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Draco In Leather Pants
Now they're just doing it on purpose

"I tell you, Satan's gonna have no trouble taking over here 'cause all the women are gonna say: "What a cute butt." "He's Satan!" "You don't know him like I do." "He's the Prince of Darkness!" "I can change him.""
Bill Hicks, Arizona Bay routine

When a fandom takes a controversial or downright villainous character and downplays his flaws, often turning him into an object of desire in the process.

This can run into conflict with the opinions of writers not willing to retool the character to fit this appetite. Executive Meddling in this arena often results in quick Woobiefication (deep devotion by contrary fans) or even Badass Decay. In fanfiction, they are frequently the object of the local Mary Sue, who uses the power of love to redeem the character. In extreme cases, the affection these characters receive from fans can lead them to forget that they're actually still supposed to be villains, meaning that even the mildest and most obvious act of villainy that these characters commit can be blown out of proportion by their fans and viewed as the production team attempting to force them to commit 'out-of-character' acts of atrocity.

Common reasons for this include the character being wicked in a classy or cool way, or a deliberate contrast to a hero they find too squeaky-clean (or stupid). A physically attractive character is much more likely to be subject to this trope than a physically ugly one; Beauty Equals Goodness, after all, and shallow as it may be it seems that for some fans this is the case even when the character's beauty only does extend to their appearance. It is possibly a real-life example of All Girls Want Bad Boys (most victims of this trope are male; females who perform similar actions tend to be hated for exactly the same actions). Characters of this type are also often prime repositories for Fetish Fuel, so softening their darker aspects may in some cases be a fan's self-justification for her own Perverse Sexual Lust.

It also helps that these characters are make-believe, and their faults are therefore informed qualities attributed to them by the author; it is much easier for people to forgive and overlook the negative qualities of a fictional character or to stress the Freudian Excuses that provide them with a vaguely sympathetic back-story than it is to do the same for people in real-life. Someone who waxes lyrical over a Draco In Leather Pants would in all likelihood detest someone with the exact same qualities whom they may encounter in Real Life, sympathetic back-story or not - it is much easier to derive affection and amusement for such characters if you don't have to deal with them in person on a frequent basis, or if their actions have no real world consequences.

In fairness, more than a few authors have written morally amibiguous characters, then act surprised when sections of a fandom embrace them as heroic. This is dirty pool. The personal nature of morality means that actions one person finds to be equatable to dog-kicking will seem perfectly justified, even pragmatic to another, especially if it's of the Designated Evil variety. This is especially common with the Magnificent Bastard and the Designated Villain. This can be especially true if the setting is the Crapsack World or World Half Empty: in a state of moral ambiguity, if the heroes are not good, and the bystanders are not innocent, audiences will naturally root for the coolest character. Furthermore, authors should never expect the character they wrote as deliberately unnattractive, physically or emotionally, to not be anyone else's Fetish Fuel. You just never know what people are going to like.

Named for a term in Harry Potter fandom for the most sympathetic Fan Fic portrayals of Draco Malfoy, who in Canon is a petty Spoiled Brat and admittedly pitiable annoyance. A fanfic series authored/assembled by Cassandra Claire titled The Draco Trilogy featured Draco as a clever, snarky Anti Hero and had him wear leather pants. While the story was somewhat justified by being from his skewed point of view, the characterization soon became standard Fanon even among people who weren't explicitly Draco fans.

Interestingly, this happened before Draco's characterization in the books became somewhat pitiable, if not sympathetic. Nevertheless, JK Rowling frequently admitted she was bothered that characters like Draco (and Snape) were popular for all the wrong reasons.

For other cases where the audience embraces a villain, see Unintentionally Sympathetic. For what often happens to one or more of the original protagonists, see Ron The Death Eater.

Character Tropes in danger of becoming Dracos in Leather Pants:

On the verge of being a Subjective Trope, especially when the character in question is not purely villainous. Editors should take caution to avoid Complaining About Characters You Think Are Overrated.

When dealing with a controversial character, please include concrete examples of Fan Wank. Examples include: Alternate Character Interpretation subsets, rationalization or denial of Kick The Dog moments, and interpreting Fanon as canon. The best examples involve minor villains with little in the way of obvious sex appeal (as the trope namer).


Examples:

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