Water Is Air: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
{{trope}}
[[File:burn-776142_jpg_2039.jpg|link=Spongebob SquarePants|frame|Oh, look. Spongebob and Patrick are enjoying the subtle warmth of a nice fi... Wait a minute<ref>They literally wrote this scene just so they could parody and Lampshade it</ref>.]]
[[File:burn-776142_jpg_2039.jpg|link=SpongeBob SquarePants|frame|Oh, look. Spongebob and Patrick are enjoying the subtle warmth of a nice fi... Wait a minute<ref>They literally wrote this scene just so they could parody and Lampshade it</ref>.]]




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''and it was overheating"'' |Kip Adotta, "Wet Dream"}}
''and it was overheating"'' |Kip Adotta, "Wet Dream"}}


{{quote|''" If we're under water, how come the beer stays in the mug?"''|Inspector Gill, ''[[Fish Police (Comic Book)|Fish Police]]''}}
{{quote|''" If we're under water, how come the beer stays in the mug?"''|Inspector Gill, ''[[Fish Police (comics)|Fish Police]]''}}


Living underwater sounds like it would be [[Rule of Cool|so cool]], doesn't it? Actually, in fiction, it isn't that big a deal because life at the bottom of the ocean is conducted impossibly similarly to life on land. Whether your characters are [[Our Mermaids Are Different|mermaids]], [[Fish People]], or [[Talking Animal|talking, sentient fish and other sea creatures]], you'll find their underwater lifestyles have a lot in common with humans' above-land lifestyle. [[Most Writers Are Human]], and they must want to give the viewers or readers a portrayal they are familiar with.
Living underwater sounds like it would be [[Rule of Cool|so cool]], doesn't it? Actually, in fiction, it isn't that big a deal because life at the bottom of the ocean is conducted impossibly similarly to life on land. Whether your characters are [[Our Mermaids Are Different|mermaids]], [[Fish People]], or [[Talking Animal|talking, sentient fish and other sea creatures]], you'll find their underwater lifestyles have a lot in common with humans' above-land lifestyle. [[Most Writers Are Human]], and they must want to give the viewers or readers a portrayal they are familiar with.
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* Characters (who can swim) are worried about ''falling'' into trenches and off cliffs.
* Characters (who can swim) are worried about ''falling'' into trenches and off cliffs.
* Surface dwellers can all [[See Water|see perfectly clearly underwater and vice versa]].
* Surface dwellers can all [[See Water|see perfectly clearly underwater and vice versa]].
* All forms of combat can be executed as if on dry land. Projectiles, [[Never Bring a Knife To A Fist Fight|blades]] and [[Good Old Fisticuffs|bludgeons]] inflict the expected amount of damage despite having to pass through a medium '''''784''''' times as dense as air.
* All forms of combat can be executed as if on dry land. Projectiles, [[Never Bring a Knife to A Fist Fight|blades]] and [[Good Old Fisticuffs|bludgeons]] inflict the expected amount of damage despite having to pass through a medium '''''784''''' times as dense as air.


The problems with viewers being able to understand the characters can sometimes be [[Hand Wave|handwaved]] with the [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]].
The problems with viewers being able to understand the characters can sometimes be [[Hand Wave|handwaved]] with the [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]].
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* ''[[Aquaman (Comic Book)|Aquaman]]'' and ''[[Sub-Mariner]]'' frequently fall victim to this. Comics reviewer Paul O'Brien has a regular rant about this, and praises "[http://ifdestroyed.blogspot.com/2009/09/x-axis-27-september-2009.html the remarkably few artists who'[ve] figured out that Atlanteans don't walk, they swim, and whose Atlantis is interesting to look at as a result]".
* ''[[Aquaman (Comic Book)|Aquaman]]'' and ''[[Sub-Mariner]]'' frequently fall victim to this. Comics reviewer Paul O'Brien has a regular rant about this, and praises "[http://ifdestroyed.blogspot.com/2009/09/x-axis-27-september-2009.html the remarkably few artists who'[ve] figured out that Atlanteans don't walk, they swim, and whose Atlantis is interesting to look at as a result]".
* ''[[Fish Police (Comic Book)|Fish Police]]'' zig-zags the hell out of this trope, often lampshading it as well. A notable example is Inspector Gill asking, "If we're under water, how come the beer stays in the mug?"
* ''[[Fish Police (comics)|Fish Police]]'' zig-zags the hell out of this trope, often lampshading it as well. A notable example is Inspector Gill asking, "If we're under water, how come the beer stays in the mug?"


