A Mary Sue/Gary Stu is a perfect character without any flaws.
Is it even possible to write a good story about one?
Today, we find out for writing science!
During the last stream, the subscribers voted that we try to write a GOOD story with a Mary Sue/Gary Stu protagonist.
Watch a short version of the stream here or scroll down for what we wrote.
- A “Mary Sue” (or “Gary Stu/Marty Sue”) is a trope in stories where the protagonist has no flaws, is perfect at everything they do, and beloved by all
- The trope is common in fan fiction, when authors will self-insert into their own story, immediately impressing all the main characters and becoming best friends
- While “pure” versions of the trope are rare in published books/movies, since experienced writers know to avoid it, there are some examples that come close:
- The new Mulan
- Rey from Star Wars
- Bella Swan from Twilight
- Wade from Ready Player One
- Ender from Ender’s Game
- Goku from DragonBall Z
After going over that together, chat voted that we write about this kind of Mary Sue: a v-tuber trying to keep everyone positive in a degrading world.
Here’s what we wrote:
When I first started out my v-tuber career as a sentient can of tomato soup named Souper☆Mari, I wasn’t sure if people would like it. But during my debut stream, over one hundred people showed up just to talk to me!
I couldn’t believe it. They were all so friendly and kind, even though I didn’t really know what I was doing. Some of them even donated money to me, which nearly had me in tears of joy, because that meant I could use it to buy cans of soup for my local food shelter.
Every time someone donated, I read their message out loud and did a little dance — the “can-can” — where I wiggled my anime soup-can body from side to side. That just brought even more donations and kind messages.
Now whenever I stream, I get more than a thousand people watching at once! Golly gee, I never imagined so many people would want to watch little old me do the can-can.
Some of their messages are really just swell:
“Hey Mari, just wanted to toss some croutons your way and say how much you inspire me. I love your streams so much, they give me something to look forward to every day.”
Thanks, ladle lad! Greatly appreciated and glad I can be a happy part of your day.
“Hi Mari! Just wanted to say thank you for being a personal beacon of hope while I’m studying for my finals. It’s been a rough week, but you can-can always get me dancing along! You got me over the hump, so thanks so much.”
No problem, my minestrone mate. Now go ace that test and remember — no slurping!
“Mari you are the best. Today was pretty crappy, lost my job and my girlfriend, but you know what? I can’t watch you clearly if I have tears in my eyes! Thanks for always inspiring me to keep going, even when I’m in the bottom of the bowl.”
Aw, I’m sorry to hear that, ladle lad. But hey! An empty bowl is really just an opportunity for new soup. And we’re glad to have you here, because remember, you can never stew on anything in a soup stream! ☆
“Hi Mari. Just popping in after saying goodbye to my dad over Skype in the hospital. He caught you-know-what, and thanks to that, I couldn’t even go to see him. I hope he’s in a better place now. Thank you for being a pillar of support for me, and so many others, during these tough times.”
Oh wow, my can-dolences, ladle lad. Me and all your minestrone mates are glad to have you here with us, though. Remember, a good can never crunches, no matter how much weight is laid on its shoulders. You can rely on your Souper☆Mari any day, any time, to be there for you. Things might be sour now, but I promise soup-er days lie ahead for you.
What a stream. I did my can-can, everyone cheered, and I helped a lot of lumpy soups become smoother and creamier. Sometimes even I feel like I’m being crushed by the pressure, but when cans stand together, we can-can carry anything!
As long as Souper☆Mari can keep straining the salt from people’s soupy lives, she’ll keep on streaming! Now, time to check some messages.
“send noodles lol”
*User canned*
After that, chat voted on our next Gary Stu: one character dislikes him, and Gary sets out to get that person to love them.
Here’s what we wrote:
Everybody loved Gary. He was the most popular student at Pleasant Hills High, with the best grades and captain of all the sports teams. Of course he didn’t let that get to his head, and he volunteered at the local animal shelter every weekend. He built wheelchairs for dogs who were missing legs, using his engineering skills that he got from popping into classes at MIT, since he was friends with all the professors there.
Until Sue showed up. She was a transfer student from somewhere else, and she was — if Gary was being completely brutally honest — maybe a little, tiny bit, just a tad weird.
First of all was how she dressed. She wore a tutu, macaroni noodle bracelets, makeup smeared on her cheeks, and buckets for shoes, clanking down the hall, distracting students from their work. When Ms. Brinkle, their chemistry teacher, had Sue introduce herself in front of the class, she spoke with a British accent even though it was clearly fake.
“Oy govnas,” she said. “Name’s Sue, am the smartest, sassiest bloke you’ll ever know. Never thought followin’ tha’ owl and fat dude on a motorbike would lead me to this dump!”
Gary didn’t want to be rude. As class ambassador he stood up and offered his hand to Sue.
“Welcome to Pleasant Hills High,” he said. “We’re sure having you here will be a pleasant experience.”
Of course the class laughed at Gary’s clever quip, but Sue just glared at him and spoke in her accent that made Bert the chimney sweep sound like a natural Englishman.
