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Millard Nullings is a male peculiar with the peculiarity of being invisible. He is stated to be a scholar of all things peculiar.
Biography[]
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children[]
Millard is first mentioned in the prologue by Abraham Portman. He appears next in Chapter Five, talking to Emma after capturing Jacob. He is the first peculiar that Jacob formally met, although Emma is the first peculiar he saw. Millard used his knowledge of everything that happens on the island to help get himself, Emma, and Jacob back to the house safely.
In Chapter Ten, Millard uses his invisibility to hide from Golan when he takes Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet. He then follows Golan to the Lighthouse. After Jacob, Emma, and Bronwyn catch up with him he volunteers to try and distract Golan, but got shot in the process. Bronwyn tended to him after that. It is assumed that he was in a boat with Hugh after they defeated Golan, and retrieved Miss Peregrine.
Hollow City[]
Picking up from where the first book left off, Hollow City begins with the children lost at sea. Millard is first mentioned helping correct Emma's navigation as they sail away from Cairnholm following it's destruction. Soon a storm hits, causing his loop atlas the Map of Days to be lost at sea. Millard is devastated, as it was a very rare artefact (one of five) and one of his most prized possessions.
When they reach land and spot the submarine hunters searching the beach, it is presumed that they are wights hunting them. They try to subtly hide their boats, but leave tracks. Millard strips off his bandages for the sake of not being seen and covers the tracks, but his wound begins bleeding once again. Although he tries to stop her, Emma burns his wound closed and immediately worries about the injury scarring, obviously not an issue an invisible should worry about. He sulks for a while after.
When Claire begs for another story while hiding from wights, Millard expresses his aggravation toward the Peculiar Tales. But, when they prove to have logical clues toward loops, he changes his mind completely, using the book through out the rest of the story.
Finding the loop hidden in the mouth of the stone "giant", Cuthbert, Millard is quite sure it is only a coincidence, but once inside, he becomes quite excited that there may be truth within the fiction.
When the hollow is found in the loop, it is Millard who explains that the monsters have evolved something similar to peculiarities, allowing them to enter loops. In fact, he earlier explains to Jacob that his ability to see hollows will evolve.
When they leave Cuthbert's loop, Millard navigates using Miss Wren's map. After some time, they run into gypsies and are caught riding on their wagon. Millard plays a major role in their battle for freedom, hiding from sight while the others are captured. He sets off one of the peculiar chicken eggs to distract the gypsies from noticing him pick pocketing the key from them. When they are caught in the act of escaping, they all use their powers against the gypsies, Millard was seen throwing eggs at them and shouting ominous words of destruction.
When Bekhir wishes for his son to be examined, Millard is invited to visit, along with Jacob and Emma. Millard sympathises with the boy, as he is slowly becoming invisible too, and he tells the young peculiar of advantages to being unseen.
Later, when on the train, he attempts to comfort Jacob about his nightmares. He is also seen studying the Tales of the Peculiar, quite interested in the loop locations hidden inside. He continues, expanding on his thoughts of the hollows having peculiars' second souls.
Millard opens up to Jacob, telling him how he would have been a teacher, if he was not born the way he was. Millard also calls an attendant on the train pretty which caused Jacob to pity him, although he notices this by the way Jacob is looking at him , he doesn't appreciate it much.
Millard plays an important role in trying to phone a loop, although the plan failed as adults attempted to force them on a train. When that fails, they bring up the idea of entering a punishment loop. Millard panics at hearing this, explaining why it would be suicidal to do so. But, he comes up with the idea to capture a pigeon that will lead them to Miss Wren. He reads the story of The Pigeons of St. Paul's.
Later, when they find Miss Wren and are examining the bodies of what are believed to be tortured peculiars, Millard begins investigation. He denies the claims of the peculiars from that loop, angering them. However, he proves his point, explaining his theory that the wights do not only need ymbrynes, but are stealing the souls of peculiars to use for themselves.
When the loop is taken over, Millard, along with the others, is taken captive by wights. After the fight at the train station, his whereabouts are confirmed to be with the captives as Caul "made sure he was accounted for as well."
Library of Souls[]
After being rescued with all the other children he helped fight the wights and expressed the most concern when Miss Peregrine is captured (again). He introduced Jacob to Perplexus Anomalous and began to talk to him later on. Saying he is a big fan of him to which Perplexus replies that Millard had already said that before and expresses his gratitude for it.
He tried to threaten Mr. Bentham into releasing Miss Peregrine by holding a knife at his throat, but backed off when Caul threatened Miss Peregrine in return, and ran away. Later, he shows Jacob's mom his invisibility to which she responds "You're not real".
Millard stays at Jacob's house with the other peculiars.
A Map of Days[]
Following the recent events of the third book Library of Souls, he suddenly joined in on a conversation between Jacob, Emma and Miss Peregrine in the kitchen wherein she tells him that polite people do not spy on private conversations. To which he replies by saying that he wasn't spying and that he was only hungry. Saying that he also came to ask her not to hog on Jacob as they just arrived. When all four of them felt vibrations which sent the glasses on the shelves toppling down to the floor, he simply says that it sounds like an out-of-hand situation.
