History Main / ButYourWingsAreBeautiful

* In a HarryPotter fic called ''Flare'', an unusual interaction with a dark curse caused Harry to grow a pair of oversized, strangely-colored phoenix wings. Draco, who apparently had a bit of a wing fetish, kept trying to convince Harry that he was beautiful.

->'''Ghost Rider:''' Monster...\\
'''Roxanne Simpson:''' I'm not afraid.\\
-- ''Film/GhostRider''

* In ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' Magneto wins over Mystique and several of the other mutants by accepting and reveling in their mutations rather than preferring them to be mainline. InternalCategorization at its finest as he even prefers Beast with a more extreme mutation while Beast is self loathing.

** What's the difference between Beast's beast form and his human form? The one gets to show his face in society and in public, the other cannot. It's much better being an ordinary human, than an attractive beast.
** This troper always thought the prince form was cute. YMMV.

** Probably doesn't count, seeing as its his ''human'' side that InuYasha is ashamed of. OTOH, its because he has a human side at all that his ears look like that instead of coming to a point, but still, InuYasha never seems to really mind his appearance.

* In ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' Magneto wins over Mystique and several of the other mutants by accepting and revelling in their mutations rather than preferring them to be mainline. InternalCategorization at its finest as he even prefers Beast with a more extreme mutation while Beast is self loathing.

*** They were also his two best friends. And Sephiroth hadn't gone off yet, since he was made by a different process and wasn't ''dying''. (Angeal and Genesis might have been a little more positive about the mutation if it hadn't come with a bitch of an autoimmune disorder.)

** Angeal ultimately goes into one of the ugliest OneWingedAngel forms in the series in the effort to get Zach to [[ICannotSelfTerminate off him]]. He does so, but he stays pretty pro-wings for the rest of the game, including asking to borrow Angeal's in a hallucination before breaking out of Hojo's mako tank, and when being absorbed by the Lifestream at the end, when it appears Angeal's ghost came to pick him up.

** WRONG!!! What's the difference between Beast's beast form and his human form? The one gets to show his face in society and in public, the other cannot. It's much better being an ordinary human, than an attractive beast.

->'''Hitomi:''' And about wings...I really like them, Van. They're pretty.
->'''Van:''' You and [[ClingyJealousGirl Merle]] are probably the only people who'd say that.
--> -- ''VisionOfEscaflowne''

->'''Ghost Rider''': Monster...
->'''Roxanne Simpson''': I'm not afraid.
-->-- ''Film/GhostRider''

A character has some fantastical characteristic, such as [[WingedHumanoid wings]], or horns, or a tail, of which [[CursedWithAwesome they are deeply ashamed]]. They may have been [[LegoGenetics born with them]], they may have [[ShapeShifting transformed]] for [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting one]] [[ShapeshifterModeLock reason]] or [[EmergencyTransformation another.]] Later, some other character (commonly, her love interest) catches a glimpse of these and assures the character that their wings, or horns, or tail, or whatever, are not in fact ugly but very attractive.

!!Examples:

[[folder: Anime ]]

** There's also a darker example in the case of Shizuo and Saika: Not only is Saika's the only declaration of love Shizuo's ''ever had in his life'', but it's for the very reason he's been ostracized and come to hate himself for: [[InLoveWithYourCarnage his uncontrollable strength and violent temper.]] [[spoiler:Given that Saika is an [[EmpathicWeapon Empathic]] [[EvilWeapon Evil]] {{Yandere}} [[EvilWeapon Weapon]], Shizuo wisely rejects the offer in favor of the opportunity to finally use his power for good -- namely, kicking Saika's ass.]]
* In ''DetectiveConan'', it's revealed that one of [[TheWatson Dr. Agasa's]] childhood friend's was a half-Japanese girl named Fusae Campbell Kinoshita. She was very self-conscious of her hair color; her fondest memory of her childhood is Dr. Agasa claiming that he liked her hair.

-->'''Asuna:''' "''What'' is ''wrong'' with you, girl?! Don't you know how ''cool'' having wings is...??"
** To say nothing of the reaction of Setsuna's [[strike:[[BodyguardCrush crush]]]] [[strike:[[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship childhood friend]]]] [[spoiler:[[SchoolgirlLesbians partner]]]] upon being rescued shortly after.
--->'''Konoka:''' "They're beautiful. You look like an angel."

* {{Gender Flip}}ped in ''VisionOfEscaflowne'', when [[{{Bishounen}} Van]] first shows his wings to Hitomi. Apparently, he was ashamed of them all along (because they marked him as a descendant of the Atlanteans, who are universally disdained in the setting) but Hitomi (who comes from another world altogether) just finds them beautiful.

