i received an interesting comment on one of my newest uploads. this comment perturb me enough (and i'm ashamed to admit it) to loose some sleep over it. In all honesty, i found the comment to be harsh and judgemental. Now in the defense of the commenter, the critique level was set to " Request Critiques" but since i don't subscribe, i could not change this.

Onto the subject of Mary-Sues. I admit i know little about the commonly accepted definition of Mary-Sues, but the comment i received suggests it is a blueprint for female characters possessing "beauty, the strange eyes, the firey personality, the combat skills, the tragic past." the commenter also remarked my character unfit to be defined as an OC. Again, i'm a little confused. I believed an Original Character to be a fan-created character. Whether 'Mary-Sue' or not, Ari does fall under this definition.

Mary-Sues themselves fall under this definition as well. But now I must point out the very widely ranged criteria that defines a Mary-Sue: beauty, fiery personality, combat skills, and tragic past. Is that really the criteria? In that case, every character owned by the creator of Naruto is a Mary-Sue. And the majority of OCs out there are Mary-Sues. But I do not believe this. A well-made OC will have at least one unique factor about them, just as we REAL characters do. I suppose I can understand that there are some OCs out there who do share a blueprint, but i can't remember ever seeing one that didn't have something unique about them...meaning I have never seen an OC that can be classified at 100% Mary-Sue.

Now I think one of the reasons I was offended by the comment was that i entrust some part of myself, of my heart, to each and every one of my OCs. To have one be judge as the same as any other was hurtful. I work very, very hard on my OCs, created detailed stories for them, and ACTIVELY working to make them unique. There are REASONS why Ari is 'beautiful' (she a pirate and has an athlelic body), has 'combat skills' (pirates have to fight to survive), has 'strange eyes' ( i also wanted her to use an eye patch (very piratey), but didn't want to completely get ride of one of her eyes) and has a 'tragic past' (she has to have a reason to run away from home). I refuse to agree that she has a 'fiery personality' because i created her (the commenter doesn't know the personality type i included). i know.

The judgements made are what frustrate me. it is impossible for me into include every specific detail into the character profile i made for Ari. I find it unfair that the BACKGROUND i made is enough to classify her as a Mary-Sue blueprint. It is EXACTLY the same as judging a REAL person by the background alone. and by the way, when do you last see a Mary-Sue who uses a freaking Warrior Scimitar of Persia?

i'm not suggesting my OCs are perfect. their story's and designs are always under construction. i'm just hoping that people don't judge characters solely on the little information i place in their profiles. I can see how Ari possess the criteria of a Mary-Sue, but with the wide range of criteria, just about every other imaged character out there does too. Ari and all of my other OCs have spent years in the making, and since i do not read fanfictions or study OCs, they are not inspired by other fan-made characters.

anyway, i guess i was wondering what you other artists and creative people out there think about all this. what do you think is a Mary-Sue? What makes an OC an OC? and do you think i'm inaccurately defending my characters? your input would very much be appreciated.

best wishes,
sketch


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