Oh dear.  I took the Universal Mary-Sue Litmus Test and Zane scored a 91.  And I thought I was doing so well.  On the other hand, a lot of the questions asking about "Powers that others don't have" I still checked "yes" to, as him being the Grim Reaper is unique to my Sims world, but there really is only one Death (Thaddeus doesn't count).  So yes, it makes him unique, but someone has to be the Grim Reaper...

So, under the cut are the answers I checked "yes" to.  Some of it is very spoiler-y as I know where the story is going with him.  I won't go into details on those questions.  I suppose this is somewhat a Meta on him, though not the elaborate one with pictures that I'm making.



Part 1 - All Characters:


1.  Is your character's name (i) Chosen specifically because you thought it had a meaning appropriate for your character?

Yes.  I have a bad habit of recycling names.  Zane is the name from "On a Pale Horse" by Piers Anthony, and he was the character who held the office of Death.  Every male child I have ever had born in my game who was a Reaper Child by InSim was given this name, and this Zane was no exception.  Of course, I originally had no intention of having my Zane become the Grim Reaper, it just became an added bonus.  Extra points for the fact that my Zane and OaPH Zane were pale with black hair!

5.  Is your character described, illustrated, and/or shown as exceptionally beautiful, cute, or handsome?  (a) Do you find your character attractive enough to date him/her?

Zane is cute, I admit.  Face One and Face Two are the exceptionally good looking templates.  If he were real and I were single I would totally date him.  He's physically fit, no body hair, and he's always smiling.  The downside is that he doesn't have much of a sense of humor and he doesn't get sarcasm, so I would probably go out with him once or twice and then "just be friends" with him; of which I am sad to say that he would be perfectly fine with.

6.  Do other characters frequently tell your character how sexy or beautiful he/she is?  Does your character modestly deny it every time or refuses to believe that he/she is attractive?

I wouldn't say that everyone tells him all the time that he's adorable, but when his looks come up, it's mentioned.  Granted, it's been mentioned most recently in the BC, which is all in his head, but to be fair to me, I was really stretching for conversation based off of their speech bubbles.  All they really wanted to talk about was books, the environment, and art.  I'm just thankful that the oil and statue icons popped up and I could take it from there.

And, using the BC as an example again, Zane was embarrassed by the conversation, even though it was in his own mind.  If that doesn't say that he refuses to believe that he's attractive, I don't know what does.

11.  Does your character's description contain anything to the effect of "He/she looks just like [other character/celebrity] except..."

Yes.  He looks just like Spider Jerusalem, except he's S1, where SJ is S2.  He looks just like Mary, except she's a girl.  He looks just like Eustace and Evangeline Whedonberry...etc.  They are all Reaper Clones, what do you expect?

17.  Does your character have a particularly piercing (EG, "can stare straight into your soul"), haunting, captivating, or dazzling gaze?

I'm gonna say "yes" to this.  He's the freakin' Grim Reaper and I imagine that he kinda keeps a lot of the creepiness out of his regular demeanor.  But, I can kinda see this being an issue if he's feeling a particularly strong emotion.  I haven't gone into great detail about this, but whenever he enters the room, his strong emotions eminate from him.  When he was collecting Hunter and Ansley, the feeling of sadness filled the room.  Anger and depression when he came in the nick of time to stop Lillian from killing Mary.  Hurt and sadness when Sebastian accused him of being someone nobody could trust because he's Lillian's child.  In other words, if you looked into Zane's eyes at those moments, "haunting" would probably be a word to describe what they looked like.

20.  Is your character impervious to any of the normal limitations and/or weaknesses of his/her species?

Eeehh...I said yes in that Zane was originally human and I suppose he technically still is, just an animated Dead one.  Because of that, he's immortal and he doesn't suffer from sickness or even have to take care of his basic needs when he's on the Dead Realm.  On the Mortal Realm, he would get tired and hungry, though not sick, if he were wearing his street clothes.  He doesn't when he's dressed in his Reaper Robes.

21.  Is your character partially or completely some type of metaphysical/spirit-type being?

Yes.  He's the Grim Reaper.  No need for explanation there.

24.  Does your character become a genetically, scientifically, cybernetically, or magically altered/enhanced being, possibly with new powers?

Yes.  He became the Grim Reaper through magic.

49.  Ah, the sound of music!  Does your character...(b) Play a musical instrument very well?

Yes.  I couldn't pry him away from the violin when he was growing up.  It never came up in the story, and I don't know if it ever will, but the kid was a shut-in who pretty much just skilled the entire time.  I imagine that he would be rather musically inclined because of that.

50.  Does your character use magic in a typically non-magical universe?

I don't really deal with the supernatural much in my story.  Lillian was a witch and there was a coven, but the other witches were very minor characters and really only shown in passing as I needed a reason to strip Lillian of her powers; that green aura was lagging my computer way too much.  Thaddeus is a lycanthrope, Remington is a Zombie, and I know I have a character vampire running around for future use...but none of them are the norm.  So, I would say that my universe is rather non-magical as I deal more with personal and interpersonal relations.  *sigh*  But, Zane is the Grim Reaper, and his soul collecting would be considered magical.

53.  Does your character have a telepathic/empathic connection or the ability to communicate with any kind of animal?  (a) Anything such as horses, wolves, big cats, or mythical creatures?  - Bonded creatures do not count, so long as this is within a universe where this is perfectly normal and it is your character's one and only bonded creature.