== [[Film]] ==
== [[Film]] ==
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** One of the most brilliant moments in the movie is when Marlin is shouting after Nemo, who was fishnapped by the dentist. He yells for a while, then goes down, takes a "breath" of water, and goes up and yells after him some more.
** One of the most brilliant moments in the movie is when Marlin is shouting after Nemo, who was fishnapped by the dentist. He yells for a while, then goes down, takes a "breath" of water, and goes up and yells after him some more.
* ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]'' includes a scene where airplanes fly underwater. The airplane's control surfaces allow it to function almost identically to how it would fly through the air.
* ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]'' includes a scene where airplanes fly underwater. The airplane's control surfaces allow it to function almost identically to how it would fly through the air.
* In ''[[Pinocchio (Disney)|Pinocchio]]'', Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket go looking for Gepetto underwater. The fact that Pinoch doesn't drown may be [[Hand Wave|handwaved away]] by his being made of wood, but what about Jiminy? Well, he was in a bubble... briefly, until it filled up with water. I bet this gave many physicists headaches.
* In ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]'', Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket go looking for Gepetto underwater. The fact that Pinoch doesn't drown may be [[Hand Wave|handwaved away]] by his being made of wood, but what about Jiminy? Well, he was in a bubble... briefly, until it filled up with water. I bet this gave many physicists headaches.
** It may be handwaved away until he LATER DROWNS.
** It may be handwaved away until he LATER DROWNS.
*** Though that is technically possible (though improbable).
*** Though that is technically possible (though improbable).
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** Wait a minute. Pinocchio is made of wood. Wood floats. So Pinocchio should be stuck floating at the surface, fighting with the water as if it were some kind of forcefield.
** Wait a minute. Pinocchio is made of wood. Wood floats. So Pinocchio should be stuck floating at the surface, fighting with the water as if it were some kind of forcefield.
*** He had a rock tied to his tail anyway so he couldn't have floated back up. (He was still in half-donkey form at the time.)
*** He had a rock tied to his tail anyway so he couldn't have floated back up. (He was still in half-donkey form at the time.)
* Disney's ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' film and [[Recycled: The Series|its TV adaptation]] particularly suffer the problems of architecture (although granted, there were some fauna that primarily walk on the Ocean Floor, so the inclusion of something like "stairs" is excusable), coral=plants, and burning fire (usually blasts from Triton's trident), although long hair moved slower and tended to float (but still never gets in the way aside from surfacing). On the other hand, the writers did attempt to replicate the physics of water as realistically as possible in the original film.
* Disney's ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' film and [[Recycled: the Series|its TV adaptation]] particularly suffer the problems of architecture (although granted, there were some fauna that primarily walk on the Ocean Floor, so the inclusion of something like "stairs" is excusable), coral=plants, and burning fire (usually blasts from Triton's trident), although long hair moved slower and tended to float (but still never gets in the way aside from surfacing). On the other hand, the writers did attempt to replicate the physics of water as realistically as possible in the original film.
** Ariel specifically mentions that she doesn't know what fire is in one of her songs.
** Ariel specifically mentions that she doesn't know what fire is in one of her songs.
** In the [[Prequel]], Ariel sees something she wants to check out from her bedroom window... and instead of swimming out the window to check it out, she goes ''all the way downstairs through the castle'' to get outside. partially Justified in that she was sneaking out and needed to stay hidden.
** In the [[Prequel]], Ariel sees something she wants to check out from her bedroom window... and instead of swimming out the window to check it out, she goes ''all the way downstairs through the castle'' to get outside. partially Justified in that she was sneaking out and needed to stay hidden.
* [[Disney]]'s ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'', during the animated sequence after the bed and its passengers crash in the Island of Naboombu's lagoon and sink to the bottom.
* [[Disney]]'s ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'', during the animated sequence after the bed and its passengers crash in the Island of Naboombu's lagoon and sink to the bottom.
** They did most likely ended up inside a children's book (that spell didn't specify that [[Fridge Brilliance|it can only go to 'real places' after all)]], which has a different kind of logic.
** They did most likely ended up inside a children's book (that spell didn't specify that [[Fridge Brilliance|it can only go to 'real places' after all)]], which has a different kind of logic.
* In ''[[G.I. Joe the Rise of Cobra (Film)|G.I. Joe the Rise of Cobra]]'', while not obvious, the effects of particles in the underwater fight scene moved very much like they were in air, not accounting for the difference in density, especially in cold water. In fact, the speed at which it moved was comparable to that in air.
