History WellDoneSonGuy / FanWorks

* ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'': Sabra's mother is the Totem Kommo-o, and it's revealed that Sabra's haughty attitude and fixation on being the strongest stem from trying to live up to her strength. When she appears for the first time, she (albeit unintentionally) downplays her accomplishments while holding herself above Sabra.

* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': Subverted. Shinji used to crave for his father's attention and praise. Now he thinks that he was an idiot for desiring Gendo's approval.

* ''Fanfic/Team8'': Like in canon, Hinata is this to Hiashi, but his [[AdaptationalJerkass stricter standards and harsher demeanor]] caused by a [[ForWantOfANail vague event]] make this seem like a futile endeavor. [[spoiler:Eventually {{Deconstructed}}; Hinata is so desperate to meet the harsh standards set by her father and family that she sees little to no value in anything else she accomplishes. It's only after her teacher points out how self-destructive this mentality is that Hinata starts to consider the possibility that her father could, in fact, be wrong about her.]]

--> '''Jin Guangyao'''(internally after he's framed by his father): ''All I wanted was a scrap of your affection.''

-->'''[=McGonagall=]:''' Actually, your description sounds a lot like my father, Severus. He too was a strict perfectionist bastard. He set certain rules when my brothers and I were growing up, and heaven help you if you didn't live up to them. But he was always fair, though I didn't see that until I was older. As a child I thought I could never please the old battleaxe, though I never quit trying. When I got my Transfiguration Mastery at twenty-five, I was sure he'd find something to criticize about that too, since I hadn't gotten the highest score on the test that I could have, and he'd wanted me to marry and not go into teaching. I was waiting for him to make some kind of comment when he came up to me after the ceremony, for Ian [=McGonagall=] never missed an opportunity to tell you what he thought.\\

* In ''[[Fanfic/TheCosmosMiraculousLadybug The Cosmos]]'', Marinette's mother Sabine is ThePerfectionist, and expects excellence in all things from her daughter. After she got 99% on a test, she overheard Sabine lamenting to her husband "Why couldn't she have gotten 100%?" She also made clear that Marinette's achievements were never good enough, and anything she accomplishes is just 'as it should be'. Thanks to this, Marinette doesn't recognize how amazing or remarkable anything she's achieved actually is, since Sabine refuses to openly acknowledge them as such.

* ''Fanfic/TheFlashSentryChronicles'': Trixie's father is a Manehatten Institute for Magical Learning teacher, which has a very high standard for students. Trixie attended for awhile but dropped out when she couldn't keep up with the standards due to her average magic, disappointing her father. So she travels Equestria with her show and boasts about herself to get praise from others to make up for her father never giving her any.

* The one-shot ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/38185219 Silhouettes]]'' goes into Shikaku's relationship with his father, Shikahiko, a stern and unforgiving man who shows NoSympathy to his struggles in his first Chuunin Exam. This is paralleled to how he relates to his own son, and is used to explain why the anime had Shikaku [[DrowningMySorrows getting drunk]] rather than following Shikamaru's progress in the exams.

* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': Shinji agreed to pilot Unit 01, among other reasons, because he did not want his father thinking he was a coward.

** Subverted. Shinji sought his father's acknowledgment and approval. After going through the Angel War and end of the world, returning to the past and finding out about what kind of life Rei has led he is sick of it:
--->'''Shinji''': "Well, he can keep his fucking approval,"

* ''Fanfic/DearOldDad'' has both Ryuji and Akechi of the [[VideoGame/Persona5 Phantom Thieves]] were this to their father. Yes, father, not fathers: both of them have Masayoshi Shido as their father. As the one who had him in his life the most before he left, Ryuji tells Akechi that trying to get his acknowledgement and respect will not happen. [[ReallyGetsAround The rest of Shido's children]] do not have this trope apply to them at any point in time however, '''at all'''.

* ''Fanfic/FamilyGuyFanon'': The fanfic does an interesting take with Peter's quest to seek love from his father in the original. At first, it becomes Deconstructed, with Peter truly tries to make his {{Jerkass}} father (and to a lesser extent, mother) be proud of him. But no matter how hard he tried in "Holy Crap" and "Between Sanity and Madness", it never seems to work. It reaches a boiling point when he Francis and Thelma [[KickTheDog drop their car with him and Lois inside into a lake]] and lie to the kids that they were put in eternal vacation to become their parents and steal Peter and Lois' lives. This leads to Peter [[RageBreakingPoint snapping at them]], [[GetOut kicking the two parents out]], and becoming colder, and ready to lash out at everyone and everything. It then becomes Reconstructed later on when Francis and Thelma [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone relize how much they hurt Peter]] and try to end it all by jumping off the Holy Christ Chruch roof. Peter, does saves Francis and Thelma from dying. Making them realize Peter still will love and defend them regardless. The result is that Francis gains a new appreciation for Peter, and apologizes to Peter for everything.

