TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Sugar-and-Ice Personality
(aka: Sugar And Ice Girl)

Go To

Sugar-and-Ice Personality (trope)
A frosty face hides a melting heart.
"You should learn to rely on other people. Having friends is a good thing... surprisingly."

A character with a Sugar-and-Ice Personality has two distinct sides, one cold and distant, the other warmer and more open. In some cases, the differences between the two aspects of the character's personality are so radical as to be shocking coming from the same person. Often this extreme polarity is due to some form of traumatic experience or social awkwardness, though occasionally it might resemble a full-blown Split Personality or one-man Red Oni, Blue Oni or Good Cop/Bad Cop. Their dual nature could also simply be the way they are, with no explanation otherwise given.

The cold side can have a few different variants, though the Ice Queen or Ice King is probably the most common, mixing aloofness and distance with a certain harshness and lack of sympathy. Another manifestation of this side is as The Stoic, being simply unemotional and unresponsive rather than harsh. Occasionally this could be part of their personality may resemble a full-on Emotionless Girl, or include the sharp-tongued aspects of The Snark Knight.

The warm side, on the other hand, is usually quite kind, open, and emotive. Some variations can be very animated when in the right situation, though others may be Shrinking Violets, uncertain how to interact with others when not acting tough. Even the shy-types, however, usually wear at least a small smile or sport a Luminescent Blush to indicate that they are far more emotionally reactive than their cold side.

Their cold side tends to be the one everyone is used to, with the warmer side only glimpsed in response to specific triggers. In many cases, all it takes is getting to know the person before the warm side begins to make an appearance.

More rarely, the frosty side is the seldom-seen aspect and is only evoked when they are confronted by something they find annoying or tedious. Often this is a bumbling Love Interest who doesn't know what he's done wrong. While there are occasions where the cold side is a mask, this by no means describes all examples. In such cases both sides are genuine aspects of their personality, the character is simply compartmentalized to a much greater degree than most people are.

Compare Not So Stoic and Stoic Woobie. Sometimes related to Beneath the Mask. A Sister Trope to Tsundere (which is basically "Sugar and Fire"). Anime fandom refers to this character as a kuudere (a portmanteau of kuuru, "cool" in Engrish, and deredere, "lovestruck"). Rei Ayanami Expy is a specific subtrope with a particular set of characteristics. In Myers–Briggs and in a Four-Temperament Ensemble, this is a typical trait of I_T_ and the Melancholic, respectively, though occasionally it can apply to the other types and temperaments. Not to be confused with An Ice Person, though sometimes they overlap.


Example subpage:

Other examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Comic Books 
  • Alien vs. Predator: Unintentional Ice Queen Machiko Noguchi didn't realize that she should have integrated herself into the colonists when she arrived at her new executive job, instead of spending three months hardly communicating with them at all. She's actually rather caring and considerate, but that's not how she presented herself.
  • The Authority: Midnighter is a stoic, gritty, brutally violent Anti-Hero in the field, and a Deadpan Snarker in general. So far, so Batman-expy. However, interaction with his partner and husband Apollo, their daughter Jenny, or just kids in general reveals a surprisingly sweet and tender side.
  • Batman: Batman (Bruce Wayne), believe it or not. Though he never becomes specifically open and warm, his cold and authoritative demeanor works in tandem with deep compassion and fairheartedness that only reveals itself in certain situations — most often in regards to his adopted "sons" and Alfred.
    • The most recent arc of Batman and Robin (2023): Batman actually tells Damian that he's proud of him, the highest praise he ever gives, and then he hugs him. Manly Tears were shed.
  • Batwoman: Kate Kane, particularly when on duty, can often be stoic, aloof, harsh, and very violent. But she also loves kids, has a sense of humor, and is generally friendly to people she likes. She's also more emotionally open with her romantic partners and close family.
  • Ghost Rider: Robbie Reyes, the All-New Ghost Rider. While he's not rude, he's very cold, direct and quiet around most people. He's slightly more open to his Love Interest Lisa, almost acting on their shared mutual attraction to each other though remains withdrawn. But when it comes to his little brother, Robbie dotes on Gabe, laughs and plays with his brother, and will do anything he can to keep his brother happy.
  • Martian Manhunter: J'onn J'onzz is aloof and alien on the outside, kind and compassionate on the inside.
  • Runaways:
    • Gert is a Deadpan Snarker who mistrusts adults even more than the rest of the team, which is really saying something. Only the few people who have earned her trust get to know the animal lover and loyal friend hiding behind her prickly exterior.
    • Later member Klara is an even more extreme example — she is often appallingly rude to strangers, owing to her abusive backstory giving her a lot of difficulty with trusting other people. She is, however, extremely loyal to the Runaways, particularly Molly and Karolina, who were directly responsible for saving her from the aforementioned abusive past.
  • Scott Pilgrim: Kim Pine is presented as nothing but snarky, especially to the title character as they used to be a couple... But she makes it clear to him in the final volume that she cares about him deeply and wants him to be happy, even if it's not with her.
  • Sin City: Miho seems almost completely unemotional, but there have been moments in which she showed genuine affection for a select few people. The prime example is in Family Values, where she lies on Dwight's lap and takes a nap.
  • Spider-Man:
    • Doctor Octopus has been shown time again to wanting to be left alone but also craving the closeness of others. Even after the "The Superior Spider-Man" run, Octavius still had the inkling to help others.
    • Mary Jane Watson shows some shades of this given her abusive childhood, but she can be just as moody and standoffish as she can be sweet and fun-loving.
  • Teen Titans: Raven's standard personality in the comics for years, usually being cold and distant towards everyone. However, she defrosts for Robin...Not that he notices.
  • Transformers: More than Meets the Eye: Cyclonus, who was The Dragon to the Big Bad in the previous series before a Heel–Face Turn, who is also very stoic and gruff, rebuffing everyone but his roommate, Tailgate.
  • Wonder Girl: Cassie Sandsmark in the New 52 is a tough, brash, fierce, and short-tempered individual who's prone to violent outbursts and sardonic comments. However, she's quite compassionate towards innocent, defenseless animals and is very protective of her friends, especially Tim Drake.
  • X-Men:
    • Cyclops is a male version. He's not especially confident or good at expressing emotion, so he mostly spends his time buried in a pile of paperwork and hiding his crippling self-doubt behind a stone wall. Unfortunately, this also means that he can't explain his actions to the people he leads, so they think he's a Well-Intentioned Extremist. Before her death, Jean Grey, his wife, helped to mediate between Cyclops and the team, but after her death, Cyclops hooked up with Emma Frost, who similarly has trouble relating to people (mostly because she's very blunt and patronizing, rather than being serious and to the point), and watched as over 90 percent of the mutant population was depowered and decimated, followed by two thirds of what's left being slaughtered and him being forced to relocate the X-Men to a military bunker, he basically ends up getting to the point where, whenever there's trouble, he's cold and calculating, moreso than usual, and constantly prepping for war, while retaining his slightly calmer dorky side whenever he has time to be friendly, which sadly became less frequent as time went on until he ends up losing half of his team.
    • X-23 Laura Kinney acts cold around other people. Alone, however, she's an emotional wreck who can't reconcile the trauma of her Tyke-Bomb training with her growing desire to be free and express herself. (She was trained all her life to repress feelings and never bond with anyone, so, gradually... she forgot how.) Unfortunately, this is often a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy — she doesn't know how to be social with her peers, so they take her awkward silences to mean that she has no emotions or humanity at all, so they isolate her from the group and call her a "monster", so she never learns how to relate to other people, so she never learns how to let go of her depression, so she doesn't know how to be social with her peers.... (Admittedly, though, it doesn't help that she sees nothing wrong with killing people—something which horrifies her fellow teenagers. Even in her good moments, X-23 looks and speaks in a very creepy way.)
      • She gets better after breaking out of a mental Epiphanic Prison and leaving the X-Men. During the journey to find herself that follows, she bonds with Gambit and Jubilee, who also have emotional trauma (What did you expect? It's the Marvel Universe) and understand her Kuudere nature. Her life evens out after that—she's not normal, but she's a healthier example of the trope, and she's slowly making peace with herself.

    Eastern Animation 
  • Shinbi's Haunted House:
    • Gauen is cool and subdued, probably as a result of the trauma of losing her sister and years of bullying and shunning by her peers. Once Hari befriend her, Gauen starts smiling more, and it's clear that under the surface she's a sweet and loyal friend who cares deeply about others.
    • Kanglim Choi is a male example. He is indifferent and even harsh towards his classmates but will help those in need and acts warmer towards Hari, especially when they're alone. He also had no trouble opening up to the children he befriended in episode 15, even realizing his feelings for Hari after one suggested it.

