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ship_manifesto2005-12-06 03:51 pm
elysian-stars.livejournal.com) wrote in ship_manifesto2005-12-06 03:51 pm
Entry tags:
Star-Crossed - Ashton/Claude (Star Ocean: the second story)
Title: Star-Crossed
Author: Elysian (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elysian_stars)
Fandom: Star Ocean: The Second Story
Pairing: Ashton Anchors/Claude Kenni
Spoilers: A few minor ones, and a big one for the first disc of the game.
Author’s Notes: Observations/theories/etc. are based mainly on the RPG, and follow the ending where Ashton and Claude are paired up. The manga is also referenced several times. Star Ocean EX and Blue Sphere aren't mentioned, since EX's plot and characterisation conflict strongly with the game's, and I don't know enough Japanese to take on Blue Sphere. Don't you love it when there are so many versions of canon to be confused by?
Backstory
The story begins in the Space Year 366, equivalent to 2453 AD. As you might guess, humanity has now mastered space travel, and vessels belonging to the powerful Earth Federation cruise the galaxy. One such ship is the Calnus, commanded by Commodore Ronixis Kenni. Ronixis was a playable character in the first Star Ocean game, and is widely famed and respected for having helped to save the world back then.
Ronixis now has a son named Claude, who is an ensign serving on the same ship. However, Claude isn’t too happy with his lot in life: people only see him as the son of a hero, and constantly compare him to his father rather than judging him by his own merits. Some try to offer him special treatment in order to get into Ronixis’ good books, while others are jealous of this and spread lies behind his back. Claude hates all of this, and is always looking for chances to prove his own worth.
One day the Calnus is sent to explore an unknown world called Milocinia. A survey team sets out to investigate the planet surface, including both Claude and his father, and they discover a strange device which Ronixis orders nobody to touch. Claude, thinking that this is a good chance to show some bravery and initiative, steps towards it and is suddenly enveloped by an energy field.
There’s a blinding flash of light, and when Claude regains consciousness he’s on a completely different planet…millions of light years away from everything and everyone he knows.
He soon learns that the planet he’s on is named Expel, an unsophisticated world where swords and sorcery are the norm, and the native people give him very odd looks when he asks if they know what a ‘masheen’ or a ‘speship’ is. Unfortunately, Expel is a world in a great deal of peril. Several months ago, a strange comet named the Sorcery Globe collided with the planet, and ever since then terrible things have been happening: demons causing havoc, violent natural disasters, and the appearance of magical green stones which infect whoever touches them with evil powers.
Having nothing better to do, Claude decides to travel and investigate the Sorcery Globe, hoping that its power will somehow help him to find a way home. His quest takes him across three different continents, encountering kings and vagabonds, monsters and magic, witnessing the destruction of a city and competing in a world-famous fighting tournament, to name just a few of his exploits (the standard RPG pursuits, you know). He adapts well to this new environment, becomes deeply attached to the friends he makes, and develops a great deal of skill with the sword that has replaced his hi-tech phase gun.
After many hardships and several near-defeats, Claude and his companions reach the ruined city of Eluria, the Sorcery Globe’s ‘ground zero’. But just as they’re approaching their final target, Claude’s Federation communicator activates. He hears the Calnus’ crew trying to contact him - he’s been found! And he barely realises what’s going on before he’s teleported back to the spaceship, vanishing before the eyes of his astonished friends.
On board, his father welcomes him and says how lucky it is that they found him in time. The Calnus was drawn to Expel because of the unusual energy being emitted by the Sorcery Globe. According to their studies, this energy will completely destroy the planet in less than two hours.
Claude is horrified, but begs to be allowed to return, just long enough to say a final goodbye to his comrades. Ronixis reluctantly agrees, but once Claude is back on Expel he throws away his communicator. Without it, there’s no way he can be teleported back.
After all he’s been through, Claude declares that Expel is his true home, and sets off to destroy the Sorcery Globe and save the planet, or die trying.
How the story ultimately ends depends on choices made throughout the game. Claude can return to Earth, remain on Expel, or travel to somewhere else entirely. He can become friends or lovers with a variety of other characters, or remain alone. But to me, one person stands out from all the others as a wonderful match for him, as friend, lover and everything in between. Which is, of course, what this essay is all about.
