

Gilli: Fire-Type gym leader. His companion is a Centiskorch

Freya: Pokemon breeder with an incredibly vicious Purrloin as her companion. She's the only one the Purrloin - named Cow, for some reason - is nice to. Her dynamic with Arthur is pretty much the "it don't bite" meme

Mithian: a trainer whose father wants her to inherit his Normal-Type gym, but she ran away from home to pursue her dreams. What those dreams are tho, she's not entirely sure yet. She just knows she doesn't want to be a gym leader. Her method of battle mostly involves a lot of stat-changing/HP-draining moves that drive Arthur absolutely ballistic

Elena: doesn't keep pokemon due a traumatic incident in her childhood involving a Grimmsnarl, but makes sure to show up to all of her gf Mithian's battles for support!

Will: you bet your ass he's Arthurs rival. He saw Arthur be a jerk to Merlin when they were all kids and decided to become his sworn enemy. He doesn't stick to any particular type, just whatever he thinks looks cool. His lack of effort when it comes to balancing his team makes Arthur very, very frustrated - especially whenever Will beats him in a battle (which doesn't happen often, but enough for Will to feel properly vindicated). His main companion is a Shieldon that his dad helped him catch when he was a kid, a few months before his father died

[dontshootmespence]

Superhero AU for CM?

This is so hard, so I’m only doing the Magnificent 7.

Spencer goes by the name “Prodigy.” With his superhuman intellect, he serves as the team’s inventor. Aside from his immeasurable knowledge, he discovered telekinetic abilities after being tied to a flagpole in school as a child. The only reason he was able to get home was because he made the ropes binding him untie themselves.

Penelope goes by “Moonshadow.” She named herself of course. After losing her parents at 18, she fell into a deep depression, during which time she developed precognition and bullet time abilities. To this day, she struggles with her powers because if she’d just gotten them a bit sooner, her parents might still be alive.

Derek goes by the name “Thundering Defender.” As a child, he came across a young boy, younger than he, being bullied by a group of high school students. After yelling at them to stop, he ran toward them with such force, those living in the area thought a storm was on its way. When he pushed one of the high school students, he was slammed back into a brick wall. The bullies never bullied again. And Derek became known in his neighborhood for defending the small.

While Emily was growing up, she always had this desire to “be someone else.” On her eighth birthday, her wish was granted, when she randomly woke up with the power to shapeshift. Along with her ability to phase through walls, she’s the perfect infiltration for any mission and goes by the name “Quantum Angel.” She actually didn’t go by anything until meeting the rest of the team, when Spencer suggested the name.

JJ came across her abilities later in life, while in the military, under extreme duress after being captured and tortured by enemy combatants. The pain was overwhelming and she truly believed she was hours from death. Just as she was about to give in, the skin of her captor touched hers and her pain was transferred to him. With the power of pain manipulation and transference, she goes by “Shift.”

Hotch goes by “Captain Karma.” Like JJ, he came across his powers in the line of duty. While going against a serial killer by the name of George Foyet, who’d taken from him the only woman he’d ever loved, Hotch lost his mind and unleashed every ounce of anger he had on the man. What he found then, was a superhuman strength, stamina and mind control. During the fight, Foyet turned the knife on himself at Aaron’s will. Although his fellow officers believed he was at the plunging end of the knife, it was deemed self-defense. The name Karma came from his brothers-in-arms, who said that Foyet “had it coming” and Aaron just delivered what was necessary.

Rossi, like JJ and Hotch, came across his powers later in life. While in Vietnam, he was pinned under a boulder. Although his fellow soldiers managed to move it, his legs were destroyed and he insisted they leave so they wouldn’t die as well. They refused, carrying him to a base camp, where upon being laid on the ground, found he could stand. His healing factor came in handy during the rest of his tour, as did ballistics manipulation, which he discovered after redirecting a bullet that was aimed for his friend. He never was one for names, but everyone on the team calls him “Purple Heart.”

GOD THIS WAS HARD

Hope you like! <3

[stories-me]

Potential Character for Mrs. Kelsey and Tumblr 7/3/2023:

Nimona, Misunderstood “Monster”:

Appearance (usually): (See above).

What she’s from: “Nimona”.

Background:

Once upon a time, 1000 years ago, a girl named Nimona made a wish at a wishing well. She wanted more friends, and gained the ability to shapeshift. One day, she befriended a young girl named Gloreth, but when Gloreth’s parents and village saw Nimona shapeshifting, they assumed she was a monster. The fact that she accidentally set the village on fire certainly didn’t help. Gloreth ultimately drove off Nimona, who watched over the years as the story became a distorted version of itself, where she was a terrible monster that was driven off by Gloreth, a “great hero”. Begrudgingly, Nimona began to embrace the monstrous part she was forced into, seeking to cause chaos and destruction.

