#villain ambrosius au

[cosmictyto]

💛⚔️ Villain Ambrosius AU - Tarnished Gold ⚔️🖤

I’ve listened to Will Wood’s “Vampire Culture” one too many times while stuck in the Nimona hyperfixation pit + after seeing some villain Amb fanart floating around, so enjoy these sloppy, partially finished mad ramblings edited/stylized a bit to (try and) make them a little more interesting to read. Also, you're all more than welcome to add on/ask any questions! I'll get to them when I can.

Just a heads up, this is looooong. Simply because ya girl’s a wordy bitch.

Basically, the point of this AU can be boiled down to “What if Ambrosius knew Ballister was innocent AND Nimona got to him first?” Kinda a role swap, but kinda its own thing at the same time? Idfk.

On the night of the knighting ceremony, as they’re both suiting up, Ballister verbally mentions his sword feeling off to Ambrosius. But neither of them have time to investigate that further.

The knighting ceremony goes just as horribly as it did in the movie. The queen is dead, Ballister’s lost his arm, and though they couldn’t exactly find Ballister’s body, he’s presumed dead. Lambasted as a traitor to the kingdom, but also treated as a sort of boogeyman since no one REALLY knows if he’s dead in that "I heard he's dead!" "Well, I heard he's still alive!" kind of way.

Ambrosius, meanwhile, is left completely crushed. Simultaneously being praised by some for “disarming the traitor” and mocked by others for being so close to that same traitor. For not recognizing the signs earlier. For not stopping him before their queen was killed. And though the Director reassures him that he’s done well as Gloreth’s descendant and that this will all fade as nothing more than a bad memory… he knows. Ballister didn’t do it. He KNEW something was wrong with his sword. And deep down he knew that his boyfriend was innocent. So he confronts the squire, sees the footage, and leaves with his whole world rocked.

Needless to say, the proof of ACTUAL INTENTIONAL regicide, treason, and corruption within the system, the same one he’s a literal living symbol of, isn’t on his mind at the moment. Just what he did to Bal. So full of regret and guilt. (At best, he mutilated the love of his life out of instinct which is still horrible!!) Normally when he wanted time alone to think he’d go to the top of the Glorodome. But, that spot hurt too much right now. That's where he and Bal first became friends. So, that same night, he went to the next-best place, Gloreth’s statue.

It’s late at night (he hasn’t been able to sleep much lately anyway,) and he’s sitting at the edge of that massive golden sword. Legs dangling as he stares at the ground. He’s normally not much of a drinker, usually too risky. But tonight he makes an exception. Before, everything felt manageable. The inherent weight he bore being Gloreth’s descendant, the press and citizenry looking up to him to be this bastion of goodness and pure heroism, internal familial pressures over how he should act, look, and think… with Bal at his back, he could handle it. But that stability’s gone now. And the only other person he could possibly lean on, the Director, was responsible for his lover’s death. Now, more than ever, he feels like he’s on the verge of collapsing under the weight this kingdom’s placed on his shoulders…

And then someone happens to come along.

Even despite everything, despite all the hurt this one person’s been responsible for… Nimona still carries fondness for Gloreth. And some nights, when she can’t sleep and she feels like howling at the moon, she’ll go to her old friend’s statue… tonight was one of those nights. And who does she happen to find? Her great-great-great-great… however many more, great grandkid. And he’s not looking too hot. A part of her knows she’s got no real obligation to help him, she's never talked to any of the Golden-groin brats before. But... she's had plenty of moments where she wished she had someone talk her down from doing something stupid, and she's feeling kinda sentimental n' sappy... so she strikes up a conversation.

He’s (reasonably) startled by this teen who just showed up out of nowhere. On a statue that requires a hoverbike to get to, no less. But he’s also drunk enough that he’s not as concerned as he maybe should be. One thing leads to another, and he just lets loose. Like, completely vents everything stored in him. (And, yes, “Arm chopping is not a love language!!!” Is thrown in there.)

Nims is just kinda in shock. In all those stupid commercials and interviews he seems so calm and put-together. Perfect, even. But, he's actually kind of a wreck. And now he’s unraveling real fast and is a bit too wobbly to be up this high- So she talks him down a bit. Calms him. Eventually asks, “If you never had any of this stupid “Gloreth” stuff pushed on you, who would you be? What’d you want to do?”

That legitimately stumps and breaks him. He’s thought about how nice it’d be to have this pressure off of his back. Where he could be his own person and not “the descendant of Gloreth.” But he never ONCE considered what a world like that would really look like. All he’s ever known was THIS. Being a knight, being a symbol and not a real person… there’s really only one thing he could actually say.

