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windfalcon β Mary Sue - How to Tell
Published: 2004-02-25 08:27:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 431461; Favourites: 7002; Downloads: 44656
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EDIT 3: 11/22/09 You guys are kidding me XD For goodness sakes, reaaaaad the liink here: [link] Every time I get a comment that reads "the one on the left is a Mary Sue because she has green hair and a power," I realize that they're not reading the description which contains this link: [link]tl;dr: If 'special' traits fit in with the universe, it doesn't automatically make the character a Mary Sue. What if everyone else in Ami Machida's universe has green/blue/purple hair? What if everyone else has a cat power? Does that make her a Mary Sue? Not necessarily.
Please, spare me the time from having to point you BACK to the silly description and just take a minute to read the link. You know, the one I linked to a bunch of times up above. And the link here: [link]
EDIT 2: 10/11/09 I suppose this is long overdue, but for those of you with confusion, here is an explanation on why I perceive the one on the left as not a Mary Sue: [link] For the love of god stop whining about it D:
EDIT: 6/21/09 Okay, everyone, please chill with all the 'hay is my character a mary-sue!?11" questions. I get about 3 a day now and one thing you need to understand - I AM NOT AN AUTHORITY ON MARY SUES. This picture is a parody. Just for fun. The one on the right is obviously an extreme exaggeration of a stereotype and not the definitive definition for a Mary Sue. D:
Please full view. You won't be able to read the text if you don't.
For those of you who don't know, a Mary Sue, in a nutshell, is a fanmade character that is usually extremely beautiful, powerful, smart, talented, and in plain words, perfect in every way.
These characters tend to be quite a bother in fanfiction and role playing, since they simply can't be beat, and thus become boring.
Have any of you ever been rping, and come across a character who is like, " oh, well, that planet in the way isn't a problem *blows it up*"
Or, is like, "well, Vegeta and Goten and Trunks and Goku ALL have a crush on my character"
Yep. That's a Mary Sue.
So, for people who still don't understand, I made this little picture/diagram. Usually, Mary Sues have TONS of talents and TONS of powers, and no weaknesses.
Enjoy ^_^
-Done in Copic Markers, with the background and text done on computer -
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Comments: 4629
Ha, ha, I got a kick out of this! I think the key to not having a character become a Mary Sue is to make sure they're challenged. So you could even have a god-like character, but if they're up against something that's constantly more powerful than they are and threatens to find ways to destroy them, you can still have a decent amount of character development and story going on.
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Why are people so mad at this ?Its a perfect description of a Mary sue,perfect,no flaws,everybody loves her,OP in her own universe,daughter of the Magic King and the gorgeous glitter Queen etc...Nicely done :3
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lol and this post is like 14 yrs old
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Because no one wants to admit they have a bad character...
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Its ok If your character is overpowered or special,but every character Should have some flaws or two,to make them feel human on my opinion :3
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I don't think being perfect at everything makes the character a Mary Sue. The true Mary Sue get a lot of "help" from the writer when the character do not deserve it. Like Batman, Batman is a Mary SueΒ Β
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Batman and Mary Sue? That's an interesting thread to be created by the writer! Batman is definitely not a perfect type (well, his inner struggles and some fails at investigations make him at least more credible), so he definitely would give a spank to Mary Sue.
The real Mary Sue is a walking perfection. She can beat a dragon with her fart, she can talk to each animal even if she doesn't know how to bark, she can do anything on her own. If she needs help from her friends, then she has it, there's no denial. Her friends are always with her. But still, she's the center of the whole attention.
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Batman is a mary sue, or gary sue... Anyway... look at him... HOW how could he defeat Superman? Only with the help of the writer... If the expectator/ reader can see the struggle the writer makes to bullshit the character deeds, it makes the character a Mary Sue. "He's only human"with all struggles etc... but can afront god like characters. That's the plain Mary Sue for me.
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Actually, perfect male characters are referred to as "Gary Stu"s (Mary Sue, Gary Stu...they rhyme)
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Haha never heard of that, tks
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Seriously I have gotten really anxious about my OCs being Mary Sues lately, it became so bad that I decided not to publish em anymore. Nobody has ever called them Mary Sue/ Gary Stue so far but idk there is this silent voice in my head whispering "This OC is still a Mary Sue/Gary Stue no matter how much you try to improve them mwahahaha!"
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You don't have to be worried at all!
Nowadays, most characters are not Mary Sues/Gary Stues.Β
All you have to ask yourself to see if your OCs are Mary Sues is:
Does she/he HAVE flaws? (those flaws do not have to be bad grades or other generic problems, for example, she/he can have good grades but be insecure about her/his popularity, etc.)
If you hit that, then your character is NOT a Mary Sue/Gary Stu
I know that many people also consider questions like:
Is she/he considered as extremely good looking?
Does a lot of guys/girls fall in love with her/him?
But I don't think these questions matter. A character can be good looking and have many people fall in love with them, but as long as they have a flaw of some sort, then they're a character that's ready for development.