Claude C. Kenni
At a glance, he’s a fairly ordinary nineteen-year-old. The game manual names his special talents as ‘being late and troublemaking’, and says that his favourite things are food and video games. Oh, and he has a knack for being mistaken for the Warrior of Light – a legendary figure who will supposedly come and save Expel whenever the people are in danger.
One of Claude’s most obvious traits is his willingness to help people - he’ll take on the ‘knight in shining armour’ role without a second thought, and puts all his effort into everything he does. He’s been thrown from a world where people never valued him enough, to one where he has a chance to prove himself a hero and an individual in his own right…and it’s a chance he certainly doesn’t want to waste. He's intelligent, but also a bit of a daydreamer, and talks about how wonderful the Expellian skies are to gaze at, how pleasant the pace of life is compared to the crowds and pollution of Earth.
On the other hand, he has a habit of making reckless and impulsive choices, such as the one that landed him on Expel in the first place. He dwells a lot upon how weak or strong people think he is, and takes care to project a positive image. Another character observed that 'He doesn't feel right unless he helps. He'll protect you to the end, even if he's wounded himself'. He can be jealous and insecure, fearing that his efforts aren't being noticed or appreciated, and it took some tough soul-searching to finally shake off the resentment that his father's fame had laden him with.
So, on the surface? Just a normal guy, with some issues surrounding his dad and a dream of being somebody’s hero.
Beneath that? He's not the most ruthless fighter, he's not the most brilliant thinker, and deep down he's not even as happy as others might assume. But in striving forward despite all of that, he gains a different, much more valuable kind of strength. Claude starts as an utterly ordinary individual, who achieves the utterly extraordinary - not through brute force or special powers, but because he uses what limited strength he has to inspire such deep devotion in those around him.
And on that note, it’s about time I mentioned the other half of this 'ship, isn’t it?
Ashton Anchors
Ashton is a twenty-year-old mercenary swordsman native to Expel, who met the other characters due to an unlucky accident. But in the end, it may have been the most fortunate thing that ever happened to him.
Claude and team found him battling a two-headed dragon, and ruined his concentration by shouting out encouragements. As a result, the demon dragons managed to possess him. He panicked and told Claude to take responsibility, and they began to look for a method of exorcism.
But it turned out that the dragons weren't just random monsters - they were sentient, with their own thoughts and personalities. In the end, Ashton’s soft-hearted nature got the better of him; he couldn't bring himself to exorcise them if it would mean ending their lives. He became so fond of his new allies that he asked to permanently join their group, and their quest to investigate the Sorcery Globe. And after all that fuss, he eventually decided that the possession wasn't Claude's fault anyway.
Besides being a skilled fighter, Ashton has a more eccentric side: he’s highly-strung, superstitious, fond of jewellery, and fascinated by barrels.
Like Claude, he cares a lot about his friends, and can't stand to see people hurt: during a quest to find medicine for a sick child he became upset to the point of tears. However, he sometimes lets himself be pushed around, especially by the dragons. They squabble and snap at each other dangerously, and once took over his body in order to pick a fight with an old adversary, leaving him with no memory of the event afterwards (in the manga they possess him multiple times). But despite the problems they cause, he still refers to them as 'dear friends'. Whether that's the truth, or if it's just a coping mechanism, is debatable.
Ashton was an outsider before he joined Claude's group, and greatly appreciates the companionship he found there. Overall, he's a quirky, kind, unfalteringly loyal person.
The Starting Point
The friendship between these two is clear as crystal and set in stone. After the initial trouble over Ashton's possession the pair easily reached good terms with each other, and Ashton declared that their meeting – and indeed, their friendship - was meant to be.
Ashton: Just think, all these people who had been living their own separate lives meeting in one place, each for their own purposes. Isn’t that wonderful?
Claude: You’re right. Such a thing couldn’t happen by calculated effort.
Ashton: I could never have believed this before, but this could be fate.
Claude: I think you’re right… Don’t be a stranger, Ashton.
Ashton: You too, Claude.
