Kate Moreau

Kate Moreau was my least favorite love interest for Neal. She was a vapid gold digger who used Neal the way she used Adler and Keller and probably several other men to get what she wanted. Kate knew she had one thing in her favor and she needed to cash in on it with a single score right NOW. Her entire purpose in life was to get that big score. She didn’t care about nor have time for love.

Kate was completely undeserving of Neal and at no point was I convinced she had any feelings for him at all, let alone that she loved him. The writers also didn’t do a very good job of showing us why Neal was so in love with her during the flashback episode 2x11 Forging Bonds, we only saw Neal fall for her instantly and remain in love with her for the remainder of the show. I think the writers had an entirely different storyline in mind with the character of Kate, but due to Alexandra Daddario’s severe lack of acting skills, I think they changed the storyline so that Kate would no longer be on screen very much, and then they briefly brought her back and promptly killed her off. I think this turned out to be a brilliant move on the writer’s part, because it gave us the opportunity to see the entire storyline through Neal’s eyes and have him grow as a character through his storyline with the character of Kate, regardless of if she was on screen with him or not. I absolutely believe that Neal was not so much in love with Kate, but in love with the idea of Kate. And his idea bared no resemblance to the actual woman that she was.

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drivenbats-blog:

I just read this essay about the Tess Mercer/Clark Luthor relationship in Smallville.

She discusses how the physical abuse of Tess Mercer by Clark Luthor is not something she finds sexy, and instead finds it problematic.

She compares it to the Buffy/Spike relationship on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and explains that while Buffy is able to defend herself against Spike, Tess is not.

And I completely agree. Even if you are into the rough stuff (like Buffy/Spike) Tess/CL goes way beyond rough. Clark has the power to crush her windpipe with a pinch of two fingers. He has the ability to burn to death with his heat vision, or freeze her with his super-breath. He has the ability to catch her wherever she runs. She will never be able to run fast enough. I highly doubt a sociopath like CL would go easy on her. So not only is it problematic, it’s just ridiculous.

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Wow, this is the stuff I have been saying word for word for years.  How much of a relief to know there are others besides myself and our VERY small group who feel the same!

When Clark Luthor threatens to kill her….he is a very, very powerful man threatening to kill a mortal woman who CANNOT defend herself.

Yes!  I understand that when you’ve been as isolated as Tess had been, that receiving such personal attention from a strikingly handsome man would be extremely powerful.  But I think even in her mind she was sitting there across from him at dinner thinking, “Wow, another really powerful man telling me he’s going to kill me if I don’t do exactly what he says.  How unusual.”  💤💤💤  She was inwardly (and outwardly) rolling her eyes during the entire dinner.

Tess’s fascination with power had in a way, come and gone.  She wasn’t nearly as seduced as she once was now that she’d experienced the betrayal and deceit that came along with these “offers”.  She now cared about being a PART of something meaningful and having close relationships.  In the past, power had always been great as long as there was some form of deep, exceptional love that came along with it.  With Oliver, he was the love of her life, Lex was her mentor, and Clark (Kent) was a restoration of her faith.  And TESS herself is powerful, so of course she’s going to be attracted to others with power of their own.  However, when that power comes with abuse, it gets old REALLY fast.  To say NOTHING of the fact that Clark Luthor was sort of substituting Tess Mercer for Tess Luthor.  You know if it talks like her, looks like her, and has BEWBS like her, then he’ll suffer through sleeping with her.  Dude, really?   Niiiiiiiiiiice.

She’s [Tess] written as a pathetic victim desperate for affection who is willing to take physical abuse if it means she can be with the man she is obsessed with.

A minor quibble, but I’m bothered by this description of Tess.  I don’t think Tess Luthor was weak at all.  She was a little less mature, a little less sure of herself, a little “younger” in her behavior, but hey, being raised by Lionel definitely infringes on your ability to develop into a regular person.  Tess Luthor still walked away from Lionel’s empire and managed to hang onto hope for Clark and try to help him.  That’s a lot.

