The idea of this came from the livejournal comm ship_manifesto (http://www.livejournal.com/community/ship_manifesto/ ), and I penned my own Ace/LI version.
Ship Manifesto: Knight And Lady
Learning to be Real TogetherThis manifesto deals with a canon couple in the exceptionally unpopular children’s television series,
Ace Lightning. The show itself is based on the premise that a new form of three-dimensional animation has been developed by a less-than-psychologically-healthy individual, with the result that cartoon characters from a children’s game arrive on planet Earth, with the goal of either saving the world or taking it over depending on their programmed roles.
Mix in questions on the nature of reality and what makes us human, some really
weird subtext, battles, explosions, and one Earthling teenager’s turbulent (and irritating) love life, and you’ve got
Ace Lightning.
The couple in question form a pairing which is almost as canon as canon gets: Ace Lightning and Lady Illusion, unlikely lovers on opposite sides of a war, separated by fate and pursued by tragedy.
Ace Lightning:
The title character of the series, effectively an interdimensional policeman with superpowers. The Western archetypal hero, he’s blond and well-muscled; his special abilities are to fire bolts of lightning from his wrists and to fly at the speed of electricity. He also appears to have had some martial arts and/or boxing training. Personality-wise, he’s extremely idealistic with the accompanying naiveté; he always tries to do the right thing as per the Code of the Lightning Knights. Not all of his decisions to date have been wise, but the vast majority of them have come from good intent. Since coming to the human world, he’s had experiences and feelings he’d never known before; this process was hyper-accelerated once he, erm,
received ‘human emotions’ that the latest Big Bad thought would destroy him, and started to have a bit of an anger problem and a more rounded personality.
Prior to his canon entrance, we know very little about his past history (
programmed history, rather). He is assumed to be well educated and from an upper middle-class family. Not merely a dumb blond, he has a pretty good grasp of strategy, plays chess, and knows how to dance and otherwise ape courtly mannerisms. According to the guidebook source, he is thirty-two, but some choose not to accept that as canon. Certainly, his relative innocence and idealism would suggest someone closer to their twenties; apparently he had never so much as flirted prior to arriving on Earth.
His job is that of a Lightning Knight—one of the best they have—and his powers and abilities bear this out. He is generally assumed to be the team leader of a small group of three, himself, the impulsive Sparx, and the dealing-with-sci-fi-version-of-MPD Random Virus. How he met these friends is unknown, though his relationship with Sparx is more akin to mentor/mentee rather than the more equal comradeship he shares with Random Virus. We know that at one point in his career he sent the insane, clownish villain Googler into White Hot Oblivion (possibly the Sixth Dimension’s version of hell). He was also responsible for crippling Lord Fear’s leg during a battle, though apparently this was an accident. In another battle, Random saved Ace from Lord Fear.
And then, perhaps during another battle, he and several villains were transported to Earth after a lightning bolt hit Mark Hollander’s computer, and the story begins. Initially while adjusting to the human world, Ace simply attempts to carry on his duties, though he is surprised by the human world and breaks not a few common household items, and in time his worldview is shaken still further with a developing romantic relationship with someone entirely unsuitable.
Lady Illusion:If she has a first name, it isn’t one she’s told any canon character. She’s described in various non-canon sources as tall, dark, sultry, mysterious, beautiful, and/or lethal. She’s a villainess; like the other evil characters, she’s somewhat freakish-looking, with green skin, pointed ears and what looks like a spider on her head. Nevertheless, she’s physically attractive, with a seductive voice and a rather low neckline. She seems to have more abilities than any other character in the show: shapeshifting, climbing, perfect aim, explosives of varying chemical content, teleportation, and imprisoning others. She effectively plays the role of villainous consort to the (initial) main villain, Lord Fear; it’s fairly clear she is in a subordinate role to him, though she also does most of the fighting and practical work for him. Morally speaking, she’s a no doubt rather fetching shade of grey; she does not harm others beyond the scope of her occupation and even subtly warns the humans once or twice, but she remains villainous and self-interested.
The earliest event in her life, mentioned in the non-canon source of the guidebook as well as briefly in canon, is that she helped Lord Fear and the other minions escape from prison in the Sixth Dimension; most presume that she was also imprisoned, though this is not stated outright. Beyond that, we don’t know anything about her past or why she chose to work for Lord Fear. A past with the usual helping of angst for her tends to be given in fanfiction.