“Um… My hair wouldn’t be blond..? Y’know, it’s funny, this isn’t even my natural color. They make me bleach it so that I… that I can look more like her…”

And it’s at that point that Nimona decides right then and there, if she couldn’t get the kingdom to change its mind, she’ll at least get through to Gloreth's heir. Break at least one cycle. (And totally not because she feels the teensiest bit regretful he's been put in this position, naaah, nothing like that.~) She coaxes him down from that statue, and the two of them proceed to do nothing but get into mischief…

“~Blood… didn’t they want your blood? So why apologize for being blue and cold?~”

Specifically, the kind that you don’t remember until well after you wake up. All Ambrosius knows is that he’s in some strange dim dreary place and someone’s cooking something. Oh, it’s just Bal. He usually handles any meals since he doesn’t burn them like he does… but, as he’s snuggling back into the couch, he realizes there’s the sound of a girl humming? What? He sits up. Aaaand she’s there? The girl from the statue? He tries to blow some of his unkempt hair out of his face, and-... he freezes. Grabs his phone, ignores the many, many missed calls and news notifications, opens his camera app, and… black. His hair is black. Why is it black?! It’s not supposed to be-! He NEEDS to be blond! And-!

“Mornin’, sleeping beauty!~ Not gonna lie, never knew a fancy-pants knight like yourself could cut loose like that... Hm? Oh! Right, the hair! You were telling me all about how much you hated bleaching it last night. Sooo, we dyed it! Eventually, you can cut all the dyed stuff off and just leave it your real color if you want. But, for now? Bye-bye, blondie! Like it?~”

No. No he does not. He’s basically having an anxiety attack over the unsanctioned change. Then he gets a notification on his phone and starts reading the news articles. All about HIM, a “mystery girl,” and several animals going wild throughout the kingdom.

“Dude, chill. What’s done is done. We got a little crazy, you saw some pink elephants, and we dyed your hair. So what?”

“So what?! What do you MEAN “So what?!?” I’m a DESCENDANT of GLORETH! I-I can’t be doing things like that! Or be seen like this, or-!”

“Woah WOAH! Hey, look at me. Breathe. You wanna really know why you asked me to dye your hair? YOU said it was so you could be free."

“Free..?”

“Yeah! From now on? You don’t have to live by their stupid rules and expectations. You don't have to be like her, you can be YOU! You can do whatever the hell you want, whenever you want! Wanna change your name? Do it! Wanna go break stuff? Hell yeah! Want a piercing or tattoo? I can give you some. I know how! You wanna make those bastards pay for what they did to you and your boyfriend? I'm more than happy bring the matches and help you burn that bitch to the ground!~"

From that point, things just click. His whole life, the Director… no, the whole INSTITUTE forged him into nothing more than a gilded sword. One that they turned on the person he loved most. The ONE thing in his life that he chose and stuck by… and the system he was supposed to symbolize MADE him kill the love of his life… and he didn’t have to play by their rules anymore. Thus starting his fall into "Villainy."

“~Blood, didn’t they want your blood? So don’t apologize for being blue and cold…~”

Slight time skip!~

Truth was? Ballister was still alive. Heavily wounded, dazed and confused at how everything went so wrong, but alive...

Ballister's story continues as it did in the movie. Months later after the knighting, he's being hunted by the law with Sir Thoddeus Sureblade as the captain of the guard. In the meantime, he's built himself an arm and is still aiming to prove his innocence... Except his attempts to find Ambrosius, or convince the Director that he was set up, are a complete failure. Like in the movie, he's arrested and thrown in the dungeon... Except with no one to break him out. According to whispered gossip from the guards who bring him food, Ambrosius has been missing for a while, now. A fact that would not be revealed to the public anytime soon...

"It's only culture! It's only CULTURE!! It's only- Culture's not your friend..!"

At least, not until an individual in scuffed black-and-rose-gold colored armor (?) shows up with... a bear, or a tiger, and a wolf, and horse, and... even a rhinoceros?! The two of them running through the halls. Breaking things, lighting stuff on fire, and spraying paint on the walls (along with the floor, ceiling, and any statues,) and scrapping with any knights they come across. They'd already uploaded that clip of the Director swapping those swords. This? This was a diversion to keep the Institute from possibly removing or censoring that clip before the public got to see it. And Ambrosius LOVED it! He got to be loud! To make a mess! He finally got to punch Todd in his stupid dude-bro face! When you've kept someone shackled their whole lives, and then take those harnesses and leashes off? The freedom's enough to make ‘em go a just a teensy bit crazy. More than anything, since everything that happened the night of their knighting? He felt alive.

"Hey, fuck your culture! I ain't got no culture! It's only culture and it's more afraid of you than you're of it!"

During the assault, just as things are starting to get dicey for Nims and Brose, they do something so that the power ends up cutting out. Freeing Ballister and giving him his chance to escape, and... for a moment Ballister sees him. His Rose, ebony-haired with cuffs and studs on his ears. Riding on the unsaddled back of a raspberry-pink horse. A can of neon spray-paint in one hand, a sword in the other, a whole squad of knights behind him… and for a moment they lock eyes. Ambrosius’ world just comes crashing down, trying to stop and turn Nims around (Who refuses. ‘Cause, y’know, the bunch of knights behind them?!) she shifts into an ostrich to get a boost of speed, and the two just ride off with Ambrosius staring wide-eyed… looking like he saw a ghost… meanwhile, Ballister’s wondering just what the hell’d happened since the ceremony, and just -what- his boyfriend’s been hanging out with.

