Phantom Traveler - Thoughts For Fic
More Fic Meta...
10 Things You Already Have Memorized About Phantom Traveler
1. Dean sleeps with what looks to be a Smith and Wesson Bowie style knife under his pillow.
2. Dean makes his own homemade EMF meter to read electro magnetic frequencies and is quite proud of the fact that he was smart enough to do this. (And, to be honest, he should be. That's not easy to do.)
3. Sam and Dean climb fences really well.
4. Dean's cell phone number is (866) 907-3235 (originally) (785) 555 - 0179 (on re-airing and the DVD).
Because Some Things Ya Gotta Know - The original message said, "This is Dean Winchester. If this is an emergency, leave a message. If you are calling about 11-2-83, page me with your coordinates". But now that number is currently no longer in service. (Hm…could that be because it was crushed into teeny tiny pieces by a semi truck in a car crash? I'm just wondering.)
5. Dad changed his phone message recently to say go to Dean for help. Which means he's been alive and well this whole time and just not calling Sam back or answering their phone calls.
6. The Impala's license plate number is a Kansas plate KAZ 2Y5
7. Sam is bringing Dean and himself coffee at 5:45 AM.
8. Dean said he was awake at 3 AM and saw Sam watching the George Foreman commercial.
9. Dean chooses to make fake Homeland Security badges because not everyone knows what those look like yet.
10. Demons don't want anything - they're just about death and destruction for its own sake. Or so the information the Winchester's have up to this point. (Since it becomes clear later on in the series that THE Demon that killed mom, seems to have a more specific reason.) They can also read minds and lie. Also, not too many things leave behind a sulfur residue; it's usually the prime sign of demonic possession.
6 Thoughts for Supernatural Fic
Thought 1. Jerry mentions that Dad talked about Sam all the time (and with implied pride) when Dad and Dean helped Jerry out a few years ago with that poltergeist thing in Pennsylvania (the one that Jerry claims would have probably killed his entire family).
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Timeline-wise this must have been within the first year of Sam going to college. This hints at Dad's feelings for Sam. Think about it, Dad speaks to a relative stranger frequently and with pride within months after Sam's leaving the family and Sam and Dad's argument.
Why You Might Want To Think About This Some More - Dean heard Dad talk about Sam with pride like this often and frequently to this man. Not that I think this would make Dean jealous of Sam, because I don't, but it does allow Dean to be in the position to interpret how Dad feels about Sam and about Sam's being in college after the heat of the argument has worn down since I don't think Dad spoke directly to Dean about how he felt on all this. (Knowledge about Dad's state of mind which is reinforced by going to check up on Sam while at Stanford as noted in "Bugs".)
Thought 2. In the airport, when Sam announces they'll need to go on the plane and Dean has a reaction to this. Sam asks him if he's okay. Dean responds with "not really". Sam stops and immediately reassesses the situation.
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Seriously, how often has Sam EVER in his life up to this point probably heard Dean say directly that he was not okay?
Why You Might Want To Think About This Some More - Phobias can be and often are irrational. However, they don't tend to get created in a vacuum. They usually have some origin, however obscure. Where does Dean's fear of flying come from?
Is it a lack of control issue? Being stuck as a passenger with no ability to impact what happens to you. Is it about an event from his past? Is it reading about demon/poltergeist scenarios on planes and knowing there is very little a hunter could do to address that if it occurred once in the air and separated from weapons. What?
Extra Cookie For Sam - I love Sam here. He doesn't mock Dean for his fear. He doesn't even blink! He takes it serious and immediately deals with it by trying to problem solve the situation. And later on when on the plane, he gets Dean to focus by having him address the problem in terms Dean can handle and is familiar with. (If you don't stop, demon's will have an entry point.) Dean is used to shoring up against fear and other issues in a hunt, this puts this irrational fear into a context he can handle and start to deal with.
Thought 3. Dean mentions at the end that he's only had his current cell phone number for the past 6 months.
Why You Might Want To Think About This - What made him change his cell phone number? Verizon or whoever was just cheaper? And if he did choose to change it, does this mean that Sam did not have his current cell phone number while in the last several months of college? Did Dean have his old calls forwarded? Did Dad and Dean share a number? Was his old cell phone possessed? Or he couldn't get good service in some really important and critical times when he needed to and therefore needed broader coverage? After all having carrier service and being able to call for help when the Voodoo Queen has you strung up all alone in her basement might be important when you are hunting alone and Dad is states away.