    Fan Works 
  • Nova Shine in The Apprentice, the Student, and the Charlatan first shows up rather snarky, with no shortage of Trollish inclinations, and plenty of irritation shown if someone tries to get to know him a little too much. However, after developing a bond with Twilight Sparkle, she starts to bring out his more tender side, such as when he's around foals or when she finally is able to get him to talk about his past.
  • Orion Black from The Black Sheep Dog Series. He's well-known among his circle as being cold-hearted and unfeeling, even by the standards of his family, that even his sons (especially Sirius) finds him frustratingly inscrutable. Those who are observant and knows him well enough, such as his sister Lucretia and Dumbledore, knows that he takes after his soft-hearted mother rather than his cantankerous father. He usually reserves his tenderness for his immediate family, and is more willing to show affection and offer comfort when they need it than Walburga.
  • Cardcaptor Rad has Red Alert; he's the blunt, harsh and critical Autobot medic, but he can be just as awkward and has his kinder moments.
  • In the Death Note fanfic A Charmed Life, Light Yagami is generally very cold with most people with only a few exceptions but he is more open, honest, and even playful with Ryuk.
  • Child of the Storm:
    • Nick Fury is implied to be this, though he has yet to show more than the slightest glimpse of his softer side. According to all those who used to know him, he was a much more relaxed and friendly guy back when he was liaison to the Order of the Phoenix, being drinking buddies with Lovable Rogues Sirius Black and John Constantine and Like Brother and Sister with Lily Potter to the point where he was second choice to be godfather to Harry. Then Lily and James were killed (while James didn't exactly die, since he was Thor in a mortal body, this was far from apparent at the time), Harry was given to the Dursleys and a lot of the Death Eaters got clean away, a Cynicism Catalyst that turned him into the cold, ruthless and manipulative man that he is today.
    • Maddie, post-Heel–Face Turn, is a textbook example, having been raised as a Tyke-Bomb and a Living Weapon, suffering enough emotional abuse to leave her utterly certain that this was all she was meant to be. As a result, she often defaults to Spock Speak and an apparently cool and emotionless demeanour but has a softer, sweeter side that tends to emerge around Remy, Jean, and Harry.
    • Harry develops one after the Forever Red arc in the sequel, being cold and distant from anyone who he wasn't close to to begin with (in between explosions of temper, that is), showing his warmer and more affectionate side only intermittently. This comes from a very nasty case of PTSD that takes a while to deal with.
  • As exemplified in Literature and Live-Action TV below, Sherlock Holmes in Children of Time. He starts the series being more like Watson (which is a very good thing), but slips (arguably back) into being a Kuudere, somewhere between Types 1 and 2. Thanks to the events of "Burn", this is the Holmes that Beth Lestrade meets rather than the Lighter and Softer Holmes of the first half of the series.
  • Like their BBC/Literature counterparts, Holmes and Watson have this in Deliver Us from Evil Series fic Mortality. Though Mortality shows Watson's protective side, definitely and, also, while interrogating a criminal, he's calm. And when Watson is begged for mercy in want happened to Holmes he proceeds to calmly and coldly murder the captured criminal. Holmes seems to be a lot kinder after the events, and glad to have a friend like Watson.
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers fanfic Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità: Although Germany yells at Italy at a constant basis and is strict towards him, Germany is also is kind and gentle towards him as well.
  • In I Hope You're Prepared For An Unforgettable Wedding!, Principal Skinner is said to have this kind of personality.
    Yes, he was stern and no-nonsense towards the majority of people, but when he was with the ones he held most dear, he became a total sweetheart, like some kind of reverse Jekyll & Hyde. Indeed, Chalmers was very fortunate to have someone as considerate as him as a partner for life.
  • In Manehattan's Lone Guardian, the child Five-of-a-Kind keeps the "Sugar" side of her personality on standby. Most of the time its her "Ice" side that's on full display: utterly quiet and emotionless, as well as freely snarking at her family and others. The "Sugar" side manifests when she's showing concern for her mother's well-being, and she has admitted in her own way that she cares about her family and friends.
  • Bloodborne fanfic The Night Unfurls:
    • Kyril Sutherland comes across as an apathetic and unfriendly person due to his brusque, impassive and brooding demeanour, something expected for a Hunter experienced with bloodshed from the Night of the Hunt. However, simply be a decent person instead of a jerk, and he will return the favour with kindness and, surprisingly, loyalty. The Hunter also appreciates those who show a useful skill or two (e.g., sneaking around, doing paperwork, or even making delicious food!) instead of picking a fight with him for no reason other than Underestimating Badassery. Towards his subordinates, he is a stern leader, but never callous. Starting out the story as a tight-lipped man who opens up to no one but his doll confidant (who sees the Hunter as kind even if he doesn't show it), he gradually develops sympathy towards the weak and the downtrodden, even providing solace to the traumatised. It is worth mentioning that in spite of the above "sugary" moments, Kyril does not become more expressive or buddy-buddy — the "ice" part is an integral, persisting part of his personality, neither a shell nor a facade.
    • Olga Discordia. "Ice" to the world (ironically, she uses fire magic), "sugar" towards Chloe. Celestine and Kyril are later included in the "sugar" part.
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Defenders of Warmth has Vulpix, who is unsure how to interact with anyone who is not Bulbasaur/ Sage until after The Solstice Games. The reason for this is she does not remember how to act around other pokémon.
  • The Story of Apollo, Daphne and Luca: An Italian Tragedy: Bianca is reserved, impassive and introverted, but is not afraid to show a warmer and more caring side to people in need like Giulia, who had a very bad fight with Luca and stopped to talk to him for the rest of the week.
  • A Taste of the Good Life has Silver Scroll, who at one point switches from coldly offering her brother legal advice about the risk he's taking by looking after Scootaloo without informing Foal Protective Services about her situation, to glomping him and calling him a softie for taking her in.
  • In my papa is a jawbreaker, the five-year-old Anya compares her father to a piece of jawbreaker candy; tough and hard to see the inside of, but sweet.
    Jawbreakers take lots of time to eat, but when they end I feel happy. Papa also makes me happy.
  • In A Young Woman's Defense of the Inner Sphere, The first impression Princess Katherine Steiner-Davion gives is that of a true ice princess, coming across as arrogant and standoffish to those around her. However, the longer one spends time with her, the more they realize she is a genuinely caring person who always strives to ensure the safety and well-being of those who serve her. She has a habit of taking any loss of her men very hard, even if she does not allow herself to show it most of the time.

    Film — Animation 
  • In Epic (2013), Ronin puts up a cold exterior which he only drops around people he's close to, like Tara.
  • Queen Elsa in Frozen puts up with an aloof personality due to trying to keep her ice powers in check, but shows a more childlike side when she's allowed to let loose with her powers.
  • Master Tigress from Kung Fu Panda is normally cold and aloof as the result of Master Shifu not showing enough affection for her when she was growing up. Though it takes a while, Po eventually gets her to show her softer side.
  • Dr. Atsuko Chiba from Paprika. Always cold and serious in the real world, her warm and silly side only comes out when she's in dreamland as Paprika, who's modeled on her secret crush.
  • Haku from Spirited Away is cold, stoic, and unresponsive to Yubaba and the other spirit workers; he's smiling, warm, and talkative when around Chihiro. Chihiro asks Lin if there are two Hakus—Lin shudders at the idea of two of him.
  • The Bog King from Strange Magic is normally a grouchy hostile Evil Overlord who seems to wear a permanent snarl on his face but also has a secret romantic side that he shows to Marianne.

    Film — Live-Action 
  • Bandslam: Sa5m acts like the Emotionless Girl and standoffish at first. However, it soon turns out she's actually warm and kind inside, though her soft side warrs with the other half. It's possibly due to having had a stutter, which made her self-conscious.
  • Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series. Jerkass, targets Harry and friends in particular, and all-around not-nice guy. But, as is eventually revealed, he has a deeply buried soft side that he has rarely been able to acknowledge since the traumatic events of his past, and his ultimate motivation is love.
  • By the end of The Heiress, main character Catherine Sloper has developed this personality (previously being a Shrinking Violet). She is as kind and friendly as she always was with people she likes. With people who get on her bad side, she is a complete ice queen.
  • The Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen is "sugar" to Prim and Gale, "ice" to pretty much everyone else, including her mother. But she warms up to her and a few more people over the course of the film series.
  • Brittany in Lake Placid The Final Chapter is kind of rude or icy in general, especially around her rival Chloe but is more prone to smiling or moments of vulnerability when alone with her boyfriend or with Elaine
  • This trope describes the film version of Mary Poppins quite well. She puts up a stern and professional demeanor to avoid growing emotionally attached but is very kind and nurturing on the inside.
  • Me Before You: Camilla Traynor, at first glance. It becomes apparent during the overheard conversation that tells about Will's membership at Dignitas and when we see her desk faces a collage of press cuttings and photos of Will, that she's closer to Mama Bear in outlook. Her breakdown at Louisa's revelation that the trip to the Caribbean failed to change Will's mind about suicide shows just how thin the Ice Queen front really is, and it is devastating to see.
  • Moneyball: Billy has an explosive temper to the point where him smashing or throwing things is a Running Gag and keeps his distance from the team members so as to not form personal attachments to them, but he is a friendly, if a bit aloof, guy most of the time, is a loving father to his 12-year-old daughter, and forms a genuine friendship with Peter. However, it is implied that his temper is from a depressive funk and not reflective of his actual personality, as he stops angrily breaking things once the Oakland A's begin to perform well and things start looking up for him.
  • From flashes of rage, to her quiet, lovely moments, Lee Leander, from Remember the Night, is the epitome of this trope.
  • The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Riff Raff's general demeanour is cool, unfeeling and sadistic, but when he's alone with his sister Magenta he's warm, sweet and even rather cheerful.
  • Sunset Boulevard has a very dark example in Max von Mayerling, Norma's butler and first husband. He's cold, uptight and extremely professional, but he does his best to keep Norma's delusion intact and it's clear that he's still in love with her.
  • We Are the Night: Charlotte. She's largely cold and indifferent to others. However, at times she displays kindness. It's implied to result from her depression, so she may well have been warmer in the past.

