Whether you call them fan characters, Mary Sues, Gary Stus - whatever - it all comes down to one thing: whether anyone admits it or not, making up characters for your favorite shows, books, comics, and movies is FUN.

So, I decided to start a thread specially about Darkwing Duck fan characters: how to make one; how not to make one; character profiles; and discussing the originality of, or just plain critiquing, each other's characters.

A few rules first: there is a BIG difference between critiques and flames. If you don't like someone's character, then be mature about it. Refer to the main rules of the forum. And if anyone claims, "Hey, so-and-so stole my idea!" please be calm about it. Unless you can prove so-and-so stole your idea, there's nothing we can do about it.

And please, if you want to show off pictures of your character, do so on the Darkwing Fan Art board. Thank you!

I suppose I'll start things off, since I'm waiting for people to populate the forum. This is one of my two major DW fan characters.

Name: Rosalyn "Rose" Angelica Quackenfield
Age: Mid-thirties
Species: White duck
Hometown: Born in Saint Canard, raised in Duckburg
Current Residence: Saint Canard
Occupation: Romance novelist
Talents/Skills: Extraordinary writer, highly athletic
Siblings: Jillian "Jill" Lily Featherton (twin sister), Rowan Thorne (older adoptive brother), Florian Thorne (older adoptive brother), Ash Thorne (adoptive brother), Violet Thorne (younger adoptive sister)
Spouse: Gary Stuart Waddlemeyer (husband; deceased)
Children: Gosalyn Waddlemeyer Mallard
Parents: Timothy Quackenfield (father; missing), Brenna Quackenfield (mother; missing), Robert Thorne (adoptive father; deceased)
Grandparents: Unknown (deceased)
Grandchildren: None
Significant Others: None; has developed interest in Drake Mallard but stays away due to his relationship with Morgana

Body Type: Average height; slim and slightly toned, but not skinny
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Medium brown
Glasses or contact lenses? Neither
Distinguishing features: Usually wears hair in a ponytail.
How does he/she dress? Pink sleeveless turtleneck, jeans, black belt with silver buckle, no shoes.
Mannerisms: When angered or frustrated, hands curl into fists, or she pulls at her hair. Tends to make wisecracks at the stupid and oblivious. Like to make people smile and laugh whenever possible. Highly mercurial in nature, but not nearly as shallow as she might appear.
Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.) None.
Health: Above-average. She works out at the local gym every chance she gets.
Hobbies: Scrapbooking newspaper clippings featuring Darkwing Duck; teaching herself to play guitar; singing karaoke; playing Whiffle Boy games; collecting fine literature and poetry books
Favorite Sayings: "Holy quack!"
Speech patterns: She speaks with an average vocabulary most of the time, but her knowledge of the English language is actually quite expansive.
Disabilities: None that we know of.
Style (Elegant, shabby etc.): Comfortable yet eye-catching.

Greatest flaw: She's too hard on herself.
Best quality: Her sense of heart and creativity.
Educational Background: College graduate
Intelligence Level: Above-average; very quick-witted
Any Mental Illnesses? No, though she once suffered a coma that lasted five years.
Learning Experiences: Nothing good lasts forever.
Character's short-term goals in life: To pay the rent with the royalties from her novels.
Character's long-term goals in life: To forget her painful past and move on with life.
How does Character see himself/herself? As an ordinary person who's gone through extraordinary circumstances.
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? She believes that if people get too close to her, they'll see her as an immature weirdo, so she only keeps a close circle of friends.
How self-confident is the character? It depends on the situation; she's usually very confident unless pushed into an emotional corner, such as bringing up her past or blaming her for someone else's unhappiness.
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? Rose has a lot of common sense, and is therefore quite practical and logical. But she is usually known to follow her heart, particularly in times of crisis.
What would most embarass this character? If her deepest, most innermost feelings were revealed by someone other than her. She has no problem communicating her own emotions, though.

Introvert or Extrovert? Extrovert
How does the character deal with anger? She usually vents to her friends, particularly her best friend, Jennifer Hackerquack.
With sadness? She prefers to be alone, especially when she feels the need to cry.
With conflict? She deals with it head-on, ready for even a physical fight if necessary.
With change? Unsteadily, but she's used to big changes, so she eventually bounces back.
With loss? Not very well. It always pains her the most when she loses someone she loves.
What does the character want out of life? To have a peaceful, normal existence.
What would the character like to change in his/her life? To not feel so alone.
What motivates this character? Memories of happier times, and hopes to relive the feelings they gave her.
What frightens this character? The fear of losing more people she loves.
What makes this character happy? Having a good time with loved ones.
Is the character judgmental of others? No; she looks at the situations of others from every perspective before passing any kind of judgement.
Is the character generous or stingy? Generous.
Is the character generally polite or rude? Polite... but only to those who deserve it.

