History Main / GrewASpine

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "Escaping Expulsion", [[Characters/TheOwlHouseAmityBlight Amity Blight]] learns to resist the abusive demands of her mother Odalia and finally calls her out for it. Initiated by [[RuleOfSymbolism breaking the necklace they used to telepathically communicate]], as a symbol she's no longer under her control.

* ''WebComic/PrincessPrincess'': Sadie, due to her kind, shy nature, is cowed easily by her older sister at first. By the end, she's learned to stand up against her (with Amira at her side).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'': Mother Gothel spent eighteen years keeping Rapunzel from the world, telling her that she wasn't ready or that the world was too dangerous. Despite asking numerous times to leave, Rapunzel backs down when Gothel says no. Throughout the movie, however, Rapunzel gains more confidence in herself and her abilities (to Gothel's frustration). This culminates in (after [[spoiler:Rapunzel learns that she's the lost princess, meaning that Gothel kidnapped her and lied to her about it her whole life]]) a ''beautiful'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that breaks any control Gothel had on her:
-->'''Rapunzel''': No! You were wrong about the world. You were wrong about ''me!'' And I will ''never'' let you use my hair ''again!'' (shoves Gothel backwards).

** Downplayed with [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]]. Thanks to Shinji and Asuka's influence, she becomes more assertive as well... but she hides her newfound assertiveness from Gendo to avoid cueing him in to the fact.

* {{Downplayed| Trope}} in ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide''. Shinji is still pretty insecure and timid, but he makes an effort to become more assertive since he knows he will let Asuka and his family down again unless he stops running away, mans up, and takes responsibility for his actions, and he even gradually succeeds in doing so. It is perhaps most obvious in his interactions with Asuka, especially after he gains a better understanding of her; he finds that while it just isn't in his nature to be confrontational with her (plus he knows that such an approach wouldn't be very likely to change her mind anyway), he can, often successfully, appeal to her better nature during an argument.

* ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'': [[AfterTheEnd After Third Impact]] Shinji needs to man up in order to survive, help Asuka [[spoiler:and later raise their daughter together]]. And he manages it, maturing and becoming a better and stronger person who'll defend his family at all costs. Threaten [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Asuka]] [[spoiler:[[PapaWolf or Aki]]]] [[TheBerserker at your own risk]].
* ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'': At the start of the story Shinji is his wimpy canon self, but after finding a suitcase full with ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' figurines and books he gradually grows a gigantic spine, becoming an utterly fearless badass that earns the reverence of his people for his heroism and the love of women for his gentleness.

* ''Fanfic/{{Your Wish Is My Command|MiraculousLadybug}}'': Thanks to Lila Wishing [[RoleSwapAU to swap lives with him]], Adrien is a ''far'' more confident person than he was in the previous reality (courtesy of not having an absolute ControlFreak for a father). He has no problem telling Lila off whenever she tries to pry into his life to the point of actually telling his parents what she's been doing. He also tells off Chloé when she's being her usual SpoiledBrat self.

--> '''Rapunzel''': No! You were wrong about the world. You were wrong about ''me!'' And I will ''never'' let you use my hair ''again!'' (shoves Gothel backwards).

* At the end of ''Film/{{Kenny}}'', as he is about to drive away in his septic tank truck after a long and exhausting day, Kenny's way is blocked by a luxury car whose driver insensitively brushes off his requests to move. Kenny breaks his longstandng habit of amiability to [[ExcrementStatement fill the man's car with human waste]], a suggestion that perhaps Kenny has decided to stick up for himself a little bit more.

* ''Film/TheDark2018'': Alex changes from a frightened boy who still obeys the rules of his abuser even when he isn't around to taking some initiative for himself.

