if I came across a sympathetic and unrealistically talented character in a story and said "Mary Sue! Next!"
I don't think you understood me completely. I didn't say sympathetic, I said over-sympathetic. There's a vast difference between the two in my mind.
And I didn't say "unrealistically talented". I said "unrealistic". And I said "boring". Someone who is not a realistically-*human* character, flat and two-dimensional (or, I suppose, if this is Flatland fic, one-dimensional) and (as is clear from narrational cues) *expected* to be found charming and wise and morally correct by the readers-- that's a Mary Sue to me. Orlando is *not* a Mary Sue.
That's my story and character.
Rock. Recognition is cool.
Actually, I now have a valid reason to beg someone for an LJ code, since I could then go to the discussion and thank her for saying nice things about my story... that is, if there's anybody here tonight with a code to offer?
I think I have a code, let me check.
Theo--I have a code, would you like me to send it to your profile addy?
Profile would be good, yep! Thanks in advance!
SA, what is your tag from???
(For the record: "Turn the light out. I want your tongue and your teeth. I'm deeper in you than the sound of your voice.")
Yay! I got onto LJ last night. so thank you, askye! (I'm on as Theodosia, which should make things simpler.) Now I have to go leave a comment for Alanna....
I saw that, Connie -- how funny you got cited!
I sort of suspect we all basically have the same understanding of what a Mary Sue is here, and are differing only in terminology. Mary Sue is flamingly obvious, to my eyes, and I can't imagine it being very hard to identify, but like obscenity, it's hard to classify it sight-unseen.
Le sigh. The vast amount of MarySueiana implies a gaping hole in the self-examination skills of a great number of people.
