Ace (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
knightofchanges) wrote2009-10-27 02:13 pm
knightofchanges) wrote2009-10-27 02:13 pm
Entry tags:
ooc ✠ profile meme
[Character name] Ace (Knight of Hearts)
[Canon] Heart/Clover/Joker no Kuni no Alice
[Point in time taken from canon] from Joker: after meeting Alice after she leaves the prison and meets Pierce and the twins (volume 3, chapter 11)
[Age] 23~26
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Het
[Eye Color] Red
[Hair Color] Brown
[Height] 180~190 cm
[Other] None
[Clothing] He wears a lot of red.
[Background]
Okay, here's the thing about the Kuni series. It's a harem game with several routes the main heroine, Alice, can take. Ace is one of those routes. Although there is an overarching story, as with any route the choices can dictate different scenarios, including "true" and "bad" endings. To complicate this further, I'm not really taking Ace from the games but from the manga serializations. One would think this would make things simpler, but nope. They were all written differently and there is no real sense of continuity if I went through them specifically. For instance, Heart no Kuni followed the true ending and had Alice go for Blood. For Clover no Kuni, it was divided by the characters so it basically had Alice end with that character focus. Joker is still on-going, but it's likely to follow Heart and go for the true ending.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
That means that I'll provide a general summary of the world itself and how it works, a general summary of what Ace does, and summaries of each arc (Heart, Clover, and Joker) while focusing on key events that happen with Ace.
the crazy world of wonderland
This "Wonderland" is definitely not the world that Lewis Carol wrote of, though it is indeed based off it. In this version of Wonderland, it's set up as a "Game" and there are Rules that everyone must abide by. Even stranger, everyone except the role holders have no faces. They have mouths and a nose, but no eyes. The role holders are designated people who play certain roles of the game. For Ace, his is the role of the Knight of Hearts and thus serves the Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi at the Castle of Hearts. Moreover, these role holders represent an hour in time, thus there are twelve of them. As one can surmise by their titles, the role holders represent the classic characters from the original Wonderlands, though there are some original roles as well. So other examples are the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, etc. Alice herself is considered an "outsider," which while not unheard of are very rare and none of the current roleholders had ever had one. She was taken into Wonderland by Peter—though it had been through force. For her to return home, she has to fill a small crystal, and this crystal will slowly fill with fluid as the people in Wonderland grow more attached to and love her.
Time plays an important factor and is basically the essence of everything that lives in it. The role holders representing an hour is one case, but everyone also has a clock as a heart. Thus if the clock is damaged, they die. However, Julius, the mortician, can repair the clock and the individual can be "reborn." They have no memories of their past and will be a completely different person. The only way a person can not be reborn is if the clock is completely destroyed—which is against the rules. Dark shadows called "afterimages" will also form and appear when a person dies in attempt to take the clocks. The people can also be "replaced" without having to die. Those who are replaced are sent to the prison, considered as "unnecessary toys."
In the Country of Heart, there are three territories that are warring against each other: Castle of Hearts, Hatter Mansion (mafia), and the Amusement Park. In the center is the only neutral zone, the Clock Tower. The reason they fight one another? It's part of the rules. Thus there is always conflict between the three. Because of this there is always a lot of fighting and a lot of killing. Weapons can even be transformed out of simple objects.
There are (currently) three known different countries: Heart, Clover, and Diamond. The world can "move" to any of these countries and it starts with Heart. When a world moves, everything changes and their roles have to change with them. Diamond was only recently released so I won't delve into that. There are also different seasons, which is the focus of Joker. Time in general also flows differently in Wonderland, as it could be suddenly become night or day at any hour.
ace's role in general
As mentioned before, Ace's role is the Knight of Hearts. His role is to follow whatever Vivaldi orders, which is usually executing people, and to help protect and train the soldiers of the castle in general. However, Ace doesn't like his role and thus takes on different jobs to try and work against it. It doesn't quite work, however, because Vivaldi knows and does not know act upon it nor is he ever punished for it.
One of his side jobs is working for Julius. He gathers any broken clocks of those who have died—mostly those he killed himself—and fights the afterimages in the process. He also serves as a kind of bodyguard for Julius, always appearing whenever the man is in danger. Truthfully, Julius is Ace's only friend and the only one who puts up with his weird quirks—aside from Alice of course.
His other side job is being the overall executioner of the Game, which is more of an "administrative" role. While Joker handles bringing them, should anyone escape or break the rules Ace kills them. When Ace is set on a task, he will pursue it. This includes several attempts to get at Blood and Elliot, both of whom had broken the rules prior to Alice's arrival. Elliot had broken a friend's clock and Blood had broken Elliot out from the prison.
For these side jobs, he wears a (pretty bad) disguise: brown cloak and a mask. That's it. He's still wearing his uniform and using his sword and given his skills...it's pretty obvious. However Elliot is still oblivious and Blood knows for certain after a run-in in the clock tower. For his "executioner" job, he has a uniform similar to Joker, but is only seen around the prison for that.
