The Randimaxis Mary Sue Test

[Libarty Justice 18]

Heh, mos tof my  conflicts iwht writing my chractar are related to settling on certaind etails such as earth Pony, Unicorn, or Pegasus. so far my main details are that his name is Liberty Justice, he is a lawyer, he's at least partially blind,  and he carries a radio with him that he mainly uses to listen to News, Wonderbolt commentary, and Shadow Spade radio dramas.

Heh, mos tof my  conflicts iwht writing my chractar are related to settling on certaind etails such as earth Pony, Unicorn, or Pegasus. so far my main details are that his name is Liberty Justice, he is a lawyer, he's at least partially blind,  and he carries a radio with him that he mainly uses to listen to News, Wonderbolt commentary, and Shadow Spade radio dramas.

[JennabunVA 246]

0, apparently. Hooray!

[Teavvi 627]

I got a 0-10!

Yay, I guess.

[Flutterstep 47,068]

I scored zero.

 

I win!

[EmeraldStar04 250]

I disagree with this.

 

A Mary Sue is not determined by how many points he or she racks up on a Litmus Test. Avatar: The Last Airbender's characters rank pretty high on that scale, does that mean all those characters are Sues?

 

A character is a Mary Sue when a boringly perfect character is treated special by the author.

 

Treated special, not being special.

 

You could also argue it's when a character has special traits for the sake of being special. Like some random florist having a super magic laser crystal because the author thought it'd be cool, instead of "because she's nervous about timberwolves attacking her". Or a librarian having cat eyes because she's a mutant cat pony Original Species straight out of DevArt, instead of "Because she likes reading at night, she mutated herself with magic".

 

A good way to explain the Sue is to imagine there's a magical reality-warping aura around her that tips everything in her favor, like if Discord gave these powers to the character as a joke. Would Twilight Sparkle normally find a weightlifter stallion posing to be lame? In a Sue fic, she finds it attractive. Would Sasuke Uchiha normally think the new weak Ninja girl in his class is another pathetic lameo fangirl to be ignored? In a Sue fic, he swears to protect her from the dangers of the Shinobi world. Would Jotaro Kujo normally have trouble even telling his daughter he loves her? In a Sue fic, he has no problem opening up to the new girl on the squad after a few days of travel in Egypt.

Now let's do this test. GO, EMERALD STAR!

 

1. Does your character have a naturally unnatural hair/eye color?  [+2]

No. This is MLP. Unnatural colors are the norm.

 

2. Did your character’s hair/eyes change color over time on their own?  [+3]

Oh no, looks like Giorno and every old man ever are all sues. But my OC isn't.

 

3. Does your character have any super/unnatural powers?  [+2]

Magic. *Snort snort*

 

3-A. If it's a world where many characters have powers, are your character's abilities stronger than all/most of the other characters?  [+2]

No, and he's going to lose more than a few Stand battles to Stands stronger than him.

 

4. Does your character have two (or more) people romantically interested in them?  [+2]

Yes. +2

 

5. Does your character have their own love interests in two (or more) people?  [+1]

What? Are you asking if he cheats on his mares? No.

 

5-A. Are any of these love interests extremely powerful people?  [+2 each]

Twilight Sparkle. Dang, looks like Rainbow Dash would become a Mary Sue if she admitted her feelings for her. +2

 

6. Is your character’s background:

A] Tragic, traumatic?  [+2]

"I had no friends growing up" is the norm for new MLP characters, AND not as sad as Pinkie's. Doesn't count.

 

B] Mysterious, unknown?  [+4]

No.

 

C] “Top Secret” information?  [+3]

No.

 

7. Was your character technically dead, but then managed to come back to life?  [+3]

Lolno

 

7-A. If the above is true, has your character died/come back more than once?  [+4]

LOLNO

 

8. Does your OC become the main character of the story once it's there?  [+6]

Not really, him and the mane six share the protagonist role. Also wow, you rank this higher than 9?

 

9. Can your character fight down stronger enemies with little/no effort?  [+4]

"Stronger". "No Effort". >Pick one.

 

10. Does your character have their own arch-nemesis or somebody very powerful after them?  [+4]

Nope, the villain has no idea who he is.