Character's role in the story (main character? hero? heroine? Romantic interest? etc.): One of a few main characters.
Scene where character first appears: Encounters Drake in a shopping mall where he is purchasing party supplies for Gosalyn's tenth birthday.

Relationships with other characters:

1. Gosalyn: In the beginning, Gosalyn has no idea that Rose is her mother. During this time, the two become very good friends as they are usually on the same wavelength. After Gosalyn learns the truth, however, things become horribly rocky; Gosalyn can't understand why Rose would leave her alone all those years. It's only when Rose proves herself that Gosalyn realizes that she wouldn't have left her if she could help it, and they become closer than ever before.
2. Drake Mallard: Rose is captivated by Drake from the beginning, but she is very demure about it. Drake is also charmed by Rose from the getgo, but as to why, he can't quite put his finger on it. The two are very communicative with each other, and share a strong sense of empathy. They tend to swap witty remarks in conversation, and eventually become comfortable enough to act coy. Rose loves Drake as he is even without the mask of Darkwing - she sees him as a great friend, and a wonderful father. Her feelings for him only grows as time passes. Drake's feelings for Rose develop shakily as he is in love with Morgana, but once Morgana leaves this love triangle, he fully acknowledges how he truly feels... even if he is slow at it. All-in-all, Drake and Rose care deeply for one another.
3. Morgana: At first, Rose is simply uncomfortable around Morgana - not because she's a witch, but because she and Drake are together. Rose doesn't want to admit how jealous she is, but after a while she can't keep it bottled up inside anymore, and explodes. Morgana never liked Rose because she was always suspicious of her, believing she is trying to steal away "her darling Dark" away, but when she discovers just how jealous Rose truly is, their relationship becomes an all-out rivalry. They eventually calm things down when Drake and Morgana break up and Drake goes through a temporary depression, and go back to being uncomfortable around each other for a reasonable amount of time.
4. Jill: Being twins, Rose and Jill used to be very close when they were children. But after being separated for so long, they have changed so much that they barely recognize each other anymore, so far as personality is concerned, anyway. Jill blames Rose for letting her adoptive parents, the Feathertons, take her away from the orphanage (mainly because her life with them was so miserable). Jill has become cruel and vicious, which frightens her sister considerably. Rose tries to reason with Jill, but Jill is simply too angry a person to be reasoned with. Over the course of their story, Jill calms down enough to at least listen to what Rose has to say... but she is still not above threatening to hurt her.

How character is different at the end of the story from when the story began: Rose starts out as someone who is afraid to let anyone get too close to her, because she's afraid of losing those she loves, something she has experienced one time too many. She also lacks the self-confidence to really make a name for herself, and believes she is a terrible mother for being away from Gosalyn. At the end, not only has she let many more people into her life than she has ever had, she's writing original best-sellers and is more than caught up with the years she missed out on Gosalyn's growing up.

Additional Notes on This Character: Nothing at the moment...

Ok... after much editing and procrastination, I've decided to grace you with my Mary Sues.. Err, I mean fan characters. I am very proud of these characters, regardless of the Sue label. I spent a long time working on them. There are two of them. First up is Amy, who I've been working on for a few years now.

FULL NAME: Amy Marie Bloodstone
COMMON ALIAS: Just Amy
OTHER ALIASES: Ames (pronounced "Aims")

-PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION-
PHYSICAL AGE: Mid thirties. About the same age as Megavolt.
HAIR: Light brown, straight with bangs, a few inches past her shoulders. Usually pulled into a hair clip.
EYES: Green
SPECIES: Mouse
BUILD: Average
HEIGHT: A little shorter than Megs.
COMMON OUTFIT: Typically casual. Slacks and button down shirts.

-HISTORY-
Amy was born in St. Canard, where she lived with her mother, father, and younger sister Serena. She was always a bright child, very creative and imaginative. In the second grade she met her best friend, Elmo Sputterspark. When a bully by the name of Hamm String shoved poor Elmo into a mud puddle, Amy was there to help him up and make him feel better.

All throughout their school days, Amy and Elmo were completely inseperable. They hung out all the time, helped each other with homework, had sleepovers, went to the movies, and did other things best friends do. This continued up until their senior year of high school, when Elmo disappeared.

