Fan Works - TV Tropes (2025)

Pairs in Fan Works that follow the Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl dynamic.

Backyard Sports

The Secret Life of the Backyard Kids: Jorge and Angela. The former is a rich kid with a lot of issues, the latter is a Naïve Everygirl who thinks he's cute. Their conversation in Chapter 7 really drives it home.
Elemental Angels: Savvy Guy Damien and Energetic Girl Gamey share this.

Cross Ange

Cross Ange The Knight Of Hilda: Inverted with Rio as the gentle boy to Hilda's brooding girl.

Crossover

A Bridge Once Broken (Marvel Cinematic Universe & Wakfu): Loki is a brooding, PTSD-ridden, Broken Ace boy to Jahanna's gentle, loving girl.
Fate of the Clans:
- Though Cú Chulainn appears happy, he's actually depressed and hates himself a lot on the inside. His wife, Emer, was basically his emotional support. He even admits that without her, he would have completely snapped.
- Mikoto is the brooding boy, constantly struggling to keep the others safe from himself losing control. Tatara is a male example of a gentle girl, the person who helps "tame the beast" inside Mikoto.
Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail (Infinity Train & Pokémon the Series):
- Lexi the brooding boy and Chloe the gentle girl. Lexi is a book that can detach his papers to a humanoid form, bitter at how Grace and Simon tore him apart and left him Buried Alive within the confines of his car for eight years. Chloe is a ten-year-old girl who has entered the Train in order to reinvent herself and is kind-hearted and gentle and slowly losing her shyness to embrace her likes. As one reader noted, the two of them are supportive of one another as the former is quick to give Chloe a well-needed confidence boost while Chloe is making sure to reign in Lexi's temper against the Apex.
- In the same vein, Trip and Ash obtain a relationship like this. Trip is the stoic Unovan Trainer and Ash is the kind All-Loving Hero. However as the story goes on, Ash is going through a Guilt Complex over how he failed to be more supportive of Chloe while Trip is the one reeling him in and telling Ash that it's not his fault.
Maribat AU has the crossover ship of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the All-Loving Hero Ladybug, and Damian Wayne, former child assassin and current Robin.
Metroid 10 (Ben 10 & Metroid): This fic gender-inverts the trope, with Samus Aran being a Brooding Babe while Ben Tennyson is a Gentle Guy. Samus is fairly stoic, reserved, and cold, with a Dark and Troubled Past of seeing her Arch-Enemy Ridley murder her mother and having her father sacrifice himself in an attempt to kill him, and her losing her Chozo family did not help her. By contrast, Ben is an optimistic, compassionate, and friendly All-Loving Hero, with a loving family back home and fairly upbeat even after all the fights he's been in. While Ben is definitely attracted to Samus, he also shows her compassion and understanding with her traumatic past, and becomes a close confidant to the bounty hunter, helping her with recurring nightmares of Ridley. It's this kindness that eventually causes Samus to similarly fall in love with him and become more emotionally vulnerable around him. That being said, they both are rather insecure around one another, with Samus worrying that her cold exterior isn't good for Ben, while Ben, due to dealing with a number of girls only interested in his fame than him as a person, wonders if he's good for her.
Metroid: Kamen Rider Generations and its sequel Metroid: Kamen Rider Generations Vol. 2 - Ex-Aid Era feat. Cross Ange (Kamen Rider & Metroid): These provide a special case of both Brooding Boy and Girl in Samus and Mitsuzane. It serves as the purpose that Mitsuzane having recovered from Despair Event Horizon, shows him as an insecure man, spending most of the time living a life of solitude and regret. Depending on the Writer, the Gentle part could be either of them.
The Night Unfurls:
- Kyril and Evetta are a platonic example. Although he's not moody, Kyril is a quiet, stoic Anti-Hero who is shell-shocked from his ordeal in Yharnam. Evetta is a sweet living doll who is just as soft-spoken as he is. She opts to care for her Good Hunter and soothe his sickly spirit, for he bears many burdens. Therefore, it is of no surprise that Kyril finds Evetta to be the one person he could be entirely comfortable with, whether it is sharing his pain or expressing affection. As a bonus, their hair colours are used to underline this dynamic (Kyril, dark; Evetta, white).
- Celestine and Olga discuss this trope in Chapter 23, the former getting teased by the latter for earnestly trying to get her Love Interest Kyril to relax. Indeed, Celestine has been doing that a lot in the story, from how she coaxes Kyril to rest more and wishes the troubled young man to obtain the peace he deserves (preferably with her). On one hand, Kyril appreciates her efforts, admits at one point that she's "highly desirable", and even obliges Celestine's plea to kiss her. On the other hand, he is reluctant to return her affections or start a relationship with her, making this a subverted example.
A Triangle in the Stars (Gravity Falls & Steven Universe):
- Though both boys, Bill is definitely brooding, and Steven is gentle, helping the triangle through his troubles. And sometimes, especially later, it's swapped and Bill helps back in his own way.^*
- Gender-Inverted and Downplayed with Steven and Connie, unlike in the show proper. It's especially highlighted in Chapter Forty-Six, where Connie can't even play Citchen Calamity because Bill was sitting right across from her, whereas Steven thoroughly enjoyed every minute.
A Waterbending Quirk (Avatar: The Last Airbender and My Hero Academia): Katara and Shoto have this relationship. As a result of his father's draconian methods and obsession with becoming the number one Hero and the effects it had on his family, Shoto is stoic and resentful to his father, while also being very socially awkward around others. Katara, on the other hand, is an All-Loving Hero who believes in Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!, doing what it takes to save others and also being far more social. Nevertheless, the two love each other dearly.