Thought 4. Dean sits in the aisle seat on the plane.
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Is this because Sam knows Dean is unnerved by being on a plane and giving him the better "in control with options for escape" seat? Is this because despite being unnerved about being on a plane Dean has to be in the seat that's closer to anything that might attack them and therefore is in the protector position? (After all who does sleep closest to the door in this episode, hm?)
Why You Might Want To Think About This Some More - Sam has long legs that go on for days. It would just make sense (not only to be almost physically necessary) for him to sit in the aisle seat unless he or Dean decided not to. Ergo their seating order was probably a decision on one of their part. Now who?
( Smack Upside The Head Addendum - Yes I know it was ultimately the director's, but we're talking about the characters' perspective. Work with me here!)
Thought 5. Sam claims that it's not just nightmares about Jess that are making him lose sleep, it's everything. "This job. Man, it gets to you."
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Well, duh? We love getting into Sam's head and this is obviously playing in there. So what's going on? Is it Jess' death? Or, the fact that he had nightmares and premonitions about her death and they came true (see Bloody Mary)? The fact that he's back in the mix with the fear, and the scares, and the hunting stuff? (Note - reference the line where he asks Dean about if he's ever afraid in this episode. And then harken back to the Pilot and how he tells Dean that he originally left the hunting business not because he wanted a normal life but because it wasn't safe.) Or all of the above. (Which is my vote, if we were voting, and we got to vote about Sam and Dean, which would be just about the coolest, funnest voting there ever could be.)
Thought 6. It's 5:45 AM and though obviously not thrilled to be woken up, Dean after wincing at hearing the time, doesn't whine he just quips about "where does the day go"?
Why You Might Want To Think About This - It's not that Dean has this response that I wonder about. It's why does he have this response? Is this a response due to Dean knowing that Sam is not sleeping well, and so is not fighting Sam waking him up at a pretty early hour because Sam needs Dean both to talk to and be an awake presence for distraction? Or is this a leftover from days with Dad, where Dad didn't put up with his sons complaining or whining about sleeping when they were burning daylight and had a job to do? Or…?
Dean & Sam Sleep Tally
-Dean's got the protector spot and sleeps closest to door. This is established in the early morning coffee scene (4 minutes in) where Dean is asleep, face down, hugging a pillow (a pillow with a big fat knife under it!) and Sam brings him and Dean coffee and breakfast (it might be donuts in that box--now what sort of donuts do you think Sam and Dean prefer...hm?).
10 Things You Already Have Memorized About Phantom Traveler
1. Dean sleeps with what looks to be a Smith and Wesson Bowie style knife under his pillow.
2. Dean makes his own homemade EMF meter to read electro magnetic frequencies and is quite proud of the fact that he was smart enough to do this. (And, to be honest, he should be. That's not easy to do.)
3. Sam and Dean climb fences really well.
4. Dean's cell phone number is (866) 907-3235 (originally) (785) 555 - 0179 (on re-airing and the DVD).
Because Some Things Ya Gotta Know - The original message said, "This is Dean Winchester. If this is an emergency, leave a message. If you are calling about 11-2-83, page me with your coordinates". But now that number is currently no longer in service. (Hm…could that be because it was crushed into teeny tiny pieces by a semi truck in a car crash? I'm just wondering.)
5. Dad changed his phone message recently to say go to Dean for help. Which means he's been alive and well this whole time and just not calling Sam back or answering their phone calls.
6. The Impala's license plate number is a Kansas plate KAZ 2Y5
7. Sam is bringing Dean and himself coffee at 5:45 AM.
8. Dean said he was awake at 3 AM and saw Sam watching the George Foreman commercial.
9. Dean chooses to make fake Homeland Security badges because not everyone knows what those look like yet.
10. Demons don't want anything - they're just about death and destruction for its own sake. Or so the information the Winchester's have up to this point. (Since it becomes clear later on in the series that THE Demon that killed mom, seems to have a more specific reason.) They can also read minds and lie. Also, not too many things leave behind a sulfur residue; it's usually the prime sign of demonic possession.