** Probably doesn't count, seeing as its his ''human'' side that InuYasha is ashamed of. OTOH, its because he has a human side at all that his ears look like that instead of coming to a point, but still, InuYasha never seems to really mind his appearance.
* Ichigo with her {{catgirl}} transformation in ''TokyoMewMew''. She constantly worries that her eventual love interest will hate her when he finds out, but when he does [[spoiler:(or reveals that he's known it for a while),]] he's perfectly okay with it.

* ''EurekaSeven'' during the last episodes, [[spoiler:when Eureka's Coralian attributes begin to manifest themselves, she grows a pair of green, butterfly-like wings. At first, she is worried Renton will reject her new form, but Renton admires her new wings and thinks she has become even more beautiful. Of course, her fear here is pretty justifiable, seeing as her entire left side during a previous transformation broke out in [[BodyHorror luminous green boils.]] Even in the form where she grows wings, her left arm has become translucent and green, with some weird purple... thing roughly tracing where the bones should be. And some of the skin on her neck/face (and one assumes, the rest of the left side of her body) is similarly colored, though it doesn't quite look infected anymore.]]
* Zelgadis Graywords of ''Slayers'' is a chimera, being a third demon and a third golem, giving him bluish skin with studded stones across his body, as well as wiry, stiff hair. Despite [[CursedWithAwesome the immense powers and stamina he gained]] as a result of his transformation, he hates his appearance and [[IJustWantToBeNormal spends most of his time between seasons searching for a cure.]] Most of the cast, Lina and Gourry included, don't find him unappealing at all (and he is rather handsome), and Amelia, who he is [[ShipTease somewhat attracted to,]] finds his appearance "cool."

* Referred to in ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum''. [[spoiler: Yuri Tokikago was once [[GoodScarsEvilScars heavily scarred]] thanks to [[AbusiveParents the physical abuse]] that she got from her MadArtist father, and often was seen covered in bandages. Out of all the people that know about her scars, apparently only Momoka Oginome wasn't either shocked or repulsed, and still found Yuri to be beautiful no matter what.]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* To a certain extent this applies to Mina's scars in ''{{The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen}}'', the legacy of being attacked by Dracula. She's deeply ashamed by them and covers them with a scarf. She's convinced Allan is repulsed and only relaxes when he says they're part of what makes her special.

-->(Angel walks in the door)
-->'''Shadowcat''':(eyes bulge) ''Dibs.''
-->'''Storm''': ''Stop it, Kitty.'' (but she can't take her eyes off him, either)

[[folder: Fanfic ]]

* A popular [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} Rocketshipping]] fic series called "Feathers and Foxtails" had James gain a pair of wings via Mewtwo's power as punishment for trying to capture him.

* Subverted in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', in that after growing wings, John goes through WhatHaveIBecome angst for about half a day, until he flies; then he loves his transformation, and he becomes furious with Paul for suggesting that he have the wings removed. (Whether Paul is genuinely worried that they'll ruin John's life on Earth, or just jealous, is a question for readers to ponder.)Later, when he calms down, he acknowledges that Paul is right (while still loving his condition), and worries a lot about what will happen when he goes home like that.
-->The circus wouldn't just start up again; the clowns would eat him whole.

* In a {{Harry Potter}} fic called ''Flare'', an unusual interaction with a dark curse caused Harry to grow a pair of oversized, strangely-colored phoenix wings. Draco, who apparently had a bit of a wing fetish, kept trying to convince Harry that he was beautiful.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''{{Film/X-Men First Class}}'' Magneto wins over Mystique and several of the other mutants by accepting and revelling in their mutations rather than preferring them to be mainline. InternalCategorization at its finest as he even prefers Beast with a more extreme mutation while Beast is self loathing.
** This is also how Xavier ends up adopting Mystique as a sister. She's the first mutant he meets and is amazed that there are other mutants in the world. This is also seemingly what Beast and Mystique bond over when they form a relationship (rather than mock his large feet, she is impressed by his reflexes and stands up for him), but ultimately subverted on Beast's part when he says that he finds Mystique's human form attractive but not her true form.

[[folder: Literature ]]
* The relationship between Hiroto and Rega in T.S.Hana's ''Dawn of Craven: The Alchemist'' mirrors this, in which Hiroto's mountain lion true form is considered a [[TheClan family problem]] as he was known to be attracted to mortals, not animals, therefore making his love life difficult. However despite it being [[spoiler: the reason Hiroto killed his first girlfriend, as she hated it]], Rega finds little to nothing wrong with it.

* Geryon in ''Autobiography of Red'' is ashamed of his wings and often hides them under a trenchcoat. Much later, [[spoiler:Ancash marvels at them enough to even start the final sideplot to throw Geryon into a volcano and see if he lives.]] Literally or metaphorically.

