het_reccers | Ship Manifesto - Evil Dead Trilogy, Ash/Sheila (Reply)

“When you’re lovers in a dangerous time/Sometimes you’re made to feel as if your love’s a crime/Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight/Got to kick at the darkness til it bleeds daylight.” – Barenaked Ladies, Lovers in a Dangerous Time

BACKGROUND: Ash and Sheila met in an unusual circumstance, under unusual strictures. You see there had been a Time Vortex, and he had been taken prisoner by Lord Arthur, the man with whom Sheila’s brother had gone into battle against Duke Henry, a bordering Scotsman. Sheila’s brother had died in the battle and Sheila blamed the first prisoner she laid eyes on – Ash. Well, she had no idea Ash was the Promised One, destined to save her people from the terror of the Deadites (People-possessing demons)– so when he single-handedly escaped from a spike-filled pit that had taken the lives of many an invader before him, she sat up and took notice. Crafting a cape and outfit to replace his torn ones as a way of making amends, Ash rejects Sheila’s presence. She slaps him. He grabs her. As in all classic B-movies, a night of passion ensues.

Ash fails in his initial Promised-One quest, and in the progress dooms the entirety of Sheila’s people. She intitally believes he’ll help the village out - then dresses him down when he breaks up with her and declares he’s leaving the castle. Sheila is promptly kidnapped by a Deadite, spurring Ash into action.

Turned into the bride of Ash’s Deadite twin, Sheila and Ash do battle during a full-scale war for the castle (and the Necronomicon, a powerful tome that contains demon resurrection spells), resulting in Sheila’s death…and miraculous resurrection when he saves the day. When the sun rises that morning, the kingdom has been united and saved, and they part with a bittersweet kiss.

Why Ship?

The push-pull dynamic between them is something rather unique – Sheila has a spine and backbone that, in spite of her damsel-in-distress tendencies, forces Ash into making firm decisions. They act like kids and

Picspam:

(Fanart by oblivioustoast that I had commissioned, because I’m a dork).

Fanmix:

(Should be rippable with Various Tools I will Not Mention Here)

1: Beautiful Ways – Pat McGee Band: I’m not a savior, so do me a favor…stop in and see me sometime…
2: Half of My Heart – John Mayer ft Taylor Swift I was born in the arms of imaginary friends/free to roam made a home out of everywhere I’ve been/then you come crashing in…
3: Maybe I’m Amazed – Paul McCartney and Wings Maybe I’m a man/maybe I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something/that he doesn’t really understand/maybe I’m a man/and maybe you’re the only woman who could ever help me/
4: Crimson and Clover – Tommy James and the Shondellas Now I don’t hardly know her, but I think I could love her…
5: Say You Will – Fleetwood Mac Something in you brought out something in me that I’ve never been since/that part of me that was only for you, that kinda romance/comes only once that kinda love, that kind of fever dance/that you love because you become someone else in an instant…
6: Worries – Langhorne Slim We pass the graveyard and held our breaths/we’d better kiss if we’re getting closer to death/I don’t wanna miss you, I know it’s all in my head/she said it’s all in our heads
7: Hot Gets a Little Cold-Cyndi Lauper I could get carried away/but not anymore/what’s that I heard you say?/you love me ‘cause I’m strong?/I hope that you’re not wrong…
8: Lovesong-Cure whenever I’m alone with you/you make me feel that I’m home again/whenever I’m alone with you/you make me feel that I am whole again
9: Lovers in a Dangerous Time – Barenaked Ladies When you’re lovers in a dangerous time/Sometimes you’re made to feel as if your love’s a crime/Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight/Got to kick at the darkness til it bleeds daylight.
10: Stay By Me – Annie Lennox And I don’t care if there is no tomorrow/when I could die here in your arms…
11: All The Way – Indigo Girls At least we laugh about it now, how we escaped alive/It’s remarkable the mess we make and what we can survive…
12: Stand By Me – John Lennon When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we’ll see…
13: Devotion-Indigo Girls Taking dead trees down before the winter freeze/ I said ‘let ‘em rot, and fall where they may’/One day moves into two, I’m losing everything except for you…
14: Sugar – Tori Amos If I could take twenty-five minutes out of the record books/sugar, he brings me sugar…
15: Someday Someway- Marshall Crenshaw You’ve taken everything from me/I’ve taken everything from you…
16: Running Up That Hill – Kate Bush Let’s exchange the experience
17: Ice Cream – Sarah McLachlan Everyone here knows how to fight/and it’s a long way down to the place where we started from
18: Cooling – Tori Amos Do I hate who she is? Or Do I want to be her? This ocean is wrapped around that pineapple tree/and is your place in heaven worth giving up these kisses?
19: She Makes Me Feel Good – Lyle Lovett She’s got big red lips/she’s got big brown eyes/when she treats me right it’s a big surprise/she won’t do anything she said she would/she makes me feel good

And now: Recs:
1: Farewell by ashurbadaktu (Danii). This is what I think of when I think of Ash/Sheila fic, even though half of the couple is long dead. The prose is beautiful, restrained, and poignant, and the love is still there under it all, even as they say goodbye.

2: Maiden of Kandar by Koohii Cafe (usakoneko): Another Ash-and-Sheila are-sepparated fic, but this one has an amazing twist, and a courageous female character who’s central to the plot. It’s about the courage of Sheila’s daughter, and a discovery she makes late one winter night.

3: Williams Family Outing and Growing Up Williams by MissKittyFantastico: Ash and Sheila are married with daughter in this one; the second fic deals with Alice’s rearing and coming out story.

4: Still The King, Baby by Miss Whip. Twenty years later, Ash is still working the mind-numbing grind at the S-Mart when a mysterious female traveler from the past arrives to claim him. This is too cute by half.

5: Sunny Meadows Prelude by Shannon C. Redfield. This takes place in video game continuity, but deals with Ash’s sense of longing and loss over Sheila. It’s lovely and heartachy and quiet.

6: Army of Darkness II: Revenge of the Book and Evil Dead: A Christmas Corpse By Dude Almighty 15: A little bit off-kilter, but here’s a prospective Army of Darkness sequel where Ash and Sheila end up getting married. (Incomplete)

7: Going Home to Dearborn by MissKittyFantastico: Ash watches Sheila sleep on his shoulder. This is continuity for the comic books, but it’s followable without any knowledge of them.

8: No Returns or Exchanges by psychomachia: Ash and Sheila end up together in the future in pyschomachia’s work.

9: Past & Future by by Koohii Cafe (usakoneko): While this is primarily an Ash/Buffy Summers fic, I adore the Ash/Sheila interplay in it as well. Ash returns to the past with someone at his side, and it is bittersweet.

10: Sugar by Missy: Closing with my own fic, sadly, but this is a favorite piece of mine. An oblivious Ash, a resentful Sheila, and the morning after he leaves.