Ace does kill a lot of people—it's a kill or be killed kind of world—though most of it is thanks to Peter White, the White Rabbit and aide to the Queen of Hearts. Peter hates Ace and hates him even more once Alice arrives. But he only kills out of self defense or if it's a target.
Otherwise, Ace "wanders" around a lot, usually camping out (even when indoors). The reason for his wandering is due to his ability to get lost all the time.
installment summaries
Heart
In Heart no Kuni no Alice, Ace meets Alice while on the way to the Clock Tower, but due to his poor sense of direction, they wind up at the Hatter mansion instead (or...was it on purpose?). It is in Heart that the backdrop of Wonderland is told, including Ace's role and his want to change. She learns that not only is he the Knight of Hearts, but he also works for Julius to try and break out of his role. It's through Ace that Alice learns that the people in Wonderland do not have hearts, as he has her listen to it while out camping one night. He also listens to her own heartbeat, finding it soothing and something that he "longs for." However, Alice becomes a target for Ace's attempts to change, actually attempting to kill her as he believes it might do something. She manages to convince him that what he's trying to do isn't right and while he still doesn't understand her whole "every life is precious" philosophy, he changes his mind and hangs out with her more. There are a few other events, such as the ball, but those are less noteworthy. Most of the basics of the world is also introduced in Heart, and since that's already been explained, I won't repeat it here.
From here on out, all of the characters will have achieved some level of affection with Alice and at the end she has chosen to stay in Wonderland but not any particular person to be in love with.
Clover
In Clover no Kuni no Alice, the world "moves" to the Country of Clover. Ace actually rather hates this move, particularly so because Julius' tower isn't there and neither is Julius. Instead, there is a building that everyone attends to for meetings regarding their territories. The Amusment Park is also missing along with Gowland, a forest of doors replacing it. A few additional characters are introduced. Pierce Villiers is the Dormouse and he works for the Mafia. He hides the clocks so that Ace can't find them to take back to Julius. Thus Pierce is terrified of Ace. Gray Ringmarc is the Lizard and is the aid of Nightmare. Gray is considered the strongest of all the roleholders and since Ace is second strongest, he becomes Ace's target countless times. He's basically the only one Ace considers worth sparring against. In Clover, or at least in his story arc, he's a bit more unstable than usual and resents his role even more than he did in Heart. He even takes advantage of Alice while in his room, telling her how "kind" she is to everyone—especially to someone as dangerous as him. After slapping him for kissing her and professing his love, Alice manages to escape. Later they would get lost (again), but they manage to get to the Forest of Doors, where Ace reveals that the door will take them to a place they most want to be. They can hear the voices of the door beckoning because they are lost, but they do not open them and Ace tells Alice he's glad she's there with him. He also tells her not to open the doors when she offers to.
Joker
In Joker no Kuni no Alice, the new character introduced is the Joker and Alice has the ability to change the seasons. Each domain has a season and once the seasons settle she has to speak to Joker to change it to enter the new domain. Joker is part of the Circus and appears during April Season, the season of lies. He is also the prison warden and has two sides to him: white and black. Set after Clover, the world has shifted back to the Country of Hearts. However there are a few changes. The forest of doors has remained and the Clock Tower has merged with Nightmare's Tower of Clover. Unlike in Heart where Alice had been living with Julius in the Clock Tower, she is now residing in the Castle of Hearts. It's revealed that the change of season has muddled Alice's thoughts and that there are now fifteen role holders instead of the usual twelve. This was done to keep Alice entertained and happy for she had been upset when the Clock Tower and the Amusement Park were gone during Clover. Her frazzled memories have the role holders a bit concerned and they now attempt to protect her from Joker. This includes Ace, though his role here is peculiar and a bit mysterious. He actually works with Joker as part of the administration and is the executioner (like, game executioner, not just for the Queen). During a card game where Alice is "taken" to the prison, Ace snaps her out of it by throwing his sword at Joker. He then goes with her to the Clock Tower, or rather, Alice knows he's late on a job for Julius so she guides him to it so he doesn't get lost. He makes a few other appearances, but the next major one is after Alice meets Joker and is once again "taken" to the prison. She is able to get herself out and meets Pierce. It's at this point that Ace appears, ready to kill the mouse before he runs away. He tells Alice that vermin need to be "exterminated." Alice begins to remember when Ace had become unstable in Clover, but this is interrupted by the twins and Pierce. There's a fight but it eventually breaks up. Again Ace repeats what he said in Clover: that he's glad that she still hasn't found her way.
[Personality]
Ace is a very complicated young man. On the surface he seems to be the polite, slightly airheaded knight. He always has a smile on his lips and is always helpful to those who need him. He will carry out his duties to the “T” and will do it efficiently. He’s also friendly, giving him a bit of innocent charm.