* In ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra|G.I. Joe the Rise of Cobra]]'', while not obvious, the effects of particles in the underwater fight scene moved very much like they were in air, not accounting for the difference in density, especially in cold water. In fact, the speed at which it moved was comparable to that in air.
** There's also the ''[[You Fail Physics Forever|falling icebergs]]'' towards the end of the movie, something a fair number of critics picked up on as being physically impossible.
** There's also the ''[[You Fail Physics Forever|falling icebergs]]'' towards the end of the movie, something a fair number of critics picked up on as being physically impossible.
*** Because it's not like the tons of structural engineering that comprised the collapsing Cobra base would be heavy enough to sink the ice it was built in.
*** Because it's not like the tons of structural engineering that comprised the collapsing Cobra base would be heavy enough to sink the ice it was built in.
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* ''[[Shark Tale]]'' lampshades this when the race seahorse that Oscar bet on trips right before the finish line:
* ''[[Shark Tale]]'' lampshades this when the race seahorse that Oscar bet on trips right before the finish line:
{{quote| '''Oscar''': He trips underwater? Now who in the halibut ''trips'' underwater? And, by the way... ''on what''?}}
{{quote| '''Oscar''': He trips underwater? Now who in the halibut ''trips'' underwater? And, by the way... ''on what''?}}
* One of the hallways that make up the Lost Boys' treehouse hideout from Disney's ''[[Peter Pan (Disney)|Peter Pan]]'' for some reason, has a pond on its ''ceiling''.
* One of the hallways that make up the Lost Boys' treehouse hideout from Disney's ''[[Peter Pan (Disney film)|Peter Pan]]'' for some reason, has a pond on its ''ceiling''.
** No, that's just [[Rule of Cool]]. It's Never Land, what did you expect?
** No, that's just [[Rule of Cool]]. It's Never Land, what did you expect?
* Toward the end of ''[[Atlantis the Lost Empire]]'', the villains actually blast a hole in the ceiling of what appears to be a system of underwater caves (one of which houses the titular Atlantis) so that they can escape with their blimp. Considering if said caves are located under the Atlantic Ocean, and that the Atlantic is directly above them...
* Toward the end of ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'', the villains actually blast a hole in the ceiling of what appears to be a system of underwater caves (one of which houses the titular Atlantis) so that they can escape with their blimp. Considering if said caves are located under the Atlantic Ocean, and that the Atlantic is directly above them...
** To be fair, only the entrance is definitely below sea level. After that there is a lengthy journey through the cave network. That particular cavern is also a volcano and has a very high ceiling, so theoretically it could end up as an island. Of course, it's not explained how, or indeed if, they know this to be the case...
** To be fair, only the entrance is definitely below sea level. After that there is a lengthy journey through the cave network. That particular cavern is also a volcano and has a very high ceiling, so theoretically it could end up as an island. Of course, it's not explained how, or indeed if, they know this to be the case...
* In [[The City of Lost Children]] one of the main characters, the [[Mad Scientist]] lost his mind ([[Amnesia]]), and as a deep sea diver permanently lived on the bottom of the sea, collecting marine debris.
* In [[The City of Lost Children]] one of the main characters, the [[Mad Scientist]] lost his mind ([[Amnesia]]), and as a deep sea diver permanently lived on the bottom of the sea, collecting marine debris.
* In "The Magic Voyage of Sinbad" the title character throws himself into the sea to appease Neptune. On [[MST3K]] they even ask "Why isn't it wet underwater?" and when a pigeon with a message reaches him in Neptune's kingdom they ask "How does ''that'' work?"
* In "The Magic Voyage of Sinbad" the title character throws himself into the sea to appease Neptune. On [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]] they even ask "Why isn't it wet underwater?" and when a pigeon with a message reaches him in Neptune's kingdom they ask "How does ''that'' work?"
== [[Literature]] ==
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Narnia|Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]'' addresses this briefly when Lucy sees mermaids through the preternaturally clear sea-water. Among other things, C. S. Lewis compares the deep water to dangerous mountains, and the shallows to sunny, habitable valleys. In addition, even though mermaids are usually depicted in media as being able to poke their heads above water and converse and breathe in air, Drinian explains that these merpeople cannot come up and examine the ''Dawn Treader'' or talk with them because... they cannot breathe air!
