really though the whole "cringy mary sue oc" thing really is attacking an important outlet for lots of kids... All those tropes have a place in it:
Tragic backstories and lgbt+ identities are clearly signs that those are things that the kids creating the ocs live with. Most of those kids struggle with abuse or are lgbt+, and either way need a character to relate to
Self-inserts who hang out with their favorite character or variations on their favorite character? yeah chances are that kid feels pretty alone and needs to feel like someone who they love and look up to respects them back. see the abuse thing again
"Flawless personality" when you feel like everybody hates you you start to feel like a shit person. so having an oc like you who is also flawless is a place to embrace the things you like about yourself and get more self-confidence. I don't know, this one's hard to explain. See the next one
"Overpowered or underpowered" yeah, an OP oc is usually because the kid feelspowerless and helpless and nobody wants that. a relatable oc or self-insert who has lots of power? instant self-confidence boost. If my oc who's like me can have power, so can I. With underpowered characters that's just an outlet of that same frustration
Anyway yeah cringe culture is dead. All this applies to adults too, not just kids! you're never to old to make a fun character!
Plus not to mention that all this stuff specifically preys on neurodivergent kids.
If you can think of any other tropes like this feel free to add on
“overly beautiful/perfect appearances” (which is only criticized when written by 13 year olds, vs grown writers and artists making every character look like an adonis to ‘appeal to the audience’)
adding on to that, having colorful/sparkly/rainbow hair or costumes, because having colors in ur designs is uNrEaLiStIc. this ties into the culture that says middle school kids are cringy(tm) for dyeing their hair/ dressing for niche cultures
bullying a writer because the oc they’ve created falls “too much” outside canon, usually in canons where fantastical things and improbable circumstances happen all the time
characters who are clearly meant to be vent characters being singled out as ‘cringy’ and ‘unrealistic’ because NORMAL people aren’t supposed to be THAT sad
but if your character is too HAPPY or successful (aka the “perfect” mary sue archetype) then they’re also to be ridiculed
the whole idea that if you aren’t following an arbitrary and overall extremely subjective set of rules about how your character is supposed to act/look, it’s somehow now socially acceptable to make fun of you instead of actually trying to give constructive criticism (and the people who do this will claim that the bullying is the criticism, despite the fact that it’s anything but constructive)
