Character Discussion/Appreciation: Ascot

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((adding pretty picture for Down XD  -- suz))

ASCOT

Because SUZ MADE ME HAVE FEELINGS ALL OVER TUMBLR and there isn't a thread for him so I might as well start one?

................Admittedly this is a copy-paste of my meme responses. XD BUT WHO CARES HAVE RANDOM ASCOT FEELS it's all Suz's fault for asking me about him anyway add your own! Add a fancy image like the other threads have! Why no I'm not too lazy to copy the format XP Go answer meme questions for other characters! GO HAVE FEELS ABOUT RAYEARTH ACROSS THE INTERNET

    How I feel about this character: I ADORE ASCOT. He?s so - okay, so he has a TERRIBLE backstory there. He?s a child, he has NO family that we see or hear of, and he has these friends who adore him unconditionally - they would die for him, they would do ANYTHING for him, but they look like /nightmares/ and he?s been thrown out of society for them but he doesn?t give them up - he?s just as loyal back, and he must be so /angry/ with people, and so hurt, and it takes SO LITTLE for Zagato to persuade him to murder people for a cause he doesn?t care in. Partially probably because why should he care what happens to anyone? They never seem to have cared about him - but Zagato offered him a place to stay, with his friends, and that was IT. All he needed. Plus - there?s his whole ?getting hurt for other people? That?s just STUPID? thing which - he?s so CONFUSED by Umi having other people as /friends/ that it?s like he?s blocked out the possibility of humans having emotions, being worth anything. But as soon as he gets the slightest hint of understanding and acceptance - that loyalty and that courage to stick up for his friends is just so STRONG, and he?s just - he?s a complete darling, and he has been hurt so badly (and been a terrible, terrible person! because he literally had no reason to think it was worth being otherwise!) and I want to hug him and have the whole world go gently on the poor boy because it?s going to take a lot before he can be certain in himself and his place in the world but he?s there, not complaining, not making excuses, but trying to do his best.
    All the people I ship romantically with this character: ZAZUZAZUZAZU *AHEM* um. ?Sometimes Clef, and possibly Ferio on occasion? SOMETIMES ClefandUmi because with the three of them I can balance out the dynamic BUT MOSTLY ZAZU.
    My non-romantic OTP for this character: CALDINA AND ASCOT FAMILY UNIT FOREVER PLUS ALSO LAFARGA BUT MOSTLY CALDINA AND ASCOT
    My unpopular opinion about this character: eh, that he and Umi wouldn?t work as a romantic couple. (And it wouldn?t be their fault, either of them, but - it just. She?d trample all over him without meaning to and he?d be afraid to stand up for himself and then implode and hate himself for FAILING and it just - he needs someone better at being /kind/, and at paying attention in the right places and not the wrong ones, because Umi?s good at seeing weaknesses but it takes her sleepless nights of regretting what she?s done before she can truly understand someone else?s point of view sometimes - and not someone who?ll argue at every little thing because he?s so frightened of losing his temper, of being angry and hating because LOOK WHAT THAT MADE HIM BECOME BEFORE and he?s not sure he?s not still just an angry evil child inside because his dear close friends - he can?t trust anything they tell him, because they never told him he was wrong to ask them to kill. But they?re the only people he could actually think of asking if he was going off the rails again, because how could he admit he was feeling that angry and lost to the people who have taken him in and given him a place to belong with his friends? And Umi?s anything but tactful, anything but gentle, and she?d TRY, she?d try so hard, but he?s got her on a pedestal and she can?t possibly live up to the shining creature who shouted him into being a better person. Not all the time. And she can?t help losing her temper sometimes and feels AWFUL when he?s hurt and wishes he?d fight back but he WON?T until he does and that?s awful too and-) OOPS THIS IS WHY ASCOT/UMI MAKES ME SAD I DIDN?T MEAN TO RAMBLE I JUST - I WORRY ABOUT HIM FAR TOO MUCH TO WISH UMI ON HIM MUCH THOUGH I LOVE HER??? the character-shapes don?t fit together for me. ^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
    One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish we?d seen more of him and Caldina. But then HEY I?M WRITING IT APPARENTLY and Caldina?s awesome fun to write XDDD
    my OTP: ZAZU/ASCOT ETERNALLY IN MY HEART because it was meant to be crack, it was SO meant to be crack, they never even MEET but - but Zazu is CHEERFUL and energetic and so EASY about things, so enthusiastic, and /curious/ - I still think he?d be nervous of Ascot?s friends for all of about five minutes before he starts going HEY DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TURN INTO A GIANT ROBOT :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD at them and - he?s not quite the most NORMALLY socialised of people, because he?s been about adults in garages and advanced classes and on the NSX for so much of his life, and it?s never bothered him - the adults about him tend to adopt him and indulge him, because you can?t not be swept away in Zazu?s enthusiasm for the things he loves. He doesn?t entirely ~get~ people all the time but he has no fear of them, and he?s secure in his place in the world, and all that - all that would be SO GOOD for Ascot. If Zazu can help him relax, can be unafraid of him and his friends, can accept him and be curious about his life and his world while never once judging it - if he can understand loyalty, being just about as loyal to Eagle as Geo is though he never bothers to say - and if he?ll see shadows of Eagle?s darker moods in Ascot?s silences and hesitations, and try to chase them away, well. I think Ascot?s serious side, and maturity, would be good for helping Zazu too - because you can?t always just be enthusiastic at something until it works, especially not with people, and Zazu has NO IDEA how to cope with that, can wear himself out trying.
    my cross over ship: I have never actually thought about crossing him over with anyone? It?s not something I tend to do?
    a headcanon fact: I think that he was in an accident, when he was very very young - that probably his parents were killed, and he was about to die, and TERRIFIED, and that?s when his powers kicked in and he summoned the first of his friends. And it?s why they look so much like nightmares - he was /living one/. And it/they saved him. And he?s been collecting other nightmares ever since, because they?re STRONG. They won?t leave him. They can protect him - and they can protect THEMSELVES.
    (?I do wonder if he came from some backwoods area with very few high-level mages, and no understanding of summoning or magic, and how much Clef wishes desperately that he?d known - and dreads finding anyone else Cephiro has failed as badly as they failed Ascot, because they HAVE. And I don?t think it?s any kind of coincidence that his adopted family starts with Caldina, who has none of the Cephiran prejudice against his friends.)

