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Bruiser with a Soft Center: Difference between revisions
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[[The Big Guy|The big, burly, super macho guy]] who is nothing but a stack of muscles is pretty much a brick, right? Not so much. [[Hidden Depths|True love or a sweet, touching moment reveals what a big softy he really is under all that hard muscle]]. Hands that can smash through walls effortlessly now rise to hide the [[Tender Tears]], or remain stoically at his sides as he weeps [[Manly Tears]].
Thugs will limp away nursing cuts and bruises from his mighty fists. Children and small cuddly animals will simply treat his great ham hands like cozy furniture to snuggle up in. Enemies will flee from his mighty roar or battle cry. But he will sit still and quiet if a kitten curls up on his chest purring, and he'll let her stay as long as she pleases.
[[Emotional Bruiser|Some of the bruisers]] have no embarrassment at having a soft center, but others will instantly try to cover it up; or matter-of-factly inform their companions that "if you tell anyone this happened, I'll deny it"; still others will ensure the silence of those who witnessed their soft heart showing with threats.
While this trope tends to trend mostly male, females are not exempt from being bruisers with soft centers.
This is a trope with a lot of neighbours: Compare with [[Gentle Giant]], [[Genius Bruiser]], [[Real Men Wear Pink]], [[Morality Pet]], and [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]. Even a [[Papa Wolf]] can turn soft when he's around his children. [[Super-Trope]] of [[Emotional Bruiser]] .
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* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'': Dawn's Mamoswine in the "Diamond and Pearl" anime series is all about this once he reaches his final stage. He acts all gruff, ignores his trainer for a while, and becomes [[The Berserker]] when angered (or when Dawn denies him/is short on [[Trademark Favourite Food|poffins)]]. Yet he's definitely caring and protective towards his trainer and friends (especially after mellowing out), becomes putty whenever food is in question, and steadily [[Real Men Wear Pink|shows fascination with Contests]]. Yet true to being of the emotionally repressed variety, he tries (initially) to deny all this.
* Moss from ''[[Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin]]''. Despite being the heaviest and most powerful dog in his pack, he's a [[Gentle Giant]] when it came to puppies.
* Sentaro of ''[[Sakamichi no Apollon]]'' At first he may come off as a high schooler that likes to beat up bullies. It's so that he can protect those that're dear to him.
== Comic Books ==
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* [[Blood Knight|Spike]] from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' immediately establishes himself as this. He comes crashing into town with a bad reputation and a badass flair, shows up at the lair of the Annointed One offering to kill the Slayer... then looks on with concern and goes to wait on his [[Ill Girl]] girlfriend when she tries to come in with him.
* Coach Shannon Beiste from ''[[Glee]]'' is a rare female example.
* Dean Winchester from ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]''. He may swear like a sailor, go hard on the liquor and sex, and be able to take on monsters and psychos with little problem, but he's got a soft spot for kids, his family, and [[Heterosexual Life Partners|Castiel]].
* Like his tin counterpart, Wyatt Cain from ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'' crosses this with [[Heartbroken Badass]]. The man is a scary-good fighter both in hand to hand and with his pistol, but his cold facade breaks down in a hurry when [[Honor Before Reason|asked to do the honorable thing]], or when he senses someone needs protection. At the end, he is almost on the verge of tears {{spoiler|warning DG that she will have to face her sister alone.}}
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*** Wrex meeting Shepard in the second game is something like [[The Eeyore]] going Squee.
{{quote|Wrex: SHEPARD! ''MY FRIEND''!}}
** [[Jerkass Woobie|Jack]] in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' is a prime example. If she makes it to the third game, she starts teaching a squad of biotic students at Grissom Academy. Then Cerberus tries to kidnap them. [[Badass Teacher|Big]] [[Mama Bear|mistake.]]
** Heck, Renegade!Shepard him/herself has got a few softer moments.
* Potemkin from ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' [[Face of a Thug|looks very nasty and intimidating]], but likes drawing and tries to avoid pointless fighting.
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* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', The Hippo has a soft spot for Toph, who actually is a [[Bruiser with a Soft Center]] herself.
* Goliath from ''[[Gargoyles]]'' is devastated when he believes his Angel of the Night has been murdered by humans. Though his grief runs more to [[Clifftop Caterwauling]] than displays of tears.
* This also happens in a couple of [[Looney Tunes]] in a [[Chuck Jones]] series about a huge bulldog named Marc Antony with a tiny, cute, accident-prone kitten named Pussyfoot (a/k/a Cleopatra). That moment when he thinks she's been baked into a batch of cookies...and is then given a kitty-shaped cookie to cheer him up? Not a dry eye in the house.
* ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'': Multiple examples are sprinkled throughout the series, but the OAV ''[[Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo]]'' has these examples:
** Cyborg gets mad when you mess with his car. Gets mad when you mess with the Tower. But wreck the sofa and he bursts into tears.
** Scrappy little Robin grabs a spare uniform with determined expression -- then folds it up into a pillow for Silkie. He pets the thing affectionately, then heads out.
* ''[[The Tick (animation)]]'' is very much [[Dumb Muscle]] but he also has a very soft heart.
* Sandman in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' shows kindness to small children. In his case, it might be [[Foreshadowing]] a {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn]] as happened in the comics.}}
* ''[[South Park]]'': Cthulhu. Cartman abuses this shamelessly, and invokes the [[Looney Tunes]] example above.
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'''Wilykat:''' It's cool. }}
* Spinelli from ''[[Recess]]''
* Buford of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]''. He bursts into tears when his goldfish goes missing. He is thrilled when his bear is restored by the boys' teleportation machine, and when helping Baljeet babysit Perry, speaks to him gently and assures that they will take good care of him.
== Real Life ==
* [[Chuck Norris]].
* By all accounts, [[Ernest Hemingway]]. According to ''Papa Hemingway'', when he was still a struggling writer in Paris, he would sit alone for hours and ''cry'' over rejection letters.
** Considering the fragile ego of some writers (at the best of times) and the fact the man was seriously depressed, eventually killed himself and could only shut up his inner editor with lots and lots of booze...well that actually isn't that surprising.
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