Danganronpa

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 wrecked her self-esteem and body image and left her with social anxiety and a Serial Killer 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, and eventual husband, becoming happier as time passes and finding a much better family in the Naegis.

Death Note

In the Crack Fic A Charmed Life Light is angsty and brooding and Ryuk is gentle with him.
This dynamic occurs in the Slash Fic Fever Dreams in which L is the brooding one and Light is the gentle one. While he's still very much a Manipulative Bastard he is very careful with how he treats L and of the detective's feelings. It's not just because treating L badly would be suspicious either but out of genuine concern for his well-being. As it turns out Light himself was on the receiving end of a very abusive relationship in the past and he doesn't want to treat L the way he was treated. This dynamic between him and L is turned up to eleven when Light allows his Kira memories to expire and reverts to the Nice Guy he used to be.

Fusion Fic

In My Huntsman Academia (My Hero Academia & RWBY): Izuku and Blake form a gender-inverted version of this trope. Blake is brooding, anti-social, and paranoid due to her fear of being judged for being a faunus and her Dark and Troubled Past as a former member of the White Fang. Her belief that she's a coward and a fraud gives her a great deal of self-loathing. Izuku is a gentle and trusting soul who offers her constant companionship and comfort, finding nothing but good things to say about her despite his own Heroic Self-Deprecation. He also gives her an outlet to vent about her frustrations and tell her secrets without fearing reprisal, promising to act as her Secret-Keeper for as long as she desires. But some of his attempts to cheer her up end up just embarrassing her, like when he's encouraging her to ask out wonderful guy she's apparently interested in when it's fairly clear to everyone except Izuku that she's talking about him.

Godzilla

Abraxas (Hrodvitnon): Godzilla and Mothra have this dynamic with Godzilla as the Brooding Boy and Mothra as the Gentle Girl; showcased in their couple-like interactions near the story's end.

The King of Fighters

In this fandom, almost any het pairing involving Iori Yagami involves the preferred partner ^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 Athena Asamiya and Chizuru Kagura. And it's Hilarious in Hindsight when one considers the Drama CDs...

The Loud House

In The Loud House x Beauty and the Beast (1991) AUs that have Luan as Belle and Benny as the Beast, the latter is portrayed as a lonely and self-loathing Jerk with a Heart of Gold while the former is portrayed as a kind and friendly Nice Girl who brings out the best in him.

Pokémon

Guys Being Dudes has a male-on-male example with Spark, who serves as a softer and more outwardly affectionate counterpart to Arlo's Emo villain with a troubled past and difficulties showing affection.
Pokémon Reset Bloodlines has Red and Yellow as this. Red generally acts in a quiet, subdued manner, and he seems very unhappy, mostly by choice. Yellow is the one who does the talking for him, has a more cheerful and friendly attitude, and spends a lot of time and effort trying to get him to come out of his shell. Though their relationship seems more brother-sisterly-like which is probably a good thing since they're strongly implied to be half-siblings.
Downplayed with Steven and Daisy Oak in Pokémon Strangled Red after Miki's death. Their continued relationship is only referred to in passing.
Gliscor (Brooding Boy) and Noivern (Gentle Girl) in Dark Amphithere's Total Pokémon Redux. Gliscor initially was uncomfortable around Noivern, because Pidgeot falsely blamed him. Noivern, on the other hand, helps Gliscor overcome his anxieties and wants him to be okay.

