This topic, to the best of my knowledge, has never been adressed on these boards. I am here to remedy that.
We all know Mary Sue. She's got it all. Good looks, a voice like an angel, her own keyblade, and Riku wrapped around her little finger. She's got a few incarnations, and usually hails from either Destiny Island, Traverse Town, or Hollow Bastion.
I'll stop throwing out the long-winded things, now. This should be enough to suffice: Mary Sue is perfect. She is infallible. If there's a crisis, she can handle it. Unless the object of her affections is around. Then she usually turns into the classic Damsel in Distress.
Please don't put Mary Sue in your stories if you plan to share them. She is, for most people, bland and grating to read about. She steals the spotlight from the established characters that most readers read fanficton for.
So, is your character a Mary Sue? Or even a Gary Stu? Gary Stu is Mary's cousin/brother/partner in crime. He's a male Mary Sue.
Is your character romantically involved with a cannon character like Riku or Sora? Is your character a keyblade master? An ace gummi ship pilot? Ansem's heir? Half angel/demon/unicorn/any mythological being? Is your character two or more of these things at once? If so, you probably have a Sue or Stu on your hands.
But is this a bad thing? Well, not really, so long as you don't post it on fanfiction.net or another fanfic archive. If this character is just something that you share with your friends, or even keep to youself, it's fine. Fantasy-fulfillment is just fine. I do not claim to be the Thought Police. It's still an awful character, but you're not parading it around like it's the best thing ever.
Let's go over a few key subjects:
When is it okay to use an original character in a fic?
Not all original characters are Mary Sues. This is something that a lot of fans are still trying to comprehend. If done well, an original chracter will not be a Sue, and will not overshadow the cannon chracters.
Can you give an example of this Mary Sue you keep talking about?
I thought I could go one rant without referrencing Elf Only Inn, but it was not to be.
Click: http://www.elfonlyinn.net/d/20040810.html
See the red head? Sue. That was a very easy way to sum all this up.
Okay, so you've covered good guy Sues, but what about bad guys? Can I make a bad guy and it definately won't be a Sue?
Baddies can be Sues, too. Especially if they turn into good guys before the fic is over, usually through TEH POWAH OF TROO LUV!!!
The only Kingdom Hearts OC I have is a goofy-arse shapeshifter named Rook. He is a baddy, and a very dedicated minion of Ansem's. He's not a Sue for the following reasons:
-He is not especially useful. Unless espionage or head games are required, he's more the kind of minion an evil overlord leaves at home to take care of the lair.
-He cannot sing, dance, or play any instruments. People have tried. He's just not inclined.
-He is not some poor corrupted soul that Ansem yanked off the street. He does all the nasty, creepy things he does of his own volition. The closest he comes to being forced to do anything is the fact that it has coem to light that he has a big, girly crush on Ansem and worships him to high heaven. That makes him very pliable and willing to do things for Ansem. Kind of part of his character.
-Ansem is blissfully unaware of that. Or at least does a splendid job of pretending to be so.
-Rook would never, ever do anything about it. He's too insecure and conviced that Ansem would either laugh at him or wig out. He's content to moon over him and do his bidding.
-He's background, mostly. The RP I'm doing needed more villains. If he were in a video game, he'd be a character you only see a few times in a cut scene, and have to fight as an annoying mini-boss at some point.
He COULD be a Sue/Stu because:
-He's different. He's special. And he's new. This is applicable to most OCs.
-Again, the infatuation with Ansem. This would be a big red flag if: 1. He managed the guts to admit it. 2. Ansem even reciprocated. Let's be realistic. He probably wouldn't think much of it beyond "...Awww. We need to talk."
-He can change his form. A lot of Sues can do that. However, it's very, very limited. He can't change quickly, cleanly, or painlessly. It's 15% magic assistance and 85% him shifting around what parts he already has.
You are all to do this excercise with your own OCs!
We all know Mary Sue. She's got it all. Good looks, a voice like an angel, her own keyblade, and Riku wrapped around her little finger. She's got a few incarnations, and usually hails from either Destiny Island, Traverse Town, or Hollow Bastion.
I'll stop throwing out the long-winded things, now. This should be enough to suffice: Mary Sue is perfect. She is infallible. If there's a crisis, she can handle it. Unless the object of her affections is around. Then she usually turns into the classic Damsel in Distress.
Please don't put Mary Sue in your stories if you plan to share them. She is, for most people, bland and grating to read about. She steals the spotlight from the established characters that most readers read fanficton for.
So, is your character a Mary Sue? Or even a Gary Stu? Gary Stu is Mary's cousin/brother/partner in crime. He's a male Mary Sue.
Is your character romantically involved with a cannon character like Riku or Sora? Is your character a keyblade master? An ace gummi ship pilot? Ansem's heir? Half angel/demon/unicorn/any mythological being? Is your character two or more of these things at once? If so, you probably have a Sue or Stu on your hands.
But is this a bad thing? Well, not really, so long as you don't post it on fanfiction.net or another fanfic archive. If this character is just something that you share with your friends, or even keep to youself, it's fine. Fantasy-fulfillment is just fine. I do not claim to be the Thought Police. It's still an awful character, but you're not parading it around like it's the best thing ever.
Let's go over a few key subjects:
When is it okay to use an original character in a fic?
Not all original characters are Mary Sues. This is something that a lot of fans are still trying to comprehend. If done well, an original chracter will not be a Sue, and will not overshadow the cannon chracters.
Can you give an example of this Mary Sue you keep talking about?
I thought I could go one rant without referrencing Elf Only Inn, but it was not to be.
Click: http://www.elfonlyinn.net/d/20040810.html
See the red head? Sue. That was a very easy way to sum all this up.
Okay, so you've covered good guy Sues, but what about bad guys? Can I make a bad guy and it definately won't be a Sue?
Baddies can be Sues, too. Especially if they turn into good guys before the fic is over, usually through TEH POWAH OF TROO LUV!!!
The only Kingdom Hearts OC I have is a goofy-arse shapeshifter named Rook. He is a baddy, and a very dedicated minion of Ansem's. He's not a Sue for the following reasons:
-He is not especially useful. Unless espionage or head games are required, he's more the kind of minion an evil overlord leaves at home to take care of the lair.
-He cannot sing, dance, or play any instruments. People have tried. He's just not inclined.
-He is not some poor corrupted soul that Ansem yanked off the street. He does all the nasty, creepy things he does of his own volition. The closest he comes to being forced to do anything is the fact that it has coem to light that he has a big, girly crush on Ansem and worships him to high heaven. That makes him very pliable and willing to do things for Ansem. Kind of part of his character.
-Ansem is blissfully unaware of that. Or at least does a splendid job of pretending to be so.
-Rook would never, ever do anything about it. He's too insecure and conviced that Ansem would either laugh at him or wig out. He's content to moon over him and do his bidding.
-He's background, mostly. The RP I'm doing needed more villains. If he were in a video game, he'd be a character you only see a few times in a cut scene, and have to fight as an annoying mini-boss at some point.
He COULD be a Sue/Stu because:
-He's different. He's special. And he's new. This is applicable to most OCs.
-Again, the infatuation with Ansem. This would be a big red flag if: 1. He managed the guts to admit it. 2. Ansem even reciprocated. Let's be realistic. He probably wouldn't think much of it beyond "...Awww. We need to talk."
-He can change his form. A lot of Sues can do that. However, it's very, very limited. He can't change quickly, cleanly, or painlessly. It's 15% magic assistance and 85% him shifting around what parts he already has.
You are all to do this excercise with your own OCs!