History JerkassWoobie / Fanworks

* ''DarthWiki/NewDawn'': Shuuji Muzoku / Kazeshima. Emotionally reclusive, a bully early on, and does not really say much when him saying something might help. [[spoiler: And he was abused to an utterly horrifying degree by his father, went through CloningBlues due to that bastard The Seer, learned the sister he is trying to save might not even exist, [[HeroicBSOD goes temporarily crazy and utterly shuts down, only concentrating on whatever is the biggest threat this week]].]]

* ''Fanfic/OwlsHellThatEndsWell'': Stella still has an unpleasant, hot-tempered and bigoted personality, but a lot of it is a result of ''severe'' trauma from her abusive childhood [[spoiler:where she was raped by her pedophile mother when she was 10, and believed that her only friend, also a victim of her mother's depravities, abandoned her to her horrific situation to save himself.]] She also lacks her canon counterpart's most malicious tendencies that were established in the second season of the show. She genuinely loves Octavia, and despite the show she made of hiding it around Hell's cutthroat other nobles, she was just as devastated as Stolas when Octavia disappeared and they couldn't find her. As badly as she treats Stolas' adoptive daughter Loona, making it clear that she doesn't see Loona as ''her'' daughter in the slightest, it isn't half as bad as the horrors that Stella's own parents scarred her with. Stella's relationship with Loona evolves into a complicated love-hate relationship based on Stella being able to afford opening up about her past to Loona, which in turn evolves into a one-sided codependence on Loona for Stella.

* Esau from ''{{Fanfic/Stray}}'', who could be described as Adamska's EvilCounterpart. He's a {{Tykebomb}} agent of the Patriots who initially comes across as a SmugSnake and does some rather cruel things in his efforts against the protagonists, but his back story is deeply unhappy. [[spoiler:And in true ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' villain fashion, his death scene is [[AlasPoorVillain played for tragedy.]]]]

** Much like King Aspen, High King Irminsul is a deeply unpleasant person whose arrogance and hypocrisy led to him either influencing his children to become as bad as he is, or abusing them for not fitting his standards of a 'good' divine sovereign. He was once a genuinely good King, but fighting Grogar I and losing much of his family and people in the brutal wars left him a broken shell of his former self. He is so haunted by both real and perceived failures that he started believing only a pure and flawless ruler could inherit his throne and look after mortal Deerkind, which drove him to 'purify' his unborn son of his inner evil in-utero after foreseeing him leading Deerkind into a GoldenAge. Unfortunately, his selfishness defiled/killed his son and served as the starting point of his family becoming extremely dysfunctional and toxic. Many of his children abandoned him in droves after learning the truth (and getting sick of his behavior in general), while many benevolent Deer and non-Deer deities/mortals furiously condemned him for what he had done. And while he knows he's suffering and desperately needs help, he is too proud to admit it, dooming himself to even more disgrace and condemnation.

* Shatterstorm from ''Fanfic/MyLittleCastlevania''. He comes off as such a punk to begin with, that when [[spoiler: he gets MindRape by Death]], you... kinda feel sorry for him.

[[AC:''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'']]

[[AC:''AllOfUsAreDead'']]

* In ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'', the [[VillainProtagonist Horned King]] becomes this. Having suddenly been [[ResurrectedForAJob resurrected]] for a one-time-only RedemptionQuest, the centuries old lich warlord is as ruthless as before, but the interactions with his [[LimaSyndrome prisoner]] and MoralityPet [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Avalina]] make him slowly realize [[BeingEvilSucks how lonely and miserable he really is]].

* ''Fanfic/TheVow'' has the canonical Lord Shen, with both the "jerkass" and "woobie" aspect accentuated for the value of being the main character. In particular, there was no bad blood between him and his parents before his earned exile, but it's enough to convince him that they didn't love him, giving weight to the jerkass half. On the other hand, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he does feel remorse]] when he realizes how uncalled for his treatment of his LoveInterest Lady Lianne has been, prompting him to [[spoiler:stop forcing her to marry him and release her]].
** There's also Lord Chang, Lianne's father. He comes off initially as a pure jerkass for his superior attitude and being unable to show affection for his only child and pressuring her to marry and [[IWantGrandkids give him a grandson]] [[HeirClubForMen as his heir]]. It's not until three decades of separation [[spoiler:(in his deathbed no less)]] that he's able to make some peace with her and confess that he was just motivated by what he thought was best for the family legacy.