“Bludy ell,” she said with a snarl. “Mo’ like oon-pleasant ‘ills, am I rite, mates?”
Gary was about to make another funny joke to help smooth over the awkward situation for Sue, but just then Ms. Brinkle asked them to take their seats. Being a responsible ambassador and representative and class president, Gary sat down, and Sue clanged her bucket-feet to her desk too.
Ms. Brinkle told them all about the upcoming science fair, then paired them off to work in groups to invent something for it. Gary was ecstatic to be paired up with Sue. This was exactly what she needed to feel welcome, and for him to show her how kind the people of Pleasant Hills were. He couldn’t wait to help her make a good second impression!
“What do you think we should make, Sue?” Gary asked, politely giving her the open floor. He’d shuffled his desk next to her, and had a fresh notebook open and pen ready to go for brainstorming.
“Eh, Bob’s your uncle,” she said, clanging her bucket-shoes on top of the desk. “Owzabout we jus’ cook up sum fish n’ chips, say what? I’m stavin’ ova’ ‘ere!”
“Oh, that’s a really good idea, Sue!” Gary said, writing that down. “We can make a fish and chips machine. That could be fun.”
“A’most as much fun as doin’ yer mum!” Sue cackled, banging her buckets against the desk. “Don’ ‘spect me help you nuthin’ in your fishy machine or what.”
“Oh don’t worry, Sue,” Gary said, smiling and drawing some perfect diagrams. “You can do as much work as you want, it’s no problem. I’m happy to do whatever I can.”
Sue spent the rest of the class talking about Brexit, making progressively less sense as she went along, but Gary paid attention to every word while finishing his schematics. He showed them to Sue when the bell rang, and she loved them.
“Blimey, wha’ a buncha bollocks,” she said, slapping the notebook out of his hands and leaving the classroom.
Gary was so excited to have her help.
Over the next week, he commuted to MIT and back, getting help from his professor friends about how to best create the fish and chips machine. He sent hourly updates to Sue via text message, though the only responses he got were memes and inappropriate emojis. He couldn’t have asked for a better partner.
Finally, it was the day of the science fair. Gary carried his metallic project proudly from his car to the school, along with a plate of raw fish and potatoes. His and Sue’s project was going to change the world!
“Oi there, fella!” came Sue’s voice. She was standing outside the school, smoking a lollipop. “Lookin’ quite cheerio there. Can I have me a gander at our project?”
Gary happily showed her the Feeling Fishy and Chipper Machine, which would turn any raw fish and potatoes into a hot meal in ten seconds flat. Sue eyed it all over, puffed away the last ashes of her lollipop, then karate-chopped the machine in half.
All of the fish and potatoes fell to the dirty asphalt below, with shards of the now-broken Machine sticking out of the goo. Rocks, chewed gum, dust and grass smeared all over it, turning it into a smelly blob of metal and garbage.
“Well, well,” Sue said, leaning on her hips. “Wots all dis den? Looks like Mr. Gary’s gonna get a bad grade for once, am I rite, mates?”
Nobody laughed with Sue. Gary felt awkward, with all of them taking his side. He needed to help Sue out. He smiled, leaned over, and picked up the mish mash from the ground.
“Thank you, Sue,” he said. “I’m so glad you helped with this awesome project we made together.”
“U wot?” Sue asked, staring at him confused.
“Come on!” Gary said, waving her inside. “Let’s go.”
Gary led and Sue followed with her clanging bucket shoes, all the way to the cafeteria which was set up for the science fair. There were only a few stations already set up, and Gary walked over to one of them, complete with a tri-fold poster and everything.
And sitting there, was another Feeling Fishy and Chipper Machine.
“You see,” Gary said, “I wasn’t satisfied with just making a machine that turned normal fish and potatoes into a hot meal. Think about all those poor people out there who don’t have access to clean food.
“That’s where I needed you, Sue! I could never dirty up clean food myself, but I knew that you could. So I had you smack the food out of my hands, and now, we can show off the machine to solve world hunger. Together!”
Sue just watched in silence as Gary dropped the blob of dirty fish, potatoes, chewed gum, and metallic scraps into the funnel opening of the machine. After a few whirrs and clanks, it spat out a plate of the tastiest-looking fish and chips anyone had ever seen.
He held the steaming plate up to her, offering the first bite.
“I borrowed your strength, Sue,” Gary said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Sue was so excited that she screamed, and so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t stand still. She ran away, the sounds of her clanking buckets slowly fading through the halls, leaving Gary to take the first bite. Of course, it was delicious, and all the judges came over to award him the first place ribbons, and the rest of the science fair was going to be cancelled, but Gary asked them to do it anyway and he would generously distribute his first place ribbons to others as a consolation prize, and everyone was so moved by his compassion that they cried.
“It’s a shame I don’t date anyone,” Gary said to himself, taking another bite. “I’d like to go out with Sue sometime, I think. But for now, I’m too busy saving lives.”
If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you join us on Twitch.
And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Featured image: Pakutaso