History Main / MysteriousWaif

* Fina from ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is a [[spoiler: member of the Silvite, [[{{Lunarians}} a civilization that lives on the silver moon.]]]] She was sent to gather and secure the [[PowerCrystal Moon Crystals]] capable of awakening and controlling ancient giants created as weapons of mass destruction. Due to this she's pursued by the game's villain, the Valua Empire, which seeks to find the crystals in order to take over the world. Later in the game it's revealed that [[spoiler: the Silvites' true goal was using the crystals to destroy the world and wipe the slate clean. They had kept this detail a secret from Fina, making her an UnwittingPawn.]] Interestingly she had [[spoiler: a male counterpart of sorts in Ramirez (originally Rami), who had been previously sent on the same quest by the Silvite, but ended up turning on them and joining Valua.]]

* Fina from ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is a [[spoiler: member of the Silvite, [[{{Lunarians}} a civilization that lives on the silver moon.]]]] She was sent to gather and secure the [[PowerCrystal Moon Crystals]] capable of awakening and controlling ancient giants created as weapons of mass destruction. The game's villain, the Valua Empire, seeks their power in order to take over the world, and so captures her early on to get the crystals' locations from her. Later in the game it's revealed that [[spoiler: the Silvites' true goal was using the crystals to destroy the world and wipe the slate clean. They had kept this detail a secret from Fina, making her an UnwittingPawn.]]

* Fina from ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is a Silvite [[spoiler:(later revealed to be a visitor from an {{arcology}} floating in space)]] sent by her superiors to disengage a number of ancient weapons. The Valuan Empire takes exception to this... The storyline is a pretty shameless homage to ''Star Wars'', complete with Fina's ship being towed by an imperial vessel.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Lapis Lazuli was poofed and imprisoned into a mirror for thousands of years after being mistaken for an enemy soldier. She is on the short side, frail, barefoot doe-eyed, and her gem got cracked while imprisoned. However, she's incredibly powerful with near-complete control of water. All Lapis can't do with a cracked gemstone is form her wings to fly back to Homeworld, her only desire, so she tries to build herself an elevator home with Earth's oceans. Fortunately, Steven manages to heal her. Unfortunately, Lapis hadn't counted on Homeworld having changed so much during her imprisonment and that her return would be dangerous.

!! Examples:

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* CC from ''Franchise/CodeGeass'' can be considered this, as much of her backstory is hidden until later in the Anime. Even her name is never explicitly spoken, except when Lelouch speaks it after a battle which she is injured (of course, his voice is muted before we can hear it). She also is able to grant the power of Geass to people, which is a type of psychic power (Example: Lelouch was granted the power to make people do his bidding).

* Fei Rune from ''[[VideoGame/InazumaEleven Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono Stone]]'' who serves as a male example, at first all we know about Fei is that he came from the same time period as El Dorado, he's gotten his hands on a technology called Mixi-Max which allowed him to fuse his aura with a ''T. rex'', and he has a clear interest in protecting soccer at all costs from El Dorado.
** Kinako from the same series also fits the bill, [[spoiler: she became a member of Raimon's soccer club after the defeat of Protocol Omega 2.0 in Nobunaga's era with little to no explanation, and she's shown to be wearing Tsurugi's number after she's won a duel against Tsurugi for it]]. She also somehow even knew about [[spoiler: the Keshin that Fei goes through lengths to hide, and the doll that Fei got from [[ParentalAbandonment his father]]]].

* Franchise/SailorMoon

* Kisara of ''Anime/YuGiOh'', the white-haired and blue-eyed Egyptian and homeless, quiet, vaguely psychic, mysterious keeper of the spirit of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon who [[HeroicSacrifice 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}}.

[[folder:Comics]]

* Machi Tobaye in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney''. Blind, can't speak English, and falsely accused of cold-blooded murder. [[spoiler: Only the last's true, although his English is pretty awkward.]]
** TheReveal from Tobaye's part only makes his partner, Lamiroir, even more Mysterious Waif than she already is, [[spoiler: since she's the one who is blind.]] Other than that, the woman hides her face, speaks a foreign language, has amnesia, an angelic singing voice, [[spoiler: dead husbands, a long lost son and daughter, and a stage magician background. She's also recruited as one of the test jurors who literally decide the game's ending.]]