* In ''Fanfic/FrozenHearts'': [[spoiler:Hans]] is one. Their actions in the film are terrible, but the bad things that happen to them here aren’t always the result of their own actions, making it harder to say that they deserves this treatment. In addition to this, their actions weigh heavily on their conscience, causing them to seek out and apologize to those who were wronged, knowing that their chances of obtaining forgiveness are not very good, it will be necessary for them to get anything resembling inner peace.

* There's a mildly popular mythos that portrays [[JerkJock Bradley Uppercrust III]] as one. In these fanworks the reason that Bradley is such a bad guy is because he had [[MissingMom grown attached to his mother and then lost her]] and then had to live with his [[AbusiveParents physically and emotionally abusive father]] until he left for college, apart from other issues. So he's given the family problems of both Max and PJ and has them taken UpToEleven. Several people have mentioned that the mythos makes them like Bradley, despite the fact he's not portrayed as any ''nicer'' than in canon.

* ''Literature/AesirCrossWars'': Three:
** Siegfried acts like a cold and abrasive {{Jerkass}} to new people he meets. This even extends to his fans, as one of the first things he says to NiceGuy Azrael is to joke that he's using him as demon bait. However, he is driven by revenge, as Abaddon killed his whole family and his entire village before he had come of age.
** Azazel. He's pretty much the poster boy for {{Jerkass}}ery as he likes to taunt his younger brother Azrael and, in their human lives, showed no sympathy for him when he came home beaten up and robbed. He can be considered the [[TokenEvilTeammate Token Morally Ambiguous Teammate]], as he is the only member of the main three who is perfectly fine with killing people. However, he was killed at the age of 14, protecting his brother, and his reincarnation into an angel was hijacked by Hel, who turned him into a demon as well. It's hard not to both comedically hate and feel sorry for the guy.
** Azrael himself can come off as a bit of a jerk with his constant snarking at the expense of ''everyone'' and his occasional disrespect for [[LoveGoddess Freya]]. However, see IronWoobie for reasons why you should feel sorry for him, as he usually is a nice person.
* In ''Literature/TheSpectrumGame'', we have Inigo. Right off the bat, we have some sympathy for him for being an AmnesiacHero. Then, when Iago gives him his first memory, it briefly puts him into despair that [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman he might be artificially created]]. However, he greatly suffers from GoodIsNotNice and BrutalHonesty problems.
** Also, Iago, though he's more Jerkass and less Woobie than Inigo. He states that he spent a long time searching for Inigo, only for the latter to not remember him, so it's understandable that he'd be upset. However, he is also a world-class asshole who taunts Inigo in his despair.

** Killer Moth. He's a manipulative, toxic asshole, but he's such a failure that it's hard not to pity him. Many of his darker actions being motivated by his abandonment issues from growing up as an orphan, he's subject to numerous injuries, and he gets [[spoiler:turned into a feral, cannibalistic monster]].

In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13887970/1/The-Brother-s-Grimm The Brother's Grimm]]'', the Grumpy Passenger is far worse than he is in canon, being outright hostile towards [[OriginalCharacter Bernard]] and hitting both him and Emily with a cane. And yet, it's hard not to feel sorry for him when his assets are frozen and he's evicted from his own house, forced to sleep under a bridge and slowly starves.

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* ''Princess'' shows Julien with a bit of this. He's still his usual ditzy egotistical self, but he's going through a ''lot''. [[spoiler:He's {{transgender}}, and nobody around him knows enough about the condition to think of it as a legitimate problem.]]

* Sunset Shimmer in ''Fanfic/LongRoadToFriendship''. True to her characterization in ''Equestria Girls'', she's still maintaining parts of her AlphaBitch personality, and any and all attempts to get close to her are met with hostility and flat refusal. Yet, she's been placed under a magical curse that compels her to tell the truth at all times, even when lying would be more advantageous. Sunset also has to live in an abandoned, run-down hellhole of a factory because, as a citizen from a different world, [[RealityEnsues she has no means of getting money and no support network]]. She gradually and slowly defrosts, but even then, she's TheFriendNobodyLikes, and the rest of Canterlot High School doesn't know about her [[DefrostingIceQueen changing attitude]]. Finally, what little possessions Sunset has get ruined or destroyed, and she keeps struggling with her own feelings in private, knowing that [[IJustWantToHaveFriends she wants to have friends]] but [[{{Tsundere}} can't admit it]], and that she sees [[IAmAMonster why the school hates her]]. It gets to the point where Sunset's feelings of self-doubt and self-hatred won't let her get a good night's sleep, often having a CatapultNightmare multiple times a night.