* ''[[Narnia|Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]'' addresses this briefly when Lucy sees mermaids through the preternaturally clear sea-water. Among other things, C. S. Lewis compares the deep water to dangerous mountains, and the shallows to sunny, habitable valleys. In addition, even though mermaids are usually depicted in media as being able to poke their heads above water and converse and breathe in air, Drinian explains that these merpeople cannot come up and examine the ''Dawn Treader'' or talk with them because... they cannot breathe air!
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== [[Video Games]] ==
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Star Fox (Video Game)|Star Fox]] Command'' doesn't even attempt to distinguish between normal and underwater levels. All ships are perfectly operable and there is always enough light. Oddly enough, water surfaces are considered solid obstacles in normal levels.
* ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star Fox]] Command'' doesn't even attempt to distinguish between normal and underwater levels. All ships are perfectly operable and there is always enough light. Oddly enough, water surfaces are considered solid obstacles in normal levels.
** ''[[Star Fox (Video Game)|Star Fox]] 64'', on the other hand, did a pretty good job at averting this in its only underwater level, Aquas. Fox operates a submarine, it's dark (although the script implies this is at least partially due to pollution caused by Andross' bioweapon) and the enemies are fitting for the setting. Why Andross would deploy a bioweapon down there is another matter...
** ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star Fox]] 64'', on the other hand, did a pretty good job at averting this in its only underwater level, Aquas. Fox operates a submarine, it's dark (although the script implies this is at least partially due to pollution caused by Andross' bioweapon) and the enemies are fitting for the setting. Why Andross would deploy a bioweapon down there is another matter...
** [[All There in the Manual|the official strategy guide]] implies that the "bioweapon" in question, Baccoon, was actually an entity from several millenia prior whose envy of the surface dwellers resulted in him sending explosive starfish to blow up the icecaps and melt them resulting in Aquas becoming the 100% ocean planet that it is in the game, or at least was named after that entity.
** [[All There in the Manual|the official strategy guide]] implies that the "bioweapon" in question, Baccoon, was actually an entity from several millenia prior whose envy of the surface dwellers resulted in him sending explosive starfish to blow up the icecaps and melt them resulting in Aquas becoming the 100% ocean planet that it is in the game, or at least was named after that entity.
* ''[[X-COM]]'' supplement ''Terror of the Deep'' features humans fighting aliens in an underwater world. Unfortunately, the game system was directly adapted from the original with no changes, so the characters are able to do ridiculous things like ''throwing grenades underwater.''
* ''[[X-COM]]'' supplement ''Terror of the Deep'' features humans fighting aliens in an underwater world. Unfortunately, the game system was directly adapted from the original with no changes, so the characters are able to do ridiculous things like ''throwing grenades underwater.''
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* ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' averts this trope slightly, as a diving helmet is needed to access the [[Minecart Madness|ocean path]]. Then again, only one is needed (or found), and no explanation is given of its functionality without other supporting equipment.
* ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' averts this trope slightly, as a diving helmet is needed to access the [[Minecart Madness|ocean path]]. Then again, only one is needed (or found), and no explanation is given of its functionality without other supporting equipment.
* In ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' you can go underwater in a submarine. Fair enough, except that you can fight [[Bonus Boss|Emerald Weapon]] while standing on the bottom of the sea, with no lighting or pressure-related problems. The air isn't breathable without the Underwater Materia, but the characters apparently can hold their breath for ''twenty'' whole minutes. (Eat your heart out, [[Monkey Island|Guybrush Threepwood]]!)
* In ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' you can go underwater in a submarine. Fair enough, except that you can fight [[Bonus Boss|Emerald Weapon]] while standing on the bottom of the sea, with no lighting or pressure-related problems. The air isn't breathable without the Underwater Materia, but the characters apparently can hold their breath for ''twenty'' whole minutes. (Eat your heart out, [[Monkey Island|Guybrush Threepwood]]!)
* While the previous game (and other levels in the same game) avert this, the ocean section in ''[[Alice Madness Returns]]'' is something like this. Sea creatures can swim, but Alice walks and breathes as she would normally. Then again [[World of Chaos|it is Wonderland.]]
* While the previous game (and other levels in the same game) avert this, the ocean section in ''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]'' is something like this. Sea creatures can swim, but Alice walks and breathes as she would normally. Then again [[World of Chaos|it is Wonderland.]]
* ''Sharkie and George'' portrayed the underwater world like this. Real air was deadly poisonous. In one episode, George took some 'compressed water' to survive in an air-filled area.
