MARY SUE - Terrible Writing Advice

This week it's all about Mary Sue, because isn't it always? You can read my real thoughts on Mary Sue here: jpbeaubien.com/...
My Website: jpbeaubien.com/
My Facebook: / authorjpbeaubien
My Twitter: / josephpbeaubien
My Goodreads: / 15180667.j_p_beaubien
Buy my book!: mybook.to/AeonL...
CREDITS
Music: "Quirky Dog", "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys", and "Son of a Rocket" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...

[@henlowschmitty8097]

In a way, a Mary Sue is the ultimate flaw because it’s probably the worst trait a character can have in a story.

[@kyodarkness9243]

Ironic isn't it?

[@feritperliare2890]

Henlow Schmitty it’s not the worst trait of the character it’s the worst trait of the story

[@JakubWaniek]

I'm waiting for some meta story about a character grappling with the struggles of being a Mary Sue in someone's story.

[@davidegaruti2582]

@@JakubWaniek that would be something like Saitama , but way more multidimensional , Saitama is bored because he succede in his only objective wich is fighting , a mary sue would succede in every minute task , eventually she/he would probably change her plans in hindsight to fail at something , yeah i wanted to crack that egg on the floor too bad i accidentally made a cake , but then they would get more and more delusional , they would stop seeing their reality in a coerent way , to bad they are the reality , their mary suenees bends the narrative to their favor making them doubt about their realness , and in the end thei would just realise they where a youtube comment all along

[@ravenn2631]

In a way, a lot of flawed characters are perfect as they are, just as a lot of real people are. It’s just when the definition of perfect comes from shallow goals and visions, it really frustrates people. I’ve seen enough of Brene Brown TED talk and books to confirm her psychology research that the more vulnerability shown, the more likeable you become.

[@ireneiniguez4083]

Don't forget the one flaw that all Mary Sues have *being clumsy*

[@GTaito]

Clumsy is sexy, right?

[@skezeksskybreaker5425]

And somehow all clumsy acts coincidentally lead into a success such as meeting her crush or accidentally stopping an evil plan.

[@mx.sydney1764]

The Peribooty Um Yep! Uh so um... *Sigh* Why did I watch this?

[@shakirashipslied9721]

Skezeks Skybreaker but how does my characters clumsyness leads her to fail at shit

[@arkhamquinn3801]

Clumpsy isn't even good looking lol. I'm clumsy and I look like a fool

[@moonbyulsradish1453]

Every wattpad author: *WRITE THAT DOWN, WRITE THAT DOWN*

[@vero503]

Underrated comment😂

[@darao.4907]

Nice name

[@user-mh5rb6pr2n]

O u c h.

[@meteorenn3831]

damn your calling me out. Now i gotta go fix the two wattpad stories i have made that nobody reads

[@madcatanime]

@@meteorenn3831 Lmao, same. Guilty. As. Charged. 😌💅 Gotta fix my long ass story now.... Also, why does 1:15 to 1:37 explain Chiaki from Danganronpa so accurately---

[@catytailex]

"Half dragon, half vampire, half angel, half elven princess " Literally every cliche gacha hated child ever

[@Wampao]

0/10, not enough halving. Even Voldemort did more halving.

[@catytailex]

How dare thou summon tha lord!??

[@Wampao]

@@catytailex I mean, Voldemort halved himself at least seven times. You only did it four times.

[@catytailex]

I know

[@forbiddenchannel4901]

4(1/2) =4/2 =2 Quick maffs

[@thekaticorn99]

Mary Sue: *dies* Comic relief character: Z A P P E R S

[@synflwr]

KT Zone CR dude: Zippers zappers corpses make me wanna FAPPERS

[@aaronanderson1036]

Zappers! My jokes really knock 'em dead! Zappers!

[@doughboywhine]

But she can't die! We need her for the sequel! Let's just make up some hokey story that the one who died was a body double or something.

[@antonikudlicki1100]

it's funny, when ironic tho

[@Pukeprincess]

Duolingo Bird, uh oh, did Mary Sue forget her Spanish lessons, good flaw to include.

[@CRU22]

Having a Mary Sue is a fun thing when you write a private story that will never see the light of day.

[@RainbowSprinkles1001]

Crystal Yes exactly there isn't anything necessarily wrong about Mary Sues, so long as it's in light humor and not something someone wants to seriously adapt. 👍

[@KindredKeepsake]

What Char said. XD As long as you don't try to publish that monstrosity, you're good.

[@warlordera5409]

I have a Gary Stu character that I like to torture for fun. It actually got me depressed for a while. But then I just thought up new horrible things to do and felt better.

[@KindredKeepsake]

I think maniacal Sims players like myself can relate to that. XD

[@KindredKeepsake]

A truly creative writer can do both simultaneously..~ Besides, it's just an outlet. At least, I would hope so.

[@vicky248123]

Hollywood writing female protagonist. And remember kids, the only flaws she can have are the ones that make her *_quirky_*

[@cornbreadloverrr]

Oh no! She can read OnO! And she doesn't like girly things therefore doesn't get along with girls ;_;

[@jcstitches4671]

Oh god captain marvel

[@jcstitches4671]

Jerimiah Saulsberry what

[@Butiguessilovememore]

@@jaytheadept7785 this aint it chief

[@asher8754]

Captain marvel is the maryest or Mary Sues. Cause g-d forbid Bree Larson doesn’t get to be admired like a fucking deity

[@rain51db4]

This is all of the "Hated child becomes a hybrid princess." Stories in Gacha Life

[@thepersondotjpg]

Well that explains every Gacha related comment I've seen.

[@NJSmellsbad]

Yep

[@a.sahmed2639]

@Kaleela Edwards don't ask, otherwise you'll fall down a deep dark hole that you can't escape

[@yellonide]

The accuracy in this I-

[@tetsuya-chan502]

Back then, that sh*t was famous in 2018.

[@doomlord0773]

If a Mary sue is liked by everyone, then why does abusive parents and villains exist?

[@owenmonjesmugas3637]

Plot requires it.

[@KazuhaEien]

2:32

[@5Account5]

Because she's misunderstood. They are always misunderstood.

[@ametsunami4070]

Because their jealous of her!

[@deadass849]

@@leonardchurch5199 nononononononono thats feminists

[@jundsheep7599]

This sounds like every cliche romance story protagonist on Wattpad. Practically all werewolf romances.

[@KazuhaEien]

Or the characters on most of the Episode stories

[@exammole4545]

Gacha stories made by 5 year olds: FOOLS

[@fairyjuggalo8368]

@@exammole4545 i love making gacha and play the actual game too but im staying away from those satanic kids

[@fayybeu]

@@KazuhaEien So true lmao

[@somethingamazing3758]

Don't forget BTS ones

[@lot308]

But if I remove all my flaws, I barely have any personality left.....

[@jonjones1522]

exactly

[@frankwest5388]

StarCrush27 come on don't you have a tragic backstory. It's all you need since backstories and character development are obviously the same thing. Like I don't know lets use something simple something that everyone knows and can relate to like: your parents are dead and that's why you know God-death-style Kung fu. ... wait your parents are alive and you don't know god-death-style kung fu. I guess your life is easier then mine.

[@FantasyAngel-zj7bw]

Perfect for a Mary Sue! they don't need any discernable character, so long as they have awesome powers!

[@pulpodesigner]

You made laught really hard at 1 am and wake everyone at home. I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY

[@lot308]

I was joking.

[@inanjarif1388]

Ah yes, the ancient prophecy: *"I predict this story will suck"* _Aka the prophecy of Wattpad_

[@yashobantadash6462]

Wattpad manager you know those needle in a hay stack crossover stories that don't have your name Last name and self insert and actually take a carecter from another story as the mc Instead of taking a god like carecters powers putting them inside a oc which is basically The disguised author self insert Mary Sue or Gary stu which is further disguised as y/n l/n Wattpad assistant yes? Wattpad manager make them a needle in the ocean by removing them from search engines or putting them in the last page of google crome Wattpad assistant I-i see , so what about those yn ln self insert low effort mary sue Gary stu Storys Wattpad manager fill the front page to the brimm with them

[@Dressup_Doll]

Well dang. Here I thought I was a good writer; guess I need to reevaluate

[@25aeps43]

I like wattpad

[@paintguy9129]

Wattpad has good stories too, just that its VERY VERY rare

[@haumea4518]

It’s even worse when it’s a good story but never gets updated again

[@SuperHamsterhuey]

But where's the love triangle?

[@MrKlausbaudelaire]

Mary Sues are too perfect for love triangles, they are the center of a love dodecahedron.

[@LifeIsAHighwayIAmACarCrash]

MrKlausbaudelaire BEST. COMMENT. EVER!!!!!!

[@722lovemonkey]

MrKlausbaudelaire After all, where do you think all those halves come from? :3

[@stephenmcginnis5488]

Ah, I see I have finally stumbled upon a comment that showcases knowledge that might even rival mine.