%%Good Evening Editors, If you wish to add more woobies, please consult the cleanup thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15391212720A38366900&page=1

* In ''FanFic/IWillRememberYou'', Years of horrific abuse turn Ulrich Stern into a scarred, rock-hard bastard named Reese Anders who pushes everyone away and refuses to accept people's company or help. That being said, he is just a boy who has seen too much and been exposed to all the horror in the world and doesn't want to break any more hearts. Even by the end, [[spoiler: he hasn't changed much, and it's even more ambiguous if he ever will open up to Odd, Jeremie and Yumi.]]

* Shatterstorm from ''[[Fanfic/MyLittleCastlevania My Little Castlevania]]''. He comes off as such a punk to begin with, that when [[spoiler: he gets MindRape by Death]], you... kinda feel sorry for him.

* Grover from ''Fanfic/ThePrayerWarriors'', (a series that includes Literature/{{Percy Jackson|and the Olympians}}, Franchise/HarryPotter, TheCarterKaneChronicles, and MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic). He keeps getting cloned and coming back from the dead to be killed in many brutal ways. It's almost enough to make you forget that, from his fourth life onward, he's a Prayer Warrior complicit in their atrocities against the non-believers, even if [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain he ends up accomplishing little]].

* [[Manga/DeathNote Light]] in ''FanFic/ACureForLove''. [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther He really does care deeply for]] [[MoralityPet L]] [[SlashFic and loves him very much]] [[MasochismTango but things just aren't working out too well for them]] because Light is a [[SanityHasAdvantages crazy]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist mass-murderer]] who wants to be [[AGodAmI God]]. Misa as well- she too is very much in love but her affections for Light are not returned [[spoiler: and he ultimately betrays and killed her before she can kill L]]. Also [[spoiler: [[OriginalCharacter V]] after learning her [[FreudianExcuse tragic backstory]]]]. And then there's Mello who is a {{Jerkass}} but then [[spoiler: [[TraumaCongaLine his mother and his boyfriend are killed on the same day]]]].

* Rika Nonaka from the ''FanFic/TamersForeverSeries''. ''Oh dear god'', '''''RIKA'''''!! She is self-centered and mean, with an outrageous competitive streak. But it is '''''physically impossible''''' to read ''Silent Sorrow'' and not have your heart ache for her after seeing what the author puts her through.

* [[http://koili.deviantart.com/art/FNaF-OC-Tangle-Reference-508055229 Tangle]] from Koili's Brother Of Circuits fanfiction series. He's extremely temperamental and has a serious Napoleon complex but it's hard not to [[http://ask-the-fazbear-bros.deviantart.com/art/Question-143-520425642?q=gallery%3AAsk-The-Fazbear-Bros%2F52151341&qo=31 feel]] [[http://ask-the-fazbear-bros.deviantart.com/art/Question-112-512828528 sorry]] [[http://ask-the-fazbear-bros.deviantart.com/art/Question-85-509397810 for]] [[http://ask-the-fazbear-bros.deviantart.com/art/Question-75-507579300 him.]]

* Springtrap from Tony Crynight's Five Nights At Freddy's animation series. Sure, he's a creepy, psychopathic scumbag who tries to force Mangle to marry him and he crosses the MoralEventHorizon with what he does to Foxy but he's also witnessed his best friend die and was banished from the pizzeria. It's easy to see why he acts the way he does.

* In ''FanFic/PurpleDays'', Joffrey ''starts'' as the irredeemable idiot he was at the end of his canonical death... and then he dies, and dies, and keeps on dying. At first it's the kind of laughs everyone can get behind, considering his already extensive rapsheet, but very soon he begins cracking badly as every pillar of stability he's ever known breaks down and every attempt to fix his life turns everything into an even more horrible mess, and begins routinely finding new and horrible ways to kill himself. BreakTheHaughty is in full effect, grinding Prince Shithead down until he can only hobble to Winterfell's godswood and desperately pray for either salvation or an end. [[CharacterDevelopment And then a chance comment by Ned Stark]] gives him [[TheEpic the tiniest of lights]]...

* Tristan Winter (a.k.a. Harry Potter) in the ''FanFic/TheJadedEyesSeries'' becomes a genocidal monster worse than Voldemort but he has a [[FreudianExcuse sympathetic backstory and it's quite obvious what drove him to this.]]

