History Main / CorruptTheCutie

* In many other {{shojo}} and {{josei}} manga/anime (''especially'' in {{josei}}), the [[TheIngenue virginal]] [[NaiveEverygirl and]] [[TheIngenue sweet]] female lead will be paired up with a handsome yet much more cynical male lead (who can go from merely JerkWithAHeartOfGold to FetishizedAbuser levels). He will tease/mock/insult/etc. her a lot about her innocence, then try drawing her more sensual or adventurous side afloat (sometimes to the extreme). Even more, it's not exactly uncommon to see that the male lead ''used'' to be a cutie, but was [[BreakTheCutie severely broken and abused]] in his past [[UsedToBeASweetKid and is no longer cute]].

* This happens within the first episode of ''Anime/DeathNote'' to [[VillainProtagonist Light Yagami]], where he goes from a mild-mannered, upstanding star student to a mass-murderer with a [[AGodAmI monster god complex]]. Of course, he stays in the territory of AntiHero for a while after that, then gradually loses the [[JusticeWillPrevail ideals]] that led him to go in that direction in the first place.

!Examples:

* Also, this is part of the premise of the {{Netorare}} and many {{Hentai}}'s {{doujinshi}}s, and can sometimes be referred to as 'Moral Degeneration' by some avid readers of such material. In fact, it's a recurrent plot in Sanbun Kyoden's doujinshis.

* "Maou" and Kyousuke both attempt it on Tsubaki in ''VisualNovel/TheDevilOnGString''. [[spoiler:They don't exactly succeed, but Tsubaki is hardly innocent by the time the game ends. Kyousuke succeeds in the bad ending to her route.]]

* An unavoidable aspect of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'', explored through Clementine, a young girl, becoming the protagonist of the series following [[spoiler:the death of her caretaker, Lee Everett]], and the world has become just that harsh in the resulting years. Maintaining any sort of innocence during a ZombieApocalypse is a pipe dream. However, the player has ''some'' agency over how much they want her to be corrupted, by choosing more lighthearted dialogue options and the like. One late moment in ''Season Two'' has [[spoiler:Clem given the option of whether to watch Kenny brutally kill William Carver, the ArcVillain. Taking this choice and then trying to act innocent later ''will'' make the characters call her out on her hypocrisy.]]

* Terra from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. She's introduced as a character so likable, [[PlugNPlayFriends it doesn't take the Titans more than an episode to invite her into joining the team.]] However, [[spoiler: she's persuaded by [[MagnificentBastard Slade]] into joining him, so she can gain full control over her powers. She becomes so captivated in trying to do so, while also holding a grudge against the Titans (hammered in by Slade no less) that she goes as far as repeatedly attempting to kill the Titans]]. Because of this, she's possibly the most polarizing character in the series.

* In the first season of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', Miss Martian was so sweet and innocent that it got on the nerves of some fans. In the second season ([[TimeSkip which takes place a few years later]]) she's become a little overly fond of using her powers to [[MindRape put bad guys into]] [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood permanent comas]]. Her boyfriend, Superboy, finds out about this and gets upset, but he really becomes disgusted with her when she attempts (but fails) to erase his memories of it.

* ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'': One of the storylines revolves around sweet, perky ComicBook/Mary Marvel slowly losing her moral compass after being given Black Adam's powers.

* %%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples[[http://i.imgur.com/Dzd2v.jpg This]] wallpaper of ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.

* In the ''VideoGame/CapcomVs'' series, Morrigan from ''VideoGame/DarkStalkers'' has a number of win quotes where she makes comments showing an interest in this trope, paired with DoubleEntendre. However, it's quite expected from her, being a [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubus]] and all.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Enjoys doing this all the time. UsefulNotes/JesusChrist is sometimes seen fighting and swearing. Ike is heard using F-bombs and vulgar language. Celebrities and fictional characters from other franchises known for their wholesome image will be portrayed as degrading, evil, corrupt, hypocritical or be [[KillTheCutie killed off in gruesome ways]]. Take, for instance, WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse in "The Ring", who is portrayed as a corrupt capitalistic asshole who beats the Jonas Brothers up to pulp for disobeying him.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Also enjoys using otherwise wholesome popular culture characters and having them use drugs, have sex, use profanity or suffer from horrible diseases or deaths.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'', Darkseid kidnaps ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} -who by that point is a naive, kind-hearted fifteen-year-old girl- and starts breaking her mind until she is her loyal slave.

** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Alicent Hightower starts the series as the kind, dutiful, sweet best friend and lady-in-waiting of Princess Rhaenyra. After she is forced to marry King Viserys, she endures an unhappy marriage to Viserys, Rhaenyra lies to her about sleeping with Ser Criston Cole, and she comes to believe Rhaenyra is planning on massacring her children in order to secure her claim. This results in her becoming a twisted, bitter, paranoid Anti-Villain.

* Over the course of the 2007 ''Film/{{St Trinians|2007}}'', Annabelle gradually comes to identify with the various young offenders attending the school, culminating in a makeover scene where she comes out looking sexy. This being ''St Trinian's'', this is portrayed as a positive change.\\
Something similar happens with Miss Dickinson, the idealistic new English teacher. When she discovers the extent of cheating at the quiz show, her immediate conclusion is that... Chelsea and the other posh totties are smarter than they think.

* In the ''Film/StTrinians'' series the titular school has an uncanny ability to turn girls who should know better into proper St. Trinian's girls who terrify the population of the surrounding area by existing. This is especially notable with Angela Hall from the 1980 movie, as she had been ''kidnapped'' from her actual school and by the time she's rescued a few days later she has already taken in the attitude and demands to be returned to St. Trinian's.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', Anakin Skywalker starts off as a WideEyedIdealist little boy whose first thought is how he can endanger his own life just to help a group of strangers get off a planet. As he grows older, however, he becomes more and more ambitious in his desires for power and for love, partially egged on by [[ManipulativeBastard Palpatine]]. As Palpatine plays him against his own Jedi brethren, who in turn play him against Palpatine, he secretly marries Padme and she ends up pregnant. He then starts having visions of her death. The stress of the situation builds and builds until finally...

%%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6590096/1/Sweet-So-Sweet This]] fanfic and [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ee/0b/59/ee0b591f5ddc47a13173d0dc64ce7b74.jpg this]] image, for ''Anime/KOn''.
* %%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples[[http://i.imgur.com/Dzd2v.jpg This]] wallpaper of ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.

* In the ''VideoGame/CapcomVs'' series, Morrigan from ''VideoGame/DarkStalkers'' has a number of win quotes where she makes comments showing an interest in this trope, paired with DoubleEntendre. However, it's quite expected from her, being a [[HornyDevils succubus]] and all.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', on the [[KillEmAll Genocide Route]], this is what happens between the PlayerCharacter [[spoiler:Frisk]] and the spirit of the first Fallen Child. Due to the ambiguous nature of the relationship between the player and these two individuals, it's unclear whether the player is corrupting the Fallen Child through [[spoiler:Frisk]], the player and the Fallen Child are corrupting [[spoiler:Frisk]] together, or the player is corrupting both of them. Either way, once the corrupting has been completed, [[spoiler:they ''stay'' corrupted. '''FOREVER'''.]]

* In the ''Literature/{{Nightrunner}}'' series, Seregil has this as his backstory. [[spoiler: A young man "seduced" him when he had barely hit puberty, then proceeded to encourage Seregil's boyish wilfullness and mischieveous tendencies, until finally setting him up to be caught while stealing something from a rival clan, thus damaging Seregil's clan's honor and destroying some political ambitions Seregil's father had had. It worked better than planned, because Seregil ended up killing the man who caught him in self-defense, which resulted in Seregil's exile from his home country, and eventually a career as a professional thief, with some survival prostitution implied on the way. Compared to the friends he left behind, his life has been ''much'' more violent, and he's been forced to kill many more times.]] However, unusually for the trope, this trauma made Seregil only more honorable in his later life [[LovableRogue (at least where it counts)]], and it made him terribly aware of the fine line he has to tread while teaching [[TheIngenue Alec]] thieving and spy-craft. It also keeps him from making any move on Alec when he finds himself attracted to the still-teenage boy.

* The lifestyle change. It can go either way; either The Cutie is a really nice yet party-hard maniac or a lovable {{geek}}[=/=]{{nerd}}[=/=][[CoolLoser unpopular person]] and wanted to see the other side of the grass. They get persuaded by their friends into the lifestyle switch or notice how cool it is. At first friends and family don't mind, until they start rubbing it on others, and the new personality is way worse than the original. Essentially they have all the aspects of the new life and nothing of their old life.