- Salva Drift, post-exorcism
They're two of the most compassionate characters in Star Ocean 2, but also two of the most alone: Claude's home and family are on the other side of the galaxy, and Ashton's might as well be for all that's mentioned about them (he's the only character in the game with no pre-established friends, family or hometown). Both of them place a lot of importance on loyalty and companionship, and enjoy working as part of a team rather than by themselves. They're both swordsmen who would be on the front lines of battle together, watching each other's backs. They both harbour insecurities over what their friends really think of them, so it would help to know that someone else feels the same way.
They both have an out-of-kilter perspective on the world, Claude because he wasn't born there and Ashton because he's Ashton, but they seem to think along similar wavelengths - the phrase 'you're right' appears a lot during their conversations.
They have plenty of common ground to bond over.
Claude has a tendency to make hasty, reckless choices, but Ashton is more cautious and wouldn't let him do anything too dangerous (or at least, wouldn't let him do it alone). Ashton is often doubtful and lacks confidence, but Claude is good at providing reassurance (their ending together is a perfect example of this). Claude can over-react when he's upset, but Ashton is more placid and would calm him down rather than rile him up.
Even their differences work in harmony.
In the manga, Ashton is more neurotic than his RPG counterpart, and repeatedly turns to Claude - and only ever Claude - for support: clutching at Claude's shirt in the darkness of the Mountain Palace, hugging him and tackling him to the ground after he comforted Ashton about the aborted exorcism, and latching onto him during the fight against the mandragora.
Ashton doesn't really need to be protected - he's strong enough to single-handedly take on a demonic dragon, for heaven's sake. But he still defers to Claude, fulfilling Claude's wish to be seen as a hero without adding the pressure of having to look after a 'damsel in distress'.
During the many battles they go through, it's not uncommon for somebody to dive forward and shield a friend from harm, but Ashton is the only one who protects Claude in this manner (during the fight versus Celine and Rena, and again in Eluria tower when Claude is distracted by his communicator). Ashton's hesitance in battle stems from self-doubt rather than cowardice, and he's not afraid to make sure that the defender/defended dynamic runs both ways between them.
They know how to co-operate and look out for each other, and have a history of doing so.
When Ashton was eliminated from a fighting contest called the Tournament of Arms (due to a mistake by the dragons, who didn't think he was strong enough to win without their interference), he looked on the bright side by voicing his relief that he wouldn't have to face a battle against Claude, who was also competing. In the RPG he didn’t take part in the Tournament, but praised Claude's efforts with plenty of enthusiasm.
Ashton: You looked so good. Everyone watching was totally into it. That was SUPERB!
- Lacour coliseum, after Claude’s first battle
The final volume of the manga confirms that Claude is the person Ashton looks up to above everybody else. During the last battle to save Expel, the demon Shin waited until Claude had been beamed up to the Calnus before attacking. The remaining characters were quickly overwhelmed, until only Ashton was left standing. Battered and bloody, he fought on alone…and then in the midst of it all, he paused and smiled serenely, giving a speech about how he trusted in Claude to return and help them, and remembering the moment that Claude had first accepted him into their group.
Even when Claude wasn't there to provide reassurance, it was thoughts of him which kept Ashton going.
Moving back to the RPG - by the time the Sorcery Globe’s creators were defeated, there was such a strong bond between them that Claude chose to stay on Expel, and fulfil his promise to find a cure for Ashton's possession. Not because he felt obligated to, but simply because he wanted to.
Ashton: Say, Claude. Is it really in this place?
Claude: Who knows? All we can do is go and see, right?
Ashton: But we have been searching for a year... if we've searched for so long and still not found it, it must be hopeless.
Claude: Don't be so fainthearted. If we search for a year and don't find it, we search for two years, and if we still don't find it then we search for three years. I don't care if it takes five years or ten years.
Ashton: Claude...
Claude: It's okay. I'm sure that somewhere there's a way of dispelling Ashton's curse. And also a way of saving Gyoro and Ururun.
Ashton: Yes. You're right...
Claude: Come, we're going.