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Thank you 
Look at Maximilian here (Bio in description of the first/group pic):Β
Β
Β
I was worried because I have a soft spot for these intelligent tsundere characters especially when they have slight dark/ bad boy traits and such. And idk somewhere I have read that this makes a character a Mary/Gary Stue
Your comment comforts me a lot, thank you so much 
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No problem! ^^
Glad I helped!
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Yeah, but don't have your characters have only flaws and no interesting stuff. That creates a special kind of Sue known as an Anti-Sue. Bonus points if the character is angsty.
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I'm aware of that, but most people don't make Anti-Sues, mainly because they're hard to fit as a main character into an interesting plot. Most peoples' characters would at least have some skills/powers.
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Which is the point I'm saying.
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omg so many Sue types 
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Hey, my cat was named Jingles too!! Haha, but nah seriously this pretty much sums up my views on the matter, and the art is very well done. Although I do have to disagree with the hair and eyes on the right side, I don't think going into detail with colours, style etc. makes a character a mary sue, some with the name, there's nothing wrong with spicing it up a bit (though I would view the example as bit much) all the other stuff is spot on though
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why are people mad at something that was made fourteen years ago.
like, i dont even hate "mary sues" as long as they're fun or interesting, but people are overreacting imo
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I love how people go all like "yeah kids shouldn't be allowed to have fun!!! /s" on this fourteen year old drawing which definetely was made in a time where adults made these characters more than kids did lmao
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Guys this art is as old as half the people in da so calm down
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umm, I'm pretty sure most 7 year olds have no idea what deviant art is
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omg oops I thought this was drawn in 2009 srryΒ Β Β
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Well, you can have well thought Mary Sue/Gary Stu character, exemple: Monkey D. Luffy son of Monkey D. Dragon the revolutionnary most wanted man in the world, and great son of Vice Admiral Monkey D.Garp one of the most respected member of the Marine, his mother is still unknown and could be another exceptionnal individual.
He is the sworn brother of Portgas D.AceΒ the 2nd division commander of Whitebeard, one of the most powerfull Pirate there was and Sabo the NΒ°2 of the Revolutionnary Army.
Boa Hancock the women that many people consider the most beautiful woman in the world is madly in love with him and he as gathered a crew of extremely powerfull and talented people.
He has demon fruit power, and Haki power, even the extremely rareΒ Conqueror's Haki.
He has flaws (like the fact that he is kind of aΒ total morron) but his qualities far outweight them.
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Monkey D Luffy is not a Gary Stu, AT ALL.
If you're measuring who is and is not a Gary Stu/Mary Sue just by their gifts and flaws, then the majority of protagonists would be Gary Stus (think Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and almost every single anime protagonist)
If a character is well thought out, it will NOT be a Gary Stu/Mary Sue. That is because perfect characters are not well thought out and the author/artist rely on their powers and skills to drive the plot instead of their personalities.
One Piece involves Luffy's desire to get the One Piece and become the Pirate King, and he has flaws.
Compare that to Twilight, which is driven by Bella and Edward's clichΓ© romance and Edward's unlimited vampire powers, plus, he's super hot and perfect in every way.
If a character HAS a flaw or a quirk that makes them a bit weird and unique, then they're not a Mary Sue/Gary Stu (for example, One Punch Man)
If a character is well thought out, then it will not be a Gary Stu/Mary Sue.
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Ahh, the old, simple days. Nowadays I kind of miss the idea of mary-sues.
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Why the fuck yall got salty over a 14 year old drawing
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This was submitted before youtube exist
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The irony is that it isn't just the character that makes something a mary sue, it's how the entire narrative reacts to them. It's not just POWER that makes a mary sue, it's when the narrative hands them the moral high ground on a silver platter, when we're EXPECTED to agree with what they say, and even when they're 'wrong', it's for the right reasons. And basically when they're an avatar of the writer's wish fulfillment, but with none of the self-awareness that an author insert should have!Β
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pictures fucking older than meΒ
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still a year younger for me lmao
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The character on the right is way overwhelming and far too commonplace on DA. That's the Mary Sue right?
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Father- Prince Vegeta
*inhales and slightly dies/freaks out*
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Nappa: "Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power level?"
Vegeta: "It's over 9000!!!"
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i knew we had necromancers on deviantart.
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My experience is that Mary Sues/Marty Stus (the male equivalent) tend to have a single glaring personality quirk presented as a weakness that actually turns out to be a hidden perk.
FWIW, your right-hand character would work well as a comedic Deus Ex Machina if combined with total social ineptitude ("Why is everyone mad at me? I thought it was funny!") and a bizarre inability to identify a crisis unless the protagonist can explain it to her (along with visual aids, if possible).
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I'm pretty sure the male one called gary stu
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I guess it's a non-Mary Sue as long as the character can even die.
Great piece though!!!
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talk about a blast from the past.
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Call me crazy but the Mary Sue actually has an interesting appearance XD
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*when you post a comment and look through the comments to see someone wrote the same thing but posted it first*
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gasp oh no don't sue me I didn't mean to
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lol no you posted it first then i wore it and saw you posted it before me XD
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