Which one do you think is worse?

Personally, I think RTDE is worse, just because it usually involves exaggerating certain character traits, or blowing certain things out of proportion.

This thread exists.

How about Ron the Death Eater in leather pants who turns out to be Draco's long lost twin?

That would scare the shit out of anyone.

I see your Ron the Death Eater, and will raise you one Snape assbaby.


Also Draco in Leather Pants is a total turn on, don't even touch that shit.

Ironically, the biggest Draco in Leather Pants of the HP fandom is Snape... and the biggest Ron The Death Eater is Dumbledore.

Wrap your heads around that one.

The names of the tropes were thought up when Redeemed!Draco and SexGod!Draco were all the rage in fanfic, while Harmonians were turning Ron into Satan. The Snapefen's sheer crazy made those look incredibly tame in comparison.

Draco in Leather Pants is just what happens when somebody finds badass characters or villains hot, and it's often not as extreme as people make out because fanfic writers do have a tendency to leave the badassery in (athough the worst examples are pretty awful).

By which I mean SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!!!

So I'm going to go with Ron the Death Eater, because turning good characters bad is worse than turning bad characters good. In normal circumstances I'd be quite happy to see Ron shown as evil but it's not exactly limited to the Harry Potter fandom.

Having read DAYD, I'd say Ron the Death Eater is worse.

I've never read a good Ron the Death Eater fic. Not even once. They all suck.

...I'd be happy to be proven wrong, of course, but I don't think it's ever going to happen.

Suggesting that a villain can be more than just an irredeemable monster who stomps on kittens for the hell of it really isn't a bad thing, and can be done well provided that the writer is competent enough and knows how characterization works (unless, y'know, said villain actually is an irredeemable monster, but I suppose that's subjective).

However, demonizing a character is far harder to pull off well. I believe it can be done, but it's almost always used for character-bashing. Just look at The Horribly Bloody Death of Kairi.

Yeah, and at least Draco in Leather Pants makes a guy look sexy... or tries... Ron the Death Eater doesn't add extra sexiness to make things tolerable.

Let's clarify things.

"Draco in Leather Pants" describes the whitewashing of villainous or immoral characters the author finds hot. While they often get turned into idealized sex objects in the process, that's not the main point.
Named after Draco because he was the main victim of this in the first books of HP, before the insane shippers started turning to Snape and Voldemort. The "leather pants" are from an infamous fanfic (and later, My Immortal).

"Ron The Death Eater" is the opposite; turning a character which the author dislikes into a monster by ignoring their actual personality and morals, exaggerating their flaws and such.

Except I was specifically talking about fics where Ron does get turned into a Death Eater. Those always suck.


As for the trope itself....well, that can be unintentionally funny at times, but it's stupid from the author's part, of course.

Black Leather makes everything cooler.

Or hotter. Especially if it's tight...