by Sunny LaCountess
It is every fanfiction writer’s dream to be able to write the perfect Mary Sue story with all the delightful, interesting traits such a character has to offer. Only, it isn’t always easy to construct something as literally challenging and aesthetically pleasing as Mary Sue, and sometimes, ambitious writers just fall short of capturing all the fine nuances this characters entails, Forever Knight writers not being exempt. In order to remedy that and help the motivated FK writer create the ideal Mary Sue, here is a short guide on how to write such fiction:
*Looks*: First and foremost, there is a general false belief that Mary Sue must be beautiful, smart and sexy. This is the main pitfall that threatens the ambitious Mary Sue writer. One must always remember that in order to create a good Mary Sue, one shouldn’t necessarily describe her as pretty or intelligent in the story. The key is, the other characters must think she is. It is sufficient that the hero and the rest of the cast believe that she is beautiful, sexy and more competent than anyone else. They should consult her wisdom in every turn and constantly remind each other how lucky they are to have her around. To explicitly describe her as pretty, slim and highly educated runs the risk of distancing her from the persona of the author, which defies the whole purpose of Mary Sue and is not suited for a professional Mary Sue writer.
*Name*: Another important aspect of Mary Sue is her name. Ordinary names should never be used for a Mary Sue character. Use the most unusual, most foreign names you have ever heard, like Kaiy, or Shaunha or make sure it is spelled in a weird way (Jenyfer, Lyssa…). In some cases, it’s better to invent a name. Just remember that most traditional Mary Sue names start with either ‘K’ or ‘Sh’, but names like ‘Alexis’ and ‘Lorain’ are also heard of.
*Character interaction*: An important part of a good Mary Sue story is the way other characters interact with her. This is very essential since, as I already mentioned, the unique qualities and virtues of Mary Sue are spelled out by them and hence, a writer must always know how to construct each character’s interaction with her distinct and central personality. Since I’m writing this for the Forever Knight writers, I’ll use the Forever Knight characters to explain the relations. For fiction other than FK, please replace these characters with their respective equivalents.
Nick - This is our hero and it is not necessary to point out that he must be smitten by Mary Sue. His life was half complete before she stepped into it and became the shining sun in his dark, cold night. To him, she is the most beautiful, most dazzling, amazing, wise and gentle woman in the whole world and all they both want is to be left alone so they can enjoy their eternal love in each other’s arms.
Natalie - She meets Mary Sue through Nick and is amazed at how Nick could have had such a smart, attractive and adorable friend, and never have told her. She is astonished at how much Mary Sue knows about her line of profession and decides to swap notes with her. They eventually have a heart to heart talk about Nick in which Mary Sue enlightens her with her extensive knowledge about Nick’s persona, a result of their long, steaming relationship in the past.
LaCroix - There are a lot of possibilities for his character based on how the story is constructed. He could be another one of her suitors, a rival for Nick (one must always remember that all the male characters in the story, one way or another, desire Mary Sue. This is of no surprise. After all, who can resist her charms?) or he could be her fiercest enemy, angry at her because she seems to be always one step ahead. Or, he could be both, first hating her and wanting to do the worst harms to her while the others frantically try to protect their dearest friend, then they all find out that in reality, the general was deeply in love with Mary Sue and it was his secret love for her that had driven him to extremes.
Janette - Many possible scenarios for this character too. She, like Natalie, can be in awe of Mary Sue, trying her best to win her friendship, which wouldn’t come easy since Mary Sue is so much better than her. She can also be scared of Mary Sue due to a long ago experience that had taught her a lesson not to mess with the all mighty one. She can even be an enemy and try to defeat her only to learn, in the end, that she’s no match for the power of her intelligence and beauty.
Schanke - Two words, Great Cooking. Mary Sue can win this big boy’s heart by preparing him the best meal he has ever tasted. In addition to being hit in the head by her amazing natural beauty and her smooth ways, Donut Don can’t remember having tasted any dish more delicious than this talented lady’s. He comments on its quality as he stuffs his face and congratulates Nick on having such a great girlfriend while making him promise to keep her forever.