[@stephenmcginnis5488]

Well you see, there is no one quite as dumb as I. Until now. I'm just kidding, this comment is the god of all comments!

[@emmadiienno1864]

*when you realize that your oc that you wrote so hard not to be a mary sue is literally a mary sue*

[@illuminaticake4528]

@Sally Nathalia my rhs2 oc was an edgy 17 year old demon complete with a few of the things every bad rper puts in bios

[@SetSeth-yl6ke]

I still regret makimg a sans rip off character. Thank god i updated him

[@theplumscrub1627]

Emma DiIenno I know right? My first character was an attempt at not being a mary sue, but she was pretty damn close to being one.

[@shadithakis]

Luckily for me I used no creativity in my OCs so there wasnt a mary sue. I literally just mashed characters I liked together. And if that doesnt count good news I didnt even develop my other characters almost at all. Yay

[@shadithakis]

@007tempest I read paper man like the Pepsi man theme

[@anneclaudia1491]

"Cheap" "Lazy" "Spending time watching youtube rather than writing" I feel attacked

[@pRahvi0]

Hey, are you too _heroically_ watching KZbin? That's *great,* we would make a *perfect* team! Let's go hang out in our *awesomeness.*

[@ShahTalks]

*Hello There*

[@darkestlune9580]

Y/meIRL

[@WadcaWymiaru]

OK...now we will kick you to...Isekai XD

[@thecrimsonfire4921]

Zenitsu Agatsuma you better have typed this whilst thinking of the Obi Wan Kenobi Scene 😂

[@SAClassHunterZero]

Mulan didn’t USE to be a Mary Sue... sigh

[@benl.4577]

Mulan evolved, just backwards

[@anmira3826]

It’s evolved just backwards

[@o__o.6212]

The new movie basically deleted her training arc! The only thing she actually learned in the movie training was how to carry buckets...

[@magjh2662]

It's Another Mulun, her clone

[@KeepCalmContemplateYourChoices]

-Can't we just pull a Last Airbender and pretend this movie doesn't exist?- What Mulan 2020 remake?

[@JingleJangle256]

I’d love to see a film made where the main character is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu and, as they overcome every obstacle they encounter, grow arrogant overtime with others becoming irritated by their bloated sense of self. It eventually ends with the other characters having to fight the Mary Sue/Gary Stu, who has slowly become the antagonist. I’d also accept one where a character is so OP he’s bored and endlessly hoping for a challenge in life, but One Punch Man’s already done that.

[@Frendlu]

Death Note maybe? More or less, this happens with the Main Character.

[@hellothere2464]

Nicholas Eickman this is literally Star Wars with Anakin

[@Fizz-Q]

@@hellothere2464 but anakin was never op or a gary stu

[@hdckighfkvhvgmk]

@@Fizz-Q he WAS a "chosen one" though.

[@Fizz-Q]

@@hdckighfkvhvgmk yes but anakin in the clone wars was defeated uncountable times

[@winterlarsime9938]

Is this Wattpad books in a nutshell?

[@yosoylatomie]

Wattpad fanfics in a nutshell

[@Swordsmaster]

I might change that...The main character in one of my stories seems like a Mary Sue, but they do question themselves, and at the end, the villain turns out to be not really much of a villain and in turn the two come to the realization that they in fact are both ignorant to certain issues which leads them to come to some sort of agreement. And if the main character still seems like a Mary Sue from this explanation, feel free to argue against me or ask questions if something seems clear with my brief explanation. I honestly don't care if they are one or not. XD

[@butterballporkbunthetoymak]

Winter Anime nah because I write good Wattpad books with unique styles and new tropes this is a self absorbed person in a nutshell

[@ruethefox]

Well, it truly depends on who reads it. Some people like Harry Potter and others think he's a Gary Stu. (i'm on the second group) I used to think my stories were amazing. Nowadays I think everything i do sucks. It depends a lot on perspective.

[@biocapsule7311]

+Rue Nah, Harry Potter is not a Gary Stu... he is just not particularly likable. Now, Anita Blake... that a Mary Sue, she basically fulfill the criteria for at least 80% of this clip. Granted most Urban Fantasy romance run the risk of that but Anita Blake really set a standard.

[@ednacole7148]

90% of the OC fanfic writers be like

[@TheDr502]

Don't forget wolf comic writers.

[@zzdaweirdo1120]

@@TheDr502 Oh my gosh- THE WOLF COMIC WRITERS!!!

[@feritperliare2890]

Lea Morgan and modern female marvel comics writers

[@MisterWT-vo6qz]

Webtoon and wattpad

[@thewildmonarch]

Oop

[@psychomoth06]

The writers of the new "Mulan" saw this video and thought it was actually great advice.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

🙄🤣

[@barrylyndon5552]

Writers of Disney Star wars loved it Captain Marvel writers didnt think it went quite far enough

[@jonah_da_mann]

Indeed. My definition of a "Mary Sue" is this: When people say that Character X is a "Mary Sue," what they really mean is: "The person WHO WROTE Character X is an egocentric narcissist who wishes that everything was all about them. Said author sees themself as infallibly perfect, and they wish that everyone in real life would constantly congratulate them on how perfect they are. They wish that everything would get handed to them on a silver platter, and that they could always pull off insanely impressive feats with basically no effort and still be congratulated for it. Thus, said author projects onto Character X, and writes them in order to serve as an outlet for their own self-absorbed, implausibly idealized, wish-fulfilling, escapist fantasies." This to me, is EXACTLY what Mulan from Mulan (2020) is, and what Kirito from Sword Art Online is.

[@missdibule2039]

@@jonah_da_mann So true. I hate Kirito SO MUCH exactly for these reasons. I don't understand how people can like him. He despises everyone, he's an annoying brat and YET every girl likes him it infuriates me. Thank you for pointing that out

[@danpowton3193]

A solution to this type of character: kill them within the first chapter and then have the actually interesting characters take it from there.

[@recon441]

Dan_from_the_internet Gurren Lagan?

[@danpowton3193]

Rosana Econg I've not seen Gurren Lagan. Do they do it this way?

[@recon441]

Then darn I've ruined it for you

[@danpowton3193]

Rosana Econg nah, it's been on my watch list for a while and I'm more likely to watch it now that I know a Mary Sue character gets killed off

[@recon441]

Super, happens early on anyway so there's a lot of great show that follows

[@leeccedxntesiiast6]

Everyone don’t lie your first Oc was a Mary Sue. Edit: damn y’all really telling me about y’alls oc you made 8 years ago.

[@thedissatisfactoryman114]

I will admit, mine was close to that. It was more of a self-insert. And OP.

[@samanthapatterson3162]

Yep. I admit. My first OC was probably one of the worst Mary Sues ever (bad colors, self insert, perfect, Princess, etc..) I did improve that OC though and use them for roleplaying.

[@arandomladofanunknowngende5157]

Mine was a furry Mary Sue self-insert. I was 8 or 9 at the time, I'm suprised I didn't tell everyone I knew about it.

[@Yakal001]

Mine was kind of a self insert. I don't like the character but the concept could kinda work. She was like an action/fantasy videogame character but in the real world, with all the dramatic dialogue, the magic sword and respawning. So the people kinda had to deal with her. I didn't really know where to take the story but I could reuse it for something xd

[@kaisercalvin1742]

Mine was absurdly powerful, but had lots of flaws. I went "wait, if he is op with no flaws, that is boring. Let me add 10 flaws." So I did.

[@Corentinbes]

"Just scrub all your flaws away and make your character an idealized version of yourself" *Turn himself into a woman* ... Hmmmm

[@hasseo195]

Because women are prettier as man.^^

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Actually I did end up doing that partially with one of my protags when I found out that a certain set of traits would better work on an MC that would be younger than me and not my gender

[@TheGamerCreeper399]

boobees are betr than pepe

[@overseerbomb7632]

seksest11111

[@PixelDoodles]

Orion lol

[@whitemagus2000]

Disney used this tutorial for making Star Wars and Mulan 2020.

[@renard6012]

Mulan 2020 makes Rise of Skywalker look like a compelling story.

[@bongus840]

Now Mulan's "half chi half pheonix half powerful woman"

[@birdthebird3396]

2:47 Remember when Rey accidentally let loose a few tentical monsters and almost killed her best friend? Because it doesn’t seem to me like she never makes mistakes. I can’t really defend mulan tbh

[@yeet76231]

Ooh, captain marvel too

[@wiggins9249]

@@bongus840 How i describe Mulan: half mary sue,half phoenix bird, half quirky,half alien, half human,half i'm not the other girls.

[@user-iz8rr1kt5w]

Don’t forget to give her every mental illness in the DSM but never let it affect her life negatively in any way because that could be perceived as a flaw and we don’t want that, do we now?

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Lmao

[@ArtseyHayton06]

Screw the rules.