RWBY

Adam Taurus and Eirian Esna from 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.

Spooks

Demons: This fic has Lucas 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 brushes it off as "just a bad dream", he still accepts her warmth and compassion for him.

Total Drama

One thing that's recently become popular with fans is pairing up the moody and grumpy Team Killer with a Hair-Trigger Temper named Scott with the kind and gentle Dawn, who is a Friend to All Living Things.

The Walking Dead

This is almost ubiquitous in any TV series-based fanfiction starring Beth Greene and Daryl Dixon as the power couple, which skyrocketed in popularity (and amazingly has remained the most popular het ship in the fandom on Archive of Our Own) after "Still". Their canon backstories fit the dynamic to a T. Beth Greene is almost always portrayed as the sweet blonde virginal farmgirl from a slightly higher class. Daryl Dixon is the scarred manly hot-headed celibate guy with an abusive past who likes wearing 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 Scar Survey after he takes her virginity. Extra if it's a Hurt/Comfort Fic.

Dormant/Dead/Unsorted

The Homestuck fic armor portrays Karkat and Nepeta as this.
"She is compassion in its purest form. She never backs down at the chance to help someone in need, opening her own heart in hopes that they will open theirs. It's what he adores about her the most.
He was stubborn at first. Shying from her love, swatting away her benevolent hands. But she persisted: slowly, patiently, and lovingly. Always lovingly."
The Bleach fanfiction Chasing the Moon (and to a certain extent, it's prequel Phases of the Moon) sets this up with Yuzu Kurosaki and Byakuya Kuchiki.
Child of the Storm has this between Harry and Carol towards the end of the first book and at points in the sequel. However, it's a little unusual in that Carol is a spiky cynic (albeit much kinder than she initially appears, especially to Harry), has many issues of her own, and while she's perfectly happy to listen to Harry and comfort and counsel him when he's suffering from, say, a nasty case of PTSD in the sequel, she's also perfectly happy to give him a kick up the arse if he's wallowing. It's also sometimes a Gender-Inverted Trope, with Carol having plenty of reasons of her own to brood, and Harry being compassionate to a fault and head over heels in Courtly Love with her (until chapter 46 when they finally get together).
Hellsister Trilogy: Dev-Em is a brooding, surly boy; his girlfriend Kara is a kind-hearted, sunny girl.
Hope for the Heartless (The Black Cauldron fanfic) gives us a non-romantic version in the Horned King and Avalina. The Horned King is a monstrous and centuries old warlord who has been half-forced on a Redemption Quest he doesn't believe he can fulfill. Under his cold and scary mask he's lonely, desperate and tired. His aura of Death causes all living creatures to fear him on instinct and the plant life to die in his presence. Also, he's prone to sarcastic humor. Avalina is a teenaged brush farmer who's as beautiful as she's pure. Her aura of Life is so strong that she can bring life to the Horned King's lands, befriend a gwythaint and a mad-out-of-grief horse of a knight, get inside the Horned King's shell and bring his centuries-long dead heart back to life. They're also the case of an Intergenerational Friendship, though the Horned King has shades of being a Parental Substitute towards Avalina.
In Jessica, Cameron's online girlfriend "S" helps him through the period after his mother's death.
The Arrow fic Legacy is set twenty-five years in the future, but Oliver still has a tendency to brood. Fortunately, both Felicity and their daughter have a knack for smoothing away his grumpiness.
In Off the Line, Vincent and Rainstorm have this dynamic, especially when the latter is in his female form.
In Prison Island Break, this is the dynamic shared by Shadow and Amy. Shadow is infatuated with her because of how kind and understanding she is, being the only person who tries to reach out and see the good in him. It's also the reason he starts falling for Sonia, whose gentle approach slowly thaws his cold exterior.
Izzyaro's Tales of the Founders explores this dynamic with Salazar Slytherin — a Broken Bird who briefly studied the Dark Arts to become stronger after the death of his family — and Helga Hufflepuff — a compassionate healer whose life he saved.