Line #37 Main/SeaHurtchin


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[WebVideo/GameGrumps https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rolling_in_the_deep.jpg]]]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Ouchin'.]]
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8	Take a look at an urchin. Those little critters are balls of spines that seem to do nothing but stay in place, just waiting to be stepped on like {{caltrops}} and deal the hurt to anyone touching them. For extra injuries, urchin spines are actually quite brittle and tend to break when stepped on, remaining embedded in the swimmer's skin. And some of them are even ''venomous''! In other words, they are the living embodiment of the SpikesOfDoom -- painful, dangerous and, well, spiky.
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10	As such, when an accident-prone character takes a vacation to the beach, expect them to inadvertently walk on one, cue the AgonyOfTheFeet.
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12	They are also quite common as underwater obstacles in UnderTheSea settings, usually as immobile versions of the PainfulPointyPufferfish. Standing motionless on the walls, they are quite effective at complicating the navigation during a level, made worse by the fact that their spikes shield them from most of the dangers, making them quite the dangerous creature.
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14	In visual media such as cartoons or video games, it's not uncommon for sea urchins to be visually simplified into near-perfect spheres with faces and a studding of large, conical spikes, going from being regular if spiky animals to more or less living {{caltrops}}.
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16	A SubTrope of SpikesOfDoom and SpikeBallsOfDoom. Compare PainfulPointyPufferfish, which is used in a similar fashion. See also ClingyAquaticLife.
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18	----
19	!!Examples:
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21	[[foldercontrol]]
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23	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
24	* The ''Anime/{{Doraemon}}'' short, "Underwater Hiking", has Nobita going on an underwater hiking adventure with assorted gagdets, but the first thing that happens the moment he jumps into the sea is an urchin on his rump.
25	[[/folder]]
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27	[[folder:Films - Animated]]
28	* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', the first round of the Scare Games consists of a simulated run through a child's bedroom, with urchins in place of the (supposedly) toxic items the monsters would have to avoid. Touching one causes violent swelling.
29	-->'''Squishy:''' ''(Swollen like a balloon)'' I can't feel my anything.
30	* In ''WesternAnimation/SurfsUp'' Cody accidentally steps on a sea urchin after his big wipeout, which leads to the "urinate on it" remedy. As a bonus, there is also an interview clip of the sea urchin disputing that he was merely stepped on.
31	-->'''Ivan (Fire Urchin):''' Stepped on me? ''Stepped on me?'' Are you kidding? This guy was ''dancing'' on me! I mean, just look at this. [Points at spikes] Broken, broken, gone, gone, broken, broken, broken...
32	[[/folder]]
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34	[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
35	* ''Film/TheMermaid'' revolves around an accident-prone mermaid trying to assassinate a property tycoon whose project is destroying her home. One of her "weapons" used for trying to kill him is a handful of urchins, but she gets them embedded into her own face after missing a throw and having it bouncing back.
36	* In ''[[Film/PoliceStory Jackie Chan's First Strike]]'', Jackie has a fight with thugs at an aquarium where there is a tank full of "toxic sea creatures" that cause numbness wherever they sting. Jackie ends up dunking a particularly tough bad guy right into the tank - he emerges looking like a human pincushion before passing out from the toxins.
37	* In ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', Domino steps at some point on an urchin spine – poisonous and painful at the same time. Taking her ashore, Bond bites the spine out.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Literature]]
41	* In ''Literature/BloodFever'', Jana Carnifex, Ugo's sister, attempts to kill Bond and Amy while they are SkinnyDipping. Bond tricks her, however, by jumping off the rock, while Victor distracts her. She slips and falls into a bed of sea urchins, where she finally dies from the pain and poison. As Bond and Amy wade to the surface, Amy suddenly steps on a sea urchin. [[CallForward Bond knows exactly how to remove it]].
42	* One ''Literature/GeronimoStilton'' book has the eponymous character getting pricked by a sea urchin left on a hotel bed by his nephew Benjamin, who intended to show it to him.
43	[[/folder]]
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45	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
46	* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'': In one episode, a creepy security guard blackmails Paula into going to an aquarium with him to see the touching pond. There, he demands that she put her hand on a sea urchin, facing him as she does so he can see her reaction. It's framed as though he'll be getting a sexual thrill out of seeing her in pain, but after she awkwardly describes the sensation as 'spiky', he cheers and then excitedly runs off to see the next exhibit, showing he actually just wanted to share the experience.
47	[[/folder]]
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49	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
50	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' had aggressive urchins that can shoot their spines in some early editions, coming in several different variants including a land version.
51	[[/folder]]
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53	[[folder:Video Games]]
54	* ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland'': A recurring enemy is an urchin that floats back and forth in [[UnderTheSea underwater levels]].
55	* ''VideoGame/BeardBlade'': Giant urchins appears in underwater levels, where they can damage you on contact. They're also invulnerable to any attacks and you'll need to swim around without touching them.
56	* ''VideoGame/CheeseCatAstrophe Starring WesternAnimation/SpeedyGonzales'': In the Platform/SegaMasterSystem and Platform/GameGear versions, there's a level called "The Faces of Sylvester: The River of Paint", where Speedy rows an inflatable raft across a river. In the river are floating sea urchins. If one of them hits Speedy, they will pop his raft, causing him to sink into the river and [[SuperDrowningSkills instantly lose a life]].
57	* ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'':
58	** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble'' introduces the Lurchin enemies, sea urchins that can open up to reveal the creature's grotesque, angry face. They, of course, are harmful on contact and can only be defeated by [[SwordfishSabre Enguarde]] (only when their shells are open) or the Nibbla (which can eat them but will be pretty pissed off about it). Their leader Barbos also appears as a boss.