[@Zarmdthecoolest]

Mmhmm yep and none of them conflict at all 😌💅

[@mummytrolls]

She has a goofy quirk of needing her closet to be in order of color so she’s totally ocd 🤪 She has insanely dramatic mood swings so she’s totally bipolar 🤪 She can’t sit still so she’s totally ADHD 🤪 She can’t have a mental illness that the media and society says is icky and bad and scary like autism or did or schizophrenia tho because then she wouldn’t be cute quirky

[@cmm07r]

"Makes her wear dresses or go to school" those monsters.

[@a.w.4708]

@Best of Bandana lot of women through history... And me.

[@a.w.4708]

@Best of Bandana I live in middle Europe, we have temperatures from -10 degrees to 35 degrees and for each of them you can wear a perfectly comfortable dress. For lower temperatures you just need thick tights, for example knitted ones. For higher dress is actually more comfortable than pants. I of course don't wear dresses all the time, but it isn't a wear only for ocassions for me. I just like dresses and don't find them uncomfortable. Hundreds of generations before us also didn't most of the time. In some regions of the world even men wore kind of dresses instead of pants.

[@a.w.4708]

@DraKaleel 18 no... I've never said that? I just say I like wearing dresses and that dresses aren't uncomfortable. No tank tops, no baggy pants actually... (Ok, I have one baggy pants, but I didn't even mentioned them)

[@a.w.4708]

@Best of Bandana Yes, I guess... Where are you from, BTW?

[@butterflyexists]

Yeah. But I don’t really understand why she can’t just wear shorts or trousers or leggings or any other form of lower-body clothing. Can someone explain to me why her dressing non-femininely is an issue?

[@vitorialorena5726]

I've read a fanfic where the author was literally a godness and she just... appeared (with a light from the sky) when the plot nedeed to move on. She talked with the characters, did some magic and just... disappeared. Only to appear again when things became bad for the main characters.

[@Anna-tk7ui]

If I wasn't sure the human race was going to die, well, this is it. Out of curiosity what fandom was that of?

[@vitorialorena5726]

@PAPER STONE I'll try to find, but that story isn't in English (it's in Portuguese). Do you mind?

[@vitorialorena5726]

@@Anna-tk7ui TazerCraft, a Brazillian Minecraft KZbin channel. The owners are 2 guys that the subscribers LOVE to ship (they're basically brazillian dreamnotfound lol, even down to the blue-green color scheme), so the fic was one these cliche vampire romance between them.

[@vitorialorena5726]

@PAPER STONE Took me a while, but I found it! www.spiritfanfiction.com/historia/the-love-the-vampire-5392218

[@Anna-tk7ui]

@@vitorialorena5726 Oh, thanks, I was thinking it was Harry Potter or something.....

[@solaceberry]

My immortal in a nutshell “Hi my name is Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair”

[@logopolizer7602]

"It was..............Tom Bombodil!1111"

[@backhander8710]

I remember that mess!

[@hi-ie3og]

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU MOTHERFUKERS!”

[@iamthesenate5769]

Don't give me PTSD man. I must say, Voldy and his universe has some pretty weird fans.

[@bethbaxter2891]

Lol she wasn’t a Mary Sue you preps she was a satanist 😂😂😂

[@qibliofthepanwings8906]

"Half demon" "Half angel" "Half dragon" "Half princess" I don't think that's how fractions work

[@UncleJrueForTue]

If you take half of each of those creatures and glue it together with Contrivium, it does.

[@floskywalker6220]

Uncle Jrue just ignore the fact that in the grim dark episode it was confirmed that contrivium was made up of “ground up widows”

[@muskatDR]

Manbearpig would like to know your location

[@UncleJrueForTue]

@@floskywalker6220 Hey let's be honest, unless the widows are in the love triangle they aren't going to be seen for the rest of the story.

[@niko-ni6ps]

Thats what Ichigo kurosaki on Bleach is, except he is half shinigami, half Quincy, half hollow, half human

[@teodorvb]

Just realized that Kim Jong Un is a Marry Sue

[@ufukcangencoglu2279]

That is not how It works

[@beepboopily6285]

@@ufukcangencoglu2279 but why not? :(

[@miniaturejayhawk8702]

Every dictators live is the one of a marty sue !

[@venor2612]

@UmUrso Amarelado true

[@laputin5958]

1) he's fat 2) Gary Stu

[@ADiretoria100]

This video made me realize that Bella from Twilight is a Mary Sue, literally everything in this video fits for her

[@detectivekid5784]

Yeah. Twilight is such a shitty series.

[@Kaefer1973]

@@caninehat6589 It seems you forgot that it's oficially okay now to grossly misuse the term "literally".

[@Nionivek]

Before you writers try to give your Mary Sue flaws to try to prove they aren't a Mary Sue, please note that a flaw doesn't automatically disqualify them from being a Mary Sue EVEN if they are legitimate negative traits. If the traits never apply when they would actually matter, are completely overwritten, or are actually a positive trait in disguise... it doesn't count. No more than Daredevil's flaw is that he is blind (Not only can see through other means, his blindness doesn't affect him in any tangible way)

[@koolbiscuit7434]

Edgy.

[@EIHuevoCosmic]

Reminds me of that recent star wars film where there is a blind asian guy and it doesn't matter at all since he fights better than anyone, like why bother making him blind? I guess its just a cheap cool factor

[@schwarzerritter5724]

Nionivek That is one thing the movie actually gets right. It has a scene where loud noise jams his radar sense it it actually gets him in trouble. ElHuevoCosmic And Book of Eli, for that matter.

[@xavier5425]

Yes yes yes! There is so many times when I read books and it was like "The character's flaw is that they don't know how to fight, but they never fight!" I'm a novice writer and even I know better than that.

[@finn-3976]

Nionivek however it does affect daredevil on a psychological scale

[@violetzhana]

Marty-Stu He was too much for logic

[@QUEENOBSCURE]

Actually being to kind and dangerously naive, can be flawed..and could drive him/her into being broken or a villain when they have been fucked with, just too much!

[@joeysopinion4463]

Like a fallen angel

[@daveroll6463]

Phos from houseki no kuni in the manga

[@ghefiranurf4342]

@@daveroll6463 pain 😢

[@ahliteskittles5694]

Jonathan Joestar

[@RandomL0s3r]

Thing is, they dumb the big bad down so that it won't be an issue

[@reddudetteandrosie]

Dude my friend has a Mary sue, and I've read her stories. They're terrible. It's all about her. For some reason she always gets kidnapped, her parents keep wishing she was dead, she's got all these mental disorders, and for some reason her favorite Korean band saves her and is always focused on her. It's cringy.

[@rayalight68]

RedDudetteAndRosie Maybe you could show her these videos and/or try to help her improve her story, if you haven't tried that already.

[@722lovemonkey]

Just be careful how you tell them. Some people don't take criticism very well or at all. Been blocked a few dozen times by said people.

[@stevenbacon-cheddar9914]

Even your synopsis is cringy, I can only imagine...lol

[@KarishmaChanglani]

Korean band. SAY NO MORE

[@expressionlessicesnow6540]

RedDudetteAndRosie *Cough* wattpad *Cough*

[@dadobojart7895]

A note of my own, in all seriousness: On my opinion, more often then not what makes a Mary Sue a Mary Sue is not actually the traits of the character itself, but the way the world interacts with it. Allow me to give a example: A: Albert is a scientist with a IQ of 150. He works in a division of the government encharged of creating and investigating new weapons where he is generally very respected: However, he often deals with situations of a complexity that even he cannot solve, and as such he has to count on the help of his team to help him out as often as the other way around. B: Albert is a scientist wth a IQ of 150. He has never met a problem he wasnt able to figure out a solution to in less then five minutes, pretty much everyone and everything goes to him for advice, and whenever someone questions his suggestions, they are treated as idiots. On both cases, the character has the same trait: A intellect far above human average. The only difference is that, on the first case, people would interact with this trait relativelly realistically and he would usually deal with things that are complicated even for his standarts, whereas on the secound, he never deals with anything he cant easily and immediatly solve, and everyone would worship him even though, no matter how smart he or anyone is, by all logic and reason he still should be fallible. Also, for this same reason, having a character that is a douchebag but everyone seems to ACT as if they were the best thing ever( You probably must know at least one example of it... ) is as likely to be noticed as a Mary Sue as a "straight" Mary Sue is, while being even more annoiyng, as on the case of a "straight" Mary Sue, at least you can see why would this character be admired if he was to exist in real life.

[@Sextus70]

+Dado Bojart Very well stated. Actually, I have seen some "perfect" characters in fiction who, nonetheless, live in worlds with actually logical reactions and stances towards them, which sometimes makes them face problems and personal issues despite how mighty they are. A good example would be Dr Manhattan, who is essentially a god, yet he doesn't like to consider himself one and he eventually becomes more apathetic towards mankind (and even life itself) because of his unparalleled awareness and comprehension of the universe. That indifference and coldness makes mankind to be eventually distrustful and weary of him despite he never shows to be truly evil. He just feels that he can't fit into human society anymore (and for that reason, he abandons it). Compare a truly mature and amazing concept like that to an average douchebag MC like you just pointed out who, nonetheless, is seen as the greatest badass its world has ever seen for whatever the stupid or wish fulfilling reasoning its author had when he/she wrote the story.

