So, a big concept in regards to like, characters a person makes, or OCs, is the fear they become “Mary Sues” or “Marty Stus” or “Gary Stus” if we’re being gender specific.
But yeah, I assume most of you know what it means, but for those who don’t, it’s basically like…a character that’s too “perfect” or something. Some quantity of traits that make them unlikable. Read more on it here.
But anyway, I’ve found quite a few “Mary Sue Tests” on deviantart over the years, and I find them fun to do. This one in particular has been used by Gringat and Moonstalker in the past, though I know not who made it.
Basically, I’m gonna post a list of things, and if your character matches the description of any of those things, you put an X(or the first letter of the characers name) in the box. Here’s an example:
In this test, I’ma do three of my main characters from my Casterrix story that I’ll actually write out one day. They are as follows:
Nyran Altair-The uh, “Main Character” I guess. He’s more…“One of several main characters” because I like to keep the focus on different individuals, Nyran’s just…eh. Prevalent. Whatevs. Nyran is an Earth Mage who was diseased fatally, but saved thanks to alien science, however, he had to be put into a 100% mechanical body, with no organic components, not even his brain. That was somehow digitized as well. He retains all memory and personality, however.
Paladius-An insectoid alien who is responsible for Nyran’s new body, being the one that found him. The two became friends quickly, and were going on all sorts of adventures for the sake of stopping the Reptilian Mushirins, who are bent on massive conquest, and threaten even Paladius’s home world.
Zacchaeus-A Korriok. A species that, in silhouette, resemble humans closely, but posess large ram-like horns, and constantly wear full body armor and helmets. No off-worlder has ever seen their faces, or most parts of their anatomy. All that is known is that they have flesh of lavender, and “blood” of green. He was given his earth-name after Nyran came to the Korriok colony of Doldurum, and taught the ways of Earth Knights and their honorable system of Chivalry. It was adopted quickly by the Korrioks, and Zacchaeus is no exception, being a respected Korriok Sky Knight.
Nyran: N
Paladius: P
Zaccaeus: Z
[] They are possessed by an angel
[] They are possessed by a demon
[] They are a werewolf/vampire/faerie
[PZ] They are physically strong.
[] They have a rare hair/fur color
[N] Their eyes are an unusual color
[] This happens to be red
[] Their eyes change color
[] They have wings
[] They can grow extra body parts/ ■■■■■■■■■■
[N] They are immortal
[] (if a female) they have large boobs
[Z] (if a male) they are very muscular
[Z] They are very attractive to the opposite gender.
[] They are telekinetic/pyrokinetic/etc
[] They have sixth sense/can mind-read/etc
[N] They have an object of some sort that gives them powers
[] They have a special ability/power, but they don’t know about it yet
[] They were bestowed/cursed with these powers
[] They are a healer
[] They are from a very rich/royal family
[] They don’t know that they are from a very rich/royal background
[N] They have lost one/both of their parents
[] They ran away from home
[] Their parents are cruel, uncaring, abusive etc.
[] They witnessed one/both of their parent’s death
[] They are part angel/demon/faerie/some other mythical creature
[N] They never knew their parents
[] They were abused/spoiled as a child
[] They are very attractive to the same gender
[] They have lots of friends/no friends
[] They are emo/cutesy
[NP] They look much younger/older than they really are.
[P] They are currently in a relationship
[] They have lots of morals and state them a fair bit for example: ‘I would rather be with my friends than with my boyfriend/girlfriend’ ‘Nothing matters more to me than my friends/family’ ‘I wouldn’t hesitate to die in place of a friend’ etc. It’s fine if your OC has these beliefs/values, but if they constantly say them out loud/preach them to others, then we have a problem.
[] They have a mental disorder
[] They have an emotional disorder
[] They struggle to stay sane
[] They are a psycho
[] They have multiple personalities
[NP] They are very intelligent
[] They have hallucinations
[] They can summon spirits/demons/angels etc.
[] They have an unusual/unrealistic pet
[] They have a guardian spirit
[N] They have a ‘special type’ of soul
[] Their soul is not the same as them
[] They can talk to spirits/ghosts
[] Some part of their body glows
[NPZ] They have a rare/unusual name
[] They were born on an important date, such as New Year’s Eve, Midsummers Night, The Winter Solstace etc.