    Literature 
  • Ai no Kusabi has Iason Mink who is an Artificial Human that expressed very little emotion until he fell in love.
  • Stephen Maturin in the Aubrey-Maturin series. An ever-suspicious, untrusting, icy-eyed intelligence agent who can kill without blinking — and a compassionate, liberal-hearted doctor, who adopts orphans, lends money without a thought, campaigns against slavery and sexism, and cares deeply for his patients and his friends.
  • I Became the Villain the Hero Is Obsessed With: Shin Haru/"Stardus" is isolated from other people because of her double life, most Koreans' poor opinions of superheroes, and her trauma-induced, serious personality in general. In chapter 133, the fact that she initiates conversation with a stranger and is smiling a lot tips Da-in off that she has a hidden agenda for doing so. Yet she remains fiercely committed to being a superhero and protecting people, even people who treat her like crap.
  • In A Brother's Price, Princess Trini is extremely cold towards potential husbands, and towards people who bring up the topic of a potential marriage. This is because her late husband was a rapist asshole. The only man she likes is her cousin Cullen, of whom she's very fond. If she's told that a man is in danger, she's very protective, and when she and her sisters marry Jerin, Trini is shown to be the one who cares most about his wellbeing; she prevents her younger sisters from clinging to his legs when he wants to go somewhere, and brings him food in their wedding night, contrasting her favourably to Ren, who is earlier shown to care more about getting into Jerin's pants than about the fact that he might be hungry.
  • In The Case Files of Jeweler Richard, Richard is generally very reserved, distant, and formal with everyone, but always very, very studiously polite. Once he gets to know someone, he is shown to be very tender and caring, with a tendency for overwhelming displays of affection.
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses: Feyre can be exceptionally kind and warm to her friends, but tends to be aloof to others.
  • Discworld:
    • Vetinari is cynical, sarcastic, pragmatic, and a Manipulative Bastard, but there are a couple of characters he seems quite fond of, and in Unseen Academicals, when he's with characters like Margolotta or Ridcully, with whom he's quite comfortable, he actually gets relaxed enough to make jokes. He also took good care of his dog Wuffles, even when the dog was well into old age. When he died, Vetinari had him buried in a nice spot in the garden, and still puts dog treats on the grave.
    • Granny Weatherwax is the poster child for Never Mess with Granny. She's dueled wizards, dethroned mad kings, tamed wild unicorns, outsmarted vampires, and couldn't have been more of a hardass while doing so. Multiple species have names for her which translate to "Avoid at all costs." But she also Wouldn't Hurt a Child, keeps love letters from her youth, has a pet kitten she keeps safe under her hat and is in all ways the person you should turn to when you need help.
  • The knight Sparhawk, protagonist of The Elenium series by David Eddings, fits this trope very well. He's a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, will tolerate absolutely no disrespect to his queen or his god, and wears intimidating black armor to further emphasize the idea that this is someone who doesn't mess around. Within his own circle, however, he's a very warm individual — he loves his fellow knights as brothers, adores the woman who instructed him in magic, and later in the story is a devoted husband and father. His most personal enemy was once his closest friend, and even when they duel to the death, it's clear that they still love and respect one another.
  • Silas from The Graveyard Book is one — he's The Stoic most of the time, but Bod triggers his occasional moments of warmness.
  • Harry Potter:
    • Professor Minerva McGonagall is incredibly stern and uptight... until her students are threatened or hurt. She also apparently giggles a lot when drunk.
    • Severus Snape is sarcastic, mean, and downright abusive towards some of his students, but he loved Lily Evans and was quite kind to her.
  • Yuki Nagato from Haruhi Suzumiya. Although she appears to be an Emotionless Girl, she's actually a very kind and caring girl. She was just ill-equipped by her creator to actually express emotions. Her other side is seen mainly in the Disappearance book/movie, involving an alternate universe that she created in which she's a Shrinking Violet instead of emotionless; and in the related spinoff The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, which further develops this version of her character.
  • Honor Harrington:
    • Honor is perfectly willing to face down her enemies with nothing but an icy glare on her face, even with her life and the life of those around her in the balance, but the several books in the series make it clear that she's a completely different person around the ones she loves. Which makes her love's death in the fifth book that much more tragic, and her vengeance that much colder. Her cool, stoic and professional exterior is not only a way to cope with all the crap that life insists on heaping on her, but also a strong leash on a certain deeper and darker side of her personality.
    • Victor Cachat is a stone-cold Determinator, the living blade of the Republic and one of the precious few people capable of killing at a proverbial drop of a hat, but he turns into a somewhat prudish, naive Wide-Eyed Idealist slumboy with the personality of everyone's favorite kid brother at the blink of an eye. Just don't try to stand between him and Haven's best interests, or those whom he personally vowed to protect. Precisely in that order.
    • President Eloise Pritchart, of the restored Republic of Haven. In public, she was a cold, cruel, merciless Political Officer. Behind closed doors, she was in a romantic relationship with the admiral she was supposed to be riding herd on, and the complete opposite of cold, cruel, and merciless. Once she became President, she puts on a Tough Leader Façade — but was still quite warm and personable in private.
    • Queen Elizabeth III switches between a woman who is described as taking grudges, stuffing and mounting them to the wall and never forgets or forgives someone who has insulted or threatened her family or her kingdom, and a woman who takes impish delight in disconcerting stuffy members of the aristocracy, has a warm and loving relationship with her family, and is kind and generous to those who she feels deserves it. Once she and Pritchart get to know each other personally, the mutual animosity is quickly replaced by wary trust and then actual friendship.
  • Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. She prides herself in appearing cold and aloof, though she gets very protective and sweet to anyone she considers fragile or broken, like her little sister, Rue, Gale and later on Haymitch and especially Peeta (it helps that both of them are traumatized and being put into the wringer throughout the course of the series). She also warms up to certain people as well, like Effie, the prep team, Finnick and Johanna as well.
  • Eucliwood "Eu" Hellscythe from Is This A Zombie? may appear to be very cold and expressionless, but this is a facade she's forced to put on because if she expresses strong emotions, her powers will go out of control. In the rare occasions she lets her emotions out, she's very cute and sweet.
  • Knight-Captain Ice from The Legend of Sun Knight: As the Ice Knight, he is (in addition to using ice magic) expected to act cold and distant, rarely speaking and never being friendly to anyone. Since the premise for the series is that the twelve knights aren't who they're expected to be, Ice is secretly a kind person who wants to be friends with everyone. Since he's not permitted to smile and hold friendly conversations, he conveys this by making sweets for everyone he cares for.
  • In My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Nicol is rather sweet and head over heels in love with Katarina, but because he's a bit awkward and not naturally inclined to be expressive she hasn't the faintest idea, though she does recognize that he's a nice guy with a gorgeous smile.
  • Mr. Darcy, from Pride and Prejudice comes off as extremely cold to the point of being rude. In reality, he is merely very reserved and rather socially inept; his loyalty to and passion for those he cares about runs deep — but only those he cares about get to see his kinder side. The prime example is exemplary concern for his sister's well-being.
  • In Rebuild World, Akira is ice-cold to most, abandoning others as he sees fit and not hesitating to shoot someone if he deems them a threat. But he's able to let his guard down around a select few people: Shizuka, Sara, and Elena, who give him unconditional kindness and support. They're the only people he's excited to see and he's able to act his age around them instead of being a paranoiac. Shizuka also notes how childishly excited he is when getting his first augmented suit or a new gun. Even this is a massive improvement from his days before meeting Alpha where he didn't trust anyone. As he continues to develop more relationships, he becomes emotionally aware enough to apologize to Sheryl in advance in case he vents his anger on her after being put into a sour mood. In the same conversation, he declares his intent to murder the information broker who marked him as an easy pickpocketing target.
  • Eddard Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire, who is sugar to his family and ice to the rest of the world.
  • Star Wars Legends: Mara Jade falls under this trope pre-Hand of Thrawn duology; once she's married to Luke, however, she mostly reverts to a mixed-type Tsundere (she can get rather testy under certain circumstances). It's mentioned a few times that her habitual sarcasm is a tactic — angry people say things they might normally keep quiet, and angry people just in general don't think as well, so they don't fight as smart.
  • In the historical novel The Sunne in Splendour Edward IV is The Casanova, a doting big brother and father, jovial, approachable and even tries to come to terms with most of his enemies. However, if you cross him or are a threat to him, he is absolutely terrifying. He's aggressive and fearless on the battlefield, breaks sanctuary to execute his enemies and even has his brother executed and murders the the mentally infirm, innocent Henry VI himself because he doesn't want to order one of his men to kill an innocent man.
  • Peggy from The Tales of Alvin Maker is like this when she first appears in the second book. When Taleswapper asks her mother about Peggy, she tells him she's gone too cold for anyone to tolerate her. He carefully refrains from telling her that ice can only be thawed with warmth and then proceeds to get smiles and laughs from Peggy in private.
  • Femysade in the novella A Taste of Honey can be caring and sweet when it fits into her plans, and she really loves Aqib, but she is also quick to behave coldly towards him in public due to No Social Skills and even threatens to kill him should he ever betray her.
  • Crowfeather from Warrior Cats comes off as cold and heartless to most of the world, except for Feathertail, and later, Leafpool. Both are his Love Interests, and his relationships with both end badly. This is later deconstructed as he Took a Level in Jerkass. He doesn't show love to his son (who later turns evil directly because of Crowfeather's neglect) and makes it blatantly clear to Nightcloud that he only took her as his mate to make Wind Clan trust him again. And because of emotional and legal shenanigans, he breaks up with Leafpool and treats her like crap every time they meet, openly despising her and disowning the children he had with her. Also, Feathertail dies — ironically, urging him with her last breath to not use her death as a further excuse to close out the world. Guess what he does. So by the time the fourth series rolls around, he's just a plain Jerkass with no redeeming traits. Should have added a little more sugar there, buddy.
  • In Watashitachi no Tamura-kun, Souma acts harsh and cold to people when she is first introduced, but really would like nothing more than to make some true friends and find love.