- Mountain Palace(?), the Claude+Ashton game ending
Swearing to stay by somebody's side for upwards of a decade isn't something to be done lightly. But Claude was willing to spend however long it would take, trekking through hazardous dungeons searching for a cure - that's how important Ashton became to him. That's proof positive of love: the love of comrades-in-arms and devoted friends.
The Final Destination
So, it's evident that these two are close, but why go that bit further (besides the obvious answer of 'because it would be hot')? Because there are some hints, at least on Ashton's side, that he'd like things to go that way.
For starters, they've actually gone on a date! Well, sort of. Ashton asked Claude out to a restaurant with him, and Claude chose at random from the menu and ordered a 'Heartthrob'. The waitress returned with one large drink and two straws: the Heartthrob was a special drink for couples. They decided to share it anyway, shuffling their chairs closer together.
Then one of the other customers began chatting to the waitress, wondering if they were a couple (that line was removed in the English translation of the game). They both blushed and looked startled, and Claude apologised to Ashton and made an exit from the scene. But despite the abrupt end to their 'date', this event mutually increased the Romance Points between them (each character has a variable number of Romance and Friendship Points towards all the others, which determine who they'll be paired with at the end of the game).
If Claude returns and talks to Ashton afterwards, he asks if Claude wants to go out again. Evidently Ashton didn't mind the situation half so much.
At one point the group was shipwrecked, and Claude became separated from the others. When they were all re-united, the main female character ran up to him and declared that she couldn't live without him (he didn't return the sentiment, in case you were wondering). Then a piece of dialogue was spoken by another party member, telling them to step apart.
It’s randomly determined which character says the line, but if it’s Ashton then he reacts in an extremely irritable way, losing his cool to a degree that none of the others do. He goes red in the face, turns his back on them, spins around in jerky, agitated circles and makes sweatdrop emoticons. Jealousy, perhaps?
In the manga, there's also the way that Ashton latches onto Claude when he's worried, going above and beyond the normal boundaries of physical contact. Three other characters occasionally cling onto Claude, all of them girls with a romantic interest in him, so maybe Ashton's motives are no different than theirs.
However, there's one element that would add a unique twist to their relationship: those troublesome dragons. After all, who'd be in the mood for love while those two were acting as voyeurs? Scary thought. But considering that the story ends with Ashton and Claude on their way to finding a potential exorcism method, I don't think that obstacle would be present for too much longer.
And in my opinion, that waiting period might not be a bad thing. By the time any romantic attraction was aknowledged they would already be best friends, and honestly, I'm just as happy to read and write about them as friends, because the friendship alone is so wonderful and heart-warming and worthy of recognition.
They’ve faced the end of the world together, then the near-annihilation of the universe, and survived both side-by-side; they seem to understand each other in ways that none of the others do. There's a sense of absolute equality between them…similar in the most vital ways, yet different in the most complementary ones. They fit together, perfectly.
When I first played Star Ocean 2, five years ago, these two made me do a complete 180, from disliking slash pairings to falling head-over-heels in love with one. The game itself is amazing, even though it never achieved the same popularity as Final Fantasy, but the 'shipping potential is icing on the cake, and one of the reasons why I'll keep playing again and again. So, if you're not familiar with SO2 then I hope that I've sparked your curiosity, if you've played the game but never considered the pairing then I hope that I've persuaded you to see it in a positive light, and if you're already a fan of it then I hope that I've reaffirmed your love. Writing this essay has certainly reaffirmed mine, and I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to do it.
Hey, what about the recs section? Well, perhaps I'm too picky or looking in the wrong places, but I've found depressingly few good Ashton/Claude fics out there. The vast majority are Japanese, and the most prolific writer on the English-speaking side of the fandom is probably me, but I'd feel silly reccing my own work.
Author: Elysian (
elysian_stars)Fandom: Star Ocean: The Second Story
Pairing: Ashton Anchors/Claude Kenni
Spoilers: A few minor ones, and a big one for the first disc of the game.
Author’s Notes: Observations/theories/etc. are based mainly on the RPG, and follow the ending where Ashton and Claude are paired up. The manga is also referenced several times. Star Ocean EX and Blue Sphere aren't mentioned, since EX's plot and characterisation conflict strongly with the game's, and I don't know enough Japanese to take on Blue Sphere. Don't you love it when there are so many versions of canon to be confused by?