[@Krygex]

Indeed! A ton of writers, when asking if the character they created are Mary Sues, focus on the character, which I think can lead to authors being nervous about making a character "too-Mary Sue-like, cuz that'll make my work instantly hated!" Your protagonist can be a mighty God, just so long as they are grappling with other gods, cosmos ending Old Ones, or a struggle to create something that they find satisfaction in.

[@katiek2615]

Dado Bojart I agree!

[@carbon1255]

Uhhh, first of all you seem to not include character development as part of the character. Second, the mary sue effect is judged on the difficulty of the task in relatable terms. So for example, a character that is only required to open jars and does so successfully without challenge, this does not make him a mary sue (unless no one else can open jars) Third, nobody admires anyone for being the best at anything. see John von Neumann, not exactly a pop science icon, eh? and he single handedly saved the world, and rather long term, too. Fourth, the problem with a mary sue is not having powers or being powerful, it is solving problems integral to the plot with ease. An easily resolved plot is the worst mistake a story can have! Look at One punch man. He is infinitely powerful, but that does not solve any of his problems, and is mainly the cause of them. fifth, you completely misunderstand perfect. Perfect characters in this sense inherently cannot face challenged or personal issues. Because everyone who agrees with them are good and in the right and those who disagree are evil villains that must be killed. Mary sues only exist in black and white fairy tale kingdoms.

[@solank7620]

Carbon 12 I know that Von Neumann is supposed to have had one of the most legendary intellects ever. But, how did he save the world...?

[@prastevnikprastevnik3140]

I've read a detective story with a character that was like "Oh, I was a poor orphan, but I was working hard and I am a billionaire now. Let's build orphanages, and help common people and my country, and get rid of all the 'bad' guys." The problem was that he was comparing everybody with himself, and if someone was stupid, greedy or cruel, it was a good reason for Marty to kill him. Ending: Marty shows as the serial killer and the most evil character in the story.

[@zombielandtay4827]

Please tell me the name of the story

[@prastevnikprastevnik3140]

@@zombielandtay4827 Major Grom. It's a Russian comic, but you can read it in English on the internet.

[@zombielandtay4827]

@@prastevnikprastevnik3140 How long is it

[@prastevnikprastevnik3140]

@@zombielandtay4827 The story I was talking about is from the first 10 issues and every issue has aproximaty 30 pages. But it's a comic, so it's very hard to talk abou how long it is. It also depends on how fast you can read in English. My English is bad (as you can see), so I spend two afternoons and evenings reading it. So I would say that it's short as comics are.)))

[@zombielandtay4827]

@@prastevnikprastevnik3140 Eh I would rather have a Russian speaking bad english than a Hispanic. Russians make english sound scary

[@TheOis1984]

is Harry Potter a mary sue too? - everyone but himself sees him special - parents died, his guardians are abusive - those who's with him are good, those who are against him are automatically bad (with the exception of snape) - he alone can solve all the wizard world problems. not the aged professors, not the wizards from the ministries.

[@gingin3438]

Yes but the male "Mary sue" is "Gary stu"

[@BabyGirlTiny]

TheOis1984 the last two don’t apply to Harry, defeating Voldemort doesn’t solve all the wizarding problems and the books never act like they do. And those against him aren’t inherently bad because they’re against him, but that they’re under Voldemort. Draco would be that, but then he’s redeemed in the end because of his upbringing and being under Voldemort

[@juliad.5934]

Absolutely. He's Rowling's self insert.

[@marimarques7015]

Yes. Yes. I hate Harry, he's a terrible protagonist with a hero complex

[@gaymer2488]

Well at least Harry is like-able unlike most Mary Sues.

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

Moral gray characters are more relateable. Guts is the best example. He turns into a literal monster half the time, but he still cares about his friends. One time he even kills kids(On accident, oopsie)

[@CombatSportsNerd]

@Sky Dome how?

[@CombatSportsNerd]

@Sky Dome yeah but how is it an inherently bad trope?

[@theblancmange1265]

He killed about 100 on accident. Then proceded to kill another 300 intentionally.

[@VunderGuy]

Relatable should not be the primary goal when making a character anyways so why are you bringing up the cherry on top as though it were the ice cream of the Sunday?

[@conagherdenson2194]

Not really on accident, he kinda figured it out and just stop caring cause FUCKING DEMONS

[@djmutt2000]

Disney trying to write Mulan in their rehashed Mulan: *WRITE THAT DOWN, WRITE THAT DOWN*

[@Adam-xf6sq]

And Rey

[@mr.excellent6510]

You’ve basically described the mentality of most anime writers.

[@somedude8346]

@Emrys Mao always isekais

[@martinawolf2983]

@Emrys Mao Overlord has entered the chat

[@brodriguez11000]

Some furry stories and universes are like that.

[@teethdotjpeg]

correction: most anime fanfiction writers

[@mr.excellent6510]

why is kiribaku not canon yet no. Anime as a whole is like this. No wonder it’s fanfiction is even worse in that regard. A fan base is a reflection of the thing after all.

[@KazuhaEien]

Everyone I see in this comment section: OMG Rei from Star Wars is a perfect example of this! Me in the corner: *Kirito from Sword Art Online* Also Corrin from FE Fates :3

[@michaelsteiner5265]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ucnguyen6375]

@Brady Carrigan same to Mary Sue, she is half angel, half elves,... so she has some crazy power to destroy the dark lord. Every boy in 1 km radius want her, she successes at nearly everything with no or really little struggle, although it is bullshit as hell.

[@Ridleyslayer1102]

@Brady Carrigan Kirito is all in all a perfect Gary Stu.

[@Ridleyslayer1102]

@Brady Carrigan did ask something?

[@Ridleyslayer1102]

@Brady Carrigan I see, don´t take this the wrong way but he fills the criteria almost perfectly, sure he had knowledge due to beta testing which is reasonable but, he also has a unique skill, the double swords,, he has amazing hidden skills, he is a hacker, he iterally came from the dead, also several girls are in love with him, his nerly flawless, he lost an arm and regained it, he is just too op.

[@joskayal5999]

or do the exact opposite: Make them have too many flaws.

[@peterjamesgabinete5346]

Josephysia yeah, people seem to hung up on not writing a mary sue, that they give their characters to many flaws that they become unlikeable loser's.

[@ekkonus5719]

-God when making me

[@ilovecheez7769]

Underdogs are overdone.

[@WakkaMadeInYevon]

My character's flaw is that sometimes they try a little *too* hard ;)))))))

[@murasakirenea9290]

@@ekkonus5719 big mood

[@YannYann12345]

And then there's Robbie Rotten, the guy they so desperately attempt to portray as evil but you just can't help but root for the guy.

[@YannYann12345]

Nythrain "Who did you expect? Sportaflop?" *begins laughing at his schizophrenic hallucination self's joke*

[@asaenvolk]

Cyclops?

[@YannYann12345]

asaenvolk no! i'm not a cyclops, my eye just got haunted >:(

[@asaenvolk]

No, I meant a character they tried to portray as evil (and failing) in Marvel comics for the last few years... and failing, in the end ironically if you step back and look at things, Cyclops has always been right. Its almost like some one in Marvel was pulling some strings and trolling the rest of Marvel. Okay I doubt that, but if they were, they are a beautiful bastard. #CyclopsWasRight

[@YannYann12345]

asaenvolk ... i have no clue who Cyclops is...

[@deadcall8458]

Patrick: Once there was an ugly barnacle! He was so ugly, that everyone died! The e- Narrator: No! Not yet! Then the half dragon pony angel demon fox cat dog eagle elf princess fairy named Mary sue came and brought everyone back to life! And then Justin beiber married her and she was just so perfect! Now it's the end!

[@marcoanimacoes5690]

No thats wrong The writer would have made Justin Bieber marry Patrick ,for some reason they love to make LGBT characters.

[@sonicdudeatdawn2]

@@marcoanimacoes5690 Even canonicaly straight *and married* characters

[@Idontfuckingcare666]

@@marcoanimacoes5690 Justin Bieber X Patrick Star OTP

[@woofwoof9199]

@Gordon's peronal channel with a rocket launcher

[@sailorsun1513]

Alex/Alpha/Halfwolf/ Half Demon/Half Human/Bi/Gay/Edgy/Hates "Girly" stuff/ Not like other girls/loner/hated

[@Firewall546]

BAAHAHAHAHA

[@hydrailce3404]

Accurate 😂

[@Crafty_Breeze]

That's no Mary Sue, that's a Margaret Sue

[@arrontheprotogen9276]

⁠@@Crafty_BreezeMargaret Sue III

[@shibinator9490]

Literally this episode is the perfect horror story Mary sue character is protagonist Kills a villian who's sort of petty and not extremely evil or anything Mary sue become the villian and starts the apocolypse and can't be stopped because she's perfect Seriously someone write this

[@yeraldmakmule4181]

amén

[@zettovii1367]

That would make her a Villain Sue... Which is also a thing.

