Tom Sloane

Tom Sloane is a fictional character created for the MTV animated series Daria. He first appeared in the final episode of Season Three, as Jane Lane's boyfriend, and later became Daria Morgendorffer's boyfriend. He is the only character on the show to have dated both Daria and Jane, and the only one who seriously dated Daria.

Character Overview
Tom Sloane is a rich teenager who belongs to one of Lawndale's richest families, but this is neither apparent from his appearance, nor by the car he drives. He has certain characteristics in common with Daria: he is intelligent, well-read, and cynical, and he is not afraid to show it. Unlike Daria (and more like Jane), he is more open and friendly to new experiences and people. He was introduced in the episode "Jane's Addition" and indeed was the titular "addition" of that episode. Tom continued as Daria's boyfriend throughout the final season.

It is directly stated by many characters on the show that his family is not only rather wealthy but is also quite powerful. (This was retroactively introduced starting with "Is It Fall Yet?") His interest in this wealth and power varies considerably. Tom's initial car is a Ford Pinto, considered to be among the more dangerous cars ever made. It can be seen as a clear attempt by Tom to escape or at least not be associated with his family's immense wealth. We later see him driving what appears to be a well-used Jaguar, a car more fitting of his station (he states his parents had his old car towed away in the night). However, he is not only gleefully going to attend the pompous, Ivy League school known as Bromwell, he assumes he's getting in to the extent of not really bothering about his second-choice colleges; he is shown having and using Bromwell contacts & influence through his family, though he shrugs that off when Daria points it out. He also uses his family's influence to get Daria into Bromwell as well, which (despite being a helpful act on his part) irked Daria. Generally, he seems to enjoy his family's wealth while noticing and casually disparaging some of its absurdities. His family's wealth and power was a source of tension between him and Daria during their relationship, sometimes from his unnoticed privilege and sometimes because she automatically assumed the worst because of his class.

He has a younger sister, Elsie, with whom he appears to have an ambiguously hostile relationship. He seems to get on with his parents. In "Boxing Daria", he made a casual comment about his family (and other rich families) try to ignore their family problems and pretend they don't exist.

It seems to be hinted that Tom is not very popular at his own school, much like Daria and Jane at Lawndale High. He shows little interest in social events of his own class, such as not being interested in going to the dance in Is It Fall Yet? and referring to those events as "dull". In Partner's Complaint his "good friends" blow him off, leading him to seek Jane at Pizza King. In My Night at Daria's when Daria tells him that a rumor is going around Lawndale that the two of them had sex, Tom asks if they could get the rumor going at his school, too. Notably, we never see any of Tom's friends from Fielding or hear about them.

The "Love Triangle" Story Arc
In the episode "Jane's Addition," Tom was introduced and began dating Jane Lane in very short order. They met at a Mystik Spiral gig while Daria was briefly absent. The amount of time Jane spent with Tom was a source of tension between Daria and Jane for many episodes afterward, much as Jane's dates with Evan had been ("See Jane Run").

Daria and Tom, however, had a lot in common. Though Jane was never portrayed as stupid, she was definitely not as "book-smart" as Daria or Tom. By the episode "I Loathe a Parade," however, it was clear that the tension between Daria and Tom had blossomed into something else. Meanwhile, Tom and Jane's relationship began to deteriorate, with increasing clashes between the two: after the end, Tom admitted they'd just been getting bored of each other. (Notably, he didn't blame Jane for this and said this is something that just happens in relationships.) Meanwhile, Daria and Tom began a strange flirtation in "Fire!, which did not go unnoticed by Jane. ("When," she asks bitterly, "did I become a third wheel in my own relationship?") While Tom and Daria hadn't been shown doing anything before then, Jane appeared to have been worried already that he was becoming interested in her friend.

In "Dye! Dye! My Darling," Daria and Tom shared a moment known as The Kiss in Tom's car. This betrayal nearly ended Daria and Jane's friendship. Daria's relationships with both Jane and Tom were not fully resolved until Is it Fall Yet?. At the end of that movie, Daria and Jane's friendship was revealed to be stronger than the boy-drama, and Daria decided to pursue a romantic entanglement with Tom.

Relationship with Daria
Tom is the only character we meet to have actually "dated" Daria, in the sense of having a mutually-understood, ongoing, romantic relationship. It is not clear, however, how far Daria and Tom went physically in their relationship, just that no intercourse was had. This gap led to some speculation in fan fiction, and produced some pornographic fan art. In "My Night at Daria's", it came out that Tom and Daria had discussed sex before and that Tom had backed off early on after Daria said she wasn't ready; he still carries condoms with him 'just in case', and was annoyed when Daria got in a dig at him for it, pointing out he was being responsible.

His relationship with Daria, between its clashes, was shown to be quite laid back and not traditionally romantic: in "Sappy Anniversary", Tom said he liked this about the relationship, that neither was going in for big gestures and they were happy to be lazy (Ironically, that was the one time she was hoping for a gesture). Usually, the two would hang out at his house or hers, making sarcastic comments about things. In "Fizz Ed" and "The Story of D", however, Tom pushed Daria into taking action on things.

In "Is It College Yet?", it was Daria that broke off the relationship, citing (ironically) that they were both starting to lose interest and that they were simply going down different paths after high school and they wouldn't be able to keep it going. Tom initially tried to argue against Daria's claims but gave up, and later admitted in person that she was right; they parted as friends, however, with Daria saying she was glad they had dated and Tom telling her "I really look up to you, and your opinion's important to me".

Fan Controversy
Tom's potentially ending the relationship between Daria and Jane, and effectively sealing the fate of the flirtation between Daria and Trent Lane, caused Tom to be a very controversial character. The Kiss generated enormous antipathy for both Tom and Daria, therefore, there are very few fanworks that portray them in a positive light. Notable exceptions are Ring Toss by Nemo Blank, Mr. and Mrs. Sloane by Quiverwing, and The Hallowed Halls of Fielding by Roentgen.

Outside of his relationship with Daria, Tom's portrayal still varies. A number of writers show him being a good person and/or an ally of Daria's. The Angst Guy has usually shown Tom as being weak, attempting to do the right thing but backing out or getting it wrong; on the Daria Fandom Blog, he also once remarked Tom had been punished for The Kiss by having to date Daria, which he viewed as being a source of pain and frustration for Tom.

Evil Tom
Because of the Triangle issue, Tom was occasionally portrayed as basically unfeeling and cavalier of the attitudes of others. This stereotype has been parodied and taken to the extreme in several fanfics, painting Tom as the driving force behind global evil (Kill Tom Fic). This trope has become wearisome to many fans, but still it lives on (Tired Daria Fandom Tropes).

The "Evil Tom" stereotype was on some message boards referred to as "Thom."

Tom-Who-Belongs-With-Someone-Else
The outcome of the Triangle led some fanfic writers to speculate that Tom properly belonged with someone else entirely. This issue has been examined in a number of shipper fanfics, creating pairings such as Tom/Quinn and Tom/Jodie, most of which are implied to have turned into successful relationships.

Tom-centric Fanfiction

 * "Bromwell Bound: That One Fateful Summer, by HolyGrail2007
 * "Dear Tom," by Ruthless Bunny
 * "God Save The Esteem", by Charles RB
 * "The Hallowed Halls of Fielding", by James Bowman
 * "The Next Step," by Mike Xeno
 * "My Night at Tom's," by Thessalian
 * "Reflections in the Hood of a Car," by Angelinhel
 * "Ring Toss", by Nemo Blank
 * "Tom's Eye View,", by Dennis
 * "Tom's Overkill", by ticknart