Talk About It: Rainbow Dash In Romance

Hey Folks!

So yes as the name suggests, this post is as pointless as most of my other posts. Oh and this has to do with Rainbow and her portrayal in Romance fics.

I haven't noticed this for other characters that much, mainly ‘,cause I rarely read non-Dashcentic fics. Anyways, what I was getting at is that, Dash has two options an author can take while writing Romance fics for Dashie. One if that she absolutely despises romance, finds it mushy and gross, while the other seems to be the opposite, some take her as the player, one that had been in plenty of relationships, that her mind is only set on getting laid instead of emotional connection and I think you get the gist.

I've seen both these portrayals for Dashie. They are literally on the opposite sides of the spectrum so why do they both apply to Rainbow? Is it the character as a whole? Is the interpretation of the reader, or the author’s point of view that makes this happen?

Well I guess I wanna dice this down a little, I have found two easily comparable fics that have one or the other traits and doesn't seem to have the opposite

Good Ponies Don't...Do They?
&
Love Means Having To Say You're Sorry

So the reason I picked these two is cause of how strong the aforementioned traits are.

So in the first one Applejack blatenly calls Dash a hussy, for moving things with Rarity so fast. They got together, became a couple and even had sex in less than four dates, this seems quite in character for Rainbow, I mean she's known for her speed, so why wouldn't she take things fast when it comes to romance, it just makes perfect sense, right?

This may be the case in the first fic, but it just doesn't seem to be in the second. In that fic, she absolutely despises the thought of being mushy, even though she's alright doing it with Aj, she still doesn't seem to like the idea as a whole, which again fits with her character. She’s a tomcolt, doesn't like anything too girly, so if she finds that having a romanctic relationship with somepony else as girly than she'd obviously hate the idea.
She wouldn't admit to liking it even If she did, while in the first fic she was almost bragging about it to Aj.

Alright, so this could also very well apply to other characters other than Dashie, right?
Welp, let's take Aj and Shy as our test for this.

Aj’s usually the stubborn-minded, rational one of the two, she’s usually the one to keep her partner is check, that be Rainbow or not. I've even seen her be able to do that with Twilight, Fluttershy, don't ask about Rarity I haven't bothered to look. But I have seen her take on a more sensitive side too, her being the one that gets hurt and Dash/anypony else, being the one to help her through it. Take that second fic I mentioned, in that Dash offends Aj real bad an’ she goes off crying to her room, but by the end she was back to her snarky, and rational self.

Ok now let's look at Shy, he most obvious character trait, people,use while write, to some extent, is her timidness, right? Well yea, thats mainly what people base her off as, and make her character that only, maybe by the end of the fic her partner could show her how to be more confident, that Ben Rarity or not. But I have also seen her take a motherly status in a relationship, I've seen it for AppleShy... I think it's the name, I've seen it for FlutterDash, and even Flarity. But normally by the end of the fic she usually goes back to either being shy or just quiet, not that motherly, she may have those atrabutes in her, but she prefers to keep that away in most fics, episode, and so on.

So what I've gathered with these two, is that they usually return to their normal selves by the end of the fic, while Dash usually remains with those traits I mentioned.

Now, this could very well be an interpretation thing from the author themselves, but I doubt that too, both stories I've listed are by the same person, so it could also not be the author themselves. I haven't spoken to many others about this, so I'm not sure if it is the audiences view point or not.

So this leads me to believe that there are plenty of factors played into this one issue I have. It could be that some prefer a more open-to-dating kinda gal while writing, while others prefer a more tomcoltish gal to write for. It also could be varying on the situation they're put in, but I've picked two slice-of-life stories instead of Drama/Sad/Tragedy/Adventure, for that reason alone. I think the mane (Haha, how funny) reason for Dash’s change in character from story to story is the ship their trying to portray. I mean for AppleDash, she usually hates the idea of dating, romance, kissing all that stuff, while for RariDash she could love all that stuff too. I suppose it depends on the character and what they bring out in our little Dashie?
Though I have seen this mixed up before, like Dash being very straight foward and blunt about what she wants - getting laid - in an AppleDash.... so eh!

One last thing I wanna say, is that not all stories have her in these potrayals, I've come across a handful of them that diverge from this and boi are they refreshing to read! But nonthess! I have also come across stories that ties both these in and it make sure fire sense as per character development and such.
These just occur more times than not, and I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere before.
What do y'all think? Is it the author’s interpretations, is Dash not special in this manner, is it the reader’s view point, is it the ship itself? The whole reason for making this was so I could get a few answers, this has been bugging at me for weeks, and I need answers!

Anyways! That's all from me Folks!

MSz Out!

Comments

[pubbyrot]

This is a good discussion to have! One thing I'd like to mention is that both of these Dash portrayels can coexist in my mind. After all- romantic and sexual desire are quite different. While being overtly romantic can be see as mushy, landing it in bed with somepony might be seen as cool . So while Dash could be smooth in that sense, she might also inch away from actual lovey dovey expressions of affection. After all, one is considered impressive, while the other is... hm. Perhaps too domestic for Dashs tastes?

At least, too domestic for Dash to admit she wants it. We all know Rainbow hates being seen as soft, even if she secretly enjoys such pampering. Thats how I view things anyway. Both can be true with the fic author simply choosing to focus on one element more than the other, either chaste advances or more... suave ones shall we say

[MistyShadowz]

5610292
Hmm.. you got your point there. I've seen a handful of fics where she's portrayed with both trait, as a sort of balance, and I too like to believe that would be how she'd go about her relationships, no matter how much I, personally, write her leaning toward the less romantic approach at things. Though when one writes they tend to fall into one or the other and its not common to see stories being written with both characteristics in mind, I sure have fallen onto that path plenty of times, myself, not that its a bad thing either. I mean its usually a whole lot easier, for both the writer and the reader, if the story focusses on one part of the attributes that certain character has.
And definitely! Dash hates it when she seems as soft and has covered it up (more like, tired and failed) but we all know she's a just a big softy!