59	** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'': Giant purple Sea Urchins appear as obstacles in several underwater levels, both as immobile threats and floating around in a set movement pattern. Only Cranky Kong's cane stands a chance against them.
60	* ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'':
61	** ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'':
62	*** Aigul is an undersea port built in a giant Lorn-Fluke (read: city-sized alien urchin). Everything within it is pierced with its spines, and navigating within it is rather hazardous if the flavor text is anything to go by.
63	*** Smaller Lorn-Flukes (still twice the size of your ship, mind you) appear as enemies around the Zee and try to ram you with their spines. That isn't even the scariest thing they can do: they're are able to wield [[LanguageOfMagic Correspondence]], which acts like some kind of BrownNote and will ''heavily'' damage your ship.
64	** ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies'': Unfortunately for the ''Sunless Sea'' veterans, the Flukes didn't stay in the Unterzee. The ones that moved to the High Wilderness are called Scorn-Flukes, and if anything are even worse than in the previous game, charging your locomotive in the middle of open space with all their urchin-like bulk and speaking Correspondence even more fluently. [[spoiler:There's also whatever sort of eldritch Fluke that you can find in the mists near Worlebury-juxta-Mare; it can't hurt you, but it's so big and horrible-looking your terror will skyrocket in its presence]].
65	* ''VideoGame/HeyPikmin'': Large Splurchins are rotund, purple and, according to the S.S Dolphin, mindless urchins that can be found floating in underwater levels. Those creatures will impede Olimar's way and harm everything that touches them.
66	* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'': Gordos, some of the regular baddies, give ''very'' strong vibes of this trope. The [[InvincibleMinorMinion completely invincible enemies]] are urchin-like monsters (though their spikes are arranged on a perfectly circular pattern leaving their faces and their backs smooth) which can be found not only in water but on land as well.
67	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': There are sea urchins that block paths in Toronbo Shores. While they deal damage to Link on mere contact, you first receive your [[PlotCoupon shield]] so you can push them away, harmlessly. After getting past a few you reach the sword and they just become the equivalent of prickly bushes.
68	* ''VideoGame/{{Octogeddon}}'': Ursula the Urchin is an animal buddy which can fire a flurry of spikes all around her, damaging every enemy they strike.
69	* ''VideoGame/OrientalLegend'' have a Giant Sea Urchin boss in the Heavenly River stage, who floats around trying to sting you as well as [[SpikeShooter shooting its spikes]] from a distance and summoning smaller urchins to drop on you. z
70	* ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'': Pincurchin is a cute urchin Pokémon with a round black body and long, conical spines with which it can deal electric shocks. Even when broken, its spines still emit electricity for three hours.
71	* ''VideoGame/SonicShuffle'': In the "Ring Tide" mini-game, sea urchins wash up on the shore, and the players must avoid running into them while trying to collect rings and forcejewels, as they lose rings if they run into the sea urchins.
72	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' introduced the purple Urchins to the ''Super Mario'' bestiary. Do not let their goofy appearance fool you, their spikes do hurt. In their ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' appearance, they are ''mobile'' and can even extend their spikes a little if Mario gets too close from them.
73	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' introduced the Unira (the sea urchin baddies from ''VideoGame/CluCluLand'') as items. When thrown, they will fix themselves at their landing spot and extend their spines. Any foe coming in contact with these will be damaged and dealt knockback.
74	* ''VideoGame/WiiPlayMotion'': In the minigame ''Treasure Twirl'', many urchins are attached to the walls to hamper the mobility of the Miis. Like any other enemy, touching them will deplete your OxygenMeter and make you drop a treasure chest if you carrying at least one.
75	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': Urchin enemies are usually territorial and will aggro if you get too close. Their spikes double as a layer of armor that block most physical attacks. With few exceptions, you must wait for the urchin to initiate an opening to strike its core in order to Topple it and engage in higher combat functions.
76	* ''VideoGame/WarioMasterOfDisguise'' also features an urchin enemy called Lurchin. it is described as a pitiful creature that hurts everyone it touches, no matter how hard it tries not to. [[TheWoobie It spends each night sobbing from nearly unbearable loneliness.]]
77	[[/folder]]
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79	[[folder:Web Animation]]
80	* ''[[WebVideo/GameGrumps Game Grumps Animated]]'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qnqHwXfQe8 "Rolling in the Deep"]], Danny steps on an urchin with his bare feet and gets injured.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Western Animation]]
84	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
85	** In "Nature Pants", after [=SpongeBob=] gets zapped by jellyfish, he tries to call it a night by resting in a cave, all while bearing the cold with only a kelp blanket to barely cover him. All of a sudden, he gets a painfully itchy feeling, and it turns out that he's covered by poison sea urchins.
86	** In "Eek, An Urchin!", urchins get inside the Krusty Krab, which are treated as a major infestation.
87	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': One of the new characters in this spin-off is Ouchie, Patrick's pet urchin. As the name implies, every time Patrick touches Ouchie is quite painful, not that Patrick minds.
88	[[/folder]]
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90	[[folder:Real Life]]
91	* The Ancient Greek writer Demetrius of Scepsis recounted a Spartan being invited to a banquet where seafood was served, and ate an urchin whole by putting it in his mouth and biting down (without looking at how other, less ProudWarriorRace-types were eating them). He then said that he wasn't about to pussy out by spitting it up, but he sure as hell wouldn't eat another one.
92	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SeaHurtchin