Mysterious Waif: Difference between revisions

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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn from ''[[Sailor Moon]]''. She is mysterious, ready for a self-sacrifice, and wears unusually dark clothes; she also has several mysterious powers even outside of her Sailor Senshi identity (although many of the other girls did too). Her situation is somewhat different, as there are [[Eviler Than Thou|three sides]] involved: Sailor Moon, who wants to save her; the Guardians of the Outer Solar System, who want to get rid of her as she poses a threat to the world; and the evil Death Busters, who want to destroy the world with her help. A couple seasons later, she joins the main cast, and her powers overlap somewhat with those of the [[White Magician Girl]] [[Cool Big Sis]], Sailor Pluto.
* Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn from ''[[Sailor Moon]]''. She is mysterious, ready for a self-sacrifice, and wears unusually dark clothes; she also has several mysterious powers even outside of her Sailor Senshi identity (although many of the other girls did too). Her situation is somewhat different, as there are [[Eviler Than Thou|three sides]] involved: Sailor Moon, who wants to save her; the Guardians of the Outer Solar System, who want to get rid of her as she poses a threat to the world; and the evil Death Busters, who want to destroy the world with her help. A couple seasons later, she joins the main cast, and her powers overlap somewhat with those of the [[White Magician Girl]] [[Cool Big Sis]], Sailor Pluto.
* Lala-Ru from "[[Now and Then Here And There]]" She may also count as a deconstruction of it.
* Lala-Ru from "[[Now and Then Here and There]]" She may also count as a deconstruction of it.
* Kari Kamiya/Yagami Hikari from ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' and ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'', the human lightbulb. Also an [[Ill Girl]] at times (really, she gets sick twice during the series and twice offscreen as backstory - a lot compared to the ''zero'' of most of the rest of the cast, but that adds up to a minuscule portion of her screentime - [[Never Live It Down|far from the invalid she's remembered as by fans]].), she is the only one to have a Crest (Light) that ''doesn't'' refer to an innate virtue or trait. The powers of this Crest usually manifest themselves in weird ways, and she has been shown as both 1) unusually self-sacrificing and 2) drawn to the Dark Ocean, because of her powers and walled-in emotional problems. She's also empathetic to the point of being borderline psychic, which sends her into two [[Heroic BSOD|Heroic BSODs]] in 02 (and during the last one, her best friend Miyako has to [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!|literally bitchslap her]] back to sanity).
* Kari Kamiya/Yagami Hikari from ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' and ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'', the human lightbulb. Also an [[Ill Girl]] at times (really, she gets sick twice during the series and twice offscreen as backstory - a lot compared to the ''zero'' of most of the rest of the cast, but that adds up to a minuscule portion of her screentime - [[Never Live It Down|far from the invalid she's remembered as by fans]].), she is the only one to have a Crest (Light) that ''doesn't'' refer to an innate virtue or trait. The powers of this Crest usually manifest themselves in weird ways, and she has been shown as both 1) unusually self-sacrificing and 2) drawn to the Dark Ocean, because of her powers and walled-in emotional problems. She's also empathetic to the point of being borderline psychic, which sends her into two [[Heroic BSOD|Heroic BSODs]] in 02 (and during the last one, her best friend Miyako has to [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!|literally bitchslap her]] back to sanity).
** She can also be possessed by the mysterious whatevers that are running the digital world (apparently, in rank, they're the one step that exists between [[The Obi-Wan]] Gennai and ''[[The Four Gods]].'') And once talked like her possessed self while apparently ''not'' possessed, and could grant healing and a recharge ''by glowiness alone.'' She's got some serious clout, and we never get any kind of explanation for it, not even something like "Light is just that awesome a Crest trait."
** She can also be possessed by the mysterious whatevers that are running the digital world (apparently, in rank, they're the one step that exists between [[The Obi-Wan]] Gennai and ''[[The Four Gods]].'') And once talked like her possessed self while apparently ''not'' possessed, and could grant healing and a recharge ''by glowiness alone.'' She's got some serious clout, and we never get any kind of explanation for it, not even something like "Light is just that awesome a Crest trait."
