History Main / OCStandIn

* The same applies to ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' and its LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, some of whom only appeared in a [[OneSceneWonder scene or two]] and barely get to be described (the author claims he is very bad at coming up with visual traits, for example). The developers of the beloved ''Mata Nui On-Line Game'' said that Franchise/{{LEGO}} barely gave them the most minor of side-characters to work with, and they had to develop their personalities and culture themselves. What resulted was a game teeming with characters more memorable and charming than many of the ones that the "official guys" made up. They easily became fan favorites.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' has Chloe Cerise from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. When the author began writing, the canon Chloe had little in the way of characterization beyond "dislikes Pokémon" and "hates being seen as 'the Professor's daughter'", so she was made into a NightmareFetishist and aspiring horror writer. While both versions of Chloe would slowly become more accepting of Pokémon in their lives, the canon Chloe seems to be pursuing archaeology as a major interest instead.

** Boscha is a [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] example. While her personality as a cruel, arrogant bully is kept intact, several layers are added to make her a more complex character, now coming across as TheSocialDarwinist that functions on BlueAndOrangeMorality.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainTeslaStar'': Aimee never appeared in the show, we only know that she tinker with Stella adn read tea leaves. In this story, she play as a investigator of the Train.

* Rei from ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'' is often used as an O.C. stand in when a female love interest is ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13226631/1/Shigeko-Kageyama-AKA-Mob needed]]''. Or a female friend is ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20144614/chapters/47725234 needed]]''.

** Theodore Nott is almost as popular as Blaise. He is usually portrayed as a somewhat good version of Draco Malfoy, or a bookworm loner. It was also once somewhat popular to make Nott a worse version or Draco Malfoy, almost a Tom Riddle 2.0.

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' has the five members of [[Boy and 4*Town]]: Robaire, Jesse, Tae Young, Aaron Z. and Aaron T.. They only appear in person during the third act and get minimal characterization[[note]]such as Robaire knowing French, Tae Young being a FriendToAllLivingThings and Jesse being a former art student[[/note]], but their popularity among the fanbase led to several fanfics expanding upon them and their dynamics with each other.