From this point my plot-related notes are thinner/less thought out. But here they are anyway:

- Ballister’s still firmly stuck in the Institute’s brainwashing since he’s had absolutely no time hanging out with Nimona to influence that. He’s seen the footage, but still believes that the fault solely lies with the Director specifically. That the Institute as a concept can still be preserved. A part of him hopes that by capturing this pink monster he might be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the kingdom. Prove his loyalty as a knight. (And conveniently finally meet with his boyfriend who’s apparently lost his damn mind?! Or... or has been corrupted by this thing?) So, while on the run from Todd and the other knights, he’s also trying to track down Ambrosius + Nimona and stop them from inciting a rebellion. Because all he knows is that this isn’t the man he fell in love with. (I won't lie, the Ballister side of things feels pretty shaky. I need more time to sit and stew on it.)

- If we’re using D&D alignment charts as a reference, Ambrosius is basically going from lawful-good to chaotic-good. Identity crisis and shift to anarchy aside, he genuinely doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Especially not the general populous. Yes, he happened to be raised to be a “hero of the realm” but, at his core, he’s still a good guy. Any acts of arson, destruction, or anything of the like are done with the knowledge that the spaces have been cleared out as best they can, first. And he doesn't even want to kill his fellow knights because he knows that, ultimately? They've all been forced through the same system. Children thrown into a mold to be forged into weapons. He’ll fight them. But, he doesn’t fight to kill… that being said, he doesn’t necessarily stray from violence, either.

- At some point I do see Ballister and Ambrosius getting into a fight. But, of course, Ballister’s the top of their class. No matter how hard they both sparred or competed against each other, Bal’d always managed to come out on top. In everything. So Rose is, of course, disarmed and thrown to the ground. A sword pointed at him as he looks up at the man he loves-.

“What, do you think this is some kind of a game?! You and that… that thing are tearing this kingdom apart! I… I don’t even recognize you anymore… what happened, Ambrosius?!”

“What happened? She set me free, Bal. And if you can’t see that this is who I really am, deep down..? Then you never really knew me at all…”

More miscellaneous/fun notes:

- It’s less boss/henchman in this AU. Instead, Rose and Nims 100% have a brother/sister dynamic. They bicker and tease when they’re together. But, the moment the other’s in trouble, it’s strict “No one messes with ‘em except me!” vibes. Who’s the older and who’s the younger sibling changes depending on the moment.

- Ambrosius always liked rock music. His parents and the Director always disapproved because it was “noise unbefitting of a Goldenloin” (ie. It wasn’t classical or opera therefore it was “wrong.”) but he always listened to it in private or with Ballister. So when Nims played some stuff and she caught Rose singing along to all the words? That earned instant respect points for him.

- These two also share one braincell between them at any given time. How they haven’t gotten caught is a damn miracle. Like, seriously, these two are goofballs. The moment he saw Nimona change into a shark? Oh, he totally stuck his head in her mouth. He never thought once about how “the wings” would be too noticeable. And when Nims brought up the plan to wreck the Institute? Eloquently putting it as: “We break-in, we break some stuff, smash some helmets, something-something-something, we win!~” He could only reply with a nod and, “Alright, sounds good!” And when they're playing a board game and she's going on some tangent? He's laughing his ass off. The only other person he's been this dorky around was Ballister.

- Once it clicked that he could swear?! And no one would get mad at him or clutch some pearls?! Nimona had to give him a crash-course because he was using it a bit too much. And it just kinda sounded ridiculous. Like giving a tween free rein to swear.

- He also went more crazy with his appearance. He was already used to the idea of makeup (Gloreth forbid her ancestors ever had *gasp* acne!!!) Eyes? Lined and smokey. Often with dark or fun colors. Nails? Painted. 24/7. Fingers adorned with a buncha rings. Lots of layered necklaces and bracelets. Plus silky black shirts with low necklines. And he did get his ears pierced. Both lobes, a couple in the helix of one ear, and one on an eyebrow. All of which was done courtesy of Nimona. (Needless to say, Ballister was shook the first time he got a good look at him.)

- He is still a Ballister Simp. Always gonna be his number one fan. At first, he tried to convince Ballister to join him and Nimona, but Bal wouldn’t listen. Their relationship doesn’t start to fracture until Ballister starts actively hunting them both down for the sake of capturing her. Because, while Ambrosius adores Ballister, and wants nothing more than to be with him… Nimona’s been the only one to help him see the truth. To help free him of all his expectations, she’s been there when he was at his lowest. She’s his friend. And he’s not willing to sacrifice her just so that he can go back to being the “Descendant of Gloreth” with Ballister. So, though it hurts, he still loves Bal. But he’s always waiting for the moment his lover admits he’s wrong about this.

- Speaking of Nimona’s and Ambrosius’ friendship… she’s in an awkward spot. Because, especially now with all those prissy-noble-layers stripped away… she sees so much of Gloreth in Ambrosius. In his smile, how confident every step is, that glimmer in his eye when he’s about to do something rebellious, even the way his eyes crinkle and his lips get tight when he’s mad. In so many ways he’s absolutely his own person… but it’s like she got her best friend back. And maybe that’s why she stayed and talked with him. Because she saw a chance to try again…

(Psst, you seriously read this far down? Thanks a ton! Have a cookie.~ 🍪 )

[ashfault]

What if Ballister had the same injury as comic! ambrosius?