* Kisara of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh]]'', the [[White-Haired Pretty Girl|white-haired]] and blue-eyed Egyptian and homeless, quiet, vaguely psychic, mysterious keeper of the spirit of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon who [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrificed herself]] to protect the only person who ever showed her kindness, High Priest Seto... even [[Reincarnation|3,000 years later]].
* Kisara of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', the [[White-Haired Pretty Girl|white-haired]] and blue-eyed Egyptian and homeless, quiet, vaguely psychic, mysterious keeper of the spirit of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon who [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrificed herself]] to protect the only person who ever showed her kindness, High Priest Seto... even [[Reincarnation|3,000 years later]].
** Only present day example would be against losing to Isis during Battle City. Otherwise, Kaiba typically sees Blue-Eyes White Dragon as his personal [[BFG]].
** Only present day example would be against losing to Isis during Battle City. Otherwise, Kaiba typically sees Blue-Eyes White Dragon as his personal [[BFG]].
* Clare from ''[[Claymore]]'' starts out like this, until it becomes obvious that she is seriously [[The Stoic]] mixed with [[Badass Abnormal]], a [[Super-Powered Evil Side]], [[Kuudere]], and a bit of [[Deadpan Snarker]].
* Clare from ''[[Claymore]]'' starts out like this, until it becomes obvious that she is seriously [[The Stoic]] mixed with [[Badass Abnormal]], a [[Super-Powered Evil Side]], [[Kuudere]], and a bit of [[Deadpan Snarker]].
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* Alvis from ''[[Last Exile]]'' is a mini-version.
* Alvis from ''[[Last Exile]]'' is a mini-version.
* ''[[Noir]]'' has Yumura Kirika, a melancholy and very cute protagonist who has no memory of her past. She also happens to be a deadly assassin.
* ''[[Noir]]'' has Yumura Kirika, a melancholy and very cute protagonist who has no memory of her past. She also happens to be a deadly assassin.
* Tiffa Adil, the Mysterious Waif of ''[[After War Gundam X (Anime)|Gundam X]]'' fits the psychic part of this trope to a tee. She is a Newtype with precognition that is used to find the others like her, how does she find them? Through drawing their potential location. In addition she has been show to be the most powerful newtype in ''[[After War Gundam X (Anime)|Gundam X]]'' and has been mentioned [[Super Robot Wars|via crossovers]] to potentially be the most powerful newtype in Gundam period.
* Tiffa Adil, the Mysterious Waif of ''[[After War Gundam X|Gundam X]]'' fits the psychic part of this trope to a tee. She is a Newtype with precognition that is used to find the others like her, how does she find them? Through drawing their potential location. In addition she has been show to be the most powerful newtype in ''[[After War Gundam X|Gundam X]]'' and has been mentioned [[Super Robot Wars|via crossovers]] to potentially be the most powerful newtype in Gundam period.
* Ennis from [[Baccano (Light Novel)|Baccano]] is a more modernized example. She's kind of a subversion because her powers are [[Immortality|nothing]] [[Healing Factor|new]] [[Charles Atlas Superpower|in the series]] but other than that she has all the traits; Ethereal and beautiful? Check. Captivates the hero and the audience? Check. Is connected with the [[Big Bad]] against her will? Check. Is [[The Woobie]]? Checkity check check.
* Ennis from [[Baccano]] is a more modernized example. She's kind of a subversion because her powers are [[Immortality|nothing]] [[Healing Factor|new]] [[Charles Atlas Superpower|in the series]] but other than that she has all the traits; Ethereal and beautiful? Check. Captivates the hero and the audience? Check. Is connected with the [[Big Bad]] against her will? Check. Is [[The Woobie]]? Checkity check check.
* Nia from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''.
* Nia from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''.
* Clear from ''[[Final Fantasy Unlimited]]''.
