Line #28 Webcomic/GrowthSpurt


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/growth_spurt.png]]
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3	'''Undertale spoilers ahead. You have been warned.'''
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5	''[[http://potoobrigham.tumblr.com/growth-spurt-au Growth Spurt]]'' is an ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' AU Comic series by [[http://potoobrigham.tumblr.com potoobrigham]]. Asriel is [[UnexplainedRecovery inexplicably restored]], but the time he spent as Flowey has caught up with him, both physically and mentally, leaving him as an easily irritable young adult. The comic details his trials and tribulations.
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8	!!Tropes Present in ''Growth Spurt'' include:
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10	* AgeLift: Whichever way Asriel has been restored left him as a young adult rather than the child he is in the game, hence the title. Mixed with PlotRelevantAgeUp.
11	* AliensLoveHumanFood: According to Alphys, monsters can eat human food, but it must be eased into.
12	-->*So an entire box of meatlovers pizza would count as a bit excessive?
13	-->'''Alphys:''' W-wha, Excessively excessive!!
14	-->*In that case, your medical assistance is required.
15	-->'''Asriel:''' '''END ME'''
16	* ArcWords: Crossed with TitleDrop in the "Unpleasant" arc.
17	* {{Bathos}}: Every now and then. Such as when Asriel and Alphys have to go to the True Lab and after several panels of tension (due to Asriel's discomfort of the area and Alphys' horrific guilt), the mood is considerably lightened when Asriel reveals that not only has he watched Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, but shares Alphys' opinion of the second series being inferior to the first. Alphys cannot help but feel vindicated that someone shares her opinion.
18	* BewareTheNiceOnes:
19	** Asgore is a gentle and friendly person and a good parent to both Asriel and Frisk. But in the flashback in the "Bad" arc, we see his reaction upon discovering that it was humans who killed his children. His rage was ''terrifying''. Deconstructed since it led to the fallout between him and Toriel and Asgore succumbed to grief soon afterwards.
20	** Toriel as well. She's still the doting goat mom we all know and love, but as shown in "Magic", she can be fiery and hot-blooded, not to mention her {{Jerkass}} behavior toward Asgore.
21	* BigBrotherInstinct: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. Frisk is implied to have this for Asriel, despite being the younger sibling[[note]]Though that may be in question considering the amount of MentalTimeTravel they both did[[/note]]. In the "Unpleasant" arc, they go out of their way to comfort him after he argues with Toriel. They also immediately go to comfort Asriel after he has a breakdown when he lets his magic flow naturally and takes on [[WhamShot some familiar shapes.]]
22	* BlindedByTheLight: Asriel reacted to the sun similar to how a grumpy teenager would after not seeing it for so long.
23	* BrutalHonesty: Undyne is pretty much this, to where Frisk is surprised that Undyne has not told Alphys there are still monsters living underground. Undyne notes that while she does not sugar-coat things, she also notes that Alphys does not need to know that since it would just add more anxiety for her. Given how she mentions Alphys does not work well under pressure, [[DefiedTrope it's clear Undyne does understand the need for sensitivity.]]
24	* ButtMonkey: Asriel is the butt of most of the jokes in the comic.
25	** IronButtMonkey: Some of those jokes are physical, especially when Undyne is involved.
26	* CatapultNightmare: Alphys has one, seemingly generated by her guilt over being responsible for Flowey's creation.
27	* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: Frisk during his time in The Underground where due to RippleProofMemory was able to recall how Asriel as Flowey had killed him "Thousands of Times".
28	-->'''Frisk:''' ''(Unpeterbed)'' And that's with some generous rounding down.
29	* DarkAndTroubledPast:
30	** Asriel, of course, due to his death as a child and his time as Flowey.
31	** [[spoiler:Frisk committed a No Mercy route and did a hard reset before the events of the comic, something they apparently don't like to think about.]]
32	* {{Dramedy}}: The comic is very comedy heavy, but can get dramatic at times. Unlike most other Save-Asriel [=AUs=], it does not gloss over the consequences of Asriel's past, or his actions. This is especially notable in 3 story arcs:
33	** During the "Childhood" arc where Asriel describes to his therapist [[DarkAndTroubledPast the events that led up to his death]].
34	** The "Unpleasant" arc, where he admits to Toriel he killed while he was Flowey, something which neither Frisk nor Asriel actually told her.
35	** The "Bad" arc, which follows from "Unpleasant", where Toriel goes to Asgore and both talk about the day their children died. Toriel has a breakdown as she realizes how much of a horrible person she was being toward Asgore and Asriel.
36	* ExactWords: When Asriel asks Frisk if he has any "dark secrets," [[spoiler:Frisk remembers going all the way through a No Mercy route, making a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Chara]], and then not only resetting, but [[ExploitingTheFourthWall deleting the files pertaining to the No Mercy route]] to prevent a HappyEndingOverride]]. Frisk simply replies "None that can be recalled."
