History Main / FireWaterJuxtaposition

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' series, the hell you visit in ''Diablo II'' has overall a lava and rock motif, while the heavens you visit in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' has a water and crystal motif [[spoiler:(at least, before Diablo starts corrupting them)]]. This is especially notable at the part where you must take some portals from the heavens to hell: the contrast is quite evident there.

* ''WesternAnimation/Elemental2023'': Ember is a firegirl and Wade is a waterboy. They are the main couple of the movie.

* ''LetsPlay/WitchCraftSMP'': Joey and Pris have one such dynamic; while they initially had an ElementalRivalry as Joey's starter abilities were fire-based, their RivalsTeamUp moves towards them being much more friendly with each other. They later explain that Joey's DualityMotif as the [=FireFrost=] Witch has resulted in them being VitriolicBestBuds.

* ''Fireboy and Watergirl'', a series of flash games in which [[DoublePlay you control both of the title characters simultaneously]] and must use their elemental powers to solve puzzles.

* ''WesternAnimation/Elemental2023'': Ember is a firegirl and Wade is a fireboy. They are the main couple of the movie.

* Disney Pixar Elemental: The main characters of the movie are fire and water. Ember is a firegirl and Wade is a fireboy. They are the main couple of the movie.

This trope frequently comes into play in {{Four Element Ensemble}}s, when characters' uses of fire-based and water-based [[ElementalPowers abilities]] are used to set them up as {{Foil}}s. Depending on the form that it takes, this trope can be a sub-trope of ElementalPowers (if characters are associated with fire, water or ice through their uses of elemental abilities), EmpathicEnvironment (when changes in the state of the physical world reflects changes in the emotional state of the characters that inhabit it), or even just ElementalMotifs (if the rain and fire are more metaphorical than literal). See also RedOniBlueOni. When this trope is paired with gender dynamics, the Water tends to be a [[WaterIsWomanly woman]] while the Fire is often a [[FireIsMasculine man]].

* In ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'', the two most dramatic murders carried out by [[BigBad Lord Blackwood]] (both of which occur at the midpoint at the movie, just as Blackwood's plan is coming together) employ this trope. First he drowns [[spoiler:Sir Thomas Rotheram]] in his bathtub, then we see him burn [[spoiler:Ambassador Standish]] alive about 15 minutes later. Interestingly fire and water here were used as part of the FourElementEnsemble rather instead of direct foils to each other: Blackwood's first murder after his resurrection was burying his accomplice alive and later he planned to gas the parliament in the film climax.

** According to Word of God, each of the Four Houses of Hogwarts is also [[FourElementEnsemble associated with one of the four elements]]. Fittingly, Gryffindor and Slytherin--the two houses with the bitterest rivalry--have fire and water as their respective elements. Gryffindor's colors are red and gold, and their thematic association with fire ties into their primary virtue of courage, but also their notoriously stubborn personalities (Gryffindors, like fire, are incredibly difficult to control). This contrasts starkly with Slytherin, whose members pride themselves on their [[TheChessmaster cunning]] and [[AdaptiveAbility adaptability]] (much like water constantly shifts forms, assuming the shape of whatever container holds it).

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' which is practically built on the FourElementEnsemble:

* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': A DiscussedTrope by Rhaenyra in "Driftmark". Her family is [[ElementalMotifs innately aligned with fire]], but the Velaryons' element is water, and she ponders the meaning of both.

* In the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIfgic6W09Y&t=77s Kamehameha]]" episode of ''WebAnimation/ExtraCredits'', the artist interpretation of "Mana" (the Hawaiian concept of spiritual lifeforce) is depicted as a flame inside a droplet of water.

* ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'': [=BoBoiBoy=] Water is unlocked by [=BoBoiBoy=] being at peace, as opposed by Fire being formed out of his accumulating stress. [[RedOniBlueOni The two elements also tend to clash in personality]].

* ''Fireboy and Watergirl'', a series of flash games in which you control both of the title characters simultaneously and must use their elemental powers to solve puzzles.

