History Main / BroodingboyGentleGirl

* ''Film/{{The Crow}}'': Eric is a more serious, dark, angsty guy while Shelly is a light, cheerful lady.

* Subverted in ''Literature/WutheringHeights'': Cathy is far from gentle, but instead just as fierce and rugged at heart and almost as morally gray as the brooding Heathcliff himself. Isabella Linton thinks she's evoking this trope when she marries Heathcliff, but her delusion is [[DomesticAbuse brutally deconstructed]].

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/273834 The Naekawa Project]]'' gender-inverts this trope with the relationship between Toko Fukawa and Makoto Naegi. Toko is the Brooding Babe, as a lifetime of parental abuse and bullying in school has [[InsecureLoveInterest wrecked her self-esteem]] [[IAmNotPretty and body image]] and left her with social anxiety and a SerialKiller split-personality. By contrast, Makoto is the Gentle Guy, as a loving family and an upbeat personality makes him a naturally kind, friendly, and loving person who sees the best in people and supports them. Their relationship is shown to cause wonders for Toko's mental state, as she is able to slowly start opening up to her boyfriend, [[spoiler: and eventual husband]], becoming happier as time passes and finding a much better family in the Naegis.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/273834 The Naekawa Project]]'' gender-inverts this trope with the relationship between Toko Fukawa and Makoto Naegi. Toko is the Brooding Babe, as a lifetime of parental abuse and bullying in school has [[InsecureLoveInterest wrecked her self-esteem]] [[IAmNotPretty and body image]] and left her with social anxiety and a SerialKiller split-personality. By contrast, Makoto is the Gentle Guy, as a loving family and an upbeat personality makes him a naturally kind, friendly, and loving person who sees the best in people and supports them. Their relationship is shown to cause wonders for Toko's mental state, as she is able to slowly start opening up to her boyfriend, [[spoilers: and eventual husband]], becoming happier as time passes and finding a much better family in the Naegis.

* In CountryMusic, songs about this trope could practically form a subgenre. If the male narrator in a song refers to himself melancholically as a "{{cowboy}}" and applies [[IncorruptiblePurePureness spiritually charged]] language to the object of his affection, it's probably this Trope. Bonus points are awarded for implying that the [[LoveRedeems woman's love saved him]] from a dangerous path in life. These songs can either [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools apply a lot of emotional weight in a short time]] by relating to concepts already present in the fandom's psyche or degenerate into a bad StrictlyFormula piece.
* Tsukiko Amano's song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQAjzNTyhu4 Bodaiju]] can be seen ''very'' easily as being written from the POV of a Gentle Girl and directed to a Brooding Boy.

* In Music/FranzLiszt's "A Faust Symphony," this well describes the relation between the first two movements, "Faust" and "Gretchen." The former has all the brooding and passion of a ByronicHero, while the latter is gently melodious and intimately scored.
* Music/PeterGabriel and Music/KateBush's duet, ''Don't Give Up'' could be seen as this trope. Gabriel's character is a serially unemployed man and ex-soldier whose home has been [[DoomedHometown destroyed]] (WordOfGod says it's set during the Dust Bowl/Depression-era), edging towards suicide, and Bush sings wispy, gentle words of encouragement. It's set to a vaguely African, vaguely synth-pop beat. (It's also SugarWiki/BetterThanItSounds.)

* ''Fanfic/CrossAngeTheKnightOfHilda'': BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Inverted with Rio as the gentle boy to Hilda's brooding girl.

* ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'' (''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' fanfic) gives us a non-romantic version in the [[VillainProtagonist Horned]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent King]] and [[OriginalCharacter Avalina]]. The Horned King is a [[MonstrousHumanoid monstrous]] and [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld centuries old]] warlord who has been [[ResurrectedForAJob half-forced]] on a RedemptionQuest he [[ImpossibleTask doesn't believe he can fulfill]]. [[BeneathTheMask Under]] his cold and scary mask he's [[BeingEvilSucks lonely, desperate and tired]]. His [[WalkingWasteland aura of Death]] causes all living creatures to fear him on instinct and the plantlife to die in his presence. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Also]], he's [[DeadpanSnarker prone to sarcastic humor]]. [[NiceGirl Avalina]] is a teenaged brush farmer who's [[PurityPersonified as beautiful as she's pure]]. Her [[FertileFeet aura of Life]] is [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower so strong]] that she can bring life to the Horned King's [[{{Mordor}} lands]], [[FriendToAllLivingThings befriend]] a [[GiantFlyer gwythaint]] and a mad-out-of-grief horse of a knight, [[MoralityPet get inside the Horned King's shell]] and [[spoiler:bring his centuries-long dead heart back to life]]. They're also the case of an IntergenerationalFriendship, though the Horned King has shades of being a ParentalSubstitute towards Avalina.

