History Main / CommonMarySueTraits

** The author is trying to present her assholery as a flaw but fails like with all the other flaws listed above. A "flaw" like stubbornness will never come back to bite her because she will always turn out to be right all along. A bad temper just gives her an excuse to [[CurbStompBattle lay waste to her enemies]], all of whom deserve it. Rudeness and tactlessness are portrayed as "[[BrutalHonesty speaking her mind]]." Despite constantly running her mouth, she'll [[JerkassHasAPoint always be "right,"]] meaning she'll never make an ass of herself by saying something hurtful to a loved one or starting a fight she can't finish.

** She will never face any negative consequences for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, like mouthing off to a superior or losing her temper and saying something deeply hurtful to a friend.

** The author is trying to present her assholery as a flaw but fails like with all the other flaws listed above. A "flaw" like stubbornness will never come back to bite her because she will always turn out to be right all along. A bad temper just gives her an excuse to [[CurbStompBattle lay waste to her enemies]], all of whom deserve it. Rudeness and tactlessness are portrayed as "[[BrutalHonesty speaking her mind]]." Despite constantly running her mouth, she'll [[JerkassHasAPoint, always be "right,"]] meaning she'll never make an ass of herself by saying something hurtful to a loved one or starting a fight she can't finish.

** The author is trying to present her assholery as a flaw but fails like with all the other flaws listed above. A "flaw" like stubbornness will never come back to bite her because she will always turn out to be right all along. A bad temper just gives her an excuse to [[CurbStompBattle lay waste to her enemies]], all of whom deserve it. Rudeness and tactlessness are portrayed as "[[BrutalHonesty speaking her mind]]", and she'll always [[JerkassHasAPoint be right]].

* If the author likes the canon work, the fic will not change very much of the canon work. The worst Mary Sues of this sort don't have any effect on the canon story; they just watch the plot, correctly guess everything that will happen, and occasionally take over one of the canon characters' accomplishments, resulting in an experience that's like reading the original work with a thirteen-year-old fangirl talking in your ear. Sometimes she'll be a character who wasn't in the original work but was [[HeroOfAnotherStory super important behind the scenes]], usually as a canon character's secret LoveInterest.

* A foreign name, particularly a [[GratuitousJapanese Japanese]] name. The author will often [[ForeignCultureFetish really like the language]] and point out [[YouAreTheTranslatedForeignWord what the name means]] ("I'm Sakura Hinode! That's Japanese for '{{cherry blossom|Girl}} sunrise'!") -- and not always correctly. If it's [[MultiEthnicName combined with an unusual Western name]] (''e.g.'' Hikari Rose Nightshade, Sapphire Morimoto), it's often a telltale sign that the character is a Mary Sue.

* Most Sues have an unusually DarkAndTroubledPast. It's often used to create a SympatheticSue, but any type of Sue can have one. Such backstories never actually factor into the story; they're just casually dropped into the narrative to draw attention to the character and let her {{Wangst}} (usually out of proportion to how bad it really is). Most authors tend not to research such tragedies and their effects, which breaks the reader's WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.

* She is not bound by [[MagicAIsMagicA the rules of the universe]], whatever the setting may be. Nobody will ever comment on the impossibility of what she does; they'll just assume she's that talented.

* MarySue is ''without exception'' a single-person SpotlightStealingSquad. The entire story [[BlackHoleSue hinges on her existence]]; if you removed her, [[AnthropicPrinciple there would be no story]]. All other elements of the story are designed to show off how awesome she is and cannot function independently.

* She will get special treatment in-universe; anything the canon characters would have to fight for or earn, she just gets automatically. The classic example is the 16-year-old American ''Literature/HarryPotter'' "exchange student" who goes to Hogwarts, is immediately given a spot on the Quidditch team, and doesn't have to wear the uniform.

* She's a perfect judge of character, and she'll be right about everyone. If everyone suspects an ally is really a backstabber, she'll be the only one to trust him. If everyone believes the villain is really a good guy, she'll be the one to suspect him. It's particularly obvious when she's inserted midway into a canon story and knows ''exactly'' how everything will play out; this allows her to play FixerSue and do things like prevent a canon FaceHeelTurn.

* She will [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished never look ugly]], no matter what she's been through; the worst she'll ever be reduced to is UnkemptBeauty. If she is ever somehow injured or scarred, the scar [[GoodScarsEvilScars will always look cool]] and serve more as a decoration than anything else. She may have a birthmark, but never in a place that compromises her beauty (although she may {{Wangst}} that it does, no other character will agree with her); it will also have a significant shape or be a BirthmarkOfDestiny.