The story begins in the Space Year 366, equivalent to 2453 AD. As you might guess, humanity has now mastered space travel, and vessels belonging to the powerful Earth Federation cruise the galaxy. One such ship is the Calnus, commanded by Commodore Ronixis Kenni. Ronixis was a playable character in the first Star Ocean game, and is widely famed and respected for having helped to save the world back then.
Ronixis now has a son named Claude, who is an ensign serving on the same ship. However, Claude isn’t too happy with his lot in life: people only see him as the son of a hero, and constantly compare him to his father rather than judging him by his own merits. Some try to offer him special treatment in order to get into Ronixis’ good books, while others are jealous of this and spread lies behind his back. Claude hates all of this, and is always looking for chances to prove his own worth.
One day the Calnus is sent to explore an unknown world called Milocinia. A survey team sets out to investigate the planet surface, including both Claude and his father, and they discover a strange device which Ronixis orders nobody to touch. Claude, thinking that this is a good chance to show some bravery and initiative, steps towards it and is suddenly enveloped by an energy field.
There’s a blinding flash of light, and when Claude regains consciousness he’s on a completely different planet…millions of light years away from everything and everyone he knows.
He soon learns that the planet he’s on is named Expel, an unsophisticated world where swords and sorcery are the norm, and the native people give him very odd looks when he asks if they know what a ‘masheen’ or a ‘speship’ is. Unfortunately, Expel is a world in a great deal of peril. Several months ago, a strange comet named the Sorcery Globe collided with the planet, and ever since then terrible things have been happening: demons causing havoc, violent natural disasters, and the appearance of magical green stones which infect whoever touches them with evil powers.
Having nothing better to do, Claude decides to travel and investigate the Sorcery Globe, hoping that its power will somehow help him to find a way home. His quest takes him across three different continents, encountering kings and vagabonds, monsters and magic, witnessing the destruction of a city and competing in a world-famous fighting tournament, to name just a few of his exploits (the standard RPG pursuits, you know). He adapts well to this new environment, becomes deeply attached to the friends he makes, and develops a great deal of skill with the sword that has replaced his hi-tech phase gun.
After many hardships and several near-defeats, Claude and his companions reach the ruined city of Eluria, the Sorcery Globe’s ‘ground zero’. But just as they’re approaching their final target, Claude’s Federation communicator activates. He hears the Calnus’ crew trying to contact him - he’s been found! And he barely realises what’s going on before he’s teleported back to the spaceship, vanishing before the eyes of his astonished friends.
On board, his father welcomes him and says how lucky it is that they found him in time. The Calnus was drawn to Expel because of the unusual energy being emitted by the Sorcery Globe. According to their studies, this energy will completely destroy the planet in less than two hours.
Claude is horrified, but begs to be allowed to return, just long enough to say a final goodbye to his comrades. Ronixis reluctantly agrees, but once Claude is back on Expel he throws away his communicator. Without it, there’s no way he can be teleported back.
After all he’s been through, Claude declares that Expel is his true home, and sets off to destroy the Sorcery Globe and save the planet, or die trying.
How the story ultimately ends depends on choices made throughout the game. Claude can return to Earth, remain on Expel, or travel to somewhere else entirely. He can become friends or lovers with a variety of other characters, or remain alone. But to me, one person stands out from all the others as a wonderful match for him, as friend, lover and everything in between. Which is, of course, what this essay is all about.
At a glance, he’s a fairly ordinary nineteen-year-old. The game manual names his special talents as ‘being late and troublemaking’, and says that his favourite things are food and video games. Oh, and he has a knack for being mistaken for the Warrior of Light – a legendary figure who will supposedly come and save Expel whenever the people are in danger.
One of Claude’s most obvious traits is his willingness to help people - he’ll take on the ‘knight in shining armour’ role without a second thought, and puts all his effort into everything he does. He’s been thrown from a world where people never valued him enough, to one where he has a chance to prove himself a hero and an individual in his own right…and it’s a chance he certainly doesn’t want to waste. He's intelligent, but also a bit of a daydreamer, and talks about how wonderful the Expellian skies are to gaze at, how pleasant the pace of life is compared to the crowds and pollution of Earth.
