"When she arrives, you will be greeted upon opening your door with a smile. A smile that could stop time, level mountains, extinguish the sun, set Antarctica on fire, end civilizations, and create world peace all in the same day. it will be the most beautiful smile you will have ever seen. Your soul will be filled with so much happiness that you will feel faint or intoxicated. You yourself will not be able to stop smiling in return."
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Did you just cringe when you read that? Or were you unable to decide whether to gag, facepalm, or laugh?
That's normal. Mary Sue characters such as this tend to have that effect on people.
A Mary Sue is a prominent fanfiction cliche. It is a fictional character that is written:
a. By a fan with a crush on some well established famous fictional character, so she lives that crush out vicariously through her created character. giving oneself the same last name of some established fictional (canon) character one is crushing on, automatically makes that fan a Mary sue. Sex appeal is the very center of Mary Sue-ism.
B. Written as a relative to a series character. Again, the name thing applies, if you call yourself Michelle Malfoy and say your character is a cousin of someone in the HP series, that is Mary Sue.
c. Your character is written in a way that tends to put off readers by outshining the main characters in established fiction, either by becoming a complete plot-hog or outmatching established characters in heroism, strength etc.
D. Closely related to C. The absurdly powerful villain, the character that can't be killed, brought down or otherwise foiled, trounced, clobbered, and knows no fear.
Villainous Mary Sues/Gary Stus are as common as any other kind, especially in role-play and creepy pastas.
E. Any/all of the above!
It only takes one of these characteristics to turn a story into a Mary Sue, but while C. can be cut out in a re-write to redeem a story, there is no such hope if A. is present. A. and B., especially A. is what really defines a story, its author, and fans as Mary Sues.
Mary Sues are initially much beloved by their authors, and are often disdained by other readers, who turn out to write Mary Sues of their own. but there are exceptions to this. And in some cases, the Mary Sues are eventually shunned and confessed as embarrassments by their authors.
Mary Sue is so common that it has become a meme!
The KnowYourMeme.com article is okay except for the "universe" thing and some of the sources are cringeworthy. *Cough* Salon.com *Cough cough*
So why "Mary Sue"?
Ironically, Mary Sue was given her name in a parody story on fan fiction writing. The parody was so good that the name Mary Sue stuck as a description for such a character.
A Trekkie's Tale - Paula Smith
Read about her origin here.
A Mary Sue, or her male counterpart called a gary Stu or Marty Stu, is not strictly an original character or self-insertion, as many people erroneously believe.
many of these links will help define the difference between an original character in her own right, and a Mary Sue.
Diseases Of The Fanfic Author/Role Player
Mary Sues Flaming For Duo Maxwell
Mary Sue Links is a page of many more links to Mary Sue related sites and articles.
Let's start with a Mary Sue of a Gary Stu.
Mary Sue The Killer well, actually her name is Mary Elizabeth Marc Alison Melody Angelina Sue - I think...
Jeff The Killer, a infamous creepy pasta story with a huge fandom. Mary Sue The Killer is a good satirization of both Jeff and his sad little fangirls.
Jeff The Killer the notorious Gary Stu creepy pasta story with Jane Arkensaw's and Jess The Killer's stories said to take place right along with his.
More of Jeff's fellow Mary Sues:
She's a really nasty character.
There is some confusion as to whether Jane the Killer is Jane Arkensaw or Jane Richardson.
It's Richardson. She's the original Jane The Killer, and Arkensaw only killed one person who attacked her. Richardson killed 211 plus. Both Janes are Mary Sues, but Richardson is the bigger Sue by far.
Jane Richardson The Killer Story Info
Born Of Science Here's where you get to see her send the Sue-meter soaring right off the charts.
Reactions People call her out for the Mary Sue she is, and her author throws a tantrum using sexist micromemes.
Camille The Would-be Killer, Jeff's long lost cousin
Blackness Rose Midnight The eyeless drowned killer, a parody of pasta Sues
Dan Green's Pasta Sue Reviews 1&2
Many commenters really did not like what was said on Dan Green's blog.
The Creepy Pasta Mary Sue Moon Girl with the civilization-ending smile
Aicha, Elissa, Kim, WhenMary Sues Collide Mary Sues mangling Starwars prequel characters.
Amadelia What makes her a Mary Sue in this profile is her relation to Cinderella, but since this was submitted for a Mary Sue movie rpg, she would've been no more of one than the movie characters had been. Take out the Cinderella connection and the dwelling so much on her apparently shiny beautiful looks - 'sky blue eyes, pouty red lips, high cheek bones, athletic body' her hair pin is 'sapphire', her staff is absolutely priceless too, being made of silver and a ruby - that she comes from royalty but is an orphan, and she could be un-Mary Sued.
Amanda Rogers "The Captain's Loss," by Jaeti, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Amelia Boarder given the unlikely nickname of Mia Mya
Anne Langton a Mary Sue in a 5-part series by Lisa Y. Drexel, Star Trek: Voyager.
