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Dreading the inevitable "that's a Sue" comments...

Blackjack Gabbiani

Blackjack Gabbiani

Clearly we're great!
In the next chapter of my fic Obsession (see sig), I'm going to introduce a new character. The problem is that I just know people are going to read it and think she's a Sue right away, for three reasons--one, she's rich, two, she's beautiful, and three, the main character of the fic makes friends with her.

I just know people are going to think she's a Sue based on those, even though they'll only read her introductory chapter. I have a whole non-Sue personality and history for her, but it's the first impressions that I worry about.

What should I do about this?
 
Y

Yami Ryu

Well-Known Member
Nothing right up the front really, outside of explaining before the chapter, you have a character that seems mary sue, but she's not, she's like a celebraty or someone born into a rich family irl, she's not an all perfect git that owns the world and wants men as her sex slaves and has legendaries doing her laundry and house chores.

Only advice I can offer :p
 
Astinus

Astinus

Well-Known Member
Just as long as you don't have you be abused in some way and perfect in everyway, you should be fine. Really, if you have the introductory chapter for her, and if it doesn't have those near-famous Mary-Sue clichés, then you should be fine.

If you have her capture a shiny Absol with no real reason, then you might have a problem. But I know that you were having those thoughts about your main character for Obsession. And that you shouldn't worry about, as it's canon that he catches a few legendaries for an hour or two, eh?

Don't mind me, Blackjack. I just like to ramble some days. Just pick out the advice you need from the ramblings above.
 
Blackjack Gabbiani

Blackjack Gabbiani

Clearly we're great!
Well, Yami, she had to be rich, since Jiri meets her at a party for Collectors. And I always had a certain way she looked in mind (which, coincidentally, happens to look a lot like Diane from movie 6, but of course I can't say that in the fic. I swear, her looks predated me seeing Diane, though).

Thanks, you guys. Yeah, I ramble too.
 
T

The Pokemon Master

Master Trainer
So this is where you got to... And now that I've found you, I'll give you my own advice!

Hehe. Don't worry about that kind of a first impression, really. As long as you put said beautiful, rich girl into a reasonable setting (such as your aforementioned Collectors' Party), there should be no problem with it. There are rich people in the world, you know, and a lot of those said rich people also happen to be good-looking. Coincidence? Maybe. But the point is that as long as you give her a decent introduction and don't make her own six Legendaries, have looks that can seduce men whenever they glance at her, etc., you should be fine.

Until we meet again...
;150;
 
P

PDL

disenchanted
It's quite amusing how that here, the term "Mary Sue" means something completely different from the actual term.

I guess it's kinda just hard to define a "perfect" character. (not a character that's perfect perfect, but a character that seems "realistic")

Anyway, as long as the character seems realistic and not completely larger then life, it'll be fine.
 
F

Freawaru

Well-Known Member
Just adding my two pokedollars:

According to various online Mary-Sue tests, Luke Skywalker, Ash Ketchum, Samurai Jack, Sephiroth, Sandman's Morpheus, Harry Potter, Link and Frodo are all irredeemable Mary-Sues.

To put it another way: if George Lucas had known about Mary-Sue in the 1970s, we'd never have had Star Wars.

It's all about one question: Can You Get Away With It? If you can write a story about a beautiful rich girl and get away with it by simply writing well enough to make her feel like a real human being, quirks and all, she won't be a Mary-Sue despite what the online tests say.


EDIT: And you probably shouldn't add an Author's Note to say "she's not a Sue, really!" That'll just make people suspicious and predisposed to believe she IS a Sue :D
 
Blackjack Gabbiani

Blackjack Gabbiani

Clearly we're great!
I want to give her a pokemon; one that she never battles with. It should be somewhat rare and not too powerful. Would a Ralts work, or is that too much?
 
Y

Yami Ryu

Well-Known Member
Blackjack Gabbiani said:
I want to give her a pokemon; one that she never battles with. It should be somewhat rare and not too powerful. Would a Ralts work, or is that too much?
Click to expand...

Hm, well seeing as she's rich, and rich people usually buy stuff like that. I say if it's not used in battles, it should either be pampered/spoiled/a cry baby. As all my animals are like that :X spoiled rotten I mean. Usually how pets are now a days XD
 
S

Smile Guy

Keep Smiling...
As you long as you write it well, it should go un-noticed. And if you do have criticisms, just mention to them a comment such as: "You wait and see..." or such.

I had great difficulties my story, The Uprising (a distant past these days), because the story contained so many twists and turns that I would be criticised for having a cliched "save the world" group, when in actuality they were a terrorist organisation... I was then criticised for having a terrorist organisation that had done nothing wrong only to be annoyed that... Actually, I'll say no more, I'm thinking of doing a rewrite some day.
 
Blackjack Gabbiani

Blackjack Gabbiani

Clearly we're great!
SBaby

SBaby

Dungeon Master
Blackjack Gabbiani said:
http://www.serebiiforums.com/showpost.php?p=4752848&postcount=87 There's the chapter with her, if anyone wants to read it.
Click to expand...

Well, it doesn't seem to really be a mary-sue to me. Of course, the definition of a mary-sue is in such high debate nowadays that anyone calling a Fic's character that is considered by many people to be spamming. In other words, just because they call a character that doesn't mean they're right.

For example, I've seen some people call Edward Elric from FMA a mary-sue type character (the male equivalent). Prople like that also thought Luke from Tales of the Abyss was a mary-sue.

As for me personally, I'll never call someone a mary-sue, since I believe that to be about the rudest thing a person can do in reply to a fic.
 
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