** In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero'', the mid-section of the game involves Sub-Zero traversing the Temple of the Elements to gain access to Shinnok's amulet deep within its walls. The fourth stage is "Water Element", a sewer-like installation where Sub-Zero has to face the god of water. The next stage is "Fire Element", which takes place in temple structure situated in a LethalLavaLand. Its boss is the Fire God.

* In ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'', the two most dramatic murders carried out by [[BigBad Lord Blackwood]] (both of which occur at the midpoint at the movie, just as Blackwood's plan is coming together) employ this trope. First he drowns [[spoiler:Sir Thomas Rotheram]] in his bathtub, then we see him burn [[spoiler:Ambassador Standish]] alive about 15 minutes later. It's interesting to note that fire and water here were used as part of the FourElementEnsemble rather instead of direct foils to each other: Blackwood's first murder after his resurrection was burying his accomplice alive and later he planned to gas the entire parliament in the film climax.

-->"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you."

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' which is practically built entirely on the FourElementEnsemble:

** A later episode, "Frost and Fire", features several battles between the above two, Flame Princess and the Ice King. Things escalate to truly epic scale as the bust out their opposed elemental powers to full tilt on the Ice King's home turf, and the entire Ice Kingdom is melted for a while as a result.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Magicks of Megas-tu". During Captain Kirk's magical battle with the Megan prosecutor, the prosecutor summons up a wall of flames in front of Captain Kirk. Kirk responds by creating a cascade of water to put out the fire. The fire represents the prosecutor's desire to destroy Kirk, while the water represents Kirk's basically defensive and non-aggressive posture (as appropriate for a representative of the Federation).

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': William's {{Elemental Motif|s}} is fire, Sherlock's is water. William is constantly associated with fire in a huge swath of ways, from anger, hatred, to inspiration, passion, and light. Meanwhile, his HeroAntagonist Sherlock is much the same with water, from deep unknowable depths to calming purification. ''The Final Problem'' even ends with them plunging from a burning bridge into the Thames River as Sherlock finally wins their confrontation.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS1E12AdventuresInTheElements Adventures in the Elements]]", [[spoiler: [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] learns an ice glyph. In the same episode, [[Characters/TheOwlHouseAmityBlight Amity Blight]] practices a fire spell]]. [[spoiler:Both girls also [[PowerStereotypeFlip flip the power stereotypes]]. Luz the ice user is enthusiastic and bubbly, while Amity the fire user is cold and distant]].

** This was used by Gamefreak as justification for the lack of fire types in Hoenn and Sinnoh. Hoenn is a tropical paradise with half of its area covered by the sea. Sinnoh is extremely cold due to being centered around a giant mountain. So, it makes sense that Fire type Pokemon would have a difficult time thriving in these locations. However, in the latter case Gamefreak went a bit too far. While Gamefreak made sure to include a Volcano in Hoenn so that people who didn't choose [[StarterMon Torchic]] had several Fire-type Pokemon to choose from, in ''Diamond And Pearl'' there are only two fully-evolved Fire-type Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex. One of which is Infernape and the other is [[TierInducedScrappy Rapidash]]. This was fixed in ''Platinum'' however.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Galadriel and Sauron. Even from her first introduction as a child she was associated with water for her mirror leitmotif. And Sauron is asociated with fire in a few instances. As Halbrand, is wants to be a blacksmith, the priestesses from Rhun that are searching for him use fire-based magic, and he ends the first Season with a contrasting shot of him returning in {{Mordor}}.

* There is also some sort of rivalry in ''VideoGame/ManaKhemia2FallOfAlchemy'' between Whim and Yun, being a [[MakingASplash Water Mana]] and [[PlayingWithFire Fire Mana]] respectively.

