Sex and World-building · 5:18pm Nov 13th, 2016
I've recently discovered something: some of the best world building I've read in the last few years is coming from porn (or, "clop" for us pony perverts in the know).
I've finally given in started reading a lot of "Humans in Equestria" (HiE) stories in earnest and while a lot of them have sex or are built as sex from the ground up, which is not surprising giving the demographic of the writers and their audience. However, there's some really good stuff out there, and a lot of it involves socio-political concepts that are keeping me riveted to my seat. The stories of 'sex for sex sake' are boring, short and trite and are ignorable. But the ones where they explain the WHY's are the fascinating ones. I've also decided there are some damn good authors with some seriously complex, and well planned plots and sub-plots running through their stories. I think I've gone through over 2 million words of HIE (Human in Equestria) stories in the last MONTH! Yes, I've been addicted. Some of these stories are well north of 500K words and still going and I can't wait for then chapter.
For example, there's a few universes which seem to have played off of each other with regards to the underlying social norms and then expanded in slightly different directions, but the core concept is "the herd" - they go into, in well-reasoned detail (at least for me) on WHY the herd exists (one, maybe two, males, lots of females) what it is and how it operates, how this has driven the political and historical landscape of Equestria. Example, the population structure is roughly one male for every three to five females (depends upon story and local in the universe, etc.), historically, stallions were seen as property, either to be in the fields working or in the bedroom; they had no political power, yet at the same time they were powerful within a herd, and the purpose of the herd was to protect the stallion(s). There's really interesting give and take there when you think about it.
Then there's the reasoning that ponies are "herd-animals" (just like on Earth) and thus have "herd-like" instincts. Because of this, they form their "herds" with a concept of polygamy, and monogamy is a BAD THING, because it means that there are fewer stallions to go around and help make more ponies. How, about this, due to the un-even numbers of males to females, lesbian couples are an accepted norm (usually formed from very lonely mares) and that exclusive male homosexual couples is REALLY BAD THING (see previous comment about fewer stallions to go around). On the other hand, homosexuality in it's own right isn't a bad thing, it's not uncommon for the same sex within a herd (or even best friends outside a herd in some cases) to get their freak on.
(side note: Here's a fun bit from some these universes, they use the term "straight" to indicate that a pony is attracted to both sexes, which is the status quo. They use the term "bent" to indicate attraction to only one sex, doesn't matter if it's same- or alternate-sex attraction. It's something new, different, and a fun little bit of linguistic play. I'm finding I want to explore this concept and terms in my own writings.)
How about complex courting rituals. There's an underlying pony-ism to grow the herd, so it's not uncommon for members to come and go as time goes on (usually, the indication is that permanent herd bonds are the desired norm, but there's no shame in leaving - for the right reasons), and based upon that, you have random ponies (male and female) coming up to the herd and asking about joining. Or it could be that a herd member asks an outsider to join. There are sorts of stories based around the do's and don't's and should and I-can't-believe-you-just-did-that involved in these little rituals.
One very cool courting aspect that I absolutely love (and so do a lot of authors, it seems) is the flower exchange. When a prospective member arrives for the first date (you don't just "join", just like us, there's a dating period before marriage) the prospective member brings flowers with the same colors as their coat and/or mane (or as close as possible) and gives one to each member of the herd. If the herd accepts the suitor (at least for dating) they wear the flowers in their mane behind their ears - this sends a message to other ponies, "hey look at us, were courting this pony - hooves off". This little bit can be played up or played down in the stories and usually carries a lot of emotional weight. (And then the prospective member usually takes the entire herd on a date, all at once, then on an individual basis, and after one or two dates, the sex kicks in as part of the social-norm, but then, again, herds are there to help make foals.... Can you imagine the amount of cash that would take if you wanted to join a herd of even a few ponies? That's could be like dating 3-6 humans at once. No Earth college kid could afford that!)
Now, one aspect that might turn some folks off is the concept of "heat" where the mares "go into season" and can become pregnant. They do have a tendency to go a bit sex-crazed during this time. Some times this is managed well within the writing, other times it's questionable. But overall, it does add some complexity to the social-cultural concepts. One being that it is common for friends to help "cool off" each other rather than chasing down the first stallion they find and risk getting pregnant. This introduces some interesting dynamics between ponies and how we, the readers, look at such "relationships" (and I use that term loosely within this context).