On the other hand, he has a habit of making reckless and impulsive choices, such as the one that landed him on Expel in the first place. He dwells a lot upon how weak or strong people think he is, and takes care to project a positive image. Another character observed that 'He doesn't feel right unless he helps. He'll protect you to the end, even if he's wounded himself'. He can be jealous and insecure, fearing that his efforts aren't being noticed or appreciated, and it took some tough soul-searching to finally shake off the resentment that his father's fame had laden him with.
So, on the surface? Just a normal guy, with some issues surrounding his dad and a dream of being somebody’s hero.
Beneath that? He's not the most ruthless fighter, he's not the most brilliant thinker, and deep down he's not even as happy as others might assume. But in striving forward despite all of that, he gains a different, much more valuable kind of strength. Claude starts as an utterly ordinary individual, who achieves the utterly extraordinary - not through brute force or special powers, but because he uses what limited strength he has to inspire such deep devotion in those around him.
And on that note, it’s about time I mentioned the other half of this 'ship, isn’t it?
Ashton is a twenty-year-old mercenary swordsman native to Expel, who met the other characters due to an unlucky accident. But in the end, it may have been the most fortunate thing that ever happened to him.
Claude and team found him battling a two-headed dragon, and ruined his concentration by shouting out encouragements. As a result, the demon dragons managed to possess him. He panicked and told Claude to take responsibility, and they began to look for a method of exorcism.
But it turned out that the dragons weren't just random monsters - they were sentient, with their own thoughts and personalities. In the end, Ashton’s soft-hearted nature got the better of him; he couldn't bring himself to exorcise them if it would mean ending their lives. He became so fond of his new allies that he asked to permanently join their group, and their quest to investigate the Sorcery Globe. And after all that fuss, he eventually decided that the possession wasn't Claude's fault anyway.
Besides being a skilled fighter, Ashton has a more eccentric side: he’s highly-strung, superstitious, fond of jewellery, and fascinated by barrels.
Like Claude, he cares a lot about his friends, and can't stand to see people hurt: during a quest to find medicine for a sick child he became upset to the point of tears. However, he sometimes lets himself be pushed around, especially by the dragons. They squabble and snap at each other dangerously, and once took over his body in order to pick a fight with an old adversary, leaving him with no memory of the event afterwards (in the manga they possess him multiple times). But despite the problems they cause, he still refers to them as 'dear friends'. Whether that's the truth, or if it's just a coping mechanism, is debatable.
Ashton was an outsider before he joined Claude's group, and greatly appreciates the companionship he found there. Overall, he's a quirky, kind, unfalteringly loyal person.
The friendship between these two is clear as crystal and set in stone. After the initial trouble over Ashton's possession the pair easily reached good terms with each other, and Ashton declared that their meeting – and indeed, their friendship - was meant to be.
Ashton: Just think, all these people who had been living their own separate lives meeting in one place, each for their own purposes. Isn’t that wonderful?
Claude: You’re right. Such a thing couldn’t happen by calculated effort.
Ashton: I could never have believed this before, but this could be fate.
Claude: I think you’re right… Don’t be a stranger, Ashton.
Ashton: You too, Claude.
- Salva Drift, post-exorcism
They're two of the most compassionate characters in Star Ocean 2, but also two of the most alone: Claude's home and family are on the other side of the galaxy, and Ashton's might as well be for all that's mentioned about them (he's the only character in the game with no pre-established friends, family or hometown). Both of them place a lot of importance on loyalty and companionship, and enjoy working as part of a team rather than by themselves. They're both swordsmen who would be on the front lines of battle together, watching each other's backs. They both harbour insecurities over what their friends really think of them, so it would help to know that someone else feels the same way.
They both have an out-of-kilter perspective on the world, Claude because he wasn't born there and Ashton because he's Ashton, but they seem to think along similar wavelengths - the phrase 'you're right' appears a lot during their conversations.
They have plenty of common ground to bond over.
