History DracoInLeatherPants / Weboriginal

* ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'': Due to the large fanbase his content creator counterpart has, [[BigBad Dream]] is regarded by some parts of the fandom to be this. So-called c!Dream apologists claim that he is morally grey, ForcedIntoEvil (or SlowlySlippingIntoEvil at best), and had good, well-intentioned reason for doing everything he did, which included and was not limited to child abuse, murder, and plotting the massacre of four L'Manburgians for the "crime" of trying to stand up to his violent ControlFreak tendencies through declaring independence. Oftentimes, these 'reasons' and 'justifications' classify as DisproportionateRetribution at best, and BlamingTheVictim, dehumanization, and spread of blatant misinformation at worst, making this vocal stance highly controversial in parts of the fandom. Unsurprisingly, many of the Dream apologists do not look upon [[RonTheDeathEater Tommy or Wilbur]] fondly, believing them to be the root of Dream's fall into morally dark territory, though there is plenty of canonical evidence to prove otherwise. Obviously, Dream isn't the only character to have apologists, but the sheer aggression c!Dream's apologists have towards anyone that disagree with them make them quite a crowd to be aware of while traversing the fandom.

** In the case of Angel Dust, [[SubvertedTrope however]], this only applies to his characterization in the Pilot. As the series progressed and Angel's character was explored more in-depth, he was shown to have far more sympathetic qualities than he initially let on. Eventually, the fanbase's [[CharacterPerceptionEvolution perception of the character]] shifted from ''projecting'' humanizing qualities onto him (because he was entertaining and/or hot) to genuinely feeling for the poor guy and wanting to see him improve.

*** Once the first full season of the show came out and spent a [[Recap/HazbinHotelS1E4Masquerade full episode]] on Angel and his personal issues, the "Draco" part was done away with entirely. The episode goes to great lengths to show that, beyond his crass and hypersexual persona, Angel is a fundamentally broken, self-loathing SadClown who turns to mindless hedonism to cope with his absolutely horrible existence as an abuse victim who is utterly powerless to do anything to change his situation. While the pilot had some moments which ''could'' be construed as him [[PetTheDog having a nicer side]], it's made wholly unambiguous here; he truly '''[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does]]''' care about the others at the hotel and see them as his friends, [[spoiler:even pleading with Val to not hurt Charlie before outright '''standing up to him''' for Niffty's sake.]] Furthermore, he ultimately does come around to Charlie's ideas of redemption and, thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, changes for the better as a person.

*** Once the first full season of the show came out and spent a [[Recap/HazbinHotelS1E4Masquerade full episode]] on Angel and his personal issues, the "Draco" part was done away with entirely. The episode goes to great lengths to show that, beyond his crass and hypersexual persona, Angel is a fundamentally broken, self-loathing SadClown who turns to mindless hedonism to cope with his absolutely horrible existence as an abuse victim who is utterly powerless to do anything to change his situation. While the pilot had some moments which ''could'' be construed as him [[PetTheDog having a nicer side]], it's made wholly explicit here; he truly '''[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does]]''' care about the others at the hotel, [[spoiler:even pleading with Val to not hurt Charlie before outright '''standing up to him''' for Niffty's sake.]] Furthermore, he ultimately does come around to Charlie's ideas of redemption and, thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, changes for the better as a person.

** In the case of Angel Dust, however, this pretty much only applies to his characterization in the Pilot. As the series progressed and Angel's character was explored more in-depth, he was shown to have far more sympathetic qualities than he initially let on. Eventually, the fanbase's perception of his character shifted from ''projecting'' sympathetic traits onto him (because he was entertaining and/or hot) to genuinely sympathizing with his situation and wanting to see him improve. By the end of season 1, the "Draco" part was pretty much dropped entirely because, after all, [[CentralTheme the entire point]] of the show is that redemption truly is possible as long as you truly want it and put your mind to it.

*** The first "real" season of the show, debuting in January 2024, more thoroughly explores the sides of Angel's character which were hinted at in "Addict." Underneath his perverted and [[TheGadfly incendiary]] exterior, he's a fundamentally sad, broken person who turns to hedonism to cope with his absolutely miserable life. While the pilot had some very brief PetTheDog moments hinting that he ''might'' care about the others at the hotel, they're far more pronounced here, making it clear that he truly '''[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does]]''' care about the others at the hotel, [[spoiler:even pleading with Val to not hurt Charlie before outright '''standing up to him''' for Niffty's sake.]] Thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, ultimately [[TookALevelInKindness changes for the better as a person]].