* [[spoiler:Layla,]] the girl in the Sunset Cage in ''{{VideoGame/Fairune}}'' counts. [[spoiler:Both of them do.]]

%%** Rydia from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' qualifies.

* The ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' franchise has several:

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'''s Himi is a wise young ShrineMaiden prone to [[FaintingSeer prophecy-induced seizures]]. However, contrary to the usual use of a Mysterious Waif to begin the hero's quest, she's the EleventhHourRanger whose visions provide the key to saving the day.

* The titular girl in ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom'' shows up in TheHero's hometown, eventually becoming his friend and lover. [[spoiler:She turns out to be the reincarnation of Erim, the Sinistral of Death.]]

* ''VideoGame/Persona3'': A mysterious boy named Pharos introduces himself to the protagonist and makes him sign a contract. It's not until the end of the game that you learn that [[spoiler:he's an Appriser of Nix, the game's BigBad, whose EvilPlan you have been unknowingly been fulfilling by destroying Shadows throughout the game.]]
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': A mysterious girl, [[spoiler:Lavenza]], appears to the protagonist as a glowing blue butterfly each time he's about to die in the story, urging him to overcome his impending doom. It's not until the end of the game that you learn the truth of who this girl is [[spoiler:namely the Twins, two girls suffering IdentityAmnesia who are Lavenza's true personality split in two]], or what she's really been urging you to overcome [[spoiler:the real BigBad's EvilPlan, which you have been playing a part in for the entire game.]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Our very own JustForFun/MysteriousWaifTan.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Lapis Lazuli was poofed and imprisoned into a mirror for thousands of years after being mistaken for an enemy soldier. She is on the short side, frail, barefoot doe-eyed, and her gem got cracked while imprisoned. However, she's incredibly powerful with near-complete control of water. All Lapis can't do with a cracked gemstone is form her wings to fly back to Homeworld, her only desire, so she tries to build herself an elevator home with Earth's oceans. Fortunately, Steven manages to heal her. Unfortunately, Lapis hadn't counted on Homeworld having changed so much during her imprisonment and that her return would be dangerous.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Paintings]]
* The famous Mona Lisa. It's in [[MonaLisaSmile her smile]].
[[/folder]]

* FanFic/CadanceOfCloudsdale: [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicThePrincesses Cadance]] fits the definition to a T. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 Her home magically disappeared nearly a millennium ago]], she's surrounded by mystery with her WingedUnicorn-ness, odd aging, and shrouded past. Finally, Celestia took her under her wing, to help Cadance discover more about her past.

* Lapis Lazuli of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''. The episodes where she's introduced are the starting point of the show taking on serious matters. Lapis was [[AndIMustScream imprisoned]] into a mirror for thousands of years, and little is known about her background or why she was imprisoned in the first place, though she holds a grudge against the Crystal Gems. She's the first revealed gem that isn't a Crystal Gem or corrupted; in fact, her episodes reveal that [[spoiler:the monsters the Crystal Gems have been fighting were once [[WasOnceAMan ordinary gems]]]]. She is barely taller than Steven, frail, barefoot and doe-eyed, and is wounded at her release due to having a cracked gem. However, she's shown to be one of the most powerful gems in the series with near complete control of water. All Lapis can't do with a cracked gemstone is form her wings to fly back home, her only desire, so she attempts by the stealing Earth's oceans and stretching it to Homeworld...fortunately, Steven manages to contact her and she's the first one he uses his newfound healing powers on. As she does get home, even more of the plot gets driven by her.

* Rose Wilson from ''Series/Titans2018''. She more or less starts the plot of Season 2. Homeless, after running away from her homicidal father; MysticalWhiteHair; Evoking main hero's desire to protect her; and a lot of mystery about her true motivations, cryptic backstory.