One last interesting aspect, If you're familiar with The Hero's Journey, those rules apply very well to these stories. I really wasn't expecting that, but it works! Rather well in some places.
Here's a sampling of the story universes that I've enjoying of late (minor plot spoiler warnings apply, but I wanted to give a reasonable overview of what you're getting to with them):
Xenoverse - Single human gets dumped into Equestria, was a victim of the fae, the medieval, evil kinda of fae, the ones that only feel warmth and see humor through the abuse of all others. Single human has no memory of how he got there and has to make due. Most ponies are terrified of him, but ends up befriending Rainbow Dash and things evolve from there. Then the herd eventually expands to include Twilight Sparkle and Lyra Heartstrings. Different stories in the universe explore in-depth the growth of the characters as they court and join and expand the herd. Interesting bits, there are some very xenophobic ponies who do what they can to remove the human (even attacking at times), there are lots of socio-political issues (for example, tension between Twilight and her parent's herd and her birth mother who is just a real bitch). The human is a bit of a Mary Sue at times (I'm assuming you know this term, yes?), but other times he's just as lost as the rest of us, especially when it comes to trying to figure out what he just did that upset ponies when all he did was scratch the wrong spot behind their ears or something. Sex does happen, and can be rather detailed, but usually well written and actually works rather well in context.
Recommended stories:
* Xenophillia -- core story
* Divided Rainbow -- massive adventure; complete overhaul to the status quo
* No Room For Regret -- socio-political to the n'th degree
* Xenophilia: It's a Herd Life -- socio-political herd dynamics
The Gentlemanverse - Permanent portal is opened between Earth and Equestria. Trade is established. One brilliant pony sees an opportunity and establishes a high-class human stallion escort service for mares. They provide companionship for mares at all ranges of prices. It's all legal and above board. Stories usually follow the Gentlemen as they go around on their jobs or follow the ponies who are their clients. Interesting bits are that pony stallions are jerks and usually do not give as much attention to the mares as the mares wish (which makes sense when you've go so few males to females, the males can be picky!) and the mares are simply lonely or want to feel special. A lot of stories seem to center around the human or pony finding some form of true love (between human/pony, of course) or how to better their own existing relationships. Interesting bits go into cultural norms of how ponies may be friendly, they are not willing to change much, that the humans - just by their existence - are challenging the last few hundred years of established cultural norms. Some ponies do not like that. Others embrace it. Usually this level of tension is well buried in the stories but it is there. Sex happens and is sometimes detailed, while I haven't read all the stories in the universe, of the ones I have read, the sex is portrayed rather well.
Recommended stories:
* Gentleman For Mares -- core story
* A Gentleman's Price - A Gentleman for Mares Side Story -- expansion on the universe, socio-political insight
Your Human and You - (Not gonna lie, this one took a while to get into, the author was horrible for the first 50K words or so, but gets amazingly better as time went on; practice does make perfect) - Humans exist in Equestra and have for over a thousand years, but they are stupid and simple, somewhat like monkeys and chimpanzees are to us. They are kept as pets and treated as such. Oh, they are also used for sex as nobody gets pregnant. One lone human from Earth is popped to Equestria without warning is captured by human trappers and dropped into the "pet" trade - oh, he can't talk anymore and isn't given a chance to show that he's intelligent (this becomes an amusing running gag) eventually he is bought by Princess Celestia and sent to Twilight Sparkle as a gift for her recent ascension. After some crazy antics of our hero still not getting to show that's he's smart, it finally happens and communication occurs. Then things really go wrong. Our hero keeps ending up in situations that break him (physically and slightly mentally) from a stolen-human fighting ring to rescuing the Cutie Mark Crusaders from becoming manticore chow. Eventually there's an under current of human is oblivious that Twilight is falling in love with him (sex finally happens after about 500K words, it's nice that there was the wait). Finally the overall plot starts shining through and we learn why/how our human came to Equestria and what's really going and who the villain of the piece truly is. (I'll stop here lest I start really ruining the plot for you.) There are cringe worth moments for our Mary Sue human, but over all, if you can stay long with it long enough, it gets really good. It's fun to watch as more and more ponies learn that not all humans are "dumb animals". One amusing early sub-plot: Applejack keeps humans as cattle for use on Sweet Apple Acres as labor and also for scratching her "itch". Our hero wants none of that and things get really awkward once she learns he's intelligent. (One can only hide their embarrassment so much behind one's hat.)