* While in most contexts it's a bit of a stretch to call [[FieryRedhead Ginny]] "gentle", she and [[Characters/HarryPotterHarryJamesPotter Harry]] very clearly have this dynamic starting in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' when Harry is brooding and moody over the aftermath of Cedric's death, almost no one believing him about Voldemort's return, and being terrified over the possibility of Voldemort being able to possess him. Ginny manages to give him some comfort by having him actually talk about his fears, which helps him, somewhat. This continues in the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince next book]], when Ginny offers him a comforting shoulder after Professor Dumbledore's [[spoiler: death]].
* Same-gender example in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' and ''Literature/TheTrialsOfApollo''. Nico is the son of Hades, the god of the underworld, and has had a [[TraumaCongaLine fittingly troubled life]]. He's a black-haired, brooding loner who tends to drive people away with his general aura of death. Will, on the other hand, is the son of Apollo, the god of music, healing, and the sun. He's blond, optimistic, an accomplished healer, and one of the few people that can get Nico out of his shell.

%%zce** Jayfeather and [[spoiler: Half Moon]] are worth a mention, even though they have limited interaction in the books since they [[spoiler: don't even live in the same time]].

** Anna and Jeremy definitely fit here. While she is more of an AbhorrentAdmirer a first, their eventual dynamic, [[spoiler: especially after her [[ISeeDeadPeople death]]]] fits this trope down to a T.

** Makoto Naegi and Kyouko Kirigiri in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' are a Genderflipped version. After Kirigiri spends the majority of the game unable to trust anyone and feeling she has to take on the mystery alone, Naegi tells her YouAreNotAlone and she just slightly begins to open up to him by the end of the third chapter. After he goes so far as to take the fall for her in the fifth chapter, she's decided to trust him completely as TrueCompanions. Finally, [[spoiler:when she seemed closest to the edge of a DespairEventHorizon in the final trial, [[HopeBringer he saves her from that despair]], leading to the remaining students finally escaping]].
** Hajime Hinata and Chiaki Nanami in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' play it straight. Hajime's a rather cynical, withdrawn, and snarky guy brooding over the mystery of his forgotten talent, and Chiaki's a sweet, sleepy, and mellow girl who he grows to trust in and confide the most. [[spoiler:Her execution in the fifth trial for an AccidentalMurder throws him into a HeroicBSOD, and he's left floundering emotionally, spiraling deeper and deeper into despair until [[HopeBringer her ghost appears to lift him up in the sixth trial]].]]

* Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}, although Catwoman is downplayed as she's an anti-heroine while Batman plays it straight.
* The ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' has Brainiac-5, a brooding genius with no social skills, and his LoveInterest ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, a cheerful and gentle girl who is one of the few persons able to brighten up his day (and put up with his foul moods for longer than five minutes).
* In the ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' comics, the main character Richard Rider is serious and circumspect, and his sometimes-girlfriend is cheerful and perky.
* Dream and Death from ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' are this. Ironically, Dream is the brooding one as he is constantly caught up in his responsibilities and the issues that result from them. Death, on the other hand, is a PerkyGoth who is constantly upbeat, kindhearted, and ready to listen to Dream and offer support as his big sister.

* Rose and the Tenth Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'' are a pretty archetypical example. Later, Clara Oswald has this effect on both the Eleventh Doctor (when an incarnation of Clara coaxes a brooding Eleven out of self-imposed retirement) and the Twelfth (where Clara "prime" becomes his MoralityChain and TheHeart of their relationship).

* [[''ElementalAngels'']]: Savvy Guy Damien and Energetic Girl Gamey share this.

* In this fandom, almost '''any''' het pairing involving [[AntiHero Iori]] [[JerkassWoobie Yagami]] involves the preferred partner [[note]](be a RelationshipSue-like OC or a canon female character made into an OCStandIn)[[/note]] invoking the trope via becoming the "only girl" able to offer him solace, tenderness and rest, "fixing" his massive issues coming from his centuries-long family baggage. Among the canon girls subjected to this, the most common ones are [[GenkiGirl Athena]] [[BadassAdorable Asamiya]] and [[YamatoNadeshiko Chizuru]] [[TeamMom Kagura]]. And it's HilariousInHindsight when one considers the Drama CD's...