During the time Hugh walked out of the room, Millard said to Jacob that it was progress. When Jacob offered the thought of Fiona possibly being alive somewher, he rated it unlikely. Continuing the talk about Fiona, as Jacob asks if anyone had tried searching for her body but couldn't bring himself to say the word, Millard does it. He gets told by Miss Peregrine and he asks if he should have used a more lighter term, causing her to tell him to be quiet. Later, Millard tells Jacob that Hugh wouldn't even get new bees as he states that he wouldn't love them the same if they had never met Fiona.
At dinner-time, Horace says that he sometimes envy Millard as he could gain a hundred pounds and no one would notice. Millard responds by saying that he's quite svelte. Miss Peregrine tells him to clothe himself and in reply, he asked her how it would matter if no one can see him anyway. After a bit of arguing, Miss Peregrine got the upperhand which led to Millard getting off the couch and looking for something to wear while grumbling something about prudes in the process. He came back a minute later with a bath towel that was tied around his waist, though loosely. Miss Peregrine disapproved of it and Millard had to get another pair of clothing. He returned the second time, being too overdressed as he wore hiking boots, wool pants, a coat, a scarf, a hat and gloves. Bronwyn says that he will perish of heatstroke and Millard told her that it would be better because at least no one would have to imagine him in such a state. Millard managed to annoy Miss Peregrine and make her leave the room. He tells how one would find it wearying to be lectured about every little thing. Enoch replies to his statement with a smart one. He asks if his constant nudity annoys anyone else which all the girls raised their hands. He sighs and makes sure that he would be fully dressed at all times, lest that anyone will be made uncomfortable by 'basic facts of biology.'
When everyone was talking about their adventures during the time they were exploring peculiar places with the Panloopticon, Millard said that the loop in Amazonia was hot and the insects were terrible. Though the locals were extremely nice and that they showed them how to make excellent medicines from plants. He explained that there had been a train disaster when Emma showed Jacob a photo of a train that had been tipped over sideways. Millard said that it was carrying some sort of chemical and a few minutes later the picture had been taken, he said that they went back a safe distance and watched as it catched on fire and explode in the most terrific way possible. As Jacob asked what had been the point of their trips, he responds to saying that they were helping Sharon.
While Olive held up the book of Peculiar Planet: North America to show Jacob what guidebook she had been talking about. Millard says that the book was awfully out-of-date however Olive ignored what he said.
In Chapter Two, Millard had set the table along with Emma. When Jacob had asked how long everybody had been awake, Millard tells him that they've been up for hours while carrying a pan of biscuits towards the dining room. Continuing, he says that they've been loop-lagged rather terribly. He wore a full outfit during this time. Wearing plum-colored pants, a light sweater and a scarf around his neck. Horace tells Jacob that he dressed Millard this morning, saying that he's quite the blank slate, sartorically speaking. With Jacob asking where the groceries had come from, Millard said that they may or may not have floated off the shelves of a market down the ground. Implying that he had stolen all of it. Miss Peregrine scolds him and asks what would he have done if he was caught. Millard replies by saying that it would be impossible since he is a master thief. Stating that it is his third-most impressive skill, after his extreme intelligence and near-perfect memory. Jacob reminds him that there were cameras in stores now and that if they had caught that on video, it could be a big problem. Millard reacted to that by simply saying 'oh' and looking down at the caramelized peace slice at the end of his fork.
As Jacob asks what they should start with as they begin to 'initiate' their normalling lessons, Millard said that he could start by covering the entire knowledge of the past seventy-five years such as history, politics, music, popular culture, recent breakthroughs in science and technology but Jacob says that he thinks it would be more along the lines of learning how to talk like they're not in 1940 and crossing the street without being killed. Millard says that he suppose that could be important, as well.
When the peculiars searched for beach-appropiate clothing amongst the closets of the house, Millard wore nothing at all but a slather of sunscreen across his face and shoulders with that making him look kind of like a walking blur.
Whilst the others were talking about the new-found academy. Millard says that it can be a bit dull sometimes but it was nice to be among scholars. Bronwyn replied to his statement, telling him that he only thought it was dull because he thinks he knows more than the teachers. In response, Millard says that when they aren't ymbrynes, he usually does and the ymbrynes are nearly always busy nowadays. When Jacob asked why the Ymbryne Council were holding meetings all day, and all night. Millard answered for him saying the council is having its authority challenged. Oblivious to Miss Peregrine's curdled expression, he went on talking. At the moment Jacob offered an 'if' of what could happen like him going to finish high school first and in a couple of years, they'd be seeing each other all the time. Millard tells him that it was a very big if.
With Bronwyn asking why they can't just pretend to be normal when Jacob's parents are around, Millard says that some of them don't have the privilege of pretending they're normal. When Horace asking why they can't just be themselves and with Miss Peregrine, they can just wipe the memories of Jacob's parents at the end of every day, Millard explains that too many wipes will make people go soft in the head. He explains the effects of it such as moaning, drooling etc.
As Jacob re-introduced his friends to his parents, Millard shouted out of nowhere while wearing a floating bathrobe.