So, if you've avoided HiE simply because they are stereotypically "bad" and nothing but "human-pony" sex, that's not always the case. It really just depends upon what you want out of the stories. For me, I find that these stories really make me think and wonder about the rest of the world beyond the core human-pony relationships.
Edit: adding link for "No Room For Regret" and "Xenophilia: It's a Herd Life" because, I really should had them there in the first place. And adding some comments on the linked stories.
I don't see what Xenophilia and the monomyth have to do with one another. It skips several of the steps from that style of storytelling.
Welcome to the herd
4300749
With the Monomyth, you don't have to follow step by step, or even use all the steps. Sometimes multiple steps can be combined into one step. But, I'll be honest, when I wrote that I had the original Gentleman For Mares story in mind as Harry went on an adventure, got his world turned upside down, then learned to recover (him getting his job with G4M), but then as the story goes on on he encounters Sea Swirl and things change again forcing him to do a lot of thinking which helps lead him to the ending of the story and his ultimate reward.
As for Xenoverse, Lero starts lost in Equestria then has to survive and adapt. He meets Rainbow Dash who, I would argue, could play the part of "the mentor" which starts him on the road to a new "world", one of romance and relationships. Those relationships will test him, especially with outside forces such as Honeydew and her racism. Beyond that, he returns to his new "normal" world of his herd only to have some new quest forced upon him (Divided Rainbow, for example) which again forces him to evolve or adapt. It can also be argued that the other characters go through their own track of the Hero's Journey - Twilight, for example, has to majorly overcome her own misgivings about joining the herd in the first place, an then there are the "trials" of her allowing herself to become intimate with Lero. She has to over come these obstacles if she is going to claim her desired reward, the herd.
Overall I'm not expert on The Hero's Journey, and there's a lot of it open to interpretation depending upon which HJ resource you reference, but I think I can see the basics in there. Again, I had G4M more in my mind at the time I wrote that bit, but I do think it applies to all the stories.
I'm a bit surprised and disappointed you didn't link to Archonix's xenophilia fics, especially No Regrets, which imo is probably one of the best fics on the site in terms of characterization of a unlikably character. You don't really get to the point where you like Star Sparkle, most of what she does is unforgivable, but you do feel bad for her on some level, and you come to understand that no one escapes life without screwing up and being screwed up by life.
4300903
Yup, you are correct, while I didn't want to overwhelm folks with too many links, I should have added "No Regrets" as it was really impressive. We'll just call it stupidity and move on.
I've edited my original post and added that as well as "Xenophilia: It's a Herd Life" as both of them are prime examples of how complex and screwed up herd lives can be in the Xenophile universe. They are also damn good reading.
(BTW: Personally, the first thought I had after finishing "It's a Herd Life" was how awkward Hearth's Warming would be, should Twilight ever visit for it.
)
Thx.
I totally agree with much of what you are saying here. And all the stories you've mentioned are quite good. I've tried my hand at making a good clop story, and my most recent attempt is to be in the same vein as Xenophilia as it is about the relationship more than just the sex. But the wider aspects and world building are intended to be in the story. It's still in it's early days, but I am thoroughly enjoying writing it, as I've enjoyed reading many of the stories that you've mentioned... Though it's interesting you include Divided Rainbow. While I love the premise, and the basic story. But I feel that the author kinda went off the rails in the last several chapters. But I do look for the conclusion of the story to be exceptional. That being said, HiE, and it's corollary PoE stories can be very fun, not just from a sex perspective, but also from a story perspective.
4300964
wat.
4300979
OK - lemmie try again - Of all the stories I list in the post, for me, they all help establish or showcase the complexities of the world-building which is what I wanted to highlight in this post. So, yes, you were right that "No Room For Regrets" should have been listed. I also forgot about yours, "It's a Herd Life", as that also showed how issues within herds can be addressed.
