(no subject)

I agree with people who say that "Mary Sue" is a thing that gets used misogynistically, to target female characters who aren't any more perfect or overpowered than Batman or James Bond, etc.

But at the same time, it takes a lot to get me interested in stories where the characters are high-powered or very lucky or the narrative brings them a lot of great stuff in a way that seems contrived or artificial. Give me weird, scruffy losers. Give me stories where the main character makes bad mistakes, and is proud or careless in a way that has real consequences. Give me stories that make me go "Nooo don't do that don't do that" and then they do it anyway because that's how humans work. Give me stories where the victories are small and hard-won. Batman and James Bond aren't that interesting to me either.

(Now I'm thinking of Chime, which I loved so much when I read it a couple years ago, which has a bit of a Mary Sue trope in that the MC thinks she's at fault for a lot of things where she really did nothing wrong, and she also winds up with Perfect Boyfriend at the end, but damn, she has to fight so hard for every inch of ground she gains. The narrative hands her very little.)

"Mary Sue" is an idea that's useful to me, when it's used in an equal-opportunity way. But perhaps the well is too poisoned for that!