[] They have a twin/sibling that they were separated from at birth/a young age
[N] They are connected with a certain element
[] They are connected with a certain animal
[Z] They always dress like a certain ‘label’
[] They look quite a bit like a character from a popular anime/manga
[PZ] They are a race/species that is discriminated against/misunderstood
[] They have a certain power that is misunderstood/feared
[N] They live/lived on the streets at some point in their lives
[] They are hiding from someone/something
[P] They have a rare blood type
[] They cry blood
[P] Certain noises/smells/situations/etc make their powers activate/give them a nervous breakdown
[PZ] They are from a different country to where they live
[] They are very mysterious/dark
[Z] They are very lively/happy
[] Their mood changes a lot/very quickly
[P] They are very patient
[Z] They are from a long line of …
[N] They have a piece of jewelry/clothing that they always wear
[] They have amnesia
[N] They have some sort of permanent medical condition
[] The have a curse upon them
[] They are involved in some sort of prophecy
[] They are ‘the chosen one’
[] They have insomnia
Take points off your OCs overall score if they fit any of the following statements:
[] They smoke
[] They are an alcoholic
[] They are overweight
[] They are addicted to drugs
[N] They have a short temper
[] They enjoy bullying others
[] They do not care much about others
[] They are emotionless
Nyran=12
Paladius=10
Zacchaeus=9
The scores are as follows:
5 Anti-Sue/Stu
Your character may be a bit on the boring side. Of course, this does depend, but generally if they are scoring that low, it wouldn’t hurt to ‘spice them up’ a bit.
6-15 Balanced Character
If your OC scored around here, then they are probably quite a well-balanced and interesting character. Those scoring in the higher end of this category may be a bit too much though.
16-25 Borderline Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu
We have a problem. You need to tone your character down. They are most likely a bit annoying to others, too.
26 Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu
Now for the blank example. Just like, copy and paste this for your own entry. ^^
[] They are possessed by an angel
[] They are possessed by a demon
[] They are a werewolf/vampire/faerie
[] They are physically strong.
[] They have a rare hair/fur color
[] Their eyes are an unusual color
[] This happens to be red
[] Their eyes change color
[] They have wings
[] They can grow extra body parts/ ■■■■■■■■■■
[] They are immortal
[] (if a female) they have large boobs
[] (if a male) they are very muscular
[] They are very attractive to the opposite gender.
[] They are telekinetic/pyrokinetic/etc
[] They have sixth sense/can mind-read/etc
[] They have an object of some sort that gives them powers
[] They have a special ability/power, but they don’t know about it yet
[] They were bestowed/cursed with these powers
[] They are a healer
[] They are from a very rich/royal family
[] They don’t know that they are from a very rich/royal background
[] They have lost one/both of their parents
[] They ran away from home
[] Their parents are cruel, uncaring, abusive etc.
[] They witnessed one/both of their parent’s death
[] They are part angel/demon/faerie/some other mythical creature
[] They never knew their parents
[] They were abused/spoiled as a child
[] They are very attractive to the same gender
[] They have lots of friends/no friends
[] They are emo/cutesy
[] They look much younger/older than they really are.
[] They are currently in a relationship
[] They have lots of morals and state them a fair bit for example: ‘I would rather be with my friends than with my boyfriend/girlfriend’ ‘Nothing matters more to me than my friends/family’ ‘I wouldn’t hesitate to die in place of a friend’ etc. It’s fine if your OC has these beliefs/values, but if they constantly say them out loud/preach them to others, then we have a problem.
[] They have a mental disorder
[] They have an emotional disorder
[] They struggle to stay sane
[] They are a psycho
[] They have multiple personalities
[] They are very intelligent
[] They have hallucinations
[] They can summon spirits/demons/angels etc.
[] They have an unusual/unrealistic pet
[] They have a guardian spirit
[] They have a ‘special type’ of soul
[] Their soul is not the same as them
[] They can talk to spirits/ghosts
[] Some part of their body glows
[] They have a rare/unusual name
[] They were born on an important date, such as New Year’s Eve, Midsummers Night, The Winter Solstace etc.
[] They have a twin/sibling that they were separated from at birth/a young age
[] They are connected with a certain element
[] They are connected with a certain animal
[] They always dress like a certain ‘label’
[] They look quite a bit like a character from a popular anime/manga
[] They are a race/species that is discriminated against/misunderstood
[] They have a certain power that is misunderstood/feared
[] They live/lived on the streets at some point in their lives
[] They are hiding from someone/something
[] They have a rare blood type
[] They cry blood
[] Certain noises/smells/situations/etc make their powers activate/give them a nervous breakdown
[] They are from a different country to where they live
[] They are very mysterious/dark
[] They are very lively/happy
[] Their mood changes a lot/very quickly
[] They are very patient
[] They are from a long line of …
[] They have a piece of jewelry/clothing that they always wear
[] They have amnesia
[] They have some sort of permanent medical condition
[] The have a curse upon them
[] They are involved in some sort of prophecy
[] They are ‘the chosen one’
[] They have insomnia
Take points off your OCs overall score if they fit any of the following statements:
[] They smoke
[] They are an alcoholic
[] They are overweight
[] They are addicted to drugs
[] They have a short temper
[] They enjoy bullying others
[] They do not care much about others
[] They are emotionless
I dunno how compatible the system is with Bionicle characters, nor do I think I could change it competently to form-fit bionicle characters.
But I dunno, just something fun to try. If you don’t care for this sorta thing, that’s totally cool with me. I just figured “Eh, why not?”