 

11. Did your character kill anyone?  [+1]

no

 

11-A. Did your character kill a LOT of people?  [+2]

no

 

11-B. Did your character kill an entire planet/species/race?  [+3]

no

 

12. Did your character restore somebody's life?  [+1]

no

 

12-A. Did your character restore a LOT of people’s lives?  [+2]

no

 

12-B. Did your character save an entire planet/species/race?  [+3]

no

 

13. Does your character have unnatural features (like a cat tail, animal ears, claws, etc.)?  

[+1 point per unnatural feature]

no

 

14. Is your character a mix of races? (Vampire, mutant, werewolf, fairy, etc.)

[+2 points for every race after the first]

no

 

15. Do two (or more) organizations fight to get your OC join them?  [+3]

no

 

16. Is your character totally unaffected by the actions of other player characters?  [+4]

no

 

17. Is your character extremely rich? [+2]

no

 

18. Does your character have an endless amount of high-technology gadgets/magical relic artifacts at their command?  [+3]

no

 

19. Is your character always in full self-control, never losing their cool/temper?  [+2]

Lolno. He gets seriously mad when people are stupid.

 

20. Does your character have ways of learning/knowing every other character’s deepest, darkest secrets?  [+4]

No. Definitely not the way it's described here.

 

Excellent, I got a 4. Mary Sue Litmus Tests are so stupid...

[Black Sabbath 2,486]

 

Excellent, I got a 4. Mary Sue Litmus Tests are so stupid...

But that would mean that your character isn't an sue, so I fail to see the problem. 

Edited November 29, 2016 by Yamet

[Artimis Whooves 1,576]

I got a zero, am I that boring?

[EmeraldStar04 250]

But that would mean that your character isn't an sue, so I fail to see the problem. 

The test is badly made, as I explained earlier. I already know my character isn't a sue, I took it to show its flaws.

[Widdershins 9,959]

Mmph, fwa-haa...Haahaaa... BAAA-HAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAAA!    Fwuh...hee.....gimmie a second...can't stop laughing.....

Nope! Just actually beat my forehead into the desk and I'm still giggling uncontrollably! Sweet babba Jee! I love your humor good sir!!

HOOOO! Go ahead! GUESS how many I got! Too late! Tellin' ya anyway! THIIIIIIRTY-NIIIIIIIIIINE!!!

Whooo! See here now Mr.RandomAccess! Wanna know if your willin' ta cut a Draconequus some slack! Our race is more or less (Mostly more!) based around the whole idea of being an unstoppable mary-sue! But that's what I see as the point to Widdershins! He's got power sure, but he's an absolute buffon with them! The personification of what idle hands do! And no, not that! Get your mind outta the gutter!

Whoo! Maybe I'm a little too loose with my self-sinning eh? Howsabouts we give me a good run down & see if your willin' ta dicker!

 

#1 Well sure, if you consider bright yellow eyes & a fluffy ruffa neckfur as unnatural!  But he's always been a muzzy-headed fluffer!

#2 Weeell, okaaay. I get it, but he's had to replace parts as he went along so it'd stand that he'd be a bit of patchwork, eh?Not like he chose to...oh wait..

#3 Well of course he has wild, vague, undefinable, god-like powers! I could hardly be a draconequusona if I didn't, eh what?

#4 I'm humble about that, sure. Any alicorn would put me to shame! I'm certainly no match for the Sisters or Discord! My magic sort of just works at random. I really only have one spell I can work with any predictability, the rest just goes a bit wild.

#6 Hey now! You live countless millennia & a lot of things will happen to you! You spew magic like some...magic fountain its a cinch someone's gonna try hooking you up to something to see if they can't harness your energy! Having to poof up a new leg and ram it back into the hole so you can keep going is more of a necessity that what would be traumaaatic per se.

#7 Well he is immortal you know! That comes with a price! I die on a near daily basis after all! Just have to snap right back to it a moment later, close the hole n' hope I didn't spray magical blood all over somebeing! ....what? ...Guess i'll just ding myself extra for that'un! Heee!

#10 Weeeeell, as I saaaaid, you live long enough.... and you know, tend to misfire off magic without any heed then that kind of tends to make some enemies...

#11 Geez! If your gonna git all critical on me just because I blew up a few planets! I mean, yeesh! I'll have you know one was vacant (probably...Its hard to check an entire planet you know!)  and the other was just a job you know! The Higher-Ups said to make way for the highway, I get my paycheck, itsa life-ah!

