Flash Sentry and Other Unexpected Romances · 6:32pm Feb 24th, 2014
So, I did a thing that's not my usual fare. Thus far it's done okay; not as well as I'd hoped, not as hated as I'd feared. I'm thinking about doing a sequel. But that aside, there's something I've been wondering lately, now that I've had some degree of exposure to it directly: What's with all the Flash-hate?
Now, despite appearances, I'm not by any stretch a TwiFlash shipper. My OTP has always been TomBerg and all other pairings have never really interested me. I get that people can get up in arms about this sort of thing, but what makes Flash different from every other ship out there? Twi's been shipped with just about every character there is over the past few years, including inanimate ones, regardless of whether or not it makes sense or is even slightly tasteful, yet Flash Sentry is the line where it becomes too far? There are things on the main page right now about everybrony's waifu being sexually assaulted, having inappropriate relationships with children, and being in stories that are virtually nothing but lists of perverse fetishes, but her having a crush on a boy is the specific thing that people get up in arms about? I don't get it.
And if this is about him being canon... well, he's not, really. For all its flaws, the romance angle was one part that I felt Equestria Girls hit perfectly, mostly in the sense that it's barely there. Twilight and Flash are not by any stretch a couple, on either side of the mirror. There's an attraction there, but the furthest they get is sharing flirty smiles with each other. It's the same approach that Pacific Rim did so well; all we know for sure is that they're friends, and if you see that turning into a romance, that's all on you. There's no reason this should be more shippy than the time RD kissed Fluttershy. (A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2. Look it up.) And even that aside, there's nothing offensive about him that I can see. Yes, there's a certain manufactured artificiality to his surface cuteness, but he's sweet, he goes out of his way to make Twilight feel accepted, and he defies girl movie convention by seemingly spending it trying to win her affection instead of the other way around. Or at least that's my reading of it. There's not a whole lot to him, but as far as romantic partners go, we could have gotten far worse.
Anyway, now that my nerd levels are through the roof, I'll just conclude by saying that there's potential for a Mirror Fidelity 2 if there's demand for it.
I demand a part 2
The Internet works in wild and mysterious ways, is basically all I have to say. It's all based on luck at the end of the day, even though the risque generally has more room to play (much to my dismay), and with shipping, there can be hell to pay.
I suppose it's because no matter what horrors other popular stories subject Twilight to, they're, really, all headcanons. If a person doesn't want to read them, that's their option. They v an still just write alternate fanfiction and it'd still be just as valid.
However, Flashlight is the closest thing we have to canon shipping apart from Sparity. Considering how many people pair Twilight with someone else, and Flash is somewhat bland, he's in a bad situation of potentially ruining their headcanons with Dash/Celestia/Applejack/Shining Armor while not having a strong characterization to endear more people to him. So, they lump all their hatred for losing their headcanons, plus dissatisfaction with EQG in general, onto this poor guy. That's why so many people reflexively downvoted your last story with barely reading how good it was. Seriously, there's worse in the featured box right now.
I really, really, REALLY want to see a sequel, you left us hanging with that ending. Even if Flashlight isn't your OP, I'm still glad you bought a ticket onto this ship.
Well said my friend. Well said