* ''Fanfic/StevenUniverseAlternateFuture'' does this with many characters listed below in ''Steven Universe'''s section, particularly with many Gems like Citrine.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Kaede from ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'' has absolutely no real importance in the story other than acting like Zelkova's bodyguard, although until she joins your party in the post game you have no idea what her weapon even is. The worst part is she basically vanishes in volume 1 after her appearance, yet you can still do the marriage event with her in Volume 3 despite her having absolutely no development and virtually no game time.
* ''VideoGame/AoOni'' has had a few over the various versions of the game (due to characters' roles becoming bigger, smaller, changing or being removed altogether), but Mika is the most consistent example. In the most recent version (6.23), she receives very little characterization beyond her attraction to Takuro [[spoiler:[[FaceMonsterTurn before dying and coming back]]]].
* The Guardian Spirit from the first ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' game is supposed to be [[AnyoneYouKnow you]], and is therefore a sort of {{Featureless Protagonist}}. Naturally, there have been several fanfics written about the this character. Unfortunately, too many of these fics end up making the Spirit a powerhouse with a crush on Kalas. The term "Spirit Sue" was created by the fanbase to describe this particular interpretation of the character.
** [[spoiler:Marno]] from the prequel doesn't get this to the same degree, since he has an actual role in the plot. However, he could still work for this trope, since his actual personality is never shown.
* WordOfGod has stated that this was the purpose behind not giving ''Franchise/{{Doom}}''[='=]s protagonist much in the way of backstory or characterization other than a brief mention of why he's on one of Mars' moons (beating a superior officer within an inch of his life after he was ordered to shoot civilians) - no matter how many other outside adaptations try to shoehorn a name and concrete identity on the Doomguy, canonically he's just supposed to be ''you'', the player.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** As alluded to in the canon examples above, the Light Warriors from the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' get this due to basically being [[HeroicMime blank slate player avatars]] rather than true characters. Popular {{Fanon}} includes things like WhiteMage being a woman, BlackMage being non-human (which [[AscendedFanon actually became canon]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''), Fighter being an idiot, and much more. Of particular note is ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', which uses many of these fan-made personalities, invents some of its own, and popularized them all so much that [[ParodyDisplacement a lot of younger fans mistakenly assume that is really what the Light Warriors are canonically like]].
** The "Library Girl with a Pigtail" in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', who crushes on Zell and seems to have his interest by the end of the game, yet who remains nameless and without any personality beyond "bookish and shy" in canon. Begs for PossessionSue treatment by any Zell fangirl.
** Sasasha, a Chocobo raiser from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', had very litte information about them. We never met them, just heard of them. This allowed some fanfic authors like the one for ''FanFic/TheTaintedGrimoire'' to shape the character as they pleased.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** The [[PlayerCharacter tactician]] from the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade seventh game]]. His [[CanonName default name]] is Mark, but you can change that and his gender. He never says anything (that we hear) and is only spoken to. There are a small wealth of fanfics about him/her, and almost each one gives him a separate personality and back story.[[note]]Most popularly coming from Bern.[[/note]]
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem New Mystery of the Emblem]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'' have My Unit/Avatar, a customizable unit who actually appears in your army during gameplay. They do actually have lines, though, but their personalities (particularly that of the My Unit in ''New Mystery'') are [[TheGenericGuy somewhat nondescript]]. Naturally, plenty of fanfics have been written around these two (more so ''Awakening's'' My Unit than ''New Mystery's'', probably because of NoExportForYou).
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' has a lot of this. Sure, you have some basic personality for all members besides the mute protagonist, but the character development and interaction between the party is almost zero, every time the team talks is about the next mission or quest. That leaves a lot of open space for {{Fanon}}.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'':
** The [[WordOfGod commentary]] on ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' states that this is the entire point of HeroicMime Gordon Freeman, with the player being the OC in question.
** Resident EnsembleDarkhorse Adrian Shephard as well. All we have of his personality are a few diary entries in the ''Opposing Force'' manual which don't say much.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** The [[{{Precursors}} Forerunners]] were practically an entire species (or group of species) of OC Stand-Ins until ''Literature/TheForerunnerSaga'' fully fleshed them out, jossing a whole lot of fan theories in the process.
** The Rookie in ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' is this to a lesser degree, having no lines beyond grunts, no visible face (he always has his helmet on), and no identification beyond the initials "JD"; the designers claim this was intentional, to better allow the player to integrate with the character. Spartan-B312 in ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' is this even more so, with male and female voice sets, and armor customization that is persistent throughout both campaign and multiplayer; this was done for the same reasons as the Rookie. The members of Fireteam Crimson in ''[[VideoGame/Halo4 Spartan Ops]]'' are also this, as they're literally your multiplayer characters put into the canon ''Halo'' universe.
* ''Anime/InuYasha'' has Michiru and Kaname Kururugi, the {{Player Character}}s from ''VideoGame/InuYashaTheSecretOfTheCursedMask''. The fanfic series ''Fanfic/TheLegacyOfTheCursedMaskSeries'' gives heavy focus to the Kururugi twins, and there are multiple pairing stories where either Michiru or Kaname is paired with a particular canon character.
* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', the students in Hisao's class besides him, Shizune, Misha and Hanako get this treatment, as a piece of official art shows their names, club affiliations and disabilities, but nothing about their personalities or backstories.
* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'':
** Stories set in the days of the Empire often do this to Kain's Lieutenants, though Raziel himself might not qualify unless his giving his previous incarnations a believably different personality counts.
** Likewise, stories set in the time of the Sarafan crusade might do this to the humans that will become Kain's Lieutenants.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Commonly done to Dark Link. In the video games, Dark Link is a mindless, monstrous obstacle, usually representing the evil in Link. [[SelfFanservice But fanfiction writers and fanartists tend to give him]] [[TheBlank a face]] and personality.
** Link himself, whose dialogue [[HeroicMime is limited to the player picking 'yes' or 'no' when asked a question]] ([[ButThouMust and "no" usually gets you a re-statement of said question]]) lends himself to this. The main character of a video game is often a [[FeaturelessProtagonist blank slate for the player to write him/herself onto]], after all. From ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'' onward, each Link is usually given at least one defining character trait (''Wind Waker'' is a bit of a SilentSnarker moments, ''Skyward Sword'' is carefree until you hit his BerserkButton, ''Breath of the Wild'' is a bit of a glutton, etc.) which makes them easier to write while still being vague enough to made your own.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Fanfiction has Oriana ([[spoiler:Miranda's genetic twin sister]]) and Kolyat (Thane's son) as a relatively popular pairing, despite ''never'' meeting, or even coming ''close'' to meeting and having no connection to each other in the game besides a certain Commander intersecting with their lives. Kolyat is developed a bit better than Oriana, who never actually speaks or is interacted with until the third game.
** Preitor Gavorn – a turian whom you only meet outside of Afterlife – is this to an extent, too. He was largely ignored by the fanbase for some time, until a video in ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' showed him with a human male in what appears to be a bedroom. Since then, he has been given varying personalities, though most have some hints of StraightGay in them.
** Another popular target for an OC Stand-in is Hannah Shepard, the PlayerCharacter's mother if the spacer background is chosen. ''Fanfic/TheTranslationInBlood'' ships her with Councilor "Turian AirQuotes" Sparatus.
** Of course, Shepard him/herself is also much of a blank slate for writers to do whatever they want, given their open-ended nature in the game.
* For the ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' series, the Bonnes' parents show up in fics at times despite not appearing in canon.
** ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'' names them Don Juan and Bonnie Bonne, and had them be on constant vacations and overall neglectful.
** ''Fanfic/MegaManReawakened'' names them Victor and Anastasia. They died by the time the story starts.
* Doctor Cain usually gets this treatment in ''VideoGame/MegaManX''. Despite being a pretty important canon character in regards to the backstory, he barely gets a few lines in the games before vanishing. Most fanfic writers characterize him as a kooky old man and a father figure to X and Zero. Lots of other characters could also qualify, since the MMX games were very sparse on characterization until the later games.
** Dr. Cain finally did receive some characterization in ''Day of Sigma'', a tie-in OVA for ''VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX''; the problem here lies in the fact that ''MHX'' was something of a reboot for the series, the SNES games in particular, and as such, the cast received tweaks to their characterization (some minor, some major) which may or may not be incompatible with the later titles (plans for sequels fell through when the game underperformed). That, and [[spoiler:Cain being killed off in a missile strike on Abel City ordered by Sigma, despite original canon stating that he was alive at least until the time of ''X4''.]]
** The same can be said for the characters in ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' (most non-playable Robot Masters especially), since most of them only have a small character profile to hint at their personalities.
** Dr Regal ([[OverlordJr Dr Wily's son]]) is an established character in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'', but the ForWantOfANail nature of the timeline means he likely exists in the Classic universe as well, which has led to several fan interpretations.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** Decoy Octopus from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is one of these, especially since it's part of his job description. He literally can adopt the personality of whoever he's disguised as.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' has a whole group of these in the form of the Cobra Unit. [[Webcomic/TheCobraDays Several fan writers/artists]] [[FanFic/TheJoyOfBattle have done their]] [[Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound takes on the Cobra Unit]] who, in the game, have a total of about three minutes on screen outside of the battles with them, only one of which (The Fury) really gives any explanation for how or why he is how he is. They are one of the most popular topics of MGS fanfic, especially among female writers.
* The {{Franchise/Nasuverse}} has several characters [[AllThereInTheManual only mentioned in backstory]] that aren't very well described. Thus when these characters are used in fanworks, the trope is present. Perhaps the biggest example is Altrouge Brunestud, Arcueid's sister. We don't even know what she ''looks'' like (beyond [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld that she looks like a fourteen year old girl]]), but that doesn't stop the fanart.