Growing up Amy was fairly intellegent and made good grades in school. She was never very popular, but had a few decent friends. In high school she was a member of both the drama club and the cheerleading squad, but was often overshadowed by the stuck up prep princess, Preena Lott.

When her best friend Elmo disappeared, Amy was heartbroken for several years, but managed to pull herself together with the help of her family. She went on to college for a couple years, majoring in accounting.

When she was 25 years old she began a job as an assistant for a local accounting agency, where she worked until she was 30, when she was arrested for suspicision of money fraud. She was never charged, however, and was released after a while. Around this time she ran into Megavolt, and recognized him as her best friend Elmo. The two of them have since become inseperable again, and Amy now works as a very underpaid accountant for the Fearsome Five.

After her arrest she lost her accounting job and took on the position of waitress at a local pub. It was while working at the pub that she met a girl named Liza, who worked at a Hamburger Hippo stand across the street from the pub. Liza and Amy hit it off really well and became good friends.

Amy eventually introduced Liza to the Fearsome Five, and the group has been together ever since.

-PERSONALITY-
Despite being associated with the Fearsome Five, Amy is a fairly nice, semi law abiding citizen. She's very kind and patient, especially with Megavolt.. She does have a bit of a temper, but isn't too quick to anger.

She loves her friends and family, and enjoys working for the Five, considering all of them her extended family. Shes fairly intellegent, she'd have to be to be an accountant. She tends to be a bit motherly now and then, fussing over her friends and worrying about them quite often.

-ALLIES/ENEMIES-
Megavolt: Megs is Amys best friend in the entire world. She knows more about him than anyone else does, encluding himself. She's always willing to help him remember things and would do anything for him.

Quackerjack: Amy considers QJ to be completely insane, but a good friend nonetheless. Shes very supportive of him most of the time, though she does get annoyed with him now and then. She thinks QJ and Liza make a cute couple, and would love nothing more than to hook them up.

Bushroot: Hes like family. Hes always been there to lend an ear or offer advice or support.

The Liquidator: Amy isn't sure what she thinks of Licky. Hes an ally and a friend, but she thinks hes a bit of a stick in the mud.

Negaduck: Amy and Negs don't always see eye to eye, but he did give her a partial job. She likes him well enough.

Liza: Amys best friend, next to Megs. Since the day they first met, Amy and Liza have been very close, like sisters. They're the only girls in the gang, so they have to stick together.

Darkwing Duck: Amy hasn't had too many run ins with DW, but she has some respect for him, when hes not carting her friends off to jail.

-EXTRA-
When they were in high school, Amy and Elmo had planned to go to prom together. Because he never showed up, she stayed home, and had no idea that he trashed the dance as Megavolt.
She wants to get married and maybe have kids someday, but feels her life is too hectic for that at the moment.

-FAVORITES-
FOOD: Pizza
DRINK: Peppermint tea
ICE CREAM: Strawberry
COLOR: Pink
SONG: Anything classical
ACTIVITY: Reading

Next is Liza. Amys bio is above if you missed it. I've been working on Liz for several months now and shes gone through two names and several personality revamps. XD

FULL NAME: Elizabeth Jolene De Quacka
COMMON ALIAS: Liza (pronouced "Lie-Zuh")
OTHER ALIASES: Liz, Lizzy, Kandy

-PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION-
PHYSICAL AGE: Mid twenties
HAIR: Auburn, straight, shoulder length. Usually in pigtails. No bangs.
EYES: Hazel
SPECIES: White duck
BUILD: Thin, yet curvy. Definately has a girly figure.
HEIGHT: Shes about Negaducks height. Give or take an inch or two.
COMMON OUTFIT: Liza is a candy raver to the core. Brightly colored, often tacky, clothing. Loads of plastic and/or candy jewelry. Glowsticks randomy tucked into belt loops or hung around her neck.

-HISTORY-
Liza was born in Duckburg and moved to St. Canard when she was 5 years old, the youngest of two children. She has an older brother named Jon, who lives in Duckburg with his wife and kids. Lizas childhood was relatively normal. She grew up in a middle class family and was a bit spoiled by her parents, being the "baby" of the family. As a small child she was shy and imaginative. She had very few real friends, so she made up friends.

When she started school she made a few friends, but was never popular at all. What little popularity she had diminished by the time she reached high school, and most of the other kids had labled her as a freak because of the way she dressed and acted. She enjoyed the rave scene, and always looked the part.

Her parents divorced by the time she was 16, and by 17 Liza had developed a bit of a premiscuous reputation around the city. When she was 18, having repeated two grades of high school already and looking to repeat a third, she dropped out and never looked back.