* Erm... ''what'' personality? The typical MarySue doesn't have one per se, because [[MostFanficWritersAreGirls she]] isn't ''meant'' to be a character; rather, she's an entity by which the author makes cool stuff happen. She's thus not defined by her personality, but rather by her [[TouchedByVorlons special powers]], [[RelationshipSue fantastic romances]], and [[BigDamnHeroes random acts]] [[ChronicHeroSyndrome of heroism]].

* She's [[EasyEvangelism extremely persuasive]]; everyone finds her opinions to be better than their own, regardless of the actual content of her supposedly awesome arguments. This is especially common in an AuthorTract. It's also particularly jarring when characters who are usually very stubborn [[CharacterDerailment immediately take her side]].

* Some Sues appear on roleplay sites that encourage "faceclaims," which means that the author can use a picture of a real celebrity to represent what the character looks like. A Sue will almost always have someone extraordinarily pretty as a faceclaim, like a Victoria's Secret model. If the character is a teenager, [[YoungerThanTheyLook her faceclaim will be in her late 20s]]. And if she's an {{Emo}} Sue, her faceclaim will almost always be [[Music/{{Evanescence}} Amy Lee]].[[note]][[Fanfic/MyImmortal AN: if u don't know who she is get da hell out of here!]][[/note]]

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* She [[{{Omniglot}} speaks several languages fluently]]. Most of these languages are totally unrelated and just what the author thinks sounds cool. They range from Romance languages [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench like French or Italian]] to [[GratuitousJapanese Japanese]] to Lakota (many Sues[[note]]A [[{{Pun}} Mary Sioux]]?[[/note]] are of Native American admixture, [[ButNotTooBlack but never more than half]]). Sometimes the author will put the character in a situation where it would make sense to know multiple languages (like making her a diplomat or a translator). Most of the time, they won't. The worst cases can also [[SpeaksFluentAnimal communicate with animals]] and aliens [[AliensSpeakingEnglish who don't already speak English]].

* She is often [[HollywoodThin]] very underweight. If height and weight figures are given, expect them to violate physics unless she's made of Styrofoam. Furthermore, she often does physical activities like sword fighting or hand-to-hand combat which are much harder when you're that thin. This seems almost entirely because the author thinks a supermodel would look more attractive than an [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts MMA fighter]], who could more realistically undertake these tasks. Scarily, there are Sues who may even consider themselves overweight (or at least HollywoodPudgy). Despite this, she will almost always [[MostCommonSuperpower be very amply endowed in one particular area]], regardless of how biologically rare that would be.

* She [[{{Omniglot}} speaks several languages fluently]]. Most of these languages are totally unrelated and just what the author thinks sounds cool. They range from Romance languages [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench like French or Italian]] to [[GratuitousJapanese Japanese]] to Lakota (many Sues[[note]]A [[{{Pun}} Mary Sioux]]?[[/note]] are of Native American admixture, [[ButNotTooBlack but never more than half]]). Sometimes the author will put the character in a situation where it would make sense to know multiple languages (like making her a diplomat or a translator); most of the time, they won't. The worst cases can also [[SpeaksFluentAnimal communicate with animals]] and aliens [[AliensSpeakingEnglish who don't already speak English]].

* She [[{{Omniglot}} speaks several languages fluently]]. Most of these languages are totally unrelated and just what the author thinks sounds cool; they range from Romance languages [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench like French or Italian]] to [[GratuitousJapanese Japanese]] to Lakota (many Sues[[note]]A [[{{Pun}} Mary Sioux]]?[[/note]] are of Native American admixture, [[ButNotTooBlack but never more than half]]). Sometimes the author will put the character in a situation where it would make sense to know multiple languages (like making her a diplomat or a translator); most of the time, they won't. The worst cases can also [[SpeaksFluentAnimal communicate with animals]] and aliens [[AliensSpeakingEnglish who don't already speak English]].

* She doesn't have normal sex; she has [[SexGoddess the most mind-blowingly divine sex ever]]. Interestingly, she's often also a [[NatureAdoresAVirgin virgin]] at the start of the story-not for any plot reason, but to [[NotLikeOtherGirls differentiate her from the other girls]] in the story. Her lack of experience never diminishes the quality of the sex; nor does [[AnatomicallyImpossibleSex anatomical impossibility]] (which usually betrays the ''author's'' lack of experience). Her lover is often a DracoInLeatherPants, an enemy who can be [[SexFaceTurn redeemed by her vagina]].