* In ''FanFic/FamilyTies'' and related works England is this- obsessive and, in the past, highly controlling and self centered; however this is shown to be a direct result of his rather screwed childhood [[spoiler: including witnessing the murder of his mother and being sexually abused by Rome]].

* Angel, from the AU Roleplayverse [[http://otherborn.proboards.com Otherborn]], is a half-demon who physically, mentally, and emotionally abuses his charge, Namine, who he claims to be in love with. In fact, he's come close to pushing her over the DespairEventHorizon more than once. Things went downhill when he was revealed to have killed his best friend in a jealous rage over the girl they both liked. And then... well, then the author started writing oneshots and revealed that Angel was, actually, so completely broken by this event that he literally went crazy. Namine was the only person who could put him back together again, but the damage done to his psyche was so immense that his demonic instincts began to take over, turning him into the Jerkass he is today. To the point where when Namine's abusive parents kidnap her back to their mansion, Angel goes into a catatonic state where the only thing he is capable of forming into a coherent thought is that he ''wants to die.'' The poor guy just [[TheWoobie seriously needs a hug]].

* Motoko in ''FanFic/AnAlternateKeitaroUrashima''. She's a short-tempered, irresponsible, and violent misandrist who thinks that her skills with a sword allow her to attack anyone she doesn't like. When she goes too far, her life is ruined. She gets arrested, Naru hates her, her fangirls abandon her, and she gets kicked out of the kendo club. Then her sister visits to tell her she's no longer the heir and that she has to come home and attend a co-ed school.

* Esau from ''{{Fanfic/Stray}}'', who could be described as Adamska's EvilCounterpart. He's a {{Tykebomb}} agent of the Patriots who initially comes across as a SmugSnake and does some rather cruel things in his efforts against the protagonists, but his back story is deeply unhappy. [[spoiler:And in true ''Franchise/MetalGear'' villain fashion, his death scene is [[AlasPoorVillain played for tragedy.]]]]

* ''WebComic/ScarletLady'' makes [[BitchInSheepsClothing Lila]] much more sympathetic. While she [[InSpiteOfANail still lies about]] [[CelebrityLie being besties with Paris' superheroine]] and tries to worm her way into Adrien's good graces, karma hits her hard and fast. Adrien isn't fooled by any of her efforts, confronting her about her claims... and then Scarlet Lady shows up and [[DisproportionateRetribution throws her into a fountain]], [[HumiliationConga humilating her]] in front of several of her classmates. Her subsequent discovery of just how much of a {{Nominal Hero}}ine Scarlet is -- and the cold she catches from being soaking wet in the middle of December -- helps further cement her as easier to empathize with while retaining her usual qualities.

* Sunset Shimmer in ''FanFic/LongRoadToFriendship''. True to her characterization in ''Equestria Girls'', she's still maintaining parts of her AlphaBitch personality, and any and all attempts to get close to her are met with hostility and flat refusal. Yet, she's been placed under a magical curse that compels her to tell the truth at all times, even when lying would be more advantageous. Sunset also has to live in an abandoned, run-down hellhole of a factory because, as a citizen from a different world, [[RealityEnsues she has no means of getting money and no support network]]. She gradually and slowly defrosts, but even then, she's TheFriendNobodyLikes, and the rest of Canterlot High School doesn't know about her [[DefrostingIceQueen changing attitude]]. Finally, what little possessions Sunset has get ruined or destroyed, and she keeps struggling with her own feelings in private, knowing that [[IJustWantToHaveFriends she wants to have friends]] but [[{{Tsundere}} can't admit it]], and that she sees [[IAmAMonster why the school hates her]]. It gets to the point where Sunset's feelings of self-doubt and self-hatred won't let her get a good night's sleep, often having a CatapultNightmare multiple times a night.

* Connor, the protagonist of ''FanFic/EquestriasFirstHuman'', is a borderline case. He is a lonely, self-pitying bullied teenager with only one friend. After a very nasty prank is pulled on him, he is transported to Equestria. Despite his initial friendliness with the Mane 6, his social situation deteriorates since Ponyville basically treat him like the plague, their indifference finally blowing up [[spoiler: when he is beat up by a bunch of traitorous royal guards after saving Princess Celestia's life]]. The jerkass comes when he blows up at the only people who cared for him, even at Fluttershy, the one pony who didn't avoid him, and he was willing to [[spoiler: let them die at the hands of terrorists]], not to mention his revenge fantasies. Overcoming this attitude is what allows him to become the cool, friendly guy he wants to be.