* [[BadAssPreacher Joshua Graham]] from ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'' DLC ''Honest Hearts'' provides the page quote. A Mormon missionary, he inadvertently became the right-hand man of a warlord named Caesar and his Legion. When the Legion failed to win the battle for Hoover Dam, which would have been a critical victory, Caesar decided to [[MakeAnExampleOfThem make an example of Joshua]] to his men, and had him covered in pitch and set on fire, then thrown into the Grand Canyon ([[MadeOfIron he lived]]). The incident re-awakened Joshua's love of God and prompted him to go home and attempt to reconnect with his people. Joshua reflects of his life that he has been baptized twice; once in water (his traditional Mormon baptism) and once in flame (his attempted execution and the spiritual rediscovery it prompted). The same juxtaposition is used to contrast Joshua with Daniel, as the two leaders of the Zion tribes. Joshua, who wants to militarize the tribals and drive out their enemies, is met in a torchlit cave; Daniel, who wants to flee the valley instead of fighting, is met outside reading by a waterfall.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', the final two members of the Cobras are set up using this trope. First, Snake battles "The Fury", who's perpetually angry, and battles his enemies by burning them with flamethrowers and jet engines. The very next boss battle takes place in a river in the middle of a raging rainstorm, where Snake is pitted against "The Sorrow", who's [[DissonantSerenity eerily calm]], and never even throws a punch at him.

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'': Two gems that give you the power to evaporate water or turn it to ice are held by the Sand Prince and the Frost Queen. [[PlayingWithFire The former]] is a WorthyOpponent who battles you to gauge your strength before he willingly gives you the gem, [[AnIcePerson the latter]] is a textbook [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen evil queen]] who won't give up her gem peacefully.
* There is also some sort of rivalry in ''VideoGame/ManaKhemia2FallOfAlchemy'' between Whim and Yun, being a [[MakingASplash Water Mana]] and [[PlayingWithFire Fire Mana]] respectively.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', Lenna and Faris are {{foil}}s in several ways. In addition to their personality differences, Lenna represents the element of water and Faris represents fire. A bonus job added in the GBA release gives the party members special elemental attacks which reflect this.
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'':
*** Tidus carries a water-theme with his attacks, leaving a trail of bubbles with his sword (which is blue) and leaving splashes as he runs in [[SuperMode EX Mode]], references to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX his original game's water themes]]. [[ArchnemesisDad His father]] Jecht on the other hand throws out SpellBlade and {{Elemental Punch}}es of fire.
*** The goddess Cosmos is associated with water, and her throne, Order's Sanctuary, is covered in a shallow layer of water. Chaos on the other hand is associated with fire, using many fire attacks in battle, and his throne, Edge of Madness, is a {{Mordor}} area covered in magma with fireballs raining from the sky.
* Ryu and [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Fou-Lu]] in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' have very similar movesets, but Ryu's moves are generally fire-themed, while Fou-Lu's are themed around water and ice, and Fou-Lu is explicitly described as having an affinity for water (and a corresponding weakness to fire). This represents the fact that Ryu and Fou-Lu are [[spoiler:two halves of the Yorae Dragon, an immensely powerful god that was split into two beings by the ritual that summoned it.]]
* Serph and Heat in ''Videogame/DigitalDevilSaga''; the former is a {{Stoic}} who [[TheQuietOne almost never speaks]] and shapeshifts into an ice-themed demon, Varna, while the latter is a [[FieryRedHead hot-headed and impulsive]] BloodKnight who shapeshifts into a fire-demon, Agni. [[spoiler:The backstory also reveals that they, or rather the humans their personalities were based on, were involved in a BettyAndVeronicaSwitch LoveTriangle over Sera.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', one early sign that Anders has changed since [[DemonicPossession merging with]] the Spirit of Justice, is that one of his starting spells is Ice; a stark contrast to ''Awakening'' where his introduction had him wielding Fire, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation though his starting spells were ice-based in both games,]] [[FridgeBrilliance showing that the potential for what he would become was always there]].