* Eto of ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' is a rare [[TheDarkChick evil example]], a member of [[AntiHumanAlliance Aogiri Tree]] who is [[spoiler:the lost daughter of Kuzen Yoshimura and his human wife, Ukina]], as well as [[spoiler:the [[TheDreaded One-Eyed Owl]] and one of two regents for the semi-mythical One-Eyed King]]. Her small body is loaded with more secrets, power and insight than almost anyone else in the series and [[spoiler:she's the BigBad in control of a ''[[TheChessmaster massive]]'' amount of the plot]]. She also foretells many events and revelations throughout the collection of Tokyo Ghoul works, through [[spoiler:her books written with the pen name Sen Takatsuki]].

* Isabella/Catleia from ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Days of Ruin''. {{Moe}}, LaserGuidedAmnesia, found in wreckage and rescued by the main character, instinctively knows mysterious knowledge she shouldn't without explanation, and the BigBad seems to know who she is and is unusually interested in her.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'': A mysterious boy named Pharos introduces himself to the protagonist and makes him sign a contract. It's not until the end of the game that you learn that [[spoiler:he's an Appriser of Nix, the game's BigBad, whose EvilPlan you have been unknowingly been fulfilling by destroying Shadows throughout the game.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': A mysterious girl, [[spoiler:Lavenza]], appears to the protagonist as a glowing blue butterfly each time he's about to die in the story, urging him to overcome his impending doom. It's not until the end of the game that you learn the truth of who this girl is [[spoiler:namely the Twins, two girls suffering IdentityAmnesia who are Lavenza's true personality split in two]], or what she's really been urging you to overcome [[spoiler:the real BigBad's EvilPlan, which you have been playing a part in for the entire game.]]

* Errand in the ''Belgariad'' starts out as a 'total innocent,' passed from one evil sorcerer to another, until he falls in with the heroes, having learned only one word (that being "Errand".) He turns out to be a [[spoiler: replacement God for Torak]]
* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'': Kindrie is a {{Gender-Inverted|Trope}} example. With his MysticalWhiteHair, strong Shanir (read: magical) powers, and mysterious origins, Kindrie is definitely a Mysterious Waif in the first few books he appears in. He turns out to be a [[spoiler:Chosen One, and an avatar of the second face of God--the only one of the three of them who was ever really unknown in that regard -- and their cousin.]]

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': Even on a show where the initial premise is that six people awaken on a starship with no memory of who they are or why they're there, the past of teenage girl Five (played by Creator/JodelleFerland) is the most mysterious of them all. While the adult crew (One, Two, Three, Four and Six, named in order of waking) all learn their given names at the end of the pilot episode and that [[spoiler:[[AmnesiacDissonance they were all hardened criminals and lowlife mercenaries]] guilty of mass murder, kidnapping, assault and piracy]], Five has no [[spoiler:wanted file]] in the ship's database, and so although the others [[ThatManIsDead choose not to use their original names]], Five doesn't even know hers. She bemoans to the Android in the second episode that at least the others know they belong on the ship, though she quickly demonstrates a prodigy-level aptitude for mechanics and programming that allows her to [[TagalongKid fill the role]] of TeenGenius and TheSmartGuy. Adding to the mystery are the disturbing non sequitors she sometimes utters that make it clear she has the others' memories buried in her subconscious. The rest of the crew can't even be sure [[spoiler:[[AmbiguousSituation whether]] their original selves kidnapped this girl, or [[LittleStowaway she stowed away]]]], but regardless of their original relationship, they're [[EveryonesBabySister all very protective of her now]]. Five's exact age is unknown even to her, until it's established as sixteen at the beginning of Season 2.

* Ennis from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' is a more modernized example. She's kind of a subversion because her powers are [[{{Immortality}} nothing]] [[HealingFactor new]] [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower in the series]] but other than that she has all the traits; Ethereal and beautiful, captivates the hero and the audience, is connected with the BigBad against her will, and is very sympathetic.

* ''Anime/Persona4GoldenTheAnimation'': The mysterious new character Marie becomes the main focus of the overall plot in this adaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''.

* ''Webcomic/RumorsOfWar'' has three in the main cast: [[TheHero Elysia]], [[TheBigGuy Illyra]], and [[TheChick Occela]]. All three have homes they can't return to; one's searching for her Missing Mentor, one pulls a double-shift as TheLadette, and the third's a BrokenBird.