Line #35 Main/MasterOfThreads


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3	%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end. Thanks!
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6	[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/MyHeroAcademia https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/best_jeanist_character_art_1_smash_rising.png]]]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350:A stitch in time saves lives.]]
8
9	->''"But the real nuisance is that woman's thread magic! It runs all through this space, interfering whenever and wherever she wants it to! It can't attack or bind me personally, but I can barely see it! It's too thin, and I can't detect its magic!"''
10	-->-- '''Vetto''' regarding '''Vanessa Enoteca''', ''Manga/BlackClover''
11
12	One of the rarer abilities in fiction is the ability to manipulate fibers. This comes in three variants:
13
14	* Thread Magic: This power allows the user to create, manipulate, or even turn their body into string or thread. This power is commonly used to generate thread to bind or cut enemies, create [[PeoplePuppets puppet strings to control people]], or sew up wounds.
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16	* Cloth Magic: Full-on manipulation of cloth and fabrics. This includes conjuring cloth (usually done if the user is a mage), manipulating cloth in various ways like unravelling or reshaping it, altering fibers from one type into another, etc.
17
18	* Mystical Weaving: Spinning thread into objects that aren't cloth such as light, fire, water, stars, or controlling reality through weaving. This power is featured in creation myths or myths about how certain aspects of life are governed.
19
20	In the hands of a creative writer, such a power can be very creative and useful with several Masters of Threads being shown to be surprisingly deadly combatants.
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22	SubTrope of ClothingCombat and SingleSubstanceManipulation. See SwissArmySuperpower, HeartIsAnAwesomePower, and LethalHarmlessPowers. See also PrehensileHair for when the projectile thread is ''part'' of the user's body. Compare AllWebbedUp, ProjectileWebbing, and MummyWrap. Offensive applications of this thread often crossover with KnowsTheRopes and RazorFloss. Can result in LivingClothes.
23	----
24	!!Examples:
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26	[[foldercontrol]]
27
28	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
29	* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'': Lubbock's imperial arms are a pair of gloves with garrote wires named Infinite Uses: Cross Tail. He can shape and manipulate them in many different ways for both offense and defense. He admits that some of the uses for the wires were [[IKnowMortalKombat inspired by the manga he reads]], despite there being no prior indication of such things existing in the show's setting.
30	* ''Manga/BlackClover'': Vanessa Enoteca is a [[Characters/BlackCloverBlackBulls Black Bulls]] Magic Knight whose magical affinity is Thread Magic. Her primary use of this ability is using threads made of mana to bind or control her enemies like puppets. [[spoiler:It is revealed that her magic is capable of manipulating the [[RedStringOfFate red thread of fate]] itself, undoing certain events as though they never happened.]]
31	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
32	** Senjumaru Shutara of Squad Zero can create, shape, and manipulate any sort of cloth for various purposes. [[spoiler:She uses this ability to kill the Quincy Nianzol by replacing his outfit with one she made and having it impale him with numerous spikes]].
33	** Urahara's Bankai can seal up wounds by creating threads to stitch them up.
34	* ''Literature/BoogiepopSeries'': The titular character possesses a convoluted no-hands RazorFloss trick in all continuities, as the tricks described often come across as a bit improbable; Niitoki even states the wires move as if they were alive.
35	* ''Manga/BungoStrayDogs'': Akutagawa's Ability, Rashomon, enables him to control any clothes he's wearing. He often uses his powers to transform his BadassLongcoat into armor, form TendrilsOfDarkness capable of slicing cars in half and create a mouth that can ''eat space''. [[UnskilledButStrong However, while his Ability is incredibly powerful, Akutagawa lacks the necessary creativity to utilize its full potential.]]
36	* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Kaori's Nanasen technique uses seven wires that she can split into thousands to strike her enemy. Aside from that, she also uses her wires to form three-dimensional magic circles through which she casts magic.
37	* ''Anime/DeathParade'': Decim is able to create and manipulate puppet strings, using them for restraining or moving people and objects. It helps that his strings can appear en-mass from unusual angles, taking opponents by surprise even when they're expecting said strings.
38	* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': Rui and Mother both have thread-based powers. While Rui's threads slice up opponents, Mother's threads turn them into PeoplePuppets.
39	* Parodied in ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheSpaceHeroes'', a SuperheroEpisode of the series where the gang gets superpowers thanks to Doraemon's gadgets. While Nobita's friends get stock powers like SuperStrength or MakingASplash, Nobita gets the [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway ability to produce thin strings from his hands]]. To play cat's cradle with. However, it later becomes HeartIsAnAwesomePower when his string shooters are upgraded into an InescapableNet to trap the BigBad.
40	* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'': Kasane's fragment of Saika takes the form of multiple steel wires that come out of her body and she uses these to entangle her targets.
41	* ''Manga/EdensZero'': Ijuna's Ether Gear, Red Destiny, creates red strings made of Ether that can be used offensively and defensively in battle. Additionally, when the strings entangle two people together, it causes them to fall in love, but if the string is cut off, those affected will feel such a strong mutual hatred that they will try to kill each other.
42	* ''Manga/GetBackers'': Kazuki Fuuchouin is the last in a long line of fighters who can manipulate strings for offensive purposes.
43	* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Machi can transmute her aura into threads which she can use to sew up wounds, bind enemies, or cut them. The threads have been used to reattach limbs which are shown functioning afterwards suggesting they have some regenerative properties. Machi has noted that the strength of the threads is inversely proportional to their length, a thread as long as the Earth's diameter would be as strong as cotton, but a one-meter-long thread could lift a ton.
44	* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': Yura can manipulate hair-like wires that she uses to cut or control people like puppets.
45	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
46	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'': Lisa Lisa can manipulate her ScarfOfAsskicking by infusing it with [[LifeEnergy Hamon]].
47	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'': Noriaki Kakyoin's Stand, Hierophant Green, can turn into string. This allows it to act as rope, avoid attacks, or detect enemies.
48	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': Jolyne Cujoh's Stand, Stone Free, allows her to turn her body into strings.
49	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureJoJolion JoJolion]]'': Rai Mamezuku's Stand, Doggy Style, elasticizes his body into string-like proportions, which he can morph into weaponry among other practicalities.
50	** ''Manga/TheJoJoLands'': Wild Cat Size, a group of cats, share the Stand "Cat Size", which lets them manipulate wires made from their fur.
51	* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': Shinra-Koketsu is a Kamui ([[LivingClothes an article of clothing made of Life Fibers]] that grants the wearer powers) created by Nui Harime and the brainwashed Honnoji Academy Sewing Club to be worn by the series BigBad Ragyo Kiryuin. It grants her the power to control Life Fibers and uniforms made out of them, allowing her to immobilize anyone wearing a Goku uniform and, with the help of her own satellite system, initiate TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt by activating all Life Fibers on the planet.
52	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Best Jeanist's Quirk allows him to manipulate the fibers in clothing, which he uses to restrain opponents. While it lacks raw power, Best Jeanist's training and skill with this ability have made him one of the highest-ranked heroes in the setting. [[SemanticSuperpower This also isn't limited to just clothing fibers]]; even steel wires used in buildings count as controllable.
53	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
54	** Ninja puppeteers can use threads made of chakra to control their puppets.
55	** Kakuzu is a master of a jutsu called "Earth Grudge Fear[[labelnote:*]]Pronounced "Jiongu" in Japanese, a homophone for the Zeong from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', a mecha that could detach its arms by cables.[[/labelnote]]" which focuses on the manipulation of threads. These threads can be used to sew up wounds and reattach body parts. However, Kakuzu's most terrifying use of this ability is creating tentacles made of threads to tear out his opponent's hearts and integrate them into his own body, extending his lifespan. Kakuzu can store these hearts in masks attached to his body which he can detach as creatures with bodies of thread.
56	* ''Manga/{{Needless}}'': Kafka's Needless Fragment is called "Kandata String". It allows him to create and control string of enough tensile strength to cut people, rocks, metal, and even entire buildings apart.
57	* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': Evangeline has an ability like this, though it doesn't appear to be magic. She can string people up as she pleases and probably slice them up too if she wanted to.
58	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Donquixote Doflamingo's Devil Fruit ability allows him to generate strings from his body for a variety of uses such as ensnaring opponents, taking control of their bodies, or stitching up wounds. He can also compress his strings into various constructs such as ropes, whips, or bullets.
59	* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Mami can create ribbons which she can use in various ways such as binding enemies or creating a bridge.
60	* ''Manga/RecordOfRagnarok'': Apollo's divine weapon, the ''Threads of Artemis'', is a length of fine string made of light that he can use in a variety of ways. He can use his threads to defend, make a pair of gauntlets to box with, entangle his opponent, or bolster his punch. His ultimate technique with these threads is to construct the ''Moonlight of Artemis'', a towering automaton crossed with a sewing machine that can create constructs on a larger scale than Apollo can do alone.
61	* ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'': Uzume fights by psionically manipulating her veil. [[spoiler: One of her special moves involves by wrapping her target in her veil and then [[DeathOfAThousandCuts shredding them with thousands of tiny cuts]].]]
62	* ''Anime/TaiChiChasers'': Jahara uses her 'Sa' card to create threads that she can use for [[PeoplePuppet manipulating her enemies' moves.]] That's creepy enough on adults, she regularly fights children.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Comic Books]]
66	* ''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'': Sylph is the daughter of a man who was cheated out of the patent on a 'miracle fabric' named Achilloron which he had created. She clothed herself in the fabric and set about killing the men she believed drove her father to suicide. Achilloron responds to electrical impulses, allowing its tentacle-like appendages to be used as tools or weapons.
67	* Creator/MarvelComics:
68	** ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'': The supervillain group known as the Institute of Evil features Remnant, a character who can control a magic piece of cloth of unknown origin. One of his capabilities is shaping it into a carpet for him to fly on.
69	** ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'': Skein (formerly a ''ComicBook/SpiderWoman'' villain under the name Gypsy Moth) is a mutant who can telekinetically manipulate raw materials. She prefers to use this power on plant and animal fibers and used it to weave herself a large pair of wings. She also uses her powers offensively and for fashion purposes.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Fan Works]]
73	* ''Fanfic/WhatTheCatDraggedIn'': The first villain in the story is a woman called the Seamstress, who has the power to animate clothing.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
77	* ''Film/BastardSwordsman'': The practitioners of the [[SupernaturalMartialArts Silkworm Technique]] can create silk threads with their [[KiManipulation chi]]. They can freely control these threads, either to entangle opponents or form a cocoon around themselves as a protective outer shell.
78	* ''Film/AChineseGhostStory'': Nip Siu-sin, the titular ghost, can send lengths of cloth from her white dress flying through the air to catch and restrain people.
79	* ''Film/{{Swordsman}}'': Asia the Invincible, the VillainProtagonist of the third movie, can unleash and manipulate fine threads, using them to grab opponents from a distance away or slice people into shreds. She uses this power to massacre an entire sect of cultists with her threads and later on slices up some samurai {{Mooks}}.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Literature]]
83	* ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'': Sandry has ambient magic, which is tied to a particular craft -- in her case, weaving. This gives her power over threads, anything created from threads, and [[SemanticSuperpower anything that can be visualized as a thread]], including magic, life, and human skin. She can both outright control threads and imbue threads with magical properties (such as making them glow when she's trapped in the dark). Lark shares this type of magic, allowing her to teach Sandry.
84	* ''Literature/ThePrincessAndTheGoblin'': Irene's grandmother spins a magical thread to guide her granddaughter.
85	* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'':
86	** Cecelia Rogers, a [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] graduate with power over cloth, maintains a tailor shop near Whateley. She is acknowledged as the world's premiere SuperCostumeClothier, and in her youth had gone on a journey to learn the ancient secrets of tailoring around the world, which among other things allows her to recognize a super-fabric as being extraterrestrial in origin.[[https://whateley.academy/index.php/story/tennyo-s-easter-chapter-4]]
87	** Ribbon is a Manifestor who creates cloth, especially ribbons. While she doesn't have any control over the cloth once manifested, she is pretty creative in how she uses it.
88	* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': Parian has the power to control cloth and threads. The sequel ''Literature/{{Ward}}'' reveals this to be a subset of her true power, which is the ability to control dead material, of which cloth made of plant or animal fibers barely counts as. This ability is hinted at when Foil notes that Parian's power works even better with leather than cloth fiber, which is more directly dead skin.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
92	* Baltic Mythology: Saule can spin thread into [[ThePowerOfTheSun sunbeams]].
93	* Myth/CelticMythology: Due to her identification with the Roman goddess Minerva, who is the Roman counterpart of Athena, Brigantia is also considered a goddess of weaving among other things.
94	* Myth/ChineseMythology:
95	** The Goddess Weaver, daughter of the Celestial Queen Mother and Jade Emperor, is said to have woven the stars.
96	** Leizu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, is believed to have been the inventor of sericulture and the silk loom after figuring out that silkworm cocoons unravel when boiled.
97	* Myth/ClassicalMythology:
98	** The Fates are a trio of goddesses who control destiny through the thread they spin.
99	** Athena is also the goddess of weaving. This didn't stop her from being bested in a weaving contest by Arachne.
100	* Myth/EgyptianMythology:
101	** Tayt was a goddess of weaving, textiles, and to a lesser extent mummification.
102	** Hedjhotep was a minor deity of fabrics and clothes.
103	** Due to her symbol being a loom, the Greeks dubbed Neith a goddess of weaving during the syncretisation of Greek myths to Egyptian ones.
104	* Myth/IncaMythology: Mama Ocllo was the daughter of the sun god Inti and the moon goddess Mama Killa. She taught women the art of spinning thread.
105	* Myth/NorseMythology: Frigg is a goddess associated with weaving among other things. Holda and Perchta were both known as goddesses who oversaw spinning and weaving.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Toys]]
109	* ''Toys/SuperThings'': Tangle Boy has the power to create and control yarn. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower This is not nearly as lame an ability as it sounds.]]
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Video Games]]
113	* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'': Wicked Weaves is a spell that allows Bayonetta to [[SummonMagic summon]] any demon she has a contract with using her clothes as a conduit. She can do partial summons by having her clothes transform into a limb belonging to her demon. This also has the side effect of [[{{Fanservice}} briefly leaving her naked]]. As her outfit is actually made out of her hair, this makes the spell a cross between Master of Threads and PrehensileHair.
114	* ''VideoGame/{{Filaments}}'': The heroine Margot learns the use of threads from two of the Parcae to fight her way back home.
115	* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': Hornet can manipulate silk threads for various purposes. She can use it to [[BladeOnARope launch her needle as an extendable weapon]], release multiple threads around herself that slice through the air, and use a silk string in the same manner as a grappling hook.
116	* ''VideoGame/KingsRaid'': Yuria is known to use, manipulate, and fight with the threads of fate, which are the threads of life. This skill is also used for a more functional purpose by allowing her to [[GorgeousGarmentGeneration create impossibly beautiful clothing.]]
117	* Within the world of ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'' exists a group known as the Weavers, who are able to "weave" far more than just fabric, and utilize the ability to cast powerful magic and even create life.
118	* ''VideoGame/LuminousAvengerIX'': Rebellio conjures weapons made out of incredibly strong and sharp thread, and can even unravel and re-ravel his body to mimic teleportation. Dystnine can conjure cloth that deflects objects [[{{Invisibility}} (including light)]] on contact.
119	* ''VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory'': Kanoko's innate magic is to sew things together with threads, immobilizing them.
120	* ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'': Labrys's Persona, Ariadne, has a unique skill called Weaver Arts that allows her to manipulate the iconic red thread in impossible ways. She can shape the thread into swords, arrows, gears, and even animals, then use it to attack.
121	* ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 4'': Kyogoku Maria can magically control the sashes of her sleeves during combat.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Web Comics]]
125	* Padme Anansi of ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'' controls fabric, which is really useful, considering she lost both her arms when she was young. So she substitutes a long scarf.
126	* ''Setback'': Ms. Ribbon can fire ribbons from her sleeves, similar to how Spider-Man shoots out his webbing. She can also control how soft or hard they are and form them into various shapes. Likewise, all fabric on her person can be manipulated like her cape allowing her to avoid CapeSnag should it ever be caught on something.
127	* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': [[MagicalGirl Outrageous Lemon]] has the ability to control fabric, as [[PersonalityPowers befits]] her [[TheFashionista keen interest in fashion]]. Attached to her skirt are several tubes of lace ribbon which she can manipulate in battle as RazorFloss.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Western Animation]]
131	* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': The penultimate episode has the main trio taking on a QuirkyMinibossSquad of vampires. One of the vampires can manipulate wire-like threads which she uses to restrain Alucard.
132	* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': While visiting England in "Operation: E.N.G.L.A.N.D.", Number 1 is attacked by a member of Sector E who fights by controlling her [[ScarfOfAsskicking scarf]].
133	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MasterOfThreads