Mary Sue. Mary Sue and Marty Sue

In fanfiction

In fanfiction, the Mary Sue is most often a new character that was not present in the original work. Less often, one of the original characters "turns" into it, whose behavior changes very much. Usually, the Mary Sue appears unexpectedly and immediately arouses the admiration of others. It simultaneously combines all possible advantages in such exaggerated volumes that for the reader it looks grotesque and ridiculous. Often positive traits"Mary Sues" contradict each other and replace each other depending on the situation - on the go in the narrative, the appearance, character, impression made by the character, and so on can change. The whole world revolves around Mary Sue, and she solves the problems that threaten humanity in one fell swoop.

Often, but not necessarily, a "Mary Sue" has a very long and beautiful (according to the author) name. She may also be a relative of one of the main characters in the original work and bear his last name. Almost always, some details of the biography of the Mary Sue (for example, hometown or favorite musical group) are taken from the life of the author himself.

A character like "Mary Sue" most often arises unconsciously in the author. Pointing out that the heroine/hero is a "Mary Sue" can seem like a very serious insult to the author. In some cases, however, "Mary Sue" is deliberately introduced into the work for the sake of the comic and the grotesque. As a rule, in these cases, “Mary Sue” is brought to the point of absurdity, but some circumstances do not allow the character to “turn around” (which are the other “Mary Sues”, more often these are the closest relatives of the main characters).

In tabletop role playing games

see also

Notes

Links

• Paul Smith. A Trekkie's tale (eng.) the first fanfic to mention the name of Mary-Sue

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See what "Mary Sue" is in other dictionaries:

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Mary Sue is the name of the main character in the English-speaking environment, endowed by the author with hypertrophied superpowers, with whom the author, as a rule, associates himself. The whole world revolves around the Mary Sue, universal or ... ... Wikipedia

A "Mary Sue" (or "Gary Stu" for men) is an original character in fanfiction, embodying either the author himself or who the author would like to be. Mary Sues are usually stunningly beautiful, indescribably smart, and liked by everyone except the readers. They usually have very unusual color eyes and hair, a complex melodious-sounding name, a turbulent past and supernatural abilities. They usually show up, outshine all the other characters, get into bed with canon characters who are attractive to the author, and then save the world. Following the salvation of the world, they either marry the canonical hero or die a heroic death. Keep reading and you will find out detailed instructions how to avoid the appearance of such an annoying character in your work.

Steps

Part 1

Part 2

Avoid creating the main character as a canon character. While some canon characters have a vague past that can be manipulated, a common and easily recognizable (though not necessarily) Mary Sue trait is canon in one way or another, especially one that already has a well-established past. It may be hard for your readers to believe that your canon character has a sister he never mentioned or a son she doesn't remember.

Let your character be part of many heroes, maybe even a very small part. Your main character need not be constantly the center of the universe. Give the other characters moments away from the main character where they won't talk or think about the main character.

Let the canonical characters be in the spotlight along with the main character. Remember why they exist. Your readers want to read about canonical characters, so you write fanfiction.

Choose a realistic name. Make sure you choose a name that aligns with your fans' desires. For example, don't call a Harry Potter character Trixibella Arwen or an elf from Jane's Lord of the Rings. There are many internet websites that will allow you to find the right names for your chosen fan community.

• Websites with baby names are a good start, but don't get carried away. Names like "Angelica Roanna Maribel Devenish" sound ridiculous and unrealistic. Also don't use characteristics like hair color or facial features, as many babies are named at birth.
• Don't use your given name or a variation of it. This will scream "Mary Sue" to readers.

Part 3

1. Let your character have real negative traits. Intemperance, anger tendencies, and difficulty making friends are good examples negative qualities character. The flaws should be those that have real consequences for the character in his or her life and that move the story far ahead.

   Let things get to the character by hard work. One of the most annoying things about Mary Sues is how easy everything is for them: fighting skills, special talents, strong relationships, superpowers that appear just in time to save the whole world, etc. If your character has to fight and deal with real problems, your readers will empathize with her. If she is perfect without a single flaw, they will begin to hate her.

   You should also not endow the character with qualities that are characteristic of you. If you do that, you might as well start journaling, as everyone has their own personality and should have the freedom to choose what to do, so don't base their decisions on yours. own opinion, faith, etc. This will make the story much more interesting and will also make the writing more enjoyable. interesting journey for you, expanding your writing skills.