Claude has a tendency to make hasty, reckless choices, but Ashton is more cautious and wouldn't let him do anything too dangerous (or at least, wouldn't let him do it alone). Ashton is often doubtful and lacks confidence, but Claude is good at providing reassurance (their ending together is a perfect example of this). Claude can over-react when he's upset, but Ashton is more placid and would calm him down rather than rile him up.
Even their differences work in harmony.
In the manga, Ashton is more neurotic than his RPG counterpart, and repeatedly turns to Claude - and only ever Claude - for support: clutching at Claude's shirt in the darkness of the Mountain Palace, hugging him and tackling him to the ground after he comforted Ashton about the aborted exorcism, and latching onto him during the fight against the mandragora.
Ashton doesn't really need to be protected - he's strong enough to single-handedly take on a demonic dragon, for heaven's sake. But he still defers to Claude, fulfilling Claude's wish to be seen as a hero without adding the pressure of having to look after a 'damsel in distress'.
During the many battles they go through, it's not uncommon for somebody to dive forward and shield a friend from harm, but Ashton is the only one who protects Claude in this manner (during the fight versus Celine and Rena, and again in Eluria tower when Claude is distracted by his communicator). Ashton's hesitance in battle stems from self-doubt rather than cowardice, and he's not afraid to make sure that the defender/defended dynamic runs both ways between them.
They know how to co-operate and look out for each other, and have a history of doing so.
When Ashton was eliminated from a fighting contest called the Tournament of Arms (due to a mistake by the dragons, who didn't think he was strong enough to win without their interference), he looked on the bright side by voicing his relief that he wouldn't have to face a battle against Claude, who was also competing. In the RPG he didn’t take part in the Tournament, but praised Claude's efforts with plenty of enthusiasm.
Ashton: You looked so good. Everyone watching was totally into it. That was SUPERB!
- Lacour coliseum, after Claude’s first battle
The final volume of the manga confirms that Claude is the person Ashton looks up to above everybody else. During the last battle to save Expel, the demon Shin waited until Claude had been beamed up to the Calnus before attacking. The remaining characters were quickly overwhelmed, until only Ashton was left standing. Battered and bloody, he fought on alone…and then in the midst of it all, he paused and smiled serenely, giving a speech about how he trusted in Claude to return and help them, and remembering the moment that Claude had first accepted him into their group.
Even when Claude wasn't there to provide reassurance, it was thoughts of him which kept Ashton going.
Moving back to the RPG - by the time the Sorcery Globe’s creators were defeated, there was such a strong bond between them that Claude chose to stay on Expel, and fulfil his promise to find a cure for Ashton's possession. Not because he felt obligated to, but simply because he wanted to.
Ashton: Say, Claude. Is it really in this place?
Claude: Who knows? All we can do is go and see, right?
Ashton: But we have been searching for a year... if we've searched for so long and still not found it, it must be hopeless.
Claude: Don't be so fainthearted. If we search for a year and don't find it, we search for two years, and if we still don't find it then we search for three years. I don't care if it takes five years or ten years.
Ashton: Claude...
Claude: It's okay. I'm sure that somewhere there's a way of dispelling Ashton's curse. And also a way of saving Gyoro and Ururun.
Ashton: Yes. You're right...
Claude: Come, we're going.
- Mountain Palace(?), the Claude+Ashton game ending
Swearing to stay by somebody's side for upwards of a decade isn't something to be done lightly. But Claude was willing to spend however long it would take, trekking through hazardous dungeons searching for a cure - that's how important Ashton became to him. That's proof positive of love: the love of comrades-in-arms and devoted friends.
So, it's evident that these two are close, but why go that bit further (besides the obvious answer of 'because it would be hot')? Because there are some hints, at least on Ashton's side, that he'd like things to go that way.
For starters, they've actually gone on a date! Well, sort of. Ashton asked Claude out to a restaurant with him, and Claude chose at random from the menu and ordered a 'Heartthrob'. The waitress returned with one large drink and two straws: the Heartthrob was a special drink for couples. They decided to share it anyway, shuffling their chairs closer together.
Then one of the other customers began chatting to the waitress, wondering if they were a couple (that line was removed in the English translation of the game). They both blushed and looked startled, and Claude apologised to Ashton and made an exit from the scene. But despite the abrupt end to their 'date', this event mutually increased the Romance Points between them (each character has a variable number of Romance and Friendship Points towards all the others, which determine who they'll be paired with at the end of the game).