However, beneath that “nice” mask lurks a bit of a twisted psychopath. He’s not exactly one, nor is he a killjoy. When he does fight or kill, however, he is completely detached to the situation. He has grown so used to it he doesn’t have any reason to feel any remorse for his actions. Ace has also grown “accustomed” to the rules and logistics of the game, even if he hates it. He doesn't even see the faceless as people, and as for the other role holders, there's only one that he actually feels any attachment for. Thus as there is no reason for him to care, he’s grown numb to those kinds of feelings.
Even his logic can get twisted around. As a knight, he's supposed to be chivalrous and in some ways he tries to honor that duty. He doesn't like to do things that aren't "knightly." However, if he does have to, he'll try and twist it around so that it meets his needs. He will also twist other logic and reasoning around for that same goal of making it work for him.
What he does want, however, is change, and will try anything he thinks might help bring that about and eventually get him out from the game. If this means breaking the rules or doing something unconventional, he’ll try it.
Ace isn’t necessarily crazy or evil; it’s just how his thought process works and he’s just a little off in the head. One could argue that he is just wearing a “nice” mask to fool the others, but there is some genuine quality to those nicer personality traits. Everything is a part of his character.
That all said, let's go deeper into the dark mystery that makes the Knight of Hearts tick.
His main issue is the notion that “every life is significant.” Before Alice arrived, the very concept was unthinkable. In a world where their lives were literally meaningless, where people could be “replaced” without so much of a thought and had no faces unless they had a role, no one really had that much self worth. The only way to “escape” the endless cycle is to break the watch. As he tells Alice early on, he hates them, and there is a good reason why.
The watches are also a reminder that they have no real hearts, no real identity. Instead it's as if they have a limited time, and conversely, infinite time. Time never stops, and watches can always be fixed unless they're broken. It's a reminder of the kind of life they live. There is also the fact that Ace represents an hour of time. He is a part of time itself. Thus they essentially have no individuality. Even if they die, they can be replaced and no one will remember or care. Even more, they are "reborn" but as a completely different person and with no memory of their past. They have no meaning unless there is a clock. While time will always exist with or without one, there is no physical recognition. Ergo, their life is meaningless, and Ace is well aware of this. Essentially, he's trying to break out of his role as time itself. That's why he can't just quit and killing himself would just fulfill the whole "insignificant life" trope.
There is also his hatred for his role. Again this is linked back to the lack of self identity and having to follow the rules. As the Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi will order executions left and right, and Ace would have to follow his job, his role. He has no say in the manner. His only chance of “rebellion” is by working other jobs. Yet even though he is trying to rebel, Vivaldi knows about it and doesn’t say anything. The role was thrust upon him for no known reason, and he can’t just leave it. Even if he probably wouldn’t mind breaking the rules, the consequences are probably too great for him to do so. Otherwise, he would have “just left” long ago.
Ace’s role as the executioner and having to kill so many people also affect his mindset. He has a firsthand look at how insignificant their lives really are. Ace isn't actually as prone to killing and fighting as the others are. He doesn't actually try to pick any fights. However, the fighting always does come to him. Thanks to Peter actually trying to send people to kill him and the others who come along to steal the watches, Ace is forced to kill them lest he himself be killed, so he got used to it and accepted it as part of his role/life. To survive, it's either kill or be killed.
However, he does not hesitate. While he might not provoke fights, unless it is with other role holders or has a reason to, he doesn't hold back and willingly engages and goes for the kill. Even when he is fighting the other role holders, he has a chilling, if deceptively light and cheery, attitude about it.
Ace initially has a lot of trouble understanding the changes that Alice invokes around the other role holders, which only causes him to “lose it” even more. In a way, he resents Alice's innocent philosophies at first. They all sound fine and dandy, but in Ace's mind they could never work in their world and in the Game. She is just an outsider, a foreigner; what does she know what happens here? There is also the fact that everyone loves her. She has a heart, the thing they all long for most. He just can't seem to understand why, especially since he doesn't have the same feelings as everyone else. His emotions and intentions for Alice aren't "pure" as he puts it. This makes his cheery attitude and appearance more fake than ever.
But as stated before, because he's killed so much and seen so much death, he's basically numb to it. Emotionally detached. He's used to the concept that their lives have no meaning. He has said in canon that when something irritates him enough, it makes him want to kill (with a smile). Of course that just screams "PSYCHO" so don't irritate him. That can set him off.
Then there is issue of Ace getting lost all the time. In truth, Ace doesn't know what to do with himself, really. He doesn't want to be the Knight of Hearts, so he tries to find something else. He tries to find some identity but he has none. He plays different roles and does different jobs. His long wanderings are also probably some way to try to find a way out—metaphorically or physically. It is shown in canon that when he's more uncertain about himself or mentally unstable, he becomes more lost and takes longer to find his way to his destinations.
But there is another reason why he gets lost. By being lost, he also doesn't have to do any of his duties. If he's not there, he can't perform any of his jobs, so he may intentionally get lost so he can be "free" for as long as he can. He likes being outdoors and camping out, and nature has always been a symbol for freedom. Out there he doesn't have to worry about anything and he can just keep to himself. If he could, he probably would stay out there forever, but because of the Game Rules, he has to come back eventually.