* In the biopic film ''Film/{{Lincoln}}'', The sheepish Congressman George Yeaman gets bulled into voting in favor of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. When it finally comes time to vote in the House, Yeaman meekly states "my vote ties us", and the clerk asks him to speak up. Suddenly, vertebrae align, and he ''owns'' his vote as he exclaims in a [[SuddenlyShouting sudden change of vocal volume]]; "I said Aye, Mr. [=MacPherson=], [[BigYes AAAAAAYE!]]" to the jubilation of the proponents and calls of "Traitor!" from the opponents he was marginally with before. After it's all done and the amendment passes, he is seen joining in the revelry in the House chambers, singing "Battle Cry of Freedom" with the rest.

* In ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'', this is Makoto's main CharacterDevelopment arc - he starts off as a very shy guy lacking in self-esteem, but over time grows much more confident in himself. This is especially obvious when it comes to [[AbhorrentAdmirer Izumi]], who reacted ''very badly'' when Makoto quit modelling and became a scarily obsessive {{Yandere}} towards him. At first Makoto simply tries to run away from him, but as the year goes on he becomes assertive enough to tell Izumi exactly how he feels and force him to change his behaviour. And just to really hammer in the point, 'Makoto' in Japanese [[MeaningfulName means 'courage'.]]

* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'': The main lesson Giovanni teaches Molly is that she should stop knuckling under to the demands of assholes, because she matters too. For Molly - an ExtremeDoormat who's become a TripleShifter to make up for her selfish and irresponsible father and sister, and who per WordOfGod was 1-3 years away from violently snapping under the strain - this is a valuable lesson indeed, for all that it comes from a self-proclaimed supervillain, and she ends the Museum arc by refusing to do a late-night shift at the family toy store for the third night running and just going to ''bed''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "Escaping Expulsion", [[Characters/TheOwlHouseAmityBlight Amity Blight]] learns to resist the abusive demands of her mother Odalia and finally call her out for it. Initiated by [[RuleOfSymbolism breaking the necklace they used to telepathically communicate]], as a symbol she's no longer under her control.

** [[Characters/RickAndMortyJerrySmith Jerry Smith]] finally stands up to Rick in the season 3 premiere, putting a Him or Me scenario on the table. [[spoiler:Which is exactly what Rick wanted, cause he knew Beth would choose him over Jerry.]] With that said, [[spoiler:it's played straighter when he firmly tells Beth that whether or not she is a clone, he loves her for the woman she is and not to let Rick determine that]].

** Likewise, [[Characters/SouthParkButtersStotch Butters Stotch]] himself was usually submissive towards Cartman and did what Cartman wanted out of fear of him. However it would be revealed in a [[WesternAnimation/SouthParkPostCovidTheReturnOfCovid revised timeline]], that Butters had cut ties with Cartman in his adulthood and has told his friend not to waste time feeling bad for Cartman being a CrazyHomelessPerson while cussing back at him when Cartman tries flipping him off.

* Pictured above, in the climax of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' Season 1 finale, [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne Boonchuy]] learns to stand up to her longtime friend Sasha and calls her out for her overly controlling behavior. [[spoiler:This scenario gets repeated in the series finale between Andrias and the Core, complete with [[MeaningfulEcho the same lines Sasha and Anne used]].]]

* In ''Manga/MariaNoDanzai'', [[ShrinkingViolet Yajima]] is constantly abused by [[TheBully Kowase]] after [[CaughtOnTape he records her stealing from a convenience store]]. She puts up with it because she's afraid that [[{{blackmail}} he will expose her and ruin her future prospects]], but also because [[KarmicNod she thinks she's reaping what she's sown]]. After Maria discourages her from thinking like that, Yajima eventually gains enough courage to finally stand up to Kowase while he's trying to drown her in retribution for allegedly hacking his phone, [[MisplacedRetribution which she didn't do and has no idea what he's talking about]]. When Kowase doesn't believe her and threatens to spread her shoplifting and sex videos on the internet if she doesn't give him what he wants, Yajima has enough and dares him to do it, since [[BlackmailBackfire she'll just pay him back]] by [[TakingYouWithMe telling everyone about all the abuse he's put her through]]. Kowase reminds her that if he does, Yajima won't be able to go to a university or find employment; Yajima flat out tells him she doesn't care and that, while she admits that she is afraid of her future being ruined, [[LesserOfTwoEvils it is preferable to having to put up with him for one more day]].
-->'''Yajima:''' ''GET OUT OF MY LIFE!''

* ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'': Shinji forces himself to grow a spine AND keep it intact to protect [[HeroesWantRedheads Asuka]] and [[BrotherSisterIncest Rei]].

* ''Manga/ReTake'': Beset by bad dreams of a horrible future, Shinji forces himself to grow up and become a badass to avert it. In the process he gets hurt, [[DespairEventHorizon despairs]], loses [[HeroesWantRedheads Asuka]] [[spoiler:and then he gets her back]]... and he finally and truly becomes a hero and selflessly saves the world.

* ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'': A darker example. After being abandoned by his father, Shinji found a mentor who raised him and forced him to grow a spine. However his teacher was an amoral trickster, and Shinji grew into a trickster, violent, mostly uncaring asshole. [[AntiHero He STILL fights to protect humanity and he only targets people who are worse than him or have tried to make him harm]], and he still cares for other people (such as [[HeroesWantRedheads Asuka]], Rei, and Misato. May Heaven help you if you hurt them), but he is a ManipulativeBastard and a {{Jerkass}}.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}: Mother Gothel spent eighteen years keeping Rapunzel from the world, telling her that she wasn't ready or that the world was too dangerous. Despite asking numerous times to leave, Rapunzel backs down when Gothel says no. Throughout the movie, however, Rapunzel gains more confidence in herself and her abilities (to Gothel's frustration). This culminates in (after [[spoiler:Rapunzel learns that she's the lost princess, meaning that Gothel kidnapped her and lied to her about it her whole life]]) a ''beautiful'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that breaks any control Gothel had on her:

* Defied at the end of ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' prequel volume "Start of Darkness". [[spoiler:TheDragon Redcloak tries to stand up to BigBad Xykon when Xykon orders him to reanimate his dead brother as a zombie. Xykon responds by not only revealing that he knew about the attempts Redcloak had just made to deceive him but also lays down an absolutely brutal combination EvilerThanThou[=/=]BreakingSpeech. The book ends with Redcloak following Xykon's orders and following after Xykon, apparently a broken shell of a goblin.]]
-->'''Xykon:''' Huh. First you [[spoiler:kill your baby brother]], then you lie to me about it, now this? Did they have a sale down at the testicle store or something?

* Yukiteru of ''Manga/FutureDiary''. This [[SanitySlippage backfires horribly]], until he manages to {{earn|YourHappyEnding}} his ''[[BittersweetEnding almost]]'' {{happy ending}}.
* In ''Manga/MariaNoDanzai'', [[ShrinkingViolet Yajima]] is constantly abused by [[TheBully Kowase]] after [[CaughtOnTape he records her stealing from a convenience store]]. She puts up with it because she's afraid that [[{{blackmail}} he will expose her and ruin her future prospects]], but also because [[KarmicNod she thinks she's reaping what she's sown]]. After Maria discourages her from thinking like that, Yajima eventually gains enough courage to finally stand up to Kowase while he's trying to drown her in retribution for allegedly hacking his phone, [[MisplacedRetribution which she didn't do and has no idea what he's talking about]]. When Kowase doesn't believe her and threatens to spread her shoplifting and sex videos on the internet if she doesn't give him what he wants, Yajima has enough and dares him to do it, since [[BlackmailBackfire she'll just pay him back]] by [[TakingYouWithMe telling everyone about all the abuse he's put her through]]. Kowase reminds her that if he does, Yajima won't be able to go to a university or find employment; Yajima flat out tells him she doesn't care and that, while she admits that she is afraid of her future being ruined, [[LesserOfTwoEvils it is preferable to having to put up with him for one more day]].
-->'''Yajima:''' ''GET OUT OF MY LIFE!''