Part 4

Let each character have different reaction on the main character. Look at the original work that you are taking as a basis. Do all the main characters always agree or behave in the same way? Of course not. Take into account the personality of the canonical characters and create a believable reaction and relationship with your newcomer.

Don't let your new character be the only one who resolves the main unresolved conflicts of the original work. Give a moment of glory to existing characters, or make it a real team effort.

Be careful with romance around. Mary Sues are always loved by characters that the author really likes or reunites two previously unrelated characters that the author thinks should be together. Romance is possible in fanfiction, but give it some time to make it all look believable.

Hold your horses. One of the most negative things about Mary Sue stories is that everything happens too fast. It may take some time for your new character became close to the canonical characters. Or he should be able to do a lot of amazing things. Take your time. You can always write a sequel.

• Bad habits like nail biting can be interesting quirks, but they're not faults either. one or two bad habits will make your character deeper and more interesting, but don't forget the real flaws.
• Being unable to do anything that doesn't affect the character's day-to-day life, or being unable to do anything she has ever done, is not a disadvantage. A starship pilot who can't sing well still remains a good pilot starship. A member of a group of itinerant Negro songwriters who can't sing is the real problem.
• Creating a Mary Sue is not the eighth deadly sin. Many fanfiction writers start by imagining which character from their favorite TV show, book, comic book, or video game they would like to meet and interact with. But what is attractive to you will not necessarily be attractive to readers. Don't berate yourself too much for creating a Mary Sue story; just see what you can fix and what you can avoid in the future so your character looks real and everyone likes it.
• Good Golden Rule- in your character, for every two or three virtues, there should be one small flaw. For every six to nine virtues, there is one major drawback. This way your character will be balanced.
• Mary Sues aren't just found in fanfiction. And while they are most common and easily recognizable when a writer is playing in an already created space, Mary Sues can also be found in wholly original work. Although the above steps do not apply to Mary Sues in the original works, they can still help. Of course, some new characters will be your main characters because they are all new. But if your main characters take all the attention and the glory, get all the guys, and never do anything wrong, you can have a pure Mary Sue.
• Balance the strong and weak sides. For example, if your character is a handsome young man with blue hair, excellent swordsman and archery, dancing and charming others with his guitar playing, adored by almost all the girls around, then make him comically awkward, afraid of spiders, and also give him some personal shortcomings such as arrogance, which will make him hated by his peers and/or addiction to smoking, which is bad for his health. Just make sure these flaws are real Negative consequences for him, and are not just cute little quirks.
• Well-meaning flaws such as "doing too much" or "working too hard" can only be true flaws if they get your character in trouble. If your character cares too much about another person or group of people, then such caring may be to the detriment of her mission, or because of this, she will not be able to make decisions that can negatively affect them, but serve the greater good.
• Mary Sue quizzes can help you determine if your character is entering Mary Sue territory. Just remember that most original characters, Mary Sues or not, will score a few points.
• If you notice that you have turned out to be a Mary Sue, but you do not want to drive her into a small box, change the genre of your work to a parody. If you're writing a parody, then making a Mary Sue would be very welcome, but only if your parody is funny.
• Flaws are not problems that must be solved by the end of the story, and must not be small failures that disappear in important points. Your character may gradually overcome some of his problematic issues but it never has to be perfect. If your character is clumsy from birth, he should also be clumsy during battles, and not just when his fall is supposed to be fun. If he has a tendency to cowardice, it is not necessary that he overcome it in the first or second (or even third or fourth) battle. He can shrink from fear many times and eventually learn to overcome it. However, his tendency to cowardice at the moment when he thinks that he has already completely got rid of it, can suddenly fall upon him when he least expects it. If your character is rude to his superiors, they will be rude all the time and they will be constantly punished for their shortcomings.

Warnings

• If your original character seems to be a Mary Sue, just accept it. Don't try to convince yourself that she isn't. Because she might just be her. Remember Mary Sue in your arms good writer, might be good. So many popular canon characters suffer from an overabundance of Sue's presence, but they still have a personality.
• If someone insults your original character for being a Mary Sue, don't take it too personally. Review your character again, and don't think that your character is the best and that other writers are just jealous of you.

The teacher introduced the newcomer. He stood out from all the kids in the class. Her beautiful thick hair was so black that it had a bluish-metallic tint. And expressive eyes framed by fluffy long eyelashes looked calm and authoritative. When he appeared, my heart beat faster.