    Live-Action TV 
  • The 100: Protagonist Clarke Griffin is more Ice than Sugar. If she likes you, she's emotionally open; witness her crying upon reuniting with her mom, worried about the fate of her friends. If she's indifferent, she's cold and pragmatic, and if she despises you, she's cold and pragmatic. It just happens to come with a side of violence.
  • Max Black on 2 Broke Girl$ is cynical, dark, and self-described as being "dead inside" (likely the result of her Hilariously Abusive Childhood), but is actually deep-down a good person and has shown genuine friendship towards Caroline, including letting her move in with her after just barely meeting her, and Earl the diner cashier, who is the only one she is not sarcastic or snarky to (but rather with, as they mock everybody else together).
  • Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5 was like this, especially in the earlier seasons. Very stiff, serious, and formal, she even went so far as to not use contractions on at least one occasion. After a while though, she started letting her hair down (literally and figuratively) and showed a kinder, more vulnerable, and sometimes hilarious side. Throughout she maintains her professionalism while on the job, though she does become more of a Deadpan Snarker, especially when irritated. Word of God is that this was at the request of Claudia Christian, who wanted a chance to be funny with her character.
  • Captain Apollo from Battlestar Galactica (1978) maintains his stoic demeanor while on duty, but often displays warmth and openness towards his friends and family, especially his father, his adoptive stepson Boxey, and Starbuck.
  • In Blake's 7, Avon: "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care, or, indeed, why it should be necessary to prove it at all" but goes to great lengths to rescue his companions and defends the alien crewmate Cally in his own inimitable style ("She's more human than I am.") when the other humans head into a little Fantastic Racism.
  • Bones: Temperance Brennan so seldom shows her soft side that it's easy to think she doesn't have one, but she does. This can be seen, for instance, in an early episode where she's talking to a boy who, like her, grew up in foster homes.
  • Bridgerton: Kate Sharma is so devoted to her family and quickly fits in with the Bridgerton family but Anthony. Despite spending the early episodes being the pain in his ass, upon seeing Anthony in trouble when she's stung by a bee, she instinctively calms him down.
  • Prue Halliwell on Charmed is cold with most people, with her warm side mostly shown towards her sisters Piper and Phoebe.
  • Chuck has Sarah Walker, who has a tendency to mask her emotions due to many traumatic events in her life. However, she is very warm and loving on the inside.
  • Criminal Minds: Emily Prentiss is detached and sarcastic with most people (to the point she finds her love life disappointing and prefers to live alone with her cat), but warm and friendly with the rest of the team, especially in Season 7.
  • Daredevil (2015):
    • Matt Murdock has a bit of this going on. He can be very chivalrous with Karen and Foggy, while also being a bit more abrasive in his interactions with other people.
    • Karen Page has a very bubbly personality that is very prevalent whenever she's around Matt and Foggy. However, this is all a mask to a much darker side of herself, as she's also got a very shady past and she personally killed James Wesley.
  • Degrassi:
    • Spike in Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High has this in spades: on one hand, she is notoriously aloof towards Shane, the boy who she had sex with and later became pregnant, to the point where she doesn't let him see baby Emma after she is born. Her avoidance of Patrick, her next boyfriend, begins to make it clear that Spike may have legitimate trust issues, and the lack of a father being seen doesn't help. On the other hand, she is polite and even quite compassionate towards others, though only really to her close female friends (Liz especially); in fact, one of her most well-loved moments is in Degrassi: The Next Generation when she counsels Emma's best friend Manny, who herself was dealing with Teen Pregnancy.
  • Bree from Desperate Housewives, especially in the early seasons: formal and coldly polite towards most of the people, but warm and loving (or at least the best she could show) towards her best friends and her family.
  • Doctor Who:
    • The Fourth Doctor has this as one of his gimmicks, particularly in his mid-to-late period. He's the funniest, warmest, loveliest, most charming person you could possibly imagine, but he can turn it on and off like a switch, suddenly becoming completely frightening, alien and emotionless and prone to righteous Tranquil Fury. Steven Moffat described how "when that famous grin leaves his face, it's like winter in a moment." Real Life Writes the Plot is heavily at play here: Baker suffers from bipolar disorder, which was not diagnosed until well after he left the role, and much of the Fourth Doctor's periodic and extreme shifts in disposition were reflective of how variable his actual psychological state was between manic and depressive periods; Douglas Adams, who served as script editor during the show's seventeenth season, once stated that "Tom is one of those people who oscillated between being one of the most wonderful, awesome, engaging people you have ever met, to someone you would gladly shove off a cliff."
    • The Twelfth Doctor also has this personality but it's the ice side that dominates from the beginning, which causes him a great deal of trouble in Series 8, his introductory season — reaching a low point when loyal companion Clara Oswald temporarily abandons him over it when a well-meaning choice to let her and humanity make a key decision about its future, rather than just fixing everything himself, comes off to her as him being condescending and cruel and no more. He eventually defrosts enough that his sugar side turns up more frequently in Series 9, but even then, it usually is only around certain people — Clara, children, his number one fan Osgood, and River Song being the key examples.
    • In contrast to Twelve, the Thirteenth Doctor tries so hard to at least appear nice that when she backslides into no mercy to her enemies, or cuts off herself from her companions and snaps at them, it comes as more as a shock. She also favours repression, while her last four incarnations went for the Manly Tears.
  • Downton Abbey: Carson is incredibly stuffy most of the time, but demonstrates a softer side with certain people and/or when no one will find out. For instance, he refuses to go to the fair with the rest of the staff, just because they'd feel the need to be on their best behavior if he was there, and instead spends the day with baby Sybbie.
  • Father Brown: In "The Labyrinth Of The Minotaur", Davina Malmort is stern, rigid, and commanding, but it turns out she cares very much for her children, including her mentally deficient one. She rejects placing Arthur in an asylum because, she laments, none of them seemed to have children that were enjoying life. While still being more or less institutionalized by being hidden away, he's at home, among his favorite people and things, and well cared for.
  • Firefly:
    • Zoe is cold towards everyone, although she does occasionally show glimpses of a softer side around those she cares about. Especially her husband Wash, toward whom she can be genuinely warm.
    • Simon acts frosty towards strangers, but as you get to know him it's obvious that this is mostly a consequence of being a Fish out of Water as well as a side order of No Social Skills. He is particularly warm towards River.
    • Even the simpleminded but brutal and traitorous ruffian Jayne hides a soft spot for his family, adores his momma, and "works" hard (at crime, violence, and selling out his comrades) to be a good son and send money home to support her and, apparently, his younger siblings.
  • Game of Thrones:
    • Like his book counterpart, Ned Stark has this. His son Robb seems to have inherited it.
    • Stannis leans heavily on the icy side, but his interactions with Davos and Shireen show that he also cares deeply for some people, although he's not good at showing it.
  • On Gilmore Girls, Jess is acerbic and sarcastic with pretty much everyone except Rory, with whom he shares a Commonality Connection of literature, music, and pop culture. Rory calls him out on it on more than one ocassion.
  • In Glue, James seems cold and aloof, yet he's very warm and affectionate in interactions with best friend Rob and boyfriend Cal, and deep down he's an all-around sensitive soul.
  • Horatio Hornblower in the A&E series: his introverted nature, combined with the need to maintain a professional demeanor as a naval officer, doesn't lend itself to much emotional demonstrativeness. He does, however, open up to a few people, mostly some of his fellow officers and a few trusted sailors, and he just tries so hard to do the right thing. Unfortunately, despite his awareness of his inadequacy, he acts mostly cold towards his wife Maria, who adores him unconditionally in return.
  • ADA Rafael Barba from Law & Order: SVU is a tough, no-nonsense Rules Lawyer who is brusque and sarcastic to pretty much everyone he works with. The first exceptions are his childhood friends Eddie Garcia and Alex Muñoz, seen in the episode "October Surprise"; he's warm, friendly, and open with them, including hugging them. The other exception is his close friend Olivia Benson, who brings out a much softer side to his character; he is always openly concerned for and gentle with her when she's going through a rough time, and sometimes even tender in a way he isn't seen to be with anyone else. (Perhaps uncoincidentally, actors Raul Esparza and Mariska Hargitay ship their characters in real life and have gone out of their way to develop Benson and Barba's close relationship onscreen.)
  • Prince Arthur from Merlin (2008) has to maintain a professional, calm demeanour in front of the court and his knights, but relaxes considerably when he's with Merlin, and more so with Guinevere.
  • Mabel Mora from Only Murders in the Building is aloof, blunt, often unfriendly and extremely slow to trust people. However, she's also capable of great empathy and shows real kindness to the select few she allows into her life. Several traumatic events in her childhood and adolescence led to her keeping her guard up, but she has a good heart nonetheless, and it shows.
  • April from Parks and Recreation. Her warm side mostly comes out with her eventual boyfriend Andy.
  • Dr. K from Power Rangers RPM fits like a glove. She has a rather sour personality and can come across as blunt and occasionally downright mean towards the Rangers, especially Ziggy. However, her cutesy Zord Attack Vehicle and suit designs, along with her diabetic sweet tooth, show off her sweeter side.
  • Ned from Pushing Daisies is usually polite yet aloof and snarky, masking his feelings due to his traumatic childhood and avoiding close relationships. Inside, he's a warmhearted person.
  • Schitt's Creek:
    • Moira Rose is aloof and self-centered, sometimes to the point of Comedic Sociopathy, but she gradually reveals Hidden Depths. She loves her husband, ineptly but sincerely loves her children and develops a close bond with Jocelyn over the course of the series. She even becomes a surrogate parent to Stevie in Season 5.
    • Stevie Budd is introverted and snarky, but when it comes to her good friend David, she reveals a softer side and is always there when he needs her.
  • Sherlock:
    • Sherlock is an excellent example of this trope. He is cold and aloof to people in general, is a self-proclaimed sociopath who shows zero compassion for the dead bodies at crime scenes, and is disliked by most of the police he commonly works with. But get him alone with John, and he'll laugh cheerily, smile warmly, appreciate the night sky, and try to show friendship in his own dysfunctional way. He is also very warm to Mrs. Hudson, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek in "A Study in Pink", and displaying an insane amount of protectiveness toward her in "A Scandal in Belgravia." And then there's this immortal line...
      Sherlock: Listen, what I said before, John, I meant it. I don't have friends. I've just got one.
    • John. On the outside, he's definitely a likable guy, but he was pretty much stoic and distant towards Mike Stamford, as well as his sis Harry and his therapist. He definitely didn't trust Mycroft when they first meet (understandable, Mycroft was thought to be Moriarty). Also, when he's really pissed, he's calm, which makes it MORE scary, since he's ruthless, and actually going to KILL someone — particularly a criminal who is dumb enough to threaten Sherlock's life, that this sweet, mild-mannered guy is very protective of — in cold blood. Still, he's very warm to Mary, Mrs. Hudson, and Sherlock. Though, like Sherlock, he doesn't get along with Anderson and Donovan.
  • Smallville:
    • Emil fits this pretty well. He's generally pretty detached and awkward, but he does care about his team and sometimes shows it. (Such as the end of "Kent" when he gently tells Tess that maybe she is a better person than she thinks she is.)
    • Recurring Character Alicia Baker is reserved or hostile around most people (initially having to keep a distance because of fear of her powers being exposed, and later because she's viewed warily after her stay in a mental hospital) but is quite excitable and warm around Clark, except during a couple Yandere scenes in her first episode.
  • Star Trek:
    • Star Trek: The Next Generation: Ensign Ro Laren. Traumatized by the Cardassian occupation of Bajor during her childhood, she seems very frigid, but there are a few times when she shows a more sensitive side, like "The Next Phase", when she thinks she's dead, or "Conundrum", when she and the crew are struck with amnesia. In her eponymous debut episode, Guinan instinctively sees this in her.
      Guinan: Am I disturbing you?
      Ro: Yes.
      Guinan: Good. You look like someone who wants to be disturbed.
      Ro: I'd rather be alone.
      Guinan: Oh, no you wouldn't.
      Ro: I beg your pardon?
      Guinan: If you wanted to be alone, you would've stayed in your quarters. The only reason to come here [Ten Forward] is to be amongst people.
      • Worf tends strongly toward the "ice" side, rarely showing any emotion other than belligerence. But when he's alone with people he cares about, a much softer side emerges. There's a surprisingly tender moment in Deep Space Nine where O'Brien can't stop Yoshi from crying, but as soon as Worf holds the baby, he falls asleep in his arms. Worf seems genuinely moved, reflecting that he hadn't been able to be with his own son at that age.
    • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Garak is a rare example of the reverse of this trope. He's warm, approachable and friendly on the surface, which is a mask hiding a ruthless, cold-hearted killer. As the show wears on, this mask is revealed to be much more complicated: He's warm, approachable and friendly on the surface to hide his ruthless, cold-hearted inner nature, which itself hides the most deeply concealed part of his personality: the warm, genuine attachments he does actually form. All three parts (the fake amiability, the ruthlessness, and the genuine affection) make up the person he is, and if that sounds confusing to the audience, it's equally confusing to the characters around him. In fact, even he has a hard time keeping track of what he's truly feeling about what's going on around him.
      • In the same show, Odo shows his softer, caring side when Major Kira is around. Noted in "The Reckoning":
        Major Kira: You love to bring up the worst-case scenario in these meetings, don't you?
        Odo: Somebody has to. Besides, everyone expects me to be dour and suspicious; I don't want to disappoint them.
        Major Kira: If only they knew the real you.
        Odo: That is the real me — at least as far as everyone else is concerned.
    • T'Pol from Star Trek: Enterprise: using her cold exterior and her repressed but detectable emotions, she typically insults and berates people, but occasionally shows a compassionate side. She usually justifies both sorts of actions as logical, though it is often apparent to the viewer (and recipient) that this is mostly just a rationalization.
      • Her actions are due less to her personality and more to her species. Vulcans are a Sugar And Ice race as shown starting in The Original Series with Spock and his dad, and continuing throughout the franchise.
  • Supernatural:
    • Dean Winchester, especially in early seasons, presents as a Lovable Rogue, who is flirtatious, hedonistic, and quick with the one-liners, but when it comes to hunting, he's deadly serious and competent. And he will kill you, mercilessly, if you threaten Sam.
    • Castiel also fits this trope. In his early appearances, he presents as a cold, no-nonsense soldier of Heaven and even makes it clear he's willing to kill innocents for the greater good. However, he also starts to sympathize with and grow close to Dean, admitting that he doesn't want to hurt innocents and sees great beauty in humanity. Later, as he spends more time among humans and his social awkwardness is Played for Laughs, he leans toward the sugar, that is until it's time for battle. He is still an angel and thus willing to smite, torture, and manipulate to accomplish his goals. In later seasons, he will volunteer to kill innocents for the greater good to spare Sam and Dean the pain of doing so.
    • Most of the Angelic soldiers from to fit this trope, usually because they cycle between professionalism, annoyance/racism towards humans, and very warm relationships with their brothers and sisters.
    • When she's around Crazymode!Castiel, Meg mellows somewhat into an "Ice and Sugar " personality — still cold and aggressive but with occasional warmer moments. She eventually sacrifices herself to save Castiel and the Winchesters because of her affection/love for Castiel.
  • Super Sentai:
    • Mako, Shinken Pink, from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger: Mako's specialty is dealing with her teammates' many issues quickly and practically. Once you're righted, however, don't expect a cuddle for the sake of cuddling.
    • The following year's Sentai, Tensou Sentai Goseiger, has Hyde/GoseiBlue. In episode 2, team Secret-Keeper Nozomu initially dislikes Hyde for his frosty, dismissive attitude, but warms up to him on seeing Hyde's determination to remain on earth and protect humanity.
    • And then Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger brings us Joe Gibken/GokaiBlue. Stoic, cool-headed, and prone to glowering, he nevertheless shows true affection for his crewmates and bakes them a "thank you" cake in Episode 4.
  • Cameron from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: although she's generally unemotional and dangerously pragmatic, there are a few times when she does seem to show genuine affection. Also, in case it needed clarifying, Word of God has said that she truly does love John, and she is certainly willing to die for him.
  • Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries: Stefan has two distinct and very different sides to him due to his vampire nature. When Stefan takes in a huge amount of blood, he shuts off his emotions and becomes crazy, violent, cold, careless, and impulsive. When he feeds, he feeds so violently that he ends up ripping the heads off of his victims, although afterwards he feels guilt and remorse and puts the heads back onto the bodies of his victims. When Stefan is not hyped up on excessive amounts of human blood, he is sensitive, loving, kind, compassionate, caring, empathetic, selfless, and helpful. This more human side is especially enhanced in the presence of Elena, and when Stefan is in his violent state, he cannot find it in himself to hurt Elena.
  • Vida: Emma is usually cold, but does show warmth to other people but then quickly switches back. This results in very frequent issues with her loved ones.
  • The White Queen: Richard of Gloucester can be incredibly sweet or tremendously cold, and no one has experienced the extremes of his personality more intimately than his wife Anne Neville. He's mostly "sugar" towards her when they are kids smitten with each other, during their Rescue Romance as Lady and Knight, and while they are Happily Married, with him being a doting husband. However, Richard is almost all "ice" in the last episode, not caring at all that he's hurting Anne's feelings now that he loves power far more than her. For someone who used to be so warm and compassionate in her presence, it's astonishing how frosty and emotionally cruel he can be.
    Richard: The truth is [Elizabeth of York] is betrothed to Henry Tudor. So who is the fool if I am bedding her? If people think that I am bedding her? The world will see that she is not with Tudor, but with me, and all the men who would fight for her because they loved her father will come to my side, and not to Tudor's.
    Anne: [Trying Not to Cry] So just to win your point with him, you would dishonour me?
    Richard: To win a war against him, I will play whatever cards I must.
  • Agent Dana Scully from The X-Files is very steely and professional towards most people. Even Skinner, who saves her and Mulder several times throughout their long work relationship, gets her cool and calculated side. The only person who gets her to loosen up is her partner, Agent Mulder. This is especially true as the series progresses. By Season 7, she's holding his hand and giggling with him about getting an FBI credit card for the evening.

