Mary Sue of tiger handling
Mar. 27th, 2009 02:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stephbgIf I were to write a fantasy version of my tiger experience in which--with due apologies to Mohan--the tiger involved was younger and prettier, and most importantly I was allowed greater freedom in the scritching department, would that classify as a Mary Sue?
I suppose it depends on the reason *why* my fictional self would be allowed greater liberties with the kitty. My initial thought--the one that led me off to double-check the meaning of Mary Sue--was that I would be allowed more contact because of my clearly superior cat-handling skills.
*alarm bells*
Perhaps a less ego-boosting version of events would be to slacken the rules, requiring no special abilities on my behalf. I got to scritch the tiger along the jawline because anyone who pays for the priviledge gets to do the same. More egalitarian, but less sparkly.
A third option just occurred to me: what if the tiger place had a tiger simulator, and if you demonstrated competance on the simulator you would be allowed to touch the real thing? As a bonus, this scenario provides a narrative opportunity to contrast the two experiences: the almost-but-not-quite-rightness of the quality robotic simulator versus the flesh-and-blood perfection of the living, breathing beast.
*cough*DoAndroidsDreamOfElectricSheep*cough*
So, if Fictional-I achieved a high score on The TigerTouch 4000(tm), thus earning the right to smooch the real thing, are we still talking Mary Sue? And does it matter?
I suppose it depends on the reason *why* my fictional self would be allowed greater liberties with the kitty. My initial thought--the one that led me off to double-check the meaning of Mary Sue--was that I would be allowed more contact because of my clearly superior cat-handling skills.
*alarm bells*
Perhaps a less ego-boosting version of events would be to slacken the rules, requiring no special abilities on my behalf. I got to scritch the tiger along the jawline because anyone who pays for the priviledge gets to do the same. More egalitarian, but less sparkly.
A third option just occurred to me: what if the tiger place had a tiger simulator, and if you demonstrated competance on the simulator you would be allowed to touch the real thing? As a bonus, this scenario provides a narrative opportunity to contrast the two experiences: the almost-but-not-quite-rightness of the quality robotic simulator versus the flesh-and-blood perfection of the living, breathing beast.
*cough*DoAndroidsDreamOfElectricSheep*cough*
So, if Fictional-I achieved a high score on The TigerTouch 4000(tm), thus earning the right to smooch the real thing, are we still talking Mary Sue? And does it matter?