37	* ExplainExplainOhCrap: Alphys in the "Maintenance" arc goes over explanations as to why Mt. Ebott is smoking and comes to the horrifying realization that the [=CORE=] could be malfunctioning, which could lead to catastrophic consequences. By which she means ''the whole mountain exploding''!
38	* EyepatchOfPower: Asriel thinks that Undyne still has both of her eyes, and that she wears an eyepatch to look intimidating.
39	* FreakOut: Asriel goes into a mild traumatic shock when he lets his magic go naturally… and he and Frisk discover that his magic's natural form is that of ''flowers…''
40	* GreenThumb: When Asriel stops trying to shape his magic, we learn it takes the shape and form of flowers and vines. He has a pretty bad FreakOut over it, though by the time of "CORE arc", he has made some peace with it, even using the vines as a makeshift rope to lower Alphys.
41	* HeroicBSOD: Asgore's reaction to the death of his children. While Toriel was howling with grief and crying into his robes, he had, in Toriel's words, "shut down completely." When she asked him what was going through his mind, he answers that only questions were. He only snaps out of it when the hooded boat figure informs him that they found bullets in the dust, with the implication they were shot…
42	* IWasJustJoking: Alphys wants to take Undyne to a movie, so Frisk asks Asriel for recommendations. Asriel jokingly suggests ''Film/TheShapeOfWater''. Frisk sends Asriel's "suggestion" to Alphys, and she and Undyne watch the movie.
43	* InnocentlyInsensitive: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. Toriel knows full well she's hurting Asgore's feelings when she rubs his moral failings in his face. Unbeknownst to her, however, Asriel did ''so much worse'' back when he was [[TheSociopath Flowey]], and now that he has his soul, and by extension, his conscience back, many of Toriel's barbs at Asgore [[InsultMisfire hurt him just as much as their intended recipient]]. This becomes more significant with the reveal that Asriel sees Asgore as a sign of strength and hope in overcoming the trauma of the heart being heavy with [[ArcWords "unpleasant things."]] As such, Toriel's judgmental behavior makes Asriel thinks he himself is irredeemable. [[spoiler:When Asriel tries to convince her to apologize, the ensuing argument has him confess to her that he did in fact commit murder back as Flowey. Toriel understandably doesn't take it well, especially when Frisk chases after Asriel and confirms to Toriel that Asriel was being truthful and how much her words hurt him. As such, Toriel goes to Asgore to talk things out regarding everything that happened the day they lost their children, mainly what he went through. During the conversation, she [[JerkassRealization realizes]] how she failed to consider Asgore's own feelings of grief, the fact that [[AccompliceByInaction she did nothing to stop Asgore or help him]], or that she hurt her own child in the process. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone The realization drives her to tears]].]]
44	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
45	** Sure, Asriel is a bit of a troubled and moody teenager (which is justified with struggling with PTSD and being forcibly grown up), but he is still just as nice as his parents are, wanting to move forward with his life and enjoys spending time with the people he cares about.
46	** Toriel isn't as bad as her son in this regard, as she's still the friendly DotingParent that she is in canon, but her conversations with Asgore have [[TookALevelInJerkass gotten progressively more venomous]], which comes to a head in the "Unpleasant" Arc.
47	* LamePunReaction: Asriel doesn't like puns, no matter who says them. Even ''thinking'' of a pun causes him to react this way.
48	* LimitedWardrobe: Asriel admits to having done this intentionally with his princely robes to his father. He keeps it as a reminder of his previous life as "Prince of Monsters".
49	* MuscleAngst: Asriel is a "beanpole". He isn't happy about it.
50	* NervousWreck: Alphys is pretty much this when she discovers the CORE is about to blow up and she has to work with Asriel to fix it (harboring immense guilt in how some of her actions led to Asriel's suffering along with other burdens).
51	** Alphys notes that this is why she hasn't accepted any offers to go to labs or so on in the surface. As she puts it, she gets nervous and chokes.
52	* {{Nosebleed}}: Alphys has half of one when she and Undyne go see ''Film/TheShapeOfWater''.
53	* NotHyperbole: There's a sketch with the following dialogue, or rather Asriel's words and the narration that follows Frisk as they allow that.
54	-->'''Asriel:''' Making friends with you is easy, cuz you're an extrovert. I'm an introvert, which here means I DON'T FLIRT WITH EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER.\
55	''Rude. You don't recall flirting with anyone's mothe— Oh.''
56	* PermaStubble: Asriel hopes it will grow into a full beard someday, like his dad's.
57	* PersonalityPowers: According to Toriel and Asgore, this is how magic works in the world of ''Undertale''. Each wielder's magic is different, representing various positive and negative attributes about the wielder. For example: Toriel explains how fire represents destructive hot-bloodedness, but also comforting warmth and protective light, which represent her negative and positive sides (and by extension, likely the same with Asgore). This symbolism also seems to be influenced by cultural perceptions and even mythology, as Asgore explains that the reason his magic takes the form of tridents is because they are viewed as symbols of authority, even citing Poseidon and Shiva (powerful gods who wielded tridents and similar weapons as representing their might).
