Always good to ask questions.

I ASK!~ by Maudlin Hart on 2010-11-22 16:53:00 UTC Reply

1: If the author of a fic couldn’t be bothered with describing their Sue as she appears in the story and has instead put in a bio in the form of an Author’s Note (“Height: 5’6, taller than most woman because you can fight…”), does that count as the story? When would one deploy the crash dummy, when plot started happening or when the bio started?
2: Do Mary Sues have souls? This is not a loaded question. I’m just asking, when Shyalessriandea OpalJewelMoon says “Legolas is my soul-mate!”, what is she talking about? Do Sues have anything that could reasonably be considered a soul or serves the same purpose as one?
3: What is the best way to tell people about the PPC in order to avoid people saying “oh, that’s great, Imma join,” posting an introduction, and completely forgetting about it and vanishing forever? It kind of… I don’t know. People should want to join if they’re going to join. You get me? I don’t know.
(If I repeated questions by accident, I'm sorry...)

On #3 by Aeidhryn on 2010-12-01 00:29:00 UTC Reply

There's really nothing you can do about number 3, I think. Just treat 'em all the same and the people that like it, stay. Sometimes life happens and suddenly spending 5 minutes a day on a posting board isn't an interest or an option. So... well, I suppose that's all. I quit the Board for a while because of Real Life, and I'm here again, insanity intact. :)
While I have the chance by caddy-shack on 2010-11-23 05:29:00 UTC Reply

Just so I got my facts right, you can only exorcise/eliminate a Sue after they have completely screwed up the canon?

How badly screwed up would the canon have to be? (like in LOTR?) say, if they save Gandalf from falling, would that count?

Always good to ask questions. by Phobos on 2010-11-23 06:25:00 UTC Reply

To answer your question, saving Gandalf from falling with the Balrog is not enough, by itself, to completely screw up the canon. However, if there is rampant OOCness, a blatant Sue, and none of it makes any sense then that might be a good place to kill something. You have to back up something like that with other charges.

To tell you the truth, I can see some ways that a "Gandalf didn't fall in Moria" story could work (I got some weird looks from Neshomeh for expressing that). So, you have to make sure that you back it up with other charges. One charge is not enough, even if you believe it is a major game-changer. We don't kill just any badfic, we kill the worst of the worst.

That said-- by Neshomeh on 2010-11-23 06:50:00 UTC Reply

While Phobos is completely correct in everything he said, I feel personally that his post doesn't contain NEARLY the amount of foaming-at-the-mouth rage a Tolkien purist like me feels at the very idea of someone on ff.net thinking that was a good idea. I mean, YES, it COULD be done, but the quality of writing on the Pit is just so generally terrible that the chances of anyone pulling it off are so minuscule as to be nearly nonexistent. If a Sue is involved, I can't see it at all. Ever. So, consider this your daily dose of nerdrage; the old-fashioned kind that got this organization started lo these many years ago. Stupid Sues. }= P

~Neshomeh

Aye. by Vixenmage on 2010-11-24 03:35:00 UTC Reply

There's so much inherently wrong with that premise! You'd have to at least acknowledge what a huge gap it would be! The Balrog is still alive! Gandalf not falling is just... Ai! He never gets reborn, the Fellowship doesn't have that tragedy, the experience in Lothlorien would be utterly and completely different and quite frankly even if it was handled well, the whole thing is just... argh.

...Ahem. Moving on...

I really can't recommend Don't Panic! and Okay, NOW Panic! by Boz4PM enough. The OC goes well out of her way to avoid screwing up continuity, and it is truly a beautiful thing.

Further question, since the thread's up. by Laburnum on 2010-11-22 22:57:00 UTC Reply

So, if a character in a real-world-based fandom set in a time period that's not 21st-century Western Earth sings a song that is from 21st-century Western Earth, it's a charge, particularly if they take credit for the song. What about if it's in a fandom which is loosely based on the real world but already contains some anachronisms and/or far more surreal things than anachronistic songs? What about if the song in question doesn't contain any material that shows it couldn't possibly have been around at that time?

Asking for guidelines because I found a Who Framed Roger Rabbit fic board which is filled with utter garbage. (No, the Toon Patrol do not need a spunky girl joining, sapping their personalities and evilness entirely, and turning them into interchangeable puppets to make her look better. Is it so hard for me to find a decent weasel fix without added Sue? And incidentally none of them seem to remember that the movie is set in 1947 ...) However, was thinking of writing some better fic for it, and am entertained by the thought of the weasel in the straitjacket singing Emilie Autumn's "Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches". Which is a far better song than most of the ones these ficcers pick.
As long as there's a question thread up... by BookwormMika on 2010-11-22 22:35:00 UTC Reply

I'm putting my potential agents through the litmust test right now. Does the ability to remember everything you read count as a disibility in the PPC? She can't go anywhere without emergency Bleeprin stocks and a Bleepipen (like an epipen). Also, is a semi-formal prescription from medical for Bleeprin allowed? It's basically just a note saying "Give her Bleeprin" signed by one of the nurses.

Thanks!

In brief, yes. by Neshomeh on 2010-11-23 00:53:00 UTC Reply

Here's how we know. You can see how well it's going for him. >.>

~Neshomeh

Poor guy. by BookwormMika on 2010-11-24 00:40:00 UTC Reply

They should meet at somepoint and commisserate. Not sure how much he'd like her though; she usually acts insanely cheerful.

Perhaps! by Neshomeh on 2010-11-24 06:50:00 UTC Reply

Nume doesn't like anybody, really, but your agent might get along with Ilraen. He would certainly be sympathetic, given that he has experience living with someone with her particular difficulty. It would provide an interesting contrast for him. *grin*

~Neshomeh

I can say.... by Rosie Azrael on 2010-11-23 00:40:00 UTC Reply

from having a (dis)ability close to this in Real Life(tm), in this profession, yes, yes it is a disability. *shudders at vivid memories of C-l-br--n and Legolas* I would say that a 'Scrip for Bleeprin would be a good thing.
I think... by Sonne on 2010-11-22 23:41:00 UTC Reply

it counts as a crime against humanity to have your agent remember everything she reads. it's just too cruel! *cries for agent fate* She'll go flamethrower crazy after her second mission! *cries louder*

Yes, well that's what the Bleeprin's for. by BookwormMika on 2010-11-24 00:35:00 UTC Reply

Don't worry, I'm giving her a somewhat homicidally protective partner, so at least nothing else can hurt her. (Now anyway; she's been in the PPC for a year.)

As far as disabilities go... by Asteria on 2010-11-22 23:04:00 UTC Reply

...being able to remember *everything* you read, considering some of the awful things that PPC agents come across? Yeah, that's a disability.

I mean, consider how terrible your life would be if you couldn't do anything to forget reading one of the legendary badfic?

I answer! by Phobos on 2010-11-22 17:17:00 UTC Reply

1) The crash dummy has nothing to do with the description of the Sue. It has everything to do with the point of view of the story (first person, for example). However, I would count the AN in your example as part of the story because it does give information that is important to the story.

2)Sues do not have souls, per se. They have been observed to have wraiths that sometimes need to be dealt with after the Sue has been. Using the term "soul-mate" does not indicate that there is a soul. It is a way for a Suethor to try to legitimize their pairing.

3) All you can do is tell people about the PPC. Even people who have every intention of joining in the long-term sometimes disappear. Not much we can do about it. That is one reason we have the one month waiting period before you can get permission.