Okay, Really...

[serafina20]

Am I the only person in the world who thinks that sometimes characters act unreasonable and bitchy and, well, not perfect? Because I KNOW that Lana acted like a total bitch for about 5 sections of the series. And I KNOW that Lex was a total ass to her and tried to paint her like a villanness. And, yes, I know I wrote everything from Chloe's point of view so it seemed as if she were the heartbroken heroine victimized by the horrible, evil Lana, but, did ya'll think that maybe there was another side of the story that I was TRUSTING my readers to get?

Like Lex was acting like a jerk. I don't think that a 21 year old man should ever, EVER call a 16 year old girl a 'frigid ice-queen.' And his behavior towards her in COTW 27 was just plain wrong. But I wrote them becaue my Lex is threatened by her, so he took the breakup as sign he could be mean to Lana. But I never dictated how my readers should take it. I felt he was being unreasonable. I figured that some people would agree and others woudldn't. I wasn't going to have him not take pot shots at her because that would make him catty.

The thing is, I don't use my characters as platforms for my personal feelings for them. Both Lana AND Chloe turned into total bitches for awhile there. I never meant to paint Lana as evil, as I was accused of today. The thing that frustrates me is I wrote an entire fic to explain why Lana reacted the way she did, and to get everyone back into a more leve state. Lana... didn't exactly overreact to what happened, but she attacked the wrong person. She was more freaked out by her own actions than Chloe, but it was easier to try and paint Chloe as the Whore of Babylon than face the fact that's how Lana felt about herself. It's kind of like on the show, where Chloe treated Clark like she was pissed at him when she was really angry at herself. It's a defensive techqnique.

I don't understand why people think that the moment a character gets unlikable in a fic, that means the author doesn't like them. I'm unlikable all the time. I get pissed at my friends for no reason and treat them badly. They do the same thing. I once didn't speak to a group of friends for two years over a fight. I thought they were wrong and was pissed at them, but I was really pissed at myself too. That's what I was trying to do with the Lana/Chloe thing. I wasn't trying to make either one a villian. I don't hate either one. I dont' feel bad that Lex called Lana bunch of names; I think my Lex would. Not in front of other people, and not any more (he's got his own company to run; he can't afford to sully the LexCorp name by sayign the wrong thing), but, at the time, he would.

*sigh* It was frustrating enough when I got feedback praising me for turning Lana into a bitch (not that I don't appreciate feedback, all; it just surprised me). But to be yelled at for it, to be told my series now sucks because I was so immature to let my 'inner bitch' free when that wasn't what I was doing just sucks.

And I had a whole pretty "music on Smallville' post percolating in my head for this morning's post. I'll have to do it later.

Comments

[dameange.livejournal.com]

hey baby, don't worry. you're always going to get people who do stuff like that. there's nothing you can or should do about it. people will always have their problems. ignore them. especially since so many more people LOVE your stuff and follow you religiously.

of course, i'm not one of them. {glances around} no, really, i'm not.

Re:

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

It's not so much I mind someone having a problem with the fic, because I can see how the concern is valid. What the person liked about the series was my supposed neutrality when dealing with Lana and the rest. Then they felt I lost it with Nicodemus. They wrote:

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It's not so much I mind someone having a problem with the fic, because I can see how the concern is valid. What the person liked about the series was my supposed neutrality when dealing with Lana and the rest. Then they felt I lost it with Nicodemus. They wrote:

<<It was just completely neutral and she was
just a character who wasn't evil while everyone else in the story fluttered around with halos over there heads deeming how perfect they were. The thing that made it so bad was that the plot device you used to break apart Chloe and Lana and make Lana look like the bad guy.>>

And I never tried to make Lana look like the bad guy. They went on to say a bunch more where I just explained what I was trying to do. But, at the end, they were just mean.

<<It's ok to take some jabs at a character, that you don't like, in your stories; but reign your inner bitch in and get some control over it before you write the next story. Please bring back the neutral unique and wonderful
story that you started off with. Leave catty Lex and all those things out the next time, please.>>

So not only was this person telling my I let my bitchy side take control (which it didn't because I <i>don't</i> hate (my) Lana), but is also trying to dictate how I write my fic. What the f**ck ever.

Anway, what I'm trying to say is A) thank's so much for your comments and B) I really can take constructive criticism. As long as it's, you know, constructive. ;)

Thanks again!

[obsidian-rai.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I LOVE your stories. They totally kick butt and I love how you portray them, whether they are being naughty or nice. Forget the ones who yelled they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

Day

Re:

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sweetie. I just wish that the whole thing would have been construtive crit so I could really present my views to a receptive audience. Instead, they had to get all mean. *sniff* But the people who like the stories have louder voices, anyway, so I'm just going to pay attention to those