There is actually a final and concrete reason. He ends up going to the Hatter mansion a lot because he has to kill Blood and Elliot as mentioned in the background. It makes sense; they broke the rules. So he gets "lost" but he's also wandering around getting info. This again shows his persistence and tenacity to getting a job done. Even if it’s for a job or role he hates, he will do it and make sure it is complete.
As mentioned before, Ace does fake a lot of his “nicer” emotions. However, not all of it is fake. A great deal of it is, to be sure, but not 100%. He can be genuinely charming and helpful. This may be due to his role of a knight, but regardless he can be sweet. He is always friendly to other people, until they annoy him in some way. Then we see the yandere.
But he is also relatively calm and knows how to have fun and have a good time. He can easily throw the pouty face on to make him seem disarmingly cute and innocent. Still, he can be a chivalrous knight, and will protect if needed. He does have one good friend—Julius—and he does care for him. So much that anyone who should even try to threaten him will be killed on the spot. This can be later applied to Alice as well. This shows and proves that Ace does have a genuine caring side to him, at least to those he finds important. Just...a little twisted.
On the flip side, Ace can be very terrifying. What makes it scary and creepy is when he shows his "dark" side, he's almost always smiling. That is, he has the mask. But his demeanor will have changed to hint at that colder disposition. He doesn't frown or actually show rage. It's more passive, colder, and in some ways more frightening. You can't see his true emotions on his face: only in his eyes.
He can also be quite forceful and dominant. Though he seems likes the nice, sweet, innocent type on the outside, when he has his eyes on something, he doesn't let go, and when he shows his affections, it's anything but sweet. Let's just say, he probably likes it rough and likes giving it rough. And is dirty. Oh so dirty. Add in the fact he's physically strong, suggestive, sly, doesn't really try to hold back...you get the picture. He can also be the jealous type, and be both passive and aggressive.
Also, he can be rather cunning and, well, mean. Not evil, just mean. He can be honest to the point of being blunt, yet also be vague and secretive at the same time. This makes him an effective troll of sorts. He doesn’t always, but if the chance arises, he’ll take it. Also, though he can be protective of others, he can also use people to fit his means, like using Alice as a shield knowing Peter wouldn't shoot. He also tries to use Alice to help meet his own gains. He wants to change and he thought Alice could change that. He is also willing to kill her because it would be interesting to see what happens and there was nothing against the rules. So yes, using things to his advantage is another thing he'll do as well as trying out different things no matter what the means. This does not mean he’s a manipulative bastard, but he is an opportunist.
All of that said, Ace's psyche has tempered somewhat. The more time he spends with Alice, the more he begins to understand what "life" means and the less cold he becomes. Like the others, he becomes more attached and protective of the girl. Before he had tried to kill her to see if he could change, but now he begins to believe that her influence is what might allow him to change. But more than that, Alice begins to instill the idea that how he is now isn't so bad and that he is changing. Just not in the way that he conceives it.
In the end, however, all Ace wants is to be his own person and to be able to live how he wants to live.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Ace is an excellent swordsman and can wield his weapon with great dexterity and expertise. In fact, he’s one of the strongest characters in the series. It’s a toss up between Gray and Ace, though Gray has been said to be the strongest with Ace right behind him. He is also very agile. For example, when Elliot tries to shoot him from near pointblank range, he is able to dodge it and swing his sword up so that the hilt is against the hare’s neck.
Like the other role holders, he has an object that can transform into a gun. His main weapon, his sword, can change into a gunblade looking shotgun. Yes. It’s the heavy artillery for Ace. He doesn’t really use it that often as he prefers his sword, but he also isn’t against using it either.
He also has a great knack for getting lost. Whether because he really is directionally challenged, his unstable mentality, various job tasks, or whatever it is, it is a 100% guarantee he will get lost before finding his way to where he needs to go.
[Affection] He's rather friendly so he really won't mind anything.
[Fighting] Go for it! But he's a really skilled swordsman and good at dodging. Of course he can still be caught by surprise and he's not invulnerable. Just don't be surprised if he kind of acts it's all a game and smiles the whole time :D
[Other Facts]
His blood type is O, he’s pretty tall (185~190cm) and he likes the outdoors.
No one knows where/how Ace can produce his complete camping set, but he has it wherever he goes. And by complete I mean a full blown tent, sleeping bags, lantern, basic kits, etc. There’s either some hard core “object transformation” going on like the weapons or Ace has access to hammer space.
Ace is keeping all of his memories from his previous stay, although they'll be fuzzy for him at first. To that end, it should be noted that Ace did a lot of development in Somarium, especially regarding Alice. Basically, she took the Ace route and they started a relationship. All of this development caused Ace to better realize what was mentioned in the Personality section above: that life can be precious and that he shouldn't treat people as just meaningless "clocks." He still does to a degree, but it's significantly less so. However, without Alice in Somarium he will...regress a bit. Or a lot, depending. So everything up that Personality section will still be valid.
