Erm...
As may be assumed from my last blog entry and comments made thereafter...plus the fact that I have read a whole slew of romantic IchiHime fanfics...I am now a stark, raving, rabid, hardcore fangirl of IchiHime, Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue from Bleach. LOL! I didn't think it would come to this, people. I'm currently feeling a little like this:
*sheepish*
Who would have thought? When I started watching Bleach, I hated Orihime. She's the epitome of a teenage boy's fantasy: ditzy, large-breasted, and beautiful...I had a really hard time not skipping through all of the parts that had Orihime in them. When she got her powers I was annoyed. IchiRuki was my mantra! Woo!! Who wouldn't love the star couple to be the stoic Ichigo and a spunky little woman that can hit his head in such a way to make him understand things?! I was all about Rukia getting Ichigo in the end!
It wasn't until the Hueco Mundo arc and Orihime's longing for Ichigo that I started having pity on the poor girl...so sad, she thinks the love of her life is in love with Rukia and Orihime doesn't have the guts to tell him about her feelings. Out of my compassion for her, I grew to miss her peppy attitude and ached with sympathy that Ichigo seemed to be typically aloof and unaware of her feelings. Then, I caught up to the anime, so I started to read the manga...when I went back and read the manga from the beginning of the series, my eyes opened further--Orihime has been longing for Ichigo for ages. My compassion and sympathy for her grew, and I began searching for signs of Ichigo's regard towards either Rukia or Orihime. My shipping of Orihime and Ichigo stems from that empathy for Orihime and thinking that Orihime's soft, kindhearted ways will be a great solace to Ichigo...who feels an ever-present need to be strong, to do what is necessary, and to pay any price to accomplish his goals to protect. He would be able to relax for an hour a week, at least! We have all seen how he softens when he is around Orihime. I'd have to say Orihime would be very beneficial for Ichigo's blood pressure as well...;)
I understand the IchiRuki shippers standpoint--truly, I do. I love Rukia! The fierce attitude, feminine softness just hiding under her boyish figure and haughty confidence. She's great, I think she's done Ichigo a world of good and will continue to be a good friend to Ichigo. But right now, in my rabid frenzy...I want to gather them together and shoot them all with neon Nerf foam missiles until they agree that Orihime's the better choice...but as I'm outnumbered and not impassioned enough to forget my dislike for conflict, I shall leave it at posting my IchiHime love here on the blog for all to see! Lol.
Do you ship anybody? Who do you ship, and why?