Weak human characters · 9:14am Dec 9th, 2015
Hmmmmm. I think this will provoke some anger, possibly on both sides. I've seen a trend of people on some cough recent forum posts on Human in Equestria clichés cough, and I noticed that some people vehemently dislike weak humans.
The thing is, I don't get it. What do they mean? Am I missing something?
Yes, I hear myself say to myself because I am alone and have nothing else to do but to ponder the eccentricities of a major sub-trope within writing, yes there is a reason.
We haven't defined what 'weak' is.
But that's such a broad category! There's so many types of weakness. Physical weakness, psychological weakness, emotional, social, etc. For any skill or attribute you could say that it is a character's strength or weakness. So what do people mean when they say 'I don't like weak human characters'.
I think I will have to deconstruct their mysterious language.
'The human is a doormat, I don't like that'.
Well, this suggests that the character is a pushover, most likely socially, probably easily freaked, a bit awkward around characters, maybe shy and hard to engage in a conversation with, at least at first sight.
But wait, I hear you ask, doesn't that sound familiar?
Well my friend, that is indeed Fluttershy.
But why, you say, is that we hold these character to two different standards.
To be fair, I think what they meant was 'I hate humans that stay a doormat'. Character evolution is the most interesting aspect of a story. As the character grows we connect more with them. Facing the common adversity, if you will.
I don't get the statement 'I don't like weak humans'. If they're talking physical points, I don't see why a human has to be physically weaker or stronger than a pony, and if they are, I still don't see a problem. If they're talking about mental, emotional, social traits, character evolution is something we aim for, but remember, sometimes it's just part of their personality, like Fluttershy.
After all, many of my stories feature humans that may be considered 'weak', they're no stronger than ponies, they don't possess magic or technology that overwhelms their opponents, they're mostly just normal people dragged out of their comfort zone.
Sometimes it's fun to indulge in unique characters with fun backgrounds or with unique powers, but remember the whole point of adversity and limiting a character's power is that they learn from their experience which prompts a change in their perspective or character. Our world changes, and we like that in a story. Otherwise we'd all be staring at a single word, for nothing would be different:
Fin.
She don't appreciate being compared to an OC.
At least Fluttershy makes weak look cute most of the time. But some weaksauce OC dude...nuh uh. 0/10, would not daww.
Besides, if the human is not chest hair bursting out the nostrils manly, with SPARTA kicks for all the neer-do-well domanatrix ponies who speciestly sneer at their glorious human betters, then I am hesitant to bring my mouse cursor within clicking distance of the probable cancer.
i.ytimg.com/vi/DBCfTEVUvh4/hqdefault.jpg <We need more of this.
I've been trying to say this for awhile now! Just could never put it in my own words xD
But why do we hate overpowered/Gary stue humans?
This is a toughie. I'm annoyed when all 3 races of pony, not just earth ponies, are depicted as physically stronger than humans, if only because it feels like we're taking their ability to have things like pianos fall on their heads and survive as proof of their strength, and that's more a meta-fictional element of being in a cartoon. Distinguishing between the abilities ponies have in the setting (flight, magic, super strength), and things like ponies getting their faces flattened and shaking it off, is seriously entertaining the idea that ponies at times have their eyes literally transform into anthropomorphic hearts when they fall in love.
I think for me that's really more about authors interpreting the diagetic and non-diagetic elements of the show.
That said, I love humans that are weak most of the time, whether it be out of shape, poor social skills, lack of knowledge compared to the locals, it makes them better protagonists. To me a lot of the best stories are ones that involve the flaws of the protagonist (which the human usually serves as in these stories). A flawless human lecturing ponies on their flaws is boring.
Funnily enough, I love a lot of the old Anonymous in Equestria stories, because they seemed to build up the character of a singularly whiny, unpleasant and deeply flawed character who ended up being the source of his own misfortune, and I enjoy that in characters.
I think it has a lot to do with disappointments and missed opportunities in the minds of people who dislike weak humans. The whole concept with a big, strong, and to the ponies, kinda scary human with
a heart of...who's actually nice, is a very entertaining one, and there are a few really good and very popular stories like that on this very site.So someone's been watching a show with ponies that they like, but there's only so much material for now and they decide to check out some fanworks. There's some amazing art, maybe there are good stories, too? Hey, yeah! Stories with humans in Equestria. Awesome! I wanna go to Equestria! As a competent adventurer, of course. And a few awe-inspiring powers and/or skills certainly wouldn't hurt. Maybe the protagonist is someone I can relate to and project myself into. But really, just cool stories with humans is fine.
So they read things like this story, and this one, and perhaps this one, and understandably develop a fondness for the whole concept of a capable human coming to Equestria and befriending, protecting, and impressing the cute ponies.
They read and read and then they come across a story where the human either is or comes across as a total wimp and go, 'this isn't awesome!
' Disappointment, and the ease of acting upon knee-jerk reactions on this here internet, leads to a downvote and an angry line about how weak humans are terrible.
And in some cases, I sympathize. At least up to a point. It can be a bit difficult go into a story expecting an adventure and read about a protagonist who's seemingly incapable of partaking in one.
People can get very bold in their opinion about when art is and isn't good. If this is about Human Blood, though. I don't see how anyone could level this complaint against it.