What is Mary Sue for fanfics?

Answer 1

A character so perfectly perfect (or filled with so many cliches) that it causes the reader's body to fill with the feeling of the very worst case of indigestion that is beyond humanely possible.

Some frequent signs of a Mary Sue are as follows:
* Long, blonde (or an un-human color) hair cascading down her back.
* Entire paragraphs dedicated to the character's voice, apperance, clothes, etcetera while the canon (characters originally from the series) barely get a sentence or two.
* The ability to know more things than even the oldest/wisest person in the canon series knows.
* "Sparkling" eyes of mixed or bizarre colors.
* The canon characters falling in love with her.
* Wearing clothes that do not work with the environment (e.g. Tight mini skirt and short tank top out in the artic).
* A "wangsty" past (meaning a past filled with so much over-the-top angsting that the character is clearly just becoming a whining nobody)
* Having a perfect body or no overall flaws. (A flaw being something that impacts the character negatively, not that one breast is slightly larger than the other.)

To be accused of writing a Mary Sue is worse than even writing a badfic, because at least with badfics the author was original.
The male version is often called a "Gary Stu".

Answer 2

Thanks for the question. I never knew.

"Mary Sue (sometimes shortened simply to Sue) is a pejorative term for a fictional character who is portrayed in an idealized way and lacks noteworthy flaws, or has her flaws unreasonably romanticized. Characters labeled Mary Sues, as well as the stories they appear in, are generally seen as wish-fulfillment fantasies on the part of the author.
The term originated in criticism of fan fiction. It usually refers to characters created by the (fan) author of the work, but can also be used in reference to characters from the original canon source who are characterized in a way perceived as Sue-like. Many original characters in play-by-post gaming are also perceived as Mary Sues (or the male equivalent).
Mary Sue may be used to describe a character of any gender, but male Mary Sues may also be called "Marty Stus," "Murray Stus," "Gary Sues" or similar names. Authors of such characters (of either sex) are sometimes referred to as Suethors, a portmanteau of Sue and author.
While characters are generally not intentionally written to be Mary Sues, some authors create Mary Sues as a form of deliberate parody.
The term "Mary Sue" was coined by Paula Smith in 1973, for her parody story "A Trekkie's Tale," published in her fanzine Menagerie #2.[1] The main character was Lieutenant Mary Sue ("the youngest Lieutenant in the fleet -- only fifteen and a half years old"). The story poked fun at what Smith considered to be unrealistic adolescent wish-fantasy characters appearing in Star Trek fan fiction of the period. The term has since been applied to non-canon characters in a variety of contexts. Later, Mary Sue's last name would be revealed as Whipple.[citation needed]
Originally, in the Star Trek fan fiction community, "Mary Sue" described an original (non-canon) female character who had a romantic liaison with an established canon character, particularly if she possessed unrealistic or unlikely (and often exotic) traits above and beyond those expected of a character in that particular series, or a conventional author surrogate. Later, the concept was extended to include almost any author surrogate character or highly-idealized character that plays a major role, especially those who upstage the canon characters and occupy the center stage. The term gained wider use outside of the Star Trek fandom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, primarily on the Internet.

Traits associated with the concept of the Mary Sue

While "Mary Sue" is a subjective term, there are nonetheless many traits commonly associated with the concept of the "Mary Sue". Characters labeled as a "Mary Sue" have what are seen as exaggerated and annoying (and sometimes impossible) levels of superiority, especially in comparison to the other characters, to real people in similar situations, or both.
Characters most commonly labeled "Mary Sues" are often characterized by their unusual and dramatic traits and experiences, their similarity to their author or their author's ideal person and especially their extreme superiority in comparison to other characters.
They often have exceptional physical and personal characteristics. They may have unusual and (typically) tragic backgrounds; in fanfiction, they often may be related by blood or strangely contrived family ties to major or significant canon characters. They may have uncommon eye or hair colors or come from a race or species which is uncommon or unknown in the story’s setting. They may have exotic names, pets, or possessions, often with great perceived mystical or magical significance. As children, they often will have experienced abuse or other hardships that seem out of place and may be unlikely in reality, and may also display little evidence in personality or behavior of having been traumatized by these ordeals. In adulthood, they are often portrayed as misunderstood or unfairly persecuted. They are often abandoned as infants or young children, from a famous or infamous family, or related somehow to the author’s favorite character.
They frequently share hobbies, likes and dislikes, and opinions with the author, and may be of the same nationality or age as the author and have similar but more dramatic physical appearances or backgrounds; other times, they may merely have hobbies or features that the author finds exotic, high-class or somehow admirable.
In fan fiction, they often cause things to happen that the author wishes would happen in canon. They may mock and humiliate characters the author dislikes. On the other hand, if a character is disliked by most canon characters but liked by the author, the "Mary Sue" realizes that they are not really bad but merely misunderstood. "Mary Sues" may bring together characters the author thinks should be romantically involved with one another or become romantically involved with characters to whom the author is attracted.
Characters perceived as "Mary Sues" may have more and better skills than other characters in the story and easily solve problems that stump other characters. Young "Mary Sues" often have skills or accomplishments that are substantially greater than those of other characters their age and of most people their age in the real world. They are usually presented as more moral than other characters and frequently sacrifice their lives or happiness for the sake of other characters. They often have moral ideas or follow norms that are common in the Western world today but unusual for the setting of the story. They are nearly always exceptionally attractive, with said attractiveness often being described in great detail and typically noticed frequently by the other characters.
Characters said to be "Mary Sues" are generally heavily praised by the author and especially other characters. If the character has flaws or limitations, they are either minor and/or endearing, or yet another hardship for the Sue to overcome (e.g. paraplegia, depression, an eating disorder, or a "passionate" temperament).
Because many traits are seen as being common to Mary Sues, many online tests have been created, known as "Mary Sue Litmus Tests". In These "Litmus Tests", matching any Mary Sue trait results in a higher score on the test, and a high enough score is said to be the mark of the "Mary Sue". Most such tests sport a disclaimer that notes that even characters who score extremely high can be executed well enough not to be considered a "Mary Sue", and that the test is primarily meant as a guide for better characterization."