In Chapter Three, Jacob brought Millard to shift one of the shopping spree because he wouldn't stop pestering Jacob. Millard sat by the passenger side as his breath fogged the glass of the window. When Bronwyn asked why Abe chose to move to Florida out of all the places in America, Millard says that it was because Florida used to be one of the best areas for peculiars to hide before the hollow wars. And that it was said that anybody, no matter if they were peculiar, could find a place to blend in there or to vanish. As Olive told the others if they remembered how they'd always talk about visiting where Abe lived and how they'd wonder what his house looked like. Millard said that it was a bad idea.
When Emma talked about being sure that she wants to see Abe's house, Millard asks her if she is sure about it. As Emma says to not look at her like she wouldn't be able to handle it, he simply says that no one said that.
Upon visiting Abe's house, Millard says that it was certainly a humble place and that no one would have thought a famous hollow-hunter had lived there. Emma says that it was intentional as Abe had to keep a low profile, nonetheless Millard says that he expected at least something a bit grander. When the others discover Enoch hiding in the boot of the car, Millard tells him that sometimes his brain just defies belief and when Enoch replied to what he said. Millard sarcastically says that he is brilliant.
As the others agreed that Abe's house shouldn't be left unclean as it is right now, Enoch says that Abe's dead and that who would even care if his house is clean. This causes Millard to shove him, presumably as Enoch stumbled. Millard told him that they care and that if Enoch wasn't willing to help, he can just go back and lock himself in the boot of the car again.
In the end of the tour around Abe's house, Millard asks Jacob where the war room is located however Jacob did not know of such a place and told him that he didn't have one. Upon going to the place where Abe died to give their respects and goodbyes to him, Millard said that Abraham Portman was a great man and that peculiarkind could have used more like him, and they miss him dearly. With everyone standing in the room Abe had used as his office, Millard told Jacob and Emma that he wanted to test a theory and that while the two were dallying in the woods, he asked Olive to take a walk around the house. Millard's knee connected with the floor and then he pried up a section of the floor which was about three feet square. He successfully made it swing bak on a hinge, making it reveal a metal door that led to Abe's war room. Millard said that he'd hate to say he told them so yet he said he told them so.
While Jacob tried all the birthdays of the people he was closest to as a code to the metal door, Millard told him that it wasn't a birthday as Abe would never have made the combination something that obvious. When the door finally opened to reveal a ladder, Jacob suggested that he should be the one to go first lest anything nasty was waiting down there, he wants to get eaten first. Millard merely said how very chivalrous. As Jacob called out to someone, Millard asked if he was expecting anyone. Millard says that the shelter is for more than just waiting out attacks and that it was a receiving station. His voice, however came from the opposite wall, next to a big wooden desk. Jacob asks how many were the hollow-hunters in total which Millard says that there were not more than a dozen but he just states it was an educated guess. Millard says that there's one thing that doesn't make sense as to why Abe didn't seek shelter in where they are now the night the hollowgast had came for him. With Emma comforting Jacob, telling him that Abe loved his secrets. Millard said if he ever.
He slid open a drawer in the desk and told Jacob that there might be something he'll be interested in. Jacob asks him what the journal of Abe's Operations Log was and Millard tells him that it's just what it says. As Jacob flipped a few pages in the binder, finding similar reports of rescuing peculiar child from a wight and hollowgast who were hunting him then delivering the child to a safe loop. Milard said if he knows what it means.
In Chapter Four, he says that the loop inside the shed that Miss Peregrine came out of was a pocket loop. He then told Miss Peregrine how brilliant that was and said that he didn't think the council had approved any as of the moment. When Miss Peregrine was talking about the assignments they will be given by the Ymbryne Council, Millard said that they wanted assignments of consequence and not just busywork. Millard told Jacob that Sharon wasn't joking and that he was in fact a celebrity. He warned Jacob that once they go outside, he should watch out. Millard said to Horace that there was a girl in America who can remove nightmares and that she could perhaps be of assistance.
Millard then said that he told Jacob that he was famous, his tone being both teasing and a little jealous as it sounds. He says that it's extra-dimensionally inacessible for Caul to have escaped the collapsed loop. When they were about to enter the building of St. Barnabus' Asylum for Lunatics, Millard laughed as he nudged Jacob forward. Millard told Miss Cuckoo that he'd like to request something more than just day labor and that his volominous talents are better suited elsewhere. As Enoch flirted with Miss Cuckoo and she along with Miss Peregrine strode together towards the exit, Millard asked Enoch what had gotten into him and that Miss Cuckoo was a hundred years your senior, and a ymbryne at that.
When assigning assignments, Miss Cuckoo pointed at Millard. Telling him that he had a plum job offer from Peculiar Intelligence, saying that invisibles make top field agents. Millard replied to what she said by saying that Ministry of Mapping would be a better fit. He said that any invisible can sneak around and overhear secrets but he'd wager that his cartographic expertise is equal to anyone's. Miss Cuckoo tells him that Intelligence is understaffed and Mapping is full. She politely tells him to go report to Mr. Kimble in Intelligence room 301. Millard simply abides and the excitement that was once in his voice was gone as he turned and walked the other way down the hall.
In Chapter Five, Millard said that somewhere there must have been a map of all the murders, assaults, and robberies that took place the day Devil's Acre was looped, so those dangerous places could be avoided but none of them had seen it. Millard was later grumbling about how he should be charting maps of America and that Perplexus Anomalus was head of the Mapping Department. He says that while the ymbrynes don't think they owe anything to them, he does. Hugh told Millard that he should just appeal directly to him which he says that he'll do so.
