MinDonner Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 I tried out Richard's character on the Mary Sue Litmus Test - obviously I had to guess at some of the answers as they relate to the author's intentions, but I think we have a pretty good idea about how Tairy feels towards his beloved characters. The threshold for unforgiveable Mary-Sue-ness is 71 points. Richard scored over 140. That's pretty close to a perfect score. Anyone surprised? Not me! (note - I didn't know this until I came to these forums, but Mary Sue refers to a character that's an obvious author self-insertion, the kind of thing that kids write in My First Fanfic). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walpurgisborn Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I tried out Richard's character on the Mary Sue Litmus Test - obviously I had to guess at some of the answers as they relate to the author's intentions, but I think we have a pretty good idea about how Tairy feels towards his beloved characters. The threshold for unforgiveable Mary-Sue-ness is 71 points. Richard scored over 140. That's pretty close to a perfect score. Anyone surprised? Not me! (note - I didn't know this until I came to these forums, but Mary Sue refers to a character that's an obvious author self-insertion, the kind of thing that kids write in My First Fanfic). No offense, but I call bullshit on that test. I just tried Sam fromZelazny's Lords of Light and he scored a 76 (without making guesses about Zelazny's feelings about his character) and I'm betting I break 100 if I try to put Corwin of Amber through the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosicus Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Well, Kahlan scores 122 as far as I can tell. I don't have time at the moment to try the test on a good character to see what happens. Anybody want to try running Tyrion through it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 I got 11 for Tyrion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrostar Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I got 11 for Tyrion. That seems... surprisingly low. I'd have expected him to score a lot higher because of his anachronistic irreverence, so to speak? The authors of the test even admit that it's not terribly good, more or less, and point out that Morpheus from the Sandman comics scores around 70. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 There was only one question about irreverent comments, and it carried the proviso of Getting Away With It. As we all know, Tyrion's mouth gets him into no end of trouble, so I left the box unticked. Some of the questions subtract points too, and I suspect his disability and ugliness served to make him very un-Mary-Sue-like. I'll try it again though to make sure that's an accurate score... OK, tried Tyrion again and got 16 - a bit higher, but still not quite in Richard's league. It's clear to me that Richard totally pwns Tyrion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrostar Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 There was only one question about irreverent comments, and it carried the proviso of Getting Away With It. As we all know, Tyrion's mouth gets him into no end of trouble, so I left the box unticked. Some of the questions subtract points too, and I suspect his disability and ugliness served to make him very un-Mary-Sue-like. I'll try it again though to make sure that's an accurate score... OK, tried Tyrion again and got 16 - a bit higher, but still not quite in Richard's league. It's clear to me that Richard totally pwns Tyrion. True. When I ran Corwin through I actually got him scoring in the thirties, which kind of surprised me as being quite low. But I may not have been sufficiently attentive to all the questions, as I was kind of late for work when I went through the quiz. I can easily see how Richard could end up in excess of 100, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walpurgisborn Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 There was only one question about irreverent comments, and it carried the proviso of Getting Away With It. As we all know, Tyrion's mouth gets him into no end of trouble, so I left the box unticked. Some of the questions subtract points too, and I suspect his disability and ugliness served to make him very un-Mary-Sue-like. I'll try it again though to make sure that's an accurate score... OK, tried Tyrion again and got 16 - a bit higher, but still not quite in Richard's league. It's clear to me that Richard totally pwns Tyrion. yeah, even at best (worst) Tyrion isn't breaking 30. Corwin on the other hand, I've got him at 73, and I think Merlin probably would top 80 at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errant Bard Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I got Corwin at 66, and Richard Cypher at 204. For the ASOIAF character, I think that out of them Jon, Dany and Arya would be the top scorers, if you discount legendary types like Rhaegar and Arthur Dayne, who were written to be perfect song heroes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walpurgisborn Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I got Corwin at 66, and Richard Cypher at 204. Holy friggen hell, 204?! Although wether the test is bullshit or not, I think it's obvious that Richard Cypher Rahl (Bringer of Death), is definitely a Mary-Sue. I think more of my problem is that many of our classic sci-fi and fantasy writers would qualify as Mary-Sues. Most of Heinlein's works could qualify, as would a lot of Zelazny's, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Phillip K Dick's and David Gemmell. It's not that I'm arguing Goodkind is a good author as much as this is a dangerous argument to use, as many of our favorite authors include characters who are a little too perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightsnake Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I ran Jaime and Dany through. Got...oh...80-90 apiece. I'm calling definite bullshit on that test. It really is kind of pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moshe Goldberg Rubinshteyn Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Anyone tried Dorkstar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrostar Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 yeah, even at best (worst) Tyrion isn't breaking 30. Corwin on the other hand, I've got him at 73, and I think Merlin probably would top 80 at this point. The Merlin Chronicles never existed. They are a figment of your imagination. You will forget they were ever written. You will forget them now. I really can't say much to defend Merlin as a character. I would be surprised if Merlin didn't come out way ahead of Corwin, to be honest. He seems to be the sole person with access to most of the powers he possesses (well, many of them), and he seems to pick up magic items and artifacts by the bucketload. And don't even get me started on the whole "having sex on the Pattern thing". Ugh... I'd promised myself I would forget that that ever happened. Now I feel all soiled again. Damnit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walpurgisborn Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 The Merlin Chronicles never existed. They are a figment of your imagination. You will forget they were ever written. You will forget them now. Merlin? You mean King Arthur's wizard, right? Only Merlin I've ever known. Although I did like the reference to my birthday on the first page. I should have stopped reading there. Although thankfully, I seem to have forgotten about sex on the Pattern. That is not an invitation to remind me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Foote Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Nice find on the MarySue test, that one probably deserves it's own thread. Bottom of the results page: Again, keep in mind that the test isn't always correct. Morpheus from the Sandman Comics scored nearly 70 points, and yet we don't believe he's a Mary-Sue. He's well developed, suffers the consequences of several major personality flaws, and has very few powers or talents besides those necessary to perform the duties of his station. Of course, research, an interesting story, and good writing always help too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Poisoning Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I put the Christian god through, and got an 89. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerol Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 First of all, regarding Morpheus - I don't think of him as a Gary Stu but it's interesting that he kinda looked like Gaiman. I ran the test on my most likely candidate for Mary Sue: Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake. 113! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrostar Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Merlin? You mean King Arthur's wizard, right? Only Merlin I've ever known. Although I did like the reference to my birthday on the first page. I should have stopped reading there. Although thankfully, I seem to have forgotten about sex on the Pattern. That is not an invitation to remind me. The important thing is that Merlin is instructed by some higher power, more or less against his will, to have sex with Coral on the pattern. That is why I try to pretend the Merlin Chronicles don't exist :shudders: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dothwacky Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 100 stylepoints to the first person to parody Newcomb vs. Goodkind in the style of Alien vs. Predator. I'd do it, but I've only seen that movie once, a long time ago. Also, I've steered well clear of Newcomb. However, I think the general principle holds: "Whoever wins, we lose." Mr Smash, this idea got stuck in my head :sick: and I must now tell you that Richard vs Tristan, Editors' Doom....well it'll be here later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theMountainGoat Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 If I had the time this week I would have given it a go too. No concrete ideas here but this idea for a prody is so strong it could not fail to be funny. Can't wait to read it BaconFathom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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