The Captains - They are basically in the same boat as Schanke but eliminate the food. They eventually will require her wisdom and talent to solve an unsolvable case that has had the whole precinct on their toes for the past year. She is then declared the heroine of the day and forced to accept the honor, which she does, reluctantly, since she is a very shy person and tired of everyone telling her all the time just how great she is.
Vachon - In case it is a third season story you can have Vachon in it as well and even replace Nick with him. He can otherwise be a rival for Nick since he, too, has crossed paths with Mary Sue sometime in the past. She can be his guiding light to a better life. The beauty who mesmerises him but at the same time, teaches him how to come out of his constant slumber and get a grip of his life.
Urs - She needs Mary Sue as a role model, a bigger sister who can give her support and provide a shoulder for her to cry on while murmuring wise words into her ear. Urs can’t imagine how she had lived without Mary Sue. No wonder she was so miserable before and on the verge of suicide. But now, thanks to her reassuring presence, she has found new courage to face the world.
Screed - This ugly, unkempt creature loves the kind, beautiful lady who treats him so well, as if he is a human being too and deserving of kindness. Screed, being a man after all, secretly harbours Mary Sue’s love in his heart, but since he knows that a lovely creature such as her would never go for a rat eater like him, he keeps his love to himself and secretly admires her from afar.
*Types of Mary Sue*: Depending on the nature of your story and how you like your Mary Sue, there are a number of roles she can play as the main character. Here is a list of the types of Mary Sue you can have in your story:
The lover Mary Sue: She and Nick are in love and don’t hesitate to indulge in it. You can fill your story up to the rim with their love scenes from romantic candle light dinners to hot sweaty sex.
The Warrior Mary Sue: She can be a vampire, even an Enforcer, or Elder, or both, who has come to bring justice to the good and punish the bad. Make sure she rescues (or protects) Natalie at least a couple of times.
The victim Mary Sue: She’s gone through a lot at LaCroix’s hand. Or she is LaCroix’s lover but since Nick loves her too, and she loves him back, she’s threatened, injured, or even killed by LaCroix. She can also be just a victim of LaCroix or another evil being because she’s so important.
The dating-service Mary Sue: She’s basically a very important person whose main objective in life is to fix Nick and Nat’s relationship. Most of the time, she knows more about them than they do themselves.
The indestructible Mary Sue: She just keeps coming back, and coming back and coming back. Commonly seen in series stories.
The flashback Mary Sue: She has been Nick’s greatest love in the long ago past and he still isn’t over her. She can change into any of the other types if the writer decides to bring her back.
The evil Mary Sue: Fairly rare but seen. This Mary Sue essentially starts off on the wrong side, but her absolutely amazing skills and knowledge attract the good guys to her and they make her eventually realize her wrongness and turn toward the good side. She then betrays her evil employers and becomes the saviour of all before falling into Nick/Vachon/LaCroix’s arms.
*Final Note*: Mary Sue is a very valuable genre and we all must do our best to keep it alive. One of the important things required for its survival is that the author of a Mary Sue piece must never know she’s writing one. This is essential for a Mary Sue story to be written. The best Mary Sue characters are written by authors who don’t even know they are writing them. I know this theory contradicts the whole purpose of this paper but truth must be told. However, if you ever happen to write a Mary Sue story and know about it, make sure you refer to this guide and keep one thing in mind: you are writing this story primarily for your own enjoyment. You are the one who should support and be proud of Mary Sue and if someone replies to your story saying that it was Mary Sue, be proud, raise your head high, and tell them you are contributing to an age-old tradition that had been around since the birth of fanfiction.
In hopes that many fanfiction writers embark on the rewarding experience of writing the perfect Mary Sue fiction.
Sunny LaCountess
Disclaimer: This guide is written entirely for entertainment purposes. No references to any fanfiction by any authors are intentional or associated with the purpose of this writing. Please take this the way it is intended to be taken, only as a silly humorous piece.
The generic description of a Mary Sue character is a character based on the writer. It is the way that the writer inserts her/himself into her/his story to give life to her/his fantasy of interacting with her/his favourite characters while being better and above all of them.