Mary Sue Litmus Test -

[Mourning Dove]

This is an offshoot from the DisneyFan01 thread in Lolcow. Take any character, whether it be OC, Mary Sue, real, or fictional, and put them through the test. Post the results, discuss characters, and post pictures of OCs or Mary Sues.

http://www.unc.edu/~jemarti/marysuetest/

 

[Pikonic]

I ran the test on Comic Chris and got a 206, putting him in the highest tier of Mary Sues.
Marina Seadrift got a 97, she's a pretty bad Sue but she could be worse.
A-log got a 48, but that's harder to do since he's not in a story, just weird porn.

I'll run through some professional fictional characters (aka not DA users, actual writers that get paid) later

Edit: Here are what the numbers mean for those who do not plan on taking the test for any character

Scoring

-28-0: Your character may be an antihero. This character never gets a break: he or she doesn't have special skills, rarely gets anything done without help, and is not well-liked by others. His or her personal flaws, which outweigh his or her positive traits, are another struggle. This character may work well in a dark setting, but readers may also be alienated by his or her lack of likeable qualities.

1-10: Your character is understated. For every talent, he or she has a flaw, and for every accomplishment, he or she has a failure. Perhaps he or she is just a subtle character with a muted personality. Particularly if your setting is understated, this character may fit right in, but don't be afraid to spruce him or her up with some more special traits or to let him or her take charge of the plot more often.

11-25: Your character is well-balanced. He or she has enough distinctive traits to stand out, but he or she also has some flaws. Although he or she has won some victories and accomplished some goals, the world doesn't bend to his or her will, and other characters treat him or her realistically. You probably don't need to worry about this character at all.

26-40: Your character shows some Mary Sue tendencies. Maybe he or she has a few too many special traits to be plausible, maybe he or she accomplishes things too easily, or maybe the other characters are too focused on him or her. You should probably think of ways to tone down this character a little to make him or her more realistic. Then again, if your setting tends to be over-the-top, he or she may fit right in.

41-100: Your character is definitely in Mary Sue territory. He or she may have a tragic past that gets a little too much focus. In addition to having a lot of cool traits that may not always make sense, he or she often gets special treatment. The story revolves around him or her, rarely letting other characters do anything important, and other people love him or her and let him or her get away with things that other characters couldn't. This character needs a significant overhaul to make him or her more believable.

101-411: Your character is an extreme Mary Sue. He or she has every cool trait in the book. Even though he or she has a tragic past, he or she still manages to be the best at all kinds of things and to accomplish everything he or she tries. Rules don't apply to him or her. The other characters in the story are only there to praise your character and make him or her look good by comparison; anyone who dislikes your character is treated as an obvious villain. There isn't much hope for this character. You may as well scrap him or her and start over.

 

[littlebiscuits]

I did the old version of Marina Seadrift, before Disneyfan toned her down. She got a 147. Man, I forgot how many Sue-per powers that chick had.

 

[Himawari]

I tried doing it for Rose, though since there's no real narrative to go by it was kind of difficult. Anyway, she got 124.

 

[hm yeah]

Tall guy, likes plants and beetles: 0 (pretty neutral guy, wants to bang a robo dino ghost)
Clock radio raven robo-animal companion: 17
Mystical ethereal robot deinonychus love interest on the astral plane: 26
Robo-cat companion: -10
Albino unicorn: -9
Photography kid, likes urbex: 5

pix later

 

[Mourning Dove]

I got 31 for Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Link. Must be all those skills he learns and masters throughout his adventures.

 

[RV 229]

This is my self-insert power fantasy. She scored a 28.
Then again, even if I did write about her, she wouldn't be in some fanfic love drama. She'd just fuck shit up because #YOLO and would likely be the villain.

 

[Carlson]

Let's put real life Chris through it. I'll write him like his comic character was identical to the real him. I subtracted the 7 points automatically given for appearance/name being "identical to the author". No points for his penis being an "unusual physical feature".

And the answer is......27.

"Your character shows some Mary Sue tendencies. Maybe he or she has a few too many special traits to be plausible, maybe he or she accomplishes things too easily, or maybe the other characters are too focused on him or her. You should probably think of ways to tone down this character a little to make him or her more realistic. Then again, if your setting tends to be over-the-top, he or she may fit right in."

The consequences section is what got the most points, since he's managed to avoid consequences for his actions so often and so easily. Also, I included the obsession other people have with him. If it didn't include the De-Suifier traits, he'd be a 40.

 

[Mourning Dove]

Let's put real life Chris through it. I'll write him like his comic character was identical to the real him. I subtracted the 7 points automatically given for appearance/name being "identical to the author". No points for his penis being an "unusual physical feature".

And the answer is......27.

"Your character shows some Mary Sue tendencies. Maybe he or she has a few too many special traits to be plausible, maybe he or she accomplishes things too easily, or maybe the other characters are too focused on him or her. You should probably think of ways to tone down this character a little to make him or her more realistic. Then again, if your setting tends to be over-the-top, he or she may fit right in."

The consequences section is what got the most points, since he's managed to avoid consequences for his actions so often and so easily. Also, I included the obsession other people have with him. If it didn't include the De-Suifier traits, he'd be a 40.

When I put real-life Chris through the test I got 46. I attribute this to all the asspats, tugboats, and weens in his life. Also his lolcow status makes him well-known all over the world.