* ''Sharkie and George'' portrayed the underwater world like this. Real air was deadly poisonous. In one episode, George took some 'compressed water' to survive in an air-filled area.
* ''[[Super Mario Bros]]'' Mario could actually throw fireballs underwater, light fires underwater and in a [[Mario and Luigi (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi]] game, Luigi could use electricity/thunder powers underwater. Not to mention the fact both Mario and Luigi, as well as pretty much any enemy in the 2D games could breathe underwater forever, or the underwater Chargin' Chucks (football players) who can whistle underwater. Or Wario's underwater working jet pack hat and flamethrower. Somewhat averted as movement underwater tends to be slower and more sluggish than normal.
* ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' Mario could actually throw fireballs underwater, light fires underwater and in a [[Mario and Luigi|Mario & Luigi]] game, Luigi could use electricity/thunder powers underwater. Not to mention the fact both Mario and Luigi, as well as pretty much any enemy in the 2D games could breathe underwater forever, or the underwater Chargin' Chucks (football players) who can whistle underwater. Or Wario's underwater working jet pack hat and flamethrower. Somewhat averted as movement underwater tends to be slower and more sluggish than normal.
** Somewhat averted in ''[[Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|Super Mario 64]]'' in that Mario will drown if left underwater for too long, but the gauge which measures how long he has before drowning can be refilled if he collects coins underwater.
** Somewhat averted in ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' in that Mario will drown if left underwater for too long, but the gauge which measures how long he has before drowning can be refilled if he collects coins underwater.
*** It also doesn't matter where his head is - so long as even just part of his shoe is sticking out of the water, he can breathe just fine.
*** It also doesn't matter where his head is - so long as even just part of his shoe is sticking out of the water, he can breathe just fine.
* Generally averted in [[Elder Scrolls]] games, visibility is quite limited in water with light and night vision spells having little effect. Torches are extinguished when entering water. Pressure/depth issues are ignored.
* Generally averted in [[Elder Scrolls]] games, visibility is quite limited in water with light and night vision spells having little effect. Torches are extinguished when entering water. Pressure/depth issues are ignored.
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* The ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' series has a lot of fun with this: In ''Soul Reaver'', Raziel can be initially burned to death by water, and in the spectral realm ([[Layered World|the dimension inhabited by spirits, as opposed to the material realm]]) water has no heft nor lift and literally behaves exactly like air, which is an important puzzle element in some areas.
* The ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' series has a lot of fun with this: In ''Soul Reaver'', Raziel can be initially burned to death by water, and in the spectral realm ([[Layered World|the dimension inhabited by spirits, as opposed to the material realm]]) water has no heft nor lift and literally behaves exactly like air, which is an important puzzle element in some areas.
* Played straight in the [[Atari Lynx]] video game ''Turbo Sub''. The player's aquatic jet maneuvers equally well under the ocean as it does over it; underwater enemies might ''look'' different, but their attacks and movement are the same as their airborne counterparts.
* Played straight in the [[Atari Lynx]] video game ''Turbo Sub''. The player's aquatic jet maneuvers equally well under the ocean as it does over it; underwater enemies might ''look'' different, but their attacks and movement are the same as their airborne counterparts.
* Averted in the first ''[[Mega Man X (Video Game)|Mega Man X]]''. The flamethrower weapon ''Fire Wave'' acquired from Flame Mammoth is completely useless underwater, barely distorting the water with the heat from X's [[Arm Cannon]] and causing a few harmless bubbles. Even the [[Charged Attack|powered up]] version sends out a tiny wisp of flame that is extinguished the instant it leaves X's cannon.
* Averted in the first ''[[Mega Man X]]''. The flamethrower weapon ''Fire Wave'' acquired from Flame Mammoth is completely useless underwater, barely distorting the water with the heat from X's [[Arm Cannon]] and causing a few harmless bubbles. Even the [[Charged Attack|powered up]] version sends out a tiny wisp of flame that is extinguished the instant it leaves X's cannon.
** Similarly, Burner Man's ''Wave Burner'' from ''[[Mega Man and Bass (Video Game)|Mega Man and Bass]]'' can't create flames underwater, but it will create a jet of hot water that can push enemies away.
** Similarly, Burner Man's ''Wave Burner'' from ''[[Mega Man and Bass]]'' can't create flames underwater, but it will create a jet of hot water that can push enemies away.
** Also averted in ''X2'', where if one uses Speed Burner underwater, only two pods come out (supposedly what carries the flame).
** Also averted in ''X2'', where if one uses Speed Burner underwater, only two pods come out (supposedly what carries the flame).