I've been thinking about buying the comic version of Nimona when I was at boarding school. I was drawing the plotline for my goldenheart au "the prince and the villain". And then, it clicked. I WANTED TO DRAW BALLISTER TRAUMATISED. and then I decided to draw him just like comic ambrosius with slight difference. Do I like it? Maybe.

(If you know the audio for the second comic , ykyk) (also my camera is bad 😐)

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

Alright folks, I said I'd start publishing, so here it is!! The first chapter of my Ambrosius Was Adopted/Tailor Ambrosius AU! I know I said up to 12 have been completed, but I don't wanna dump them out all at once in case changes need to be made along the way!

Tags and all below, currently unrated because I'm not sure what the final rating will be, but it will likely be Mature. There is nothing explicit but there is suggestive and implied sexual content.

I hope you enjoy, please let me know your thoughts, they make me so happy to hear 🥰

In any case, I'm planning to upload new chapters Tuesday and Saturday, although that schedule is subject to change (I got a promotion whoop whoop so my work schedule is changing lol)

[sadboyjacinter]

saw something abt villain ambrosius and hero ballister and now im thinking abt what kind of movie we would have had if ambrosius had been the one to set up ballister and i cant stop thinking abt a scene where ambrosius is like "I DID THIS FOR U! THEY WOULDNT HAVE ACCEPTED U AND I WANTED TO KEEP U SAFE FROM THEM!" and ballister just crying being like, "u never even gave them a chance. u never gave ME a chance." and just UGH.

[still-living-like-im-trying]

Cleaned up and colored the sketch of Ambrosius for my AU: Obsidian Gold.

[shinekocreator]

Welcome to the AU lab, where we mix some AUs for all content creators!

This one goes out to the Nimona fans:

Alrighty, I've seen Prince Ballister mixed with villain Ballister. Now take that and mix in knight who is also a villain Ambrosius.

The director has to stay evil. Todd has to stay a jerk.

Promised I'd tag you so here you go: @sir-ballister-boldheart @kinning-ballister-boldheart

[xandriagreat]

Everyone needs comfort and love.

Even the "bad" guy.

Ballister villain (or not) au

[ars0nr4t]

i thought of a yummy au you could draw:

the laser hits ballister instead of the queen and he "dies" but he doesnt die tho, Hes been in hiding for months trying to figure out who did it. imagine ambrosius's reaction to him being alive HEHEEHHEH

What a lovely day to traumatize ambrosius 👍

@puddlestheduck1 😈‼️ (i think this is puddle's au? 🤔)

Sorry this took so long 😭 under line break is added fan lore and the sketches 😈 ⬇️

*laughs hysterically*

So,... *insert very sped up writing mode* The laser hit Ballister instead of the queen, HE GETS HIS DUCKING ARM BLOWN OFF (ducking is appropriate because of puddles 😔) THE CHANDELIER THINGY FALLS LIKE IN THE MOVIE, EVERYONE THINKS HE DIED,-- *inhales* or... WHEN THE LASER NEARLY HIT BAL, AMBROSIUS TRYS TO KNOCK IT OUT OF HIS HANDS BEFORE HE GETS EVEN MORE HURT AND HE ENDS UP ACCIDENTALLY CHOPPING OFF HIS ARM 😭🤧

either beginning I'm fine with- 🤠 (help i feel like i need to stop with the emojis 💀)

Then the chandelier falls and everyone thinks he died, (including ambrosius) but... just like in the movie, there was a space below where he could escape and run into the forest to the random ass tower he has in the movie 🤓

Ballister stays there for a bit trying to figure out who tried to kill him with the 'murder wall'. While Ambrosius is...uh-

Nimona found the tower... (completely by chance i swear)

Not expecting to find Ballister trying to figure out who "murdered" him-

they become friends and stuff like in the movie 😦 (I'm lazy)

Maybe Nimona thinks he's a villain due to...well...the 'evil lair' and his *cough* emo clothes-- *cough* (thats just an idea tho :>)

Nimona: NO! You are not going to risk your life just to tell your boyfriend you're okay! Heck, for all we know, he could have been the one that tried to kill you!

Context: Ballister wanting to make sure Ambrosius is alright, and Nimona not wanting to risk Ballister actually getting killed this time (sorry I'm kinda rushing this i have to go somewhere soon 😭)

Random unrelated Ambrosius headcanon 👺 (atleast for this au- 😔)

ANNNNDDDDDDDDD back to the golden knight...and the bald bitch:

The Director: *wondering why the direct Descendant of Gloreth is in his room having a mental breakdown*

Also The Director: *'murdered' the love of his life*

AMBROSIUS: 🤠

Ambrosius' POV (sorry for the pov thing 😅): i miss him so much...it's like i can still hear him...

...

Wait--

ah yes the lore here is made out of lore (TYSM to the person that asked this, i enjoyed making it 🐀)

Happy ending :D (...or is it...they still haven't found out that the director tried to kill bal-- 😈)

EXTRA :D

full picture :>

(Also i'm planning to do some fanart of a spicy au soon...heheheheheh....)