    Multiple Media 
  • BIONICLE's Kopaka, a Toa of Ice, is a stone-cold loner and The Stoic of his team, but when it comes to his fellow Toa, he's ready to risk life and limb to ensure their safety — when Pohatu had a Disney Death, it shook him so much that he was ready to give his own hard-earned mask to Pohatu's people, and was especially joyful when he found him alive a few seconds later.

    Music 
  • The girl who's the subject of Savage Garden's "To the Moon and Back" mixes Broken Bird with this trope.
    "They're saying, 'Mamma never loved her much'
    And, 'Daddy never keeps in touch
    That's why she shies away from human affection'
    But somewhere in a private place, she packs her bags for outer space
    And now she's waiting for the right kind of pilot to come
    And she'll say to him...
    She's saying
    'I would fly to the moon & back if you'll be...
    If you'll be my baby
    Got a ticket for a world where we belong
    So would you be my baby?'"
  • Love Handel's "You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart" seems to describe this trope rather accurately:
    "I put up barriers
    To shield my emotions
    A wall that you could never break apart
    But like a ninja of love
    Rappelling down from above
    You snuck your way right into my heart"
  • Blondie lampshaded this in "Sunday Girl":
    "I know a girl from a lonely street
    Cold as ice cream but still as sweet."
  • Merle Haggard, "Ever-Changing Woman."
    "There’s days she almost loves me down to nothing
    Then turns around and hates my very soul
    So I always wear a t-shirt and a jacket
    Just in case that woman’s running hot or cold."

    Roleplay 
  • Irene from Dawn of a New Age: Oldport Blues can be reserved and outright cold to people she doesn't know, but is shown to warm up considerably around people she considers her friends, such as Mirielle.

    Theatre 
  • Not unlike the Mary Poppins example listed above, this is how the 2013 stage adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory approaches the Interpretative Character of Willy Wonka. A Reclusive Artist and Mad Scientist who hasn't been seen in public in 40+ years, he's preoccupied with the business of the Golden Ticket tour, reminding the tour group that "This day of punctuality/Is scheduled to the nth degree." While extremely energetic and proud to show off the wonders of his world to them, he's frosty and intimidating much of the time. When the bad kids of the group destroy themselves via their vices — and despite his warnings — he is blithely indifferent. Finding the sweeter, warmer side of his personality is a matter of appreciating and understanding his unique way of thinking, especially in regards to artistic creation/invention. He also turns out to have a Hidden Heart of Gold with regards to Charlie.