** And in ''X3'', the Acid Burst dissolves in the water (only a few bubbles come out), making it useless.
** And in ''X3'', the Acid Burst dissolves in the water (only a few bubbles come out), making it useless.
* In ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', Samus' Plasma Beam functions perfectly fine underwater. This sort of gets a [[Hand Wave|hand wave]] because she's firing superheated plasma as opposed to ordinary fire, but it still doesn't explain how organic enemies can catch fire when completely submerged.
* In ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', Samus' Plasma Beam functions perfectly fine underwater. This sort of gets a [[Hand Wave]] because she's firing superheated plasma as opposed to ordinary fire, but it still doesn't explain how organic enemies can catch fire when completely submerged.
** Mildly averted by the fact that her flamethrower Charge Combo won't work underwater.
** Mildly averted by the fact that her flamethrower Charge Combo won't work underwater.
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'': Vashj'ir. Full stop. While it avoids some of the more [[Egregious]] aspects of this trope -- for example, you can swim in 3D like in all other bodies of water, and the zone has a separate light source independent from the main world -- the [[Creator Provincialism]] is right there. Sea Legs must be a really diverse yet specific spell, given that it gives you not only the ability to breathe underwater, but also apparently negates the effects of pressure and corrosion, gives you perfect sight and hearing underwater, and gives you a 60% speed increase but only ''as long as your feet touch the seafloor''.
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'': Vashj'ir. Full stop. While it avoids some of the more [[Egregious]] aspects of this trope -- for example, you can swim in 3D like in all other bodies of water, and the zone has a separate light source independent from the main world -- the [[Creator Provincialism]] is right there. Sea Legs must be a really diverse yet specific spell, given that it gives you not only the ability to breathe underwater, but also apparently negates the effects of pressure and corrosion, gives you perfect sight and hearing underwater, and gives you a 60% speed increase but only ''as long as your feet touch the seafloor''.
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** Sometimes you can glitch out on a flying mount and appear to be swimming in mid-air ''for quite some time''. Thus making this trope Air Is Water Is Air and [[Your Head Asplode]].
** Sometimes you can glitch out on a flying mount and appear to be swimming in mid-air ''for quite some time''. Thus making this trope Air Is Water Is Air and [[Your Head Asplode]].
* Averted In [[Kingdom of Loathing]]. The Undersea area requires one to obtain SCUBA gear in the [[Final Dungeon]] and a Bathysphere for one's pet beastie. All tasks use up two Adventures, and weapon damage is nerfed due to water resistance.
* Averted In [[Kingdom of Loathing]]. The Undersea area requires one to obtain SCUBA gear in the [[Final Dungeon]] and a Bathysphere for one's pet beastie. All tasks use up two Adventures, and weapon damage is nerfed due to water resistance.
* Almost every [[Artix Entertainment (Creator)|Artix Entertainment]] game uses this trope. At first, it was said that Adventurers can [[Super Not-Drowning Skills|hold their breath for a long time]], but then in ''[[Dragon Fable (Video Game)|Dragon Fable]]'', the answer is that a ship full of water-breathing potions exploded and dispersed the potions into the ocean. How exactly it affected every body of water is never explained.
* Almost every [[Artix Entertainment]] game uses this trope. At first, it was said that Adventurers can [[Super Not-Drowning Skills|hold their breath for a long time]], but then in ''[[Dragon Fable]]'', the answer is that a ship full of water-breathing potions exploded and dispersed the potions into the ocean. How exactly it affected every body of water is never explained.


== [[Web Comics]] ==
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Certain trolls in ''[[Homestuck (Webcomic)|Homestuck]]'' are amphibious, but you wouldn't noticed when they were underwater [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004352 save for the fish suspended in "midair"].
* Certain trolls in ''[[Homestuck]]'' are amphibious, but you wouldn't noticed when they were underwater [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004352 save for the fish suspended in "midair"].
** But then things get subverted when [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004354 physics strike]
** But then things get subverted when [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004354 physics strike]


== [[Western Animation]] ==
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Spongebob SquarePants]]'', to the point where it has no choice but to [[Lampshade Hanging|hang a lampshade]] in one episode. "Hey, if we're underwater, how can there be a fire?" ([[Puff of Logic|The fire then immediately goes out.]])
* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', to the point where it has no choice but to [[Lampshade Hanging|hang a lampshade]] in one episode. "Hey, if we're underwater, how can there be a fire?" ([[Puff of Logic|The fire then immediately goes out.]])