** Another major one is [[spoiler:Guinevere]]. She played a well-known central role in the ''Fate'' franchise's backstory, but we still don't know her personality or appearance, so fanfiction set in her time has to come up with those from scratch. However, at the pace ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' has been developing, any and all current fan ideas may well be jossed tomorrow morning.
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Kasumi Yoshizawa from ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'' has very few disernable character traits due to [[spoiler:being [[PosthumousCharacter deceased]] by the time the game takes place and impersonated by her sister Sumire, with any personality traits Sumire displays being non-indicative of the real Kasumi]]. Fics that give her a larger role have to make up her personality based off the scraps of information other characters give about her and what little of her is actually seen in-game.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Just about any fanfic that places characters from the games (Brendan, Lucas, Leaf, etc.) into the anime's continuity will make use of this principle to some extent, since most of said characters never appeared on the show outside of 3-second cameos, with Leaf never appearing at all. There's no set pattern for what personalities writers assign them, but there's usually a good chance that they will be used for {{Shipping}} somehow.
** Likewise with game fanfics themselves. Almost no one takes into account the NPC in-game personalities of the opposite gender protagonists. Most {{NPC}}s get this treatment to various effects. Rivals and protagonists are given whatever personality, being that you really have to look into the text of the games to see any bit of personality beyond "HotBlooded, determined ChildProdigy".
** Due to the fact player characters and rivals [[HelloInsertNameHere can be named by the player]], fic writers can freely use any name for any of the above characters, except possibly Brendan and Lucas in the anime. For some reason, [[AuthorAvatar writers tend to use their own names]] for these characters.
** The Generation IV Frontier Brains (other than Palmer and Caitlin, who have appeared outside the Frontier in the games) rarely appear in the anime continuity, but when they do, they are this trope.
* The same is true of Chell, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''. The few things that we're told about her character are [[UnreliableNarrator likely to be complete lies]], so any characterisation in fanfic is made from whole cloth.
* The originally-intended but [[WhatCouldHaveBeen eventually scrapped]] protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', Dartagan, appeared in the game for less than five seconds. There is a huge range of interpretations of him within various different fanfics, roleplaying accounts, and even {{Creepypasta}}.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has accrued several such characters, though since these often turn up [[AdaptationDistillation in the comics]], said personalities are often used. Nevertheless, Ray the Flying Squirrel, Mighty the Armadillo (though he's almost always put as the lost fourth member of Team Chaotix), Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear (often paired together, for being introduced in the same game), often end up being OC stand-ins, as do [[GlitchEntity Ashura the Hedgehog, and Wechnia]], [[DevelopmentHell Tiara Boobowski]], [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Nazo]], and [[DummiedOut Honey]] [[VideoGame/FightingVipers the Cat]], though these five are very rare to see in fanfic, not that the first four show up often, {{original character}}s are far more common.
** ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' lets the player create their own Rookie Hero. They join a resistance against the Eggman Empire and eventually rescue and work with both Modern and Classic Sonic.
* In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', Alberto Robert is a minor character who gives Sonic a quest at the start. In LetsPlay/GhabulousGhoti's ''VideoGame/TomodachiLife'' let's play, he's an immortal comedian who made the game intentionally bad and put himself in it as a joke.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' series has the player characters from its various campaigns, due to them being {{Heroic Mime}}s. Fanworks generally have Agent 3 be a stoic PerpetualFrowner who is also a ClosetGeek, Agent 4 as a jovial, constantly joking BunnyEarsLawyer, and Agent 8 continuing off her AmnesiacHero storyline to be a curious and innocent [[FishOutOfWater Cephalopod Out of Water]] with traces of PTSD due to the Kamabo Co. experience. There's also a tendency to make Agents 3 and 4 constantly bicker, either in jest or due to some actual dislike caused by the personality clash. Finally, Agent 8 is often shown to live with either Pearl and Marina or Agent 3; this is despite WordOfGod stating that Pearl and Marina don't live together, and implying that Eight becomes roommates with Agent 4 (hence why they have the same gear -- [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration they happily share their weapons and clothing]]).
* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'':
** Introducing characters from the "classic" titles into the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' reboot is a popular thing. Fans figure if Spyro and Hunter exist, what's stopping characters like Bianca, Elora, or Ember from too?
** In a more traditional way, certain characters such as Flame are barely in the games but are expanded upon by fans. Flame is often [[PairTheSpares a love]] [[FanPreferredPairing interest for Ember]].
** Following the release of the ''[[VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy Reignited]]'' remake of the classic trilogy, the elder dragons from the very first game -- most of whom only appear for all of ten seconds and get one or two lines at most -- often appear in fanfics with greatly expanded roles and fleshed-out personalities, owing at least in part to their [[CastOfSnowflakes memorably diverse redesigns]] [[DivergentCharacterEvolution (in contrast with the borderline palette swaps they were in the original game)]]. The Artisan dragons in particular get this a lot, with Nestor -- the very first dragon most players will free, as he's literally right in front of Spyro at the beginning of the game -- often depicted as the leader of the Artisans and Spyro's father-figure.
* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'':
** The player characters from the ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'' series, being {{Heroic Mime}}s who's only real characterization is "friendly and hard working." Real [=OCs=] only come into the picture when fic writers want an exotic-looking character (90% of the time, female).
** Mason is a secret bachelor in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS Cute''. He's never seen on-screen, can only be courted by phone, and the game ends when you marry him. He's so obscure that not even major fan-sites like FOGU mention him. All that's known about Mason is that he's the grandson of May from ''Friends of Mineral Town'', he is shy, he likes to cook, his parents are out travelling, and he's good at sewing. A 2011 thread on FOGU forums had fans make a fan-design that essentially is a black-haired Cliff with purple clothes.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' has an OriginalGeneration, but they primarily serve as the [[FinalBoss Final Bosses]] of the various games and are given little attention compared to the playable characters. While most fans similarly focus on Smash's playable cast, a few have fleshed out the OriginalGeneration in their own right.
* [[TheFaceless The Pyro]] of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' often gets this treatment, having the least characterization of all of the classes, [[TheSpook no backstory]], or even [[AmbiguousGender a set gender]]. This practice has presumably lessened since his/her [[ADayInTheLimelight 'Meet the' short finally came out]].
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has this mainly in the form of the dialogueless midbosses[[note]]except Te([[SpellMyNameWithAnS w]])i, who got plenty of canonical characterization later[[/note]]. The standouts are Daiyousei, Koakuma, and Momiji, who have managed to become [[EnsembleDarkHorse fairly popular]]. Most of the time they remain {{Satellite Character}}s to the boss whose stage in which they appear.
** Daiyousei and Koakuma don't even have any stated non-danmaku powers in a series where virtually everybody has a random superpower, so fans are ''required'' to make up a power for them. They didn't even have ''names'' originally, the ones used here invented entirely by the fandom (translated as "big/greater fairy" and "little devil", respectively).
** Part of the reason for the massive doujin and fanfiction community that has arisen around the games is that, despite the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, only a small portion of the cast receive anything more than a brief character profile and some dialogue, and even fewer receive any form of backstory, leaving writers with enormous wriggle room. Even the two {{Universe Compendium}}s are written by {{Unreliable Narrator}}s working with a lot of second- and third-hand information, and ZUN himself is [[ShrugOfGod notoriously unhelpful]] and even outright [[FlipFlopOfGod contradicts himself]].
** Rin Satsuki is also prone to this treatment, being a DummiedOut character from ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil''. The only remaining piece of data is her name, though fans sometimes associate her with [[http://en.touhouwiki.net/images/9/9b/Th06Rin.jpg this image drawn by ZUN]] (later confirmed to be a random sketch which doesn't represent anyone) and a throwaway line of dialogue where Marisa refers to a nurse.
** Despite just being someone's quick ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}'' creation, the character "Sendai Hakurei no Miko" (The Previous Hakurei Shrine Maiden) was picked up by artists and fully fleshed out as the Miko who existed so long ago everyone has forgotten her name. Depicted as a BoisterousBruiser with BoobsOfSteel, she fights without Reimu's spell card rules. As such, she ended up CoveredInScars. Also depicted as a MamaBear, depending on the artist.
** It's extremely easy to give this treatment to the bosses from the very first game (''Highly Responsive To Prayers'', for PC-98) because literally ''nothing'' aside from a name and a title is known about them. No dialogue, no backstory, nothing. Sariel is apparently an [[TheGrimReaper Angel of Death]], and that's the extent of the canonical information we have. Konngara, meanwhile, is even '''more''' ambiguous - her title "Astral Knight" and theme "Swordsman Of A Distant Star" suggest an extraterrestrial origin, her horn resembles an oni's, her apparent lack of legs make her look like a ghost, while her name seems to reference a deity's attendant. You can do literally ''anything'' with the character and not violate any sort of canon in any way.
* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': Thanks to the fact that the game's protagonist is a blank slate, a number of fans love to turn them into someone matching their interests. Are they male, female, or nonbinary? Are they twisted from a Disney character like the rest of the cast, or wholly original? The possibilities are endless.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
** The protagonist of ''Undertale'', [[spoiler: Frisk]], is almost always portrayed as an extreme pacifist who ends up living with Toriel, the caring motherly figure. Their parents are, with few exceptions, dead, waved aside in some way, or never referred to, and sometimes their past is never even mentioned. While they may be portrayed in different ways, often sweet or funny, their overall character is usually very positive. It's common for them to have completed a Genocide Route in the past and regret their actions. To be fair, this does make sense in the regard that a vast amount of Undertale fanfiction is set after the True Pacifist ending of the game, in which they would be very kindhearted and determined. Also, the majority of players do choose to [[spoiler: stay with Toriel at the end of the game, due to her emotional significance]]. However, even in works where they have chosen the Genocide Route, they are usually [[spoiler: possessed by Chara, the first fallen human]]. In the game, the protagonist is a [[FeaturelessProtagonist completely clean slate]], with the sparse dialogue options being chosen by the player as well as any decisions to kill or spare monsters. They are genderless, and although a fair amount of fanworks keep them that way a huge number portray them as a girl. Male representations are very hard to come by, [[spoiler: the same applying to Chara.]]
** We know very little of the owners of the six colored human souls. Their weapons and armor can be picked up throughout the game, but this is all that we have in regards to discerning their personalities.
** Several fan fictions expand on Grillby’s backstory, some making him a soldier in the war between humans and monsters. His personality varies from DeadpanSnarker to calm and controlled to a high-strung ball of anxiety. Sometimes he’s the father or uncle of fellow minor character Fuku fire. In-game, he runs a bar and has a single line of dialogue.
** We know almost nothing of the obscure character [[spoiler: [[DummiedOut W.D. (Presumably WingDings) Gaster]]]]. Most players will not even know he exists until referring to the internet, as he is only described or (presumably) seen in unlikely random encounters. His portrayal vastly differs within the fandom, although it is common for him to be the father of Sans and Papyrus.
* A few shopkeeps from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' get this treatment, and HT Masuoka in particular is a favourite of slash writers given his [[HoYay suggestive dialogue]]. Eri is the minor character who gets the most mileage by far, however, since she has a confirmed pre-existing relationship with Shiki and can be believably integrated into the main cast.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' fanfiction, especially the group of fics known as ''FanFic/ProjectDarkJade'' (''FanFic/QueenOfAllOni'' and ''FanFic/QueenOfShadows'' are prominent), this is common for the Oni Generals minus Ikazuki. They aren't even ''named'' in canon! [[EnsembleDarkhorse The Queen of the Shadowkhan]], Jade's SuperpoweredEvilSide that appeared in one episode also sometimes gets this as well, albeit to a lesser extent unless the story is ''very'' AU.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'':