[Somariel]

Oh my god, that headcanon fact! I may just have to adopt that.

[suzanami]

I just want you to know that when you posted this yesterday I had actual tears in my eyes reading it.

Ascot was a character I always liked well enough, but when I really revisited MKR in my mid-20s I found myself getting really emotional about him.  the anime, the manga, it just really hit me how much this little kid hurt and how he's just so loyal and loving and a good friend to his beasts.  they work for him, he's their master, but he mourns them so fully when they lose to the Knights, it just really got to me.

AND NOW ALL YOUR STUPID HEADCANON MAKING ME CRY

like I'm adopting it all because it's so perfect and I love it and oh my god

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*flails hands* I JUST - ASCOT, ASCOT, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH *throws feels at everyone and RUNS AWAY*

(This is - pretty much my default backstory for him he just hasn't got as far as sharing it on-screen in anything yet but it's probably going to get into quite a few and I AM ALWAYS FLATTERED WHEN PEOPLE ADOPT MY HEADCANON ~<3)

[Somariel]

(This is - pretty much my default backstory for him he just hasn't got as far as sharing it on-screen in anything yet but it's probably going to get into quite a few and I AM ALWAYS FLATTERED WHEN PEOPLE ADOPT MY HEADCANON ~<3)

I'm pretty sure that this is AT LEAST the fourth or fifth time I've adopted something you've posted into my headcanon.

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I'm pretty sure that this is AT LEAST the fourth or fifth time I've adopted something you've posted into my headcanon.

I FEEL ACCOMPLISHED AND EVIL \o/

[Mokonalord]

Did someone say ASCOT?! FEELS SUMMON!

Okay, where do I even begin? Let's start simple. If I had to pick one word to sum up Ascot, it would be 'Growth.' There's the obvious physical growth, but then there's also plenty of mental growth evident. Just look how we're introduced to him in the manga. He's asking Zagato to "Let me play with them!" like the Magic Knights are barbie dolls for his beasts and they're gonna cut their hair and set them on fire and it's like DEAR MOKONA WHO LET THIS SADIST CHILD PLAY WITH THE WMDS?! He's kinda prejudice against humans, too. Like when Hikaru asks him if he's friends with Alcyone and he just laughs. When Umi tells him to apologize for hurting her friends, I imagine him just suddenly realizing, 'Wait... Humans can be FRIENDS?!' Or maybe it's just Cephiro people he has a problem with and that's how he's good with Caldina in the first season anime. Theoriez, I haz them.

Moving on, the part where he really shines. So, when this kid, this brat, this adorable little species-ist bully gets confronted with how horrible a person he's being, how he's hurting other people's beloved friends- He stops. In the anime, they draw it out a little more, but you still get it. Why is this so phenomenal? Because as humans, one the things we do best is self-justification. We all think we have good reasons for the things we do or don't do, sometimes while decrying others who do or don't do the same (like a co-worker of mine who ate six of the treats I'd made for Valentine's Day while complaining about others that had three or four). And often, the worse the thing we're doing is, the more we build up our justifications. Furthermore, Zagato wouldn't have chosen people he thought could be easily swayed by emotional pleas to be his minions.