    Video Games 
  • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim: Ei Sekigahara is the cool-headed and pragmatic Action Hero of the group who remains withdrawn most of the time. Around those he cares about though, he takes on a very gentle, brotherly vibe, key examples including Ryoko (his sibling-surrogate), Iori (his Love Interest), and BJ/"Miura" (one of his closest friends).
  • Arcana Heart:
    • Saki Tsuzura is pretty aloof most of the time, but this mostly stems from her failure to save her friend Fiona and her resolve to not repeat the same mistake again. She considerably opens up when she's around her...uh...best friend Heart. Especially after the fight with Mildred is over.
    • Lieselotte Achenbach is cold and unemotional for the most part, only really showing emotion after she realizes Mildred's plan.
    • The sequel also adds the super serious Zenia Valov. She wastes very little words and, most of the time, she's quite confrontational, caring most about her missions. In her ending, however, she is seen tending some sort of orphanage and smiling, and the kids greet her warmly, signifying that she's really kind and sweet to children.
  • Jacqli in Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica is a poster child for a cynical version, constantly trying to convince almost everyone she's a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk when in fact she's just a damaged softy. Also, don't hurt her friends.
  • BlazBlue: Rachel Alucard is like this. Though the caring is very hard to see, when one considers that she's playing Xanatos Speed Chess against the psychopathic Terumi, who'd do any number of horrible things if he knew she cared about any of the cast, one realizes that she is not as cold as she pretends to be. However, various endings suggest she has a good deal of sympathy for Ragna (who she asks to "not become a monster"), Noel (who she's seen standing near during her "waking up" dreams), and Nu (Who she pities as a "poor doll" who has such simple dreams).
  • Black Raisin Cookie from CookieRun: Kingdom is initally cold and untrusting towards strangers, even going as far as attempting to ambush the main cast after one of them does not like raisin buns. However, her kind and caring side is shown later on towards those she trusts, doing anything she can to help her villagers.
  • Dragon Age:
    • The Sten in Dragon Age: Origins is the most stoic and rigid of your party members, rarely getting along with others and preferring to focus on accomplishing your goal as soon as possible. However, Leliana notes that he does indeed have a hidden Gentle Giant aspect to him (which she chides him about) and if the player improves their relationship, he proceeds to become part of the True Companions in his own way, even sometimes addressing the player character with an affectionate pet name if he likes them enough.
    • Fenris in Dragon Age II is also this. Even though he hates mages and is always brooding about his past, it doesn't hinder him becoming open to his fellow companions after his long stay at Kirkwall and their helping him against his Tevinter captors.
    • Vivienne in Dragon Age: Inquisition is this. Despite her insistence that sentimentality has no place in unforgiving world like Thedas, she is considerate and helpful, especially if the Inquisitor is friends with her.
  • Dustborn: Theo gives off the impression of being a cold and pragmatic leader, but he is also quick to sympathize with the crew members when they put their emotional needs or morality ahead of the mission. Although he is reluctant to party with the others in the Bad Land Bars because he needs to meet a Weave contact, he relents and drinks with everyone else. The sugar part is most apparent on the Ok Buddy Coda, where he admits he always dreamt of going on a music tour with a bunch of friends. Finally, it turns out his primary reason for going on this mission is so he can help the Weave remove his sister's uncontrollable Vocals, which is why he sympathizes with Pax's desire to bring Ziggy to Nova Scotia.
  • Final Fantasy: Usually one of the three female members of the party tends to have this.
    • Celes from Final Fantasy VI, due to her Broken Bird status and the fact that she is initially cold and pessimistic before being defrosted by Locke. After the halfway point of the game, Celes becomes much more friendly towards the rest of the party and is altogether more optimistic and hopeful, to the point where she eventually becomes their unifying force.
    • Cloud in Final Fantasy VII is flamboyantly cool, never failing to point out how little he cares about things, crack a cruel, deadpan joke or show off for attention. When he lets the act drop he's chivalrous, caring, sensitive, and displays a charming, eccentric sense of humour.
    • In the Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core, pre-insanity Sephiroth is shown to be aloof, cool, and professional...but also capable of displaying concern (about his friends Genesis and Angeal), empathy (allowing Zack to return to Midgar to check on Aerith), and humour (to the point of cracking a wry joke or two).
    • Vincent in Final Fantasy VII and his spinoff game Dirge of Cerberus. He speaks little and appears cold and uncaring at first. As the party gets to know him, he gradually shows a kind, helpful, and protective nature.
    • In Final Fantasy VIII, Squall Leonhart is cold with everyone besides Rinoa, to whom he is a Defrosting Ice King.
    • Final Fantasy XIII:
      • Lightning. An Establishing Character Moment in the introduction has her staring at a dandelion-like piece of fluff with her regular stoic expression. However, when she catches it her touch is gentle enough to keep it perfectly intact until a gust of wind blows to pieces out of her hands.
      • Fang is aloof, cold, and snarky to everyone except Vanille. In her own words, "(she'll) tear down the sky to save her."
  • Fire Emblem:
    • Badass Bookworm Erk from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, in a way. He's not the easiest person to coax out of his shell and away from his books, and he's frequently grumpy and sarcastic. But his supports always end up showing his gentler side, especially his supports with Nino, Priscilla, and Louise.
    • Lute from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is very similar to Erk in her bookishness; she doesn't quite seem to know how to love properly, but her support with Artur shows an attempt at a softer side. (She is a bit odd about it, though.)
    • Soren from Path of Radiance is only friendly towards Ike. This is explicitly mentioned by another character in the sequel; they can magically sense that someone is causing his icy heart to defrost.
    • Yet another mage that exhibits these traits is Arthur from Genealogy of the Holy War. When he expresses concern for his friend (and possible love interest) Fee, she mentions how odd it is that he's thinking of someone other than himself, and he says that she's an "exception." The only other person who he shows his soft side to is his beloved little sister, Tine.
    • In Genealogy and Thracia 776, the Lance Knight Finn is explicitly regarded as having a Sugar and Ice Personality. His old friend Selphina lectures him on being cold to women and how this apparently ruined his relationship with Lachesis, but later Leif comments on how Finn simply "forgot" how to cry or laugh ever since the fall of Leonster. And then we have his behavior when he talks to Altena in Genealogy, where Finn can finally show open emotion and cries.
    • Princess Azura from Fire Emblem Fates. Having grown up as the victim of bullying and Fantastic Racism, she has her share of issues, and thus maintains a cold and detached exterior when around people she doesn't trust to protect herself. However, when she's with people she does trust, such as her little sisters or the Player Character, she's much more animated and warm, even displaying a teasing side.
    • Dedue from Fire Emblem: Three Houses is taciturn and largely unemotional, but shows a warmer side around people he trusts, such as his liege Dimitri.
  • Sol Badguy from the Guilty Gear games is uncouth, hostile to nearly everyone and swears like a marine, but he has a softer side than he lets on. For example, he constantly insults Ky Kiske and calls him an idiot but in another timeline, Ky is killed and he is completely ruined by the loss.
  • Aqua from Kingdom Hearts is directly stated to be one of these (not by the trope name) in an interview with Tetsuya Nomura. She's the type where we see mostly the Sugar side and is also an honor student type.
  • Leona from The King of Fighters fears she'll be dominated by her Enemy Within (Orochi Leona) if she shows emotions openly... When the domination happened the first time, she killed her parents and everyone else in her Doomed Hometown. The second time, she beat her teammates and brother figures Ralf and Clark to almost death. Naturally, the poor girl struggles a LOT with her feelings and thoughts, and it's only around XIII that she truly can come to terms with them.
  • In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Peatrice (the storage girl) has a boring job, which makes her seem rather uncaring about anybody who comes around, but as Link continues to visit her, she starts to like him more and more. Eventually, she begins to fall in love with Link.
  • Luminous Arc 2: Fatima the Shadow Frost Witch is pretty darn stoic and cool. Her warmer side can be brought out if Roland chooses the correct dialogue choices and she becomes his love interest.
  • Xyl of Lusternia was The Stoic and The Spock of the Elder Gods, generally more interested in the pursuit of cosmic knowledge than friendship. However, when with Trillilial, he shows a very different, much warmer side to his personality.
  • Mass Effect 2:
    • Miranda is called an Ice Queen by Wilson at the beginning of the game (...before she kills him), but she warms up to Shepard considerably during the course of the game. And there's the relationship she has with her sister, Oriana.
    • Shepard themselves can be played this way: cold and ruthless in public and on the battlefield (Renegade) but warm and friendly towards the crew (Paragon).
  • Monster Hunter: Rise: Minoto the hub quest maiden comes off as cold and distant, especially compared to her twin Hinoa, who's outgoing and endlessly cheerful. She just has an unfortunate case of Resting Bitch Face and self-esteem issues that come from constantly comparing herself to her sister. Underneath this, she's actually every bit as warm and friendly as Hinoa, which is especially visible when they're alone with the Hunter. Also, in the thight-knit community of Kamura everyone is aware of her issues, and they ignore her facade to be friends with her anyway.
  • Oracle of Tao has Ambrosia, the hero, who is ostensibly a Tsundere. Behind this layer, however, her emotions turn out to be very guarded, and she has to go through an ordeal of sorts to finally unlock them. The best way of putting this is that she's a Mood-Swinger Kuudere with some Cute and Psycho tendencies (as a result of her mood swings).
  • Persona 4:
    • Although often classified as a Tsundere, Ai Ebihara is a lot closer to this. She starts off indifferent, but subtly thaws out as the social link progresses. You even have to reject her once if you want her to stay with you.
    • Naoto is another example. She initially comes off as a bit cold and standoffish toward the party, particularly when dismissing their investigation of the murders as a "game." Her caring side comes out after she joins the party, as well as with the protagonist if he pursues her Social Link.
  • In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Gym Leader Jasmine (who uses Steel-type Pokémon) is described by one character as trying to hide her tenderness behind her steely coldness.
  • Resident Evil:
    • Of the four principal characters introduced in the first two games, Jill Valentine is easily the most stoic and has the least-dynamic personality of the bunch. She still has a strong sense of justice and cares deeply for her comrades.
    • As a professional spy, Ada Wong maintains an aloof, calm, and collected composure in any situation, and more often than not it seems that she is simply stringing Leon along to further her agenda. However, it becomes increasingly clear over the series that not only does she genuinely care for Leon's well-being (going out of her way to help and save him, even with orders of his execution or when she really doesn't have to), but she is also quite capable of compassion. This is easily demonstrated in her personal game scenarios, especially in Resident Evil 6 wherein she has numerous Pet the Dog moments.
  • Yurika Kirishima from Rival Schools is a pure example — she's rather reserved and cold for the most part, but it's part of her facade as The Mole planted in Seijyun High. When she goes through her High-Heel–Face Turn, she starts to open up emotionally, with the most visible example being her Pseudo-Romantic Friendship moment with Akira in the Seijyun High ending.
  • Toona/Raven in Rune Factory 3: cool and seemingly emotionless, she gradually opens up if you pursue a relationship with her. Her reason for being cold is actually a fear of losing those who get close to her, due to a childhood friend disappearing in her presence, and the fact that she can turn into a Phoenix-like monster.
  • Shadow from Sonic the Hedgehog is cold and distant from others, even after putting behind the past in his own spin-off title, but despite this, he has shown to care for his teammates, Rouge and Omega, and even to Sonic and his friends.
  • Super Robot Wars A:
    • Lamia Loveless. On the outside, she's mostly cool, professional and serious, but considering that she is The Child amongst The Three Faces of Eve (being the latest version of the W Numbers and not having been around for long in the world), her inner side is very warm. In OG Gaiden, she slightly warms to Axel, who saved her life.
    • Ring Mao acts like this towards Irm, to the point where she acts as if their relationship never existed when she gets the slightest bit mad, despite the fact that she still cares about him.
  • Tales Series:
    • Leon Magnus from Tales of Destiny qualifies, especially in the remake and the sequel where we see a lot more of the sugar side of his personality.
    • Emil Castagnier from Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is like this; he's usually sweet but cripplingly timid but goes through several highly-noticeable changes when he's in a fight. This trope is eventually revealed to have been averted in favour of Split Personality, since "Emil" is a fabricated alternate persona of Ratatosk, who wiped his own memories so that he could lay low and rest after being mortally wounded.
  • The Sniper in Team Fortress 2. Which side he displays generally depends on whether he's currently sniping.
    Sniper: (cheerfully if taunting; coldly if scoped) Wave goodbye to your head, wanker.
  • The MTV-inspired adventure game, Total Distortion has Stevie Groovie, one of the three TV producers interested in buying music videos you create. She comes off as cold and disinterested initially, paying very little for videos she doesn't care much for. Conversely, she warms up to you if given interesting videos, with huge payoffs to match. The bank of monitors behind Stevie even change to reflect her mood.
  • Reimu Hakurei of Touhou Project is most commonly portrayed as a blunt-worded, cynical and easily irritated shrine maiden who's described in profile as "alone at heart". Despite the rude demeanor, she is also a fairly peaceful person who never holds long-term grudges, remains open for making friends with humans and youkai alike, and didn't hesitate to protect/shelter characters in need on multiple occasions. Reimu's self-contradictory personality largely comes from having to balance between her duties as a youkai exterminator (ice), and her personal desire for peaceful co-existence outside of said duties (sugar).
  • Marina Wulfstan of Valkyria Chronicles is an aloof sniper with several potentials and a personnel file indicating her preference for solitude — but that doesn't stop her from chasing after cute little foxes and puppies, as well as showing a good deal of commitment to defending Darcsens in the DLC packs.
  • Brynn from Vindictus. His comments towards the player are mostly cold and almost hostile. but he is shown repeatedly to have a soft side, especially for Tieve.
  • Snow White from The Wolf Among Us is this. She tries to handle situations diplomatically, but will become snarky or angry towards those who disagree with her mentality that she knows what is best regarding the Fabletown community and the safety of its inhabitants in the modern world, as displayed by her attitude towards individuals like Bluebeard or Ichabod Crane - and even Bigby Wolf depending on the player's choices. Justified given that this behavior stems largely in part from her stepmother's attempts at killing her, sexual abuse endured at the hands of the Seven Dwarves, Prince Charming cheating on her with her sister Rose Red, and the destruction of the Homelands forcing her and all other Fables to New York, where she has resided for centuries as a disrespected secretary forced to turn down Fables when they ask for help. Underneath it all, though, she is a well-intentioned, empathetic and compassionate woman who recognizes the struggles of those around her and has not lost her grace from her old life as a princess; consequently, she is one of the few individuals who recognizes Bigby Wolf has long-since reformed from his days as the "Big Bad Wolf". Her brokenhearted expression at the murder of another Fable and the cruel attitudes of how other Fables handle it is evidence of her concern for them. Bigby is the only person she confides in, and after he is nearly killed, she willingly gives up her duties to save his life, hinting at how deeply she values him.
  • Roswell from Yggdra Union leans heavily towards the cold side of the equation, but every now and again he shows moments of incredibly heartfelt gentleness. Interestingly, many of these moments seem provoked by Yggdra, our lovely protagonist.
  • Zenless Zone Zero: Vivian. She’s introduced as a cold, calculating woman, and is then shown gushing over her “Lord Phaethon”, before revealing her inner sadness over her ability to foretell future disasters. Her colder side is a coping mechanism, partially developed out of her teachings from Hugo, who taught her to be suspicious of everyone. Deep down, Vivian is truly kind and sweet, and doesn’t like seeing people suffer.