Angelica Very horrifying sort of musician
Ashley Borden "Resurrection," by Phyllis Milby, TRON, print zine The Further Adventures of Flynn (July 1986). Black Sylke a Gundam Mary Sue
Callisto Durron "Buried Secrets," by Buffy19606, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.
Capitola The Hidden Hand, by E.D.E.N. Southworth (1859).
Christine Chevalier "All Dolled Up," by Melissa Roule, Due South.
Elanor MacPhail "Difference," by Theresa Holmes, Star Trek, print zine Fesarius 5 (1982).
Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way a Harry Potter Sue, for Draco Malfoy, from the fanfic "My Immortal" That craptastic fanfic turned out to be written by a Christian-hating, Bible-mocking, brony and mega troll with a whackload of alters.
Check out this video from Sarah Z to get the whole story.
Ellen "The Unrepaired Shoe", by Almira, in Robert Merry's Museum.
Emily Martin "The Grateful Indian," by Martha G., Robert Merry's Museum
Holly Hanson in "The Soul Killers," by Jane Matyskella, The X-Files.
Janaris Reed "After the Fall," by Monica, Highlander: The Series four-part NC-17 fanfic.
Janet Salazar "Stereotype," by Emily Brunson, The Sentinel
Jessica Sue a typically common and repulsive sort of Mary Sue with a huge crush on Severus Snape of all people, and writes him as reciprocating. Mr. Snape is not attractive or nice by any stretch, but there are things even he wouldn't do.
Jinaq "Qapchu " and " Ghoj ", by Karanne, Star Trek: Voyager.
Julianna a D&D Mary Sue who's part phoenix, part elf, and who knows what else
Kielle Fantasia (I don't know if this character was a Mary Sue or not, though she was listed in the 150 Years Of Mary Sue article's catalog of Mary Sues.
Lavender Sue a child Mary Sue and a role player's nightmare.
Lisa Cusack "The Sound of Her Voice" episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, teleplay by Ronald D. Moore, story by Pam Pietroforte.
Maia "The Elves of the Forest Center," by Pansy, Robert Merry's Museum.
Megan Connor recurring character in The Sentinel.
Orianna a classic textbook Mary Sue. She was a little too much even for an rpg that was centered on a movie that was itself based on Mary Sue foundations.
Piper Dreadnought!, by Diane Carey, Star Trek, professional novel.
Rowan Michaels "To Ride the Wind," by Marelle Moore, Highlander: The Series.
Samantha-Ti'Ree Slade Stewart-King "And the Dark Things in Our Minds Can Kill Us," by Nancy Spinks, Star Trek, print zine Fesarius 3 (November 1977), story is a sequel to "A Test of Womanhood" (Fesarius 2). Sarah Cooper a Mary Sue in denial
Sarah Walters "Bulletproof," by Mishelle, The X-Files NC-17 fanfic.
Saraid Manasdottir "Brothers in Arms," by the Lady Saraid, Highlander. Another Sue in denial
Senna Marie Maxwell the Gundam Mary Sue who earned her infamy by throwing one of the longest running, attention-seeking, infantile tantrums against her fellow Mary Sues in the genre. The Mary Sue she hounded did some obviously unnerving things with the characters in her writing, but bad as that was, she didn't deserve to be out-marysued and literally stalked, bullied, flamed all to heck by that sadistic bullying cretin and her many crummy alter egos and toadie pals.
Simplicity Williams Mary Sue created by Pat Pflieger, then a kid.
Topanga A Mary Sue in Harry Potter fanfiction/role play.
Tracy Jessup "Believer," by Kirsten M. Berry, The X-Files.
Unella "Unella," by Madge, Robert Merry's Museum. Sounds like she was named by Lady Une.
Vienna another angsty yet vain Mary Sue.
This Highlander fanfic had a Mary Sue warning, but it looked to me more like a little tour of the premise, and it's screwed up and cringy. Adopted children who die, become immortal, not by choice, and the catch is they have to fight all the other immortals until only one remains to rule over all the world or universe or something like that. Bleh.
Confessions of past Mary sues and/or demonstrations of how not to write something destined to be hated by readers.
Attack Of The Mary Sue Brigade a fanfic I actually like!
player Liberated Describes Some Mary Sues
Confessions: How I Became A Fanfic Writer Worse Than Mary Sues - Mag7 Fanfic that is actually fun to read!
Player describes vampire Mary Sues Yes, they come in all manner of form, from fairy to vampire.
another demonstration of how to write a Mary Sue and how not to write a piece of fiction. Some suggestiveness.
I Spy Mary Sue Eyes author/character banter showcasing how annoying Mary Sue writing gets with so much emphasis on appearance.
Nahid the resulting story of a Senna Marie Sue.
Horrors Of The Past, My Worst Mary Sue - Tigerbites looks back in cringing horror at a Mary Sue character she made.
From Erin To Sherrie not only showcases some gag-worthy Mary Sues, but is a case of anti, where the person showing displeasure at the Sues, is even worse than the Sues. This one had me mad enough to kick it out of Mary Sue and into the Loser category! It is also dead last in this subsection. There are things that just shouldn't be done, not even to Mary Sues.