* Clear from ''[[Final Fantasy Unlimited]]''.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Kes from ''[[Star Trek Voyager]]'' though her past is well-explained ({{spoiler|if not her subsequent [[Face Heel Turn]]}}) given that she's only lived a couple of years when the crew encounters her.
* Kes from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' though her past is well-explained ({{spoiler|if not her subsequent [[Face Heel Turn]]}}) given that she's only lived a couple of years when the crew encounters her.
* River from ''[[Firefly]]'', who was tricked into leaving home for [[Playing With Syringes|the]] [[School for Scheming|Academy]] and can't go ''back'' home because her rescue by her brother turned them both into hunted fugitives. She's now both psychic and insane, and she was already a genius polymath, so she definitely knows more about what goes on than anyone else but she's not equipped to tell anyone about it in a non-cryptic fashion. Also, she can shoot people dead without looking at them and take out entire rooms of enemies with [[Waif Fu]].
* River from ''[[Firefly]]'', who was tricked into leaving home for [[Playing with Syringes|the]] [[School for Scheming|Academy]] and can't go ''back'' home because her rescue by her brother turned them both into hunted fugitives. She's now both psychic and insane, and she was already a genius polymath, so she definitely knows more about what goes on than anyone else but she's not equipped to tell anyone about it in a non-cryptic fashion. Also, she can shoot people dead without looking at them and take out entire rooms of enemies with [[Waif Fu]].
** After Serenity, it seems she's getting better. Not 100% better (she still reads minds) but better than before.
** After Serenity, it seems she's getting better. Not 100% better (she still reads minds) but better than before.
* Natsuki in ''[[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]]'' has a couple of [[Spider Sense]] moments, so far a part you wonder if [[The Powers That Be]] ''forgot'' about the skull thingy way back in episode one, but when her powers are used against the Boukengers by bad guys, you get mass destruction. It's... really more trouble than it's worth.
* Natsuki in ''[[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]]'' has a couple of [[Spider Sense]] moments, so far a part you wonder if [[The Powers That Be]] ''forgot'' about the skull thingy way back in episode one, but when her powers are used against the Boukengers by bad guys, you get mass destruction. It's... really more trouble than it's worth.
* Freya from ''[[Merlin (TV)|Merlin]]'', a Druid runaway who is under a [[Curse]].
* Freya from ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', a Druid runaway who is under a [[Curse]].




== [[Real Life]] ==
== [[Real Life]] ==
* We might as well include a description for our [[Real Life]] [[Mysterious Waif]] who's pictured up there. She's the Afghan Girl, real name Sharbat Gula. She was photographed in an Afghan refugee camp. At the time the picture was taken, the photographer didn't know her name, and in 2002, she was successfully located and formally identified. Her photograph is the most recognized in [[National Geographic]] history.<ref>And in case you're wondering how being moderately famous improved her life...it didn't. At the time the picture was taken, Gula had just been driven from her home, so she was understandably pissed off. And when she was found in 2002 and asked how she felt about being famous, she found that it was hard to care when your husband was working for a dollar a day and your asthma made it hard to breathe within your own polluted city.</ref>
* We might as well include a description for our [[Real Life]] [[Mysterious Waif]] who's pictured up there. She's the Afghan Girl, real name Sharbat Gula. She was photographed in an Afghan refugee camp. At the time the picture was taken, the photographer didn't know her name, and in 2002, she was successfully located and formally identified. Her photograph is the most recognized in [[National Geographic]] history.<ref>And in case you're wondering how being moderately famous improved her life...it didn't. At the time the picture was taken, Gula had just been driven from her home, so she was understandably pissed off. And when she was found in 2002 and asked how she felt about being famous, she found that it was hard to care when your husband was working for a dollar a day and your asthma made it hard to breathe within your own polluted city.</ref>
* More than one young female Catholic saint is represented like this in media. A good example would be [[wikipedia:Solange|Saint Solange]]; she's depicted as a beautiful young shepherdess blessed by God to the point of having [[Healing Hands]] and exorcising demons with a sole touch. Too bad the poor kid ended up [[Off With His Head|decapitated]] [[Attempted Rape|by a would be rapist]]... but then Solange performed her last miracle: [[Losing Your Head|calmly picking up her own severed head and walking back home]].
