Yet another ship thread. Rainbow Dash edition.

[sevofthesands]

Because lesbians.

somehow this makes me laugh more than it should

[elsporko]

hi hi

The idea that opposites attract is demonstrably unrealistic. While people might ignore differences while they are madly in love at the start of a relationship, once the madly in love phase is over (usually a year or less) reconciling differences can cause lasting dissatisfaction, especially if one partner is forced to give up something of their own in order to make the relationship work.

In Find a Pet, Fluttershy goes through a whole 3:40 some minute long song about all the animals other than Tank that she thinks would be good for dash. It was Tank who had the persistence to pull through. And as for Dash digging in, Dash responds well to challenges, taking them head on. Applejack might have dared her to try out Tank as a pet and I bet you Dash would have accepted the challenge.

Having to push people to their limits in order to resolve an issue seems more adversarial than getting along~ing. It may work in the Stephanie Meyer school of romance, but throwing down to show the other who's boss is a good example of relationship strife. Just because they might kiss and make up later doesn't mean they have a stronger relationship for it, not if it keeps happening over and over again. So one of them is going to have to change their personality if they don't want the relationship to become a strain on the other. (I would argue that there is a big difference between the relationship of a parent and a child and two partners)

Rainbow Dash didn't do a very good job of getting Fluttershy out of her comfort zone. She was nearly traumatized by the attempt. If anything, her animal friends did a much better job of encouraging her and preparing her for the possibility of failure. They're the ones who helped her train and practice.

Fluttershy likes helping out and comforting her animal friends and braiding manes, but Rainbow Dash doesn't even like her hooves being touched.

That being said, I can still see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash (or two people with similar personalities) getting along in a relationship, but not because of their differences. (No way, no how) Their similarities make them a reasonably good match for a more low intensity relationship. They both like peace and quiet, Rainbow Dash for napping and resting, and Fluttershy just about all the time. As long as Rainbow Dash's active lifestyle and Fluttershy's responsible duties don't have to get in each other's way, I could see it working.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash seem to be the closest out of the main group. They seem to be seen more times away from the others doing things on their own and Rainbow Dash is protective of Fluttershy. This is why people get behind that pairing. They are already close friends, and since this is a cartoon being discussed on the internet, obviously they are lesbian lovers

[Davroth]

Hold on a bucking minute here, who said anything about sexual? Yes, the implication is there, but I've never really defined "shipping" to mean just that, personally. To me, it's a pair sharing a closer, focused, and special relationship.

I ship all of the mane six in one big, polygamous ship. Friendship, that is. ;D

Jokes aside, I always assumed it meant a romantic relationship, rather then, say, a platonic one. So of course the idea of sex comes to mind, because that's what romantic love leads to, at least commonly.

[SteelEagle]

Rainbow Dash can be shipped with all the things.

[brianblackberry]

"Because all available evidence points to the contrary, I conclude that Dash is straight!"

idgi

There is no evidence in canon that suggests any orientation and we all know there never will be. The better question to ask is "why couldn't she be straight"? It doesn't take from her and Fluttershy from being very close.

[brianblackberry]

What I want to know is what ever happened to these:

1. Best Friends

2. Loved Like a Sister

3. Close Friend for a long time

Why the 'ell do people skip these and assume "OMG LOL LOVE BLARGH MOST INDEED LOVE LOVE <3". It's not realistic that all seemingly close friend are automatically in love. Even though it's thrugh fiction and fanon, some form of realism should be applied.

Best example? Lyra/Bon Bon.

"Oh look! Two ponies who spend a lot of time togethor and are always next to each other. Definately lesbian lovers. Not friends at all. That's not even remotely possible, lol."

It would be like if you were standing next to a best friend talking, and then I ran up to you and called you both lovers and then stuck by that whenever I saw you and him/her. How realistic is that?

SAME. CONCEPT.

For fun. The best part though is you don't have to participate in it in any way, whether reading or writing. In the end only canon matters and most of this dream ships will never happen in canon.

I don't have an issue with ship, my only issue is if someone insists their favorite ship is the only legitimate one or assigns orientation to the characters and insist they have to be that way. If people like FlutterDash or RarityDash or whatever, that's cool, just remember it isn't canon.

[SirShadowdeath]

For fun. The best part though is you don't have to participate in it in any way, whether reading or writing. In the end only canon matters and most of this dream ships will never happen in canon.

I don't have an issue with ship, my only issue is if someone insists their favorite ship is the only legitimate one or assigns orientation to the characters and insist they have to be that way. If people like FlutterDash or RarityDash or whatever, that's cool, just remember it isn't canon.

Understandable view.

[elsporko]

For fun. The best part though is you don't have to participate in it in any way, whether reading or writing. In the end only canon matters and most of this dream ships will never happen in canon.

I don't have an issue with ship, my only issue is if someone insists their favorite ship is the only legitimate one or assigns orientation to the characters and insist they have to be that way. If people like FlutterDash or RarityDash or whatever, that's cool, just remember it isn't canon.

Whats important is that half of the ship is Rainbow Dash

[Ashton]

There is no evidence in canon that suggests any orientation and we all know there never will be. The better question to ask is "why couldn't she be straight"? It doesn't take from her and Fluttershy from being very close.

But we have Word Of God. Lauren Faust herself has said Rainbow Dash is not gay.

...not that it makes fluterdash any less cute, but I see it more like sisters than lovers really... think about how sisters act...

[SirShadowdeath]

But we have Word Of God. Lauren Faust herself has said Rainbow Dash is not gay.

THANK YOU FAUST.

[RarityDash]

But we have Word Of God. Lauren Faust herself has said Rainbow Dash is not gay.