This is approximately what a typical appearance of Marty Sue looks like - a regular fan fiction, and sometimes the owner of his own full-fledged original story. This name has become a household name for heroes with outstanding appearance, often tragic past and invariably great future. They with enviable constancy save the Earth (and even the entire Universe) from complete destruction, simultaneously falling in love with all individuals of the opposite sex, miraculously receive all conceivable and inconceivable abilities and come out unharmed from all the vicissitudes, not forgetting to cope with the heroic effort of will. consequences of a difficult childhood.

Our hero also has a female hypostasis - Mary Sue. Where did they come from? Why did they get such names? And can any character with an attractive appearance and special talents be automatically branded as a Marty Sue?

The birth of an image

Mary Sue was the first to appear in literature. Back in 1973, she walked up to the bridge with a light tread. spaceship in the Star Trek universe and light hand fanfic author Paula Smith has remained in the annals of history as a kind of standard of tasteless and lurid embellishment of a character. Her heroine (eng. Mary Sue), fifteen years old, instantly conquered all the crew members with her unearthly beauty and extraordinary abilities, solved all the problems, plugging the experienced wolves of space routes into the belt, and tragically passed away in the color of the same fifteen years under the mournful cry of men in love with her.

In fairness, it should be noted that she wrote her story precisely as a parody of fanfiction that was gaining popularity, full of undeveloped characters. She did it so well that the name Mary began to be used as a derogatory name. main character. And a male character with similar qualities was nicknamed Marty, keeping the same surname. Although in Russian spelling you can also find the version of Marty Stu.

What's in a name?

Among the explicit distinguishing features literary Marty is often given a complex, pretentious and illogical name. Some Mark Antonio Jesus von Kyoto can easily live in a lost village or, at worst, be an Irish settler in the Wild West. At the same time, close friends will call him Nicky. Incoherence and inconsistency in the description is generally the main hallmark Marty Sue.

Also, the author often uses his personal name or its derivatives. This happens for two main reasons: firstly, it’s easier, and secondly, often an inexperienced author writes off the main character from himself, and in this case his own name looks as organic as possible.

Rare and confusing family tree

To match the magnificent name, the tangled pedigree of the protagonist is also prescribed. He simply cannot be the son of mere mortals. At least in the family there should be aristocrats with blue blood (even more often he will be the direct heir to the throne). And in fantasy worlds, mixing different blood makes your head spin. Thinking about the love story of parents, and earlier grandparents of this very hero is completely scary. Because from the union of a vampire with a dryad, an angel somehow comes, and in the marriage of a female werewolf and a demigod, a magician is born, whose son our Marty will turn out to be.

Most often, parents die tragically in the first years of their child's life, preferably in front of this very child. So he gets the meaning of life (read: obsession) - to find and take revenge on the offenders in a particularly harsh form.

Dazzling Appearance

Marty looks absolutely stunning. Moreover, literally everyone within sight is colliding, often regardless of gender and sexual orientation. All positive characters Marty is idolized, and the negative ones hate it fiercely. Because they are jealous! What else do the poor fellows have to do?

The growth of the hero must be above average. The figure of Apollo, not a single scar on the body (however, tattoos are allowed, especially if they are with hidden meaning), broad shoulders. The eyes must be described especially carefully and in detail. They are certainly expressive, piercing, dreamy, and at the same time mesmerizing. The hair is usually long and thick in the most unimaginable shades from blue-black to acid yellow, but by no means the usual blond or chestnut. Such is the "hellish" Marty Sue looms.

Bright personality

Marty's character deserves special attention. This character simply does not have average values ​​and midtones. How else? He's so exceptional! Therefore, our hero is certainly either unbearably kind and attentive to everything that exists (except for those to whom he must take revenge, of course), or evil and cruel (but inside is still unbearably kind, you just need to get to the bottom of this kindness).

Such duality often arises from the fact that the author is overly focused on the hero. He must have the very best! As for the elementary argumentation of his actions or their logical sequence, everything is attributed to the originality and infallibility of the character.

martial arts master

Marty fights skillfully and with taste. He knows how to skillfully handle almost any weapon, and if necessary, turn any means at hand into a weapon. In hand-to-hand combat, he is also consistently good. In addition to the usual techniques, in his arsenal there will certainly be secret tricks passed down from generation to generation or shown to him by a wise mentor. If the action takes place in a world where magic is present, then the hero will certainly perfectly master one of the available forces, and in especially neglected cases, all at once.