* ''Fanfic/FamilyGuyFanon: The fanfic does an interesting take with Peter's quest to seek love from his father in the original. At first, it becomes Deconstructed, with Peter truly tries to make his {{Jerkass}} father (and to a lesser extent, mother) be proud of him. But no matter how hard he tried in "Holy Crap" and "Between Sanity and Madness", it never seems to work. It reaches a boiling point when he Francis and Thelma [[KickTheDog drop their car with him and Lois inside into a lake]] and lie to the kids that they were put in eternal vacation to become their parents and steal Peter and Lois' lives. This leads to Peter [[RageBreakingPoint snapping at them]], [[GetOut kicking the two parents out]], and becoming colder, and ready to lash out at everyone and everything. It then becomes Reconstructed later on when Francis and Thelma [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone relize how much they hurt Peter]] and try to end it all by jumping off the Holy Christ Chruch roof. Peter, does saves Francis and Thelma from dying. Making them realize Peter still will love and defend them regardless. The result is that Francis gains a new appreciation for Peter, and apologizes to Peter for everything.

* ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria'': Colonel Thunderbolt, [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Commander Hurricane's]] daughter ([[ReallyGetsAround one of many]]). It's implied that she just wanted Daddy to acknowledge her and she felt the best way to do it was to have Equestria [[PuttingOnTheReich become]] a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratocracy Stratocracy.]] Fortunately, Hurricane is able to convince her that she doesn't need to do anything so rash to get his approval.

[[AC:{{Crossover}}]]

* ''FanFic/Team8'': Like in canon, Hinata is this to Hiashi, but his [[AdaptationalJerkass stricter standards and harsher demeanor]] caused by a [[ForWantOfANail vague event]] make this seem like a futile endeavor. [[spoiler:Eventually {{Deconstructed}}; Hinata is so desperate to meet the harsh standards set by her father and family that she sees little to no value in anything else she accomplishes. It's only after her teacher points out how self-destructive this mentality is that Hinata starts to consider the possibility that her father could, in fact, be wrong about her.]]

* ''FanFic/AdviceAndTrust'': Subverted. For a long while, Shinji strove to earn his father's approval. Throughout the story, he stops caring thanks to his stronger bonds with Asuka and Rei (and realizing how his father treats the latter). However, Gendo still thinks his son is desperate for his approval and attention and that he can use that desire to manipulate him.
* ''FanFic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': Shinji agreed to pilot Unit 01, among other reasons, because he did not want his father thinking he was a coward.
* ''FanFic/DoingItRightThisTime'':

'''Asuka''': (laughing and hugging her) You stupid little brat! I'm glad to see you take after your father in ways other than musical talent!\\

* ''FanFic/TotalDramaLegacy'': Nero. All he wants is approval from his mother Scarlett, who is dismissive and neglectful towards him. In fact, Nero's HeelFaceTurn ends up making their relationship ''worse''.

* ''FanFic/YuGiOhForever'': Several characters suffer because of this. The most blatant is Natasha, Zane Truesdale's daughter who is introduced in the final arc; her father has been very stoic toward her despite her desire to win his approval, and this combined with her older brother's blatant hatred for her [[spoiler:because he blames her for their mother's DeathByChildbirth]] has turned her into an extreme case of ShrinkingViolet, leading to a full-blown HeroicBSOD after said brother defeats her in the arc's tournament. [[CallingTheOldManOut Alexis calls Zane out on it]], and fortunately he makes an effort to do better.