* The ''FanFic/BrideOfDiscord'' version of Discord. True, he's a selfish {{Jerkass}} who enjoys causing chaos at other ponies' expense for his own amusement, but he was also orphaned and left as the LastOfHisKind at a young age, was [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer ridiculed by ponies for his bizarre appearance]] and driven into becoming a recluse living out in a cave, where he spent the rest of his childhood and who knows how much of his adult life without social interaction, then Princess Celestia becomes the first pony to ''ever'' show him any kind of compassion and offers him a place in pony society in exchange for him using his [[RealityWarper incredible powers]] to help other, only to snap at him when his idea of "helping others" doesn't line up with her own. [[StartOfDarkness He did not take that well]]...

* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': Asuka alternates between being annoying and being very, very pitiable. At the beginning of the history she is constantly boasting over her unparalleled skills and picking on her fellow pilots. And still during that time she is suffering because she feels that her world is falling apart. Then she and Shinji get together and she calms down, shows her softer, nicer side... and shortly after [[spoiler:a mission fails, her best friend dies and she spends several months in coma]]. When she wakes up she behaves incredibly angry, spiteful and abusive with everyone, especially Shinji... and the whole time she blames herself for everything, hates herself and wants to die [[spoiler:to find her friend again and stop to hurt people]]. Finally she runs away because she thinks that she is an useless, wrecked failure and everyone will be better off without her. [[spoiler:Fortunately Shinji finds her.]]

* In the ''{{Literature/Twilight}}'' fanfiction ''FanFic/TheNotSoShortSecondLifeOfBreeTanner'' and its companion piece ''Ashes through an Hourglass'', the offered back story of the Volturi's evil twin enforcers, Alec and Jane, helps rationalize their monstrous personalities in ways that elicit understanding and pity from the readers without undermining their sinister deeds. This more applies to Alec, though, since he has been featured far more than Jane and has demonstrated occasionally redeeming qualities through an amoral lens.
* ''{{Fanfic/Luminosity}}''.

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8400019/1/Darker-than-Death-Dust-in-the-Corner Dust in The Corner]] has Meiko. She's arranged for [[TheWoobie Miku]] to be [[RapeAsDrama gang-raped]] because [[{{Yandere}} Kaito has a crush on her]]. Later on, we get a chapter from her point of view. [[TraumaCongaLine It's]] [[BrotherSisterIncest not]] [[AbusiveParents pretty.]]

[[AC:''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'']]
* In ''FanFic/FamilyTies'' and related works England is this- obsessive and, in the past, highly controlling and self centered; however this is shown to be a direct result of his rather screwed childhood [[spoiler: including witnessing the murder of his mother and being sexually abused by Rome]].
* The doujinshi "From the New World with Love" has this spin on America. Starting out as normal and shocked by the loss of England [[spoiler:or so he thinks]], he decides "there is nothing left in Europe" for him, so after George Washington makes him promise to stay on his continent, he easily focuses on going westward. Then, inevitably, he reaches the Pacific and during World War One, he gets a letter from "Britannia", telling him there's no need to help out... which America interprets as a plea of help, understandably, given that it's written (or at least signed) in ''blood''. Then he crosses the Atlantic... and things go downhill ''very quickly''. So much, that by the time World War Two comes around, he's ready to [[spoiler:let "Britannia"/England DIE, that is, if America gets the Hegemony from him. He takes the Hegemony all right... right from England's body.]] While saying that now that America took over England's duties as a superpower, England will have less work to do, and asks England to "come home". [[spoiler:While he, or at least the monster inside his body, is tearing England apart, the real America seems to be in a dark limbo, desperately trying to call for England and find the way back.]] With much help from America, England wakes up from his coma in about the Eighties... but America is still LonelyAtTheTop and he knows that what happened to England, can/will happen to someone else in the future, [[spoiler:because his body can't contain the monster forever.]]

* In ''Fanfic/FrozenHearts'': [[spoiler:Hans]] is one. [[spoiler:His]] actions in the film are terrible, but the bad things that happen to [[spoiler:him]] here aren’t always the result of [[spoiler:his]] own actions, making it harder to say that [[spoiler:Hans]] deserves this treatment. In addition to this, [[spoiler:his]] actions weigh heavily on [[spoiler:his]] conscience, causing [[spoiler:him]] to seek out and apologize to those who were wronged, knowing that [[spoiler:his]] chances of obtaining forgiveness are not very good, it will be necessary for [[spoiler:him]] to get anything resembling inner peace.