[@FlatlandsSurvivor]

...Injustice?

[@SeathThePawn]

But also make it told from the perspective of the sue, so it's a Villain Protagonist (which in turn loops back into base Mary Sue) who -clearly- due to no faults, does not see that as a bad thing.

[@OrinjFlames]

You should watch Berserk

[@kelvina8250]

I only watched 30 seconds of this and I already have an urge to subscribe

[@morganjohnson1398]

You can't fight the -Homestuck- Urge to subscribe

[@blake8675]

S A M E

[@KoffingOnion]

Kelvin Thin I subscribed before watching the video, and after watching it, I'm glad I did.

[@atalentlessidiot7872]

Kelvin Thin Same.

[@morganjohnson1398]

i highly recommend subbing

[@lastfullast8819]

I have once found a small book series, where one of the main male characters reminded some kind of "Mary Sue" very much: handsome, clever, powerful, succeeds in everything, etc. But one funny moment: most people in books reacted at him in the same way as readers react at MS: he annoys almost everyone, and when he gets hurt, main heroine think: "Huh, he is not almighty. Nice.". Furthermore, he supports this image himself, for several reasons. And so... this character looks much more normal that other Mary Sues.

[@nnnnmhughuuhhjiijj9457]

What's the name?

[@lastfullast8819]

@@nnnnmhughuuhhjiijj9457 Sorry, but it’s in Russian. But if you somehow know this language, it’s three-book series, and their titles are: 1. ‘Танцующая с Ауте’ 2. ‘Расплетающие Сновидения’ 3. ‘Обрекающие на Жизнь’

[@nnnnmhughuuhhjiijj9457]

@@lastfullast8819 Thanks

[@themasterprocrastinator4933]

@@lastfullast8819 And this is where Google Lens comes in handy! Pretty sure it won't translate very well, but still. Thanks for dropping the titles! Off I go!

[@CreativeWitchArt]

Remember to make sure that their a jealous girl who in love with a boy who loves mary sue

[@wanaisya1805]

Her name must be Britney and she's a blonde mean cheerleader girl.

[@lollivee6770]

@@wanaisya1805 either that or she is Mary sue’s abusive sister

[@michiganscythian2445]

But rival girl has absolutely no redeeming qualities and no hope with boy

[@JimmyBoy9878]

Bratz?

[@diaryofagoat-lass1023]

I think you just summed up the writing team of the Disney Star Wars trilogy when creating Rey.

[@ultron374]

Oh. Yes. I agree with that

[@ooofexe7210]

And captain marvel

[@robinanwaldt]

I think you fail to comprehend what these films actually show.

[@faltanato6375]

@@robinanwaldt they show the all mighty rey and her unstopeable power. What they show?nothing

[@robinanwaldt]

Un nombre, Nada mas Watch the films again. They even talk about it multiple times.

[@BigTuk]

Might want to mention there are two species of Mary Sue. One is the Author self insertion, which is the least worrisome of the two. The more insidious relation is the reader self-insertion. This is basically when a Mary Sue is written to embody the idealized image of it's target audience. Now if done cleverly it can be used in such a way as to be a sly dig at the audience that they'll get likely when they reread the book in a couple years. But honestly it's more used to just make the protagonist the generic special snow flake the audience likes to imagine themselves as., Mary Sues do not ruin stories, but they do turn stories into popcorn stories. You know like popcorn movies are those movies you enjoy for 3 hours and then never think about again because when you do you realize there were more holes than plot and nothing made sense. Yeah, same thing.

[@canhedotricks6078]

Neeeds more likes

[@RoyalFlush270]

Percy Jackson in a nutshell

[@seatbelttruck]

"Let me comfort you with my rock-hard abs" "Will it blend?" XD Seriously. The best part of this is the drawings.

[@noahplack2457]

I've been watching this series and it's seriously super funny and makes some scathing points about popular media recently, I appreciate all the effort that went into them and I hope you keep it up and gain some popularity.

[@winterlarsime9938]

Noah Plack don't forget antisues

[@lyricbot8513]

Winter Anime whet are thooooooseee?

[@winterlarsime9938]

Yo Kennedy an EXACT OPPOSITE Gary/Mary Sue. They'll be depressed emo cutters with black hair (but are still white because even anti-cliches who are cliche have to be white amiwhite lads or amiright?) who have all flaws and no strengths and only wear Nikes, not Converse.

[@SPSchnepp2]

Well, considering they're wish-fulfillment/self-insert characters and most (English-speaking) writers are white...

[@CrabTastingMan]

+makingfun: No, it's about characters premises that are entirely "TOTALLY OPPOSITE OF A SUE" but not making an actual effort to go all the way. This is because they aren't written to be Anti-sues. *They're actually dark-sues with a "NOT A SUE" as an EXCUSE made AFTER the horrible dark-sue was created, not starting with the "NOT A SUE" concept and building up.* Heinlein sucked it up and did in Starship Troopers, and like, almost 60 years ago. He wrote his male protagonist elite space soldier, Juan Rico, and near the end revealed he was a Filipino, showing that it can be done... But it backfired a bit because almost nothing about him described really made him feel like a Filipino. But while one can write characters without ethnicity mattering, he could've still written Juan as white, but he didn't---so at least his decision itself does matter. Also this was published in 1959. *Especially, when all those so-called authors writing "not your typical sue" characters but still can't for the life of them bring them to take that final ethnicity change when it should really not matter shows this is harder than one might assume.* Ofc, Hollywood fucked Starship Troopers up and made him Argentinian, the whitest country in South America. He isn't American only because they couldn't rename his Spanish name.

[@Steroyd666]

Why on earth did this pop up in my recommended it's not like a Star Wars movie came ou- ... Oh...

[@cornbreadloverrr]

Just what I was thinking

[@heatherterpstra6233]

yes

[@CaptainPikeachu]

Ah yes Luke and Anakin Skywalker, so much Mary Sue!

[@cornbreadloverrr]

@@CaptainPikeachu They had development and clear weaknesses that were exploited by the villains.... they're not Mary Sues

[@cornbreadloverrr]

@@CaptainPikeachu Anakin lost to Obi wan and was basically enslaved by Sidious,if you don't remember, and Luke had training, in which he felt he couldn't do what Yoda asked him to, they both had weaknesses that were exploited by the villain, and the only reason Anakin got to kill Sidious was because Sidious didn't expect it, but even then he died after and wasn't magically brought back to life by luke, so while I can see why you might consider anakin and Luke to be Mary sues, that is far from the truth

[@leticidav]

Miraculous writers: *WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN*

[@marie-claire8634]

Yup

[@IceisNice_FollowingChrist]

lol

[@comedyman4896]

Instructions not clear book was bestseller

[@DevunGames]

Lord Buckethead instructions unclear, released 17 albums

[@zweiihanderr]

Lord Buckethead Are you talking about harry potter

[@jjabbott7249]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

And it was called Twilight

[@Blackrain7070]

your mildly southern accent makes these 100 times funnier to me man

[@GigaChadh976]

Blackrain7070 Tennessee.

[@inversiold1751]

The Switch Is Now OFF ‘normal’?

[@inversiold1751]

The Switch Is Now OFF It’s just that normal is rather subjective.

[@inversiold1751]

The Switch Is Now OFF Did you say it was normal to somebody?

[@coconutblaze8169]

Inversiol D | Yes, he said normal to him.

[@DrZuluGaming]

Everyone in the comment section: Rey from Star Wars. Me, in the corner: Alice from the Resident Evil movies.

[@laughingseal2282]

-Lightning from final fantasy 13 series.

[@samarthgour3026]

@@laughingseal2282 2020 mulan ....

[@uncanny_i3752]

@@goodvibesallday9245 agreed

[@NurseAmamiya]

*Laughs in Paul Anderson*

[@higrunt9844]

Every dumb OC i see.

[@morganrhoads1758]

As a ghost writer for fanfics and books, it physically hurts me when I have to write an obvious Mary Sue.... Basically, I'm in pain 80% of the time.

[@therealgj995]

@Morgan Mystic Is it mandatory for you to write Mary Sue characters?

[@greenlitlleman]

You need to realize that Mary Sue sells well. It is a mistake of many beginner authors - they try to write well instead of writing what sells. You need to keep things simple, but at the same time entertaining. If someone wants to learn how to earn with their writing then they would learn more from Twilight than from War and Peace.

[@beezlrompl]

@@greenlitlleman Solid advice and a hidden gem. Even Harry Potter fits the Gary Stu aspect. Awesome dead parents and abusive foster parents... but homie is the popular kid WHO LIVED. and keeps saving the school every year from the big bad????

[@soviet_tank_lover]

Wait there are ghost writers for fanfics????? Broski, just write your own fic at that point.

[@watermelon-yo5pi]

My little sister's OC is LITERALLY the Mary Sue explained in this video, and I don't know how to tell her that without her flipping her shit at me since she treasures her OC far too much

[@ShionKenobi]

Show the video to her. Not mentioning her OC, just, "look at this funny thing about wriiting OCs". Maaaaaybe she will be self-aware to notice similarity.