Lady Illusion is hardly “ladylike” in the chivalric sense; her primary skills are fighting and espionage. She can dance and she seems well-educated, but she’s hardly the type to practice embroidery, and it’s canon that she can’t cook.
She fits into the human world relatively well from the start, even passing as a science teacher for a day, though in other morphs she does not do as well. She is not infrequently seen working as the Carnival in the shape of a youngish man, which is probably the shapeshifting equivalent of cross-dressing.
Together:There is interaction between them from virtually the first moment they appeared out of Mark Hollander’s computer. That interaction, though, was simply the exchange of blows on a fairly even basis; while in more than one scene it was she who was fighting Ace, his lines were directed towards Lord Fear (as the evil overlord). It seemed they respected each other as foes (Ace is not and would be foolish to be “chivalrous” in any sense of viewing Lady Illusion as weak or needing protection); while Sparx claims that things were “always” personal between them, we see nothing like the insults and mutual hatred that are between Ace and Lord Fear.
The first romantic interaction comes, though, in the sixth episode, entitled
Opposite Attraction. Due to the effects of the human world on her, Lady Illusion leaves the Carnival with Lord Fear’s piece of the amulet, in order to steal Ace’s and use the combination to return to the Sixth Dimension. Ace, who seems extremely concerned about the threat she poses, catches up to her; there is a fight, and in the process she is blasted into the transformer. Ace then chooses to save her, and that particularly Heroically Stupid act is the start of a relationship.
Ace: They have a saying in this world that opposite forces attract. Do you agree?
Lady Illusion: Are you flirting with me?
Ace: I…don’t know. I’ve never flirted before. But you didn’t answer my question.
Lady Illusion: They have another saying in this world. Actions speak louder than words.
(
She takes his hand)
While Lady Illusion ends up returning to Lord Fear after this episode, the relationship has been started, and she rescues Ace several times after that. In Episode Nineteen they actually manage to share a kiss; earlier in the episode, he’s frozen by a virus and she kisses him on the cheek, which manages to shake him out of it. He takes this as meaning he ‘owes her one’, though they both seem pleased enough at the turn of events. The first season ends with them dancing together after Ace manages to win and send the other villains back to the Sixth Dimension, though subsequently she disappears to parts unknown between series.
In the early episodes of the second season, their relationship is troubled; she is upset that he made no attempt to contact her between seasons, and when by accident Ace is sent back to the Sixth Dimension she is bitter about being left behind. When he returns, it is almost too late for them; Lord Fear has also returned, and whatever programmed bond keeps her staying there has had its effect. This leads to rather a traumatic time for her, trapped in a relationship turned abusive now he’d figured out that she helped his archenemy. When Big Bad No 2, Kilobyte, makes his appearance, Lady Illusion is willing enough to follow his orders and force ‘human emotions’ on Ace.
Ace: I don’t want to hurt you…
Lady Illusion: Too late.
Not long after that, though, instead of destroying him she warns him away from the Carnival. And in one of the almost inevitable fights with Sparx, she also strongly implies feelings towards Ace, though she doesn’t seem to grasp some of the finer points of human emotions as yet.
Ace is taciturn about what feelings he may or may not have towards Lady Illusion, particularly when his Knight friends are around. He doesn’t want to attack her; he’s confident that she won’t destroy him; and he’s silent when Sparx is fighting or insulting her, but aside from those there’s not much sign. He’s the ‘adult’ in his relationships with Mark and Sparx, the supposed hero and Knight taking charge, and he never confides much of his uncertainties or feelings to them—and his feelings are even more confused, these days.
And in
Choices, things come to a head when Lord Fear goes so far as to attempt to kill Lady Illusion. Kilobyte stops him, but she flees anyway, escaping the Carnival for the time being and finally allowing herself to ask Ace for help. Unlike Sparx, Ace chooses to believe her and try to help. However, when the villains attack, they manage to carry off and trap Ace and Sparx at the Carnival.
Sparx: Face it, Ace! The Lady set us up, and now we’re swimming in pig snot!
Ace: I know it looks bad, Sparx, but I still believe her. She was afraid of Lord Fear. I saw it in her eyes.
Sparx: You saw it in her
eyes? Listen to yourself! You sound like a lovesick mortal…Uh-oh. Don’t tell me.
Ace: I’m not telling you anything.
Lady Illusion alerts Mark, who provides the necessary distraction to rescue his superheroic friends. The Carnival still has its programmed hold on her, though.
