Fictional Worlds

pointing out their own flaws themselves, thus depriving critics and opponents of their ammunition

the character for amazing stuff to happen to

fantastic romances

special powers

other characters will be drawn to her

all of her jokes are funny

all of her ideas are brilliant

trust her immediately

even if she hasn't done or said anything to make them feel that way about her

named after the author

Mary Sue doesn't have to actually do anything to be considered a good person, she just is good

she brings more good into the world simply by existing

A massive amount of time gets spent on describing her every feature

major plot points (that aren't solved by the new girl) are done entirely off screen

tends to appear in all of the works by a particular author

persuasive, regardless of the actual content of their conversations

her opinions are just better

She gets Purple Prose

The author takes personal offense at any criticism of the character

Friend to All Living Things

ither brave and cheerful (despite her past), or unnecessarily mopey and depressed

an unusual spelling of a normal name

Incorruptible

unaware of the possibility of temptation

generic Japanese name

the author will create a fan club for her own Mary Sue

aggressively ships the Sue with a canon character and makes a fan club for that.

Nobody will call her out on her abrasive, casually abusive behavior

Often results in name which doesn't mean quite what the author intended

she "puts them in their place."

her every action gets a heavy emphasis

Over a hundred illustrations of a single OC is an obsession.

Her "major flaws" will be stubbornness and a bad temper. These will only ever help her, never hurt her — because she's always right, so whatever cause she dedicates herself to with such stubbornness will be a good cause, and whoever she loses her temper with will deserve it.

New words get made up to describe her

combination Japanese/Western-type name

practically a six-foot-high neon sign flashing I'M A MARY SUE when it comes to fanfic

the author knows what's going on and only wrote the parts that he/she wanted to fetish-obsess over.

the name is inconsistent within their particular culture

everybody is too busy taking an interest in the new girl's life

Mary Sue claims she wishes she was normal even when there's no actual downside to her powers.

overly long, complicated, usually Meaningful Name

Insanelylongandhardtopronounce

Inexplicable and/or poorly defined abilities

When the character is off screen, if ever, the other characters are still talking about her

only there to make the character seem even more awesome

Clumsiness is a popular flaw

it is never inconvenient, and only ever embarassing in a cute way

if she isn't already skilled at something, she'll pick it up in a fraction of the time required

Magical powers similar to what the other characters have, only with the limitations removed.

A perfect singing voice

Extreme proficiency with an instrument

if it's a Song Fic, she'll possess the ability to compose her own lyrics and songs

Speaks several languages fluently

Skilled in a type of martial arts

random magical powers

Absurd natural athletic ability

excellent fashion sense, even if she's meant to be a rough-and-tumble, Tom Boy type who doesn't care about that sort of thing

effortlessly beautiful

isn't as high maintenance as other girls

If it looks like they play Gambit Roulette instead of more sound and realistic plans you've got a Mary Tzu.

unrealistically perfect

Mary Tzu's main ability is to make everyone else incompetent so that she looks good.

he's crazy skilled

Ron is Book Dumb but amazing at... chess

Ron a master strategist

making intentional actions seem like total coincidences

good at noticing what is too obvious to be seen

A favorite tactic of Tricksters

The fans are supposed to come up with their own answers.

debate amongst the fandom

The question is about some detail completely tangential to the story, which the author had never considered.

ambiguity feels realistic

The creators firmly believe in the Death of the Author theory and don't feel their interpretations are any more valid than anyone else's.

doesn't remember anymore

the writer can't answer

The writer is just making it up as they go

we can only judge the work by the work itself

there is a limit to what authorial intent can change