** Until episodes such as "Isabella and the Temple of Sap", the [[ScoutOut Fireside Girls]] had close to no lines and no characterization, other than Gretchen, who even then only spoke once or twice. ''Especially'' Gretchen, who in {{fanon}} is often paired with Ferb, apparently just because she's the first girl his age (other than Isabella) to get a name.
** Django counts as well. He's been used a lot more by fans than in the canon series.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'':
** Ezekiel gets this fairly often. He got very little development because he was the first character to get voted off in both seasons he participated in. The Fanfic/TotalDramaComebackSeries is often credited with popularizing this for him, since many of his characterizations in fanfics borrow traits of his depiction in that series.
** [[TheDividual Katie and Sadie]] also get this, since in canon aside from their co-dependency they have very little that separates them from the more developed and funnier Lindsay.
** One episode of ''All-Stars'' features Scott mentioning his sister, a pig-calling champion named Alberta (who apparently prefers to go by Al). It's become increasingly common among TD fanfiction writers to give Al a full-blown personality and develop her relationship with Scott.
** B also sometimes get this treatment. Mostly due to his [[GadgeteerGenius cool inventions]] and the fact that he [[TheVoiceless never talks]].
** Beardo also gets this treatment occasionally. Despite being the first voted off in his only appearing season, he is often given larger roles in fanfics and tends to speak more frequently in them (while still keeping [[WackySoundEffect his signature vocal abilities)]].
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'':
** In canon, Gretchen was strongly hinted to have a crush on [[HeroAntagonist Dib]] in one episode. The pairing is not widely popular (despite being the ''only'' romance in an otherwise NoHuggingNoKissing series), but even those who don't use her as a main character often elevate her to "[[MauveShirt Most Important Random Skoolkid]]" or mention her and Dib's "romance" in passing.
** Another commonly used character is Invader Tenn; she only shows up in two scenes in one episode, and it was planned for her to return in the never developed series finale. Because of this, she is very often often used whenever a writer wants or needs to use an Irken outside the ones with more screen time (Zim, the Tallest, Tak, Skoodge). Of course, most of the stories she shows up in are based on (or are outright fan versions) of the aforementioned finale.
** Zita is another victim to this. While a girl with her looks is common to see in the episodes, all we know about her is that she considers Dib to be crazy and, unlike other students, is respected by Ms. Bitters and have the most moments of sympathy for Zim. Nevertheless, people throw even this minor canon out of the window and pair her up with Dib.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'' fandom has Klokateers. In the show, they're several legions of hooded, uniformed, fanatically loyal employees of the Dethklok company who rarely have lines and are referred to by number rather than name. Because of the extremely stringent entrance exam and its 50+% mortality rate, the recruits who survive to become Klokateers are extremely exceptional specimens, physically and intellectually. This makes them ''ripe'' for this trope. There are a few who have risen to prominence, mostly through slash fandom.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' fandom is pretty notorious for this, largely due to the fact that the show has scads of random recurring backgrounders who never do anything and yet have extremely distinctive character designs (a result of them all being based on real people who worked at Creator/{{MTV}} at the time). Because the fandom is relatively close-knit, the characterizations of many backgrounders have actually become pretty standardized. Burnout Girl is almost always involved with drugs, that blond from ''The Invitation'' is named Tori Jericho & was president of the Fashion Club before Sandi, etc.
* This is common in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' community, due to the prevalence of [[EnsembleDarkhorse Ensemble Darkponies]]:
** Special mention goes to Princess Luna. When she first appeared, she had somewhat of a vague characterization, but she had barely any screen time or lines (excluding her SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon). She then proceeded to vanish from the show for the rest of the first season. This prompted not only heavy speculation about her character (typically interpreted as a ShrinkingViolet desperately trying to adapt to a world that's changed in the 1000 years she was gone) but also about what she was doing now (an oddly popular hypothesis had it that she was being politically repressed by [[RonTheDeathEater her evil power-hungry sister, Princess Celestia]]). When she finally appeared in Season 2, she left this trope behind by simultaneously [[DesperatelyCravesAffection confir]][[FishOutOfTemporalWater ming]] AND [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant contra]][[LargeHam dicting]] nearly every fan depiction of her.
** Thanks to being a baby, Princess Flurry Heart has been subject to all manner of interpretations to what her character would be when older, be it aloof, NiceGirl, SpoiledBrat, SpoiledSweet, TheAce, BrokenAce, [[RonTheDeathEater villain]], or any combination.
** Because of the ''huge'' PeripheryDemographic that follows this show, many of the background characters have WordOfDante-style personalities that are almost universally followed. Even ''before'' the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife Slice of Life]]", ''WesternAnimation/EquestriaGirls'', and the [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW comic series]] [[AscendedFanon canonized these personalities]], then fanbase as a whole decided that Octavia couldn't be anything ''other'' than a cultured, sophisticated character with a British accent or that Vinyl Scratch must be a wild unpredictable party animal, and the two character were at least friendly rivals at worse and lovers at best. Keep in mind that these characterizations were put in place as early as the show's second season, at a point where these two characters had ''no lines and no interactions'' whatsoever on the show, never even appeared in the same episodes, and wouldn't for another three seasons.[[note]]Even then, Vinyl was rendered as being mute, possibly to avoid dealing with the fact that the character has an ''official {{fanon}} voice actress''.[[/note]] They're only two examples: almost every background character ever has been given a backstory and varying levels of characterization by the fans, and like Octavia and Vinyl, some are popular enough that it is considered FandomHeresy to go against them. The most prominent are Lyra, Bon Bon, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Derpy Hooves/Muffins, Golden Harvest, Time Turner/[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Hooves]], Colgate, Berry Punch, and Caramel. One particularly infamous example, aside from Derpy, is Button Mash, who literally had only a second of screen-time before someone made a five-minute animated short about the character and his mother, which in turn inspired ''even more'' fanworks about them.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Ursa, Zuko and Azula's MissingMom. She's of no small importance to the plot, given that she [[spoiler: killed Azulon to save Zuko's life]], but her only scenes are in Zuko's flashbacks and [[spoiler: Azula's hallucinations]]. Fans had a field day discussing how accurate either of those are and what she was actually like. It doesn't help that the lack of a family reunion was the series' biggest unresolved plot thread. She was eventually expanded upon in the comics released post-series, though [[FanDislikedExplanation not without significant controversy]].
** Lu Ten, Iroh's son who died in the first attack on Ba Sing Se, has practically no characterization in-series, being a PosthumousCharacter with no flashback appearances, so fans can project whatever personality traits they want onto him.
* In the SequelSeries, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', another lady in the family gets this treatment, Zuko's unnamed, unseen granddaughter. In the commentary for the fourth season, the writers confirmed that Fire Lord Izumi (Zuko's daughter) was supposed to have a bigger role in the story but they got [[ScrewedByTheNetwork an episode cut out of the budget at the last minute]] and she just didn't have a place in an Earth Kingdom based story. She was going to spend more time in Republic City and her daughter was going to come with her. They even toyed with the idea of making her Mako's LoveInterest but decided they didn't want to put him in another relationship. They even told people [[FanficFuel to write fanfic]] about it and now unnamed Fire Nation Princess (usually named "Ursa" as a DeadGuyJunior FamilyThemeNaming with her brother Iroh) is Mako's standard love interest in fanworks even though no one knows anything about her.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Given there are several students at Casper High who don't even have names, there are many characters the Phandom likes to use in place of standard original characters.
** None are as so popular as Star, or Star "Satellite" as the fandom has named her. She has some lines and establishing character moments, but in general the series portrays her as the blonde girl who [[BetaBitch hangs around]] [[AlphaBitch Paulina]]. Naturally, fanfic authors have a ball giving her HiddenDepths, usually making her [[FanPreferredCouple a love interest for Danny]].
** Wes Weston is the name given to a background character who only appeared in "Shades of Gray". He was given the name based on a RunningGag from another episode, and characterized as being the only person in Amity Park to realize that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom. Stories with the character have him frustrated that people not only don't believe him, but think he's the ghost kid instead. He is now considered the Phandom's group OriginalCharacter.
*** The Phandom also gave Wes a family in the form of two other minor characters: a brother named Kyle (who ''also'' knows Danny's secret identity, but [[ArbitrarySkepticism doesn't believe that ghosts exist]] and (depending on the writer) buys into several other "doesn't exist" conspiracy theories) and a father named Walter (the guy who wishes for wealth in "What You Want", generally depicted as working for [[BigBad Vlad Masters]] and desiring more cash).
* FanFic/TakeCareBear is an unusual case. Her author created Take Care Bear as a custom bear, not one of the canon Franchise/CareBears, then inserted her into the world of [[WesternAnimation/CareBears1980s the 1980s cartoon]]. This bear is a medical doctor, and her tummy symbol is an apple. Few fans knew that an official bear had the same name. Take Care Bear is a OneShotCharacter in ''Literature/TheCareBearsAndTheBigSneeze'', an obscure coloring book from 1987. This bear is a medical doctor, and her tummy symbol is an apple. (The 2004 toy line launched a new version of Take Care Bear.)\\
\\
The similarity might be coincidence: "take care" is an idiom, and there is a proverb, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." So it is plausible that the fan author, not aware of the coloring book, created a custom bear with the same name, job, and tummy symbol. The coloring-book bear has brown fur, but the fan-fiction bear has red fur. Fans may conflate two into one. Therefore, the fan-fiction Take Care Bear is an OC Stand-in for the coloring-book bear.
