Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2022: Week 2

Fandom Ghost: Created Out Of Wholecloth By Fanon (originally untitled) is a tumblr post originally written by wildehack, and expanded upon by subsequent commenters. It discusses the phenomenon where a specific character archetype is applied to (almost always) a white male side character, ostensibly for the purpose of shipping him with a more-developed-by-canon "messy" white male character. There is some debate with regards to whether the phenomenon solely applies to minimally-characterized side characters (also known as blank slates), or whether it also applies to main characters whose canon traits are replaced.

The archetype may be related to the "blue oni", "frigid romcom heroine", and/or "Byronic hero" archetypes.

This meta essay specifically referenced the character of Hux from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, drawing parallels between Kylux and Arthur/Eames from Inception. This post was widely shared and very influential in discussions ongoing in Star Wars fandom at the time. It also influenced and inspired other meta, including Stitch's 2019 essay What Fandom Racism Looks Like: Beige Blank Slates, which further popularised the concept of a fandom ghost or archetypal blank slate.