Why don’t you ship it?
For me, it’s Seras lack of agency and the fact that Seras had like 5 seconds, heavily injured, to either choose death or become his fledgling and let herself be abducted. I’d argue she did not choose to become a vampire - she chose not to die. Gonzo may be the exception where her decision feels a bit more in tune with Alucard’s decision-making, but they had no bonding before. Then, Alucard orchestrating the entire situation so he had a reason to shoot her when he literally did not have to.
I ship Alutegra and I am aware of the unhealthiness in that power imbalance as well, but the difference there is that Alucard was a grown ass brutal murderer who was incarcerated to stop the murder of thousands of more people, and who’s constantly openly thirsting for the person he’s subbing for which evens it out imo.
Then Alucard is heavily involved with Integra - mentally, professionally, through blood and seals and whatnot and I don’t really see how Seras could gain that same kind of attention/intense bond that they have as long as she’s alive.
Yes, we know Seras chose to stay the “fledgling” later on by not drinking Alucard’s blood, at least according to Taliesin Jaffe and Crispin Freeman, she wanted that sub dynamic with Alucard because she needed it - because she lost her own family before she was done needing them, and replaces them as an adult with the bond with Alucard and Integra (also she did not want to drink blood for other reasons).
For me personally I love to see adult Seras find her new found family with Alucard and Integra.
2. What would have made you like it?
Imagine Seras in the woods. She spots Alucard and she’s curious and slightly scared. He kills the vampire Priest like he’s supposed to without stalling like an edgelord and Seras stands by the sidelines, watching. She’s interested - Alucard notices her, of course, maybe exchanges a word before leaving.
Later on, there is another situation and Seras has been shot at a crime scene as a responding officer, or attacked by a ghoul. Hellsing is there to investigate vampires. Alucard stumbles upon this young police woman he has seen before, they recognize each other and he knows she’s dying, he has seen it before so many times. He stays a few moments to honor her life running out on the ground beside her - his own mission is accomplished.
Seras knows he has killed ghouls and vampires and doesn’t consider him a threat. As this tall stranger sits beside her, waiting for her to die, she says she doesn’t want to.
She asks him if he knows what’s going to happen once she dies. (will she see her parents? is she ready? she hasn’t accomplished what she wants, she knows her parents would want her to keep on living.)
Something shifts in his eyes, a glimmer of something.
Then he asks her, “would you like to come with me?”
She nods, reaches out her hand, and Alucard takes it.
He asks her again if she knows what’s she’s doing, he explains it to her, if she can imagine eternal life without end, and Seras is decided this time. He says he does not want to curse anyone else into this existence but he can save her life with it. Seras decides that she wants to, she clings to his hand. He turns her into a vampire and carries her home.
(I would probably ship that or find it more appealing, also if Seras quickly drank his blood to release herself from the servant bond. I have even considering writing abt that situation, platonic or not.)
3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?
Love their mentor/protégée bond. Love that Alucard actually stops and considers his actions when she questions him - the Rio scene is full of implications - how he mirrored her hurt in that moment and Seras made this old weary brutal vampire so emotional for a moment - she made his walls break down.
Also that he had to call Integra for validation to go through with his plans, he didn’t forget his orders, he just needed more validation. I like to think Seras actually affected him that much. Like, he could not have spared a single person in Rio even if he had wanted to, and that’s the glorious, genius angst of that situation that both he and Seras were just tools with emotions. (But to be fair, he did encourage Integra into letting him kill them so I think it’s a mutual effort even if the murders are on Integra.)
I love that Alucard actually chooses to care for someone else out of completely free will, even if his means of attaining this bond with Seras is highly questionable for me, he does care for her when there’s nothing in it for him but simple company.
The way he is patient with her, mentoring her, putting Pip in his place for her, love that. Also making her hide in the cupboard so she wouldn’t have to watch him make a smoothie out of everyone and make sure she would be safe from the SWAT, love that.
