Fire and Ice Love Triangle

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

These days, it's common for a love triangle to be between two guys over one girl, instead of the other way around. These two fellows can be sorted into two general character types, one cold and aloof (the Ice), and the other one warm and passionate (the fire).

Almost always a Type 7 Love Triangle that progresses to a Type 4 when the heroine chooses who she loves.

The ice of the love triangle will be the Blue Oni compared to the Fire, or in some cases, the heroine. He has an aloof demeanor, and is quiet, calculating, introverted, cultured, sensitive, and calm. He's that hot, mysterious bad boy your parents never wanted you to date, and the one you've always wanted to. Can be antagonistic to the heroine at first. Almost always cast as The Stoic, and can become a defrosting ice king with the help of the heroine's love.

Subtropes of the Ice include Love Redeems, All Girls Want Bad Boys, Ladykiller in Love (in some cases), Defrosting Ice King, The Snark Knight, Sugar and Ice Personality, and Troubled but Cute.

The fire of the love triange will be the Red Oni compared to the Ice. He's warm, passionate, reckless, and fun loving. He's also the childhood friend you've always thought of like a brother. But NOW... He is all grown up. Is the safer bet to the Ice, and will offer a more stable life.

Subtropes of the Fire include Just Friends, Dogged Nice Guy, Childhood Friend Romance, and Belligerent Sexual Tension.

Examples of Fire and Ice Love Triangle include:


Anime and Manga

  • Shiemi from Blue Exorcist is liked by two guys, one is Rin, who is the Fire, and Yukio, the ice.
  • Samurai Champloo has Jin as Ice, Mugen as Fire (Red Oni, Blue Oni, yes, very much), and as the story advances, their bodyguardee Fuu is shown to grow fond of both (Type 1). Type 10 is pretty widely accepted as the situation later on, with Mugen as a, but then again, Jin's very Stoic personality makes the triangle a particluarly tricky one to classify. Not that the other two are too easy to read either.
    • Fanfiction is fond of using Fuu as a catalyst for Type 6 (as a), Type 9 (as a), Type 11 (as b) or Type 12 (as b) situations to get the guys together.
  • Fruits Basket has this with the calm introverted Yuki and the hot blooded Kyo.

Literature

  • Edward and Jacob from Twilight. Edward is the Ice and Jacob is the Fire.
  • Peeta and Gale from the Hunger Games series are this as well. Peeta is the Fire and Gale is the Ice.
  • Simon and Jace from the first half of the Mortal Instruments. Jace is arrogant, cold, and distant while Simon is dorky, caring, and an Unlucky Childhood Friend.

Live Action Television

  • In an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, a prim and proper career military man is accused of killing his wife because she left him for her bad boy lover. As it turned out he did kill her, but precisely because she tried to go back to him, undermining his sense of control.

Webcomics

  • The Dave/Terezi/Karkat love triangle in Homestuck with calm, cool kid Dave as the "ice" and the hot-headed and emotional Karkat as "fire".

Western Animation

  • In the Bolin/Korra/Mako love triangle in The Legend of Korra, Mako is the ice to Bolin's fire. Interestingly enough, the cooler-mannered Mako is a firebender.
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