Oh and Joe. He will find his horse, Joe, again.
[Canon] Heart/Clover/Joker no Kuni no Alice
[Point in time taken from canon] from Joker: after meeting Alice after she leaves the prison and meets Pierce and the twins (volume 3, chapter 11)
[Age] 23~26
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Het
[Eye Color] Red
[Hair Color] Brown
[Height] 180~190 cm
[Other] None
[Clothing] He wears a lot of red.
[Background]
Okay, here's the thing about the Kuni series. It's a harem game with several routes the main heroine, Alice, can take. Ace is one of those routes. Although there is an overarching story, as with any route the choices can dictate different scenarios, including "true" and "bad" endings. To complicate this further, I'm not really taking Ace from the games but from the manga serializations. One would think this would make things simpler, but nope. They were all written differently and there is no real sense of continuity if I went through them specifically. For instance, Heart no Kuni followed the true ending and had Alice go for Blood. For Clover no Kuni, it was divided by the characters so it basically had Alice end with that character focus. Joker is still on-going, but it's likely to follow Heart and go for the true ending.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
That means that I'll provide a general summary of the world itself and how it works, a general summary of what Ace does, and summaries of each arc (Heart, Clover, and Joker) while focusing on key events that happen with Ace.
the crazy world of wonderland
This "Wonderland" is definitely not the world that Lewis Carol wrote of, though it is indeed based off it. In this version of Wonderland, it's set up as a "Game" and there are Rules that everyone must abide by. Even stranger, everyone except the role holders have no faces. They have mouths and a nose, but no eyes. The role holders are designated people who play certain roles of the game. For Ace, his is the role of the Knight of Hearts and thus serves the Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi at the Castle of Hearts. Moreover, these role holders represent an hour in time, thus there are twelve of them. As one can surmise by their titles, the role holders represent the classic characters from the original Wonderlands, though there are some original roles as well. So other examples are the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, etc. Alice herself is considered an "outsider," which while not unheard of are very rare and none of the current roleholders had ever had one. She was taken into Wonderland by Peter—though it had been through force. For her to return home, she has to fill a small crystal, and this crystal will slowly fill with fluid as the people in Wonderland grow more attached to and love her.
Time plays an important factor and is basically the essence of everything that lives in it. The role holders representing an hour is one case, but everyone also has a clock as a heart. Thus if the clock is damaged, they die. However, Julius, the mortician, can repair the clock and the individual can be "reborn." They have no memories of their past and will be a completely different person. The only way a person can not be reborn is if the clock is completely destroyed—which is against the rules. Dark shadows called "afterimages" will also form and appear when a person dies in attempt to take the clocks. The people can also be "replaced" without having to die. Those who are replaced are sent to the prison, considered as "unnecessary toys."
In the Country of Heart, there are three territories that are warring against each other: Castle of Hearts, Hatter Mansion (mafia), and the Amusement Park. In the center is the only neutral zone, the Clock Tower. The reason they fight one another? It's part of the rules. Thus there is always conflict between the three. Because of this there is always a lot of fighting and a lot of killing. Weapons can even be transformed out of simple objects.
There are (currently) three known different countries: Heart, Clover, and Diamond. The world can "move" to any of these countries and it starts with Heart. When a world moves, everything changes and their roles have to change with them. Diamond was only recently released so I won't delve into that. There are also different seasons, which is the focus of Joker. Time in general also flows differently in Wonderland, as it could be suddenly become night or day at any hour.
ace's role in general
As mentioned before, Ace's role is the Knight of Hearts. His role is to follow whatever Vivaldi orders, which is usually executing people, and to help protect and train the soldiers of the castle in general. However, Ace doesn't like his role and thus takes on different jobs to try and work against it. It doesn't quite work, however, because Vivaldi knows and does not know act upon it nor is he ever punished for it.
One of his side jobs is working for Julius. He gathers any broken clocks of those who have died—mostly those he killed himself—and fights the afterimages in the process. He also serves as a kind of bodyguard for Julius, always appearing whenever the man is in danger. Truthfully, Julius is Ace's only friend and the only one who puts up with his weird quirks—aside from Alice of course.
His other side job is being the overall executioner of the Game, which is more of an "administrative" role. While Joker handles bringing them, should anyone escape or break the rules Ace kills them. When Ace is set on a task, he will pursue it. This includes several attempts to get at Blood and Elliot, both of whom had broken the rules prior to Alice's arrival. Elliot had broken a friend's clock and Blood had broken Elliot out from the prison.
For these side jobs, he wears a (pretty bad) disguise: brown cloak and a mask. That's it. He's still wearing his uniform and using his sword and given his skills...it's pretty obvious. However Elliot is still oblivious and Blood knows for certain after a run-in in the clock tower. For his "executioner" job, he has a uniform similar to Joker, but is only seen around the prison for that.