The tamer of all living things

Marty Sue can easily find mutual language with any representative of the animal world. Among his companions is often a favorite, devoted exclusively to his master and faithfully protecting the latter from the whole world around him. At a minimum, it will be a wolf or other exotic predator. Often, a dragon or an unknown hybrid of completely incompatible predators can act as an animal.

However, not everything is Marty that has unique abilities or the sympathy of others. Often, for an unmistakable definition in fanfiction or original work Marty Sue, the characteristics of the character will not even be the most important, although a significant factor.

The main difference between a well-developed hero and a cardboard and ill-conceived Marty is a causal relationship (and, accordingly, its absence). For example, if the main character has achieved the pinnacle of swordsmanship through years of hard training under the guidance of an experienced teacher, then it is not surprising that he will win battles. But if another fellow from our world into a fantasy world, who in life has never twisted anything heavier in his hands ballpoint pen, having grabbed a sword for the first time, immediately disperses a small detachment of regular troops, then you have a classic case of “sushness” in its severe manifestation.

Harry Potter under suspicion

It happens that hot discussions flare up among fans in connection with their favorite characters. For example: is Harry Potter a Marty Sue? Indeed, at a cursory glance, one can easily agree with this statement.

Judge for yourself: a simple schoolboy has been dragging the plot on himself for all seven years, the main antagonist is stubbornly chasing him, but Harry always manages to emerge victorious. But if you take a closer look, a completely different picture emerges.

First, Harry is far from ideal in his studies. Yes, in high school he teaches other students magic tricks, but he knows them not because it came in some miraculous way, but because he had to use these spells in real life. And he was specially trained for them. Harry makes mistakes, he has his weaknesses, and what he knows is the result of a lot of effort on his part.

Hermione's accusation

Even more vehement accusations of "Mariness" fall on another heroine of this universe - Hermione Granger. Like, and clever, and beautiful, and know-it-all ... Yes, and Joanna Rowling herself does not hide the fact that she wrote this character from herself (and the author’s personal projection on the hero is one of the clear indicators of Mary Sue).

However, again, just some individual single indicators are not enough to stigmatize the heroine with the unflattering nickname of Mary Sue. Even Rowling herself does not idealize Granger. Remember, in the first book, no one wanted to be friends with a little smart guy, including Harry and Ron. Subsequently, Hermione frankly got into a puddle more than once, but the “accusations” of beauty can generally only apply to actress Emma Watson, because according to the book, Hermione was by no means the first beauty. Even her notorious omniscience has a solid justification - the girl spends all her holidays preparing for academic year, almost memorizing textbooks.

Signs of "sushnosti" in Naruto

But in the Naruto anime universe, Marty Sue is a frequent visitor. For example, almost all females are in love with Sasuke Uchiha. And he himself does nothing for this. Also, Sasuke is different incredible success in learning. In the very first battle with the demons, a very young and inexperienced student not only enters the battle and gives a worthy rebuff to the enemies, but, according to Naruto, does it effortlessly, without even sweating.

Naruto himself doesn't graze the rear either. His success in learning is dizzying, and any hero will envy the number of friends. The popularity of this anime series, as well as the peculiarities of drawing characters, have spawned many fanfictions in which Marty and Mary Sue have flourished. No exception and parody genres.

Mary Sue as a comedy character

On the fertile soil of fanfiction and samizdat, the seeds of a separate independent grotesque genre sprouted, in which characters are deliberately drawn with hypertrophied signs of "seuoid". Talented authors even manage to put these supercharacters in situations that even superpowers do not resolve, and this adds even more comedy to the humorous genre presented.

Main distinguishing features

• with its often pretentious name and loud nickname (prefixes von, de and others are welcome, even if we are talking about the son of a peasant);
• incredibly spectacular appearance without a single flaw (sunburn must be even, no scars or calluses);
• the sexual victories of the hero compete only with the list of enemies defeated by him (for everyone is bound to fall in love with Marty Sue);
• the level of weapon proficiency is slightly above absolute perfection (this can safely include all magical or supernatural skills);
• they either want to be friends with the hero, or hate them fiercely (as a rule, due to envy of his abilities and successes);
• problems and difficulties are solved either directly due to the genius of the hero, or as a result of a happy combination of circumstances;
• literally everything is forgiven to the hero (impudence, cruelty and injustice);
• the numerous virtues of the hero often contradict themselves (the constant kindness to all living things peacefully coexists with the determination to destroy anyone who encroaches on something dear to Marty).