[[AC:Others]]
* ''FanFic/TheCrimsonGarment'': Satsuki is changed into this and believes that [[BrokenAce becoming "perfect"]] will put a stop to her mother, Ragyo's, abuse.
* ''FanFic/DearOldDad'' has both Ryuji and Akechi of the [[VideoGame/Persona5 Phantom Thieves]] were this to their father. Yes, father, not fathers: both of them have Masayoshi Shido as their father. As the one who had him in his life the most before he left, Ryuji tells Akechi that trying to get his acknowledgement and respect will not happen. [[ReallyGetsAround The rest of Shido's children]] do not have this trope apply to them at any point in time however, '''at all'''.
* ''FanFic/ThePrivateDiaryOfElizabethQuatermain'': Elizabeth has issues of this nature toward her famous father, Allan. [[spoiler:Because the series takes place after his death, this never gets fully resolved, although she does make a sort of peace with it in time.]]
* ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'': Syaoran is constantly seeking Kurogane's approval because Kurogane is the first person that actually acknowledged him [[spoiler:as a separate person from his clone]] and the first in the group to ''stop'' shunning him. Syaoran overcomes his {{Hikikomori}}-ness and actually tries to talk to Fai and Sakura because he wanted Kurogane to be proud of him. Syaoran even lampshades it when he forces himself to stay through a hostile dinner with the rest of the group.
-->'''Syaoran:''' This can't be healthy. There's no way I'm this desperate for approval.
* ''FanFic/TalesFromTheFleet'': Spur is the daughter of the ''Pint of Bitter's'' captain. Not only does this put serious pressure on her from everyone else, but she barely sees him and he's not even allowed to praise her for a job well done.
-->'''Spur:''' Captain can't play favorites.

[[WellDoneSonGuy People seeking parental approval]] in fan works.

* At least discussed in the ''Film/PitchPerfect'' ''[[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Ghostbusters]]'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12550096/1/Paranormal-Aca-tivity Paranormal Aca-tivity]]''; Beca doesn't explicitly ''want'' her father's approval, but she is shown to be disappointed when he acts as though her current role as a Ghostbuster is just a fad when it's the first thing she's truly felt passionate about and involves Beca and her friends literally starting a brand new field of science.

* ''FanFic/ToHellAndBackArrowverse'': Tommy to his father, Malcolm Merlyn; and contrary to what you'd expect, their reconciliation has only made this trait ''worse''. This is a factor in his growing jealousy of his recently-returned best friend Oliver Queen, who Malcolm seems to be fonder of.

* ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'': Drill Man just wants to make Wily proud of him. This backfires horribly in Episode 8.
* ''FanFic/MegaManRecut'': Snake Man is this.

* In ''[[Fanfic/TheCosmosMiraculousLadybug The Cosmos]]'', Marinette's mother Sabine is ThePerfectionist who expects excellence in all things from her daughter. After getting a 99% on a test, she overheard Sabine lamenting to her husband "Why couldn't she have gotten 100%?" She also made clear to Marinette that her achievements were never good enough -- that anything she does well is just 'as it should be'. As a result, Marinette doesn't recognize how amazing many of her accomplishments are, since Sabine refuses to openly acknowledge them as remarkable.

* ''FanFic/TheFlashSentryChronicles'': Trixie's father is a Manehatten Institute for Magical Learning teacher, which has a very high standard for students. Trixie attended for awhile but dropped out when she couldn't keep up with the standards due to her average magic, disappointing her father. So she travels Equestria with her show and boasts about herself to get praise from others to make up for her father never giving her any.
* ''FanFic/JerichoMLP'': [[FirstPersonSmartass Jeri]][[SociopathicHero cho]] himself has this is shades. How much of it is actually true is unknown, seeing as he occasionally remarks that his father was cruel because he never forgave Jericho for [[DeathByChildbirth killing his own mother in childbirth]], and sometimes he'll randomly say things like, "Oh God, this is worse than that time I got laid at my high school prom. And I was homeschooled. [[BreadEggsMilkSquick By my]] ''[[BreadEggsMilkSquick father]]''."

---> ''New Perk: Daddy Issues;—Daddy never hugged you enough. This gives you a {{Freudian excuse}} to misbehave. Oh, and you now do +5% bonus damage to mothers, fathers, and expecting fathers. But you also do +10% bonus damage to expecting mothers, [[spoiler:because you’re a giant cunt and you sicken me]].''

--->''Companion Quest Perk Added: Born of Barren Womb -- What, you didn’t know that [[spoiler: murdering your own mother]] gave you special quasi-supernatural powers? Well, it’s true! (If your name is Cards and you were forced to [[spoiler:beat your mother to death]], that is.) With this perk, Cards does 15% more damage with blunt weapons. She will never be able to hit someone in the head without ever thinking of [[spoiler:her mother]] now, haha!''

* ''Fanfic/HowILostMyMother'' gives [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Cozy Glow]] several shades of this in regards to [[ParentalAbandonment how quickly her mother had abandoned her]]... [[spoiler:And how Princess Celestia didn't even bother to try reconciling with Cozy out of fear of looking bad to her subjects for throwing members of her own family under the proverbial cart, '''''[[HistoryRepeats again]]'''''.]]

* ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfHistories'' has [[Manga/SailorMoon Usagi]] desperate to earn her father's love, convinced that the reason he's so distant is that she's simply not 'good enough' to be his daughter.