As Itch approached them, Millard told everyone to stop. Saying that the man won't hurt them, he then said that Itch was peculiar. With one of the finned boys saying that they don't want to share their secret to having their clocks reset, Millard says that it wasn't true and that they arent sure if the reset could be re-created and that the ymbrynes are still studying it. Later on, as the other peculiars along with Jacob packed into the broom closet, and afterwards rushed out as they arrived back from Panloopticon and back to Florida using the pocket loop Miss Peregrine created earlier. He simply says 'ozone' as a faint steam accompanied by a light hissing sound came from the shed's peaked roof.
While watching the TV, Millard says that if modern people watch, then they shall too. Bronwyn says that she doesn't want to have a melted brain and Millard reassures her by saying that nothing's going to melt. And that she should think of it as a vaccine. Just a tiny bit will be enough to inoculate her against the bigger shocks of the world.
In Chapter Six, he appears with the others as they crowded into the front hall from various points around the house. Right after Horace says that Jacob and Emma are lucky that the ymbrynes are in a very long council meeting, Millard says that something big is going on. Millard was part of the few that seemed ready to join Jacob and Emma in the car right then. Millard tells them that they're wasted in the Acre and that they can go fearlessly into the present. Saying that who else with their level of experience can possibly do that.
In Chapter Seven, Millard raised his hands along with Enoch and Olive. Making it clear he wants to go. As Claire sneered at them, saying that they're just delivering packages and how that could even be considered a mission. Millard said that the mission was helping a peculiar in danger, right after the packages are delivered. He agreed with Enoch that the headmistress still treats them like children and that they're nearly a century old and that it was about time they started acting their age or at least, half of their age. Millard said that they've got to start making decisions for themselves. When Emma wondered how Miss Peregrine just really went to sleep, Millard admitted that he may have blown just a pinch of dust into the room. Horace afterwards calls him a scoundrel. He called the black coupe a proper road journey car. As Bronwyn said that the car will break down a lot because that's what people say about British cars, he told her if Abe would have used it if it was mechanically unsound. As Jacob asked how Enoch knew so much about cars, Millard told him because of magazines and manuals via mail order and that it was delivered to his post office box in present-day Cairnholm.
In Chapter Eight, Millard had brought along Peculiar Planet despite its maps being very out-of-date. Millard sat beside Enoch, and was squished against Bronwyn. Jacob kept a watchful eye on Millard as they entered All-Mart since he was naked and invisible, it'd be difficult for him to find him. Though Millard didn't say much as Jacob begged him not to. Jacob could tell that he was taking mental notes from the little sighs and hmms he made. When they left the store, Emma asked what the loud, bleeping alarm was and Millard told her that they may not have paid for everything. He said that old habits die hard and told the others to just run. He grabbed the cart from Jacob and sprinted toward the car with it. As Emma scolded him, Millard said that he knew about the cameras but no one told him anything about the alarms.
As Jacob says that the mermaids in Mermaid Fantasyland weren't real and were just a cheesy old tourist trap. Millard told him that perhaps it was however Mermaid Fantasyland was also listed in Peculiar Planet. He then raised the guide to show it to Jacob and then he read from it. Emma said that it doesn't mean that the mermaids are peculiar and it just means there was a loop in town. Millard said that there could have been a loop before. He reminded her that the guide was nearly seventy years old and that everything in it should be treated with the highest skepticism. As the peculiars began to get dizzy from the singing of the bear-man, Millard said that his head feels like candy floss along with Bronwyn. Causing the mermaid and the bear and the two clons in Mermaid Fantasyland to jump and look at the group with a new kind of hunger. When they managed to escape from the place, Bronwyn asked why would H even send them there if the place was dangerous. Millard replies that maybe it was a test.
Upon meeting Paul, Millard dared to speak for the first time as Paul said the word 'peculiar'. Paul wasn't all that surprised once he heard Millard's words come from empty air. When they were about to enter the loop in Flamingo Manor, Bronwyn said that there'd be no way she would be entering it. Millard told her that it was a loop, after all and that he was certain it'd be much more nicer on the inisde.
In Chapter Nine, he asked what would happen if Rex got sick along with Enoch who asked what would happen if he died. When Adelaide asked what brought them to the swamp, Millard told him that they had stopped at a place called Mermaid Fantasyland but they tried to put a spell on them, or some such thing. As Adelaide apologized and told the group that seemed like they were very nice. Millard directly said that they are and that they'll be all right, causing Adelaide because of Millard's words. He sounded doubtful as he said that instead of having a ymbryne, they had a so-called loop-keeper. When Potts mentioned that Rex was a terible drunk, Millard asked if he drinks. Once Emma turned to Millard and asked him if he ever heard of such a thing, Millard responds with 'only apocryphally.' Millard says that there are no such thing as portals and no matter, they'll keep getting the same answer as it's a dead end. When Paul said that he knows where the portal is as that's where he's from, Millard said that there's no such thing as a portal before getting cut off by Paul, refixing what he said to make his statement clear.