* More than one young female Catholic saint is represented like this in media. A good example would be [[wikipedia:Solange|Saint Solange]]; she's depicted as a beautiful young shepherdess blessed by God to the point of having [[Healing Hands]] and exorcising demons with a sole touch. Too bad the poor kid ended up [[Off with His Head|decapitated]] [[Attempted Rape|by a would be rapist]]... but then Solange performed her last miracle: [[Losing Your Head|calmly picking up her own severed head and walking back home]].




== [[Video Games]] ==
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Fina from ''[[Skies of Arcadia (Video Game)|Skies of Arcadia]]''.
* Fina from ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]''.
* Luna from ''[[Lunar Silver Star Story Complete]]'' and Lucia from ''[[Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete]]''.
* Luna from ''[[Lunar Silver Star Story Complete]]'' and Lucia from ''[[Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete]]''.
* Machi Tobaye in ''[[Apollo Justice Ace Attorney]]''. Blind, can't speak English, and falsely accused of cold-blooded murder. {{spoiler|Only the last's true, although his English is pretty awkward.}}
* Machi Tobaye in ''[[Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]]''. Blind, can't speak English, and falsely accused of cold-blooded murder. {{spoiler|Only the last's true, although his English is pretty awkward.}}
* Isabella/Catleia from ''[[Advance Wars]]: Days of Ruin''. [[Moe]], [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]], found in wreckage and rescued by the main character, instinctively knows mysterious knowledge she shouldn't without explanation, and the [[Big Bad]] seems to know who she is and is unusually interested in her.
* Isabella/Catleia from ''[[Advance Wars]]: Days of Ruin''. [[Moe]], [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]], found in wreckage and rescued by the main character, instinctively knows mysterious knowledge she shouldn't without explanation, and the [[Big Bad]] seems to know who she is and is unusually interested in her.
* Aerith Gainsborough from ''[[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VII]]''.
* Aerith Gainsborough from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''.
* Dyshana of ''[[Record of Agarest War]]'' is so this.
* Dyshana of ''[[Record of Agarest War]]'' is so this.
* Rydia from [[Final Fantasy IV]] qualifies.
* Rydia from [[Final Fantasy IV]] qualifies.
* Nine out of ten Fire Emblem games have a mysterious waif.
* Nine out of ten Fire Emblem games have a mysterious waif.
* Princess Yorda of [[ICO (Video Game)|ICO]] definitely qualifies. Though the castle appears to be her home, it's more accurately described as her prison. She's utterly helpless (so much so that she has to be [[Big Brother Instinct|led by the hand by the player character]]) for most of the game, [[The Unintelligible|unintelligible]], acts childlike, glows with an ethereal light, and has some kind of magical power. Oh, and the [[God Save Us From the Queen|Queen]] has a particular interest in preventing her from leaving the castle.
* Princess Yorda of [[Ico]] definitely qualifies. Though the castle appears to be her home, it's more accurately described as her prison. She's utterly helpless (so much so that she has to be [[Big Brother Instinct|led by the hand by the player character]]) for most of the game, [[The Unintelligible|unintelligible]], acts childlike, glows with an ethereal light, and has some kind of magical power. Oh, and the [[God Save Us From the Queen|Queen]] has a particular interest in preventing her from leaving the castle.
* ''[[Ar Tonelico]]'' has Aurica. ''[[Ar Tonelico 3]]'' has Saki.
* ''[[Ar Tonelico]]'' has Aurica. ''[[Ar Tonelico 3]]'' has Saki.
* Iris from ''[[Atelier Iris 2 The Azoth of Destiny]]'' is this to the degree.
* Iris from ''[[Atelier Iris 2 The Azoth of Destiny]]'' is this to the degree.