Mortis  Binky  Palus, his horse;  "Death rides a pale horse" and all that.  He can communicate with Palus empathically.  Now, here it got a little tricky for me.  See, Palus is bonded to Zane, and it's his only bonded animal companion; Ruth and Jezebel are also bonded to him as his companions; though they were never mortal, they are, at least in Sim terms, still human.  But, regardless, it's not "perfectly normal" in my universe.  Heck, Thaddeus, the lesser Reaper, doesn't have any sort of bonded companions.

56.  Does your character posess power that can take out entire cities/legions of soldiers/general all-around-evil?

...

He's the Grim Reaper.  He can walk up to someone and take their soul out of their body if he really felt like it; he just doesn't and the very thought horrifies him.  It's not typical for Grim Reapers to do so, but they can do it if the situation arises.

58.  Does your character have any other relatively unique special powers/abilities that come in handy?

Again I'll mention the fact that other people can feel strong emotions eminating from Zane if he doesn't keep it in check.  I don't know if it applies here or if it "comes in handy", but when I unchecked the box, Zane's score dropped from 91 to 90, so it doesn't make that huge of a difference; especially since, according to the score chart, anything over 50 points is considered a Mary-Sue that needs to be "killed dead."

65.  Does your character alone have a weapon that...(b) Was given by some kind of spirit/magical being?  (d)  Is magical?

Grim has a scythe and it's part of Zane's Robes of Office.  It was given to him by the Offices of Reaper, Reaper, Reaper, & Reaper and because it's part of his Outfit that makes him impervious to harm and need decay on the Mortal Realm I would consider that magical.

71.  Is your character nobility, closely related to a noble, or at least a rough equivalent? (President, governor, etc.)

We'll consider Legacy Families to be the equivalent of nobility in the Sims world, so the answer would be a absolute "yes" to this.

74.  Is your character some kind of 'chosen one' and/or a major part of a prophecy?

Yes.*

75.  Does your character consider his/her talents, special abilities, or good looks to be a curse?

Yes.  He hates the fact that he's so good looking and he curses it night and day. 

LOL. 

Okay, seriosuly, yeah, he despises the fact that he's the Grim Reaper and that he collects souls for a living.  It doesn't matter if they are considered "special abilities" or not; he just wanted to have a normal life with two three ten kids, a wife, and a nice house with a white picket fence.  He does look at his entire situation as a curse.

79.  What about any of these?  (a) Born/raised in extreme poverty?

Yes.  The house in London Bridge was a condemed building on the outskirts of town (how London Bridge managed that with five whole buildings in town, we'll never know) and the side-by-side he was relocated to in Pleasantview was in the "bad part of town" next to the nuclear power plant, the dump, the canning factory, and the fish packing plant.  Where he lived was just slightly above living in a Budget Slum Unit.

(e)  An illegitimate child?

Yep yep.  Lillian had him by herself; that bastard Grim didn't even bother with Christmas presents or Birthday cards let alone child support.

(f)  The parent of an illegitimate child?

Yes.*

(g)  Abused?

Let me introduce to the court Exhibit A:  Lillian

80.  Has your character otherwise lost...(b) A lover?  (c)  A close friend?

Yes.*

82.  If your character has a torment-ridden, pain-filled past, do you believe it excuses his/her actions?

In a sense, yes.  He's a complete doormat because of how he was raised.  His actions are rather benign, though, and they are done with good intentions.  So, his "actions" are forgiven.  "Actions" being that he doesn't really stand up for himself.

84.  Does your character angst about something that he/she did in the past?  (a)  Death of a main character's family?  (b)  Death of his/her own family?

For the sake of this quiz, A and B are one in the same.  Even if they weren't, while he isn't the direct cause of their deaths, he's still the one who comes to get them.  As it has been stated on multiple occasions, Zane hates the fact that he's the one who collects the souls of his family members, and so he broods about that...among other things.

87.  Does a major villain have a personal fixation/obsession with your character?

Though Josh started it with, "Rue the day," Lillian is reinventing the idea.  Oh yeah, she's pissed that Zane removed her from the equation...for the moment.  When she comes back, her focus won't be on taking over the legacy, as she can't anymore.  BUT, there are other things that she can do that will make Zane miserable.  After all, her specialty is crushing his spirits when they are at their highest.

Part 2 - Fictional Characters:

3.  Is your character well-liked by nearly everyone he/she meets?

Absolutely.  Who wouldn't like a guy who smiles nicely, seems interested in everything that you're saying, admires you at every turn, and would rather hear more about you than talk much about himself?  He is truly a nice guy.  This is, of course, not getting into the fact that most of Generation Four (with the sole exception of a certain Simself's daughter) rolled the Family Aspiration, so by default they are going to like him.

6.  Does anyone who doesn't like or respect your character by the end of the story end up beaten up, humiliated, and/or dead?

Yes.*

7.  Does your character have a job or skill that is discouraged, forbidden, or unusual among his/her gender, race, or social status?

Being a Grim Reaper is unusual if you consider the Sims as a race of people.  This was another one that I hemmed and hawed over, but unchecking it dropped the score from 91 to 89, so he's still waaaayyyy over the 50+ where he should be "killed dead" because he's a Mary-Sue.

8.  Does your character save the day way more often than other main characters?  (c)  Magically or mystically?

Nobody has "saved the day" other than Zane, who in the same day managed to save Mary from Lillian as well as save Tina from dying.  Both of these actions were done magically when he whisked them away.

(d)  Does your character die in the process? (Any nasty irreversable thing, like getting sent to an inescapable dimension count, too.)

Yes.*

Part 5 - De-Suifiers: