I'm writing a Ben 10 fanfic that's a sort of reboot of the entire franchise. And, as with any reboot, I've made a few changes to the characters. One of the main changes I'm worried about are the changes to Ben, Gwen, and Ken's parents. Carl and Sandra are Ben's parents. Carl owns a garage and Sandra is an accountant. They both work outside of town, Carl because Bellwood is so small that it doesn't need a garage (they had to move to Bellwood very suddenly when the kids were young) and Sandra because her boss keeps dangling a promotion in front of her so she feels like she can't quit. They're both very loving parents and Carl is trying to get a new garage opened up in Bellwood so he can spend more time with the kids. Problem is that work just keeps getting in the way at the worst possible times. Frank and Natalie are Gwen and Ken's parents. Frank is a lawyer, Natalie is a doctor, I still have to figure out what kinds. Unlike Ben's parents, they're able to work in town. Like Carl and Sandra, they love their kids but they're mega workaholics. They often get home late so Gwen and Ken typically stay over at Carl and Sandra's house, or, if the roads are too bad or if they have to work really late too, all three will stay with Max. Frank and Natalie try to make up for it when they can but they still miss out on a lot of birthdays, holidays, Gwen's karate matches, and Gwen's piano recitals. It's basically just a way to show that Ben feels isolated both from his peers and at home, the only people he's really close to are his cousins, his grandpa, and his surrogate Uncle. It leads into an arc throughout the first three "seasons" where Ben opens up more to other kids and overcomes his insecurities. I'm relatively ok with his arc, though I feel like I could do a little more work on his arc in season 1. I'm just not sure about the whole "parental issues angle". On the one hand, I feel like it's fine because it creates some emotional conflict for both Ben and Gwen. We see as early as "episode" 1 that their grandma, Verdona, abandoned the family a few years earlier, resulting in some deep seated abandonment issues. So for Gwen, when her parents are always at work, always either late for things or not showing up, and when they always leave Gwen and her brother with other relatives, it makes her feel like they've essentially abandoned her too. Meanwhile, shortly after Verdona left, Ben's only friend stopped being his friend and started being friends with the school bully. So, that combined with his parents often putting work before him and not really being able to spend much quality time with him, essentially makes his insecurities worse. It also helps to explain why Ben and Gwen are so close now as well as why Ben is less selfish here, however often he was around Max in the original, it was tripled here. And it's not as though they're entirely one-note either. Though I don't intend to explore it too much, Sandra does imply that her parents were overbearing, leading her to over correct and be underbearing. She's also dealing with an emotionally/mentally abusive boss who plays games with her so that she'll never leave, making it all the more impressive when she does leave. Natalie doesn't have any ideas as to what normal parenting is like due to a plot point that involves a likely controversial change to her character, but tbh I'm perfectly ok with there being controversy regarding that change. Carl, Frank, and their sister did have Verdona but their only example of a parent who worked outside of the home was their dad, who was a workaholic. They even have a talk about it in the wedding chapter which, while the chapter is hardly a masterpiece, I do like the conversation the trio ends up having. Also, in the original Frank appears like once and Natalie appears 3 times and two of those times were super short scenes so I don't think people will mind me changing them too much. On the other hand, people really liked Carl and Sandra from the original series. Me included. I don't want to make this into the sexist bumbling dad trope that they did with the Powerpuff Girls reboot, or what they did with Max in the Ben 10 reboot. I want them to feel like real, overworked parents who sometimes get so overwhelmed that they sometimes do forget about their kid's favorite things and they don't always have time for him, but they aren't super neglectful either. But, I'm worried that the whole Overworked Parent trope is too overdone. So many shows and stories do this, maybe because it's a big problem these days but I'd have to do some research to see if it's accurate, and I know that not all tropes are bad but I don't want people to overlook my story because they think it's going to be boring and cliche. Sorry for the essay. For those who did take the time to read the whole thing, thank you. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I made it a little ways in, started on the third paragraph, and my mind just shut down because it's all so complicated. I can't keep track of so many characters with just this incredibly brief synopsis. It might be easier for people familair with the show. And I'm not saying I want a more detailed breakdown, I just think you're trying to overload what a message board can do. Maybe you could break it down into a few smaller indiviudual posts, with only a few characters and a much simpler question in each?
Honestly, the whole "rich and inattentive" parents are more cliche than the overworked parent and overtired parent because the latter is more common than the former. Ben's dad owns a garage? My uncle and my grandfather have owned garages (grandfather passed away and my uncle is now retired). My dad works with his hands (engines in the military, HVAC units and cars after he retired). Its tiring work. Both of my parents were always at work. Hell, i dont have kids and im always at work (and tired). The kids who come into the library hang out here because their parents are all out working and they have no where to go. its more realistic and relatable, TBH. I dont see an issue
Sorry about that, I wasn't sure how detailed I should make the question. I wanted to explain the problem I was having, how this plot point relates to the overall plot and characters, and what I felt were the pros and cons of said trope. The basic gist of my question is: is the overworked parent trope too much of a cliche and should I go with it since it's a departure from the original characters?
Honestly, nothing is too over-cliched in fanfic. I read fanfics for certain clichés and tropes. You're all good.
