fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2607 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2607 ⌋

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

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[Shaun of the Dead]

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13. http://i.imgur.com/Lnyxfbz.jpg
[link for porny, doujinshi]

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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

14. [SPOILERS for DRAMAtical Murder]

[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

15. [WARNING for rape]

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16. [WARNING for rape, pedophilia]

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17. [WARNING for molestation]

[Gatchaman Crowds]

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18. [WARNING for dub-con]

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19. [WARNING for molestation]
http://i.imgur.com/tm7SaaX.jpg
[Shingeki no Kyojin, molestation scene? in image]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #372.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Is there more to a fic being obviously "Sue-ish" than it having an Original Female Character or Original Character tag?

Usually the summary is a very good indication, but I suppose OP didn't want to include actual summaries so as not to point fingers at particular fics and authors.

Yeah, I hate calling Mary Sue, but sometimes a summary is just... screaming five-alarm Mary Sue.

Does there need to be? That is clue enough that it will be shit.

Eh, it's been a long time since I've been seriously into fic, but that never seemed to be the case for me back when. Maybe I just got really lucky.

No it's really not.

Calling the original character beautiful in the summary, however, is a warning sign.

Other warning signs for Sues:
- OC having a romance with the Hot Main Character
- names like Raven Silverstar or including three apostrophes
- rhetorical questions in the summary ("will beautiful Raven Silverstar overcome her fear of werewolves when she is saved from dire peril by Hot Hunky Main Character?")

Oh, god, yes, the rhetorical questions.

I'd also add in any mention in the summary of the OC doing/being something they shouldn't be able to do, like a 15 year old being an important part of a military organization or a Harry Potter OC being able to summon a Patronus in first year.

In my fandom (Horatio Hornblower), two of the big "tells" of a Mary-Sue fic are a) the OC has traveled back in time and lands on the ship, or b) she's disguised herself as a man. While it's true that women did disguise themselves to serve, generally in fic this translates to "she falls in love with the sailor of her choice and now she has extra reason to worry about her identity being discovered." (And yes, I'll admit to having used both of these.)

Again, all these can be done well, but when you combine it with other elements like the ones you mention, warning bells go off.

[OC name] is the daughter of [character from one fandom] and [character from unrelated fandom] and has been in [secret agency] since she was 16. She is the one being groomed to take over whenever [agency leader] leaves. She also is the world's most successful cover/demo singer, lawyer, doctor, mother, and CEO of her own company. she is also sister to [characters from like four more fandoms] And the summary goes on to indicate she will be becoming soul mates with both halves of the flagship pairing of yet another fandom.

Is that from a real fic?

Not the OP nor the above anon, but I have seen such summaries, yes. Can't tell you anymore since I made sure not to click on the link, but.

At least twice in the last three months alone and in a single -very prolific- fandom. So I am sure there are a lot more out there...

ayrt

Yes. I didn't go any farther than the summary, though.

Hornblower anon here.

That is EXACTLY the sort of thing I was thinking of. How did I forget the "OC is related to a canon character" tell as well? That's another classic.

I know I sometimes toy with the idea of one of my OCs poking her nose in multiple fandom settings, but... I know she could easily be a Sue, and even if I could produce a fic of her dabbling a fandom, well she wouldn't be trying to make a ridiculous big name of herself like that, and she wouldn't romance a canon character, because she's got a boyfriend at home.

I still wish I could write that fic idea I had of her playing a Mary Poppins role to Harry Potter.

I don't agree with that. There are too many fics and too many writers writing OCs for all OCs to be bad. It's just like everything else- some is good, some is bad.

This

Exactly!

It also depends on what the character's being used for. I use OCs to explore ideas that are present in canon but can't be explored with the main cast (like the Junk Lady in Labyrinth), or sometimes to flesh out a minor character's life and background (like Fedorafreak in Homestuck).

Straight-up wish fulfillment can be okay, too. It has to be done carefully, but it can be fun if it's done well enough. Sometimes even if it isn't. I sometimes like to read wish-fulfillment Sailor Moon fanfiction for that kind of thing. There's a mix of good ones and bad ones, sure, but they can be entertaining either way.

It's really just a matter of purpose and quality, in my opinion.

Like others say, it depends on how the OCs are used.

In my opinion, OCs should exist to highlight the canon characters and canon issues. Sometimes that can mean they grow into major characters in the story, but it takes careful building to do that. The part that causes OCs being more Sueish is whether they have that build, or whether they come in with a whole boatload of attributes being slammed in our face with little explaining.

Nah, possibly the best fic I ever read had an important OC. He wasn't the main character, but he was very prominent in the main character's story, to the point where the story couldn't possibly happen without him.

No. Some OCs are good. There need to be more criteria than that.

Complete nonsense. OCs can be done well or badly, just as can source characters.

What happens when [Male Canon Protagonist with no living relatives] meets [OCs] that look and act exactly like him? And what happens when these [OCs] get the attention of [Canon Antagonist]?

[Female OC introduced with an origin that mimics and mirrors that of the Male Canon Protagonist. This has her controlling two traditionally opposing powers, one of which is the signature of the MCP. Source of said secondary power is not explained by presented origin]. 1 year after the events of [Canon], [Canon Antagonist] returns and targets [FOC] as a potential ally [with a similar offer to that which MCP turned down in Canon, which was implied to be a moment of weakness]. Can [Male Canon Protagonist and his Canon allies] save [Female Original Character] before she is lost to darkness?

[ SECRET POST #2607 ]

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