    Visual Novels 
  • Ace Attorney
    • Justice For All has Adrian Andrews, who hides her woobieness under her cold, evasive side. She drops her coldness completely in Trials & Tribulations.
    • Miles Edgeworth definitely qualifies in the base trials of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, a little bit in the its DS-exclusive case and Justice For All, and his coldness is completely gone by Trials and Tribulations and the Investigations games. Granted, he becomes no less snarky through his progression.
    • Franziska von Karma too, to some extent. At first, she taunts her "little brother" by remarking about the man who killed his father, whips him, and coaches testimony from witnesses. But she also cries in front of Edgeworth and wishes to meet Phoenix again at the end of Justice For All, which she greets him with a whiplash. Like Edgeworth, she also takes a major step up in Trials and Tribulations, providing essential assistance to him and Phoenix during the final trial.
    • Spirit of Justice introduces Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, a priestly prosecutor who calmly tells defense attorneys they're bound for Hell because of their careers. It's mostly an act.
  • Misaki in Canvas 2 is probably the gentlest person in the cast, but her normal demeanor is rather distant and cool.
  • Fate/stay night:
    • Rider is like this. She's actually a sweet and caring person, but it's difficult to show it when you're Medusa, especially when you happen to live in the Nasuverse, land of unhappy people. Look how shocked she gets at a mere 'thank you' or being told that no, Shirou does not hate her and thinks she's actually quite attractive.
    • Saber is an obvious example herself. While she may appear to be completely stoic and expressionless, this is just a mask for the emotional conflicts left from her past life as King Arthur and eventually shows a much warmer side of herself.
  • When you first meet her, Violet, from Find Love or Die Trying comes off as a cold, domineering ice queen who seems to be threatening to cook One into spaghetti and meatballs for daring to screw up pork ribs. However, as you get to know her, she reveals a very soft, very sweet, kind of playful side, especially when it comes to baking, and helps out the others with things like cooking just because she can. She even gets into a cookie dough fight with the protagonist, just because it's fun.
  • The Fruit of Grisaia: While both Yuuji and Yumiko get accused of being a tsundere more than once, this trope describes them better, while Yuuji is usually The Stoic, Yumiko is the ice queen, neither of them is a particularly forthcoming person. Once they start warming up to people, however, they tend to show their sugary personality more.
  • Galaxy Angel: Vanilla H seems cold and distant when first introduced, though that's because her use of nanomachines requires huge emotional control. Underneath, she's a sweet and sensitive girl who cares greatly for the people surrounding her and wants nothing but to be helpful to them. From the second game onwards, although she remains quiet, she also starts to smile and be more expressive in general.
  • Hatoful Boyfriend:
    • Fujishiro Nageki the mourning dove. In his Dating Sim route, he mostly seems aloof, subdued, and like he barely tolerates the protagonist, until near the end. In Holiday Star he is a bit more demonstrative and resorts to I Feel Happy, apparently aware that otherwise, the protagonist won't have a clue how he's feeling. He also demonstrates that while his friends are exhausting and frustrating sometimes, he's happy to have them and would burn a hundred times for their happiness. All along it's easier to see his contempt — when he feels it — than any of his other feelings.
    • Sakuya shows this personality in the original game, due to being a Sheltered Aristocrat raised to believe himself inherently better than all other birds due to his bloodline. His Dating Sim route revolves around pushing him out of his contemptuous comfort zone, revealing his more vulnerable and passionate side.
  • This is Rika Furude's real personality in Higurashi: When They Cry. She tries to be serious and always in control because of centuries of being trapped in a "Groundhog Day" Loop, but she still has emotions and cares about others like her friend Satoko.
  • Ikemen Sengoku:
    • Nobunaga Oda is a cold and ruthless warlord who's so terrifying in battle that he's been nicknamed the "Devil King" by his enemies. If the player chooses to romance him, however, he gradually displays a warmer side that likes using the main character as his Lap Pillow, is fond of sweets and cute things, and proves to still be capable of empathy and compassion despite his insistence that he'd lost the capacity to feel them long ago.
    • Masamune Date is a case where his "sugar" personality is the more prominent one as a playful and free-spirited man who loves flirting with the main character and his "ice" personality is the more hidden one that comes out when he's in battle as a fettered commander who's willing to do anything, including threatening to kill the same main character he was flirting with just hours ago if she doesn't get out of his way, to fulfill his duties before Character Development kicks in.
    • Even Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the Team Mom of the Oda group, has elements of this trope. He's normally an extremely kind and caring man but becomes cold and hostile towards anyone who disrespects or threatens his lord Nobunaga, including the main character when he initially believes her to be a spy or assassin. When his suspicions against her are disproved, his behavior towards her changes so radically from icy hostility to doting sweetness that she has trouble adjusting to it at first.
    • Kenshin Uesugi is the game's most extreme example of this trope, with a healthy dose of dangerous fire for good measure. He looks, and initially acts like, an icy and emotionless person whose only passion is battle, but he proves to have a surprisingly sweet and adorable side in his route when he desperately tries to make the main character happy by having his pet rabbits cuddle up to her and taking her out to a meadow to see the full moon. Unfortunately, that sweet side of him is accompanied by a dangerous tendency to be possessive towards the main character in spite of his sincere efforts to keep it in check.
  • Kindred Spirits on the Roof has Aki Ariu, a disciplinary committee member. She can be stern and brutally honest much of the time, but shows a warmer side around her friend and eventual girlfriend Youka Koba, especially as she starts falling in love with her.
  • Mio from Little Busters!. Riki initially finds her in a remote garden away from anyone else, reading books on her own. In their first meeting, she's polite but quite dismissive — when he leaves, Riki notes that the meeting seems barely to have touched her at all and that as soon as he left she immediately returned to that distant world belonging only to her. However, as they become friends Mio begins to open up and shows a very sweet side to her, most notably when Riki helps her to find a book that is very important to her and she smiles, causing Riki to think she looks very pretty that way.
  • Magical Warrior Diamond Heart: Liam is cold and aloof to the point Val outright calls him an Ice King, but he's gentle and kind under the surface, especially after raising his affection.
  • Shin from Morenatsu is cold and distant to most people except to the main character, Hiroyuki. Once Shin realises that he's falling in love with Hiroyuki, Shin tries to stop the relationship due to childhood trauma but in the end, they end up together in his route. His worst ending on the other hand...
  • Ookamikakushi: Nemuru Kushinada starts out as stern and aloof, especially towards Hiroshi. Over time, she softens towards him and winds up becoming a friend.
  • Piofiore: Fated Memories
    • Dante Falzone has a reputation of being very cold and aloof, but it is a front he puts up. He believes he is insufficient as a mafia boss, and tries to imitate the persona of his late father who was known as cunning and ruthless. He is in reality shy and at times socially awkward and can be very gentle with the heroine. He also hates bitter things but in one scene forces himself to drink an espresso because it is "capo-like" and he feels quite self-conscious that he likes sweet things.
  • Miku in A Profile was raised to be cool, dismissive and aloof, which is both contrasted and enforced by the fact that at heart she's a Shrinking Violet, meaning she hides that behind the aloof behavior.
  • Sunrider:
  • Akira of Togainu no Chi is cold towards everyone. However, when push comes to shove he shows that he truly cares about the people close to him even after they've raped or betrayed him earlier.
  • Sora from Yosuga no Sora. If you're not her brother, consider yourself the luckiest person on earth if you're able to see her smile. To be more precise, she is Tsundere to her brother, Yandere to every other girl around her brother, and cold to every other boy beside her brother. And you may have noticed already but, yeah, she has a sexual desire for her twin brother.

    Webcomics 
  • Paige of Agents of the Realm starts off as rather cold to Norah, due to being a straight-A student and considering her a slacker, but then gets warmer once the two spend more time together. This being said, while she's friendly to her fellow Agents, she can be aloof and distrusts Jordan.
  • In A-gnosis' comics on Greek myth, the God of the Dead Hades is an antisocial workaholic who acts cold and grumpy towards humans and gods. With the shades of the dead, he's kind, gentle, and understanding.
  • Eerie Cuties: Brooke is typically the most levelheaded member of the cast and she's pretty snarky because of it. But she's not without feeling, which is mainly seen in her interactions with Ace and the time she exhausted herself keeping an eye on girl-Kade, so he wouldn't do anything he might regret later.
  • Susan from El Goonish Shive starts out very cold, but turned out to really care about her friends. She's able to show more and more warmth as she becomes closer to the other characters and comes to terms with her past, which used to be her own ball and chain. Not that she hesitates to use the old good "Hammer Queen" look when it's called for.
  • In Go Get a Roomie!, Lillian's default approach towards the waking world is aloofness, but time makes it clear that she does care about the people she's with.
  • Gunnerkrigg Court
    • Antimony appears to be a Defrosting Ice Queen, but despite being warm and friendly to the few people she's already befriended, when she's with her classmates in general she does things like this. When the group snuck out in "Power Station", Annie hardly talked to anyone except Zimmy and Gamma before being plunged into Zimmingham. Due to her descent and background, Annie not only used to being a loner but had more intense attitudes mostly limited to "surgical steel" and "firestorm" modes. Once the latter became quite literal, she chose to train in handling her temper. Annie certainly shows more emotion in her face than she used to, though still seems to be quite stoic and quiet around people she isn't close to.
    • Anthony, Antimony's father, is so quiet and reserved that he comes off as rather cold. Around his best friend Donald, however, he has no problem dropping the stoic mask.
  • The zombie from Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name is very subtle in his displays of emotion, except when Hanna is harmed. He also is seen with a bird perched on his finger, is visibly upset when he punches a teenage boy with More Teeth than the Osmond Family pretty damn hard in the mistaken belief he was dealing with a more serious threat, cooks breakfast for Hanna, and is generally a very nice person. However, Hanna actually takes to counting how often he smiles, because he so rarely does so. He's not particularly cold and unapproachable towards new people, but he's reserved and hard to read.
    • When Hanna starts the smile tally, {...} is surprised to learn that he smiles so rarely, and considers making more of an effort in the future.
  • Homestuck
    • Rose Lalonde goes the Little Miss Snarker route and often hides behind Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness and sarcasm. Beneath it all, she's perfectly nice and helpful, serving as John's Mission Control as they first try to figure out the nonsensical constructs of Sburb.
    • Dave Strider is even colder in some ways — at least Rose smiles. Dave's face barely ever changes. Besides that, he's incredibly calm about all the bizarre crap happening in the series and very deserving of the almost-name "Insufferable Prick." Yet like Rose he's proven himself to be Not So Stoic, such as his rather sweet reaction to Rose's plan of a suicide mission.
    • Genius technician Equius Zahhak would like to have you believe he has nothing but contempt for the lower castes. But put him beside Nepeta and he melts like butter.
    • Dirk Strider is a pretty good example himself, proving Rose likely gets it from the Strider side of the (ecto-biological) family. Like Dave, his face rarely ever strays away from a stoic mask, but unlike Dave he doesn't hide behind snark and irony nearly as much, and is pretty openly nice to his friends for the most part, especially Jane and Roxy.
    • Karkat Vantas might count; when you first meet him he seems to be nothing but a snappish, preposterous jackass who likes insulting others as much as he hates everything else. Then you get further into the series and learn that once all hell breaks loose, Karkat breaks just about as fast. Especially when his friends start falling like flies.
  • Hooky: Damien is very emotionally distant and cold, but really has soft spots for William, Monica, and his younger siblings, Dani and Dorian.
  • I'm the Grim Reaper: Scarlet can seem cold and consistently makes it clear to herself that she is only using Chase to find out about her past. This doesn't stop her from genuinely becoming close to him and even taking a bullet meant for him, and subsequently telling him she's a grim reaper.
  • Vaarsuvius from The Order of the Stick probably qualifies — sensitive and emotional, yet cool-headed, with an air of detachment that makes them difficult to approach. Despite this, Vaarsuvius is a very loyal teammate. They also care deeply for their family and are willing to do anything to protect them, up to and including genocide. Seriously, never ever threaten Vaarsuvius' family.
  • Pixie and Brutus: Brutus is hardened by his service in the military and seems outwardly cold at a first glance, but he absolutely cares for Pixie.
  • Rebirth: Li seems quite emotionally distant, but it becomes obvious she cares very deeply for Noah (possibly more than just as a boss) and even Neo as well, as she doesn’t let Noah forget how bad a parent he’s been towards Neo.
  • Wind Whistler in Star Mares constantly professes her dedication to logic and reason over emotion, to the point that she can speak computer languages and her closest friends refer to her as a robot. Around her rival Moontear, her personality takes on a warmer, more heroic element, closer to her source material.
  • In SwordCat Princess, faerie princess Julia is generally very warm and friendly but can turn quite cold and indifferent to people's suffering when she feels threatened or when she is in a "reading" state and divining the nature of an object or person.
  • The "Su-cool" arc in the "Love Situations" category of Tsunami Channel has a prime example of an honest and cool girl who is blunt and unembarrassed by her feelings of affection, while being incredibly understated and calm.
  • Vampire Girl: Levana throughout much of Season 1 was shown to be pretty distant, or even somewhat hostile towards other people (understandable, given that she was a vampire who didn't want to scare away people with who she was), but was also shown to often turn to Laura as a friend whenever she was in need of support, emotional or otherwise.