** In few episodes, the characters go to Goo Lagoon complete with a beach and lifeguards. The Goo is not very gooey but it could reasonably be heavier than water.
** In few episodes, the characters go to Goo Lagoon complete with a beach and lifeguards. The Goo is not very gooey but it could reasonably be heavier than water.
** SpongeBob takes a bath in a bathtub. Filled with water. (Apparently some water is wetter than other water...or maybe saltwater and freshwater don't mix?)
** SpongeBob takes a bath in a bathtub. Filled with water. (Apparently some water is wetter than other water...or maybe saltwater and freshwater don't mix?)
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** Bender tries to pour a bottle of booze he found in a sunken ship into his mouth, only to have it drift out and diffuse into the water.
** Bender tries to pour a bottle of booze he found in a sunken ship into his mouth, only to have it drift out and diffuse into the water.
{{quote| '''Bender:''' Arrr, the laws of science be a harsh mistress.}}
{{quote| '''Bender:''' Arrr, the laws of science be a harsh mistress.}}
** It overall seems to be [[Playing With a Trope|playing with]] the trope. The fact that the city looks like one on land is because it's Atlanta after it sank (apparently the architecture didn't change in 1000 years) and they mix in actual problems (how to breathe, withstanding the pressure) with [[It Runs On Nonsensoleum|nonsense]] solutions (a suppository pill which lets them adapt to the pressure, breathing devices which don't explain how they can speak clearly or why water doesn't flow into their lungs). There's also the fact that the citizens of Atlanta "[[Hollywood Evolution|evolved]]" into mermaids, which was supposedly sped up by the caffeine from the coca-cola factory. How anyone survived long enough for this to happen is not addressed.
** It overall seems to be [[Playing with a Trope|playing with]] the trope. The fact that the city looks like one on land is because it's Atlanta after it sank (apparently the architecture didn't change in 1000 years) and they mix in actual problems (how to breathe, withstanding the pressure) with [[It Runs on Nonsensoleum|nonsense]] solutions (a suppository pill which lets them adapt to the pressure, breathing devices which don't explain how they can speak clearly or why water doesn't flow into their lungs). There's also the fact that the citizens of Atlanta "[[Hollywood Evolution|evolved]]" into mermaids, which was supposedly sped up by the caffeine from the coca-cola factory. How anyone survived long enough for this to happen is not addressed.
* ''[[The Snorks]]'' featured this problem a lot.
* ''[[The Snorks]]'' featured this problem a lot.
** At least they were smart enough to substitute geothermal vents for fire as their main heat source.
** At least they were smart enough to substitute geothermal vents for fire as their main heat source.
* ''[[Justice League]]'' features this with Aquaman and the city of Atlantis. It helps that the Atlanteans are amphibious humans who live in a sealed city, and so need things like stairs, but it still doesn't answer this question: If you're amphibious, why have an ''entirely'' sealed city? Why not some places in water, and some places with air? And how do you enter the city without getting the carpet wet? And...
* ''[[Justice League]]'' features this with Aquaman and the city of Atlantis. It helps that the Atlanteans are amphibious humans who live in a sealed city, and so need things like stairs, but it still doesn't answer this question: If you're amphibious, why have an ''entirely'' sealed city? Why not some places in water, and some places with air? And how do you enter the city without getting the carpet wet? And...
** Atlantis had a death trap consisting of a room that filled with water... underwater in a city filled with water-breathing citizens. One would guess just [[Thrown Out the Airlock|shoving them out of an airlock]] was too much trouble.
** Atlantis had a death trap consisting of a room that filled with water... underwater in a city filled with water-breathing citizens. One would guess just [[Thrown Out the Airlock|shoving them out of an airlock]] was too much trouble.
** Averted in ''[[Teen Titans (Animation)|Teen Titans]]''. We don't get to see what [[Atlantis]] is like, but as for all the other aspects, they're either not addressed or presented realistically. (The only example of the later is Aqualad's hair. It just goes crazy while he's underwater)
** Averted in ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]''. We don't get to see what [[Atlantis]] is like, but as for all the other aspects, they're either not addressed or presented realistically. (The only example of the later is Aqualad's hair. It just goes crazy while he's underwater)
* A particularly bad example is ''[[The Perils of Penelope Pitstop]]'', episode "Bad Fortune in a Chinese Fortune Cookie". Not only do the mobsters hold a conversation underwater while rescuing Penelope, but it's implied that the Hooded Claw, still in his boat, heard Dum Dum's joke through the water.
* A particularly bad example is ''[[The Perils of Penelope Pitstop]]'', episode "Bad Fortune in a Chinese Fortune Cookie". Not only do the mobsters hold a conversation underwater while rescuing Penelope, but it's implied that the Hooded Claw, still in his boat, heard Dum Dum's joke through the water.
** But it was [[Rule of Funny|that kind of show]].
** But it was [[Rule of Funny|that kind of show]].
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* In the ''[[Super Mario Bros Super Show|Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3]]'' episode "The Ugly Mermaid", Mario and friends have to protect an underwater kingdom called Mertropolis when Bowser invades it. Confusingly, Mertropolis is in an airdome but is populated by human-legged fish who need to wear fishbowls on their heads in order to survive. As if that's not enough, Bowser tries to submit the Mertropolis citizens into submission by flooding the place with water, which somehow causes them to flee in terror.
* In the ''[[Super Mario Bros Super Show|Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3]]'' episode "The Ugly Mermaid", Mario and friends have to protect an underwater kingdom called Mertropolis when Bowser invades it. Confusingly, Mertropolis is in an airdome but is populated by human-legged fish who need to wear fishbowls on their heads in order to survive. As if that's not enough, Bowser tries to submit the Mertropolis citizens into submission by flooding the place with water, which somehow causes them to flee in terror.
** In the famous episode "Mama Luigi", Luigi GASPS underwater.
** In the famous episode "Mama Luigi", Luigi GASPS underwater.
* Like its source material, the short-lived cartoon ''[[Fish Police (Animation)|Fish Police]]'' would both follow and subvert this trope, mostly depending on which would better suit the [[Rule of Funny]]. As an example, in one episode one of the villain's henchmen was pushed out of a window from several stories up; when Inspector Gil found the henchman clinging to the window ledge by his fingers (fins?) calling for help, Gil reminded the henchman he was a fish and could just swim away. The henchman let go of the window ledge -- only for [[Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress|gravity]] to promptly take over and cause the henchman to plummet to the ground, Wile E. Coyote-style. (Making this an inversion of Gravitational Cognizance, in that it's a case of a character falling because they're too dim to realize they shouldn't be.)
* Like its source material, the short-lived cartoon ''[[Fish Police (animation)|Fish Police]]'' would both follow and subvert this trope, mostly depending on which would better suit the [[Rule of Funny]]. As an example, in one episode one of the villain's henchmen was pushed out of a window from several stories up; when Inspector Gil found the henchman clinging to the window ledge by his fingers (fins?) calling for help, Gil reminded the henchman he was a fish and could just swim away. The henchman let go of the window ledge -- only for [[Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress|gravity]] to promptly take over and cause the henchman to plummet to the ground, Wile E. Coyote-style. (Making this an inversion of Gravitational Cognizance, in that it's a case of a character falling because they're too dim to realize they shouldn't be.)
* ''Sharky and George'' played the [[2-D Space]] aspect perfectly straight. Fish swam a few inches above the ground, or stood on their tail fins. In at least one episode, a fish fell through a trap door that opened in the floor six inches below where it was swimming.
* ''Sharky and George'' played the [[2-D Space]] aspect perfectly straight. Fish swam a few inches above the ground, or stood on their tail fins. In at least one episode, a fish fell through a trap door that opened in the floor six inches below where it was swimming.
* In the TV series' [[Animated Adaptation]] of ''[[Dumb and Dumber]]'', one robot operates a blowtorch and fire is emitted from the blowtorch, ''even underwater!''
* In the TV series' [[Animated Adaptation]] of ''[[Dumb and Dumber]]'', one robot operates a blowtorch and fire is emitted from the blowtorch, ''even underwater!''


== [[Real Life]] ==
== [[Real Life]] ==
* [[Truth in Television]] (sort of) - behold the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnkHRtpTztc UNDERWATER LAKE!] ''[[Cracked (Website)|Cracked]]'' calls this the [http://www.cracked.com/article_19557_the-5-most-mind-blowing-things-that-can-be-found-underwater.html #5 most mindblowing thing found underwater].
* [[Truth in Television]] (sort of) - behold the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnkHRtpTztc UNDERWATER LAKE!] ''[[Cracked.com|Cracked]]'' calls this the [http://www.cracked.com/article_19557_the-5-most-mind-blowing-things-that-can-be-found-underwater.html #5 most mindblowing thing found underwater].


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Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Water_Is_Air"