Hooooh good ol' Thirteen! Really sticks it to a poor old feeble Eldritch Horror like myself you know! A good whopping Twelve Points there! Heck! Maybe I'll just double that on account of my intangibility too! Huff! Draconequuist!!  Now I must go off after this and see if I can't scratch up a sofa with my lobster claw or tentacle!

 

  And lastly, Number Nineteen! And maybe this one's my saving grace, eh? Quite the opposite really. Slick Widdy here doesn't have the slightest bit of self-control! He's lived so long that he's gotten tired of being seen as some omnipotent god, some force for good or ill. All his magic means to him is those explosions that go on around him that only serve as something shiny to point at & maybe a rollicking good jaunt with which to make an adventure of with whomever nearby is willing to be forced into fixing his constant mistakes. He's rather humble about it, obnoxiously loud & showy, sure, but humble! He's just as happy spending a day washing the dishes with you as he is warping the boundaries to reality and letting in some unspeakable horror. Though that latter will likely happen anyway if he's not paying attention. And he usually isn't.

 

But I end with this final question ma good audience! If this last line is all you take from this wall of eye-piercingly colored text!  Is wouldn't most of this apply to Discord? He sure has an awfully devoted fanbase, doesn't he?

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

The way I see it, just the act of having a beautiful/talented/powerful character isn't what makes a Sue, it's how the story and others react to them, and how well written their personality is. For example, a super beautiful earth pony who somehow has the power to do;magic and levitate for no reason; is best friends forever with all the Mane Six with no reason given as to how; who is mentored by Celestia and adored by all and saves the day over and over. This is a Mary Sue. She has powers beyond what an earth pony should have and no reason as to why she has them. She's friends with canons for no good reason and saves them from danger all the time. Everypony loves her. She has no real personality or characterisation. The only reason she's an earth pony is cuz the author has the erroneous belief that all alicorn OCs are insta Mary Sues, and therefore thinks that as long as she makes her OC a non alicorn, she won't be a Mary Sue.

 

I have seen badly done OCs that are earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, zebras and griffins. I have also seen well rounded alicorn OCs. It's not so much the power that an OC has, or how talented or beautiful they are, it's how others react to them and how they present themselves.

 

Examples:

 

A super beautiful unicorn could be vain and self centred, and therefore be disliked by other ponies.

 

A pegasus who is very talented at flying might be overconfident and arrogant, or, alternatively, find some aspects, like landing or doing turns, difficult and therefore have room for improvement.

 

An unusually large and strong earth pony might be cripplingly shy around other ponies cuz of his/her strength and be worried about hurting others.

 

There are ways of working around exceptional talents/beauty/powers in order to create an OC who is well rounded and believable rather than a perfect Mary Sue, but it does require a bit of work.

[Bomb Sheep 77]

My 2nd OC got a 6 (before he was changed to get a 4) and someone called him a Mary Sue. Good Job.

[Wisazrid 3]

I got 13- is that bad?

[ChrysalisM 290]

The Godmodder in my RP scored 26, but that is kind of the point of the character.

[Gale Wind 82]

I’m still fleshing out Gale Wind but was fortunate enough not to have any points.  Ok maybe a point or two but only because she’s another fast flyer and can hold her own speed wise with RD.  But although I Imagine if she met RD, her competitive streak l would lead her to challenge RD a few too many times, she’s not like the world’s best flyer or anything. And sometimes she gets in over her head and ends up losing or crashing so so RD still has the edge.  It’s like an earlier post talked about with overconfidence and stuff. I think I can work her vision into it too. Now if I can just control my hurt comfort tendencies, I think she’ll be fine. I often base OCs on parts of me so she’ll have her flaws for sure. I’m always RPing in one form or other so I’m familiar with not making anyone too op and watching how they interact with canons so it’s not awkward or unnatural.
 

 I did make a dark alicorn in pony creator but don’t really see myself playing her. 
 

my unicorn barely has a name, because I keep going between sea, due to her color, and Star stuff. Starshine Shimmer or Starshine Nebula are the final choices. There is no way she’s gonna be overly strong with magic or any of that. And I will likely develop my yellow zebra more but apart from the skin color, she should be fine. And even that isn’t impossible for real zebras.

Edited November 6, 2022 by Gale Wind