1000 years later, she found out about Ballister Boldheart, who had falsely been accused of murdering the Queen. Deciding to become Ballister’s sidekick, she quickly found out Ballister really wasn’t interested in villainy. When Ballister was arrested, Nimona revealed to him her ability to shapeshift, and the two became involved in Ballister’s quest to clear his name.

Ultimately, the Director of the Institute was revealed to be responsible for the Queen’s death. But the Director twisted the truth, and after an argument with Ballister, Nimona ultimately turned into a giant, kaiju-esque monster. Despairing over her lot in life, Nimona contemplated committing suicide on a statue of Gloreth… only for Ballister to calm her down.

She ultimately seemingly sacrificed herself to stop the Director from destroying the city. But, to Ballister’s joy, Nimona survived.

How she is like me:

Sometimes, we both feel awful and like we’re bad people (especially after a “five”… or a meltdown). Still, with others’ help, we might be able to avoid such things. In addition, we both care about those close to us (like she cares about Bal, and I care about my family, friends, and support network).

Kelsey Notes:

This story sounds like it deals “assumptions”.

The director of the institute has bad intentions against Bal but believes she is in the right and is protecting the kingdom and protecting them from what is beyond the wall (kind of like The Village)

            Out of fear the director believes she is protecting the greater good but ultimately it is causing her to place blame on people aren’t villians

Nimona sees the good in people, though she feels that she isn’t good at first

            Like being self-conscious, self-doubting weaknesses

For her- she knows shes not an evil person and her intentions are good, but the directors protective nature causes her to think less of herself

Sometimes it’s important to prevent the mean things you might say when you hit a five because you have to be confident in your ability to calm yourself down independently.

            Not that your support systems aren’t willing to help you calm down, but we know how guilty you feel after you say hurtful things to others and regret it.  This is why taking time away from others and learning to deal with yourself is more important than ever.

            **more important than ever just means that you’ve progressed greatly in handling your emotions and we want that momentum to keep going so you continue to progress towards independently handling your emotions when needed

It took a lot of courage for Nimona to go against the possibility of death to save her friend (Bal)

She gained the courage to do so despite the negative thoughts she had about not wanting to be around anymore

Maybe rephrase the harming self to not wanting to adult today- part of adulting is standing up, dealing with your fears and not letting them get the best of you (like fear is causing the director to misjudge others)

[xandriagreat]

Modern Nimona

Chapter 15: Epilogue

First chapter | Last chapter

Author's note: This was fun to write and I had a great time along with my co-writer, @vanessafangirl13

Notice/warnings: fluff, crying, kissing, injuries

▪▪▪

July 29 2024

A year later…

Meredith and Ballister are seeing a great view of how far it's come along and how much has changed since the wall was down.

Meredith even let her hair grow a little bit before cutting it to a bit of a left side-shave hair-do to honor her old friend. She is wearing a turquoise t-shirt, wearing the same lab coat but decorated with pink and red animals, dark brown khaki pants, some new black boots, and pink red Rectangle glasses.

Ballister was wearing a clean gray shirt, black pants, black boots, and wearing the family heirloom on his left ring finger.

Even though they're happy about the change, they are a bit down after all that happened.

'Some of us don’t get the happily ever after we were looking for. Maybe it’s not that kind of kingdom. Or maybe it’s not the end of the story.’ Ballister thought as he looked at his family ring.

The part the wall has become has completely changed into an open community with a park and new homes.

The shapeshifters that lived outside of the wall are now part of the community with some who move into parts of the city.

Ballister and Meredith notice a young shapeshifter girl running to with some human kids playing kickball.

"Over here, I’m free." the shapeshifter girl said to the other kids.

As they began to play, an officer nearby was walking by as the ball rolled to him and the officer easily kicked the ball back to them.

They wave the officer a goodbye as they begin to play again.

Meredith and Bailter smiled, happy about the change.

'If only Nimona was here to see this.' Meredith thought, sighing softly.

Then Ambrosius came up to surprise them, mostly Ballister, by hugging them.

“Hey!” Meredith exclaimed with a smile as the two hugged Ambrosius back.

Meredith let go of the hug as the couple hugged more. She began to chuckle at them as Ballister and Ambrosius kissed.

Ballister and Ambrosius were now married shortly after the events and some time in couples therapy.

Of course, they also patch things up with their friendship.

Meredith became part of the science community and even started working there.

Meredith quit her teaching job and applied to her current job as chief scientist with the help of Dr. Ocean in their new science laboratory and workplace downtown with the building being helped by Ballister, who is mayor now.

