SPN Fic: The Human Factor
Okay, this one kinda went the weird way around the block before it got here.
I started out writing a SPN_500 Challenge ficlet just cause I was bored, and this notion appealed to me in a much longer applications, but I didn't really want to go as angsty as it wanted to be in a longer form, so I thought I'd give her a whirl in the 500 words or less ( Read more... )
The fight between Sam and Dean in “Scarecrow” keeps coming to my mind.
Dean: Dad said it wasn't safe for any of us. But he obviously knows something that we don't. So he says to stay away, we stay away.
Sam: I don't understand the blind faith you have in that man. I mean, it's like you didn't even question him.
Dean: Yes! It's called being a good son!
Dean feels that blind loyalty is a sign of being a good son. Why does he think that? I would imagine that when he exhibited blind loyalty in the past, that’s when he got affirmation from John, be it verbal or behavioral. That he was given some kind of indication that John loved him. And to a kid (and a broken adult), hearing or sensing that your parent loves you makes you good.
In DT, how does Dean know that there is something wrong with John? Because John compliments him. Possessed John says he’s proud of Dean for protecting the family and this is Dean’s trigger that something isn’t right. I think that this is the behavior of someone who hasn’t heard a lot of verbal support, so that when he does hear it, it’s foreign enough to tip him that something is fishy.
Not to say that John never had a kind word for Dean. And not to say that John didn’t say something when he really meant something else. But I think Dean heard praise so rarely that it’s probably something John wasn’t very good at. But then, it’s fic, and I can completely see why "I can trust you, I always could" really means "I've loved you since you were born, boy; and even when you were five, you were my little man and I've never failed to notice that, even if I don't often say it."
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LOL. Well, that pretty much covers all the bases.
Dean feels that blind loyalty is a sign of being a good son.
Nothing in there that says John hasn't told him he's proud of him for being that blindly loyal good son. ;)
In DT, how does Dean know that there is something wrong with John? Because John compliments him.
Not necessarily. Because of the tone of John's voice. Or the way he chooses to word the compliment. Or his timing of the compliment. Or the fact that he compliments him WHEN he does for WHAT he does, when Dean knows that his dad wouldn't consider this a thing to compliment. Doesn't mean Dean hasn't ever heard that his dad is proud of him, from his dad. Just that he knows this isn't one of the instances John would say such a thing. But you're the one that's assuming that extends to the idea John wouldn't say such a thing at all. There's no aired canon that I've seen that supports such an assumption.
But I love your willingness to cover all the bases anyway. :D
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