But Tess Mercer?  A pathetic victim desperate for affection?  WTF was she supposed to do?  She had JUST promised Lois and Emil that she would do anything to keep Clark Luthor distracted while they fixed the…the transportation thingy (?) that teleports people from one world to another, and that’s exactly what she was doing when she went to dinner with him at the Ace of Clubs.  I give her such props for managing to neither have sex with him nor kill anyone since that’s pretty much ALL he was interested in doing!  I think she deserves a round of applause, personally.

I like my ships to be EQUALS.  Power plays are one thing.  And they are fine as long as they’re not done in a degrading way, but more like a “dance”. (GREAT DESCRIPTION SPIKE)  Going back to Spuffy for a minute, Buffy wasn’t a normal woman. She had super powers to match Spike’s.  When they fought, they fought as equals.  Technically she was a little stronger than he was, but he was more experienced.  So I’m going with “equals”.

It is the same with Tess and Oliver.  Oliver wouldn’t ENJOY bugging Tess so much if she didn’t have a fantastic chance of winning.  There’s actually a line in this Tollie fan fiction that states Oliver’s POV perfectly. “Their game isn’t over and he loves taking control, only to have it taken out from under him. He’ll take it back, of course—that’s the dance."

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⚠️WARNING⚠️: Incoming Unpopular Opinion

I really did not get the magic of Sara Ellis. She was uptight with delusions of grandeur. She had that kind of negative Scorpio attitude where she behaved as though her traumas and losses were so much deeper than everyone else’s, even though we all have losses and many of us, far worse ones than she did. How she could be that morose making love with Neal in the penthouse of a historic mansion is BEYOND me. LOL, geez lady, lighten up.

P.S. And if she is going to wear dresses that are so tight that the audience can see her freckles through the material, she needs to stand up straight!  Posture matters when you dress like that.

To fully develop the character in your mind before writing them, try this exercise:




Character Name

• Choose a gender.


• Choose a place of birth.


• Choose a hobby.


• Choose a past job.


• Choose a present job.


• Choose a past love interest.


• Choose an enemy. Why is your character not working at the old job?


• Why is your character not with the old love interest?


• Why does your character not make the hobby a profession?


• How did your character make the enemy?


• What is the one thing in the world your character would do anything to avoid? Why? What has he already done to avoid this? What do you see him doing in the future to avoid it?


• What is the one thing in the world your character would do anything in the world to have? Why? What has he already done to try to obtain it? What does he hope to try in the future?


• What is your character's name? What is your character's age, and physical description.


• Write everything else you know about your character, right now.


• Skin color?


• Favorite saying?


• Typical outfit to wear?


• Method of transportation?


• Kind of education?


• What kind of house/home/apartment?


• What city/country/location?


• Best friend?


• Favorite food?


• Financial situation?


• Skill?


• Moral attitude?


• Favorite book? Last-read book?


• What is the bedroom like?


• Spouse/mate/steady date/significant other? Why/why not?.


• Parents? Describe his or her voice, verbal ticks, pet phrases etc.


• Describe a gesture your character makes.


• Where does he or she now live? Describe the city, town or village, the house itself. Be very specific. Any feelings about this place?


• Has s/he lived elsewhere? What does s/he remember of these places?


• What part of her home is her favorite? Least favorite? Why. Describe, using specific details.


• What does your character dream of at night?


• Class, ethnic group, religious background?


• Who does s/he love, or has s/he loved? Or what. Detail.


• Who loves him or her?


• What about his or her life would he or she change if s/he could?


• What would be his or her favorite smell (why)?


• What kind of shoes does he or she wear, (e.g. furry slippers or gumboot or trainers… new or old, style, what color, fitting properly or too tight or too loose, nice and clean or old and smelly)? Describe exactly.


• Favorite meal? Attitude to food?


• What is the worst thing that could happen to him or her right now?


• What is his or her most treasured possession?


• What illnesses have he or she suffered, if any?


• What’s his/her philosophy of life? For example’ You’ve got to look after Number 1’ or ‘Never say die’ or ‘Don’t ask for reasons.” What are his or her most strongly held beliefs?


• What does he or she feel guilty about?


• Biggest mistake ever made?


• What, right now, does your character want most of all? His or her deepest desire – a glass of water, to get out of her marriage, a new pair of shoes, peace and quiet…

Mandatory Questions

• What about you is heroic?


• What about you is social? What do you like about people?


• Of what benefit could you be to the current group?


• Why would you choose to join the current group?


• Invent an adventure/plot that your character would actively undertake (as opposed to just tagging along)?

Personal Questions

• What is your real, birth name? What name do you use?


• Do you have a nickname? What is it, and where did you get it?


• What do you look like? (Include height, weight, hair, eyes, skin, apparent age, and distinguishing features)


• How do you dress most of the time?


• How do you "dress up?"


• How do you "dress down?"


• What do you wear when you go to sleep?


• Do you wear any jewelry?


• In your opinion, what is your best feature?


• What's your real birth date? February 19, 1881, changed at 25 in 1906, summer


• Where do you live? Describe it: Is it messy, neat, avant-garde, sparse, etc.?


• Do you own a car? Describe it.


• What is your most prized mundane possession? Why do you value it so much?


• What one word best describes you?

Familial Questions

• What was your family like?


• Who was your father, and what was he like?


• Who was your mother, and what was she like?


• What was your parent’s marriage like? Were they married? Did they remain married?


• What were your sibling’s names? What were they like?


• What's the worst thing one of your siblings ever did to you? What's the worst thing you've done to one of your siblings?


• When's the last time you saw any member of your family? Where are they now?


• Did you ever meet any other family members? Who were they? What did you think of them?

Childhood Questions

• What is your first memory?


• What was your favorite toy?


• What was your favorite game?


• Any non-family member adults stick out in your mind? Who were they, and how did you know them? Why do they stick out?


• Who was your best friend when you were growing up?


• What is your fondest, childhood memory?


• What is your worst childhood memory?

Adolescent Questions

• How old were you when you went on your first date?


• It is common for one's view of authority to develop in their adolescent years. What is your view of authority, and what event most affected it?


• What were you like in high school? What "clique" did you best fit in with?


• What were your high school goals?


• Who was your idol when you were growing up? Who did you first fantasize about in your life?


• What is your favorite memory from adolescence?


• What is your worst memory from adolescence?

Occupational Questions

• Do you have a job? What is it? Do you like it? If no job, where does your money come from?


• What is your boss or employer like? (Or publisher, or agent, or whatever.)


• What are your co-workers like? Do you get along with them? Any in particular? Which ones don't you get along with?


• What is something you had to learn that you hated?


• Do you tend to save or spend your money? Why?

Likes & Dislikes Questions

• What hobbies do you have?


• Who is your closest mundane friend? Describe them and how you relate to them.


• Who is your worst mundane enemy? Describe them and why you don't get along.


• What bands do you like? Do you even pay attention?


• What tape or CD hasn't left your player since you purchased it? Why?


• What song is "your song?" Why?


• What's been your favorite movie of all time?


• Read any good books? What were they?


• What do you watch on the Television?


• When it comes to mundane politics, do you care? If so, which way do you tend to vote? If not, why don't you care?


• What type of places do you hang out in with your mundane friends?


• What type of places do you hang out in with your normal friends?


• What annoys you more than anything else?


• What would be the perfect gift for you?


• What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?


• What time of day is your favorite?


• What kind of weather is your favorite?


• What is your favorite food? What is your least favorite food?


• What is your favorite drink? (Coffee, Coke, Juice, Beer, Wine, etc.)


• What's your favorite animal? Why?


• Do you have any pets? Do you want any pets? What kind?


• What do you find most relaxing? (Not as in stress relief, but as something that actually calms you down.)


• What habit that others have annoys you most?


• What kind of things embarrass you? Why?


• What don't you like about yourself?


• How would you like to look?

Sex & Intimacy Questions

• Would you consider yourself straight, gay, bi, or something else? Why?


• Who was the first person you had sex with? When did it happen? What was it like? How well did it go?


• Have you ever had a same-sex experience? Who with, what was it like, and how did it go?


• What is your deepest, most well-hidden sexual fantasy? Would you ever try it?


• What was the wildest thing you've ever done, sexually? Who was it with and when did it happen?


• Is there any sexual activity that you enjoy and/or practice regularly that can be considered non-standard? (Bondage, Fantasy Play, etc.) Why do you like it?


• Is there any sexual activity that you will not, under any circumstances, do?


• Do you currently have a lover? What is their name, and what is your relationship like? What are they like? Why are you attracted to them?


• What is the perfect romantic date?


• Describe the perfect romantic partner for you.


• Do you ever want to get married and have children? When do you see this happening?


• What is more important - sex or intimacy? Why?


• What was your most recent relationship like? Who was it with? (Does not need to be sexual, merely romantic.)


• What's the worst thing you've done to someone you loved?

Drug & Alcohol Questions

• How old were you when you first got drunk? What was the experience like? Did anything good come out of it? Did anything bad come out of it?


• Do you drink on any kind of regular basis?


• What kind of alcohol do you prefer?


• Have you ever tried any other kind of "mood altering" substance? Which one(s)? What did you think of each?


• What do you think of drugs and alcohol? Are there any people should not do? Why or why not?

Morality Questions

• What one act in your past are you most ashamed of? What one act in your past are you most proud of?


• Have you ever been in an argument before? Over what, with who, and who won?


• Have you ever been in a physical fight before? Over what, with who, and who won?


• What do you feel most strongly about?


• What do you pretend to feel strongly about, just to impress people?


• What trait do you find most admirable, and how often do you find it?


• Is there anything you think should not be incorporated into the media or art (sex, violence, greed, etc.,)? If so, what and why, and if not, why not?


• Do you have any feelings in general that you are disturbed by? What are they? Why do they disturb you?


• What is your religious view of things? What religion, if any, do you call your own?


• Do you think the future is hopeful? Why?


• Is an ounce of prevention really worth a pound of cure? Which is more valuable? Why do you feel this way?


• What's the worst thing that can be done to another person? Why?


• What's the worst thing you could actually do to someone you hated?


• Are you a better leader or follower? Why do you think that? If you think the whole leader-follower archetype is a crock of shit, say so, and explain why?


• What is your responsibility to the world, if any? Why do you think that?


• Do you think redemption is possible? If so, can anyone be redeemed, or are there only certain circumstances that can be? If not, why do you think nothing can redeem itself?


• Is it okay for you to cry? When was the last time you cried?


• What do you think is wrong with MOST people, overall?

Post-Supernatural Awareness Questions

• When did you go through whatever made you supernatural? What was it like (in your opinion)?


• What do you think now of being supernatural? Is it cool, or have you been screwed?


• Do you have a mentor? Who are they? How did you become their student?


• Do you have any magical items? Where did you get them?


• What do you think of the other denizens of the World of Darkness? Why for each? (If you haven't met something, do you think it exists, and if it does, is that bad or good?)


• Think of a major event that happened during your training/initiation. What was it?


• What is something you had to learn during your training that you hated? Why did you hate it?

Miscellaneous Questions

• What is the thing that has frightened you most? Do you think there is anything out there that's scarier than that? What do you think that would be?


• Has anyone or anything you've ever cared about died? How did you feel about it? What happened?


• What was the worst injury you've ever received? How did it happen?


• How ticklish are you? Where are you ticklish?


• What is your current long term goal?


• What is your current short term goal?


• Do you have any bad habits? If so, what are they, and do you plan to get rid of them?


• If you were a mundane person, what would you do with your life? What occupation would you want, and how would you spend all your time?


• What time period do you wish you had lived in? Why? (Looking at this as an attempt to change history doesn't count.) What appeals to you about this era?


• How private of a person are you? Why?


• If you were to gain an obscenely large sum of money (via an inheritance, a lawsuit, a lottery, or anything else) what would you do with it?


• What would you wish for if you found a genie?


• What do you do when you are bored?


• What is the most frightening potential handicap or disfigurement you can conceive of? What makes it so frightening?

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Subtitled: Demystifying Chloe Sullivan

icon by cricketgrl

It's a dangerous thing to confess anything but positive feelings towards Chloe within the SV fandom, but alas, there are a lot of people who don't share the rabid love for her that her fans do.  I decided to distill all my thoughts in one place, thus avoid fandom wars.

I personally appreciated Chloe's character before Seasons 8-10, because in the earlier seasons, they weren't trying to make her more than she was.  In Season 8, she went from trusted friend and supporting character to "Epic Goddess To Whom The Show Completely Revolves Around".  I was so irritated by the implication that she was in the same league as Lois and Tess, because she isn't.  And there's nothing wrong with that, I'm not in the same league as Lois or Tess either, but I don't go around pretending otherwise.

Chloe's hacking skills became so unethical when she left the Daily Planet that I couldn't believe in her pure intentions any longer.  She was far too willing to violate anyone's civil rights just to get the information she wanted, including her own beloved cousin and best friend, Clark.  Actually, Oliver too, now that I think about.

The surveillance she used on her closest friends was at best -- kind of perverse.  I couldn't believe she put cameras in Clark's barn or in Oliver's buckle, what in the heck?!  Chloe continually preached her own morality to Tess Mercer in S8 & S9, belittling Tess and resorting to vivid name-calling, yet time and time again, she did the very same things as Tess but even worse, she did it to the people she supposedly loved.  There was no grace to the way Chloe chose to "save" Oliver in Roulette, OMG, she did so many illegal things in that episode, I can't even watch it anymore.  How could she do the things she did to her own cousin?  *shakes head*

And then there's Jimmy Olsen.  Beautiful, wonderful Jimmy that Chloe was lucky to have, not the other way around either.

I didn't believe in Chloe's great epic love for Oliver, I saw it as convenience and an ego boost after watching Lana and Lois get all the superhero men.

To be continued…

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My favorite friendship for Tess Mercer:

Lana Lang.

Lana & Tess’s dynamic was touching and powerful. I was not expecting to respond to their scenes so strongly. An unlikely friendship indeed.

Lana, for any jealousy she might’ve had towards this striking woman to whom her husband had left his entire empire and who was now also occupying in his house, she never stooped to name-calling. While Lois called Tess ‘Lex’s 3pm booty call’ upon first meeting her, Lana respected Tess for the worthy opponent that she was.

Not knowing initially whether Tess was a bad guy or rather a loyal Lex supporter who had simply been mislead, Lana handled her first interactions with Tess with a soft brutality, yet with dignity.

Tess, feeling a little unsure, a little worried, and a little bit guilty when she first sees Lana – Lana, on-the-other-hand feels very sure of herself …. and maybe just a little bit jealous. That first conversation in Lex’s great room is also, in my mind, Lana speaking indirectly to Lex [through Tess’s eyes]. Lana wants Lex to know that she knows everything that he and Tess have been up to. She also wants him to know that she will remove his protective queen from the preverbal chess board and succeed in stopping him. It was a revealing, tension-filled scene.

I love the one jealous line that slips out of Lana’s mouth, “What Lex saw was a person he couldn’t control.” In other words, ‘unlike how he controls you’. Tess immediately replies with, “Really? Remind me to send my condolences about the miscarriage.” In other words, ‘Lex confided in me about things he didn’t confide in you’. That was AWESOME!

I love how Tess tries to explain that she understands the terrible decisions Lex made, but that he always loved Lana. And I LOVE how sympathetic Lana is as she rips the carpet out from under Tess, showing her the camera Lex has implanted in her brain. Lana sees that Tess is destroyed by what she’s showing her and she feels terribly for her.

I don’t think anyone else could’ve convinced Tess of Lex’s betrayal apart from Lana. I think this truth had to come from Lana in order for Tess to fully believe it. However once Lana steals Lex’s research and takes the supersuit for herself, Tess wonders if Lana concocted the entire thing just to have the supersuit for herself. Tess starts spiraling out of control and it’s Lana who keeps Tess from losing it completely. “You’re an amazing person, Tess, but every second that you’re consumed by hate is another second Lex is still in control of you. Don’t be a victim anymore.”

The grace of Lana to not simply shatter Tess’s life and then run off into the sunset, speaks volumes to me. I admired Lana and I think Tess did too. I think Tess felt that if Lana could be shattered by Lex and come through it to the other side, then so could she. In my fanon world of Offscreenville, Tess and Lana still keep in touch and now have fully developed friendship.

And power to them!

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Dear LJ,

Well, Requiem pretty much couldn't have pissed me off more. Excuse me? Clark and Lana, the epic couple? Mother-****! I don't think so. That is bull-****ing-****! Yes, I'm angry. Lana is not a pure, life-saving soul. She is corrupt and dark, and not the love of Clark's life. She is barely a high school crush, nothing more. Lois is everything to Clark, and it's time they portray that on the damn show.

Lana needed to embrace her darkness, and at the very least, accept that she and Clark were *not* meant to be, say their goodbyes and leave it at that. Now this crap of always being in love so now no matter what happens with Lois and Clark, Lois is practically second best? Oh my God.

And the Clana sex at the beginning of the episode. I have to go puke now. Clark having sex with Lana is disgusting anyway, but all of Season 8 up until Legion was about him discovering his feelings for Lois, and now he's destroyed that by sleeping with the idiot farmgirl he can't fucking get over! And the whole breaking the bed crap, pulease! Did we really need the damn graphic display? We got it, they've got super-powers, it's disgusting enough without the visuals, thanks.

Clark has now made me and everyone else on the Clois fanbase mad as hell because of his sexual appetite with Lana but seriously, WHY Clark, WHY? You have a beautiful, sexy, smart, strong woman in love with you and you fall back in love with the wench who's boring as paste who cries and can barely play out an episode without landing herself in the hospital! WTF! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

But dammit, even after all this, I am not phased. I am STILL a Clois supporter, a Tomerica Clois supporter, and after Clark suffers, I want my Clois! I want Erica and Tom's chemistry steaming up my screen! The Clana people may have gotten their damn epic whatever crap that they wanted, so now they better leave it alone. I want my Clois now. I'm not fading into the background crying my eyes out and expecting nothing. I expect MORE now.

And dammit, I will be happy to get it. Come on Clois Season 9!

Sorry, had to add in a little Lexana, after all, for as corrupt as Lana is, who else would she truly belong with than someone as corrupt as her, Lex Luthor himself...

Well I am BUMMED that the next four episodes of Smallville (starting I believe January 15th, 2009) that DO NOT include our girl, Erica Durance (Lois) will therefore have no scenes with Lois and Lana. I know I'm not a particularly big fan of Lana Lang, she's BORING to me except with Lex Luthor, BIG Lexana fan, but I did appreciate her friendship with Lois.

To me, from their first scene in Gone where Lana saved Lois's life, they had chemistry. And Chloe, Lana's supposed best friend, was a bit judgmental of both Lois and Lana and who they chose as boyfriends. Chloe never understood the bad boy thing and let's face it, Clark never loved Chloe romantically, his women are Lois and Lana. So while I like Lana and Chloe about the same, Lana and Lois have more to relate to with the bad boys and well...Clark.

Some people would prefer an adversarial scene between Lois and Lana, but personally, even if Lois in the 8th season has become closer to Clark and is even in love with him, I don't see her judging Lana. I see her understanding Lana's point of view as she always has. She might not appreciate Clark not getting over her faster, or Lana leaving him a DVD in Artic, but I don't see her giving Lana an ultimatum.

Anyway, regardless, I don't think it would've killed them for Lois to come back in time for all three of them (Clark, Lana, and Lois) to all say something to each other. And for Lois and Lana to step aside and say goodbye to each other. It's not like they didn't know each other and have scenes of their own. A "have a nice life, good luck to you, Clark's a pain in the ass but I wish both you well," wouldn't have killed anyone.

So, I made these little banners in honor of them. It's sorta interesting, me being a total Clois person and barfing at Clana half the time, but I thought Lana and Lois had some good scenes, and I appreciate it when women don't act stupid just because they're in competition for the same man. It's nice. Hopefully in the rest of season 8 Lana will behave herself towards Lois with Clark, even if Lois isn't there.