[williamlandon]

Hi! Do you think you could make a villain au where Ambrosius is a yandere for Ballister and will murder for him? Ps: Your art is amazing!

Hiii! So sorry this took awhile to answer, I’ve been burnout lately and finals just ended, but I instantly fell in love with this idea.

Story wise, I came up with a couple ideas of what the story could be, but it’s totally up for interpretation. ——————————————————————————————————

I imagine that Ambrosius’s life constantly consisted of things he loved being taken away from him due to a strict family, strict rules, tight royal expectations, and just seemed like he had no freedom and zero say in anything he did. He just felt alone for years.

But one day he found young Ballister practicing out in the woods, monologging to himself. After spotting him, Ballister convinced Ambrosius to come and practice with him. Since that day, they had been practicing together in the woods to prepare for the day that Ballister would attempt to tryout to become a royal knight. Though he got away with it for years, Ambrosius was one day caught by the royal gardener who saw him speeding towards the woods. After being told, his parents were furious. He was scolded and punished greatly, except this time, he had enough.

Days before the knight tryouts, Ballister had noticed that Ambrosius wasn’t as bubbly as he usually was.

“They’re dead. Gone.”

In shock, all he could do was comfort Ambrosius and help him get through this massive loss.

Fast forward years later, Ambrosius has gotten some help with ruling the kingdom. Queen Valerin, who was the previous royal ambassador, took the thrown. Despite not being on top, Ambrosius was still thankful for the extra help. But not only was there a new queen, but a new ambassador. The Director.

Now with all of this stress gone from his shoulders, Ambrosius figured he could finally spend some time practicing with his recently asked out but secret bf, Ballister. With more time together, Ambrosius became very attached, especially since his childhood Bal was the only person who really gave their time and attention to him.

The Director noticed this strangely close connection with the two, and with already disliking them both, she disliked them more. But soon, she found out what was really going on between the two. With this increasing hatred for them, especially Ballister due to him being the only non royal blood knight, she came up with an idea to potentially turn them against each other, but little did she know that she was going to awaken a slumbering anger.

Her plan was to convince Ambrosius that Ballister was simply using him to gain status and learn about his weaknesses, until eventually taking his life along with the queen’s to become the new era of royalty. But unlike her wishes, even after framing Bal for the murder of the queen, Ambrosius wasn’t as gullible as she had hoped. With the help of the Squire, he had gained information about the rest of her plans. She had planned to kill Ballister to gain royalty herself.

Furious, Ambrosius heard an angry, yet familiar voice inside of his head.

From then on, anyone who had paid any form of a threat to Ballister, would never see the light of day again. The only one who was able to get away (for now) was the Director, due to the fear of her death being pinned upon Bal. ——————————————————————————————————

soooo yea I skipped sleep for this and I am very tired. But like I said tysm to whoever requested this bc I love this idea. This is definitely my headcannon for this AU, I’m excited to see other stories of this AU. Have a good day! ^^

[j3ankimorit4]

Nimona AU “COMMONERS VS INSTITUTE” Fanfic?

Imagine if Ballister had not seen Ambrosius at the bar and consequently had not argued with Nimona.

We see that after exposing the director, many citizens (mostly lower class) sided with Ballister and Nimona

This would provoke a debate about who to believe, the institute or the “villains.” It's a perfect opportunity for the evil duo to stage a revolution.

Commoners may also be fed up with living in poverty so they would protest (We see a lot of inequality) They literally eat rats and calm their cold with fire

Ballister would be a PERFECT representative and leader. He knows that he is living in those conditions and he would have a new objective to overthrow the director.

A CIVIL WAR! commoners vs institute, outer kingdom vs central kingdom.Ballister would be in command of his group as he knew perfectly the institute's strategies.(Nimona would also help a lot in training) and Ambrosius, being a descendant of Gloreth, manages the institute's troops.

As a result, nothing would be the same. There will always be demonstrations, sabotage and coup attempts in the kingdom. Ballister and Ambrosius would now seriously become ENEMIES TO DEATH

But they want each other like never before in their lives and there were always tensions between them.

They will have small nighttime encounters in bars or very remote places, where they would unconsciously give each other all the love in the world. But then they would also try to convince them to go over to the other side. But it would be useless… They cry of helplessness.

Ballister cannot lose everything he has achieved, people who admire him and see him as a hero. A friend/daughter/sister who understands. Ballister doesn't want to be hated and mistreated again. But Ambrosius doesn't want to disappoint Nobody either.

[sir-ballister-boldheart]

Please you can't stop there 😭 I want to WITNESS the chaos with my own eyes. Did Ambrosius even make it alive out of the tavern? I NEED to know 🤣

This whole thing is settled in my Meditrina AU (that I poorly explain here)

Ballister walks into the tavern, with a pink snake draped all over his neck, his shoulders. Nimona likes this way of transportation better, and it adds to the whole "villain" look they're supposed to be going for in this new town.