Ace does kill a lot of people—it's a kill or be killed kind of world—though most of it is thanks to Peter White, the White Rabbit and aide to the Queen of Hearts. Peter hates Ace and hates him even more once Alice arrives. But he only kills out of self defense or if it's a target.
Otherwise, Ace "wanders" around a lot, usually camping out (even when indoors). The reason for his wandering is due to his ability to get lost all the time.
installment summaries
Heart
In Heart no Kuni no Alice, Ace meets Alice while on the way to the Clock Tower, but due to his poor sense of direction, they wind up at the Hatter mansion instead (or...was it on purpose?). It is in Heart that the backdrop of Wonderland is told, including Ace's role and his want to change. She learns that not only is he the Knight of Hearts, but he also works for Julius to try and break out of his role. It's through Ace that Alice learns that the people in Wonderland do not have hearts, as he has her listen to it while out camping one night. He also listens to her own heartbeat, finding it soothing and something that he "longs for." However, Alice becomes a target for Ace's attempts to change, actually attempting to kill her as he believes it might do something. She manages to convince him that what he's trying to do isn't right and while he still doesn't understand her whole "every life is precious" philosophy, he changes his mind and hangs out with her more. There are a few other events, such as the ball, but those are less noteworthy. Most of the basics of the world is also introduced in Heart, and since that's already been explained, I won't repeat it here.
From here on out, all of the characters will have achieved some level of affection with Alice and at the end she has chosen to stay in Wonderland but not any particular person to be in love with.
Clover
In Clover no Kuni no Alice, the world "moves" to the Country of Clover. Ace actually rather hates this move, particularly so because Julius' tower isn't there and neither is Julius. Instead, there is a building that everyone attends to for meetings regarding their territories. The Amusment Park is also missing along with Gowland, a forest of doors replacing it. A few additional characters are introduced. Pierce Villiers is the Dormouse and he works for the Mafia. He hides the clocks so that Ace can't find them to take back to Julius. Thus Pierce is terrified of Ace. Gray Ringmarc is the Lizard and is the aid of Nightmare. Gray is considered the strongest of all the roleholders and since Ace is second strongest, he becomes Ace's target countless times. He's basically the only one Ace considers worth sparring against. In Clover, or at least in his story arc, he's a bit more unstable than usual and resents his role even more than he did in Heart. He even takes advantage of Alice while in his room, telling her how "kind" she is to everyone—especially to someone as dangerous as him. After slapping him for kissing her and professing his love, Alice manages to escape. Later they would get lost (again), but they manage to get to the Forest of Doors, where Ace reveals that the door will take them to a place they most want to be. They can hear the voices of the door beckoning because they are lost, but they do not open them and Ace tells Alice he's glad she's there with him. He also tells her not to open the doors when she offers to.
Joker
In Joker no Kuni no Alice, the new character introduced is the Joker and Alice has the ability to change the seasons. Each domain has a season and once the seasons settle she has to speak to Joker to change it to enter the new domain. Joker is part of the Circus and appears during April Season, the season of lies. He is also the prison warden and has two sides to him: white and black. Set after Clover, the world has shifted back to the Country of Hearts. However there are a few changes. The forest of doors has remained and the Clock Tower has merged with Nightmare's Tower of Clover. Unlike in Heart where Alice had been living with Julius in the Clock Tower, she is now residing in the Castle of Hearts. It's revealed that the change of season has muddled Alice's thoughts and that there are now fifteen role holders instead of the usual twelve. This was done to keep Alice entertained and happy for she had been upset when the Clock Tower and the Amusement Park were gone during Clover. Her frazzled memories have the role holders a bit concerned and they now attempt to protect her from Joker. This includes Ace, though his role here is peculiar and a bit mysterious. He actually works with Joker as part of the administration and is the executioner (like, game executioner, not just for the Queen). During a card game where Alice is "taken" to the prison, Ace snaps her out of it by throwing his sword at Joker. He then goes with her to the Clock Tower, or rather, Alice knows he's late on a job for Julius so she guides him to it so he doesn't get lost. He makes a few other appearances, but the next major one is after Alice meets Joker and is once again "taken" to the prison. She is able to get herself out and meets Pierce. It's at this point that Ace appears, ready to kill the mouse before he runs away. He tells Alice that vermin need to be "exterminated." Alice begins to remember when Ace had become unstable in Clover, but this is interrupted by the twins and Pierce. There's a fight but it eventually breaks up. Again Ace repeats what he said in Clover: that he's glad that she still hasn't found her way.
[Personality]
Ace is a very complicated young man. On the surface he seems to be the polite, slightly airheaded knight. He always has a smile on his lips and is always helpful to those who need him. He will carry out his duties to the “T” and will do it efficiently. He’s also friendly, giving him a bit of innocent charm.
However, beneath that “nice” mask lurks a bit of a twisted psychopath. He’s not exactly one, nor is he a killjoy. When he does fight or kill, however, he is completely detached to the situation. He has grown so used to it he doesn’t have any reason to feel any remorse for his actions. Ace has also grown “accustomed” to the rules and logistics of the game, even if he hates it. He doesn't even see the faceless as people, and as for the other role holders, there's only one that he actually feels any attachment for. Thus as there is no reason for him to care, he’s grown numb to those kinds of feelings.