After quitting school she took on a job as an exoctic dancer, where she acquired the nickname Kandy, due to her raver like appearence. During most of that time she was a bit of a vagrant, moving from friends house to friends house. At the age of 20 she began dating a guy named Stephen, she also quit dancing and got a job working at a Hamburger Hippo stand. By then her premiscuous nature had toned down quite a bit.

It was while working at Hamburger Hippo that Liza met Amy Bloodstone, who worked in the pub across the street. The two of them hit if off really well and eventually became close friends, despite the huge difference in their personalities. Amy was a bit more reserved and well rounded than Liza.

Not long after wards, Amy introduced Liza to the Fearsome Five, for whom Amy had been doing accounting work. Negaduck never considered Amy or Liza to be a part of his gang, but they were always in on whatever the gang happened to be doing. Negs would often send one of them along on a heist to act as look-out or to keep an eye on things and make sure the others didn't screw something up.

When Stephen found out Liza had been hanging around with the Five, he became cruel to her, even going so far as to beat her and threaten her life if she didn't stop seeing the only friends she had at the time. This went on for about 6 months, before Liza was put into a coma for three days due to her boyfriends violent nature. After that Negaduck paid Stephen a personal visit. No one abuses members of his gang, even unofficial members, except him.

No one ever saw Stephen again.

Once she was free of her abusive boyfriend, Liza decided to go back to school and try to do something with her life. She still works at Hamburger Hippo and her and Quackerjack share a house in the city. She still hangs out with Amy and the Five, and considers them to be her closest friends, the closest being Amy and Quackerjack

-PERSONALITY-
Withdrawn and distant until she gets to know someone, then she opens up rather quickly. Shes warm and bubbly, kinda spacey at times, but has a lot of logic and common sense. Shes smart and most of her intellegence comes from personal experience, rather than books, though books did help some. Shes very young at heart most of the time, loves raves, and is especially fond of DDR. She can be mature and reserved when the situation calls for it, but mostly she just likes to have fun. She sometimes has difficulty sitting still for long periods of time, always wanting to be up doing something.

She hates being left out of anything. She loves her friends more than anything and would fight tooth and nail for them. She worries a lot and when she stresses she paces and wrings her hands. When angered she becomes unusually calm and sharp tongued.

-ALLIES/ENEMIES-
Quackerjack: Liza adores QJ. She stayed two weeks with him once when her apartment was being sprayed for bugs, and they enjoyed each others company so much they decided to get a place together. They're very close and Liza has a bit of a crush on him, but would never admit it to anyone.

Megavolt: "The cutest thing in the world!" according to Liz. Shes pretty close to Megs as well considering they share two best friends. Liza thinks Megs is charming and funny. She coddles him quite a bit.

Bushroot: Like an older brother. Hes so sweet and Liza always goes to him with problems cause hes such a good listener. Gives good advice too.

The Liquidator: Liz likes him well enough, but they tend to get on each others nerves most of the time.

Negaduck: Extremely hard to get along with, but Liza knows he had something to do with Stephens disappearence, and shes eternally gratefull to him for it. They tolerate each other, so long as Liz stays out of his way.

Amy: Lizas best friend next to QJ. Amy was the first real friend she had, and the one that introduced her to the Fearsome Five. They're like sisters.

Darkwing Duck: Liza has no real issue with DW, but hasn't had to deal with him much, as he has no idea shes connected to the Fearsome Five. Shes spoken to him a few times when him and Launchpad have stopped at Hamburger Hippo, but thats about it. The only time she has an issue with him is when hes carting her friends off to jail.

-EXTRA-
Liza smokes, and has done so since she was 16. Shes tried, unsucessfully, to quit twice.
She attends St. Canard University where shes majoring in Advanced Journalism
Unknown to QJ, Liza loves video games, and has quite a collection hidden in her closet. No Wiffle Boy games though. She knows better. XD
Shes the only person, other than QJ naturally, that actually likes his toys. She finds them amusing. As long as she doesn't have to play with them.
She hates her first name. The only person that calls her Elizabeth is her mother.
She'd like to have a relationship with someone, but fears getting intimate with anyone because of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her last boyfriend.
She loves QJ very much, and wouldn't mind dating him, but fears ruining their friendship.

-FAVORITES-
FOOD: Fettucini Alfredo
DRINK: Cherry Coo-Coo Cola
ICE CREAM: Mint chocolate chip
COLOR: Orange
SONG: The Macarena (tacky as it is)
ACTIVITY: Dance Dance Revolution

I just updated Rose's profile. Have a look at the second post!