Meredith saw Dr. Ocean Sealine walking over to them, blushing softly. Of course both the husbands knew what was going on between Meredith and Ocean.

Meredith playfully punches both of their arms as they all begin to walk to the memorial of Nimona.

Along the way they noticed a lot of changes like removing the cannons and moving the already detecting body of the late Mayor Yvonne.

"Can't believe it's already over." One builder said to another worker. "Along with those awful policies of bloodlines."

"Agreed." the other builder said, nodding.

As they begin walking down the stairs, the four saw some graffiti with the wanted posters calling them heroes and transportation has never been better for both sides meaning for one another.

As they made it to the memorial, they noticed both sides of the border finally being together as it was decorated along inside a new statue, almost finished completion and museum in the works.

They notice Thaddeus who still had a broken arm due to the incident, giving flowers to the memorial.

He nodded to them when seeing them.

Meredith and Thaddeus respected each other and passed things up under one condition that they stay friends, knowing now they felt about each other but they still had some work done.

Thaddeus started to walk away.

Ambrosius picked up a drawing and showed it to Ballister and Meredith.

The drawing was of Nimona with the lettering spelling out “we love Nimona”.

Meredith and Ballister begin looking at the picture, missing their friend.

☆

When Ballister and Meredith got into the woods, they went towards their old hideout.

They did border up some things and had some of their stuff moved into their new places with Ballister moving in with Ambrosius and Meredith staying with them for a while until she found a new place, which was much better than what she used to live in.

Of course the hideout was mostly abandoned after the events of last year, so it was in ruins.

Ballister and Meredith looked around the old home as they went inside, including the lab. They both could remember the day they met the person that changed their life for the better at her lab. They also looked at the old library, the old bedrooms, healing room, including the kitchen and living room where they had fond memories and even went to check on the old suspect wall.

They both looked at each other and got an idea.

Then they begin removing dusty curtains, piles of wood from the windows, and fixing some lights.

Even decorating the place.

They begin making their own little memorial on the old suspect wall, taking off the suspect photos. Ballister put the drawing from the memorial pinned onto the wall while Meredith put the other photos of them with Nimona onto the wall.

Ballister and Meredith smiled softly at the new look of the hideout.

Then they heard a knock on the door.

The two grownups went to the door with excitement and opened the door. They looked around and all they saw was just the woods with a gust of wind and birds chirping when Ballister opened the door.

Ballister and Meredith sighed with a smile and chuckled softly.

Then a voice called out behind them, "Hey guys, long time no see."

The two grownups turned around quickly and their eyes lit up when they saw a pink light transform into a familiar shapeshifter.

"Holy- Nimona!" Ballister and Meredith exclaimed, smiling big.

Nimona looked a bit older when she fully formed, with additional ear piercings, including one on her left eyebrow. She was wearing a pink tank top over a Crimson red T-shirt, black pants with gray reptile scale patterns, and dark brown boots.

Meredith checked her before they held her hand when she finally saw that it was the same person. "It's you!" Meredith exclaimed, smiling.

"It's me." Nimona said, smiling softly and nodding before hugging Meredith, who hugged back.

Then she looked at Ballister, who was crying. "Are you ok, boss?" Nimona asked, walking to him.

Ballister nodded and wiped away some tears. "I'm happy to see you again." Ballister choked out, smiling at her.

Nimona smiled back with tears in her eyes. “I’m happy to see you again too.”

Then the three all had a group hug, united at last.

☆The end☆

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Tags: @vanessafangirl13

[parkhslib]

“Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe―many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy’s original inventions” (Amazon)

“Persepolis is the story of Satrapi’s unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming–both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland” (Amazon).

Alison Bechdel grew up in her family’s Fun(eral) Home. She had a difficult relationship with her father, and this graphic memoir jumps back and forth in time from that childhood to her feelings about her family now that she’s an adult.

“Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are not your average campers, and Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types is not your average summer camp. Between the river monsters, magic, and the art of friendship bracelets, this summer is only just beginning. Join the Lumberjanes as they take on raptors and a sibling rivalry that only myths are made of” (Amazon).

“Susan, Esther, and Daisy started at university three weeks ago and became fast friends. Now, away from home for the first time, all three want to reinvent themselves. But in the face of hand-wringing boys, “personal experimentation,” influenza, mystery-mold, nu-chauvinism, and the willful, unwanted intrusion of “academia,” they may be lucky just to make it to spring alive. Going off to university is always a time of change and growth, but for Esther, Susan, and Daisy, things are about to get a little weird” (Amazon).

Paige Turner feels a little lost when she moves to New York City with her family. She starts drawing in order to think through what’s happening and starts to find herself.

“Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are” (Amazon)

End of March Book Talks