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ChikitaWolf β How do you define it?
Published: 2011-08-09 17:13:01 +0000 UTC; Views: 5590; Favourites: 200; Downloads: 27
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I have heard sooo many definitions of a Mary Sue that it's ridiculous
Here are the definitions I've found through the internet:
1) A character who is idealistic, lacking flaws, an overidealized self-insertion of the player, unrealistic, or characterized by several cliched and archetypical traits, including physical appearance, nomenclature, history, and personality.
2) A Mary Sue (sometimes just Sue), in literary criticism and particularly in fanfiction, is a fictional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as a wish-fulfillment fantasy for the author or reader. It is generally accepted as a character whose positive aspects overwhelm their other traits until they become one-dimensional.
And here are the characteristics I found with the definitions:
a) The term is also associated with clichΓ© such as exotic hair and eye colors, mystical or superhuman powers, exotic pets, possessions, or origins, or an unusually tragic past, especially when these things are glaringly out of step with the consistency of the canon.
b) The term is more broadly associated with characters who are exceptionally and improbably lucky. The good luck may involve romance ("Mary Sue" always gets her man); adventure ("Mary Sue" always wins a fight or knows how to solve the puzzle) and popularity (the "right people" seem to gravitate towards the character).
c) "Everything goes her way" is a common criticism regarding "Mary Sues", the implication being that the character's inability to fail makes her insufficiently humanized or challenged to be interesting or sympathetic.
This is what I've found. However, I've noticed more and more "cliches" seem to be popping up on the Mary Sue list. One I recently heard was if your character is blonde, she's likely a Mary Sue.
Yeah. I don't buy that. Anyway, what do you think characterizes a Mary Sue? Big busts? Ultra skinny no matter how much she eats (unless that's a special trait for that fandom)? Has all the men falling for her? Has all the bad guys falling for her?
Do tell
Oh, yes, and while I'm at it: I have nothing against self-insertions. They can actually make for incredibly interesting stories-- if done realistically-- and yes, it's possible. I've seen and had friends who've done it ;3
And finally: no bashing on people's characters. Don't you go naming them on here with links and some crap like that-- no matter how Mary Sueish they are. I don't want people being bashed or being given out for trolls. Thanks ahead for understanding
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Comments: 215
I think A Mary-sue is a character is just generally perfect in every way. No flaws , loved by everyone. But i think a Mary-sue can be a character who can happen to have powers in a world where powers do not exist.
Let's say Neon Genesis Evangelion for example (Sorry , it's like 4:00 am , mind blank!)
In Evangelion it's all about giant Mechs (robots) and fighting a threat called the Angels , who can only be defeated by the Mechs.If you put a character in there who could shoot lighting from her hands and somehow magically take down this Angels with A single punch or kick...that's a Mary Sue ._.
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I honestly couldn't care about Mary Sue's and that. They're just someone's OC, right? and it's quite hard not to be cliche in this time and age since everything's been done!
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Mary Sue is just a girl's name. Nothing else.
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That's gotta be my favorite answer. Not kidding x'D
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Well to be very honest when it goes down to looks, I'm no naturalist, isn't it kind of mean to say blondes don't belong in stories, when realistically there a millions of people who are technically natural blondes? big busts I personally consider them a flaw, being that I use to have them and lost weight to get rid of them, but so many women and men consider it an amazing feature for women, and as for skinny, I like skinny, but most people take it as a flaw, whilst others like me don't, so any kind of feature can be considered a plus or a flaw depending on how the creator develops their character keeping in mind their history and background, and how the character feels about their looks or what had influenced the character to look the way they do, such as tattoos, piercings, natural hair or dyed hair, body types (lost or gained weight), the way they dress or use to, genetic family features (like crooked noses, double chins, moles, hair colour etc) realistically a personβs body is their history, all in all the character can look like anything as long as it makes sense and we can redeem them as interesting in a plot and story.
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I hate Mary Sues. Sorry XD
My definition of a Mary Sue is Bella from Twilight, the popular series by Stephanie Meyer?
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I think Mary-Sues are basically what you listed in yuor definitions and characteristiics, especially the characteristics.
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There are some definitions that I totally disagree with... like exotic hair and blah. Seriously not all of our characters need to be homo sapien >.>
But my definition is...
Someone who is perfect through and through, and lacks creativity (So yes, cliches if used wisely, or at least altered nicely are good)
Oh and of course boring, if the stories become to formulative and etc.
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[link] <- This is the most comprehensive definition and article entry.
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I stopped searching for that a while back
because my head hurt with all the information I got >.<
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That happened to me as well :'3
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In short-a character, who has no real obstacles on their way and getting everything they want with no real struggle.
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ive made a few god characters even then i make them have flaws
there is no reason for a mary sue
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Hard to tell. I made a parody version of a Mary Sue. [link]
A Mary Sue is someone who isn't a believable character, whatever it might be. It's hard to come up with a general definition since every character is different.
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In my opinion, a mary sue is a very cliched OC who is too perfect that appears in poorly written fanfiction...
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I think a Mary Sue is the all too common "perfect character" EVERYTHING IS PURE AND AMAZING WITH THE DAMN SUE!