Master Programmer: Take it, baby. You don’t have a choice.
She steals a piece of the amulet from Mark’s discarded bag, and uses it to purchase her safety.
Events hasten not so long after that, and Kilobyte is on the verge of world domination. Running out of choices fast and believing that Sparx and Random have been destroyed, Ace agrees to a last-minute alliance with Lord Fear, who has been rather upset at the new villain taking his role as resident evil overlord. The two of them, plus Mark, travel to the Carnival, and knock out the minions on their way before finally tackling Kilobyte themselves. It takes a combined blast from all three of them, but the combined alliance of good and evil seems to work, and it’s finally over. Until Lord Fear shoots Ace in the back.
Ace: (
on the ground) …Hurts…
Lord Fear: Sorry, Ace, but it was always my destiny to rule this world.
Ace: (
walking in) And I’m sorry too, Lord Fear, but I have a destiny of my own.
(
Lady Illusion transforms back from Ace’s shape)
Ace: This is for Lady Illusion.
And it’s only after the villain is routed that our pair get their little ‘deathbed’ scene.
Ace: Why? Why did you do it?
Lady Illusion: Because I knew he’d betray you. And…and I love you.
Ace: It should have been me.
Lady Illusion: Ace, those human emotions…they made you weak. I have the power to take them away. Let me do it. My last gift to you.
Ace: No. Let me keep them. The emotions, what I’m feeling for you…that’s the greatest gift of all.
(
the almost-kiss)
(
Lady Illusion disappears)
From there onwards, canon is silent though obviously unfinished.
Obstacles:The most visible obstacle in this case is her gameverse love interest, Lord Fear, who is rather understandably upset that she’s interested in his archenemy. It’s sordid, really: evil overlord’s girl cheated on him with the hero leading to abuse uncomfortably close to domestic violence. (I say ‘uncomfortable’ because it’s an all too prevalent real life issue that cuts a bit too close to my beloved fantasy characters; ‘domestic’ is not an adjective I enjoy applying to either of them.) What actually happened between Ace and Lady Illusion, though, is closer to the concept of honourable life-debts returned and the almost-Romeo-and-Juliet-esque aspect of forbidden feelings dogged by the tragedy of forced programming. It’s also played in dramatic
basso profundo: Evil Overlord and Traitor and Hero rather than another sad tale of partner violence.
There’s the deeper obstacle, too, of programming.
Mark: But…I don’t get this. Nothing in the rulebook says they could fall in love.
This affects Lady Illusion more than it does Ace; as a minion, she was programmed to be subservient. Her powers are such that she could probably defeat Lord Fear in a fair fight, but the only time she raises a hand against him is when he wants her to provide target practice; she could also probably morph into a human and catch a flight to Alaska, but the Master Programmer makes sure that she has no choice but to return to the Carnival. (There’s subtext of
rape in there, too; she’s forced to stay in an unwanted relationship that at least imitates romantic norms whether or not one is comfortable envisioning a physical relationship involving a walking skeleton.)
The program and its circumstances also mean that neither of them are emotionally mature; they both have difficulty dealing with their new-found feelings, and the relationship very much has a ‘first love’ flavour on both their parts. Ace is naïve and confused, and Lady Illusion discovers that she cannot shut herself off from feeling.
Ace: I’ve never felt this emotion before.
A competing, mostly fanonical, pairing is Ace/Sparx; she could have romantic feelings for her friend, or even that the game was to utilize that pairing. She’s certainly a rival to Lady Illusion in the martial sense and hates the thought of her best friend caring about her, but there’s no solid evidence that she entertains thoughts of romantic rivalry, and none that Ace feels himself more than friend/mentor to her. There’s also a certain amount of suggestion of Kilobyte/Lady Illusion, mostly based on a tentaclegrope, but it would take a lot of character development to make that relationship consensual.
And yes, there’s also the minor matter of a war going on around them, where both of them are expected to play major roles on opposite sides. Ace’s close friend Sparx feels a strong rivalry with Lady Illusion; so far the Lady has only imprisoned her, but it’s easy to imagine how this could turn bad. Or that one or both of them are doomed; heroes are fast to die, along with traitors.
Their Future:Well, as of the last canon we saw, she’s kind of temporarily disappeared. We assume that she’s returned to the Sixth Dimension, as Sparx and the other villains have done on previous occasions; it would surely be inconsistent to do otherwise. So she’s likely not permanently gone, but when and how she could reappear is open to speculation. Judging by the series’ intended audience, it’s likely Ace and Lady Illusion would eventually get their happy ending, both learning and growing and understanding what it means to be real and free from programmed controls.