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' x ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' AUs that have Luan as Belle and Benny as the Beast, the latter is portrayed as a lonely and self-loathing JerkWithAHeartOfGold while the former is portrayed as a kind and friendly NiceGirl who brings out the best in him.

* Adam Taurus and Eirian Esna from ''Fanfic/{{AZRE}}''. Adam is a deeply troubled young man who's constantly haunted by the mistakes of his past, feeling embittered by his treatment at the hands of racist humans and no longer believes in the same dream as his family; that Faunus and Humans could live together in peace. Eirian is a happy go lucky girl who always looks on the bright side of any situation, even if it negatively impacts her. She constantly tries to bring Adam out of his depressed moods and gives him advice on how to deal with it all, showing great care for her close friend.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/17210705 Demons]]'': This fic has [[DarkAndTroubledPast Lucas]] [[ShellShockedVeteran North]] developing this relationship with an OC named Andi when he stays at her apartment as part of an investigation, though she's not comfortable with him using her home for a stakeout at first. It is especially the case near the end when Andi has to console and calm down Lucas during one of his PTSD nightmares from his imprisonment and torture in Russia and though he tries to tell her he's alright and brush it off as "just a bad dream", he still accepts her warmth and compassion for him.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Jessica}}'', Cameron's online girlfriend, "S," who helps him through the period after his mother's death.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', this is GenderInverted. Ming is very high strung and repressing decades of mommy issues. Jin is patient, sweet, and supportive.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Judy's emotional support and faith in Nick inspires him to believe in himself again [[spoiler:and become the first fox police officer]]. This soon gets deconstructed pretty hard; while Judy is optimistic, idealistic, and supportive to Nick, she isn't perfect and her own flaws bring trouble to their relationship. [[spoiler:Her subconscious bias regarding predators flares up during a public interview that almost ruins their friendship and causes considerable hardship in the eponymous city.]]

* In ''Film/PannaANetvor'', a Czech adaptation of ''Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast'', Netvor (the Beast) is a bird-like AnimalisticAbomination who broods about being neither human nor monster, but is increasingly moved by Julie's (the Beauty) kindness and innocence.

** Fred played "Gentle Girl" to both Gunn and Wesley. Well, when Gunn and Fred began expressing interest in each other, neither were particularly broody. [[HeartbrokenBadass Wesley]] on the other hand...

* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'''s season has Jess and Rory. Jess is the cynical brooding boy who falls for the town princess Rory after he discovers she has a passion for books and music similar to his own. Bonus points that both teens were a product of TeenPregnancy but with two wildly different upbringings. [[note]] Rory's mother Lorelai considered Rory to be the best thing that ever happened to her, established a stable upbringing despite money issues, encouraged Rory to be anything she wanted to be, and supported her long-held dream to go to Harvard and become a journalist. Meanwhile Jess's mom Liz raised him in what was implied to be poor conditions in New York, struggled with drug and alcohol issues, filled his childhood with a revolving round of horrible boyfriends and husbands, eventually kicked him out altogether, and left him with a ton of self-esteem issues. [[/note]] A recurring theme is Rory believing that Jess can do more than everyone - including him - expects and that it doesn't have to be him against the world. Although they eventually break up due to Jess's issues, he later returns having got his life together, lost the brooding aspect, and acknowledged he couldn't have done so without Rory believing in him.
* On ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Agent Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane is slipping into the Gentle Girl role to Gibbs' Brooding Boy. As a fellow ShellShockedVeteran with her own [[TraumaButton demons]] to contend with, she understands him in ways very few people ever can, and he ''knows'' she understands him. Her inherent gentleness, compassion, and lack of judgment means she can coax him out of his dark moods when no one else can, and he will [[TheConfidant turn to her]] when he wouldn't turn to anyone else.

* GenderInverted in ''Webcomic/EverBlue'', when Ten, a [[ThePollyanna guy who's not dispirited]] upon his boat breaking in a couple of pieces [[spoiler: or fazed when attacked by what may-or-may-not be ''the Grim Reaper'']] meets Luna, a quiet, nervous and lonely young woman with quite a couple of secrets. They get on like house on fire.