Niccole — the bar keeper, owner and founder, grins at him, her silver tooth shining with the last sun rays of the day that managed to sneak their way in through the few windows of the place. She is one of those women, the ones that are as beautiful as the few stars that are starting to show up in the pink sky outside, and Ballister has learned to enjoy her company, even with her sour humour, her pranks and horrible habit of taking everything left unsupervised. Everyone in the town has a couple of bad habits, and he's no exception.

One of them is the tavern itself.

"Blackheart, baby! And my favorite menace!" Opening her arms to invite him in for a hug, she quickly started pouring his favorite drink into a cup, smiling ever so lively. "I was wondering when we we're gonna find your body, honey. Rumour had it, you were dead, or kidnapped. I knew, baby, I knew you wouldn't go down that easily. I even bet on it, believe me. I'm going to turn so rich in a couple of hours"

He gave in, hugging her. Nimona switched from his shoulders to hers, barely hissing to say hi. She's tired. They just came back from running an errand, after all.

One of Niccole's habits is betting, too. This one Ballister finds ridiculous. Anyone who's willing to bet against this woman is surely stupid.

"Well, we're a bit harder to take down than that, Nic. But I'm glad to know you believe in us"

He sits down, and takes a small sip of the glass in front of him, tasting it for some second, making sure that it feels okay. Niccole's mostly kind, but you can never really trust people.

"Oh, baby. Anyone who loses a limb and gets up from that is someone who doesn't go down easily" Laughing, she lifts up her skirt, beaming at the wolf whistles that some people give her, allowing everyone around them to take a peek at her prosthetic leg, a beautiful, glittery, pink, piece of art that Ballister made for her. Then, she turns around and starts chatting with Nimona in a language Ballister doesn't understand, spitting words quickly, pouring in some more orders.

The bar's not full, but the tables around them produce a never ending background noise of voices and laughs.

After pouring another glass for another customer, she wips her hands in her skirt, tying and untying her long, brown hair in a low, loose ponytail, and rests her elbows on the wood surface that divides them, finally ready to get down to what she really cares about: gossip. Nimona turns into a bird, and hides himself on Niccole's hair. They're awfully close to each other, both always happy to cause chaos.

"So, baby..." she started, licking her lips. "Tell me"

"About what, Nic?"

"Oh, don't play with me, boy. You disappear and close your doors for two whole weeks. Not even the girls managed to get a word out of you. What were you up to, you rascal? Any important situations going on with the shelter?"

She looks worried, for a second. Ballister squirms uncomfortably on his seat. There was a big, unbelievable situation, actually. A blonde, six feet tall situation.

Trying to get Ambrosius to actually speak to him with clarity, convincing Nimona to let him sleep in, taking care of Ambrosius's wounds, making sure that Nimona actually didn't kill him, cleaning out the spare room on the cabin and scrambling together to make it comfortable, adapting to the sight of fucking Ambrosius Goldenloin everyday... It all took two weeks, and the room is still too unpleasant, Nimona still seems to be on the edge of murder everytime Ambrosius's around her, and Ballister still isn't really sure of how he feels about this whole thing.

"I had a guest over" is all he can come up with, shrugging. It wasn't unheard of, for him to take in guests before they were delivered to the shelter.

"Oh, really?" Niccole arches an eyebrow, and screams for one of her employees to come out and cover her. She jumps over the bar, her long, colorful skirt, turning into a blur, and she sits down in the stool next to him with the agility of a cat. She's fully invested on this, now. "And why didn't you tell, baby? I would've gotten you some food. The others would've done something, too"

Ballister is aware, now, of the fact that he manages his emotions very poorly, but he wasn't that self aware a year and some months ago, when he crashed in this town. Alcohol seemed like a good coping mechanism, back when he moved in. He's generally doesn't get easily drunk, but when he does, he gets loud, talkative.

So, half the town has heard a lot of things about his past. And Ambrosius. A lot about Ambrosius, actually. A lot. Specially the arm chopping situation.

"He's not a shelter guest, Nic" he tries to explain, looking at the door to avoid her green eyes. He can't help but blush with embarrassment at the fact that he's been avoiding her for two weeks to take care of his arm chopping ex. "He's more of a... personal friend, I think. He's supposed to join me here, actually"

Her whole face lights up, and she shrieks, hugging him, giggling. When she lets go, she throws her arms up in the air. Nimona gets out of her hair and flies out of a window, probably too exhausted to keep dealing with people.

The errand was a specially tiring one. They went in a shopping spree with Ambrosius, because Ballister's heart couldn't handle seeing him wearing his clothes anymore.

Ballister fought bravely in the Institute. He was top of his class. He went days without rest, without sleep. He worked out untile he passed out. He ran miles until his legs gave up. He's still sure that there's not a single activity more energy consuming than going out on a Goldenloin shopping spree.

Niccole doesn't allow him to bask in memories, shaking him by the shoulders.

"Finally!" She exclaims, talking to the roof. "Thank you, goddesses! I knew it, baby! I'm so glad you're getting over that golden dick boy! You're moving on!"

He stutters, blushing even more, trying to explain to her that the golden boy and his new roommate are exactly the same person. She doesn't let him, cackling with childish glee.

