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windfalcon — Mary Sue - How to Tell
Published: 2004-02-25 08:27:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 430640; Favourites: 7006; Downloads: 44654
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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
Ami Machida has an odd color pattern... but I like her still.
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Alot of my friends characters are Mary Sue/Gary Lous.
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That image isn't necessary.
It shouldn't be here at all, really. This is an art site.
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what you mean, I think, is 'B E G O N E T H O T'
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Would you consider Caulifla & Kale Mary Sues? Because to me I don't think they are.
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you went all out trying to emphasize that Mary sue xD
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I think the thing about a mary sue isn't the fact that she's powerful, it's that she's boring. A character doesn't have to be ultra powerful to be a mary sue, they just have to be uninteresting.
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Just slap me in the face with nostalgia, why don't you
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I want to delete this comment because yes, you guys are right, I can't tell people to not make an op character. I sorta thought I was making a funny comparison between op characters and mary sues. But I can't delete it. So I'm sorry.
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Being op does not equal Mary/Gary Sue. Having a character that is absolutely perfect and doesn't have to try does.
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I didn't mean to make it sound offensive in the least, I only meant for it to be a simple comparison. You are right, though, an op character is not a mary sue
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Lol it's ok. I just wanted to let you know in case you didn't.
Sometimes I can come off a little mean. I don't mean too.
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It's alright, I'll be sure to word things better next time 'XD
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you cant tell someone they cant make an op character. its their oc. they can do what ever they wish.
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O dang- I didn't mean it to be rude whoops uhhhhh but yeah your right, I can't really do that. I didn't mean it like that...
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ladies and gent's mary sue isnt just came from characters features. it may come from the universe the character came in too. like frisk in undertale: they have the most craziest power a person can use: The ability to RESET. and because of this, undertale divided into 2 main timelines (true pasifist and genocide) and branches of those timelines. their power is too strong they decide the fate of that timeline. they normally is a MARY SUE because their power is too strong(cannon, but strong) for monster's underground. but that kind of ability isnt strong in the undertale OMNIVERSE because there is at least 1 person per universe who can manuplate timelines and has the ability of RESET. so UT/ORIGINAL frisk becomes a normal character because there is stronger abilities than RESET, like ERROR SANS's SOUL grabbing blue strings.
note that marysues may have flaws; but their abilities always overcome those flaws
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How many characters can a Mary Sue split into?
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24 separate ones, if we go by M. Night Shalalalalaman's movie about the male version of a Mary Sue, Split.
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"Cries too much, can't dance, is very clumsy and bad at math" Are not flaws unless they actively hinder her in the story/universe she is from. Does the villain/antagonist somehow make her cry and thus unable to defeat him? I could see clumsy, maybe, especially if she has to use some sort of weapon, but other than that they're just too generic to be really genuinely good flaws.
Other than that, good explanation, you just didn't have a really good example. Sorry if I came off as mean.
Edit: Also, I see nothing wrong with being specific in describing hair/eye colors. (Which sounds easier to picture in your head? Plain 'Green' or 'emerald green'? Plain 'Blue' or 'Icy blue'? Colors have more shades than just one, thus there's nothing wrong with being specific)
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I hadn't even gotten to the bottom, but I already knew the one on the left was flawed and relatable. Nicely done.
And I imagine that some villain is gonna learn to weaponize the Meow Mix song real soon...
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It's important to note that non-Sue (Gary Stu, for male characters) CAN be good at things and be unique. The fact that the 'good' example has green hair and turns into a cat is important.
There's nothing wrong with a character being atypical or exceptional. But what Mary Sues miss is that excelling in something, anything has a cost. The power mentioned is 'neat' at best and could be also be perceived as a weakness. Yes, she can turn into a cat, but it's not at will. She could be walking down the street and hear a commercial then POOF. She's buried in her clothes.
This sort of dynamic makes stories that write themselves. Rather than a parade of wish fulfillment.
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My god,this is so true! In the Hetalia fandom there are so many mary-sues... Its hella annoying.
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I'm making over $7k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life.
This is what I do... onlinecareer10.com
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I'm making over 7k a month selling my organs, sell yours today and you will become rich!"
So I decide to leave link to bla cc market to sell you organ today
Thiz is was I do... gofuccyourselfandletmehackintoyourwebcamandsteelallyourinformation.com
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enters all personal information
can i pls enter
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Yes sir, just click on that link, and you can selll alll the organs you wants...
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enters
okay what do i do no-- WHERE'S MY MONEY >:0
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Well I will have to look into that! Can you please give me your credit card information?!
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Sure!
My security number is 74927674793376648729
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Now your adress and your email and phone number and family... Give me everything, and I will be right back!
Have a nice day
- Giveme Everything
senior developer at "Fuccoff" inc
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my address is DipShit 420 CanYouRead St., phone number is 60969000 and my family is in an asylum so oops xd
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Great sir , now enjoy selling your organs, on website
Ooops Sorry xd
It was just a prank;(
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LMFAO girl this is back in the 'what's hot' category. Prepare for more asinine comments.
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Yeah it's been up there for 2 days. I'm not even reading most of the long-winded comments, I don't have time and don't care. So many people freaking out over a piece that's 14 years old. I was a freshman in college when I made this D: and then there are kids commenting that they weren't even born when I made it! I feel so old.
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I favorited your pict like 10 years ago, I was wondering if it wasn't just DeviantArt reading my favorite list to fake a custom "what's hot" list, but no, you and comment tell me it's not just me, the damn thing (which is still informative for newcomers) did in fact rise from the dead.
So right now I'm damn curious over WHAT provoked that.
It's statistically improbable for it to gain instant success without someone with looooot of reviewer linking to it once and instantly pushing it into the popular category.
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Just because you exaggerate the one on the right, doesnt change the one on the left from also being a mary sue.
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LOL! Nice guide :V
I love this xDDDDDD
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thanks, this is a big help, i always wondered what one was
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When i was younger I saw this on the internet. And that's when i began to realize that all my characters where a total mary-sue. And now i see it again and see that now my best friends oc's are mary sue's, so yeah. But I really like the art tho!
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