Paul said that they couldn't get to the loop with him as Millard said that he was a certified cartographer and that he's sure he can handle even the most complex directions. After Paul tells him that the location of the entrance changes, he just snorts. With Bronwyn asking if she crossed a line back there when she asked the Adelaide and Potts about their peculiarity, Millard replies with saying that peculiar abilities are like muscles and that if one doesn't use them for a long time, they can atrophy. He says that perhaps they have none left and Bronwyn hit a nerve. When Paul told them to take the back way out as he pointed to a road that led behind the garage and out of town, Millard said that they can't just leave them at the mercy of the highwaymen.
In Chapter Ten, when Bronwyn said that they should call home as everyone would be worried if they don't tell them they're okay. Millard tells her that they can't as they're in 1965 and that they'd be calling Jacob's house in 1965. Millard asks Paul if there are any peculiar thugs and highwaymen in Portal, Georgia. He also asks which ymbryne made the loop there and he also asks what had happened to Miss Honeythrush. When Paul said he can't go to Johnnie's Brite Spot because he's black. Enoch asks what that has to do with anything, Millard sighs as he says that Enoch isn't a great student of history. As Enoch suggested burning the place down as it would only take a minute, Millard told him that it would accomplish nothing because the past is the past and it will always find a way to heal himself. Though, he got cut off mid-sentence by Enoch.
Millard asks why they couldn't just walk into the loop which Paul explains that they can't leave the car ouside the loop because if someone found it, they'll know where to look for the entrance. Upon entering the loop, the car had a terrible landing. Millard groaned from the backseat and later on, he shoved his way out of the car and he was heard throwing up by Jacob. Millard asks Paul if he is a diviner, as well.
In Chapter Eleven, he compliments that the lamb to be absolutely delectable. He dabbed his mouth with a napkin and no one thought him to be strange or even stared at his floating napkin. He asked how it was possible to cook a seventy-two-hour lamb in a twenty-four-hour loop and Elmer says that they made the loop after the lamb had already been roasting for two days so they can have three-day lamb everyday. Millard just said it was a brilliant use of loop-time. As Enoch said that they were kind of a big deal to the locals, Millard told him to not be conceited and went on to explain what Enoch had been meaning to say which is that they enjoy some small prominence in their own peculiar community, thanks to the role they played in the victory over the wights at the Battle of Devil's Acre. Jacob attempts to cut him off but Millard went on talking for a little bit more. Once the locals of the town said that they don't know anyone by the name of Abraham Portman, he thought it was odd and he was certain they knew.
When Elmer asked how Gandy had been doing since they haven't seen him for quite a while now. Millard tells them that he passed away several months ago. As Bronwyn asked if it was against the ymbrynic code for only one type of peculiar to live together, Millard says that there are lots of reasons peculiars of one ability might band together. He said that he knows of several invisible communities. He said that partritionment according to ability is discouraged under the ymbrynic codes because it cam promote clannish thinking and unnecessary conflict. Millard says that what's expressly forbidden are closed loops, in which only one type of peculiar is allowed to live and all others are banned. Millard asks about the Native Americans and if they had any loops. As Elmer walked, Millard said that he was an interesting man and began to tell things about Elmer such as him fighting in three wars over seventy years and during the Great War, he slept in a loop at the trenches in Verdun so he wouldn't age forward.
When they try to go out of the loop with the car, Millard was yelling for Jacob to keep driving or they will get stuck. They successfully broke through the corns and onto a road however it was messy and eventually they stopped for all to catch their breaths. Millard got to throw up once more. After he had finished throwing up, he stumbled back toward the car. He weakly said to Jacob if there could be a train they can catch since he's growing a bit weary of automobiles to which Jacob replies, saying that he promises the rest of the way will be smooth. Millard sighed as he told Jacob he wished he wouldn't make promises he couldn't keep.
In Chapter Twelve, Millard told Enoch to be patient and that H could arrive at any moment. Since the middle of the night seems like the best time to meet if one means to do it in secret. Later on, Millard says that Enoch got the right idea as he asks for the matchbook from Jacob. He said that he thinks they are supposed to buy something. When they were ordering from 24-HR OK BURGER, he spoke up. Talking to the cashier. Emma hissed at him to what she thinks he's doing. When the cashier peered into the back seat to who spoke. Millard said that it was him and that he was invisible as he should have mentioned it earlier. Bronwyn then told him that he was daft. Millard ordered for a combo two.
When they read the back of the napkin which revealed a set of coordinates, excited. Millard said that he can read coordinates, saying that the line of longitude number is negative which meant that the place was well west of the prime meridian before he got cut off once more by Jacob. Telling him that it was a high school in Brooklyn, New York and he just typed them into the Maps app. Frustrated, Millard said that no piece of techology can replace a real cartographer.
Millard thinks the cashier was more than simply just a chef and as he wanted to test something out, he asked Jacob if he would mind pulling up to the window again. Millard leaned out the window and said to the cashier if he could have one of the combo number threes. After a while, Jacob got the bag and passed it to Millard as it had nothing but french fries and onion rings. Ten minutes later, Millard had eaten the entire french fries and onion rings as he made his way to the bottom of the bag. He laughed as he pulled out something heavy and egg-shaped. Revealed to be a grenade. He simply chuckled as he rolled the grease-covered grenade from one-hand to another while saying that they really do give you more for your money.