** [[spoiler: Said claw also has a part in the prophecy about the protagonist, so when it's finally revealed and someone makes the connection it becomes less of a deformity and more of a sign of future peace between humans and dragons.]]
* In RobinHobb's Liveship Traders trilogy, there's a mutual version of this: the people from the Rain Wilds are deformed by the "strangeness" that runs down the river. Reyn Khuprus hides his face from Malta Vestrit, who is horrified the first time she sees him unveiled, because [[spoiler:she's ashamed of the "scar" on her forehead from a previous head injury]] which turns out to be [[spoiler:a scaly red crest, a sign that they're both becoming Elderlings as a result of their association with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Tintaglia]]]].

** ''Gabriel's Ghost'' uses this especially: [[spoiler: In the first edition, Gabriel Sullivan is a Ragkiril, or telepath, and when using his abilities he literally grows wings. In this universe, halos are angelic and wings are always demonic; the fact that angels used to be portrayed with wings is brought up as a counterpoint to his supposed inherent evilness. In the new, revamped edition, Ragkiril merely glow with "unholy" light when using their abilities, but the angelic/demonic comparisons are kept. In both versions, Chaz's acceptance of who and what he is helps him to heal and see himself as someone worthy of love.]]
* ''HavelokTheDane'' has the titular character with a light emanating from his mouth, as well as a scar shaped like a cross. In some versions he is ashamed of this, in other versions people spotting the signs wonder what's going on, to hear [[spoiler: that Havelok is [[TheChosenOne destined]] to become king of England and Denmark]].

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In ''TrueBlood'', Sam's brother tells [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Jessica]] this about her fangs, and no, they are not {{cute little|Fangs}}. It's unclear whether he was just flirting or not, either would be entirely in-character. [[spoiler:Especially since he was raised as a fighting dog.]] A woman who can take care of herself in a fight is a good thing to him.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits'' episode "Music of the Spheres" has aliens subjecting the whole of humanity to an EmergencyTransformation into bald golden-skinned creatures, so that they can survive an impending shift in the sun's radiation. The female lead's boyfriend still thinks she is beautiful.

[[folder: Music ]]

* Asian Kung Fu Generation's "After Dark" (from the anime {{Bleach}})

[[folder: Theatre ]]
* In the musical production ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', the green-skinned 'wicked' witch Elphaba tells her lover Fiyero that she wishes she could be beautiful for him. He assures her that she is beautiful; she tells him not to lie, but he tells her that he's "not lying," but "looking at things another way." She [[MeaningfulEcho repeats his words to him]] when [[spoiler:he turns into the Scarecrow.]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

---> ''"Wings symbolize freedom for those who have none. They don't symbolize monsters."''

-->'''Nero:''' Kyrie... If I'm a demon, and not a human anymore... is this what you want?
-->'''Kyrie:''' Nero, you're you. And it's you I want to be with... I don't know anyone who is as human as you are.

* Micah, the protagonist of RuneFactory3, has this reaction to [[spoiler: Raven, after she reveals her phoenix form.]] Of course it would take much more than that to freak him out, since he's a HalfHumanHybrid.

[[folder: Visual Novels ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* In ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' Bob is at first appalled when he learns the beautiful [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Princess Voluptua]] is [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith actually]] a giant insect, but is mollified to find she is a gigantic butterfly, and therefore still beautiful in a completely different way.
** [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Hibachi:]] [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20100313.html "You fly on wings like unto the stained glass of a cathedral."]]
* Brutally deconstructed in ''{{Fans}}''. While nobody in particular is freaked out about Zaha, she feels very uncomfortable being a {{Catgirl}}. She considers this kind of attitude extremely selfish because the people who show interest in her only see the cat ears and tail and not her, as a person, and feels offended anytime someone says anything good about them. [[spoiler: She eventually becomes full human after switching bodies with someone who likes this kind of attention. The only person who would do that is a DumbBlonde AttentionWhore, a [[FurryFandom furry]] and a [[FanGirl fan]] of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'']]. Also doubles as an AuthorTract.
* This trope is used in [[http://www.crfh.net/d/20050114.html this]] strip from ''CollegeRoomiesFromHell.'' Marsha seems to think that the wings she recently grew make her look monstrous, but Mike is even more turned on by her than usual. [[FridgeLogic Of course, Marsha happens to forget that Mike's left arm is a tentacle.]]

--> '''Grace''': I didn't scare you, did I?
--> '''Tedd''': (visibly spaced out) ''so''... hot...

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

--->'''Police Officer:''' Hey, keep your big nose out of this, ''one-eye''.\\

* While Nightcrawler is initially ashamed of his appearance in ''{{X-Men Evolution}}'', he soon seems to become more relaxed about it around other mutants (understandably, since the fans already know blue + fuzzy = adorable). He's still afraid of letting normal people see his true face, constantly wearing a device that projects a hologram around him to make him look like a normal person in public, but this trope is invoked when [[spoiler:the girl who likes him, Amanda Sefton, convinces him to turn off his image inducer, then happily reassures him - "blue is my favorite color". To her, "your fur is ''adorable''!"]].