** In the case of Angel Dust, however, this pretty much only applies to his characterization in the Pilot. As the series progressed and Angel's character was explored more in-depth, he was shown to have far more sympathetic qualities than he initially let on. By the end of season 1, the "Draco" part was pretty much dropped entirely because, after all, [[CentralTheme the entire point]] of the show is that anyone can be redeemed.

** The recent "Addict" music video, which focuses on Angel's emotional state and his relationship dynamics with both his boss Valentino and his friend Cherri Bomb, has resulted in even tighter and shinier leather than ever before for Angel. The video makes it clear that [[spoiler:he is a regular victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Valentino, and Cherri Bomb takes revenge on Val by destroying his advertisements and buildings]], eliciting more genuine sympathy from the fandom than he had before. The video had the added effect of Draco-fying Cherri herself, promoting her from unstable, foul-mouthed pyromaniac who was Angel's ToxicFriendInfluence, to a caring, loyal and genuine friend to Angel, and possibly the only real friend he has, even if her method of showing it just happens to involve indulging her destructive tendencies, earning her even more fangirls and fanboys than she already had.
*** It should be noted, however, that all of this applies to Angel Dust '''pre'''-release. Once the first season of the series proper debuted in January 2024, the "Draco" part pretty much disappears entirely, with him being shown in an unambiguously sympathetic light. Underneath all of his perversion and [[TheGadfly incendiary]] exterior, he's a fundamentally sad, broken person who turns to drugs and violence as a coping mechanism to deal with his absolutely miserable life. He truly '''[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does]]''' care about the others at the hotel, to the point that he even sticks up to Val for them and, thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, ultimately [[TookALevelInKindness changes for the better as a person]].

*** It should be noted, however, that all of this applies to Angel Dust '''pre'''-release. Once the first season of the series proper debuted in January 2024, the "Draco" part pretty much disappears entirely, with him being shown in an unambiguously sympathetic light. Underneath all of his perversion and [[TheGadfly incendiary]] exterior, he's a fundamentally sad, broken person who turns to drugs and violence as a coping mechanism to deal with his absolutely miserable life. Notably, he truly '''[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does]]''' care about the others at the hotel, to the point that he even sticks up to Val for them and, thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, ultimately [[TookALevelInKindness changes for the better as a person]].

*** It should be noted, however, that all of this applies to Angel Dust '''pre'''-release. Once the first season of the series proper debuted in January 2024, the "Draco" part pretty much disappears entirely, with him being shown in an unambiguously sympathetic light. Underneath all of his perversion and [[TheGadly incendiary]] exterior, he's a fundamentally sad, broken person who turns to drugs and violence as a coping mechanism to deal with his absolutely miserable life. Notably, it's shown that he genuinely '''[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does]]''' care about the others at the hotel, to the point that he even sticks up to Val for them and, thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, ultimately [[TookALevelInKindness changes for the better as a person]].

*** It should be noted, however, that all of this applies to Angel Dust '''pre'''-release. Once the first season of the series proper debuted in January 2024, the "Draco" part pretty much disappears entirely, with him being shown in an unambiguously sympathetic light. Underneath all of his perversion and [[TheGadly incendiary]] exterior, he's a fundamentally sad, broken person who turns to drugs and violence as a coping mechanism to deal with his absolutely miserable life. Notably, it's shown that he genuinely '''[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does]]''' care about the others at the hotel, to the point that he even sticks up to Val for them and, thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, ultimately [[TookALevelInKindness changes for the better as a person]].

*** It should be noted, however, that all of this applies to Angel Dust '''pre'''-release. Once the first season of the series proper debuted in January 2024, the "Draco" part pretty much disappears entirely, with him being shown in an unambiguously sympathetic light. Underneath all of his perversion and {{Jerkass}} exterior, he's a fundamentally sad, broken person who [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold still has good in him]]. Thanks to the [[PositiveFriendInfluence positive support network]] of the Hotel, he grows to genuinely care about this friends at the hotel and, ultimately, [[TookALevelInKindness change for the better as a person]].