* In the two-part season 2 premiere of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', five of the six main characters are corrupted by [[ManipulativeBastard Discord]] into inverse versions of the Elements of Harmony they embody: [[WillNotTellALie Applejack]] becomes a [[BadLiar chronic liar]], [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie]] becomes a [[GrumpyBear laughter-hating grump]], [[GreaterNeedThanMine Rarity]] becomes a [[{{Greed}} self-absorbed hoarder]], {{F|riendToAllLivingThings}}luttershy (who Discord has to straight-up brainwash since [[IncorruptiblePurePureness she's far too sweet and kind to submit to his mind games]]) becomes a [[{{Jerkass}} cruel brute]], and [[UndyingLoyalty Rainbow Dash]] [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere abandons everyone]]. Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, mostly just {{break|TheCutie}}s rather than being corrupted, because her best friends are now treating her like dirt.

* Wrath in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' starts out as a kind and innocent kid who loves life, but after being corrupted by Envy and getting his memories back he becomes a sadistic and vengeful sociopath. [[spoiler:He gets better eventually but sadly never regains his peppiness]].

* When you're first introduced to Elizabeth in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'', she is a wide-eyed, idealistic, very naive girl who is full of hope and joy. A major part of her CharacterDevelopment is having that innocence chipped away, just a little at a time, until she goes from a girl who is utterly horrified by the violence that main character Booker leaves in his wake, to one willing to [[spoiler: cut off her dead mother's hand just to get past a gate.]] The turning point is when she [[spoiler: stabs Daisy Fitzroy from behind with a pair of scissors]], [[BloodSplatteredInnocents staining her outfit with blood]]. When Booker later rescues her from Comstock House, her attitude on killing has gone from "heat of the moment" to being completely comfortable with premeditated murder.

** Creator/MayuShinjo's work ''thrives'' on the already mentioned stuff, and then takes it UpToEleven. It's openly lampshaded in ''Manga/HaouAiren'', when [[spoiler: Reilan sets up Kurumi to be gang-raped, and when she and her mooks are stopped by Hakuron, she openly claims that she wants Kurumi to be "tainted" as a part of her revenge against Hakuron for corrupting her innocent in the past.]]

* Happens with [[spoiler: Blossom and Buttercup]] in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ImmortalitySyndrome''. They go from their usual fun-loving selves to {{Straw Nihilist}}s who believe that life is only suffering and therefore it must end.

* Bubbles from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' does this... twice. Once when she wanted to prove that she was HARDCORE! The other was when IdentityAmnesia made her think she was Mojo Jojo (and a more effective one at that). And again to a lesser extent when she infiltrates the Rowdyruff Boys by impersonating Boomer (although it seems he's probably more gross and suggestible than evil).

* Orochimaru from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', who would ever believe that this creepy, unforgivable and power-hungry snake-man used to be quite the adorable young boy? The logic behind Orochimaru's mental transformation is rather reasonable considering [[ParentalAbandonment he lost his parents]]. Though besides lusting for power, the core to exactly why he went insane is still quite a mystery.

* Pictured above: One of the storylines of ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'' revolves around [[MagicalGirl Mary Marvel]] [[FallenHero slowly losing her moral compass]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity after being given Black Adam's powers.]]
* Happens to Envy Adams in ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'', starting off as a cute dork who then went through a personality shift (Scott saw her as a nice girl who changed) for the worse, becoming aggressive and callous, having affairs behind Scott's back, and eventually taking over his band and breaking up with him (although that was a blunder on Scott's part on provoking the harsh breakup).

* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}: Ancient human-turned-demon Buzz lured young, troubled and insecure Linda Danvers into his cult, getting her involved in numerous illicit activities as he intended to use her as an human sacrifice. Later Linda became the next Supergirl and began to fight criminals and demons to redeem herself.
* [[Comicbook/{{Magik}} Illyana Rasputin]] in ''ComicBook/XMen''. Part of Belasco's goal in bringing her to Limbo was to destroy her soul and turn her into a monster. Ultimately, he succeeded; thanks to her time in Limbo, she has gone from a sweet, innocent child to a ruthlessly insane demon sorceress. Toward the end of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', she chided her brother Colossus for giving up so much to save his "little snowflake". Not only was she beyond salvation, she reveled in her insanity. In her own words, "There are no snowflakes in hell!"
* Played straight with [[spoiler:Rarity]] in the second story-arc of ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', completely averted with Spike, as the baby dragon manages to remain loyal to his friends even after being tempted with an ideal LotusEaterMachine world.