There's a name for male characters like this, "Stu's", (yes male characters fall into this category all too often, think of Sasuke from Naruto except he's canon. Characters like him show waaaaaaaaaay too much.)
Also if, say you're making a DBZ fanfiction, and you want to put your own character in. You can tell it's a mary sue if its a freaking cat-girl whom all the guys are fighting over and is practically god-modded. Also may have some terribly tragic past and/or the villains are out to get her for some damn reason.
The horror.
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I use the term "Mary-Sue" affectionately for self-insertions.
However, even though I've got nothing against them, doesn't mean I won't find flaw if I come across it. Poorly-written stories or INSTANTSEXYTIEMS with the character they're in love with are just a couple of examples.
But for the most part... I think Mary-Sues are okay.
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"INSTANTSEXYTIEMS"
You. Have made my day. xD
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I think that...
A Mary Sue is, first and foremost, that girl who somehow makes EVRYONE act OOC just by looking at them. Or, you know, at least the HOT characters e_e
Other than that, A Mary-Sue is UNREALISTIC. I have no problem with REASONABLE angsty-pasts, like parents abusing her or not caring, or not really having friends, or(depending on the universe) being a slave and whatnot. What I have problems with is when the character miraculously comes out of it all as an AMAZING person. Say she's been abused, hit and kicked over and over again everyday - She's not exactly gonna be the most beautiful girl in the world after THAT. Say she's lived her life on the street - She won't be wearing all those fancy clothes, she won't have that silky, perfect hair, hell, she probably haven't even been able to BATHE and such. Say she's been RAPED - She WILL NOT go around flirting with every guy she sees after an experience like that!
...did I go overboard? Sorry -bows-
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Oh no. You were hittin' it on the head the entire time xD
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I did something right?
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Kudos to you, you did something VERY right
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That's quite a rare occurance, you know =3
...
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The majority of OC's I've seen are Sue's sadly but if you dare mention this you get the writers screaming about how jealous you are or how not every super beautiful/talented/irresistible/unstoppable/sweet/innocent/kind/loved by children and animals everywhere type of character isn't a sue. I'm all for having a character with one special trait that makes them appealing. It's when such writers forget to balance the character that they turn into sues.
Typical Sue application I get for an RP "Valentine is a beautiful woman whose parents died when she was 5 so she raised herself and became super gorgeous and crazy powerful but shes a loner and doesn't let herself get close to anyone. She uses her awesome beauty to get what she wants and trick the men folk out of their coin who somehow STILL managed to rape her because she is OH SO BEAUTIFUL thus turning her off men forever till male love interest goes to great lengths to win her affection even though she's been a huge bitch the entire time." Seriously, at least 2/3 a week!
Anti-Sues, Sues. Their equally TERRIBLE. Sure folks might like the character (Bella Swan) but that doesn't make the good characters/dynamic. BALANCE IS THE KEY. I wish some people were less attached to their characters so that when help/suggestions are offered they don't consider it a personal attack and flip out. Being humble helps too. No one should assume their so amazingly awesome that there can't possibly be anything wrong with their story/character.
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That sounds like a Sue
Yeah, so far, I haven't had anyone go nutso crazy on me for critiquing, but I've seen them go nutso crazy on other people. It ain't pretty, let's leave it at that owo"
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i'd say a Mary-Sue is just a little miss perfect, everyone loves her, has more than one guy who wants to have sex with her yadda yadda all that jazz.
Yes there are a lot of OC's that are mary-sue but it pisses me off how people think ANY OC is a mary sue 
and i can't believe that people assume characters with blond hair is an instant sue
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It's true! I saw it! LMAO x'D
I couldn't believe it either when that was a part of the Mary Sue test.
"Does your character have blonde hair? If so, add two points."
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lol
pfft, i've tried mary-sue tests and a lot of it is bullsh-t, you dont even need one, i mean how are you going to improve if you rely on tests?
lol, then two points to my FMA OC
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Here are a few of my ideas:
1) Half vampire, werewolf, demon, elf, faerie, etc., especially when the other characters in the story are HUMAN.
2) Exotic or unusual clothing, hair color/length, eye color, etc., especially such that doesn't fit in with the rest of the characters/backdrop.
3) Forms of abuse and/or torture in her past that affect her to this day, or such that when people are rude to him/her they regret/apologize later after hearing about it.
4) Shockingly beautiful/handsome, so that even the bad guys fall for him/her.
5) Related to/in love with a character in the fandom that normally no one could get.
6) Has no memories/has been abused/abandoned by parents, or is royalty but doesn't know it.
7) Has multiple 'superhuman' abilities that no one else in the story has.
8) Is basically a walking ripoff of a favorite character in the fandom.
9) Was thrown out of school/left school cuz they were too smart/broke too many rules OR goes to a school but is so focused on the other storyline, using so much time with action etc, that they pass school and graduate with seemingly no effort at all.
10) Every time the point of view switches, the speaker mentions at least once how beautiful/smart/sexy/amazing the main character is.