* ''FanFic/{{Heroes}}'': Kirk deduces that Spock's reason for wanting the (illusionary) Surak's approval was that he could never get it from his father.

* ''FanFic/TotalDramaLegacy'': Nero. All he wants is approval from his mother Scarlett, who is dismissive and neglectful towards him. In fact, Nero's HeelFaceTurn ends up making their relationship ''worse''.

* ''FanFic/NobodyDies'': Asuka is the gender-inverted version of this trope turned UpToEleven, to the point where Kyoko is an outright AbusiveParent, but it also remains a facet of Shinji's relationship with his father; Gendo might be a lot less messed up with Yui still at his side, but he isn't prone to overt displays of emotion and it's not always obvious that yes, he ''does'' love his son. They spend a fair chunk of the story working through this.

* ''FanFic/AndTheStoryContinues'': L is this for [[ByronicHero Mello]] and her mother is this for [[IceQueen Kiyomi]]; {{deconstructed|Trope}} in both cases. Mello pulls a FaceHeelTurn when he figures out the truth behind [[spoiler:L's death]] and believes that L abandoned him and all the kids at Wammy's House. Meanwhile, after a particularly nasty phone conversation with her mother Kiyomi decides she can do without her approval after all since [[AGodAmI she is now a goddess]] and [[spoiler:[[SelfMadeOrphan kills both her and her father]] [[PsychicAssistedSuicide with the Death Note.]]]]

* At least discussed in the ''Film/PitchPerfect'' ''[[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Ghostbusters]]'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12550096/1/Paranormal-Aca-tivity Paranormal Aca-tivity]]"; Beca doesn't explicitly ''want'' her father's approval, but she is shown to be disappointed when he acts as though her current role as a Ghostbuster is just a fad when it's the first thing she's truly felt passionate about and involves Beca and her friends literally starting a brand new field of science.

[[AC:Series/{{Arrowverse}}]]

[[AC:Manga/AttackOnTitan]]

[[AC:Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender]]

[[AC:Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}]]

[[AC:Manga/DeathNote]]

[[AC:Franchise/FateSeries]]

[[AC:Anime/GirlsUndPanzer]]

[[AC:Literature/HarryPotter]]

[[AC:Franchise/MarvelUniverse]]

[[AC:Franchise/MegaMan]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic]]

[[AC:Franchise/{{Naruto}}]]

[[AC:Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion]]

[[AC:Manga/SailorMoon]]

[[AC:Franchise/StarTrek]]

[[AC:Franchise/YuGiOh]]

[[AC:Crossover]]

* ''FanFic/TheStalkingZukoSeries'': Zuko has [[CharacterDevelopment grown out of this]] by the time the series starts, but it has influenced his actions in the past, such as his desire to learn how to play the tsungi horn, a relatively difficult instrument, to show he can master something difficult outside of bending.

* ''Fanfic/WhereTalentGoesToDie''

* ''FanFic/FateZeroSanity'': In the sequel, ''Fate:Stay Nightmare'', Mordred is summoned as Avenger and seeks the approval of her father (Saber) even while she wants to kill her.[[note]]In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', King Arthur was actually a girl. The fanfic asserts that Merlin used magic to give her temporary man-parts in order to sire a son.[[/note]]

* ''FanFic/BoysUndSenshado'': Although Miho arguably does not qualify in canon, she is referred to as such by Maho, when Maho is [[CallingTheOldManOut calling Shiho out]] on [[spoiler:disowning Miho]].

-->'''Spur:''' Captain can't play favorites.\\
'''Syaoran:''' This can't be healthy. There's no way I'm this desperate for approval.

* ''FanFic/{{Jericho}}'': [[FirstPersonSmartass Jeri]][[SociopathicHero cho]] himself has this is shades. How much of it is actually true is unknown, seeing as he occasionally remarks that his father was cruel because he never forgave Jericho for [[DeathByChildbirth killing his own mother in childbirth]], and sometimes he'll randomly say things like, "Oh God, this is worse than that time I got laid at my high school prom. And I was homeschooled. [[BreadEggsMilkSquick By my]] ''[[BreadEggsMilkSquick father]]''."

---> ''New Perk: Daddy Issues;—Daddy never hugged you enough. This gives you a [[FreudianExcuse Freudian excuse]] to misbehave. Oh, and you now do +5% bonus damage to mothers, fathers, and expecting fathers. But you also do +10% bonus damage to expecting mothers, [[spoiler:because you’re a giant cunt and you sicken me]].''

[[AC:Manga/{{Naruto}}]]

[[WellDoneSonGuy People seeking parental approval]] in fanfiction.