Even his logic can get twisted around. As a knight, he's supposed to be chivalrous and in some ways he tries to honor that duty. He doesn't like to do things that aren't "knightly." However, if he does have to, he'll try and twist it around so that it meets his needs. He will also twist other logic and reasoning around for that same goal of making it work for him.
What he does want, however, is change, and will try anything he thinks might help bring that about and eventually get him out from the game. If this means breaking the rules or doing something unconventional, he’ll try it.
Ace isn’t necessarily crazy or evil; it’s just how his thought process works and he’s just a little off in the head. One could argue that he is just wearing a “nice” mask to fool the others, but there is some genuine quality to those nicer personality traits. Everything is a part of his character.
That all said, let's go deeper into the dark mystery that makes the Knight of Hearts tick.
His main issue is the notion that “every life is significant.” Before Alice arrived, the very concept was unthinkable. In a world where their lives were literally meaningless, where people could be “replaced” without so much of a thought and had no faces unless they had a role, no one really had that much self worth. The only way to “escape” the endless cycle is to break the watch. As he tells Alice early on, he hates them, and there is a good reason why.
The watches are also a reminder that they have no real hearts, no real identity. Instead it's as if they have a limited time, and conversely, infinite time. Time never stops, and watches can always be fixed unless they're broken. It's a reminder of the kind of life they live. There is also the fact that Ace represents an hour of time. He is a part of time itself. Thus they essentially have no individuality. Even if they die, they can be replaced and no one will remember or care. Even more, they are "reborn" but as a completely different person and with no memory of their past. They have no meaning unless there is a clock. While time will always exist with or without one, there is no physical recognition. Ergo, their life is meaningless, and Ace is well aware of this. Essentially, he's trying to break out of his role as time itself. That's why he can't just quit and killing himself would just fulfill the whole "insignificant life" trope.
There is also his hatred for his role. Again this is linked back to the lack of self identity and having to follow the rules. As the Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi will order executions left and right, and Ace would have to follow his job, his role. He has no say in the manner. His only chance of “rebellion” is by working other jobs. Yet even though he is trying to rebel, Vivaldi knows about it and doesn’t say anything. The role was thrust upon him for no known reason, and he can’t just leave it. Even if he probably wouldn’t mind breaking the rules, the consequences are probably too great for him to do so. Otherwise, he would have “just left” long ago.
Ace’s role as the executioner and having to kill so many people also affect his mindset. He has a firsthand look at how insignificant their lives really are. Ace isn't actually as prone to killing and fighting as the others are. He doesn't actually try to pick any fights. However, the fighting always does come to him. Thanks to Peter actually trying to send people to kill him and the others who come along to steal the watches, Ace is forced to kill them lest he himself be killed, so he got used to it and accepted it as part of his role/life. To survive, it's either kill or be killed.
However, he does not hesitate. While he might not provoke fights, unless it is with other role holders or has a reason to, he doesn't hold back and willingly engages and goes for the kill. Even when he is fighting the other role holders, he has a chilling, if deceptively light and cheery, attitude about it.
Ace initially has a lot of trouble understanding the changes that Alice invokes around the other role holders, which only causes him to “lose it” even more. In a way, he resents Alice's innocent philosophies at first. They all sound fine and dandy, but in Ace's mind they could never work in their world and in the Game. She is just an outsider, a foreigner; what does she know what happens here? There is also the fact that everyone loves her. She has a heart, the thing they all long for most. He just can't seem to understand why, especially since he doesn't have the same feelings as everyone else. His emotions and intentions for Alice aren't "pure" as he puts it. This makes his cheery attitude and appearance more fake than ever.
But as stated before, because he's killed so much and seen so much death, he's basically numb to it. Emotionally detached. He's used to the concept that their lives have no meaning. He has said in canon that when something irritates him enough, it makes him want to kill (with a smile). Of course that just screams "PSYCHO" so don't irritate him. That can set him off.
Then there is issue of Ace getting lost all the time. In truth, Ace doesn't know what to do with himself, really. He doesn't want to be the Knight of Hearts, so he tries to find something else. He tries to find some identity but he has none. He plays different roles and does different jobs. His long wanderings are also probably some way to try to find a way out—metaphorically or physically. It is shown in canon that when he's more uncertain about himself or mentally unstable, he becomes more lost and takes longer to find his way to his destinations.
But there is another reason why he gets lost. By being lost, he also doesn't have to do any of his duties. If he's not there, he can't perform any of his jobs, so he may intentionally get lost so he can be "free" for as long as he can. He likes being outdoors and camping out, and nature has always been a symbol for freedom. Out there he doesn't have to worry about anything and he can just keep to himself. If he could, he probably would stay out there forever, but because of the Game Rules, he has to come back eventually.