When they were driving around the DC Beltway, they came to an oddly marked place and as they debated to stop to check it out. Millard said that it could be a safe house, or a murder den as there is no way of knowing. As Horace called Jacob insted of being Miss Peregrine, he asked if Jacob was there which Millard says that they were all there. When Olive asked when they were going to come back, Enoch said that they'll never be returning. Millard dismissed him and told her not to listen to Enoch as they're currently driving and will be back as soon as they can. Millard says that once Miss Peregrine finds out what they've been up to, he's certain she'll understand.
Millard asked if they were going to discuss their plan, he excellently changed the subject as things were getting too emotional. Millard told Bronwyn that Enoch was being sarcastic about his plan. As a semi truck merged in front of Jacob, he had to stop suddenly and then it belched a cloud of black fumes all over them. Causing Millard and Jacob to start coughing. When Emma told Jacob he was getting overwhelmed and that they need to take it bit by bit. Millard says it's like that old saying about eating a grimbear.
In Chapter Thirteen, he says that perhaps they should just go inside and have a look around and see if anyone should catch their eye. Jacob says that there are thousands of kids that go to the school and that he thinks that they're not going to find the peculiar ones just by looking. Millard told him tiredly that they won't know if they haven't tried (however, he says tired out of his own exhaustion). Millard says that Jacob's onto something because in every mission that Abe and H ran for thirty-five years. They had to have been in situations like their own. He says that they'll find out what they did.
Millard asks Jacob if he noticed anything about Abe's note to which Emma says it's a bit random as to why would Abe bother to put in what room he'd be staying in. Millard said that it was the simplest code there was, an acrostic. He told Jacob to read the first letter of each line and to ask him what it spells. He said that Abe was leaving him coded messages and that Abe was looking out for Jacob even beyond the grave. Millard says they should try to ask people in loops since they need to find out where loop ten thousand forty-four is and perhaps there will be someone there in the hotel that might know. When the hotel clerk asks to see proof that they were indeed peculiar, Millard lifted up a business card holder on the front desk as he twirled it in the air and set it down again.
As they entered their hotel room, Millard and Jacob climbed onto the fold-out sofa to pore over Abe's logbook. Millard said that Abe and H went on a number of missions that resembled theirs. He says that it might be instructive to see how they faced their respective challenges. Millard had read the entire logbook twice during the long road trip and his memory for details was so sharp that he had an almost instant recall of vast proportions of the log. He turned to the mission report from the early 1960s. Abe and H had been tasked with extracting an endangered peculiar child from a country in the Texas Panhandle but they didn't know which town the child was in. Millard scanned the report and said that they began their search by blending in with the local populace and talking to people. Before long they heard of a traveling carnival was in the area which is the sort of place peculiars feel comfortable blending in. They caught up with it outside of Amarillo and found the peculiar child hiding inside a giant cardboard elephant on wheels that traveled with the carnival. Millard laughed as he talked to Jacob.
Millard said it was simple, straightforward detective work which was the best kind. As Jacob asked him what more they did, Millard began to get weirdly excited as he said they did periodical searches. Turning a lot of pages, then landed on the report he was looking for. He told him that there was a young woman who was rapidly turning invisible. And by the way, she was uncontacted. She was almost certainly terrified. Abe's goal was to find her before she completely became invisible and bring her into the fold of some benevolent peculiar clan which were preferably other invisibles. However it would be difficult as the woman had fled from every prior attempt at contact. Millard explained that they were able to find her by pinpointing her location via headlines in a tabloid. While tabloids can't be taken seriously, they do contain bits of truth once in a while. He turned the page and clipped to the backside of the mission log was a photo of a couple of kids on a beach and a crumpled newspaper in the sand.
Millard continuing, saying that the ridiculous article is what led to them being able to track her in a beach town in California and then to a particular beach. He said that beaches are terrible places to be invisible as the sands give your footsteps away. So, Abe and H managed to corner the girl long enough to be able to introduce themsleves and explain what was happening to her. She then accepted the offer to help. When Bronwyn asked how long stakeouts take, Millard (presumably) said that it takes weeks. Sometimes longer.
The next day, as they prepared to go back to school. Millard was fully clothed in dress pants, a collared shirt and a newsboy cap. He said that if someone was hunting the peculiar, they must be worth hunting. He says that they could be powerful and possibly dangerous. He told the others that if they suspect they found the person they were looking for, they shouldn't engage and should alert the rest of them to determine the best course of action to take. Jacob asks him why Millard bothered getting dressed as they were going back out in a minute. Millard replies that he misses wearing clothing sometimes and that chafing becomes a problem.
In Chapter Fourteen, he suggests that they should split up in the school though he'd never normally say it. He says that they'll attract less attention than they would walking around in a big, baffled clump. Millard couldn't talk to anyone since he was invisible but he'd sneak into the main office. He said that if there was an incident dramatic enough to rate mention in a local newspaper and there are certainly other records of smaller incidents somewhere in their files. As the others agreed they'd meet up in an hour and if anything went wrong, they should pull the fire alarm and run for the front entrance. Millard had already left just as Emma called out his name. The classroom door swung shut as he did.