[@roadent217]

I bet it would probably be more likely she'd be JUST aware enough to realize DarkJinx is taking a jab at her sister by showing this video, and get even more angry as a result. Unfortunately, I've no idea how to fix such arrogant behavior. Perhaps just constantly prod her by asking "What would make this character love your OC so much?"?

[@KindredKeepsake]

I'd just let it be.~ Chances are, she will grow out of that character. Most do, with time. I mean, what's the rush? It's just one bad OC. Not like she's trying to publish the thing. After years of artistic development, she'll look back and laugh, like we do with ours. ♥

[@eboiwarcrimes1474]

DarkJinx can you give an in depth description?

[@KindredKeepsake]

Well said.~ ^

[@Tamashikiri]

Seeing as most of your episodes so far touched on writing your villains in relation to the subject at hand, think one of these days you'll make a Terrible Writing Advice specifically about writing villains?

[@TerribleWritingAdvice]

Given how much I love villains, I will probably end up doing more than one episode on them. I will likely focus on specific archetypes.

[@TheMamaluigi300]

Terrible Writing Advice You know what? You go right ahead.

[@Ozarka0]

quick! I'm doing a villain who unintentionally gave the hero a portion of his powers because he's a dumb ass and I want to highlight their striking similarities as those powers have actually warped the hero's personality which will in turn show the villain in an actually positive light as his message actually makes some sense despite how brutally he delivers it! I need some terrible writing advice to avoid this at all costs!

[@solouno2280]

Come on, just call him Dr. [Insert your local school bully's name here], make him bald and a mad scientist who just wants to destroy the world for no reason and that's all.

[@rofthebg7852]

+solo uno Wily fits almost all of those except the name (if einstein was your local bully, then sure, it would count)

[@kokoboy6993]

I appreciate the fact that the vampire was holding only red flowers

[@TheShinySnivy]

Make your main character flawed, but not too flawed. Give your character a couple flaws that will actually cause problems: being reckless, not taking things seriously enough, being _too_ serious, sometimes forgetting important details, having too much of a temper, being indecisive or too hesitant, being too sensitive, these are all examples that can work if done well. It is also good to give your character flaws that can be reduced or removed over time through character development. Having an annoying or frustrating flaw can work if your character gradually changes their ways. If your flaw never has any kind of negative repercussions, then it isn't really a flaw. Examples are being clumsy, being a slob (a minor one), having poor manners, or being shy. If the results of a flaw are always exclusively humorous, or never provoke any kind of negative response from other characters (having results of a flaw almost always be humorous, but still showing other characters reacting negatively can work), it isn't really much of a flaw. If you give your character real flaws, but nothing bad ever happens because of them, then they also don't really count as flaws. Say, for example, your character is annoying and selfish (which, in my opinion, should only happen if you plan on character development later). The character repeatedly disregards the feelings of others, ignores authority figures, and makes rash decisions. These seem like some pretty serious flaws, but they don't really count if, say, the character always gets their messes cleaned up by other people or by coincidence, always gets forgiven too easily, and doesn't get punished for being disobedient. I recently watched a video on why The Legend of Korra is a terrible show, and I'm in an attacking Korra kind of mood, so let's compare the characters Korra and Aang: Aang: a likable, kind, compassionate, and humorous character, Aang's flaws include occasionally being prone to lying (which changes with character development), sometimes being too careless, and being afraid to face responsibility. His flaws have actual negative repurcussions, and they are reduced through character development. Korra: Often impudent ( _"I'm the avatar and you gotta deal with it!"_ ), she tends to ignore the authority figures in her life, ignores advice given to her in order to help her learn new skills and then gets angry at the same teachers when she fails to accomplish the skills, and gets her problems solved by other people when her reckless actions have more serious consequences. Which character has flaws that are actually well executed?

[@RainbowSprinkles1001]

The Shiny Snivy This comment is beautiful and very helpful. Thank you!

[@sofaris576]

Ok The Legend of Kora is not as good as Avatar Last Airbender but I still think its a decently good show.

[@roadent217]

Let me guess. You're actually referring to Legend of Whorra by E;R Am I correct?

[@TheShinySnivy]

You got it. I went from "korra is flawed but it's alright" to "KORRA IS THE WORST SHOW EVER AND IT RUINED ATLA FDHFDHJGR"

[@KindredKeepsake]

Korra was exactly like that in the beginning, but going through her traumatic battle with Zaheer and The Red Lotus changed her for the better. At the end, Tenzin acknowledged how far she's come. It's realistic when you think about it. Near death experiences humble people. This is why Season 4 is fan favorite. Katara and Toph even made brief, meaningful, appearances in order to help her through the physical and psychological struggles. There's no way she could have gotten out of this own her own. A Mary Sue would, because the plot says so. If you haven't rage-quit the series, lemme say that Season 4 is where the development is. Hope this helps. ;w;

[@saffi3715]

Though Mary Sue's are bad, they are the funniest to write as you can make up the randomist plots and make them do whatever during them. As long as people don't have to read the write, go crazy.

[@KaosNova2]

Statement: Looney Tunes protagonists are Gary Stus, but they are jokes in the first place.

[@raptorcharly8055]

That's almost literally what I do.

[@satrio303]

Hellsing is the example

[@Rainbowthewindsage]

@@satrio303 Hellsing or Hellsing Ultimate/the manga?

[@synflwr]

Me and my best friend are writing a joke fanfic about a Harry Potter Sue where Mary Sue gets adopted by lil Uzi but finds out her real parents are Bellatrix and Voldemort. Also she dates Harry Potter and kills moldy voldy with a literal shotgun...

[@magosleibowitz9626]

1:00 You know, having a character that is essentially a monstrous cross breed of half a dozen races made with foul magic/genetic engineering could actually be an interesting concept. As a failed experiment they could have to deal with the stigma of their warped physical appearance and/or feel like an outcast due to not belonging to a single race.

[@IamaDinosaur]

Magos Leibowitz All that equals :D = BULLSHIT! >:(

[@ceomyr]

Sounds a bit like Cell, minus the whole part about dealing with social issues, because he's evil as fuck and raised since birth by a computer to be a ruthless killer.

[@calswartz615]

But is there a love triangle? If there's no love triangle, it's not worth reading, obviously.

[@dpauls15243]

Sounds a bit like The Witcher. Claymore(anime/manga) does this pretty well, and I've heard A.I.C.O Incarnation is sort of like this.

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

Yes, but these "authors" would never actually do that because of the part where it would be interesting.

[@laylaloves5587]

The only flaws she can have must either a) be the cause of her superpowers b) be heroically overcome by the end of the story c) contribute to the moral, as she battles her flaws until eventually realizing her flaws make her special, and she doesn't have to change anything for anyone. She comes out of her metaphorical shell and possibly experiences a supernatural vision leading her to use those flaws to overcome the villain of the story(who of course must be old, ugly, and have every possible physical flaw to highlight their evilness)

[@insert_edgyname8848]

How is b of all things a bad thing?

[@ConnanTheCivilized]

@@insert_edgyname8848 It is good writing for a character to confront their flaws and potentially adapt to be less (self)destructive or even to not change. It is trash writing for the author to say the problem is magically cured/ no longer matters, without a believable arc.

[@ierrose49]

soooo Bella from Twilight? I always felt she's a Mary Sue

[@arcticshocked]

You can say this about pretty much every popular YA story with a female main character since I was born, because young girls who whine about how there are "no good female characters" eat this shit up with no self-awareness or sense of irony.

[@stephenskinner7207]

The thing about Bella is that she's actually a complete myopic, vain sociopath and a crazy manipulator when you actually analyze what she does as a character. She's just written to be TREATED like a perfect being by everyone else.

[@marvelousmoondoka3032]

Stephen Skinner Interesting, develop

[@lerquian1970]

Stephen Skinner i think that was explained in the video, the character would be as bad as the villain, just make sure to make the villain worse!

[@norahcarere5116]

Bella is the triple threat of an antiSue, a hood ornament, and a Mary Sue. If she and Edward Cullen bred, it would birth a child they would name "Blandon Perfecty Swan Cullen", if Stepheny wasn't too afraid to write it. Which she actually is. She's postponing "Just Twilight from Edward's PoV" for that reason. Edit: didn't know they actually had a child when I wrote this. Meaning that I was wrong and her name is "Creepychild Perfecty Swan Cullen", and their sex to impregnate Bella was probably so amazing us mere unsparkly mortals can only watch. Because sugar and spice, and everything nice, that's what vampire abilities are made of.

[@bellemacabre6399]

Wow you just summed up [Y/N] from just about every wattpad fanfiction that ever existed

[@naryle9415]

"She is too kind and selfless." "Afterall, we don't want Mary Sue to display unheroic traits like mercy or forgiveness!"

[@FantasyAngel-zj7bw]

Consistency isn't that important anyway.

