[ SECRET POST #4855 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4855 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 31 secrets from Secret Submission Post #694.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fizzyrose]

I agree that it can often be misapplied but that doesn't mean it's a useless term or that there aren't characters out there that don't deserve the title (Kirito from Sword Art Online is perhaps the most infamous Gary Stu and I've honestly never seen any other character that is hated by so many people in so many different fandoms as he is).

As for the people saying it has a very specific definition and can only be applied to fanfic: you're wrong. It's a character type. If that wasn't the case it 1. wouldn't be so popular outside of transformative fandom (as it so clearly is) and 2. there wouldn't be so many people trying to explain and define it. Everyone has a vague idea of what a Mary Sue/Gary Stu character is supposed to mean but the interpretations vary. Even if it started out as fanfic/fandom specific term it's since evolved as more people pick it up and use it (that's just how language works, folks).

My favorite interpretation of a Mary Sue is simply put a character that breaks the lore of their own universe (or more broadly breaks their "universe" entirely by existing). Where the character keeps doing things that shouldn't be possible and make little sense all for the sake of simply letting them do those things with little to no trouble, and the difficulty they are presented with in the name of giving them an actual character arc are usually contrived or lamp shading the fact the character can do anything and everything all the time even when that means doing nothing at all and since the writer is ~self-aware~ you're not allowed to critique them for it (because they're the best! and the coolest! and the most awesome! and isn't it fun when a character is the embodiment of godmodding their own story?!). The reason this character type is associated more with fandom (outside of originating from a parody fic) is that it's OCs that usually fall in to this trap. Most writers working on OG stuff are the ones that have written the lore of their stories and if they wanted something to be possible they simply would've written it to be so. However an amateur writer inserting an OC into their favorite fictional universe is very prone to the Sue Trap because OCs usually aren't designed with the rules and lore of that universe in mind, but just what seems the most cool or relatable to them. And I think it's apt with so many franchises bringing on people who aren't the original creators to make more content (*cough* nostalgia money *cough*) that it's a popular term to use.

And in my eyes there's three types of Sue (both the female and male varieties):

- The Action Sue: this character is super strong and super good at anything to do with fighting and has ALL the skills. What skills they don't have for plot reasons they pick up quickly and everyone's amazed at what a genius they are at punching the shit out of shit. There isn't a problem they can't solve by being OP. What are the other characters even for? They don't have to do anything because The Action Sue is so OP and cool that they can just handle everything themselves...the other people are just there for decoration and/or for a harem. It's like power fantasy turned up to 200 while being pumped full of liquid cocaine.

- The In-Action Sue: this stupid asshole never does anything. Literally, I mean it. They have no redeeming qualities. They suck. Their personality smells like a molding dishrag. But everything works out for them anyway! And everyone loves them!...unless they're evil in which case them not liking In-Action Sue is a sign they have a black heart and we shouldn't get attached to them and they're just going to be used to show how innocent In-Action Sue is and how anyone who doesn't worship they ground they walk on is a butthead pee pee poo poo. Usually featured in the romance genre. Seriously get a backbone In-Action Sue. And a better attitude. And some common sense. And...

- The Unholy Mix of the Two: the worst of both bad worlds. It's like the writer can't decide which extreme to go for so they just pick and choose which one the character will be based on nothing but what their farts smell like on a particular day or when a love interest is in a scene or not.

I could rant all day about Sues because honestly I think they're the easiest type of (bad) character to avoid writing so it makes me feel rage unheard of whenever I encounter one in the wild. Seriously, literally all you have to do is not have everything work out for them with little to no effort and that's it. You've avoided the thing. But that's just my opinion.