There is actually a final and concrete reason. He ends up going to the Hatter mansion a lot because he has to kill Blood and Elliot as mentioned in the background. It makes sense; they broke the rules. So he gets "lost" but he's also wandering around getting info. This again shows his persistence and tenacity to getting a job done. Even if it’s for a job or role he hates, he will do it and make sure it is complete.
As mentioned before, Ace does fake a lot of his “nicer” emotions. However, not all of it is fake. A great deal of it is, to be sure, but not 100%. He can be genuinely charming and helpful. This may be due to his role of a knight, but regardless he can be sweet. He is always friendly to other people, until they annoy him in some way. Then we see the yandere.
But he is also relatively calm and knows how to have fun and have a good time. He can easily throw the pouty face on to make him seem disarmingly cute and innocent. Still, he can be a chivalrous knight, and will protect if needed. He does have one good friend—Julius—and he does care for him. So much that anyone who should even try to threaten him will be killed on the spot. This can be later applied to Alice as well. This shows and proves that Ace does have a genuine caring side to him, at least to those he finds important. Just...a little twisted.
On the flip side, Ace can be very terrifying. What makes it scary and creepy is when he shows his "dark" side, he's almost always smiling. That is, he has the mask. But his demeanor will have changed to hint at that colder disposition. He doesn't frown or actually show rage. It's more passive, colder, and in some ways more frightening. You can't see his true emotions on his face: only in his eyes.
He can also be quite forceful and dominant. Though he seems likes the nice, sweet, innocent type on the outside, when he has his eyes on something, he doesn't let go, and when he shows his affections, it's anything but sweet. Let's just say, he probably likes it rough and likes giving it rough. And is dirty. Oh so dirty. Add in the fact he's physically strong, suggestive, sly, doesn't really try to hold back...you get the picture. He can also be the jealous type, and be both passive and aggressive.
Also, he can be rather cunning and, well, mean. Not evil, just mean. He can be honest to the point of being blunt, yet also be vague and secretive at the same time. This makes him an effective troll of sorts. He doesn’t always, but if the chance arises, he’ll take it. Also, though he can be protective of others, he can also use people to fit his means, like using Alice as a shield knowing Peter wouldn't shoot. He also tries to use Alice to help meet his own gains. He wants to change and he thought Alice could change that. He is also willing to kill her because it would be interesting to see what happens and there was nothing against the rules. So yes, using things to his advantage is another thing he'll do as well as trying out different things no matter what the means. This does not mean he’s a manipulative bastard, but he is an opportunist.
All of that said, Ace's psyche has tempered somewhat. The more time he spends with Alice, the more he begins to understand what "life" means and the less cold he becomes. Like the others, he becomes more attached and protective of the girl. Before he had tried to kill her to see if he could change, but now he begins to believe that her influence is what might allow him to change. But more than that, Alice begins to instill the idea that how he is now isn't so bad and that he is changing. Just not in the way that he conceives it.
In the end, however, all Ace wants is to be his own person and to be able to live how he wants to live.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Ace is an excellent swordsman and can wield his weapon with great dexterity and expertise. In fact, he’s one of the strongest characters in the series. It’s a toss up between Gray and Ace, though Gray has been said to be the strongest with Ace right behind him. He is also very agile. For example, when Elliot tries to shoot him from near pointblank range, he is able to dodge it and swing his sword up so that the hilt is against the hare’s neck.
Like the other role holders, he has an object that can transform into a gun. His main weapon, his sword, can change into a gunblade looking shotgun. Yes. It’s the heavy artillery for Ace. He doesn’t really use it that often as he prefers his sword, but he also isn’t against using it either.
He also has a great knack for getting lost. Whether because he really is directionally challenged, his unstable mentality, various job tasks, or whatever it is, it is a 100% guarantee he will get lost before finding his way to where he needs to go.
[Affection] He's rather friendly so he really won't mind anything.
[Fighting] Go for it! But he's a really skilled swordsman and good at dodging. Of course he can still be caught by surprise and he's not invulnerable. Just don't be surprised if he kind of acts it's all a game and smiles the whole time :D
[Other Facts]
His blood type is O, he’s pretty tall (185~190cm) and he likes the outdoors.
No one knows where/how Ace can produce his complete camping set, but he has it wherever he goes. And by complete I mean a full blown tent, sleeping bags, lantern, basic kits, etc. There’s either some hard core “object transformation” going on like the weapons or Ace has access to hammer space.
Ace is keeping all of his memories from his previous stay, although they'll be fuzzy for him at first. To that end, it should be noted that Ace did a lot of development in Somarium, especially regarding Alice. Basically, she took the Ace route and they started a relationship. All of this development caused Ace to better realize what was mentioned in the Personality section above: that life can be precious and that he shouldn't treat people as just meaningless "clocks." He still does to a degree, but it's significantly less so. However, without Alice in Somarium he will...regress a bit. Or a lot, depending. So everything up that Personality section will still be valid.
Oh and Joe. He will find his horse, Joe, again.