[@theuncalledfor]

That's not actually a contradiction. Kindness would be aimed at innocents, and the mercilessness and refusal to forgive would be because the bad guys hurt so many innocent people - it would be revenge for them, not for the Mary Sue's selfishness. I'm not trying to defend Mary Sues or anything, just pointing out that isn't really an inconsistency.

[@3nu570]

I can`t stop thinking about Kirito from Shit Art Online

[@frankwest5388]

Riiny Sann he is not a Mary Sue. Firstly. He is a guy. Not a girl 2 he wears black, the color of moral greyness so he is deep. Since Mary Sues are wear white to emphasize their pureness 3. He uses swords. Which self insert character would ever use swords. 4. He is only powerful because he has a unique skill. Which is very different from a unique power. 5 he doesn't have a love triangle that goes nowhere ,he has 7 girls who like him and a girlfriend. 6 he doesn't save anyone from death. In fact the only one he saves is a computer program, by hacking a game from inside it self. So he doesn't have any abilities that would make him able to save all people. I hope this deep analysis made clear how he not a Mary Sue but something else. ... just watch the abridged series it's less painful

[@argumentumadhominem3977]

Kirito is a Gary Stu

[@Axl4325]

Watch Digibro series of Sword Art Online to know absolutely everything wrong with it, it's amazing how flawed it is

[@gsnower2122]

Axl4325 It's amazing how many flaws he has but he's so popular, isn't it?

[@Axl4325]

Gabriel Snower yeah, SAO came exactly on time to be extremely popular, it was new, about videogames and had good animation, and by that time people wanted new ideas so when it came out everyone liked it mostly because they didn't have a reference

[@pinkietastic9430]

I feel like the flaw of “being too kind and generous!” is almost never portrayed to its full potential. Because things with Mary Sues that are “Too kind and caring!!” never portray it as a flaw, they just say it is. But in real life, being too kind and caring can literally, deadass be a horribly crippling thing to deal with. Such as when friends constantly vent and ask for advice about mental health issues, so then you take the responsibility on yourself to make sure they have someone to talk to 24/7 (which is about the worst thing you can do), or when you never allow yourself any time for self-care because you don’t know how to say no when people ask if you want to hang out or do something, or when you feel like it’s constantly on you to make sure that the people around you are taken care of and in optimal condition. Being too caring is immensely detrimental to the person who deals with it, and it is something that absolutely, invariably has to be unlearned. Not saying you shouldn’t be caring, but with a select few exceptions (like say, your kids) you can’t sacrifice your health to make someone else happy. Of course, this doesn’t apply to Mary Sue! She can balance saving the world, acing her math test, getting first place in the Olympic triathlon, AND being the therapist and caretaker to all of her friends at the same time! Because she’s just that amazing!

[@hydrailce3404]

I remember this webtoon where there’s a side character who was literally too kind,and she got burned alive for reasons. The whole narrative really showed that her life sucked but she was still kind…idk if she’s a mary sue or not because she’s a flashback character.

[@pinkietastic9430]

@@hydrailce3404 Oh that does sound interesting - yeah I like it when being too kind is done as an actual flaw like that.

[@felipecosta-kv2fx]

I actually have that being a very deadly flaw in one of my protagonists. Because he is so kind and nice, he believes that everyone can be saved, Including the mercenary who believes that violence is the meaning of life. He literally calls them for dinner to try and "Understand their point", The mercenary who was his former superior, Is once again meeting the child who was rescued from the cult they're serving, Now grown up and with a complete change of sides and personality... You understand where this is going, right?

[@hermitcard4494]

Disney's Star Thing Ep 1: The Mary Sue Awakens. Ep 2: The Last Boomer Ep 3: The Rise of MaRey SueWalker.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

"The last boomer" LOL

[@myusername3689]

Eduardo Gutierrez Oh crap she’s gonna sue me help!

[@KazuhaEien]

I'm getting tired of all these Rey comments, but out of all of them, this one made me laugh the most. Thank gyu 😂

[@aureliajesical.1569]

"MaRey Suewalker" I like the sound of that😃👏

[@shadowhound5113]

Lmao

[@gracequach6769]

Amazing how JKR managed to cram half the traits mentioned into one character and make it work

[@raptorcharly8055]

I'm assuming Harry Potter? If so then yeah, I didn't realize it before but that's actually really impressive on JKR's part.

[@zufiz.k8358]

How is Harry a Mary Sue? Hes definitely a flawed protagonist, just because he has abusive foster parents, does not automatically make him a Mary Sue.

[@gracequach6769]

+Raptor Charly Ikr

[@gracequach6769]

+Zufi Z.K That's exactly what I'm saying. She gave him at least HALF of the Mary Sue (Or Marty Stu, 'cause he's a dude) traits and he's still a well-rounded character

[@reviewman]

It’s called putting in effort to make a good story

[@Shibasu_]

Haha! this is [character] from [franchise] in a nutshell!

[@fancyb.p.6122]

Haha! This is Goku from Mario party in a nutshell!

[@synflwr]

Haha! This is me from my shitty primary school stories in a nutshell!

[@lordliberty8885]

Haha! This is Rey from Star Wars in a nutshell!

[@Rainbowthewindsage]

Haha! this Lucy Manette from Tale of Two Cities in a nutshell.

[@bruhicusmomentus3060]

Haha! this is Vladimir Lenin from The Leninist Era Soviet Union in a nutshell!

[@giantpinkcat]

I like how the comment section is just like "This is *insert female character from movie*". Can't we all just agree for the most part, Hollywood makes terrible female leads?

[@simoneangeliquemaloney3990]

Yes indeed

[@lieffian]

Yes

[@aaronTGP_3756]

Yes. It's sad, really.

[@Kaefer1973]

Can't agree since I don't know for sure. I haven't watched hollywood movies in years, seeing that both most of their regardless of sex used to suck, as well as their stories.

[@silverprimus321boi9]

they used to make such good female characters in the past, but all these extremely poor "female empowerment" campaigns resulted in the writers being afraid to give fem characters flaws, as they could be branded sexist mysoginists. nothing wrong with feminism, but I have to say, some people can't tell the difference between empowering women in a conventional story and character format and making omniscient godesses that are made solely to shit on men and boys while delivering a shitty message of "nothing is wrong with me, it's everyone else thats the problem! i'm perfect!"

[@tysonkk9084]

A good idea for a book is where Mary Sue is the bad guy while the protagonists try to take her down

[@CCLOSPINA]

Bleach? Aizen is a Mary sue.

[@venor2612]

Lmao that would be intresting

[@crowofcainhurst]

Griffith is a Mary Sue in Berserk

[@nanananananananananananana9430]

@@crowofcainhurst Although, a great one and one that it's invincible in a way that fits perfectly with the themes of the story and aspects to Griffith's character.

[@peynnep6483]

would it fit for a serie about overcoming cliches?

[@Tucher97]

Mary sues nowadays are a case of an old person trying to be hip and cool, its comes down more as cringy than "trying" plus it makes the character too damn predictable

[@Aveilas11]

Usually when you keep writing, you end up maturing away from the Mary Sue trope. Except some Hollywood writers never do...

[@renard6012]

People credited as "writers" are very rarely the people actually sitting down in front of a computer and writing the script.

[@Pyrotimewhat]

I kept thinking about Kirito from SAO

[@Trippy141_]

You deserve more likes. Basically the main reason why I stopped watching the anime.

[@Pyrotimewhat]

@@Trippy141_ aww! You're too kind!

[@Trippy141_]

*sends virtual hug* No problem. Glad that someone mentioned that ultra powerful kid. He made me lose interest. Shame because I liked Asuna

[@Pyrotimewhat]

@blackrave404 I'm sorry, but I have no interest in watching abridged. I like bleach

[@Pyrotimewhat]

@blackrave404 tried getting past Sao. Only watched 5 minutes before getting bored

[@cyric085]

jj Abrams and Rian Johnson didn't get your sarcasm

[@kodokuna.]

okay Percy Jackson wasn’t a Mary Sue but it pissed me off when Rick Riordan made his fatal flaw LOYALTY. why tf is that a flaw like common.

[@oh_hi_mark8586]

Being too loyal is a problem. It makes you blind and/or ignorant to who or what you are loyal to. If what you are loyal to is becoming a problem then you don't see it and blame the problems on others.

[@deadlockraven1849]

@@oh_hi_mark8586 It's hard to write a flaw that's positive at times without being annoying. "Oh no! I was just too loyal and trusting of my best friends! Alas, I was so kind I completely ignored them attempting to control the rest of humanity! Boo hoo!" It definitely can be a flaw but it's hard to write

[@a.westenholz4032]

@@deadlockraven1849 I have to admit that I like it when a story can show both the negative and positive qualities of the same characteristic. That anything can be a flaw or a virtue depending on the person. We tend to see these things in such black or white terms, and it just isn't like that in reality. A good story can be enjoyed on several levels- shouldn't force you to if you just want to read a good story, but still have the depth in it if you do want to think about it a little.

[@kodokuna.]

