And what if the aliens are right bastards and kind of had it coming?
I'll be honest, I'm a straight import from Reddit HFY, and always saw HFY as a subversion of the "humans are the boring, weak race" you'll see in fantasy and sci-fi, so HWTF stuff would absolutely count as HFY to me, even if it wouldn't always be to my particular tastes. It would not count as HFY to this community, which limits HFY to more uplifting/positive stuff, which is understandable because a lot of people want their HWTF marked and labeled as such. Although I don't think we have caught on on the Fediverse to the point we can afford to have a split-off HWTF community yet.
HFY in the modern sense was originally the result of angry neckbeards being triggered by James Cameron's Avatar and venting by writing a bunch of stories that basically boiled down to "chad humans showing the virgin xenos what for (usually via mass murder)". After a while people calmed down enough (or enough non-angry neckbeards got drawn in) to start expanding beyond that original concept, which is when we started getting more "humans are the tide that lifts all boats" and "humans are weird and that's OK" style stories. So yeah, I agree that even if the genre is more that that nowadays, it's still a fundamental part of it.
I don't know if there's a lemmy community for Humans Are Space Orks but your scenario would definitely fit that HFY sub-genre.
A really good example of this is when humans decide in Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Children of Time"
SPOILER
to extinct an entire civilization made from uplifted spiders because they have the audacity to inhabit the planet the humans want to colonize
Not exactly HFY, maybe a sub-genre. However it's more suited for HASO (Humans are Space Orcs) !haso@sh.itjust.works
Not exactly what you described, but Battlefield Earth isn't too far off in spirit. Close enough that it might scratch that itch for you
HFY - Humanity Fuck Yeah! is a community for writers and artists to showcase their talent in the HFY genre and for people who enjoy them.
While traditional science fiction often presents humans as vulnerable masses seeking refuge from menacing aliens or as feeble beings overshadowed by aliens with superior logic, strength or empathy. HFY disrupts these archetypes by challenging the norm.
In the world of HFY, humanity is bestowed with exceptional qualities, giving rise to a sense of optimism and empowerment within the reader. It seeks to uplift and inspire, demonstrating the potential of human greatness and the capacity for overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.
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DISCUSSION - What is HFY, HWTF, HASO and WC?
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