"You're way too good for that asshole, love! Goddess, wasn't I interested in girls only, I would've asked you out myself so, so long ago" Gasping loudly, she starts fumbling with her hair, fixing her shirt. "Oh, my, he's coming, you say? Should've told me before! I look so bad, in these rags. I would've cooked something for your new lover, honey!"

"He's more of an unwanted and unexpected addition to my household, Nic..."

"Oh, I call my girl that, too. Don't worry about a thing, dear. I'm just happy that you're finally meeting new people. We should organize a party, tell me his name so I can- "

The door opens, and all of the sudden, the sounds in the tavern dies down. Meditrina is a small, secluded town, where everyone knows everyone. Foreigners are quite common, since they're really close to a big city, but they usually stick to the main trail and the few hotels around it.

So it's understandable, that everyone stares suspiciously at the cloaked figure that comes in the Arcoiris Tavern, a place not even the locals frequent, known for being a house to various criminals and outlaws. They stare at the golden hair peeking under the fabric, at he way the man covered by it is hunched over himself, aiding himself with a simple-looking cane. Ballister goes stiff as a plank.

"That's him" he whispers to Niccole, gulping. Ambrosius looks good, with his new clothes. Well, he always looks good, it's just refreshing to see him in something tht actually fits him for the first time in what feels like forever. "That's my guest"

She blinks once, twice, and awaits for the "mysterious man" to approach them. Ambrosius walks in quickly, making a beeline for Ballister once he spots him. It's dark outside now, and his face is light up only by the lanterns perched everywhere. He's still unbelievably handsome, unfortunately. And so stupidly stubborn. He's late only because he refused to go home without buying a new pair of golden earrings, and now there's a pretty pair of teardrops hanging from his ears, catching and reflecting the low lights around them.

"Oh, Bal, sorry, I'm late. I didn't really understand the directions you gave me..." He starts, looking actually apologetic. He's already forgiven. For everything. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it, really" Ballister cuts in. Ambrosius apologizes a lot, lately. It's a but tiring. "Look, she's the friend I told you about. Owns the bar"

Ambrosius smiles at Niccole as soon as he's introduced to her. It's the practiced, charming one. She responds with her best grin. The one she gave Ballister when he started coming in, almost a year ago. He offers her a hand, and she shakes it excitedly. Everyone in the bar is staring, eager to get some new gossip.

"I'm so happy to meet you!" Says the woman, breaking the handshake to hug Ambrosius, as if they're long lost friends. "I'm Niccole, Niccole Oakes, by the way. Feel free to ask me for anything. Ballister's friends are mine, too"

Ballister can't stop the next words that are said after that. He can't stop catastrophe.

"Oh, well" chuckles Ambrosius, looking put out by the fact that they're still hugging, but managing to keep his nerves out of his voice. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Ambrosius, Ambrosius Goldenloin"

He can't stop the chaos that the tavern turns in after that, either.

[artz16]

So I’m living for Nimona. Living, loving it and especially live Nimona and Bal and Ambrosius

And then I thought of this AU/What If Scenrio:

Ballister and Nimona kidnapping Ambrosius

• So basically Ambrosius manages to sneak his way down to the dungeon without anyone catching him. This is when Ballister got arrested

• He finds his cell and talks to him, still weary on believing his best friend and love would actually kill the queen. He also feel extreeeeemely guilty upon seeing Ballister’s robotic arm and Ballister himself without it

• Ballister does his best to prove his innocence to Ambrosius and is begging him to believe he didn’t do it and was set up

• It’s a sad affair…until Nimona pops in inside the cell, spooking the both of them. She came to rescue Ballister

• Nimona: Hey Boss, sorry to intrude. Came to bust you out!

Ballister:!! H-How did you-?!

Ambrosius:!! Wha-? Bal, who’s this kid?

Nimona: Name’s Nimona. Oh! This is your nemesis, right? You want me to knock this guy out, Boss?

Ambrosius:!! What? Nemesis? Boss?

Ballister:!! No! No, I’m not her…I just met her. And no, no knocking him out. He’s not even my nemesis

Nimona:….So stabbing?

Ballister:!! NO! THAT’S EVEN WORSE!

• So then Bal is blubbering and Ambrosius is startled by this weird kid that wants to stab him

• Nimona breaks the keypad and lets Ballister out before Ambrosius could stop her and she’s just bantering him, which is annoying him and tiring Ballister as this isn’t how he wanted seeing Ambrosius again to go

• While they were squabbling, the sirens go off and guards come in to get Ballister and Nimona and Ambrosius is trying to make them stop to no avail

• Ballister and Nimona run, but then Nimona grabs Ambrosius and drags him with, making the guards believe they just took him hostage

• Ballister: Gah-! Let him go!

Nimona: C’mon, we’re villians! Taking hostages is a huge villain move!

Ballister: No, we’re not!

Ambrosius: Gah-! How strong is this kid, Bal?!