** The recent "Addict" music video, which focuses on Angel's emotional state and his relationship dynamics with both his boss Valentino and his friend Cherri Bomb, has resulted in even tighter and shinier leather than ever before for Angel. The video makes it clear that [[spoiler: he is a regular victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Valentino, and Cherri Bomb takes revenge on Val by destroying his advertisements and buildings]], eliciting more genuine sympathy from the fandom than he had before. The video had the added effect of Draco-fying Cherri herself, promoting her from unstable, foul-mouthed pyromaniac who was Angel's ToxicFriendInfluence, to a caring, loyal and genuine friend to Angel, and possibly the only real friend he has, even if her method of showing it just happens to involve indulging her destructive tendencies, earning her even more fangirls and fanboys than she already had.
*** It should be noted, however, that all of this applies to Angel Dust '''pre'''-release. Once the first season of the series proper debuted in January 2024, the "Draco" part pretty much disappears entirely. with Angel Dust being presented in an unambiguously sympathetic light and being primarily characterized as a deeply sad, broken person who, thanks to the positive support network of the Hotel, [[TookALevelInKindness is capable of genuinely improving as a person]].

*** It should be noted, however, that all of this applies to Angel Dust '''pre'''-release. Following the release of the series proper in 2024, the "Draco" part more or less went away entirely, with Angel Dust being presented in an unambiguously sympathetic light and [[TookALevelInKindness growing to genuinely care about the others at the hotel]].

* ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': [[{{Gayngster}} Angel Dust]] and [[TheDreaded Alastor]] each have a ''massive'' legion of swooning fangirls (and some swooning fanboys), despite the fact they are both extremely amoral [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]], with the former being a mobster with zero qualms about killing other demons for territory or [[ForTheEvulz a cheap laugh]], and the latter being a vicious warlord who was an equally sadistic serial killer in life[[note]]and who may have possibly been a cannibal[[/note]]. There are several factors to this: one, they are such [[LargeHam Large Hams]] that [[BlackComedy they're extremely entertaining to watch regardless of their untenable morals]]. Two, they're already in Hell, so it's not like they aren't being punished for it, even if they both seem to take eternal damnation in stride. This segues into point three, being that Angel volunteered to be Charlie's test subject for her rehabilitation project and Alastor is sponsoring the project, even though Angel doesn't seem to be trying that hard at redemption and no one knows why Alastor would support such a project to begin with. Point four is that [[WordOfGod supplemental material from Vivziepop]] points toward Angel having a positive relationship with his little sister Molly and having a tragic backstory in being murdered by his older brother for being gay[[note]]This last one was changed to a drug overdose, but the homophobia is still implied[[/note]]. The final point seems to be, in a meta sense, a straight case of EvilIsSexy: voice actors Edward Bosco[[labelnote:*]]Alastor[[/labelnote]] and Michael Kovak[[labelnote:*]]Angel Dust[[/labelnote]] greatly enjoy playing up Angel's sex appeal and Alastor's creepiness[[note]]which often shoots the moon and loops back around to sexy, [[LoopholeAbuse something Bosco has acknowledged and actively invokes as a loophole to Vivzie's desire to not hypersexualize Alastor]][[/note]] during live streams with one of the HH animators, and seem perfectly aware of how many of the fangirls are [[ArousedByTheirVoice attracted to their voices]]. In response to this, much of Alastor's fandom portrayal deliberately frames his NightmareFuel as [[NightmareFetishist erotic]], in spite of the fact that, in addition to his amorality, he's also completely UsefulNotes/{{asexual}}, and therefore nothing he does is intended to be framed that way. This [=YouTube=] comment reacting to this fact sums up the entire situation:

** Adam Taurus is a mass-murdering terrorist and a domestic abuser, portrayed as an embodiment of spite and cruelty. Any well-intentions he had for his actions has long since been lost as he got DrunkWithPower and began SlowlySlippingIntoEvil in the backstory. His handling is regarded as contentious due to a large portion of fans thinking he would have worked better as a well-intentioned anti-villain. Then there are some fans who attempt to whitewash Adam's canonical nastiness, ignoring or excusing many of his villainous actions. For example, they downplay his abuse of Blake, justifying his emotional manipulation by saying that he wasn't lying to her during his character short and arguing that he only vowed to destroy Blake's life in Volume 3 because she "betrayed the White Fang". [[spoiler:This became more common after Adam revealed his face, which not only proved he had traumatic past but also [[EvilIsSexy increased his attractiveness significantly.]]]]