* ''{{Shrek}}'' has Princess Fiona, who'd been human by day/ogress by night, dismayed to find that upon the spell upon her being broken she's now [[spoiler: permanently in ogre form.]] And Shrek is more enamored with her than ever.
* Nonromantic example in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', in a fifth season episode showing how the team met. Cyborg's used to people being cruel towards him because of his robotic body, but when Beast Boy first sees him, he exclaims "Cool!" {{Justified|Trope}} in that Beast Boy grew up in the presence of another robot.
** Lets not forget the episode where Starfire turns into a chrysalis, her species own version of puberty apparently, and Robin chases after her, even after seeing all her weird changes. Later when he meets up with her again, he tells her he would have come for her even if she hadn't changed back to looking perfectly normal. Daww..

* The Mutates eventually come to this realization in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* In many larger cities there are specialty clubs and bars for people with unusual traits and their admirers. Goddess Bars for [[BigBeautifulWoman big beautiful women]], and Bear Dens for [[TheBear very hairy men]] are just a couple of the many types available. These clubs are founded on the fact that someone out there finds that unique trait very beautiful.

* The farmer who owned the infamous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken Mike the Headless Chicken]] reported female chickens continued to be attracted to him, which is partially understandable, given that he was now 4 times heavier than most of the chickens there, as well as the oldest. The art for his merchandize as well [[http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/merchandise_2010_shirt.htm also depicts him as a headless stud]]. Mike, however, being blind, had no idea how desirable he was.

----

* A large proportion of {{Katawa Shoujo}}'s fan base frequently make statements to this effect.

* A popular [[{{Pokemon}} Rocketshipping]] fic series called "Feathers and Foxtails" had James gain a pair of wings via Mewtwo's power as punishment for trying to capture him.

* A large proportion of {{Katawa Shoujo}}'s fan base.

* For Ciel from ''{{Tsukihime}}'', her [[{{Immortality}} immortal body]] (being a mix of types II and III) causes her to feel deeply ashamed of it (in general, not of just a single specific feature) until Shiki tells her how beautiful she is in her route. Given, it's a bit of stretch, so it may not count.

* The ''OuterLimits'' episode "Music of the Spheres" has aliens subjecting the whole of humanity to an EmergencyTransformation into bald golden-skinned creatures, so that they can survive an impending shift in the sun's radiation. The female lead's boyfriend still thinks she is beautiful.

* In ''ElfenLied'', this is generally the first step towards befriending a Diclonius, as they usually suffer great persecution because of the bony horns protruding from their skulls, which visually resemble cat ears.

** I thought the Diclonii were persecuted because a lifetime of horrible, mind-raping abuse has left them AxCrazy, able to rip people apart with [[strike:their mind]] vectors.
*** The horns are an easy visual ID. And there are clear instances of Diclonii being [[BullyingADragon bullied]] by people who have no idea what a Diclonius ''is''.

* Played with in the ''SymphonyOfAges''. After passing through the flame at the center of the world, Rhapsody's body was transformed. Combined with her latent insecurities from her time as a prostitute, the stares she receives from everyone she meets afterward convinces her she's hideous. Ironically, the stares and odd treatment are because she's now so ethereally ''beautiful'' that half the people she meets think she's some sort of spirit or angel. Only Ashe can convince her of the truth.

*** The horns are an easy visual ID.

* [[Fanfic/PastSins Nyx]] is an alicorn, which in the universe of MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic means she's a PhysicalGod. In an interesting twist, she hides her wings because (a) she thinks they'll make other ponies jealous and (b) she happens to be [[BigBad Nightmare Moon reincarnate]].

See also BeautifulAllAlong FreakyIsCool and NightmareFetishist. Can be considered a DistaffCounterpart to BeastAndBeauty. Compare BeautyToBeast and the UncannyValley.

* The video for the Soul Asylum song "Just Like Anyone" is built around this trope.
* Same as Asian Kung Fu Generation's "After Dark" (from the anime {{Bleach}})

* Referred to in Anime/MawaruPenguindrum. [[spoiler: Yuri Tokikago was once [[GoodScarsEvilScars heavily scarred]] thanks to [[AbusiveParents the physical abuse]] that she got from her MadArtist father, and often was seen covered in bandages. Out of all the people that know about her scars, apparently only Momoka Oginome wasn't either shocked or repulsed, and still found Yuri to be beautiful no matter what.]]

* Subverted in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', in that after growing wings, John goes through WhatHaveIBecome angst for about half a day, until he flies; then he loves his transformation, and he becomes furious with Paul for suggesting that he have the wings removed. Later, when he calms down, he acknowledges that Paul is right (while still loving his condition), and worries a lot about what will happen when he goes home like that.