Writing Tips and Reviews

Other Characters

Unlike what Mary Sue writers would like to believe, other characters are not there to worship Mary Sue, be afraid of how amazing she is compared to them, or get their asses kicked because Mary Sue can never lose a battle. There are allies, enemies, and others who make up the world.

-Allies-

The characters your main protagonist meets and who join the team. They should comprise of people with different personalities, looks, and skills. Unless there's a reason for some to have the same traits, they should have different ones. Siblings for example can have similar traits but complete strangers have a less chance of that.

These are not people whose only purpose is to bow down to Mary Sue and kiss her feet at every moment. They're supporting the protagonist, not worshipping them, yes, there is a difference. People who support the protagonist are going to admire them, compliment them, and point out faults. That's what real friends do anyways. They're not going to take shit and can easily leave the protagonist's side if they feel like they're being treated like shit.

Some do bow down to the protagonist, look at Fujimaru, he's got an onslaught of servants who are all over him, but also has other allies who talk back, shame them, give them orders, and are regular friends. Fujimaru has Mash who adores him, Roman who is like a mentor and calls out bullshit, Da Vinci who loves to mess with him, and many of the other servants who are a mix of every trait out there.

Even going with tropes is better than writing allies who are either scared of how OP Mary Sue is, worship her all day every day, or are literally meant to make the worship counter higher than it should be. I'm looking at you Kaila.

-Enemies-

The antagonists, they oppose the protagonist for their own reasons. They should follow the same formula as the allies, the have their own traits and interactions with the protagonist. Their one purpose should not be a punching bag that gets easily beaten up just to show Mary Sue can never lose a battle. They should also not be called evil for the sole reason they disagree with Mary Sue. If they're evil, you better show them being evil.

These characters are a threat to the protagonists, they can be just as strong or stronger to make fight scenes intense, they can have power over the government, they can stack the odds against the protagonists. These characters should not be treated as extremely powerful but are easily beaten by Mary Sue so all tension goes out the window.

There's a reason they and the protagonists are on opposite sides, the same ideal but different ways to go about it, differing ideals, sibling rivalry, anything that's not "pure evil so Mary Sue is pure good". And if the two start being similar, don't make the antagonists worse so Mary Sue can keep her "pure good" status.

-The Rest-

Mainly side characters. In games, they provide aid, side quests, can unlock new areas, and can work with both sides since they don't care. A merchant could sell to either side, a hotel can have anyone in it, side characters aren't concerned about the war between two factions unless it's big. If your protagonist is going up against the king, the side characters are going to talk about it. They might even call for the guards to get the protagonist captures.

There are also those who pick sides, they support one team and stay there or switch. They're meant to make the world feel real, even post-apocalyptic worlds have side characters running around. You can find their base camp and hang there for the night, you can help them gather materials, you can kill them and steal their stuff. They're side characters so they're not really going to do much unless they're the kind that hunt you down and come for you.

-Conclusion-

Treat these characters like real people, they're going to react differently to certain situations and have different relationships. Don't boil them down to "worshipper", "scared shitless", and "gets their ass kick effortlessly". That's how Mary Sue writers treat the cast and it's really sad to see potentially good characters be wasted because Mary Sue needs to look like a god. Even Arjuna Alter didn't have such losers on his team, and he is literally a perfect god.