* Part of the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' fandom will utilize this trope on minor classmates in the 4th grade class. Red was a popular choice in early years, as she was the only one of the girls to have had no lines or discernable personality – up until season 6 and on. Kevin Stoley is the usual favorite these days, with fans attempting to give him an entire backstory beyond being the ''Star Trek''/''Star Wars'' geek and theorizing at length about his relationships and family.
* In the later seasons of ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'', an unnamed little raccoon girl made several silent cameos, and got one speaking role in the episode "Endless Summer!", where we briefly see her talking with Bentley. She has seen use by many fan-fiction writers, usually giving her the name ''Annie Ringtail'' (with some writers naming her ''Penny''). A great deal of these fan-fictions depict her as a love interest for Bentley, though how he returns the affection (if at all) varies by writer.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'':
** This show is an unusual case, as it's not so much characters from the show who are stand-ins, but the characters ''not'' featured. Due to the series tweaking some personalities to make them teenagers ([[InNameOnly some who all they share with their original versions being their names]] [[UpToEleven and some don't even get their real names, just their old codenames]]), a lot of characters from the comics that the show was based on work as these. Want a female British X-Man? Covered, Betsy Braddock/Psylocke will work. Want a male British one? Pete Wisdom. Want a team genius? Cypher. Want a character with a DarkAndTroubledPast? Its ''Franchise/XMen'', anyone would fit that.
** Dani Moonstar and some of the New Recruits serve as this as well. As Dani only appeared in one episode, not much of her personality was fleshed out, and as such can serve as any personality type they want. Roberto only got a bit of characterization: A slightly egotistical 'jock' type, while Rahne got a snarky playful personality, both from just one episode, after that, they get no lines other than background appearances.
* Charlene from ''Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' is presumed to be a prototypical version of Brittany. She only only officially appeared in one song (though an unnamed chipmunk in [[WesternAnimation/TheChipmunksRockinThroughTheDecades several later music videos]] looks like her). Nothing is known about her in canon besides she liked Alvin (and Alvin liked her back). She frequently appears in fan-works nevertheless.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'':
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNWncZpeNkI original "pilot" short]] for the series had a character named Félix (or Felix) as Chat Noir; though he superficially resembles Adrien, including having a [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle Two Person Love Square]] with Marinette, he was [[{{Tsundere}} much less friendly]] toward her. WordOfGod says he wasn't working, so they scrapped him and made [[NiceGuy Adrien]] instead. In fanfic, however, don't be surprised if Félix shows up as Adrien's AloofBigBrother or {{Polar Opposite Twin|s}}, who may have been the previous Chat Noir or currently be splitting duties with him. (His continued popular eventually got him an appearance in the show as Adrien's JerkassWoobie cousin.)
** Similarly, the slightly-different design of Marinette is sometimes [[DecompositeCharacter made into a whole new person]] named Bridgitte/Bridgette, who may be Marinette's sister or cousin.
** There’s also the other young superheroes (Melodie, Mercury, Kid Mime, and Sparrow) that ended up being scrapped when the creators decided to just have Ladybug and Chat Noir be a duo. Fanfic writers have a ball coming up with personalities for them and guessing what sort of bonds they would have with Bridgette and Felix.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has a few notable examples:
** Tad Strange, before he actually appeared, his PunnyName, [[Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale voice actor]], and comments about him being "a real square" led to the fan theory that he would be a second dream demon similar to the triangular [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]. Fans doubled down on this when the creator, known for his TrollingCreator status, tried to warn them that they were making a big deal out of nothing. The warning proved to be true however, when it turned out he was a one-off joke about a RidiculouslyAverageGuy with an IronicName. Demon!Tad still shows up in fanfic sometimes, occasionally under the new name Dot Matrix, and may be [[CompositeCharacter combined]] with the canon version.
** Jimmy Snakes, a character from an unused episode mentioned by [[WordOfGod Alex Hirsch]] on Twitter. He was supposed to be a former friend of Stan who had become a ComicBook/GhostRider-like entity, and a concept drawing showed him spitting in Stan's direction. Popular fanon diverges on his portrayal; he's frequently an OldFlame of Stan's, but whether he's abusive or simply [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold rough around the edges]] depends on the author.
* Lydia from ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'', about whom we know little except that she's a friend of Amanda and (to a lesser extent) Melissa. She seems like a nice kid, which makes her ideal ship fodder.
* Maiden Goldenwaves and Maiden Mistycurls were never featured in the ''WesternAnimation/LadyLovelyLocks'' cartoon. Their only known backstory is that Goldenwaves lives on the Enchanted Island while Mistycurls visited it looking for the Sea Pixietails, the Sea Pixietails can turn them both into mermaids, and Lady and the other maidens discovered the island with the help of the Hide 'n' Peeks. Much of this backstory is only related in the toyline's press kit, and their personalities remain a mystery.
* Stacey, Larry's girlfriend from ''[[WesternAnimation/KaBlam Life With Loopy]]'' is this for the shows fans, being an EnsembleDarkhorse who appeared for less than a minute at the end of her only episode (which also happened to be one of the last few episodes), leading her to not evolve past a SatelliteLoveInterest in canon. With fans, she's often depicted as being nerdy, a bit awkward but better adjusted compared to Larry, and often the "middle ground" between Loopy's idealism and Larry's cynicism.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', many of the Gems are foreshadowed by an off-handed mention or an EarlyBirdCameo. However, as of the finale of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', some of them ended up never making a proper appearance, allowing fans to fill in the blanks themselves.
** Of particular note is Morganite, the former owner of [[FusionDance Rhodonite's components]], who discarded and replaced them after seeing them fuse. Outside of that and being most likely a pink Gem with a chest placement and most likely under Pink Diamond's Court, that's all we know about her. Many [[EpilepticTrees speculated that]] the Gem in the teaser for ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'' is Morganite, or at least of the same type, due to the same Gem placement and color, but she turned out to be [[{{Jossed}} a completely different character]] named "Spinel".
** The Citrines. Mentioned off-handedly in "Lars Of The Stars". They are [[DumbMuscle Quartzes]], they are yellow, they work for Emerald. That's all we know about them, everything else is up to the fans.
** While most of the former Crystal Gem characters (such as Crazy Lace, Biggs, Snowflake and Little Larimar) do make an appearance late in the series, others (like Tiger's Eye, Beryl and Serpentine) never appear in person. Though many assume that Tiger's Eye is [[FusionDance Crazy Lace's]] [[PunnyName eye component]], and the others are confirmed to be alive since they are [[spoiler:bubbled and presumably corrupted, which is a non-issue in the current timeline]].
** In fact, many of the [[spoiler:uncorrupted]] Gems qualify, since their characterization doesn't go far beyond [[LivingProp being background decoration]]. Even the [[spoiler:corrupted Gems qualify, due to their interesting designs and people love speculating just [[WasOnceAMan who they were before]] TheCorruption]].
** In terms of human characters, the Mystery Girl from "Last One Out of Beach City" has been subject to this despite only making a major appearance in that episode and not even getting lines or a name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'' OVA series has Kate Madigan, the female [[MegaCorp Genom]] executive who appears in the Largo arc. The only thing known about her is she's as {{corrupt|CorporateExecutive}} as the rest of Genom.
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Kallen's brother Naoto Kozuki sometimes get this treatment, largely because all we know about him is that he was the leader of Ohgi's group and died sometime before the series started. By the same extent, fics that feature build upon Kallen and Lelouch's relationship will do this for the rest of the Stadtfeld family including Kallen's biological mother.
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** Matt is a good example of this. He gets little time on the page in the manga, and even less time in the anime, but he has a large fan base, and thus many people end up writing about him, usually just writing him as whatever they need, within limits, for the story.
** Also Linda, who was mentioned in the manga a grand total of twice, seen only once, and has only one line. Considering that, she is a ''massive'' EnsembleDarkHorse; if you type in "linda death note" on deviantART you get 526 results, and she has 34 fanfictions on fanfiction.net.
** Yamamoto, Light's friend from school [[spoiler:who later becomes Matsuda's partner at the NPA]] and has HoYay with both. He gets about as many scenes as Matt (though he's not nearly as insanely popular) and doesn't appear at all in the anime but he does show up regularly in fic.
** Namikawa, on account of being [[spoiler:one of the cooler members of the interim villain's QuirkyMiniBossSquad.]]
** There's also Nori, Misa's punk friend.
** There's also Misa's sister, who is mentioned in the manga and may or may not even exist.
** The spin-off novel ''Another Note'' (which was not written by Ohba, but was approved by them) gives readers the character of "A", the first Wammy's House child who committed suicide out of pressure of being L. Unlike B/Beyond Birthday, we get nothing in the way of A's personality or backstory, leaving fans to have to fill in a lot of blanks when they utilize him in their fanfic.
* ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' has [[DubNameChange Ruki/Rika's]] father, who is divorced from Rumiko and rarely gets to see Rika very often anymore, but aside from that there's next to no (intended) relevance for his character. Nothing else is known about him and his name isn't even revealed at all, so nothing about his character is truly known other than what was stated to be the case in the official media as noted above. In ''Fanfic/CitadelOfTheHeart'', in what is perhaps that SeriesFic's most JustForFun/{{Egregious}} example of this trope, Rika's father is hit with such a severe case of AdaptationalVillainy to the point that Rika's status in ''Digimon Re: Tamers'' as a HeroicBastard is the most tame thing to say about her backstory regarding her father's non-existence ever since she was originally conceived without getting too much into his WalkingSpoiler background. [[spoiler:A SociopathicSoldier ProfessionalKiller for TheMafia, and a SerialRapist who utilizes DateRape against [[{{Ephebophile}} teenagers]] while having a PerverseSexualLust [[ParentalIncest for his own daughter]] makes him [[VileVillainSaccharineShow one of the most]] ''[[VileVillainSaccharineShow heinous]]'' [[VileVillainSaccharineShow of the human villains]] introduced in ''Citadel Of The Heart'' thus far.]]
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** Vegeta's father gets this treatment. He's been dead for years and gets three scenes total over the course of the anime. He gets another in the [[NonSerialMovie first Broly movie]], but if you count it as canon (which requires some shoehorning) it's a MoralEventHorizon. He shows only bare hints of personality. Yet he's also the subject of fan devotion that's surprisingly intense, if small in scale. (Vegeta's MissingMom is also the subject of much speculation.)
** Goku's MissingMom too. Creator/AkiraToriyama's ''Dragon Ball Minus'' short story formally introduced the official version -- Gine, a pacifist who [[StayInTheKitchen stayed in the kitchen]] because of her lack of combat ability. (Of course, this {{Jossed}} most of the [[ActionGirl concepts]] fans had about Bardock's mate.)
** On a related note, the Chick of Bardock's squad, Fasha[=/=]Seripa sometimes overlapped with the "Goku's Mom" role. She, and all of Bardock's teammates, are frequently OC stand-ins in their own rights.
** Many of the fighters from the Tournament of Power in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' also get this, as they aren't explored in detail but their designs, the possible relationship with the Gods of Destruction and personalities made some fans to write about them. Examples include Universe 9 (Who are popular with the fanbase), Ganos from Universe 4, and even Cabba from Universe 6, who is a Saiyan.
* During the end of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'', and later in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'', Edward [[spoiler: gets sent to "our" world where everyone he knows has an IdenticalStranger]]. Fans have a ball with the ''unseen'' ones as several fanons have popped up. [[spoiler:Winry's alter]] usually portrayed as the opposite of tomboyish Winry, is often Jewish, and is usually perceived as a ReplacementGoldfish. Some fans have [[spoiler:Edward's deceased alter]] as related to Alfons but in canon that is unlikely.