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': [[{{Gayngster}} Angel Dust]] and [[TheDreaded Alastor]] each have a ''massive'' legion of swooning fangirls (and some swooning fanboys), despite the fact they are both extremely amoral [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]], with the former being a mobster with zero qualms about killing other demons for territory or [[ForTheEvulz a cheap laugh]], and the latter being a vicious warlord who was an equally sadistic serial killer in life[[note]]and who may have possibly been a cannibal[[/note]]. There are several factors to this: one, they are such [[LargeHam Large Hams]] that [[BlackComedy they're extremely entertaining to watch regardless of their untenable morals]]. Two, they're already in Hell, so it's not like they aren't being punished for it, even if they both seem to take eternal damnation in stride. This segues into point three, being that Angel volunteered to be Charlie's test subject for her rehabilitation project and Alastor is sponsoring the project, even though Angel doesn't seem to be trying that hard at redemption and no one knows why Alastor would support such a project to begin with. Point four is that [[WordOfGod supplemental material from Vivziepop]] points toward Angel having a positive relationship with his little sister Molly and having a tragic backstory in being murdered by his older brother for being gay[[note]]This last one was changed to a drug overdose, but the homophobia is still implied[[/note]]. The final point seems to be, in a meta sense, a straight case of EvilIsSexy: voice actors Edward Bosco[[labelnote:*]]Alastor[[/labelnote]] and Michael Kovak[[labelnote:*]]Angel Dust[[/labelnote]] greatly enjoy playing up Angel's sex appeal and Alastor's creepiness[[note]]which often shoots the moon and loops back around to sexy, [[LoopholeAbuse something Bosco has acknowledged and actively invokes as a loophole to Vivzie's desire to not hypersexualize Alastor]][[/note]] during live streams with one of the HH animators, and seem perfectly aware of how many of the fangirls are [[ArousedByTheirVoice attracted to their voices]]. In response to this, much of Alastor's fandom portrayal deliberately frames his NightmareFuel as [[NightmareFetishist erotic]], in spite of the fact that, in addition to his amorality, he's also completely UsefulNotes/{{asexual}}, and therefore nothing he does is intended to be framed that way. This [=YouTube=] comment reacting to this fact sums up the entire situation:

** While James Ironwood is intended to be sympathetic as a tragic demonstration of someone who wanted to save the world from Salem, but was blocked from doing so by his flaws consuming him, a number of fans have instead insisted that he's in the right and that his actions, from closing off Atlas from the world to turning Mantle into a police state and later attempting to abandon Remnant as a whole, are [[NecessarilyEvil harsh but necessary]], and claim that he was simply doing what was logical in his situation. Many fans tend to ignore that his actions only cause more problems and that he has a habit of [[NeverMyFault refusing to accept responsibility]] for said problems when called out on it, even blaming the heroes for being in his way and not his own flaws. These same fans continued these defenses even after James [[KickTheMoralityPet shot and attempted to kill the teenaged Oscar]]. Once he descended into full villainy in Volume 8 with actions such as killing Councilman Sleet and threatening to bomb Mantle, many claimed that his character was derailed rather than try to defend his actions like before. once again ignoring how much he was already on the brink of losing his sanity and all of his actions basically being the same as before, just driven to their worst extremes.

** While James Ironwood is intended to be sympathetic as a tragic demonstration of someone who wanted to save the world from Salem, but was blocked from doing so by his flaws consuming him, a number of fans have instead insisted that he's in the right and that his actions, from closing off Atlas from the world to turning Mantle into a police state and later attempting to abandon Remnant as a whole, are [[NecessarilyEvil harsh but necessary]], and claim that he was simply doing what was logical in his situation. Many fans tend to ignore that his actions only cause more problems and that he has a habit of [[NeverMyFault refusing to accept responsibility]] for said problems when called out on it, even blaming the heroes for being in his way and not his own flaws. These same fans continued these defenses even after James [[KickTheMoralityPet shot and attempted to kill the teenaged Oscar]]. Once he descended into full villainy in Volume 8 with actions such as killing Councilman Sleet and threatening to bomb Mantle, many claimed that his character was derailed rather than try to defend his actions like before.

* ''Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}}'' enjoys giving UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler this treatment.