During the time Jacob pulled the fire alarm, a few minutes later. Millard tugged on Jacob's sleeve as he found the group. Whispering as he talked since they were among normals. He said that he had been looking everywhere for them which was difficult since some dolt pulled the fire alarm. As Emma said that she and Jacob found something out, Millard said that he too. Millard said that despite having no luck with the files and records, he talked with a sweet young woman in the school office. Millard says he's a great deal more suave than anyone gives him credit for being and there's no need for hysterics. As Bronwyn brought up the topic once more of him talking to someone, he got back to where he left off. He says that a rather lovely young lady who he believes knows their subject and where to find her.
Emma asks him where to which he responds that he didn't want to push much since the subject is a friend of hers. As she knows the subject is in danger and that she's understandably protective. Millard said he was earning her trust when the fire alarm sounded. Millard told them they made arrangements to meet later as she wasn't entirely comfortable discussing the matter on school grounds. Millard huffed as he said that he wasn't seen. When Bronwyn said that hollow-hunters never had fun in a mission. Millard said that if they did, they would've mentioned it in the operations log.
Later, Millard told them that they should find a restroom where the others can wash and change clothes. His tone appeared to be quite panicked. He said that first impressions were everything to which Enoch said that perhaps Millard fancies the girl. Calling it almost love. Millard told Jacob very casually that he had deduced the location of loop ten thousand forty-four while he was sleeping.
The Conference of the Birds[]
The Desolations of Devil's Acre[]
Graphic Novels[]
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (film)[]
He first appears when he goes with Olive, Bronwyn, Emma, and the Twins to fetch Jake. After Jake runs off into what he thought was the present-day Priest Hole, Millard follows him and begins throwing the glasses and dishes around the establishment in order to distract everyone just before Olive pulls Jake out of the building and sets the place on fire. Jake is convinced he was throwing things around with his mind until they are in the cart and Millard tells him that he is actually the one who did it. Jake is a little surprised to the fact that Millard is naked. Emma then passes Millard clothes, and he puts them on while the others talk.
Later, once in the loop, he is shown playing soccer with Hugh who uses his bees to cheat in the game. Millard then tells him to stop cheating. He kicks the soccer ball into a topiary and Horace comes in to interfere, stating that he wishes they wouldn't play at all if they were going to continue squabbling.
At dinnertime, he sits in a chair whilst being naked once more, playing with the utensils. Jake accidentally sits on him, making Miss Peregrine tell Millard to go put something on. Later during the meal, he reappears with clothes on, that being a robe and what appears to be a towel around his head.
At movie-time, he is naked again and passes Jake some hot chocolate, telling him that it had extra marshmallows. Emma tells him to go put clothes on to which he replies that it was too hot. Horace then tells him to stop complaining.
As Enoch leads Jake into Victor's room, Millard can be seen playing with Horace and Hugh in one of the rooms. During the daily walk, Millard walks beside Horace and appears to be talking to him.
When Miss Avocet wakes up, telling everyone about what had happened to her wards and loop, Millard is behind the couch she was sitting on. Later, as the others begin to leave the room, Olive put her hands on Millard and together, they walk out.
With the others rushing to pack their things, Millard goes up to a drawer as he grabs his cap and quickly places it on his head before making his way past the Twins and Fiona. He then gets his suitcase from his room and tells the others to wait for him.
When Barron comes into the house, holding Jake captive, Millard is with the other peculiars on the stairs behind Hugh. With Miss Peregrine's orders for them to go downstairs, he follows as well as everyone else. Going into the parlor, he nods at Miss Peregrine before entering. Millard watches Emma hug Miss Peregrine with his arms crossed. Before Miss Peregrine closes the doors of the parlor, Millard puts a hand on one of the Twins. When Barron tosses Jake into the room, Millard slightly steps away from his position. As Barron pretends to leave and scares the children, Millard gets surprised and put both of his arms onto the shoulders of one of the Twins. Ordered by Miss Avocet, he shuts the windows. He gets handed a fork by Olive as a weapon. With Miss Avocet getting taken by a hollowgast from the windows, he backed away along with everyone else.
After Miss Peregrine is taken by Barron, Millard and the other peculiars escape from the hollowgast through the rooftop window of the house. When Jake and the others try to make up a plan to go after Miss Peregrine and Barron, Millard says that Blackpool is miles away and that they wouldn't make it in time with the next ferry taking hours. Later, Millard is on the ship looking out the window. He appears behind the others as Enoch talks to Jake and Emma.
Afterwards, Jake and Emma bring him along to Blackpool in order to begin their plan. As they went to a secluded area, Jake tells Millard that there's something he needs to do first wherein Millard replies that he knows. He then proceeded to take off his cap and unbutton his shirt. Continuing, Jake says that the tower is not far off. Despite being invisible, Millard makes visible footprints on the ground.
As they start to put their plan into action, he goes with Jake and Emma to where the meeting between Barron and the other wights was going to commence. Millard hands Jake the rope. He tips a can over and blasts open the doors. He then meets up with the others when it was time for their plan to enter into step 2. After everything is over, as the peculiars return to a loop, Millard goes up and hugs Jake, who pats him on the head in return.