* Erwin from ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer''. Due to both her attire, which includes a German general's peaked hat and jacket from [=WW2=], and her personality, of a history geek who has even borrowed Rommel's name (to the point she verges on expy status), she's quite popular with the fans, and as a result features in a relatively large number of fanfics with a greatly increased role, even in the relatively small fandom of this anime.
* There are a few other cyborgs in ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' besides the main girls however they're not given significant screentime.
* The unnamed girl from ''The Dissociation of Haruhi Suzumiya'' was often used as this in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' fanfiction until the release of ''The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya'', where she was given a name (Watahashi Yasumi) and a backstory which {{Jossed}} pretty much all interpretations of the character overnight. Less commonly, the unnamed boy with glasses whose life Kyon saves in ''The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya'', as well as Kyon's sister's friend Yoshimura Miyoko[[note]]who only appears in an autobiographical story told by Kyon, though she does make an appearance in the manga adaptation[[/note]] are used for authors who want to write about Kyon's sister's age group.
* Happens very often in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fandom with [[MoeAnthropomorphism nations]] that have only appeared in profiles or on the author's blog, especially since fanfic writers can research these nations' histories and stereotypes to come up with some technical canon. Some of these common fan characterizations are:
** Denmark as a BoisterousBruiser and Norway as {{Tsundere}} for him because of their long history together; the former turned out to be pretty spot-on with canon, while the latter is still up in the air (though Norway ''did'' strangle Denmark with his tie in one strip).
** Belgium as a sassy, fearless {{Shorttank}} who [[TrademarkFavoriteFood enjoys waffles and chocolate]] and [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl can drink anyone under the table]]; this turned out to be fairly accurate to canon (although she's more cheerful than sassy) with the HardDrinkingPartyGirl part being the only one left unconfirmed.
** Netherlands as similar to Denmark in personality with a pot-smoking habit; this was one of the {{fanon}} characterizations that ended up {{Jossed}} by canon when Netherlands was revealed to be a mainly blunt and stoic PerpetualFrowner, though the smoking habit ''was'' pretty much confirmed.
** Hong Kong as an EmotionlessBoy with a penchant for [[TheTrickster pranks]] and [[DeadpanSnarker snarkiness]]; this was mostly confirmed by canon, although he doesn't seem to be ''quite'' as emotionless as fanon loved making him out to be.
** Taiwan as a YamatoNadeshiko with romantic feelings for Japan; the YamatoNadeshiko part was {{Jossed}} with the Drama CD (and more recently, the fourth manga volume) showing her to be a [[PluckyGirl Plucky]] GenkiGirl, and she doesn't seem to act differently with Japan than she does with her other Asian siblings.
** Vietnam as a {{Tsundere}} {{tomboy}} who [[ImprobableWeaponUser uses her rice paddle as a weapon]] or a BrokenBird emotionally scarred by her wars; it looks like her canon self will be more subdued than either of these characterizations.
** Thailand as a NiceGuy who also happens to be a BareFistedMonk that sometimes uses a CoolSword as a weapon. He cooks well and loves [[FireBreathingDiner spicy food]], and lastly, no matter how nice a guy he is, he is ALWAYS portrayed as CuteAndPsycho. A few times, he's a WholesomeCrossdresser (thanks to RL Thailand's ''kathoey'', or ladyboys).
** Romania was almost always depicted by fans as a female (probably because of the potential LesYay between her and [[TheRival Hungary]]), only to have canon [[{{Jossed}} Joss]] that with the fourth manga volume establishing him as male. With the canon Romania appearing to have red eyes and CuteLittleFangs, it's becoming common to depict him as either a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] or an ordinary human who pretends to be a vampire for the lulz. It also helps that most of Transylvania has mostly has been part of Rumania since they conquered it from Communist Hungary in 1919.
** New Zealand is almost always depicted as either having a VitriolicBestBuds or TrueCompanions type relationship with Australia.
** India, like Romania, was almost always depicted as female in fanworks only to be established as male later on in canon. No one seems to really care, though, probably because of his '''awesome''' Bollywood entrance in ''Manga/Hetaween2011''.
** For a long time, Bulgaria's only canon scene was him hitting Italy with his stick and the most common fanon depiction of him was as a JerkAss with a HairTriggerTemper. This seems to have been {{Jossed}}, however, with him being shown in ''Manga/Hetaween2011'' and ''Manga/HetaliaBloodbath2011'' as a fairly nice guy who's good friends with Romania.
* ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'':
** A lot of the {{Posthumous Character}}s get this treatment in fanfiction, most commonly [[ActionGirl Silica]]'s mother Garlude and [[RevengeBeforeReason Knuckle Joe]]'s father "Jecra". Note that most of them are only named in fanon, Jecra included.
** Sword Knight and Blade Knight get this a lot, too.
** The Star Warriors who only appear in the finale do as well.
* Whenever Tiida Lanster, Quint Nakajima, Alicia Testarossa, or Olivie Segbrecht- aka the Sankt Kaiser- shows up in a ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' fanfic they'll probably be this, since they were {{Posthumous Character}}s in canon.
** ''FanFic/{{Game Theory|LyricalNanoha}}'' gets bonus points for it's use of the [[MegaNeko giant cat]] from Episode 3 (yes, the trope image). In the fic, she's named Vesta and after a series of events [[spoiler: she becomes Nanoha's familiar. After being shrunken down, of course.]]
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Tenten is an archetypical example. Her brief appearances in canon [[OnlySaneMan provide]] [[HiddenWeapons enough]] [[DeadpanSnarker character]] [[FlechetteStorm elements]] for fanfic writers to build upon, and yet she never even got a formal introduction. [[{{Jobber}} Being beaten by Temari]]--''off-panel'' in the manga--is her most memorable scene. ''Naruto'' author Kishimoto [[WordOfGod admitted]] that she was created simply to fill in the spot of [[TheSmurfettePrinciple token female]] [[GeodesicCast on Team Guy]]. Kishimoto, oddly enough, said he likes [[ChineseGirl her design]] most out of the female ninja. This becomes even more embarrassing when you see the number of fanfics. She has much more fics than any other secondary characters with little to none screen time, like [[BigEater Choji]], Shizune and [[FriendToBugs Shino]] together, and more than other characters with full-fleshed personalities, like [[HotBlooded Rock Lee]] or [[BeastMan Kiba]], and even [[{{Necromancer}} Kabuto]], who is a major character. Her personality varies with the author, but you got to admit, it's quite impressive [[OnlyOneName for a character who doesn't even have a full name]].
** Sakura's parents, particularly her mother, are common FanFic characters. Sakura's mother is heard off-camera in the anime, but she only seems to exist to prove that Sakura, unlike Naruto and Sasuke, had a normal childhood. In fan works, she is usually both a StrawCivilian and a total bitch to Naruto -- someone the Naru/Saku shippers can use as a FreudianExcuse for Sakura. Both of Sakura's parents finally appeared and received names in the movie ''[[Anime/NarutoTheMovieRoadToNinja Road to Ninja]]''.
** Other members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist show up often as oneshot villains. They're not even real characters to stand in for, so much as placeholders where characters presumably go.
** Similarly, tailed beast hosts number 2 and 4-7, as two and four were only seen briefly while the others were [[spoiler:all killed offscreen]]. The fact that the author made full designs of all of them (even for the three-tail host, when the three-tailed beast didn't presently have a host) for a cover as part of a MilestoneCelebration is pretty much ''asking'' for this -- though ironically at least one of them has been given a plot-relevant backstory ''post-mortem'' ([[spoiler:the three-tails was the last Mizukage]]).
*** Yugito Nii (the 2-tails host) is an extremely popular OC Stand-in, and is a frequent [[CrackPairing shipping]] [[NoYay target]] for Naruto. Fuu (the 7-tails) is also becoming popular in this way after her design was revealed.
** Also, Hanabi Hyuga, Hinata's sister, who only speaks in one Part 1 scene and primarily only asks questions of her father. Fans tend to differ on whether she would become the heir or a branch house member (and how well she would accept either), and whether she loves Hinata or sees her as worthless. Or, for that matter, sees her as a threat - the natural consequence of the prospect of one sister enslaving the other or else dying. Ironically when Hanabi got some spotlight in the anime she clearly loves Hinata, to [[BigBrotherWorship the degree of admiring her]]. Hanabi was given a [[AscendedExtra bigger role]] in ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'', where she's Boruto's spunky aunt.
** Naruto's mother also got this treatment - either as a placeholder (like the swordsmen), or a true example once Kushina was first seen, even though we only got to see her when she was pregnant and hear her say one line in her first appearance. [[{{Fanon}} One popular characterization]] is that she was a tomboy in her youth - [[IKnewIt which turned out to be dead accurate]] when [[spoiler:her soul appeared to help Naruto gain control over the Kyuubi's chakra]].
** The Rikudo Sennin is this when he's used in a fanfic. We have virtually nothing, and authors can turn him into anything from [[GenerationXerox a more powerful Naruto]], to [[AGodAmI a guy with a god complex]].
** Between Chapter 700 and ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'''s release, many of the Next Generation were this. Everyone but Boruto, Sarada, and Chocho were give limited personality so fans worked from there. Most {{fanon}} ended up accurate, some didn't.
** Hinata's mother has not appeared in manga canon. She's only appeared in an anime-only photo from when Hanabi was a baby. She's not seen in anime filler of Hanabi as a toddler, or even in manga flashbacks of Hinata when she was kidnapped, suggesting that she died when her kids were very young. As a result, her character and the reason why she isn't in the main story are up to fan interpretation.
** ''Boruto'' has a lot of, predominantly unnamed, background characters with eye-catching designs, such as an ElegantGothicLolita girl named Hako, a {{Japanese Delinquent|s}}-looking boy, and a dark-skinned girl with curly hair. Most don't even have names, nevermind characterizations or backstories, so fans have free range with them.
** The third Hokage had two children, Asuma and an unnamed child. Almost nothing is known about either one of Konohamaru's parents asides being ANBU, so they’re up to fan interpretation.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'':
** We have Kyoko Soryu. We have no idea what she was like before [[GoneHorriblyWrong the]] [[EmptyShell incident]], or even what the woman looks like (other than some brief, blurry flashes). On the non-canon ''Manga/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject'' manga she is given a personality that fits the overall comedic narrative, that of an [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Amazingly Embarrassing Parent]] to balance out (or maybe even justify) Asuka's Tsundere-ness.
** To a lesser extent, due to having somewhat of a discernible canon characterization, Yui Ikari. Things that ''are'' canon include her being a top-notch MamaBear (courtesy of her being inside Unit-01), but what varies among writers is details like [[UnwittingPawn how much]] [[ManipulativeBastard actual control]] she had in the GambitPileup the whole series revolves around and thus whether or not she is no different (or in some extreme cases EvilerThanThou) from Gendo or even Keel.