If Claude returns and talks to Ashton afterwards, he asks if Claude wants to go out again. Evidently Ashton didn't mind the situation half so much.
At one point the group was shipwrecked, and Claude became separated from the others. When they were all re-united, the main female character ran up to him and declared that she couldn't live without him (he didn't return the sentiment, in case you were wondering). Then a piece of dialogue was spoken by another party member, telling them to step apart.
It’s randomly determined which character says the line, but if it’s Ashton then he reacts in an extremely irritable way, losing his cool to a degree that none of the others do. He goes red in the face, turns his back on them, spins around in jerky, agitated circles and makes sweatdrop emoticons. Jealousy, perhaps?
In the manga, there's also the way that Ashton latches onto Claude when he's worried, going above and beyond the normal boundaries of physical contact. Three other characters occasionally cling onto Claude, all of them girls with a romantic interest in him, so maybe Ashton's motives are no different than theirs.
However, there's one element that would add a unique twist to their relationship: those troublesome dragons. After all, who'd be in the mood for love while those two were acting as voyeurs? Scary thought. But considering that the story ends with Ashton and Claude on their way to finding a potential exorcism method, I don't think that obstacle would be present for too much longer.
And in my opinion, that waiting period might not be a bad thing. By the time any romantic attraction was aknowledged they would already be best friends, and honestly, I'm just as happy to read and write about them as friends, because the friendship alone is so wonderful and heart-warming and worthy of recognition.
They’ve faced the end of the world together, then the near-annihilation of the universe, and survived both side-by-side; they seem to understand each other in ways that none of the others do. There's a sense of absolute equality between them…similar in the most vital ways, yet different in the most complementary ones. They fit together, perfectly.
When I first played Star Ocean 2, five years ago, these two made me do a complete 180, from disliking slash pairings to falling head-over-heels in love with one. The game itself is amazing, even though it never achieved the same popularity as Final Fantasy, but the 'shipping potential is icing on the cake, and one of the reasons why I'll keep playing again and again. So, if you're not familiar with SO2 then I hope that I've sparked your curiosity, if you've played the game but never considered the pairing then I hope that I've persuaded you to see it in a positive light, and if you're already a fan of it then I hope that I've reaffirmed your love. Writing this essay has certainly reaffirmed mine, and I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to do it.
Hey, what about the recs section? Well, perhaps I'm too picky or looking in the wrong places, but I've found depressingly few good Ashton/Claude fics out there. The vast majority are Japanese, and the most prolific writer on the English-speaking side of the fandom is probably me, but I'd feel silly reccing my own work.
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Awesome job! I haven't played that game in forever; it was always so much fun messing with the romance/friendship points ^_^
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Just out of curiosity, what happens to Rena in the RPG ending in which Claude ends up with Ashton?
When I played SO, I got the ending in which Claude and Rena get married, so I am curious to know who she ends up with if Claude is not available.
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Glad the essay worked for you :)
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Don't feel silly reccing your own stuff. I would if I'd written the article. ^6
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I can't really add anything intelligent to the conversation...sadly. I have the habit of going ship-happy when it comes to Star Ocean, because I love all of the characters. My only real OTP regarding SO2 would probably be Claude\Rena, because they were my first OTP ever, but when I got into slash (I was only 8 or 9 when I fist started playing SO2; Got into slash when I was about 13.) Ashton\Claude was the first pairing that really stood out for me. (Consequently, Precis\Ashton and Dias\Chisato are the only ships I don't sail.)
On another note, Star Ocean is the slashiest\fem-slashiest game I've ever played. Even FF doesn't have quite that much subtext. >D
Then one of the other customers began chatting to the waitress, wondering if they were a couple (that line was removed in the English translation of the game) Damn you America! This makes me wonder what else was 'lost in translation'...
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I have an RPG called Persona: Innocent Sin which supposedly has canon slash, but it was never released outside of Japan, so about 90% of the text goes right over my head XD
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Ohhh...I wanna play it. I don't know any Japanese what-so-ever though. I'd be so lost!
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