    Web Original 
  • TT from Cream Heroes is a cat who prefers to be alone and will punch the other cats if they get in her personal space. She also hisses and screams during baths and vet visits. However she is deeply loyal to Claire, teaches the younger cats how to fight better and shows a lot of concern for both Chuchu and Nana when they return home from the vet after their respective surgeries. She's even befriended the latter and, while she has hit her, she will not punch her two kittens- even if they punch her.
  • The Mysterious Mr. Enter is a somewhat downplayed example as he is often harsh towards bad episodes of cartoons or bad animated movies (Atrocities). If anyone makes the time to know him, he comes off more as a shy, reserved, and charming fellow rather than sarcastic and ill-tempered. Said charming side is often shown in more positive reviews (Admirable) and a few journal entries like this one.
  • The Nostalgia Chick, a rare example with added fire, will only be warm to you when there's nobody else around. And she positively fawns over Todd in the Shadows.
  • RWBY:
    • Blake Belladonna, who is a sharp-tongued, standoffish Badass Bookworm. On the other hand, she is passionate about protecting humanity, is calm and understanding when she isn't upset, and is somewhat of a Broken Bird, as shown in Volume 2. Very slowly, she grows to trust her teammates, particularly her partner, Yang.
    • Weiss Schnee is starting to show her sugar side to those she trusts. While dismissive, angry, and condescending towards Ruby initially, she grows to trust Ruby as a partner and a leader, best shown when she shows a surprising amount of concern after Ruby was captured by Roman Torchwick. Also, Weiss goes from holding a personal grudge against Blake due to Blake's fierce defending of the White Fang to lending Blake some Dust to help her fight Torchwick while she battles a White Fang lieutenant.
  • Himei in Sailor Nothing: At first, she is almost entirely cold towards everyone, but as the story goes on her warmer side starts showing more often.

    Western Animation 
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Mai is an outwardly Emotionless Girl and Deadpan Snarker, but she cares very deeply for Zuko and it is only around him that her emotions become visible. The comics which take place after the events of the series show that she has also developed a soft spot for her little brother Tom-Tom, greatly contrasting her shameless apathy towards his kidnapping at the beginning of Season 2.
  • The Boondocks: Huey Freeman is stoic and often blunt, but when the chips are down, so is his personal barrier.
  • Castlevania (2017): Trevor Belmont is rude, sarcastic, and has No Social Skills. But as the series progresses, he warms up to his companions and even begins a relationship with Sypha.
  • Daria: Daria Morgendorffer only shows affection for certain people, normally just a smile and/or blush. Towards everyone else, she is the epitome of The Snark Knight.
  • Futurama: Bender's attitude toward his friends ranges from callous to the point of Lack of Empathy to openly, weepily affectionate to the point of life-threatening hugs. Sometimes in the same episode.
    ''All the times I said "kill all humans", I secretly added "...except him".
  • Agent Six from Generator Rex fits the part of a Man in Black, often acting in a curt, very tactical manner. However, he cares greatly about his charge Rex (whom he rescued in the first place) and Holiday, with whom he'd have a closer relationship if he weren't so mindful of keeping it professional. He does ask her out by "A Family Holiday," but does so while keeping a completely straight face... and holding her hand.
  • Kaeloo: Mr. Cat can sometimes come off as this. While he's usually an angry jerk, in some episodes he shows a softer side, especially when dealing with Kaeloo.
  • The Legend of Korra:
    • Tenzin seems 100% serious and proper all the time, but is very warm around his family and clearly cares very much for Korra.
    • Lin is a stone-cold hardass but shows a warmer side when she and Korra work together to fight Amon and Hiroshi Sato and it's clear she still cares about Tenzin, her ex-boyfriend. This is played up all the more in Book 3: After crossing paths with her half-sister Suyin for the first time in thirty years, she at first wants nothing to do with her, snaps at Su's sweet and vulnerable teenaged daughter, and ultimately challenges Su to a duel. By the finale, however, she's willing to put her life on the line so that Su can kill a villain.
    • Mako counts too: most of the time; he's a stoic strategist—notable for being the only one of the four central characters who's never been seen crying on-screen—but he clearly shows affection towards his brother Bolin and his friends.
    • Book 3 gives us P'Li, the Red Lotus's one-woman artillery. She's wryly friendly with her teammates and absolutely melts—once actually tearing up—during tender moments with her love interest, but is, for the most part, a Cold Sniper played straight among a group that seems otherwise Affably Evil. Being a Child Soldier can do that to a person.
  • Miraculous Ladybug,:
    • Adrien Agreste is not cold, but somewhat quiet and reserved in his civilian identity; in his superhero identity Cat Noir, however, he's an impulsive Pungeon Master and Chivalrous Pervert.
    • Nathalie Sancoeur usually doesn't show any emotions, but she cares very much about the Agreste family, her employers. She has got a Bodyguard Crush, is a Yes-Man for Gabriel and even helps him in his supervillain plans, from Season 3 onwards becoming his helper Mayura while knowing the risk of death by using a damaged Miraculous. She is also some kind of an Adoptive Mother for Adrien and tried to rescue him from the supervillain trio of Lady Wifi, Princess Fragrance and Reflekta hell bent on punishing his cousin Félix.
    • Kagami Tsurugi usually is emotionless and cold, but she cares for her crush Adrien and Marinette, her only friend.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • Rainbow Dash from can qualify, as can Angel Bunny. Both show their sweet side around Fluttershy, but both can be insensitive (and in Angel's case, spoiled) to their Morality Pet. Rainbow Dash also shows her sweet side around Applejack (who she sees as a friendly rival), Scootaloo, Tank, Pinkie Pie, and sometimes Twilight and Rarity too. She mellows out in later seasons, but still retains her snark and cool attitude, because after all warm colours are said to come forward when cold colours recede.
    • Pinkie's sister Maud Pie also counts, being a nigh-emotionless stoic for most of her debut episode, but momentarily defrosting and showing her genuine affection for her little sister when she smiles at the end.
  • The Owl House: As observed by Luz, Amity is a lemon drop with a hidden sweet centre. She especially demonstrates this duality in the period where she's warmed up to Luz, but isn't willing to part from Boscha's Girl Posse. For example, in "Enchanting Grom Fright", she bumps into Liz in the hallways of Hexside, falling to the floor, and dropping her books. Instantly, she snarls, "Watch it, nitwit!", crying out in surprise upon realizing whom she's snapped at. Becoming far less caustic, she says hello to Luz "and co.", and apologizes for her actions.
  • Ready Jet Go!: While Mitchell often acts like a harsh jerk in some episodes, in other episodes he's pretty compassionate and reasonable. Despite everything, he just wants to have friends and he really does care about Jet, Sean, Sydney, and Mindy.
  • Recess: Miss Finster is the ultimate Stern Teacher, even a Sadist Teacher in the earlier episodes, but she really does care about the kids and Friendship Moments with them throughout the series, especially with Spinelli.
  • Rick and Morty: Rick Sanchez is insulting, abusive and emotionally distant, but willing to save Morty and Summer.
  • Samurai Jack: X9 is nothing but a Professional Killer as cold as the steel he is made of to anyone he has to kill. But he is a kind and loving companion to his dog, and deep inside he feels guilty about the innocents he has killed.
  • Steven Universe:
    • Rainbow Quartz from the episode We Need To Talk is both sides towards Greg Universe, simultaneously. She is a fusion between Rose Quartz and Pearl. Rose is using the fusion to impress Greg and to show off, but Pearl is using it in an attempt to torpedo Greg and Rose's relationship.
    • Lapis Lazuli; sweet and playful towards Steven...bitter and angry towards everybody else. As the show goes on she slowly warms up to the other Gems, but it's a slow, hard journey.
  • Antauri from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!. He's serious, calm and collected, but he cares very much for his friends.
  • Octus from Sym-Bionic Titan, while a robot, apparently has emotions, which he normally keeps in check so as to be the balance between the often bickering Lance and Ilana. His warm side is shown when he's around Kimmy, who he says brings him something like "happiness". His warm side can also be seen at times around Lance and Ilana, as well as when he's watching Animal Friends.
  • Teen Titans (2003): Raven acts coldly towards everyone, partly due to attachment issues, but mostly because her powers are tied to her emotions, and if she doesn't keep iron control over them at all times, she could get a dangerous case of Power Incontinence. However, she's willing to go to almost any lengths for her friends, and we occasionally see glimpses of her softer side.
    • In the episode "Spellbound", she acted very sweet and girlish towards Malchior; however, by the end Malchior made her regret even having a warmer side. For a while after the episode, she became visibly more withdrawn. Though when Beast Boy tried to comfort her, she did go out and give him a hug as thanks.
    • Played up even more sharply in the Season 5 episode "Hide and Seek." She couldn't stand having to babysit three kindergarten-age superheroes at first, but gradually she warmed up to them and turned into a full-blown Mama Bear when they were in danger. "Nobody messes WITH MY KIDS!", indeed.
  • Young Justice (2010):
    • Superboy is very distant and has a hard time showing his emotions, yet he's a good guy who shows a warmer side to those close to him like his girlfriend Miss Martian.
    • Red Arrow is serious, aloof and a loner who refuses to join the team, but he still cares about his friends.

 
Feedback

Video Example(s):

Alternative Title(s): Sugar And Ice, Sugar And Ice Girl, Sugar And Ice Guy

Top

Rion's Death Glare

Rion gives a piercing and intimidating glare she gives to people who get on her bad side. Even she gets scared of it when she sees herself in the mirror.

How well does it match the trope?

4.67 (6 votes)

Example of:

Main / DeathGlare

Media sources:

Report