Why I like them:(Alias, the
really boring part):
I’ve always had a thing for strong and interesting female characters, and to me Lady Illusion fits the bill. She’s no damsel in distress; the programmed bonds are problematic for her, but she doesn’t wait around for Ace to rescue her—almost the opposite, in fact. She’s also neither maiden pure nor vicious slutbitch, doing away in her own way with the Madonna/Whore dichotomy, and I like that in a character. And from the first ads I was ‘sold’ on the relationship between her and Ace. What can I say? I like a good cliché every now and then.
I tend to like or at least tolerate canon couples if I like the canon, and this is one couple that feels
right to me. They are both equals and opposites, able to match each other on any playing field while several of their personality traits balance each other out. They’re thematically important too, defying the program, which I find very important in the matter of their free will.
Why you should like them:They’re both good characters separately, engaged in defiance of cliché and saving worlds. I’ve discussed Lady Illusion above; Ace is also a very likeable and understandable character. He’s engaged in trying to save the world not because of glory or the urge to fight or nothing better to do but because he
cares about people; his most defining qualities to me are loyalty and a strong commitment to doing the right thing. His good qualities also translate into a certain innocence/naiveté that is a weakness; it’s also clear that the writers thought about how a clichéd superhero actually would fit into a human world, and he breaks a number of common household items. Ace also has trouble dealing with human emotions, and develops a bit of an anger problem. He’s a character one can genuinely like; he lacks Mary-Sueish perfection, but at the same time it’s easy to notice his admirable qualities.
And they fit together; it’s easy to understand how Lady Illusion is attracted to his kindness and decency, while he’s captivated by someone interesting and exotic. They’re able to approach each other as equals, not mentor/mentee or overlord/minion, but as two people who’ve faced each other in various battles and never come to a conclusion, who have saved each other’s lives, two people with each other by nothing but free choice.
They’re both in similar situations; they arrived in the human world at around the same time, and both have learned more about its norms than they thought they wanted to know. They both fight for a living (sometimes, each other). They like to dance. They seem to be intellectual equals, engaging in witty banter; Ace might be innocent, but he’s far from stupid, playing chess and working out strategy, while Lady Illusion is educated and intelligent. No doubt, though, they would have lively debates, challenging each other from their different perspectives. Lady Illusion is more cynical and sarcastic, living as the Sixth Dimension version of ‘minority freak’; Ace is idealistic and comparatively privileged.
It’s a romantic cliché, lovers in a time of wartime; there’s an obvious analogy to Romeo and Juliet, minus the suicidal teenagers. It’s opposites attracting; he’s idealistic and innocent where she’s sceptical and experienced, he deals with emotions where she is used to suppressing them, he happily cleans house while she definitely can’t cook, he’s used to fighting in the open where some of her battles are more subtle. It’s learning how to be real together, defying programming and making choices, character growth and development and something new and strange and wondrous. It’s perfect to the storyline, and it’s vital to the theme. It’s something both characters want and need, and it
works.
Fics:
There aren’t many fics specifically focusing on this pairing (there aren’t many fics,
period in the fandom). It falls under the category of ‘established canon couple’ rather than ‘sexual tension galore’, ‘just plain tension galore’, or ‘wouldn’t they be a good couple?’, and such couples tend to be ficced less often than the other options. Here's a short list of fics that I like involving the pairing:
Scarab Dynasty has written
Playmates, featuring younger versions of Ace and Lady Illusion, and its companion fic
Adversary of Ideals.
Éclair’s (Areal Ravendark's)
The Bride has a few Ace/LI moments which I’m rather fond of. Unfinished.
Allison Lightning has written
Once Upon A Time, which is written with strong bias in favour of the pairing. Unfinished.
The collaboration of
Season Three also acknowledges the pairing, though it’s not a strong focus point.
And in self-promotion I’ve written
Just Another Friday Night, In The Sixth Dimension as a one-shot starring the couple.
Art:
LightningFlash has drawn them in romantic pose
here. Her deviantART is located
here.
Scarab Dynasty has several pictures on
her deviantART page with Ace characters.
Uncoloured mistletoe picture,
coloured version,
Lady Illusion doll,
Lady Illusion manga style.