* Played with in ''Webcomic/{{Matchu}}''. Matchu and Amber fit the bill personality-wise, but are also StarCrossedLovers who can't interact without something bad happening to either of them.

* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] with Eric Cartman and Heidi Turner in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''. The two form a romantic relationship in Season 20 after quitting Twitter. However the [[NiceGirl sweet and compassionate Heidi]], doesn't realize that Cartman isn't the misunderstood JerkWithAHeartOfGold he led her to believe but a notoriously [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[TheSociopath sociopath]] and by the next season their relationship progressively deteriorates with Cartman constantly lashing out at her for the state of their relationship and decides to make her more like him by feeding her junk food and sharing his bigoted views. They become BirdsOfAFeather for a while only for Heidi to [[HeelRealization realize]] what Cartman's negativity has turned her into and decides to leave him for the sake of her well-being.

** Beast Boy and Raven are another gender-flip. Even though they never have an official relationship on the show, Raven's troubled backstory mixed with [[MustMakeHerLaugh Beast Boy's attempts at making her smile and laugh]] make them appear as such.

While the appeal of the brooding boy probably has something to do with AllGirlsWantBadBoys, the brooding boy isn't necessarily ''bad'', he's just… moody, troubled. At worst, he'll be an AntiHero who's put his bad boy past behind him or at least is trying to. Maybe he has a DarkAndTroubledPast. Maybe he's a HurtingHero. Maybe he's [[FailureKnight made terrible mistakes]], and [[MyGreatestFailure that weighs on his mind]]. Maybe he simply takes his responsibilities [[SeriousBusiness far more seriously]] than the rest of his teammates. Whatever the case, he's just ''waiting'' for someone to draw him out of his shell, and that person is the gentle girl.

* [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender-inverted]] in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', with Katniss as the HurtingHero and Peeta as the gentle, compassionate one. Played straight, however, with Snow (a pessimist who believes HobbesWasRight) and Lucy Gray (an optimist who thinks RousseauWasRight) in ''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes''.

* In ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'' the brooding, introverted Richard of Gloucester falls in love with his good-hearted cousin, Anne Neville. Initially betrothed, their families' feud tears them apart for a time. But when her first husband dies and she's in danger of having her fortune stolen, Richard swoops in and saves her. They are happily married...for a time.

* [[''Elemental Angels'']]: Savvy Guy Damien and Energetic Girl Gamey share this.

* ''Elemental Angels'': Savvy Guy Damien and Energetic Girl Gamey share this.

* [[Elemental Angels]]:

* [[Heroes VS Villains|Elemental Angels]]: Damien and Gamey respectively.

* This is almost ubiquitous in any [[Series/TheWalkingDead2010 TV series]]-based fanfiction starring Beth Greene and [[TheLancer Daryl Dixon]] as the power couple, which skyrocketed in popularity (and amazingly has remained the most popular het ship in the fandom on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn) after "[[Recap/TheWalkingDeadS03E12Clear Still]]". Their canon backstories fit the dynamic to a T. Beth Greene is almost always portrayed as the [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold sweet blonde]] [[TheIngenue virginal]] [[FarmersDaughter farmgirl]] from a [[UptownGirl slightly higher class]]. Daryl Dixon is the [[CoveredWithScars scarred]] [[RatedMForManly manly]] [[HotBlood hot-headed]] [[CelibateHero celibate guy]] with an [[DarkAndTroubledPast abusive past]] who likes wearing [[IconicOutfit an angel wing vest]]. In pretty much all of them, she is the key that opens up Daryl's heart, normally symbolized by him allowing her to see his scars (which he tends to hide in canon). Bonus points if it's complete with at least one ScarSurvey after [[TheirFirstTime he takes her virginity]]. Extra if it's a HurtComfortFic.

* [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender-inverted]] in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', with Katniss as the HurtingHero and Peeta as the gentle, compassionate one.

* Clare and Eli from ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' are like this. Clare is a sweet, mostly innocent Christian girl, and Eli drives a hearse.

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Edward "[[BishieSparkle This is the skin]] [[{{Wangst}} of a KILLER!]]" Cullen and Bella. In ''New Moon'', however, [[GenderInvertedTrope gender-flipping]] this is what kicks off the Jacob/Bella relationship, with him being the gentle guy to Bella's [[{{Wangst}} "My boyfriend dumped me so my life is over"]] brooding.