11) Is Just Like the Author, or Just Like their favorite character, only COOLER.
etc etc etc... I could go on forever. It really drives me insane, but I try to take every opportunity to laugh at those fools.
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In my experience the types of characters I consider ridiculous enough to label a Mary Sue are:
- Characters that are all around perfect, inhumanly beautiful (at least when all the writer does is express in every sentence just how "smoking hot" their character is), loved by all that is living and dead (including villains) of any gender or species despite any previous character's history like being religiously asexual or having a mental condition, and has never met a challenge they can't win within three seconds.
- Characters that are out of place for the fandom (i.e a Phoenix in Devil May Cry) and their creators either ignore that fact when its brought up or hurl into a temper tantrum when confronted about it nicely.
- Characters that are so totally awesome and skillful that they make every canon character in existence completely useless because this oc is everyone and can do everything and doesn't need any help.
- Characters that come from our reality. Like a girl from Harvard Law School who gets sucked through a worm hole and lands in the medical bay of the Star Trek Enterprise. I'm serious...I've seen it.
- Characters that are essentially rip-offs of a canon only "ten times cooler".
That's about all I can remember when it comes to the types of characters i've run into on my rp adventures.
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According to dA members, it is:
- Every OC "who is in love" with a popular character
- Every Female character who is in love of one of the boys that rabid fangirls wanna make have buttsex
- Every Naruto OC
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I don't believe in Mary Sues because not matter what your character does; clumsy, dumb and plain looking or gorgeous, smart and agile, it's a Mary Sue. Contrary to popular belief, there is A VERY FINE LINE between those two personalities, making it difficult to make a character "un-Sue." Besides, people don't want to read a story with an unhappy ending, especially love stories. So that's why they always end up with their man. It's likely that men should fall for the character because it causes conflict... easy conflict. But I do think that having every magic power in the book is a bit much, and in that essence, I believe in Mary Sues.
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One thing I've noticed is, everyone believes that the attractive OC's are Mary-Sues. JFC people, just because I don't want an ugly oc doesn't mean she's a mary-sue T_T
Same with people with a bad background or traumatic past. Or someone with odd or different looks.
Unique =/= Mary-Sue
Even though so many people think otherwise.
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I admit I make some of my characters mary sues for fanfiction (but I don't post it on deviant) because I just like to have fun with the story and its not serious at all. But for all my serious work, I never have mary sues, I just find it a waste of a storys character
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I wanna do that someday owo But I dunno if I'm creative enough to make Mary Sue 
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Lol I don't use the whole list.
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I think a Mary-Sue character is one who is bland to the reader, but the other characters for some reason find them fascinating. I hate to use Twilight as an example, but Bella is a perfect example of a Mary-Sue. The other characters are all drawn to her and fascinated by here, but there's no character development throughout the series and she really has nothing special or original about her. She's plain and stereotypical, and any "changes" or "growth" of her character are entirely predictable.
Some other traits that make a character Mary-Sue:
-Character considers themselves ordinary while no one else does
-Character conveniently posesses or gains an ability or power that is exactly what's needed to solve a crisis (not always Mary-Sue; it depends how it's written)
-Character gets the love interest that everyone else is after, even though there's no background or solid reason for it (Bella and Edward, anyone?)
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Apparently, any "cheerful, happy" character is a Mary-sue. Some people believe that "dark and gothic" means that the character is VERY original and different. Dark characters can be mary-sues too.
It is just sad how people goes on bashing someone's work just out of a couple of drawings and don't take the time to look deeper into the works.
that form personal experiencie. I just needed to express it.
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To me, a Mary-Sue is basically someone who's got everything the main character of a certain universe has. For instance, a certain, rare type of power; a back story of despair; having all the guys fall for them; and a lot of other clichΓ©s.
It's kinda hard to explain, but they're the ones that everyone wants to be. Whether it be for sympathy, power, love, etc.
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Apparently, every OC could be considered a Mary Sue by someone out there. It's ridiculous.
Oh, and as for the Mary Sue Litmus tests; I've heard that most of the time (emphasis on most, not all) a character that passes the test with flying colors is extremely bland. ^^ It's kind of impossible to make an interesting characters without having some 'Mary Sue Traits'. (I don't see how having blonde hair is a Mary Sue trait. 
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PEOPLE CALL XION A MARY SUE AND I WANT TO HURT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111
KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL
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I think it's pretty much what people call a character they hate now-a-days. (I've even heard it referred to cannon characters before. ClichΓ© itself is a clichΓ©. A character no matter how well developed often falls under a type for example Harry Potter does grow as a character and is also flawed still falls under the category of the everyman hero and the prophesied hero.
I also don't care for people who say anything is bad because the creator put no effort or time into it. Sure that maybe true sometime but some people who are getting into writing or just haven't had that moment when they start to realize what makes a good story can spend a massive amount of time working and still come out with something terrible. My first three chapters for my Digimon fanfic from years back were awful but I worked hard on it. later I went back and replaced it with better chapters.
I think this "good" and "bad" stuff and the "good fans" and "bad fans" is ridiculous it's just sucking the fun out of the fandoms.
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I'll bet the people who just scream out or abuse the word don't even know what the hell it truly means.
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