Many famous characters show Mary Sue traits to some degree. Usually established fictional characters from movies, books and the like aren't Mary Sues, but once in a while, it happens, and this doesn't count the super hero genre, they're supposed to be larger than life.
But what about inserting Mary Sue into a movie sequel via new introduced character?
Yes, that happens and it seriously ticks at least some fans off.
The result of one such travesty concerning an Anne of Green Gables movie was at least one fan's outrage.
Other media Sues are:
and of course the more well-known characters like Harry Potter and the main vampires of Twilight. Harry Potter And The Twilight Hunger Games
Is it possible to Mary Sue a super hero genre?
Yes - if in a SuperMan movie, the villain actually wins the day, or else some other made up character comes along and outshines SuperMan in his own story, that would do it. Fans don't necessarily appreciate this but it's not rare in the world of RPG and fanfiction writing.
Star Wars has its share of Mary Sue/Gary Stus, right in the canon.
Why Rey Is A Mary Sue, And Luke Skywalker Is Not
And then there's Gary Stu *Cough* Anakin Skywalker! Kylo Ren (formerly Ben Solo) has the angsting, mopey Gary Stu attitude down pat.
The Mary Sues weren't done with Star Wars yet.
Reva Sevander The Mary Sue who stole Ben Kenobi's thunder in what turned out to be his regretable and unnecessary series that tromped all over the original series characters and buried them in woke agenda.
What they did to Princess Leia was especially horrid. But that's a subject for another page.
How about whole famous book and movie series that turned out to be Mary Sue?
Yes, it happens.
Typically, fans of a Mary Sue or Gary Stu book or movie will vehemently deny this because they know Mary Sue is the most detested type of character and they resent it when anyone comes along and points out how/why their favorite famous characters are GS/MS.
HilariouslyScary - My OC Was A Mary Sue And How I Fixed Her
She is correct about how to fix an all-powerful Mary Sue, and right that many kids start out writing Mary Sues. But there are other things which make Mary Sue that aren't touched on in this video, things many critics of Mary Sues do themselves, that make their own characters Mary Sues.
Mary Sue Rant by Maddie Girl
The Life Of A Mary Sue is a song by Rachel Robichaud that should help you un-cringe. It's funny, informative, and most of all, actually pleasant just to listen to.
Why Are So Many Mary Sues Social Justice Warriors?
Yes, it gets much worse. Thought just the run-of-the-mill Mary Sue was bad? Those that are SJW are becoming more common. What a nightmare! Lavender Chelsey is an early example. She had everyone revolving around her because she was a blind orphan. The SJW factoring in was that her author actually said Lavender should be treated special because she was blind.
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Mary Sue Test Test your characters to see if they could be Mary Sues. For fun, test your favorite TV show, movie or book characters too.
Mary Sue Drinking Game - this is basically a MS test without the score-keeping.
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Finally, a story I co-wrote with a friend that comes dangerously close IMO to being both Mary Sue and Gary Stu. The Gary Stu is Anakin Skywalker, and the one dangerously near Mary Sue is - oy - *wince* Yours Truly. Ocean Elf.
At least she doesn't go anywhere near being related to or romancing any of the SW characters. My friend hinted wanting it to go that direction, with Elf and Anakin *cringe* but there is no way I would let that happen. Anakin's appearance is mentioned quite a bit, but Elf's is not.
Still, um...Well...?
It comes out later in the story that she has the force - big time. My friend's idea. Cool - but risky. MS screamers would condemn her as a MS based on that alone. I also used to go around saying and pretending I had the force when I was little, so what a hilarious ironic fit this is.
remember, I didn't write this by myself. And it was a great way to spend some fun time indoors during winter, and help a friend who needed a bit of fun activity after a hard situation.
The story revolves around Anakin, who wants to be rid of his hazmat suit and scarred face with helmet. He wants Ocean Elf to help him, since he detected her through the force after detecting her effort to destroy a monster on another world. Anakin Vader kidnaps her because she would not help him willingly, and he knows it, but he is desperate. All the other SW characters have what Anakin wants at the top of their priorities. Ocean does not, and she has to be traumatized and manipulated into helping out.
*Deep breath* Here goes.
Anakin was able to heal himself after Ocean Elf performed the task she was assigned, but he was still not satisfied. He wanted more.
He had encounters with women before.
The hilarious escapade with Ada.
The situation where he was stalked by an insanely creepy and obsessed stalker.
Both these Mary Sue Sith-wannabe girls are a far better fit for an attempted pairing with him.
The next story, "Clashing", eventually reveals that Anakin had been creepily mind-napping everyone, massive mind-trick if you will; which is why they all just did his bidding.
He really stus out in this one, and is eventually confronted with some facts he can't face. And those facts are what ultimately free Ocean Elf from becoming a dreaded Anakin Vader Sue!
But that became an ongoing project.
If you want to see the abbridged foefiction version, check this out.
Also see these related pages: