Line #25 Main/SewingNeedleSword


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/TheTaleOfDespereaux https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2023_05_11_at_42028_pm.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Pun}} Got the point?]]]]
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4	When a small or shrunken-down character is in need of a weapon, they often resort to using a sewing needle as a sword or spear. It's the perfect size, readily available in any house setting, sharp and pointy, has a nice long reach, and the little hole in the top where the thread is supposed to go makes a perfect grip. Depending on how much sewing the homeowner does, there may also be many other needles in a nearby pincushion or sewing box to replace it, should it break in the heat of battle. Other objects that can be used by small characters as makeshift swords or spears include sewing pins, sharpened pencils, toothpicks, razors, etc.
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6	Common wielders of the Sewing Needle Sword include shrunken-down characters, {{Lilliputians}}, LivingToys (especially ragdolls), insects, and most frequently, mice. They have little hands perfect for gripping things, inhabit houses where one would find sewing needles, and when a creator needs a small animal to be the hero of their story, the mouse is the most obvious choice.
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8	Subtrope of ImprovisedWeapon and GiantsKnifeHumansGreatsword, and related to ThePenIsMightier.
9	----
10	!!Examples:
11	[[foldercontrol]]
12	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
13	* ''Anime/{{Arrietty}}'' from the film of the same name finds a pin on her first "borrowing" and keeps it for self-defense.
14	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Senjumaru Shutara of the [[PraetorianGuard Royal Guard]] is capable of using both an oversized needle as a weapon and normal needles for [[MasterOfThreads weaponized sewing]].
15	* ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa'': In the adaptation of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', Librari used to use a needle as a spear.
16	* ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'': One of the blades of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Nuibari (lit. "sewing needle"), references this. It is shaped like a giant sewing needle, long and thin with a wire attached to it like a thread, and capable of stitching together those it strikes.
17	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': One of the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Tontatta Dwarves]], Leo, uses a needle as a sword, which he mainly uses in conjunction with his Devil Fruit, the ''Nui Nui no Mi'' (Sew-Sew Fruit), a Paramecia Devil Fruit that allows him to stitch things together without the need of a physical thread.
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20	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
21	* ''Literature/TomThumb'' (or ''Thumbling''): In some variants, the titular character is knighted by a king during his adventures or sets off on his own. He chooses a small needle to function as his sword.
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24	[[folder:Fan Works]]
25	* ''Fanfic/DanganronpaDespairAvenue'': Inverted. Instead of being a small character using a regular-sized sewing needle, a regular-sized character uses a ''huge'' sewing needle. In Curse III, Lada Turgenev's Ultimate Weapon is the Ultimate Sewing Needle. It is described as being the size of a small sword, large enough to ''impale someone.''
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28	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
29	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}'' has a few variations; 1 carries a large darning needle around as his StaffOfAuthority, while looking closely at 7's glaive reveals it's actually a scalpel blade attached to a clock hand. An honorary mention should also go to the Seamstress, who literally fights using sewing needles, but they're physically part of her arms.
30	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTaleOfDespereaux'': As with his book counterpart, Despereaux uses a needle as a sword, and is seen wielding it on every poster.
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33	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
34	* ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'': A variation. The Dormouse TookALevelInBadass and arms herself with a sewing pin as her weapon to defend the White Queen against the Queen of Hearts' forces. She uses it to take the Bandersnatch's eye out.
35	* ''Film/TheIncredibleShrinkingMan'': The shrunken Scott Carey uses a sewing needle as a weapon against a spider that wants to catch and eat him.
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38	[[folder:Literature]]
39	* ''Literature/{{Batrachomyomachia}}'': The UrExample. The mice arm themselves with needles for spears (the frogs are using sharp stalks).
40	* ''Literature/BewareOfChicken'': Ri Zu (Rizzo) the rat typically fights with a needle. By itself, it doesn't do much damage, but she's also a MasterPoisoner and can use her qi to control the spread of a substance once it's inside someone's body. Anyone stabbed with her tiny silver weapon has probably lost the fight already.
41	* ''Literature/GulliversTravels'': Gulliver fashions a sidearm out of a needle during his stay in Brobdingnag and uses it to defend himself against a Brobdingnagian mouse. The catch is that he is human-sized in a land of giants, instead of tiny in a land of human-sized.
42	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Invoked by Arya, a small girl whose weapon is a small, slender sword suited to Braavosi water dancers, rather than a big, heavy longsword typical of Westerosi knights. She names it "Needle," both for its small size and as a reference to her hatred of actual needlework.
43	* ''Literature/TheTaleOfDespereaux'': Despereaux is a mouse tiny even by mouse standards who dreams of being a brave knight and protecting the Princess Pea. After she is taken down to the dungeon, Hovis gives Despereaux a spool of red thread to tie around his waist so he won't get lost in it while searching for her, and the needle as a sword to protect himself from the [[YouDirtyRat dungeon rats]].
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46	[[folder:Music]]
47	* The Israeli song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3omMzYyfDg In the Kingdom of the Dwarves]]'' describes an army commander wielding a sharp pin as a weapon.
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50	[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
51	* In the Japanese tale ''Issun-boshi'', the protagonist is but a diminutive boy, one ''sun'' tall (i.e. about 3cm or 1.12 inches tall), born after a wish from his human parents. One day, he leaves home and ventures into the world, and decides to go to the capital to become a warrior. His weapon of choice? A needle as a sword.
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54	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
55	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': In 4th edition ''Heroes of the Feywild'', the artwork for the grig, a fairy with a grasshopper-like lower body, is holding a sewing pin.
56	* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': The card game has [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Stinging_Swordsman Stinging Swordsman]] (or Needle Swordsman in Japanese) who is a miniature warrior who uses a tiny needle to attack. It also has the ability to return all face-up spells and traps to the opponent's hand if it inflicts battle damage.
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59	[[folder:Video Games]]
60	* ''VideoGame/DisneyMirrorverse'': A more human-sized version. The game's version of [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Sally Finklestein]] fights with a sewing needle as large as a normal sword [[DualWielding in each hand]], appropriately for a living ragdoll.
61	* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': The Godskin Noble belongs to a cult that, as its name indicates, [[KillTheGod slays gods and demigods]] and [[GenuineHumanHide skins them to make clothing]]. He wields what appears to be a large ornate rapier, but when he drops it for you to use, you'll see that it's called the Godskin ''Stitcher'', making it clear what it's actually supposed to be used for.
62	* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': Depending on whether the setting is a WorldOfFunnyAnimals or a MouseWorld inhabited by normal-sized insects, the nails wielded by the player and other bugs may count. It's more literal with Hornet's weapon, which is closely modeled after a sewing needle in appearance, and she uses a thread to keep it on her person.
63	* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': Champion [[Characters/LeagueOfLegends Gwen]] uses a [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon huge stylized Sewing Needle]] as her weapon of choice. [[TheMagnificent Her epithet]]? ''[[MeaningfulName The Hallowed Seamstress]]''.
64	* ''VideoGame/SmallSaga'' is set in a literal MouseWorld with rodents of various genii as characters, and every member of the cast has some kind of small-scale armament in line with this trope. Blademaster Leo uses an actual sewing needle, and the Scissor Sisters get their name from them each wielding half of a pair of scissor, for example.
65	* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Sukuna Shinmyoumaru, a descendant of the Japanese folk hero Issun-boushi[[note]]A Tom Thumb-like figure who killed an {{oni}} and took his magical hammer for himself[[/note]], fights using a large sewing needle known as the Shining Needle Sword. Notably, Shinmyoumaru is actually human-sized (albeit very short) in most of her appearances thanks to the power of [[PublicDomainArtifact the Miracle Mallet]], and her needle scales up to match.
66	* ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch3'': Isshun Boy/Minimoto is a Yokai based on the Japanese folktale character Issun-boushi. Like his inspiration, he also wields a sewing needle as a weapon.
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69	[[folder:Web Original]]
70	* ''WebVideo/RatsSMP'': The swords which the rats use are retextured as sewing needles and safety pins to emphasize their small size in relation to their surroundings.
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73	[[folder:Western Animation]]
74	* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'': Montague, an anarchy-obsessed mouse who can speak as a result of Susan and Mary's experiments, has been shown wielding a kebab skewer as a weapon.
75	* ''WesternAnimation/ThruTheMirror'': When a shrunken-down Mickey is threatened by the King of Cards for dancing with his Queen, he notices a sewing needle stuck in a nearby spool of thread and uses it to defend himself against the King's swords.
76	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / SewingNeedleSword