** Also, ClassRepresentative Hikari Horaki's sisters, Kodama and Nozomi; they never appear on-screen in any ''Evangelion'' media (up until 2018, that is, and it was in a {{Crossover}} episode of ''Anime/ShinkansenHenkeiRoboShinkalion'' of all places) and the only known facts about them are that they're older and younger (respectively) than Hikari [[spoiler:and that the three of them have a MissingMom like the rest of their class]]. To a lesser extent, Hikari herself.
** Touji's little sister sometimes got used this way even before her first onscreen appearance in the second Rebuild movie. She became even more important in the third movie, finally [[NominalImportance being named onscreen]] (Sakura Suzuhara).
** Occasionally the few ''Evangelion'' {{Canon Foreigner}}s (such as Mana Kirishima) can fall into this, since [[NoExportForYou not many Americans have actually played the games they appeared in]]. [[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Mari Illustrious Makinami]] was this for some fans before her actual personality was revealed, and even then there's still a lot about her that's completely unknown. This can make her an ''EpilepticTree'' stand in.
* ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'' has the Supreme Beings, Ainz/Momonga's former guildmates. There are 40 of them, but only about half of them are named, and only Touch Me, Ulbert, Tabula Smaragdina, Peroronchino and Bukubukuchagama are given some semblance of personality. Fanfic writers wanting to write an AU where some of the other Supreme Beings are also transported to the New World (which is a rather common FandomSpecificPlot) are allowed to pretty much create their own character from scratch.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Amber Fuji is the protagonist of quite a lot of fanfics for a character who appears for less than ten minutes in a single movie[[note]]albeit with slightly more presence in the [[Radio/PokemonTheBirthOfMewtwo radio drama version]][[/note]] (in an anime whose movies are [[LooseCanon only tenuously tied to the series to begin with]] at that), [[PosthumousCharacter has been dead for years before the series even begins]] and whose existence is known to precisely none of the main characters at any point. Yet when she appears, it's inevitably an [[AlternateUniverseFic AU]] in which she either is successfully resurrected or never died to begin with, goes on her own journey. [[FirstInstallmentWins Strange how this never happens with most other movie-only characters...]]
** In the earlier days of the fandom Mondo was a popular character in Team Rocket themed fics. He only appeared in [[Radio/ItsAWhiteTomorrowTeamRocket one Japanese-only radio drama]], so we only know so much about him.
** There are dozens of active Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys. While most canonically share basic traits like being nice, everything else is up in the air.
** ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has become a particularly prominent example of this. With the author opening the doors for others to write [[ExpandedUniverse sidestories in the same continuity]], many canon characters have gone on to [[AscendedExtra have larger roles in them]]. Thing is, many of them were such blank slates in the first place that Cross and the other writers can choose how to develop them. Some of the characters they choose to flesh out ''didn't even get a single line of dialogue in canon.''
** Ash's dad is a huge example. We know he is alive and that he's on a journey... That's it. His relationship (or lack thereof) with his family, his personality, what he is doing, or even his name and design are all up to fan interpretation. The most common consensus is either that he's a deadbeat who ran off when Ash was little or that [[LukeIAmYourFather he's Giovanni (or alternatively a man named "Silver")]], but there are other takes on him as well.
* When ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' became the first segment of ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'', a nameless scientist character with only two brief appearances in the series became Emil Lang, Earth's greatest expert on alien technology. The ExpandedUniverse of the ''Robotech'' novels and comics just ''ran'' with him, and he became one of the most important characters in the franchise.
* Maka's mother from ''Manga/SoulEater''. The information about her is few and far between. All we know is that she was at the top of her class, became Spirit Albarn's partner to make him into a Death Scythe, married him when they were young (about 18-19) and divorced him about a few months before the start of the series. Her personality and her physical appearance are both anyone's guesses. You'd be hard-pressed to find even two fanfics that use the same characterization for her. Even her name, Kami, long thought to be the only bit of solid evidence, came about from a mistranslation in regards to how Spirit referred to her as his ex-wife. The anime adaptation ''has'' expanded her personality, namely in much like her daughter, albeit more temperamental.
* ''Franchise/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'':
** Writers who want to focus on [[EnsembleDarkHorse Kyoko]] will frequently depict her dead family members from her life before she became a magical girl, if they don't bring them BackFromTheDead altogether. Of the three, we know only that her sister was named Momo and that her father was a priest who (according to [[UnreliableExpositor his daughter]]) was TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth until he [[GoMadFromTheRevelation Went Mad From the Revelation]] and [[spoiler:killed himself, his wife, and Momo because of Kyoko's wish inadvertently giving him a CompellingVoice]]. Despite only existing to facilitate a DarkMagicalGirl's DarkAndTroubledPast and FreudianExcuse, Kyoko's father is even listed on Website/FanFictionDotNet's character filter! In contrast, [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan Mami's]] dead parents almost never appear in fanfic, not even in flashbacks. (They do appear a bit in one of the spinoffs, which helps.)
** The magical girl forms of the various witches that appear in the series all fall into this, as there's just enough there in various supplementary material to guess about their designs and personalities. Charlotte was a particularly popular choice, owing to being an EnsembleDarkhorse already and having a design that lended itself very well to humanization: so much so that the series even introduced a canon version later on, and she was surprisingly close to the common fanon portrayal.
* Though they go unnamed in the manga, ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has Ranma's buddies Hiroshi and Daisuke, and for the girls there's Akane's friends Yuka and Sayuri. They mainly exist to be ThoseTwoGuys. Creator/RumikoTakahashi seems to love this trope, especially in ''Ranma''. Herb's got Mint and Lime. Kima has Masara and Koruma, and is herself not much developed beyond her role as Saffron's bodyguard. The Anime also gave us Kaori Daikoku, who appeared just once in the anime and yet comes up rather frequently in fanfiction.
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'': Whenever a civilian character becomes an AscendedExtra or SixthRanger in fanfiction, this is what happens. There are tons of them to choose from, but a few stand out:
** Naru, Usagi's best friend at the start, is probably the biggest example. A lot of fans think she should have been a Sailor Senshi, but she ended up being SocialCircleFiller and the DesignatedVictim, and by the Black Moon arc, you were lucky to see her at all. Fanfics abound with {{Sailor Earth}}s of every kind, but if an author doesn't want to use an OC for that, chances are they'll pick Naru. Other minor female characters are occasionally used for the same purpose, but not nearly as often.
** Usagi's brother Shingo. Little is known about him because he doesn't appear much, especially in the manga and ''[[Anime/SailorMoonCrystal Crystal]]''. The closest thing Hotaru/Sailor Saturn has to a love interest is a PseudoRomanticFriendship with Chibi-Usa, but Chibi-Usa finds her own prince in the form of Helios. So Shingo became many fanfic writers' go-to choice for Hotaru's boyfriend and male counterpart because he's the only male character her age, because [[ShipMates it gets his crush on Ami out of the way]], and because of BestFriendsInLaw.
** Motoki appears even less in the anime than Naru or Shingo, doesn't even get ADayInTheLimelight, and his personality is kind of [[FlatCharacter flat]] and [[TheGenericGuy generic]]. This means that fanfic writers are free to do whatever they want with him. Interestingly, he seems to have been a canon example in [[Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon the live-action]] where he got [[AscendedExtra more screen time]] and [[AdaptationPersonalityChange a different but]] [[AdaptationalComicRelief more defined personality]].
** If an author wants to create male equivalents of the Senshi without using the Shitennou, this can happen. The lineup varies by fic, but expect Yuuichirou to be included. That's because he doesn't have much competition for being Rei/Sailor Mars' counterpart and because he's already a bit of a BadassNormal.
** The original anime has loads of {{Canon Foreigner}}s [[{{Filler}} who only appear once or twice]] (Ami's friend Ryo, Makoto's friend Shinozaki, etc) and some of them [[EnsembleDarkHorse are pretty popular with fanfic writers]]. Most of them have just enough traits to build on while leaving everything else up to the fandom.
* In ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' there are a few characters that had little timescreen and characterization:
** Nakim is one of Miss Yomako's pupils during the timeskip. The fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5765216/1/The_World_Tree The World Tree]]'' takes him as the protagonist, as a pilot against the Ymir.
** Tsuuma, [[spoiler:who appeared as Viral's wife in his dream in the [[LotusEaterMachine Antispiral Labirynth]]]] is also used in some fanfics. One particular example is ''Fanfic/TengenToppaGurrenSolvernia'', in which she's Viral's [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]] [[WrenchWench mechanic]] that [[{{Tsundere}} may or may not]] have feelings for him.
* ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'': Many minor characters only have one episode to themselves before they're PutOnABus. There are [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters several to choose from]], so take your pick:
** Brian, the young man from Great Britain and whom Akane Hino fell in love with. He's depicted as a charming man who means well.
** The Bad End Pretty Cures. They're introduced at the end of episode 45 and are KilledOffForReal during episode 46. Yet, their status as {{Ensemble Dark Horse}}s means they've received a lot of love from fans, having had fanart ''a week before they even debuted''. Many Smile Precure fanfics involve the Bad Ends in some way both to fill in their characterization and to avoid using potential {{Original Character}}s.
* We knew ''Manga/TokyoMewMew a la Mode'' was coming ''long'' before we saw it, so a lot of fanfic authors pounced on the new team member who was, for the nonce, a blank slate. Unfortunately, this meant the name "Berii" (and several spelling variants) appeared on a lot of such characters in hopes of giving them legitimacy.
* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'':
** In the fandom, there was a brief period of time during which people knew about the [[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries Toei series]], but had no fansub available. Cue Miho, who was a one-shot character in [[Manga/YuGiOh the manga]] and had a prominent role in the anime, becoming an OC Stand-in, though her personality did often overlap with [[ShyBlueHairedGirl the one she had in the manga.]]
** Yugi's parents are also frequently subject to this in fanfiction. In canon, Yugi's father [[InvisibleParents never appears]], and the most known about him is that he's a traveling salesman who's always away on work, while Yugi's mother appears only twice in the manga and once in the anime. Her anime appearance is cut entirely from the dubbed version, however, hence she isn't really remembered. Fanon characterizations of them vary between [[AbusiveParents abusive]], [[ParentalNeglect deadbeat]], GoodParents, or [[ParentalAbandonment dead]].
** Bakura's father and deceased sister and mother are subject to this for the same reasons as Yugi's parents; their roles were only talked about, not seen, and while ''Anime/YuGiOhTheDarksideOfDimensions'' finally showed Bakura's father he wasn't given much personality or backstory.
** Pegasus's lost love Cyndia/Cecelia is also subject to this, as she died 7 years before the story began and little is known of her life or interests.
** The protagonist of the ''VideoGame/YuGiOhTagForceSeries'' (referred to as "Hat Guy", "Konami-kun", or "Red Hat", depending on your take) is a weird case of this, in that he was a FeaturelessProtagonist and HeroicMime who functioned as an avatar for the player. There are countless fanfics dealing with him getting involved in canon, usually interacting with the characters in the same fashion he did in his home games. As Red Hat was also very much an EscapistCharacter, [[PossessionSue the likely result of this]] is sadly common.
[[/folder]]