 

[caffeinated_wench]

I don't have pix of my own, but my twin characters got 11 (male) and 13 (female).
Both are jerks when they start out and as of the current draft are the reincarnations of two deities. The female twin is also a gloryhound and the male twin is just being dragged along for the ride.
I think I'll do both of them again later and update this post when I do their test again to make sure that's right.

NOW FOR SUES!!!

For Marina Seadrift's current incarnation, I got 133.

From Cliche, we have Mackenzie, or "Max" as she prefers (because Mackenzie means "son of a leader" and she's a girl... no, really).
From the first two or three chapters alone she's already scoring a 61. It's been a while since I've read the whole thing, but I do remember that she gets worse. Will update as I continue reading.

Next up, the Mary Sue involved in multiple fandoms/fics, Kanashii by Hells-Angel-Kanashii.
For hers, I'll first do the one from the Bleach fics "Kanashii and Aizen" (warning: contains rape) and "Shines White, Scatters Red"...
Kanashii from these two Bleach fics (since they're connected and are the same character) got 109.

It'd probably be more if there was a checkbox for being the relative of a canon.

 

[RV 229]

Rose 3212's persona got a 128. Probably would have been more if her stories were actually about anything.

 

[Pikonic]

I'm gonna run some game if thrones characters when I have time.

For now Daeneyrs scored a 48

 

[The Hunter]

Using a character I've had sitting around since I was about 15, managed to score a -5.

"Your character may be an antihero. This character never gets a break: he or she doesn't have special skills, rarely gets anything done without help, and is not well-liked by others. His or her personal flaws, which outweigh his or her positive traits, are another struggle. This character may work well in a dark setting, but readers may also be alienated by his or her lack of likeable qualities."

Story I was planning to put together wasn't terribly dark.

... okay, it was pretty dark, but that's just my sense of humor.

 

[AtroposHeart]

I put the main character of my most popular online story through it and I got a 21. Not really bad, however, I knew she was going to rank up points because one of the main plot points of the story is a bit suish, but I think she is fairly under powered though.

I have three other original main characters. I am curious to run through one of them through a sci-fi story. She is a senator(Youngest in the Human alliance history, yeah that is a bit suish) and my only non-white original protagonist (I refuse to use the term POC) but in the story she goes through HELL. She ends up losing an arm (Actually, she willing blasts it off because the enemy has implanted a tracking device in her arm and they don't have time to remove it) and forced to marry the prince(Who is later emperor) of the alien race that is an enemy to humanity. I'll run her through the litmus.

 

[Judge Holden]

Harry potter scores 52 and is thus designated a full mary sue.

Frodo Baggins scores 8 so is understated and far from sue-ness

Bella Swan scores 115 and thus qualifies as an extreme mary sue

daenerys targaryen scores 22 and is thus mostly well rounded

Eragon scores 144 making him more of a sue than bella

However, allla these are blown out the water by Edward Cullen who scores a 178, making him the most extreme mainstream mary sue

 

[Shadow Fox]

I did Ayla from the Earth's Children book series, the character who singlehandedly invented animal domestication and is the most beautifullest woman anyone has ever seen and is the bestest healer and the most skilled sling-hunter ever. She got a 119.

Then I ran a self-insert from a fanfic I read a while back. She is carrying one popular character's baby, gets taken in by a bunch of other characters who take care of her when she escapes the dungeon she and her boyfriend were being held in, has everybody fall in love with her, talks the main characters into going on a suicide mission to help her use a nuclear device to exact vengeance on the people who executed her boyfriend, effortlessly kills the story's main villain, and is generally the focus of absolutely everybody's attention. She only got a 95.

 

[RV 229]

Ebony Dark'ness Dimentia Raven Way scored a 113, two points less than Bella.

 

[Himawari]

I ran a Pokemon fan character of mine through the litmus test and she got a -7 - I figured that her apparent blandless was from the lack of Pokemon-specific factors in the general litmus test, so using the Pokemon Mary Sue Litmus Test she got a 5. Still kind of bland, but eh.

Her counterpart will probably score higher, since he's a pampered rich asshole, but I'll score him after class.

 

[R.A.E.L.]

Alice from the Resident Evil movies scored as a 72.

 

[caffeinated_wench]

I just took the test for my favorite personal lolcow's Despicable Me fic, Despicable Us.

Namely, her character Rache.

• Rache is a silver-haired (originally blonde) woman in her 30s who spends a lot of her time grinning evilly, reminding the reader about how awesome her mechanical wings are (and whatever new thing they can do in that moment), shooting everyone with her copycat Freeze Ray weapon (Statue Ray, I think it was) just because they disagreed with her or in some cases were trying to HELP her, and angsting about her dead parents and evil uncle who is only known as.... Evil Uncle. (He sounds like a perfect candidate for the Evil Empire, amirite?) Gru has apparently become incompetent and can't do much of anything without either requiring Rache's assistance or needing Rache to take over and do it herself. She's also Gru's twu wuv despite all logic. The only thing they have in common is villainy, but Rache would've wrecked even that by being a total psycho. It's supposed to be lovable, of course. She also wears the same outfit as Gru, because that's not creepy at all.

I should probably put the fic up somewhere sometime. Anyway, Rache got 165. I think her coming back from the dead more than once really helped raise that score. Seriously. In her tragic backstory, she was brought back from the dead when she was a child. Evil Uncle blew up her parents and she survived despite only being a head.