Description[]
Physical Appearance[]
Millard Nullings is a peculiar child who is invisible. To stay hidden from others, he is almost always nude. Miss Peregrine makes him put clothes on from time to time.
Millard is 87 (though he tells Lilly he is 97 in A Map of Days), now 16 and has lived with Miss Peregrine for a great number of years. An estimated year of birth would be 1924, considering what year the book takes place in. He is one of the few characters who reveal their age to Jacob, the others being Enoch, Horace, Olive and Emma.
In the film, he wears a sweater vest, baby blue button down shirt, and a brown jacket, with a matching brown newsboy cap.
Personality[]
According to Jacob, Millard is a bit of a sycophant when it comes to the rules. He constantly refuses to help with plans and schemes, and he refuses to participate in what the other children view as fun. However, in A Map of Days, Millard willingly decides to come with Jacob and some others on their trip to rescue a peculiar child.
Millard has tendencies to not wear clothes, making him completely invisible, to, for one, sneak up on people undetected. Only Miss Peregrine seems to know when he is there, often reprimanding him for it ("Polite persons do not take their suppers in the nude!"). He also uses this to steal things, saying that pickpocketing is one of his talents. He does not quite see anything wrong with being invisibly nude, calling it "basic facts of biology."
Another one of Millard's main characteristics is his love for books and learning, saying he would have liked to try his hand at teaching had he not been born with the peculiarity of invisibility. Studying the September 3rd, 1940 Cairnholm people for his loop life, he spent three years on observing the pigs alone (for which he was mocked by Hugh). Upon arriving at the mainland, he took the loss of the Map of Days very hard. He also spent his time on the train studying Tales of the Peculiar for its hidden meanings.
Although Millard says he likes being invisible and that is the very core of who he is, there are times that he wishes he could turn it off.
He is not always tactful when he speaks (being direct in his choice of wording as well as not being very quiet while the peculiars were talking about Fiona who they presumed to be dead, in earshot of an upset Hugh), and he is usually oblivious to emotional dynamics of a conversation. Jacob states that Millard doesn't lack feeling, but just isn't good at minding the feelings of others. However, he does have some tact, as he stays many steps ahead of Jacob and Noor after the three visit Klaus in order to not intrude on the pair's private talk.
Peculiarity[]
Millard's peculiarity is the fact that he is completely invisible, a state that he is permanently in. However, he reveals in Hollow City that he was born visible but bit by bit, began to fade away like Bekhir's son, Radi.
To stay hidden from others, he is almost always nude. Miss Peregrine makes him put clothes on from time to time but he seems keen on picking fights with her every now and then.
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Despite having no control over his peculiarity, Millard is optimistic about his peculiarity and uses it to his full advantage. He has been able to become a master spy, pick-pocketer and an observer of things to which he is studying.
Relationships[]
Jacob Portman[]
Millard and Jacob are friends, although Jacob is no closer with Millard than he is with the other children. In the first book, his knowledge of the island impresses Jacob much to Millard's pleasure. In the second book they seem to bond a bit more, having personal and private conversations. Jacob soon pities Millard, because Millard has given up at hoping for a chance of having a normal life.
Miss Peregrine[]
Millard is considered a suck up to Miss Peregrine through Jacob's eyes. Though Millard is completely invisible when nude, Miss Peregrine knows when he's around spying. She occasionally wrestles with him on this issue of clothes. Millard obviously cares for the headmistress, as he risks his own life to follow Dr. Golan and return her to safety, getting shot in the process. He showed more independence in A Map of Days when choosing to go behind Mrs. Peregrine's back and run off with Jacob and the others.
Emma Bloom[]
Millard and Emma are the first two peculiars that Jacob meets in the loop and their companionship is hinted, despite the fact they disagree upon whether Jacob is a wight or not. Although the two do have conflicting personalities, Emma still has a sisterly love for her fellow peculiar.
Lilly[]
Millard met Lilly at Noor's school when on a mission to find Noor for her safety. He spent time talking to Lilly, and felt like a normal person, for he believed that Lilly couldn't see him because she was blind. He discovered later that Lilly had minimal vision, and was aware of Millard's invisibility.
Millard said that he thinks he is in love with Lilly.
Perplexus Anomalous[]
Millard had a great appreciation for Perplexus Anomalous, who invented the Map of Days, the book that Millard was in possession of on Cairnholm. Even, Millard himself said that he snuck out in the middle of the night to meet with Perplexus.
Trivia[]
- Millard said that he would have liked to become a teacher had he not turned invisible.
- In Hollow City, Millard reads a Dutch saying aloud, so it can be assumed that he understands the language. He also understands French, Latin, and a few words of Old Peculiar as he recognizes an Old Peculiar lullaby and is able to translate it to Jacob.
- Millard wrote his own version of the Tales of the Peculiar.
- He is allergic to grimbear dander and almond butter.
- It is believed that Millard is Scottish.
- He has a near perfect memory.
- He may have had relationships in the past that he hasn't talked about during the books, but he is currently in love with Lilly.
- He considers himself a master thief even though he almost got himself and the others arrested twice in a row.
- The real-life book, Tales of the Peculiar, was written by Ransom Riggs under Millard's name.