Basic Trope: A character's poorly-done in-universe story makes use of a perfect Author Avatar.
- Straight: Bob writes a story called "The Amazing Adventures of Robert the Red" in which a multi-talented character with a stunning resemblance to him saves the word effortlessly while getting all the girls. It's clearly just an idealized representation of him.
- Exaggerated: Bob literally writes himself as God.
- Downplayed: Bob writes a decent Wish-Fulfillment story that isn't completely one-sided, even if it idealizes himself.
- Justified: This trope is Truth in Television.
- Inverted:
- Bob writes a self-hating story in which his Author Avatar is a total loser who gets tortured and killed in a horrible way.
- Bob writes a story where a perfect character who bears a striking resemblance to his crush Alice saves the word effortlessly.
- Subverted: Everyone expects this upon reading the title, but the story actually is pretty good and has nuanced characterization.
- Double Subverted: But in the end, Robert becomes extremely perfect and saves the day in a way that undermines all the subtle buildup.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig-Zagged: ???
- Averted: Bob's story does not contain an idealized self-image.
- Enforced: The use of this trope is a Fandom Nod.
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: Bob is told that fiction is a good way to live out his fantasies.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: When Bob starts to notice signs of this in his story, he immediately rethinks.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: We aren't really told that much about the story, but someone who reads it complains about Bob's ego.
- Played for Drama: Bob lives a genuinely awful life and uses this sort of fiction to escape it. Because of this, it really hurts him that everyone thinks his stories aren't good.
Back to Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue"
