Why I like Rainbow Dash · 7:49pm Jul 11th, 2013
Following on from my previous blog post on why I like Spike, I wanted to explain why I like other characters. Hopefully by the end of the blog post chain, I’ll have explained the reasoning behind my like and dislike for certain ships.
If you happened to have read my Spike blog, you’ll know that I’m a little obsessed with Spike. What you might not know is that Rainbow Dash is a very close second. The mutual factor in my reasoning for liking them both is their ambiguity and three-dimensional personalities. It is, after all, fun to think up how characters act around different people. Is Dash, for example, cocky and brash around everyone? Or are there certain ponies that she reveals her softer side to? I’m sure you know of Dash’s pet, Tank, and the absolutely adorable relationship that they share.
Is Dash more than brash, cocky pegasus we see every day?
I like to think so. I’m very much of the opinion that everyone is unique because of the sheer variation of personality traits that can make up a person at any given moment. These fluctuate in your day to day life as your mood varies, and they slowly alter throughout the course of your life. I like to think that there’s a reason for Dash’s brash determination beyond her immediate circumstances and that perhaps some event in Dash’s past forced her to rise up to face her challenges.
As with Spike, that leaves a lot of potential for Dash’s character in both shipping and otherwise. Ever wondered why Rainbow Dash is so popular in the shipping community? She fits with almost anyone because a more affectionate side can be found beneath the bold exterior. Which leads me up to my main point about why I like her.
I find Rainbow Dash attractive.
Yes, in a romantic way. I’m not going to deny that I’ve had my fair share of fictional crushes when I was a kid - being a geek does that to you - and Rainbow Dash is certainly no exception to that. No, I don’t find her physically attractive; it is the personality traits that I have come to appreciate. A woman who’s confident in her own abilities. A woman with ambition and determination. A woman who won’t take “no” for an answer. Someone who can be fun, yet teasing, who can be serious, yet never stupidly facetious.
Enough swooning from me; I’m sure you get the picture. Rainbow Dash is just a hugely likeable character to me. I know some poeple don’t like her cockiness, and I can understand why, but it’s plain to see that Rainbow Dash is a good person / pony and that there is a softer side to her. Perhaps one that isn’t so brash or confident. Perhaps one that’s more fearful. Perhaps one that feels like another pony entirely. It’s this character that’s hiding behind a mask that I love to dig out. A nervous Dash in a relationship, or a materal Dash on an adventure..? Well, I’ll stop hinting at spoilers for fics that I’ve not even mentioned yet.
It’s a similar reason as to why I like Pinkie - I like to think there’s more to those lovable characters than what we see in the show itself, and Rainbow Dash is a particularly fun one to explore.
Mmm, that was a weird blog, wasn’t it... I should do more like these!
I find Princess Luna attractive. No big deal there.
Mane you're good at blog posts.
Writing Rainbow Dash is frustrating because apparently everyone has different opinions of what Rainbow Dash's personality is. I'm right in line with your opinion basically word-for-word. When I wrote a story centered around Rainbow Dash, I received all sorts of conflicting messages. Rainbow Dash is too smart, Rainbow Dash is too dumb, Rainbow Dash is too 'nice', Rainbow Dash was too 'cruel', Rainbow Dash is out-of-character, Rainbow Dash is perfectly in-character.
Shit's wack, yo.
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I'm not a huge fan of the whole "in character" argument. I mean, I could understand someone getting berated if they wrote about how Rainbow Dash hated flying, despite the fact that there's a lot of evidence in the show to suggest (and I use that word very loosely...) that flying is her passion, however I find that people criticize others over very mundane matters. I think a lot of people forget that one of the biggest parts of fiction is that characters can be interpreted in multiple ways.