4300985
Nah I'm just more surprised you think it's worthy of inclusion.
4300995
Of course it was - you have a character who wants into a herd. Then she discovers that she's in over her head with the fact that her stallion is a duke (I still don't know how she missed this), she does her best to deal with the fact that the rest of the herd isn't too keen on her, then you add the fact that she wrote a book which has an indirect impact on the herd it self by it being about one of the herd's daughters. You established this craziness, addressed the craziness how it effected all the ponies involved, what the possible outcomes could be (would Cinny be forced out of the herd or not, how she tried to defend her position in the herd), and ultimately how the situation resolves itself (well, at least enough that she wasn't worried about being booted to curb, but I'm sure that Twilight wasn't going to send her a Happy Herdmother's Day card anytime soon).
I'm not sociologist, but the story kept me interested all the way to the end. Once I was done with it, I came away wondering what happened next, how does her situation mirror other herds, and how do herds in general deal with disruptive influences? For me, part of a good world building experience is when I, the reader, go away going, "hmm, I wonder...". And you did that, bucko.
4300812 G4M is much closer to the monomyth, I'd agree. It's a bit of a stretch to go with the Xenophilia novel, especially if you don't include the side stories.
There is a fine line between HIE mature stories and HIE literotica. Clop for the sake of clop is basically placing two characters into a place and let sex happen. End of story.
A mature story, however, can be much more, has to undergo a myriad of problems with the human and the ponies. It is a story that can have clop and some degrees of gore, with both elements not being the main dish on the table.
Said 'herd' element is induced to introduce the human to a more... foreign culture. At least for certain cultures in the west. I don't know how many cultures practice harem grouping these days, but I am certain this is practiced somewhere on Earth.
While perhaps not the classic take on the topic, you might consider reading (assuming you didn't yet) "Five Star Service - A Gentleman for Mares Tale" (link here), which is done in the style of newspaper articles. Over time (due to covering rather controversial stuff related to G4M, and containing sexual content) causes real world, usually not pretty events on both sides of the portal that get covered in editors' notes before and after articles. Mostly related to some people being very unhappy with the whole interspecies thingy. Involves some drama, lawyers, etc. Outside of that it's focused on Five Stars and her way since way before portal opens towards becoming a G4M trainer. Fic is not finished yet, but approaching that point sooner rather than later, I think.
4301092
One of many works already on my "Must Read List". But, thanks!
(Why does that list just never get any shorter?
)
Thanks for the shoutout to AGP! I'm honored you found it worthy of such high esteem!
I'd also recommend Five Star Service as a worthy G4M entry into the genre. Goes way in deep on the worldbuilding and introduces a timeline that helps put events into context within the universe itself. Very underappreciated HiE fic.
4301092 4301143
Thanks for the shout-out, guys!
That's my story, and though it is coming to end before too long, I certainly wouldn't mind a few more readers for it!
4301109
Have you tried the Unity Pact series by Truthseeker?
Or the Trail of a Shooting Star series written by me?
Both series are HiE with mature rating for sex and gore to varying degrees and with a focus on the biomagical aspect of the HiE genre.
It's so relieving seeing I'm not the only person who can enjoy a clop fiction for its world building potential. So many people see it as nothing less than truck stop smut for the degenerates of the fandom. If I may make a few recommendations myself, I'd like to suggest you read:
-White Zinfandel, by TheSilly Anon. Although it's not HiE, it is a story epic revolving Rarity and Shining Armor, and their lives and trials. It's not light on clop, but it's not light on world building either. It expands on a lot of even minute details, even names of ponies, and is a very fun read. I'd definitely recommend it. Although the story remains unfinished with no finish in sight, the main story arc is satisfactorily finished.
There's also To Find A Rainbow and its ongoing sequel Where I Belong, which are HiE. They're clopfics, but have an appropriate balance of clop and sweetness that I think is truly enjoyable. It also contains a decent amount of world building, revolving around the characters of Rainbow, Scootaloo and Will Harkin. Definitely another good read I'd suggest.
Pretty happy with the fics you linked to. Those peeps are good writers.