* ''Fireboy and Watergirl'', a series of flash games in which you control both of the title characters simultaneously and must use their elemental powers to solve puzzles.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'' introduces the Frostbite Caves, which pits fire-based warming plants and powerups against ice-themed caveman zombies and freezing cold winds.
* ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'' begins with a man narrowly escaping drowning. It ends with a [[spoiler:young girl]] narrowly escaping incineration. Their personalities are similarly divergent; Junpei is highly adaptable and empathic towards others, [[spoiler:Akane]] is a passionate WellIntentionedExtremist who will unhesitatingly sacrifice individuals for the greater good. [[spoiler:Though her base of operations masquerades as a ship at sea, it is really located in a harsh desert.]]
* ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard}}'': Arioch made a pact with Salamander and Undine, spirits of fire and water, and uses them together as a YinYangBomb. Their opposite nature helps to underline the fact that she is ''batshit insane'': having lost her family to war, and her [[PowerAtAPrice ability to reproduce to the pact]], she now eats children... [[CrapsackWorld and is one of the heroes.]]

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' gives us [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Organization XIII]], a shadowy cabal of super-powered Nobodies who all draw their powers from different [[ElementalPowers elemental "attributes"]] ([[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[MakingASplash Water]], [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[BlowYouAway Wind]], [[AnIcePerson Ice]], [[ShockAndAwe Lightning]], [[GreenThumb Flower]], [[GravityMaster Moon]], [[TimeMaster Time]], [[SpaceMaster Space]], [[MasterOfIllusion Illusion]], [[BlindedByTheLight Light]] and [[CastingAShadow Nothingness]]). Appropriately, the resident Fire-user Axel and the resident Ice-user Vexen have polar opposite personalities, with Axel being friendly, carefree, down-to-Earth, irreverent, and BrilliantButLazy, and Vexen being cold, arrogant, hardworking and scholarly; and while Axel ultimately does a HeelFaceTurn and joins the heroes, Vexen is one of Xemnas' most loyal servants. Oddly subverted with Axel and the resident Water-user Demyx, who are--if anything--the ''most'' similar in personality.
** Axel and [[MeaningfulName Aqua]] have similar issues with being forgotten by their friends, as illustrated by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCV-bjKSvs this video]].
* ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica'': The two paths for the game. Luca, a Maiden of Homura (Fuero), and Cloche, a Maiden of Mio (Aqua). Homura means Flame in Japanese. Mio means Waterway in Japanese. Fuero looks like it should be a fire-related Latin word, while Aqua is Latin for Water.
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** The franchise's two iconic rival ninjas are Scorpion, a spectre with power over {{Hellfire}} and Sub-Zero, who is descended from an ancient race who can control ice.
** '' Ultimate VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' introduced the purple-clad ninja Rain who could control water. ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'' introduced his half-brothers Taven and Daegon who could control fire. While Taven and Daegon were raised by their father Argus, Rain is [[BastardBastard an illegitimate child]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'': Fire is associated with the human enemies in their [[FireBreathingWeapon flamethrower weaponry]], and flames will quickly burn and kill the VillainProtagonist monster if it doesn't find water to put them out. Water is associated with the monster, who not only can deposit biomass in the pink organic liquids, but also gains the ability to transform into a worm-like swarm while underwater to bypass small gaps. The monster [[spoiler:is also first encountered by humans as an inert biomass in a pool of organic fluid, as shown in the flashback]].

** [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Charizard]] (fire) and [[TurtlePower Blastoise]] (water), starting from when they were the opposing version mascots of ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''. It's been more common to depict them as counterparts in various media, including in ''Anime/PokemonOrigins'' where [[TheHero Red]]'s ace Pokémon is Charizard and [[TheRival Blue]]'s equivalent is Blastoise. Series director Junichi Masuda later decided to avert this for the remakes, ''[=FireRed=]'' and ''[=LeafGreen=]'', by not giving the latter an [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Red_and_Green_Versions international retitle]]. He felt that the juxtaposition of fire and water had more aggressive connotations than fire and leaves, and he wanted to portray a peaceful world.