Welcome to Gaia! ::

You might have heard the term 'Mary Sue' thrown around before, and wondered what exactly that is. Truthfully, there's no easy answer to that question.

The most basic definition you'll get of a Mary Sue is that she's a character who is 'completely perfect.' However, this isn't always true. Sometimes it's not that the character is perfect, it's that they never suffer any negative repercussions for the mistakes they make. Sometimes, it's that they're flawed, but in very specific ways that are meant to make them endearing and likeable, rather than flaws that make you dislike them.

Here are a few examples of different types of "Mary Sue" characters:

Black Hole Sue — Everything is about me! No matter what, this character will find a way to insert themselves into every situation, and make it revolve around them. Your best friend got kidnapped? No worries, Black Hole Sue is here to swoop in and save the day! While bringing all the attention to herself, of course, wouldn't want anyone to forget she's the hero here.

Purity Sue — I'm perfect! This character can do no wrong, literally. Everything they do is right, no matter what, and anyone who disagrees is corrupt or evil, or at the very least wrong. They are sweet, and kind, and optimistic, and chaste, and every other thing that you were told was a virtue growing up. In fact, 'virtuous' is an accurate one-word summation of their entire personality. And no matter how bad things get, they will never so much as bend. They are an unyeilding force of pure positivity and goodness, and you should all aspire to be like her.

God Mode Sue — Power overwhelming! No matter what happens, this character overcomes it with ease. Need healing magic? They know it. Can't get tickets to your favorite band's concert? No worries, they know a guy. Bad guy got you cornered with no wand? Well, they're an expert at wandless magic, and have a black belt in karate! Better hope this character isn't your enemy, because they're unbeatable. They're the roleplay equivalent of the kid who kept one-upping your superpowers when you played X-Men on the school playground.

Mary Tzu — I knew you would do that. In fact, I knew you would do that before I even met you, cuz I'm JUST THAT GOOD! Somehow, this character knows everything. They always have the answer, even if the question is "Where was my great great grandfather at exactly 9:02 am 10 years ago today?" They have every solution, because they're read every book, or because they're just that smart all on their own. Even if it makes no sense whatsoever for them to have the answer, they do. If you question it, you'll likely be met with a flimsy explanation that makes even less sense.

Jerk Sue — I'm a complete and utter b*tch and I have constant PMS...love me! This character is an absolutely horrible person, no question about it. And yet, you're still supposed to like them! In roleplay, this one is rather hard to pull off, since it's reliant on how other people's character react to yours. Look out for characters who mention a lot of NPC's that love them, even though no one else does. Hordes of adoring nonexistent fans are a major red flag.

Copy Cat Sue — I'm just like my favorite character, but even kewler! This is the obvious Luna Lovegood copycat, except this time Luna's in a band and plays electric guitar. Oh, and she's the most popular girl in school, obviously. But she doesn't date, because she doesn't have time for boys, or girls. And she has colorful hair, for some reason. This character is basically a popular character, stripped down to their most simplistic form, with a few dozen extra unnecessary but socially agreed upon 'cool' hobbies or traits.

Sympathetic Sue — Feel sorry for me! Every bad thing ever has happened to this character. Their parents and siblings are all dead, their dog was run over, their goldfish was eaten by the cat, and the cat choked on the goldfish. If they had wealth, it's either all they have left to comfort them, or even that was stolen or lost. They might live on the street, they might be taken in by an abusive or at least hateful guardian. Whatever the case, there's no silver lining for this character. To avoid this form of Sue, try to ease up on the suffering a bit. Throw them a bone every once in a while and let them go on a date that doesn't end horribly.

Villain Sue — I have you now, my beautiful slaves! Ahahahahahahaha! This character was born bad, or at the very least grew into their villainy early on. Maybe they found a book on dark magic as a child and found it fascinating. Maybe they were taken in by a dark witch or wizard as their apprentice. Whatever the case, they are pure evil. And powerful! They're usually the bad guy equivalent of God Mode Sue. If any of fictions greatest protagonists went up against them, they would surely fail horribly, and die slow and painful deaths.

Obviously, all of this is pretty subjective. Your character being evil or popular doesn't automatically make them a Mary Sue. What makes them a Mary Sue, in a roleplay context, is depth. Do they have it, or are they defined by the more Sue-like personality traits. Being the best at something doesn't even make your character a Sue. You just have to make it realistic. They can't be the best at everything, obviously. But they should also either earn that right through practice, study, whatever, or there should be other things that they're not so great at to balance it out. An example would be, a character who's got a genius level intellect when it comes to mathematics, but can't remember which incantation goes to which spell. Or, a character who's amazing at defensive magic, but utterly fails at Transfiguration. Balance is typically the key. If you're concerned

Guild Rules do not allow Mary Sues. They are typically considered godmodding, since a good chunk of what makes a Sue, a Sue, is that they are popular because of their perfection or in spite of their lack of it. Likewise, we like to keep the roleplay a fun and fair place for everyone's characters, and we can't do that if one character is constantly stealing the spotlight or solving every problem on their own. If your character seems too in line with a typical Sue, you will most likely be asked to edit their profile to explain or change the Sue-like traits. As this is subjective, it is up to the Profile Checker to make judgement calls. It is not recommended that you argue with the crew in regards to profiles.

If you would like to read more information about Mary Sues, you can check out the TVTropes page.

Worried your character is too Sue-like? There are quizzes you can take, or you can pop into the guild chatroom and ask people's opinions there.