* Creator/RobertCrumb: Crumb also enjoys using cute animal comic characters and portraying them having sex, taking drugs or use vulgar language.

* ''A Collection of Pointless Adventures'' has Fluttershy as a [[TheAlcoholic raging drunk]].
** Pretty much everyone in the series fits this trope.

*** Same goes for Bethany, as Isabela mentions that "While men are good for one thing, women are good for six." Bethany hesitantly asks "Which six?".

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' gives players the option to "harden" ([[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant not like that!]]) Alistair or Leliana, two of your most idealistic, pure, good-hearted companions, after their personal quests: Alistair is told that "people are selfish and you need to look out for yourself" and Leliana is told that "despite the whole religious thing deep down you're really a killer at heart". The two of them tend to lose less approval over morally dubious acts after that, and Alistair is an interesting case: he becomes more confident at leading and a better king if he's crowned at the Landsmeet and he'll keep the Warden on in a relationship instead of dumping her if she's not a female Human Noble, but it's at the expense of Anora or a future wife and kids. It's also the only way to have him stay married to Anora if the Warden recruits the BigBadWannabe.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'':
** PlayedForLaughs with [[PirateGirl Isabela's]] ongoing quest to corrupt [[TheIngenue Bethany]] and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Merrill]]. Although not entirely straightforward - when Merrill laments how boring her life was compared to Isabella, [[AnythingThatMoves Isabella]] told her that "You deserve better than what I have" (or something along those lines). On the other hand, Merrill proves [[CovertPervert all too eager to be corrupted a little]].
** Same goes for Bethany, as Isabela mentions that "While men are good for one thing, women are good for six." Bethany hesitantly asks "Which six?".
** PlayedForDrama and a brutal PlayerPunch with [[FallenHero Anders]]. When he was introduced in ''Awakening'', he was a snarky but kindhearted LovableRogue of a runaway mage. As of Part I of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', he's a devoted healer of refugees and defender of mages and Kirkwall's poor, fighting his SuperpoweredEvilSide. He gradually becomes more and more fanatical, paranoid, and foul-tempered as he and the former spirit of Justice, now a demon of Vengeance, corrupt each other, until finally [[spoiler: he manipulates the PlayerCharacter into helping him blow up the Chantry and start a war in the name of mage freedom.]]
** As alluded to above, the spirit of Justice also receives this treatment through the same process as Anders, going from a very idealistic defender of the weak with an adorable fascination with the physical world to a dangerously violent demon, all through the injustice he sees through Anders' eyes.
* Whether the player hardened Leliana or not in ''Origins'', they have the opportunity to do it ''again'' in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''. [[PlayerCharacter The Inquisitior]] can either convince her to be more merciful when dealing with their enemies and that [[AFatherToHisMen their people aren't tools to be thrown away]], or steel her even further by ordering her to be ruthless and insisting that WeHaveReserves. [[spoiler: Whichever option the player chooses dictates how Leliana acts if she's made Divine. The former will have her attempt TalkingTheMonsterToDeath with her enemies, while the latter has her believing that MurderIsTheBestSolution.]]

* [[Comicbook/{{Magyk}} Illyana Rasputin]] in ''ComicBook/XMen''. Part of Belasco's goal in bringing her to Limbo was to destroy her soul and turn her into a monster. Ultimately, he succeeded; thanks to her time in Limbo, she has gone from a sweet, innocent child to a ruthlessly insane demon sorceress. Toward the end of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', she chided her brother Colossus for giving up so much to save his "little snowflake". Not only was she beyond salvation, she reveled in her insanity. In her own words, "There are no snowflakes in hell!"

* Over the course of the 2007 ''Film/StTrinians'', Annabelle gradually comes to identify with the various young offenders attending the school, culminating in a makeover scene where she comes out looking sexy. This being ''St Trinian's'', this is portrayed as a positive change.\\