Honestly, I think Umi got lucky (or had ridiculously good instincts, whichever you prefer). She stumbled upon the one string to pull that unravelled all of his justifications. Otherwise, well, he really had the upper hand in that fight. I mean, the other two were unconscious, for crying out loud, how much longer do you think Umi would've lasted? Actually, if Ascot hadn't felt like 'playing' with them, they'd all have been dead in five, ten minutes, tops. Sadist child with WMDs indeed. But however she did, the string was pulled. Everything he'd ever told himself, everything Zagato had ever told him, just shattered in an instant. In that moment, there was nothing to protect him from the full realization of what he'd become. How does he come to terms with this? Does he backpedal, deny, make excuses, try to rebuild his justifications from the ground up, grasp at straws to convince himself it's not really that bad? I mean, he could still presumably win this fight and go back to being a respected and feared minion with a home for his friends. If he was anything less than fully cognizant and repentant, that's enough reason right there to stick to the status quo.

But, as it turns out, he's just that awesome. No 12-step program to renouncing villain-hood, no 'not as big a jerk as you could have been' award, just quitting cold turkey. As great as Umi was, and is, and shall forever be, I still think it was Ascot's strength of heart that showed that day.

You can really see how absolutely appalled he is with what he's done, how sincerely he's trying to redeem himself, little things like (in the manga) turning down their offer for a ride to the surface from the Celes shrine, or learning his own magic in the second season so he doesn't have to put his friends in danger. Personal headcanon here, but I don't think it was his huge crush on Umi that made him hide when the Magic Knights returned to Cephiro. In fact, I read it as he was hiding from all three of them cause he was still ashamed and thought that maybe they hadn't forgiven him, but Caldina used the crush to actually draw him out. Even in the anime's second season (which I have... issues... with), he still manages to shine as the class act of unrequited love.

So, I see him being all amazing and awesome and I'm just left wondering- Who? Who do I need to kill, Ascot? Who screwed you over so bad in the past? How could this absolutely precious sweetheart with a plethora of beasts willing to die for him have been so corrupted? I'M SORRY I WASN'T THERE, LIL BROTHER! *sobs*

Okay, now I'm wondering something. In the manga, what did Ascot do after the Celes shrine? I mean, in the anime, we see him hanging out with Caldina and all that, but in the manga he's by himself (plus beasts). And homeless, since he can't really go back to Zagato. He could've hung out with Caldina after she was done in the Windam shrine, sure, if they happened to cross paths, but until then... Oh no. Now I'm imagining my lil brother, just sitting in the Celes shrine with his beasts sadly wondering, 'Well, where do we go from here?' Just reflecting on how even if he stands up for his friends, people might still (rightfully, unfortunately) have a problem with HIM around.

...

Hold me.

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You can really see how absolutely appalled he is with what he's done, how sincerely he's trying to redeem himself, little things like (in the manga) turning down their offer for a ride to the surface from the Celes shrine, or learning his own magic in the second season so he doesn't have to put his friends in danger. Personal headcanon here, but I don't think it was his huge crush on Umi that made him hide when the Magic Knights returned to Cephiro. In fact, I read it as he was hiding from all three of them cause he was still ashamed and thought that maybe they hadn't forgiven him, but Caldina used the crush to actually draw him out. Even in the anime's second season (which I have... issues... with), he still manages to shine as the class act of unrequited love.

So, I see him being all amazing and awesome and I'm just left wondering- Who? Who do I need to kill, Ascot? Who screwed you over so bad in the past? How could this absolutely precious sweetheart with a plethora of beasts willing to die for him have been so corrupted? I'M SORRY I WASN'T THERE, LIL BROTHER! *sobs*

Okay, now I'm wondering something. In the manga, what did Ascot do after the Celes shrine? I mean, in the anime, we see him hanging out with Caldina and all that, but in the manga he's by himself (plus beasts). And homeless, since he can't really go back to Zagato. He could've hung out with Caldina after she was done in the Windam shrine, sure, if they happened to cross paths, but until then... Oh no. Now I'm imagining my lil brother, just sitting in the Celes shrine with his beasts sadly wondering, 'Well, where do we go from here?' Just reflecting on how even if he stands up for his friends, people might still (rightfully, unfortunately) have a problem with HIM around.

YSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS *CLUTCHES AT THE ASCOT FEELS AND PETS THEM AND HOLDS THEM AND* wait nooooooooooooooo getting buried under the feels HELP

SO I have been slooooooooooooooooowly writing a Caldina thing has a lot of Ascot in it and basically I'm trying to write what they did to work out what I think they did?? XD BUT I think - he stayed in the shrine for a bit, just trying to work out what he could do now - and what he SHOULD do now, because even though Cephiro has somehow failed him utterly for him to get to this point he still has an entire moral compass and once it's been hit (and, yeah, I think Umi picked on the only thing she saw him have any emotional reaction to and just hit it as HARD AS SHE COULD because yeah, she wasn't winning that fight easily as a straight-up fight even with the super!speedy!levelling up the Knights were doing, but I think with Umi seeing an emotional weakness in the opponent and HITTING IT HARD is just as much of her technique as the bit with the sword but that's a comment for another thread oops ALL THE RAYEARTH FEELS ARE A TANGLED WEB XD) BUT once that connection - which is the only thing real and true and worthwhile he has in his whole life at that point, the relationship with his creatures, and how painful when that one good thing you have is the thing which you're attacked for by the rest of your society??? - is hit, then he just can't go through with it.

And then he has to rethink everything, but what options does he even have? He can't go back to all those villages which chased him away because of his friends, because of what he's done and because if he's doing the right thing then he can't hurt anyone even when they attack his friends (and the people of Cephiro are TERRIFIED right now, and there are monsters everywhere, they are NOT going to be able to calmly consider that these creatures might be different from all the other ones trying to kill them). He can't go back to Zagato - even if he didn't back out on killing the knights, he knows they're doing wrong now. The Pillar has been kidnapped, so there's no centre of power/government to appeal to - and the forests are full of creatures which LOOK like his friends but which are quite literally nightmares who would like very much to kill him.

Personal headcanon - he waits a while, until he realises that Zagato's going to send someone else after those girls - probably Caldina, who I think he didn't really know too well before but she was probably the only person who was kind (in a brisk and random way) while with Zagato. And he doesn't really know the knights, and he doesn't have any real reason to be on Emeraude's side of the Emeraude vs Zagato conflict, so - I think he follows them, but not as quickly as he could, because even while he's following them he doesn't know what he'd do if he walked into them fighting Caldina? I mean, he could try to stop them, but I don't think he knows Caldina well enough to know if he could stop her without hurting her and even then I don't think he wants that.

So he finds her - but AFTER she's fought them, and he doesn't know how it happened - and when she says she let them go it's such a RELIEF and that's the moment he really latches onto Caldina. Who, for her part, was waiting for him to catch up, and this nervous-shy-defiant kid is so much more real than the cackling evil one that the vague plans she had of 'making sure he's okay after his encounter with the knights' turn firmly into an open-ended 'making sure he's okay' and they basically awkwardly adopt each other without even talking about it at that point and hang about wandering around until the land is coming to pieces too much, and Ascot decides he needs to offer to help, so they go along to the castle and Caldina ends up coming into the fold too and being fascinated by this LaFarga who isn't a zombie and THUS THEIR FAMILY FINDS EACH OTHER???

AND THEN FEELINGS ABOUT FOUND FAMILIES AND STUFF and LaFarga taking Ascot under his wing and AAAAAAAAHH feelings

..............in other words YES PLEASE HAVE ASCOT FEELINGS ALL OVER THE FORUM IT'S AWESOME

[Mokonalord]

YES! ALL THE ASCOT FEELS! I'VE BEEN REWATCHING HIS FIRST SEASON EPISODES AND I HAVE SO MANY TO SPARE! ONE DAY YOU WILL VISIT THIS FORUM AND EVERYTHING WILL BE ASCOT! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

I would love to see fanfics about what happened to Ascot, Caldina, and Lafarga during the time between their first season encounters with the knights and their return to Cephiro. Like, reflecting on what they've done, figuring out where they should go from there, meeting up with each other, wandering around a bit, trying to help with the castle. I imagine a lot of people not wanting to let Ascot and Caldina help because of the stuff they did as Zagato's minions, and Lafarga having to vouch for them (He was probably just kept on standby rather than sent out to do the dirty work). Finally, Clef says something along the lines of, "We need all the help we can get." and that's that. Ascot still has to convince some people that his beasts should be allowed in, too, but he can manage that much himself.

While in the castle, I imagine Ascot would probably stay away from most people other than Caldina and Lafarga. He'd just do things like fruit picking with the beasties or maybe even venturing out for a little while.

(In the middle of this post, I realized my cat, Minako, had gotten out of the house for the first time since I've had her. Had to go roaming around the neighborhood a bit, but she came back here anyway, so all's well now. Back to your regularly scheduled Ascot feels)

Also, there needs to be some pre-Magic Knight Ascot fanfics. Like, maybe some from the beasts' point of view, with them helpless to do anything as they see the sweet boy they first met become more and more jaded with Cephiro in general. As much as I love me some Asmi, I think there's an unfortunate tendency to think of Ascot only in relation to Umi. Which, no. Umi is very important to him and he would die for her, sure, but she isn't everything to him. There is so much you can do with just his character.