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': [[{{Gayngster}} Angel Dust]] and [[TheDreaded Alastor]] each have a ''massive'' legion of swooning fangirls (and some swooning fanboys), despite the fact they are both extremely amoral [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]], with the former being a mobster with zero qualms about killing other demons for territory or [[ForTheEvulz a cheap laugh]], and the latter being a vicious warlord who was an equally sadistic serial killer in life[[note]]and who may have possibly been a cannibal[[/note]]. There are several factors to this: one, they are such [[LargeHam Large Hams]] that [[BlackComedy they're extremely entertaining to watch regardless of their untenable morals]]. Two, they're already in Hell, so it's not like they aren't being punished for it, even if they both seem to take eternal damnation in stride. This segues into point three, being that Angel volunteered to be Charlie's test subject for her rehabilitation project and Alastor is sponsoring the project, even though Angel doesn't seem to be trying that hard at redemption and no one knows why Alastor would support such a project to begin with. Point four is that [[WordOfGod supplemental material from Vivziepop]] points toward Angel having a positive relationship with his little sister Molly and having a tragic backstory in being murdered by his older brother for being gay[[note]]This last one was changed to a drug overdose, but the homophobia is still implied[[/note]]. The final point seems to be, in a meta sense, a straight case of EvilIsSexy: voice actors Edward Bosco[[labelnote:*]]Alastor[[/labelnote]] and Michael Kovak[[labelnote:*]]Angel Dust[[/labelnote]] greatly enjoy playing up Angel's sex appeal and Alastor's creepiness[[note]]which often shoots the moon and loops back around to sexy, [[LoopholeAbuse something Bosco has acknowledged and actively invokes as a loophole to Vivzie's desire to not hypersexualize Alastor]][[/note]] during live streams with one of the HH animators, and seem perfectly aware of how many of the fangirls are [[ArousedByTheirVoice attracted to their voices]]. In response to this, much of Alastor's fandom portrayal deliberately frames his NightmareFuel as [[NightmareFetishist erotic]], in spite of the fact that, in addition to his amorality, he's also completely [[UsefulNotes/{{Asexuality}} asexual]], and therefore nothing he does is intended to be framed that way. This [=YouTube=] comment reacting to this fact sums up the entire situation:

** A lot of fans seem to conveniently forget how Stolas treated Blitzo in the first six episodes. Stolas does have feelings for Blitzo, who does have feelings for Stolas but due to his own deep-seated issues pushes Stolas away as he did so many others, telling himself he's just using Stolas to gain access to his magic book which lets him open portals to the human world. However, unlike every past instance where Blitzo has done this, Stolas has given him every reason to think there's nothing between them other than transactional sex. Stolas's behavior towards him in public is extremely inappropriate, outright referring to him as a "plaything" in "Truth Seekers". He also roped Stolas into having sex once a month while Blitzo was being shot at and thus not in a position to decline or even negotiate. For some reason, people tend to think the toxicity in their relationship is coming entirely from Blitzo's end and that Stolas has done everything he could to be a good boyfriend. And then there's the matter of Stolas's relationship to his daughter, Octavia. People tend to say that Stolas loves his daughter and that in and of itself makes him a good father. While he does love her very much he's largely oblivious to how upset Octavia is by her the deterioration of her parents' marriage caused by Stolas sleeping with Blitzo. When Octavia first started showing signs of resentment towards Stolas, Stolas suggested going to a theme park for little kids to take her mind off things. He then decided to hire ''Blitzo'', who anyone with half a brain should know is the absolute ''last'' person that should be invited, as "hired security" which is pretty much just a thinly-veiled excuse to hit on him and have his fantasies of Blitzo rescuing him fulfilled. And he was completely oblivious to the fact that this was doing the ''opposite'' of making Octavia feel better until she ran off and he found her crying by herself in an empty ride. Yeah. Father and Boyfriend of the year material for sure.

* Blitzo from ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' is treated amongst the fandom as being a misunderstood [[TheWoobie Woobie]] simply because he had a rough childhood, is loved by no one, and desires to be a good father to Loona. These massively overlook the fact that Blitzo is a ByronicHero whose abrasiveness and unwillingness to ever open up or connect to anybody are exactly why he's in the situation he's in, despised by his employees, in a tryst with a lover he's stringing along and having a list of enemies a mile long. They also overlook that fact that it's implied that Blitzo adopted Loona as a way of finding someone to reciprocate affection unto him despite doing nothing to deserve it. "Seeing Stars" basically outright confirmed this viewpoint, showcasing how Blitzo is so delusionally protective of Loona that he's willing to slaughter innocent strangers to keep her "safe". The show does portray possibilities of Blitzo being able to mend these relationships and get his life in order in the future, but acting like he is purely a victim of circumstance is ridiculous given the situation.

* Blitzo from WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss is treated amongst the fandom as being a misunderstood [[TheWoobie Woobie]] simply because he had a rough childhood, is loved by no one, and desires to be a good father to Loona. These massively overlook the fact that Blitzo is a ByronicHero whose abrasiveness and unwillingness to ever open up or connect to anybody are exactly why he's in the situation he's in, despised by his employees, in a tryst with a lover he's stringing along and having a list of enemies a mile long. They also overlook that fact that it's implied that Blitzo adopted Loona as a way of finding someone to reciprocate affection unto him despite doing nothing to deserve it. The show does portray possibilities of Blitzo being able to mend these relationships and get his life in order in the future, but acting like he is purely a victim of circumstance is ridiculous given the situation.