So, what is a Mary Sue?
May. 1st, 2014 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
justalurkrMy personal Mary Sue triggers:
1. Voice of Fandom. Original character, male or female, exists to tell the canon creators that they're doing it wrong.
2. Relationship Counselor. Worst case, he or she volunteers advice to fix the main 'ship (extra negative credit if he/she is in love with the person receiving the advice;) best case, this original character is a heretofore unknown best friend being hit up for relationship advice.
3. Identifies or substantially investigates or resolves (kill me now if it's more than one of the above) the central story issue onscreen (yes, I'm okay with one or more in the background if it's dull work and the heroes of the piece distract me with sufficiently hot sex while they're waiting for the minion of the piece to do his/her job; I'm easy that way;) especially if canon characters stand back and watch admiringly.
After that, I really don't care who or what fan authors add to their fan fiction. Seriously. Miss Patty Perfect, the previously undisclosed identical twin, the secret child -- as long as the canonical heroes solve their own personal and professional problems and the story is not too obviously a fannish soapbox, I'm good. Extra credit if the Mary Sue gets a lampshade hung on'm to comic effect.
What do you think makes a Mary Sue, and under what circumstances would you tell an author he or she has perpetrated one?
1. Voice of Fandom. Original character, male or female, exists to tell the canon creators that they're doing it wrong.
2. Relationship Counselor. Worst case, he or she volunteers advice to fix the main 'ship (extra negative credit if he/she is in love with the person receiving the advice;) best case, this original character is a heretofore unknown best friend being hit up for relationship advice.
3. Identifies or substantially investigates or resolves (kill me now if it's more than one of the above) the central story issue onscreen (yes, I'm okay with one or more in the background if it's dull work and the heroes of the piece distract me with sufficiently hot sex while they're waiting for the minion of the piece to do his/her job; I'm easy that way;) especially if canon characters stand back and watch admiringly.
After that, I really don't care who or what fan authors add to their fan fiction. Seriously. Miss Patty Perfect, the previously undisclosed identical twin, the secret child -- as long as the canonical heroes solve their own personal and professional problems and the story is not too obviously a fannish soapbox, I'm good. Extra credit if the Mary Sue gets a lampshade hung on'm to comic effect.
What do you think makes a Mary Sue, and under what circumstances would you tell an author he or she has perpetrated one?
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no subject
Date: 2014-05-01 10:01 pm (UTC)Anyway, to me a Mary Sue is someone too good to be true. In fanfic, it's someone who takes over the story, who the main characters fall in love with to the detriment of their relationships with other characters. It's someone who is stronger, faster, more tortured, more...just more than the character they're supposed to support. Does that make sense?
As for telling an author they've made one, I don't think you can. Because if the author could see it, they wouldn't have written it. And they'll only take offense if you point it out.