58	** This is the crux of Asriel's current problems with magic, as he keeps trying to force his magic into shapes that do not represent who he is. Back when Asriel was the "God of Hyperdeath", having absorbed the [=SOULs=] of the six human children along with virtually every monster in Mt. Ebott (excluding Napstablook) probably allowed him to bypass any restrictions he did have. And while not downright stated, it's implied that drastic changes to oneself affects their magic as seen below.
59	* PlotRelevantAgeUp: Part of what makes this stand out is Asriel being a teenager. More specifically, when he fused with Chara, he went to become older and resembling much like his first form as the "God of Hyperdeath." The unknown means of his resurrection have him return not as the pre-fused child, but as the adolescent form (which serves as an external indicator of how much he changed).
60	* PresentTenseNarrative: Frisk's thoughts and "statements" normally take the form of this, much like in the game, such as directly referring to themselves as they ask Asriel to not make them look like a liar because they've told Monster Kid that Asriel can create swords from thin air.
61	* PungeonMaster: Sans hasn't changed a bit since the end of the game.
62	* RetGone: W.D. Gaster is hinted at when Alphys reveals to Asriel about the existence of a previous Royal Scientist along with their accomplishments, such as the CORE and exterior. As Alphys puts it, no one knew there was one before her (since Gaster appears to have been erased from existence), but they still exist in the form of their work, including blueprints.
63	* SelfFanservice: InUniverse, the way Catty imagined Asriel to be is quite… different than the way he actually is. Of course, she's more than pleased with what he actually seems like.
64	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The Maintainence arc runs on this. The CORE is becoming overheated since it is in a volcano, and with everyone going to the surface, there is nobody around to maintain it, leading to it starting to break down.
65	** Also, the CORE needed a way to cool down and maintain proper temperature to prevent the above-mentioned problems. It's revealed this is what the large wolf monster (named Jimmy here) was doing with the large chunks of ice he was pushing back in Snowdin. It's also revealed that he went to the surface, thus why the CORE is no longer being cooled down. Currently, while Asriel and Alphys investigate the problems, Undyne recruits a certain apology-prone monster as temporary ice pusher...
66	** A bit of an odd example given how it involves, well, magic. Given how magic is explained here as a manifestation of one's inner self, then logically, any drastic changes to a monster or person (affecting them mentally) would likely influence the natural shape of their magic. When Asriel finally lets his magic flow naturally, [[WhamShot it takes the shape and form of multicolor vines and flowers.]] [[FreakOut The significance and ramifications of this revelation causes Asriel to spiral into an intense breakdown]] and Frisk having to comfort him.
67	--> '''Asriel:''' That's not who I am! It's not what I am! That's not what I am. T-that's not. It's not.
68	** We also discover why there are still monsters living underground, much to Undyne's frustration. While it was the result of exile, it is still home for them. As Frisk puts it, change is scary and leaving there to the massive outside world is pretty daunting. They even note that some monsters are now happier underground since they can now do so by choice rather than because of force (comparing it to how some may sleep in even if it's a perfect day out). Unsurprisingly, someone as bombastic as Undyne has trouble understanding this.
69	* ThatCameOutWrong: Asriel wanted to see Sans's "shortcuts", so, when he ambushed Sans and yelled: "Show it to me!", Sans replied that he'd "already denied the 'bone zone' to like a million fangirls" and couldn't "afford to make [Asriel] an exception".
70	* TheShrink: Asriel is going to one. Although their role in the comic has been fairly small so far, they're ''definitely'' the awesome subtype: not only do they give Asriel wise and uplifting advice, but they might also be none other than the Annoying Dog.
71	* ThousandYardStare: Contrasting with Toriel's howling grief, Asgore's expression was pure this when learning his children were killed. Said stare became filled with rage when informed ''why'' his children were dead…
72	* ToxicFriendInfluence: Chara to Asriel, as he realizes in a therapy session. Chara would always make him take the fall for things that they did, and manipulated him and everyone around them into shunning him so that Chara would be his only "friend."
73	* TrainingFromHell: Just because Asriel is the Prince of All Monsters doesn't mean Undyne is going easy on him. Hell, it's all the more why she is going rougher on him.
74	* {{Troll}}: If Sans is around Asriel, expect him to act like this.
75	* UnexplainedRecovery: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] but PlayedStraight. It's never made clear how Asriel has been restored, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools as it isn't the focus of the comic]].
76	* UnplannedCrossdressing: Asriel puts on a dress after mistakenly thinking it was a robe with a wide neck for his horns. Alphys and Undyne struggle to hold in their laughter.
77	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The hooded boat person probably should've been a bit more sensitive of ''when'' to inform their grief-stricken king of how his children died and putting the bullets in his hand…
78	* TheUnreveal: Asriel reading [[spoiler:Gaster]]'s blueprints in "Maintenance" discovers that the CORE was originally designed to power something much ''bigger'' than the underground… but this has not yet been revealed.

Context Webcomic / GrowthSpurt