* ''[[Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral Chloe's Lament]]'': Upon seeing just how little regard Chloé has for others, to the point that she genuinely doesn't see anything wrong with turning everyone into her {{Mind Control}}ed thralls because she feels that everyone ''should'' serve her, Adrien finally stands up to his ChildhoodFriend and calls her out for being such an EntitledBitch.

* ''Fanfic/ErasedPotential'' sees Izuku becoming more confident thanks to [[ForWantOfANail convincing Aizawa to teach him how to become a]] GuileHero despite being Quirkless. Katsuki first learns about this shift when Izuku stands up for himself against their middle school teacher's attempt to humiliate him into giving up on U.A.

* ''Fanfic/MarinetteDupainChengsSpitePlaylist: Remix'': After [[ForWantOfANail Marinette transfers to another school]], Adrien realizes that his efforts to handle the Lila situation nonconfrontationally hasn't handled anything at all, but simply handed the ManipulativeBitch free rein to keep hurting everyone. He resolves to start standing up to her more but finds asserting himself to be easier said than done, leading to disaster when he [[NiceJobBreakingItHero bails on supporting Chloé after promising to help]], giving Lila a chance to [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass further tarnish Marinette's good name]]. This solidifies his position as TheAtoner and helps strengthen his resolve.

* ''Film/{{Steam}}'': Both Elizabeth and Laurie's character arcs involve gaining confidence to stand up against people in their lives.

* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': The premise of [[PeggySue this story]] is [[TimeTravel Shinji returning to the past]] with a steel rod inserted into his back to manage to make up for his complete lack of a spine in the original series, and thus saving the world.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': By his own admission, Usopp is a spineless coward and a liar who would do anything to escape from situations he can't handle. However, after joining the Straw Hat Pirates, [[CowardlyLion he slowly gains the courage to stand up not just for himself, but for his crewmates and his captain, no matter the odds]]. Eventually he transitions into a BadassNormal who constantly faces his own fears, each day inching closer to becoming a "brave warrior of the sea".

* ''Fanfic/TheOneToMakeItStay'' [[DownplayedTrope downplays this]]: While Marinette is no ShrinkingViolet, a key part of her CharacterArc is learning how to stand up for herself. Not just against obvious bullies like [[AlphaBitch Chloe]] and [[ManipulativeBitch Lila]], but against things like her friend Alya [[ControlFreak being pushy and controlling]], or Chat Noir's [[EntitledToHaveYou entitlement]] and refusal to take 'No' for an answer.

* ''Fanfic/{{Your Wish Is My Command|MiraculousLadybug}}'': Thanks to Lila Wishing [[RoleSwapAU to swap lives with him]], Adrien is a ''far'' more confident person than he was in the previous reality (courtesy of not having an absolute ControlFreak for a father). He has no problem telling Lila off whenever she tries to pry into his life to the point of actually telling his parents what she's been doing. He also tells off Chloe when she's being her usual SpoiledBrat self.

This trope is frequently seen in ComingOfAgeStory. Some starting points for this trope is the ExtremeDoormat or ShrinkingViolet, but the character might just be inexperienced and unsure of themselves. After all, this is all part of growing up. CallingTheOldManOut is a specific subtrope. May coincide with TookALevelInBadass, TheDogBitesBack, ChallengingTheBully, NotAfraidOfYouAnymore, or SuddenPrincipledStand. Has nothing to do with the evolution of vertebrate animals.

* ''Fanfic/{{Your Wish Is My Command|MiraculousLadybug}}: Thanks to Lila Wishing [[RoleSwapAU to swap lives with him]], Adrien is a ''far'' more confident person than he was in the previous reality (courtesy of not having an absolute ControlFreak for a father). He has no problem telling Lila off whenever she tries to pry into his life to the point of actually telling his parents what she's been doing. He also tells off Chloe when she's being her usual SpoiledBrat self.