Is it me, or are there a lot more HiE stories than there used to be? · 4:04pm Nov 21st, 2013
I mean, we had that period a while back where every story in the feature box was some variant of "X arrives in Equestria" where X was a series of increasingly implausible people or animals that you'd think would just result in the same story over and over again or no story at all. But lately I've been seeing a lot more stories where the premise is just "dude in Equestria" or so close as to make no difference; right now, all but one of the stories in the feature box is HiE or an X in Equestria crossover. Is this trend actually on the rise again, or is this just a fluke and I've happened to be noticing them more lately?
And it's frustrating for me, because I don't want to dislike HiE, but I can't bring myself to touch any of them because the subgenre just reeks of wish fulfillment stories. So if there's anyone reading this who is a fan of HiE... what's the deal? What makes these stories so successful? How is it set up so that it's possible to produce and read so many of these things with the same premise without it just being the same thing over and over again? Is it the same thing over and over again? I just don't get it. Enlighten me.
I blame EqD's fall from prominence. If you're starting out now as a writer, the only real way to get popular now is to either write an already popular ship pairing, or write Human in Equestria.
Actually, I was considering writing a short story like this, just to fulfill the cliche so to speak.
I think it is a passing fashion, just like writers kept breaking Dash' wings until it actually happened in canon.
Like Asuza said, it's not out of the question that it's a reflection of where the power in obtaining viewers is shifting. EqD's long since lost its reputation for being the primary source for stories, and is now just good for a slight bump on stories that get through. I'm lucky if I can get a thousand views out of an EqD post consistently now, though that might be partially my fault because I suck at writing descriptions and I try to avoid writing anything that I think my prospective audience is familiar with more than I probably should.
To a certain extent, things that gets popular in media are very rarely dramatically different from what's been seen before. There are patterns and tropes that many viewers here are very familiar with and consistently give hits to, and HiE wish fulfillment is, in some not-ignorable segments, one of them. It's not something that's going to be the death of all good literature, but it's definitely something you have to consider and work around when you're trying to attract that kind of audience to a different kind of story.
HiE is a plague upon the land. I also blame all the HiE fics for the travesty that is Equestria Girls.
I honestly cannot fathom why HiE is so popular. If you want to see a human mixed up in a crazy world then watch Adventure Time. MLP is about ponies, period.
I think they've always been around. HiE is and always has been one of the most popular genres. It allows the writer and the reader to escape reality, and there's a lot of wish fulfillment in it as well.
I've read SOME good ones, but honestly, as a guy who isn't a fan of the genre in general, I can't say I ever liked the influx of it.
But no. They've always been around. Always.
HiE...
It's a double edged sword, I think. I've recently written a story or two (actually, a few more) tagged with it, and right now ~ 1/2 of my stories in progress (3 of 5) have it.
I do think that some level of wish fulfillment comes into play in these stories, I know I keep a few of those close on hand for when I need a good laugh, because some of them are just downright preposterous with what they do, they're so bad they're good to read. On the other hand, there are still some things entertaining with it and one can still be unique to a degree (Example being the story where after reading some 'human becomes immortal' nonsense for the umpteenth time, ended up starting a story where the human was immortal via the phoenix rebirth process).
I think it just comes down to the ebb and flow of stories. Like you mentioned, certain things seem to pop up in periods, and this might just be the time for HiEs while the dead space between seasons draws to a close. I'm sure that once there's a few episodes down, you'll be seeing more cast-only stories brought to the forefront.
Also, hating HiE stories in general is silly. There are a few good ones (If you want to lump in crossovers in there) out there, and with how hard it can be to come across some good ones, no point excluding them completely.
Not particularly. Hie rose to prominence over a year ago and just never stopped. Even though I consider a lot of what makes it appealing cancerous to fanfiction, what I don't understand is why it's still popular. It seems like after a few months reading Hie you've read them all, but it's just as popular as ever.
HiE is like naruto fics. Everyone and their mothers end up writing up sooner or later.
Personally dude... I believe HiE is easier to write in some authors positions. The writers have it easier than others BECAUSE it is faster to come up with a story for them. Most of the time it's an action packed adventure story, but that is all they have in common. Each stories plot elements are varied between X=Hero, or in Villainous' case X=Villain. Other HiE stories are on the wish fulfillment page, as in X=Norm person in Equestria. But some of these Fic's evolve beyond the normal stereotype and reach the Action Packed adventure stage. Most of the HiE fics I've actually read are the above category (The exlusion to this being Living in Equestria by Blazewing and similar fics like that.)
In my honest opinion though, I hope that we come past this stage again. As reading stories about actual ponies/gryphons/dragons... etc, etc, etc... is MORE interesting than the average HiE. I don't mind reading HiE, but it is getting a little stale as the topic and Genre has been touched upon repeatedly in the last year.
Anyway, I'ma leave ya with that as I'm too tired to continue talking... If ya want a more extensive and more expanded perspective on the genre or topic itself, feel free to contact me via Private messaging so I can freely respond when I am not tired.
Humans in Equestria just reminds me of older generations of My Little Pony.
That's not really the kind of wishful thinking I want to aspire to...
I don't give a damn if I'm several months late to this party, I'm gonna post anyways because I read way too many HiE fics for it to be healthy and I just only recently discovered you and okay fine I'll make my point now.
What sells it to me is the culture shock. It makes my inner anthropologist squee in delight.
Some of the best HiE fics explore the political and cultural ramifications of two wildly different civilizations suddenly clashing with each other. The characters, caught in the middle, become a relatable manifestation of those ramifications as they fall victim to its consequences. Their response to the "collision" is one of the most engaging aspects of the story; as the world around them changes and every aspect of their life is brought into question--from the integrity of their government, to their understanding of reality, to their established cultural norms, to perhaps even their spirituality--we see how they cope, or fail to cope, amidst a whirlwind of change.
Sometimes it's expressed as boundless curiosity (Arrow 17). Sometimes it's enduringly optimistic (Written in Dust). Sometimes there's a grim, almost hopeless resignation (ARTICLE 2). Sometimes it's played for laughs (Lez Ponies). And sometimes I have no honest-to-god idea (Anthropology). But in almost every case, the clashing parties are forced to confront their own worldviews and challenge virtually every aspect of everything they know to be true in order to adapt. In the hands of the right author, character development in a HiE fic can be utterly compelling.
Plus, on occasion, you'll get an author who can craft a spectacular mystery surrounding the nature of the collision and make it central to the plot (Quantum Castaways, Mass Effect: The Equestrian Equation). Since the characters naturally have a powerful emotional investment in the nature of the mystery, it serves as yet another catalyst for character development.
Of course, that's assuming it's written well. The vast majority of HiE (My Little Dashie, Xenophilia) is probably just pure wish fulfillment, and I have no definitive explanation as to why it's so popular.
Aside from, perhaps, "there are a lot of bronely people out there."