!!Examples (by medium of the source material):

[[folder:Web Comics]]

!!Examples:

[[folder:Canon examples]]

** A lot of the {{Posthumous Character}}s get this treatment in fanfiction, most commonly [[ActionGirl Silica]]'s mother Garlude and [[RevengeBeforeReason Knuckle Joe]]'s father "Jecra". Note that most of them are [[FanNickname only named in fanon]], Jecra included.

* We knew ''Manga/TokyoMewMew a la Mode'' was coming ''long'' before we saw it, so a lot of fanfic authors pounced on the new team member who was, for the nonce, a blank slate. Unfortunately, this meant the name "Berii" (and several spelling variants) appeared on a lot of such characters in hopes of giving them legitimacy. ''More'' unfortunately, the truth of [[FanNickname Berry Sue]] was even worse than (fan)fiction.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Kazumi Yoshizawa from ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'' has very few disernable character traits due to [[spoiler:being [[PosthumousCharacter deceased]] by the time the game takes place and impersonated by her sister Sumire, with any personality traits Sumire displays being non-indicative of the real Kasumi]]. Fics that give her a larger role have to make up her personality based off the scraps of information other characters give about her and what little of her is actually seen in-game.

* The Starlings from ''Literature/The39Clues'' served as this in many fanfics, having been PutOnABus early on in the first book. That book revealed little more than the fact that they were rich triplets and not very nice, and WordOfGod later claimed that they were part of the [[SmartGuy Ekaterina]] branch of [[BigScrewedUpFamily Cahill family]], but other than that, fans were free to fit them with whatever characteristics they wanted. [[spoiler:Then TheBusCameBack.]]

** Usagi's brother Shingo. Little is known about him because he doesn't appear much, especially in the manga and ''[[Anime/SailorMoonCrystal Crystal]]''. The closest thing Hotaru/Sailor Saturn has to a love interest is a RomanticTwoGirlFriendship with Chibi-Usa, but Chibi-Usa finds her own prince in the form of Helios. So Shingo became many fanfic writers' go-to choice for Hotaru's boyfriend and male counterpart because he's the only male character her age, because [[ShipMates it gets his crush on Ami out of the way]], and because of BestFriendsInLaw.

* The author of the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' fanfic series ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}'' [[https://thejakeformerlyknownasprince.tumblr.com/post/148483604634/i-love-how-much-you-care-about-tom-i-always-was has admitted]] that its depiction of Tom is mostly their creation; in canon, he was an ImpersonationExclusiveCharacter whose true self only had a handful of lines. Also, the girl who Tom followed into a Sharing meeting, who was only mentioned in passing in ''The Capture'', is fleshed out into a character named Bonnie Park.

** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers'' largely focused on a team of Autobots who had previously made almost no fictional appearances, and whose bios rarely elaborated on them much more than "good pilot" or "weapons specialist." Its cowriter, James Roberts, would go on to be heavily involved in ''ComicBook/ThefolderTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' (no relation), which gave heavy development to characters like Swerve, Rewind, Tailgate, and Krok, whose previous characterization was reserved to bios and could generally be summed up as a single gimmick ([[DrivesLikeCrazy "bad driver"]], for instance).

* ''Fanfic/JannaVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Janna, the canon character from ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' having not yet become an AscendedExtra when the author began writing. While she shares a few personality traits with the show's Janna, this Janna differs in everything from surname, to ethnicity, to home situation, to even her relationship with Marco (which is now a more balanced FriendlyEnemy dynamic as opposed to prankster and victim).

* ''Fanfic/JannaVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Janna inadvertently became this, as the canon character from ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' ended up becoming an AscendedExtra. While she shares [[TheGadfly many personality traits]] with the show's Janna, this Janna differs in everything from surname, to enthicity, to home situation, to even her relationship with Marco being a more balanced FriendlyEnemy dynamic as opposed to prankster and victim.

** As alluded to in the canon examples above, the Light Warriors from the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' get this due to basically being [[HeroicMime blank slate player avatars]] rather than true characters. Popular {{Fanon}} includes things like WhiteMage being a woman, BlackMage being non-human (which [[AscendedFanon actually became canon]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''), Fighter being an idiot, and much more. Of particular note is ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', which uses many of these fan-made personalities, invents some of its own, and popularized them all so much that [[WeirdAlEffect a lot of younger fans mistakenly assume that is really what the Light Warriors are canonically like]].

* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'' the Warblers have little to no personality. They're very popular with fanfic writers.
** Also, Puck's mother and sister. Since they don't even have [[NoNameGiven names]] in canon, but he presumably lives with them, they play at least a minor part in most fics about his life outside of school and glee.

* Media relating to ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' likes to do this with the Nazgûl, since they're clearly important figures, but the only ones to be even slightly fleshed out are the Witch-King, whose life prior to becoming a wraith is still a complete mystery, and Khamûl the Easterling, whose character consists of his name and ethnicity. Any media not wanting to simply name them "Nazgûl three through nine" (which, funnily, [[YouAreNumberSix was the solution one of the card games went with]]) will usually give them backstories or personalities of some kind.
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – [[AscendedExtra very minor characters]] in ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' – become the protagonists of Tom Stoppard's ''Theatre/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead''.

** ''ComicBook/TransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers'' largely focused on a team of Autobots who had previously made almost no fictional appearances, and whose bios rarely elaborated on them much more than "good pilot" or "weapons specialist." Its cowriter, James Roberts, would go on to be heavily involved in ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' (no relation), which gave heavy development to characters like Swerve, Rewind, Tailgate, and Krok, whose previous characterization was reserved to bios and could generally be summed up as a single gimmick ([[DrivesLikeCrazy "bad driver"]], for instance).

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':

* Music/{{Vocaloid}}, naturally, since there is nothing canon about the singers, besides name, voice and appearance (and sometimes not even that).
** [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6854461/1/Good_Night One story]] managed to bring in one of the character's ''creator'' as a separate character.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'':
** The Little Red-Haired Girl from ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' is an unseen character (though she made a few tantalizing non-canon appearances in television specials), and we know nothing about her personality since Charlie Brown doesn't have the guts to talk to her and, hence, really knows nothing about her himself. Any time she appears in a fanfic, she is this trope by necessity.
** ''Peanuts'' is actually full of minor characters who get used as OC stand-ins. Of particular note are [[TokenBlack Franklin]], Violet (usually AlphaBitch, especially in stories that require Lucy to be slightly nicer and need a {{replacement| flat character}} villain), and [[FlatCharacter Shermy]] (whose character trait in most fanfics is ''having no character traits at all'', unless he's TheAce to Charlie Brown as he was in several early strips).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

** Introducing characters from the "classic" titles into the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' reboot is a popular thing. Fans figure if Spyro and Hunter, exist what's stopping characters like Bianca, Elora, or Ember from too?

* The author of the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' fanfic series ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}'' [[https://thejakeformerlyknownasprince.tumblr.com/post/148483604634/i-love-how-much-you-care-about-tom-i-always-was has admitted]] that its depiction of Tom is mostly their creation; in canon, he was an ImpersonationExclusiveCharacter whose true self only had handful of lines. They also flesh out the girl Tom followed into a Sharing meeting, who was only mentioned in passing in ''The Capture'', into a character named Bonnie Park.