@@oh_hi_mark8586 The issue was he really wasn’t loyal at all. Yes, he cared about his friends, but it didn’t ever become a flaw. And one example of this is when the 7 become suspicious of Nico for no reason. And Percy is one of the first to agree knowing he wouldn’t be alive without Nico’s help and him risking his own life.

[@brithebean4341]

For example Ned Stark from GOT had that flaw and that literally cost him his head

[@rakusin]

-What's your name? -Rey -Rey who? -Rey Potter

[@nont18411]

rakusin “How dare you stand where he stood?”

[@aureliajesical.1569]

🤣🤣🤣

[@ChelovegII]

Rey'd Shadow Legends

[@pacoramon9468]

Rey Skywalker Palpatine Stark Solo Organa Hutt Stark de Todos los Santos Joestar y Picaso.

[@nicomom9534]

Ha-rey potter

[@BelleFlower15]

"Have a tragic backstory...that never actually affects her except to gain her pity points." I'm fascinated by trauma psychology and THIS SHIT KILLS ME. AGHHHH. I read this book series once, I don't remember the name, and the girl's love interest had his throat cut RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. AND SHE WAS FINE. Literally the only affects were a few tears and then later she was scared to hold a knife for like two seconds until she overcame her fear because she's So Brave.

[@another_useless]

I was reading a starwars fan fiction Where the girls best friend dies And the girl doesnt do anythin like tf

[@cutepuddleslime8201]

I have one little idea that the "Mary Sue" character can pretend to be oblivious to all of the attention given to them and their good looks, but secretly love every single bit of it. Sure there needs to be no flaws with a Mary Sue, but they may know that they are "perfect" but they also know they have a giant ego, needing to be constantly feed. The character can even believe they are perfect and feed off of the compliments, but in truth they can be very egotistical and attention seeking. This is a very interesting idea, but what do you think?

[@0riginal_zer030]

The satisfaction value of killing them off would increase exponentially as a result. That's not a bad idea, actually.

[@fancyb.p.6122]

A great villain idea thought I might be biased because I can’t stand people like that.

[@conazpi]

reminds me of teruhashi from saiki k

[@sugarhoneyicetea1892]

Aphmau

[@Mr.Yeast2]

So teruhashi from the disasterous life of saiki k

[@mrx4022]

- Give them flaws - Build their character - Make them go through sadness, happiness, pain, joy, regret (this will help with the previous point) - give them enemies and friends - give them hardships - don't make them fall in love at first sight (hey don't be shy make them Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Ace. It's your choice) - build your world

[@goodvibesallday9245]

Hollywood - " I'm gonna pretend I didnt hear that"

[@joeysopinion4463]

Mind if I screenshot this for notes

[@mrx4022]

@@joeysopinion4463 Go for it

[@bananatoffeepie]

Sup Riddle

[@malikarsyasakani]

Thank you for this, I needed this

[@aliyah859]

I had to go to the dentist too, once. Give me attention. *cries*

[@nottherealpaulsmith]

IT HURTS BECAUSE YOU DON'T FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS

[@boiofkoi]

2:14 is basically Harry Potter

[@alphahollow5642]

I think it because Harry Potter is what start the trope

[@Idekjustwhatever]

Harry doesn't fit this trope at all. He can barely do anything by himself lol

[@alphahollow5642]

Lena Potterhead I was talking about evil foster parents and good dead parents trope

[@xxlCortez]

James Potter wasn't very perfect. Lily was.

[@alphahollow5642]

xxlCortez I think that Harry Potter start the trope, then other people take it to the extreme

[@daviddamasceno6063]

Drinking game: take a shot every time you see the name "Rey" in the comments.

[@pabloliva87]

Alcohol poisoning is no joke, buddy. I'd say take a shot every 10th time.

[@just-trying-my-best-everyday]

Better not.

[@bluelandyaandgreenlandya1788]

Ok! :D *(pulls out a gun and starts looking for rey comments)*

[@Abominatrix650]

Fin: "REEEYYYYYYY!!!!!!"

[@AndragonLea]

I don't want to die from alcohol poisoning today, thanks.

[@tessielation]

Now all you need is an evil “dark side” and you’re good to go.

[@ww.DuzaFizz]

But make sure she can't control the dark side so she remains the innocent protagonist

[@LWL1ET_MEOW]

*cough* GACHA LIFE *cough*

[@TPNsBiggestFan]

@@LWL1ET_MEOW my twin has a gacha oc like that 😔🔫

[@thenobleone6255]

@@TPNsBiggestFan SMH, this guy in my pfp is like that 😔👈

[@Solverse_]

dont.... say it.... dont... say it.... dont... ...i think i see where the creator of SAO got his writting lessons from...

[@basilcormier5876]

True

[@mikhailthegreatestdragon3627]

preach

[@Arko777777]

I'd say J.J Abrams and Rian Johnson watched those as well.

[@seawind930]

Yet whenever a problem comes up he blows right through it and always saves the day, manages to get the girl, and is somehow a genius swordsman and hacker in real life.

[@seawind930]

The amount of plot armor and Deus Ex Machina Kirito gets is ridiculous. Despite all his home troubles he still has his harem of rejected women and a ton of friends. All the villains in the series have no depth and even when they have a total advantage, Kirito will get a dumbass Deux Ex Machina. None of his so called flaws slow him down, Kirito's supposed flaws are never explored, and that is just bad writing.

[@GunBreaux]

"Spends time watching youtube videos instead of writing." Me: "Haha! That's...…. Wait."

[@otherkamelliabuddy]

a lot of 9 yr olds with Gacha channels found this useful

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

You’ve literally described the female version of Ash Ketchum

[@Crazylom]

You mean, like, actual female version or you got confused by Mary Sue being feminine name?

[@sapomercador7257]

Not that much since the mf losed 6 official pokemon leagues and only won in Alola

[@cesar6447]

On the 6 gen, yes... before? no

[@blackkyurem2783]

@@cesar6447 he struggles woth his ash greninja bond

[@sapomercador7257]

@@blackkyurem2783 he loses even

[@RustyMew]

I think a way that a Mary-Sue character could actually work in writing is if being a Mary-Sue is actually portrayed as a flaw. The character definitely acts like a Mary-Sue but all the other characters as a result see him/her as a huge egomaniac and constantly berate and ignore her because of it. Being a Mary-Sue, however, the Mary-Sue just dismisses this as either lack of “true knowledge” or “jealousy of his/her flawless ness” and views the others as inferiors as a result. What I’m trying to say here is that a Mary-Sue character can work, if his/her role is actually the antagonist, or at least the stereotypical asshole character who neither the audience nor the other characters like.

[@LoinkLoink]

I'm horrified at how much my Male protagonist fits this description... welp, back to the drawing board

[@rj8563]

Thanks you for your honesty

[@LoinkLoink]

@Big monkey • 40 years ago [error] Welp, my main man David trains in combat for up to ten years, but there are parts of the story where despite that he still loses some fights with more experienced opponents. He also goes through some traumatic events that makes him a more flawed character than a Mary Sue, such as preferring to get in unnecessary battles over being sneaky(causing some drama between the characters). He's also an overprotective protagonist when it comes to his friends, which causes even more drama and tension. He learns many lessons throughout his many journeys . Overall, David's story is one of a warrior wounded by many tragic events eventually pushing past them in order to become the hero that people need.

[@LoinkLoink]

Before, David would win pretty much every fight because he's a badass warrior. His friends would ignore his flaws because he was the protagonist and I didn't plan for group drama. In other words, he was a Mary Sue

[@ftygdfrygg6622]

@@LoinkLoink you have ascended my son

[@greenlitlleman]

He too has all male characters wanting to sleep with him?

[@ampeyro]

I once developed a foolproof way to deal with mary sues in a sort of "have your cake and eat it" kind of way. First: You create your mary sue the traditional way. Second: Chop it to bits with a rusty axe. Third: Graft each piece to a member of an ensemble cast.

[@nottherealpaulsmith]

that would be an incredibly horrifying story but I like it

[@oa2794]

Ooh, I like that method

[@kenechewkuk.l8707]

Even though this is a joke, it does actually help. It shows you what you should avoid when writing, which is really helpful.

[@Ant-vu2tx]

2:33 That’s essentially what Steven Universe does.

[@Hawkatana]

Take a shot for every time someone mentions Rey from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. *WARNING: Hawkatana is not responsible for any cases of alcohol-related side-effects.*

[@CCLOSPINA]

Anakin was a biggest sue.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

@@CCLOSPINA Nah. Even if he was literally Force Jesus and blew a space station as a kid, he had to train for 15 years. Did stupid shit, let her waifu die, lost his legs and got throat cancer.

[@XxKiraxX2009]

@@DonVigaDeFierro he also got his arm chopped off in the second movie, was a lousy brat, and had anger and psychopathic issues

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

@@XxKiraxX2009 And the punchline? Unlike certain character, ANAKIN'S MISTAKES HAD CONSEQUENCES!!

[@fire-nrg7962]

I'm one of those people who actually like the sequels. Fight me, internet.