...not that it makes fluterdash any less cute, but I see it more like sisters than lovers really... think about how sisters act...

I agree about the sisters thing. That's really more how I see their relationship.

Where did Lauren confirm that Rainbow Dash was straight though. The only quote I can recall is this one from the Ms. Magazine rebuttal:

Rainbow Dash has rainbow-striped hair because of her name and because she is very interested in sports, specifically flying. She is a tomboy, but nowhere in the show is her sexual orientation ever referenced. As we all know, there are plenty of straight tomboys in the world, and assuming they are lesbians is extremely unfair to both straight and lesbian tomboys.

And that really doesn't confirm anything one way or another, instead expressing merely that people shouldn't jump to conclusions on the matter, based on appearances (which is a fair point). She actually explicitly points out that the show never references Dash's orientation. Is there's another quote where she's talked about this issue and said something more concrete?

[Dunes]

For some reason, I tend to see Flutterdash as a close-friends type relationship, and then I end up spinning it that one of them likes the other but it's not mutual in that way, never will be, and someone gets left heartbroken when the other falls in love with a stallion.

N-not that I'm projecting or anything...

Of the common Dash 'ships I see, though, Flutterdash is the one that breaks my head the least. I never cared for Appledash. Yes, I do turn characters into lesbians in my head (because I am starved for gay characters; The L Word sucks, there are only so many Sarah Waters BBC adaptations to watch, most mainstream gay characters are either terrible or are treated terribly within the show, and God help me if I ever see another "two lesbians try to have/adopt a baby" storyline, RRRGHHH.) But even though they're both tomboyish and I could easily picture them as gay, I see them as more... lady-bros. And none of the other ships with Dash really appeal to me, either.

I liked the FlutterDash logic Dessa posted. That's the kind of reason I'll often read fics with them in it.

[Dessa]

I see them as more... lady-bros. And none of the other ships with Dash really appeal to me, either.

I see Dash and AJ as LBFFs... Lesbian best friends forever. They're both lesbian, but they're not into each other.

[brianblackberry]

I see Dash and AJ as LBFFs... Lesbian best friends forever. They're both lesbian, but they're not into each other.

Don't break my heart man....

[Dessa]

Don't break my heart man....

I mean they're star-crossed lovers, brought together by destiny!

[sevofthesands]

I mean they're star-crossed lovers, brought together by destiny!

sarcasm is unbecoming of u (actually its pretty hot)

[Rosewind]

I just came to an important realization: Rainbow Dash would ship perfectly with Rainbow Dash. It's a double rainbow!

[Ashton]

I just came to an important realization: Rainbow Dash would ship perfectly with Rainbow Dash. It's a double rainbow!

*facehoof* but I gotta lol at that. (amusingly though a LOT of people dont like the idea of 2 rainbows being shipped... I've caught a lot of flack in the bast from my Dash + Blitz ship (and apparently thunder got some of it too since he does the same ship))

[MisterChippy]

Ahem.

LAUREN FAUST NEVER SAID RAINBOW DASH WASN'T GAY!

Sorry, just needed to get that out of my system.

What she said was that is was wrong to assume that RD was gay just because she was a tomboy with a lot of rainbows. In fact, she specifically AVOIDS saying that RD is straight, which I see as proof that she's lesbian. Also, from personal experience (I have quite a few lesbian friends) I have to say that RD is gay (and not just because of rainbows or 'cause she's a tomboy). I also think Flutterdash is so unbelievably cute that it must be true. Also, Fluttershy is #2 on my 'most likely to be lesbian' list (Pinkie comes last. Nothing against her, but once again, personal (or at least 2nd hand) experiance makes me think she's straight).

However, I also ship Rainbow with the wonderbolts, Vinyl (I see them as having dated in their teenage years and broken up), and thats it.

[Lux]

I'm not a big shipping fan (although I must admit some stories are cute to read).

I don't really see RD as a lesbian, or any of the mane six. Then again I don't see cartoons as gay or straight. Just cartoon characters. But anyway I've seen the You Tube clips that try to show that RD likes AJ or RD likes Fluttershy, and really I don't see it.

Now if RD was a lesbian, and the others were too, the most likely ship would be Rd and AJ due to their personalities. Secone would be Rd and Fluttershy. Then again, I personally see these as close friends (closer than RD is to the others) than in a relationship.

[Rosewind]

Oooh I was wondering who necro'd this!

I think sex preferences are out of the scope of the cartoon and the characters themselves, though it is fun to talk about, isn't it?

I don't think RD is gay. The rainbow mane and tomboy thing is way overdone rationale for that -- not all lesbians are tomboys or support/like rainbows.

[MisterChippy]

I actually don't use either of those to justify her being a lesbian. I have tomboy friends who are very straight, and I honestly didn't even think of rainbows until after I had formed my opinion of Dashie. As the picture says:

I also draw on the episode about the cutie marks for justification for Flutterdash, since Rainbow was so eager to protect Fluttershy, who she barely knew. I know that's kinda grasping at straws, but this is shipping! What do you expect?

[Opal]

Ahem, social expirament time: Bloomberg+Tom is best ship.

Let the discussion commence.

[Lux]

Yes, I understand that shipping doesn't often equal canon. i guess it. like most fan art/ fanfiction is a trip down the What If side.

[MisterChippy]

Ahem, social expirament time: Bloomberg+Tom is best ship.

Let the discussion commence.

This is a RainbowDash shipping thread, not just a general shipping thread.

Also, there's the cider episode. Why was Fluttershy so emarrassed that Rainbow Dash saw her in bed? She doesn't even wear any clothes normally! Answer: She likes rainbow and had a dirty thought.

Flutterdash forever!