#OOC: Jenny's writer did this. I'm in awe

[preservationofnormalcy]

Wow, you got Flatwoods?

It took a LOT of calls, but I know her agent's ex girlfriend through the lesbian grapevine.

Wh-

Read a little higher on the poster, Norm.

You got HEAVEN SENT? They're retired?!

Yep! One night only reunion! Kerry in HT got me in touch with Zephrael, who called Hannah, and I facetimed with the two of them, plus Asha. Told them they have a superfan here.

Oh my god, I need to see them. Do they-will they be there on the 30th?

Yeah, they're closing the festival.

[terrainofheartfelt]

What are your insights on Dan and his avoidance of conflict?

as I see it, two of Dan's more...destructive character traits: avoidance of conflict & self-sabotaging his romantic relationships, stem from a fear of abandonment.

like, pre-canon, his best friend & mother both leave him, and lots of what he does following that is to keep from being left again. the moments when he self-sabotages: kissing Georgina pre-Serena breakup, kissing Serena after Vanessa leaves for Haiti (and therefore feels abandoned again), turning to Serena when he thinks Blair is about to dump him for chip (and then it becomes a Whole Thing which is a whole dub-con can of worms that I do not want to get into on this blog rn) - they're all tied to this impulse to...not leave first necessarily, but to do something Awful Enough to justify being left.

but back to your question, the motivation of the conflict avoidance is from the same source, but it manifests in a different way. here it's more like, Dan thinks he can't/shouldn't push back, because what of the other person doesn't like it and they leave? What if him raising an issue, however valid it may be, is the final straw to make someone walk away from him?

and maybe that's a reason why Jenny is not brought up when Dan and Blair start dating, because after Dan has spent a literal year pining, maybe he's afraid to bring it up. maybe he was waiting for an opportunity when they felt more settled as a couple, but then they were never given that kind of time. I'm not saying that makes it right, this is just my fiction-loving brain trying to understand it.

While I do agree with the Jenny meta I reblogged a couple hours ago, that Dan's seeming indifference to her in s3 and beyond felt really strange and ooc and it was like the writers room forgot that they were siblings, I think there is something to be found in his character why it went down like it did. Because in s1 & s2 Dan was often the mediator in between Jenny and Rufus, right? Like it was almost like he was trying to fill the void left by his mom when she went to Hudson. Dan was the one Jenny could confess to (not without judgement bc, yk, it is Dan) with a certain level of safety, and Dan is more empowered to plead with his dad to show some grace. Maybe in s3, when he's in college and living apart from them and so immersed in other drama, the strain of being the Big Brother Buffer is too much for him to handle. However much he may love his family, he had to have been fatigued trying to keep it together.

To put it very simply, I think it's self-defense.