• So then Nimona shapeshifts and they escape, again taking Ambrosius with them. Ambrosius also ends up the one who gets knocked out by the debris

• Of course, Ballister now panics since, ya know, they kinda kidnapped his boyfriend who now probably has a concussion. Nimona just doesn’t get it and she’s like,”Boss, this is the guy who cut off your arm. Why do you care?” So, yeah, they kinda have to bring him with now

• Ballister, carrying the unconscious Ambrosius in his arms: This is bad, this is really bad

Nimona: Yeah…cuz you’re being a killjoy about it

Ballister:!! Wha-? Wha-? No! No! We literally kidnapped him! Now people will think I’m a murderer AND a kidnapper!

Nimona:…At least one thing true goin’ for ya!*smiles*

Ballister:*Sighs* I should’ve just stayed in jail

• So the Director, of course, uses this to malign Ballister and make him look bad as he just killed the queen, works with a monster, and now has taken the descendant of Gloreth captive

• After awhile, Ambrosius comes to in the tower with a bandaged head and Ballister sitting by him with the tacos Nimona made

• He jumps upon remembering that Nimona was all shapeshifting in front of him and was about to grab his sword…oooooonly Ballister took it and places it on the side while caring for him

• Nimona: Yeah, your sword’s over there, buddy

Ballister:…I took it off while you were out. Sorry

• Ambrosius is just trying to understand everything that happened since he went into the dungeon, but after a couple minutes and thst after there’s this shapeshifting kid right in front of him

• Ambrosius: So….Who are you?

Nimona: I’m Nimona and YOU are lucky the boss didn’t let me bite your leg while you slept

Ballister: I wouldn’t have let her. I promise

• After some time, Ambrosius collects himself and relaxes. He tells Ballister he really believes him and is all more than willing to clear his name. Though, he reluctantly agrees to work with Nimona

• So now he’s just with them and helping clear Ballister and trying his best to convince people that his bf and his shapeshifting sidekick didn’t kidnap him

There’s so much more than can be added and made just one this and I’m living for it!!

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

You've all heard about the movie and comic versions meeting in some Nimonaverse nonsense but consider:

Gay Dads AU is also there.

GDAU!Ambrosius to Ballister, looking at a mirror version of himself that has been absolutely disfigured and disabled by a version of his child, and also watching another, less-violent version of her shape-shifting into various creatures: "I told you you picked a weird fuckin baby"

Bonus:

GDAU! Ambrosius, upon finding out that both his other versions either wanted or tried to have Nimona killed at one point: "How dare you she is still MY weird fuckin baby"

Bonus Bonus:

Movie! And GDA! Ballister upon hearing about the comic's events: He fucking what? She fucking WHAT!? WE fucking what!? To OUR child???

[still-living-like-im-trying]

A Simple Scarf.

A Simple Act.

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.

.

.

[abstract-moth]

role swap villain!Ambrosius premise

Ambrosius villian AU starts with the same premise as the movie. Except when Amb cuts off Bal’s arm, the weapon aims into the crowd, instead of directly upward.

This changes 2 things: 1) Bal no longer has a hole to escape in and 2) a lot of the audience is now dead. Since Bal has no way to escape, the other knights quickly swarm and kill him. Amb is odiously very distraught over this. Not only did his boyfriend commit treason for seemingly no reason and he has no way to know why but Amb inadvetingly caused Bal’s death AND the death of innocent audience members. He finds himself overcome with grief and guilt, eventually unable to perform his duty as a knight. Seen as a failure, he is kicked out of the Institute.

To make matters worse, cutting off Bal’s arm is seen as the last heroic thing he ever did. Amb becomes the kingdom’s supervillain instead. He doesn’t really have much motivation left, mainly he’s looking for ways to resurrect Ballister. Thinking if he succeeds he will regain his loved one and purpose in life and they can become villains together. This mainly brings him to dark magic (bc ofc it must exist in this timeline) and drains his health and makes his mental state worse

This is also how he comes across Nimona. But while Nimona was expecting a fun supervillain, she was not expecting a depressed unbathed middle aged man with no direction in life. She basically has to take control of his plans (while still calling herself his sidekick mind you loser or not Amb has the villain brand). I would characterize Nimona as a mix of her comic and movie versions.

In helping Amb, she ends up working through her own issues too. It gets to a point where Amb is putting all his effort into resurrecting Bal. However he isn’t even sure that if resurrected, Bal would even still love the man he has become. Nimona also points out that they would basically have no future together bc Bal is still 100 percent a criminal and Amb hasn’t really improved the kingdom in all his years of villainy. Amb decides to put all his effort into exposing the Institute’s corruption (yay!) and also work himself up to a big heroic sacrifice bc that’ll totally fix all his problems (no!).

Amb eventually comes to the realization that maybe one day Bal will be resurrected one day or maybe he will never be; but Amb better not be a flaming hot mess when that happens. Unsure about the ending. I think it would be interesting if they actually do find a way to bring Ballister back and Amb initially is blinded by selfishness, but in a last minute decision he decides to bring back the audience members instead. The life granting deity decides to cut this man a break and returns Ballister too.

Meredith is probably also there somewhere twiddling around

[puddlestheduck1]

Lil character sketch of little mermaid au ambrosius (he’s looking at ballister)

also I realised since the director is the villain in the movie… she would be Ursula ☠️☠️