6 Thoughts for Supernatural Fic
Thought 1. Jerry mentions that Dad talked about Sam all the time (and with implied pride) when Dad and Dean helped Jerry out a few years ago with that poltergeist thing in Pennsylvania (the one that Jerry claims would have probably killed his entire family).
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Timeline-wise this must have been within the first year of Sam going to college. This hints at Dad's feelings for Sam. Think about it, Dad speaks to a relative stranger frequently and with pride within months after Sam's leaving the family and Sam and Dad's argument.
Why You Might Want To Think About This Some More - Dean heard Dad talk about Sam with pride like this often and frequently to this man. Not that I think this would make Dean jealous of Sam, because I don't, but it does allow Dean to be in the position to interpret how Dad feels about Sam and about Sam's being in college after the heat of the argument has worn down since I don't think Dad spoke directly to Dean about how he felt on all this. (Knowledge about Dad's state of mind which is reinforced by going to check up on Sam while at Stanford as noted in "Bugs".)
Thought 2. In the airport, when Sam announces they'll need to go on the plane and Dean has a reaction to this. Sam asks him if he's okay. Dean responds with "not really". Sam stops and immediately reassesses the situation.
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Seriously, how often has Sam EVER in his life up to this point probably heard Dean say directly that he was not okay?
Why You Might Want To Think About This Some More - Phobias can be and often are irrational. However, they don't tend to get created in a vacuum. They usually have some origin, however obscure. Where does Dean's fear of flying come from?
Is it a lack of control issue? Being stuck as a passenger with no ability to impact what happens to you. Is it about an event from his past? Is it reading about demon/poltergeist scenarios on planes and knowing there is very little a hunter could do to address that if it occurred once in the air and separated from weapons. What?
Extra Cookie For Sam - I love Sam here. He doesn't mock Dean for his fear. He doesn't even blink! He takes it serious and immediately deals with it by trying to problem solve the situation. And later on when on the plane, he gets Dean to focus by having him address the problem in terms Dean can handle and is familiar with. (If you don't stop, demon's will have an entry point.) Dean is used to shoring up against fear and other issues in a hunt, this puts this irrational fear into a context he can handle and start to deal with.
Thought 3. Dean mentions at the end that he's only had his current cell phone number for the past 6 months.
Why You Might Want To Think About This - What made him change his cell phone number? Verizon or whoever was just cheaper? And if he did choose to change it, does this mean that Sam did not have his current cell phone number while in the last several months of college? Did Dean have his old calls forwarded? Did Dad and Dean share a number? Was his old cell phone possessed? Or he couldn't get good service in some really important and critical times when he needed to and therefore needed broader coverage? After all having carrier service and being able to call for help when the Voodoo Queen has you strung up all alone in her basement might be important when you are hunting alone and Dad is states away.
Thought 4. Dean sits in the aisle seat on the plane.
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Is this because Sam knows Dean is unnerved by being on a plane and giving him the better "in control with options for escape" seat? Is this because despite being unnerved about being on a plane Dean has to be in the seat that's closer to anything that might attack them and therefore is in the protector position? (After all who does sleep closest to the door in this episode, hm?)
Why You Might Want To Think About This Some More - Sam has long legs that go on for days. It would just make sense (not only to be almost physically necessary) for him to sit in the aisle seat unless he or Dean decided not to. Ergo their seating order was probably a decision on one of their part. Now who?
( Smack Upside The Head Addendum - Yes I know it was ultimately the director's, but we're talking about the characters' perspective. Work with me here!)
Thought 5. Sam claims that it's not just nightmares about Jess that are making him lose sleep, it's everything. "This job. Man, it gets to you."
Why You Might Want To Think About This - Well, duh? We love getting into Sam's head and this is obviously playing in there. So what's going on? Is it Jess' death? Or, the fact that he had nightmares and premonitions about her death and they came true (see Bloody Mary)? The fact that he's back in the mix with the fear, and the scares, and the hunting stuff? (Note - reference the line where he asks Dean about if he's ever afraid in this episode. And then harken back to the Pilot and how he tells Dean that he originally left the hunting business not because he wanted a normal life but because it wasn't safe.) Or all of the above. (Which is my vote, if we were voting, and we got to vote about Sam and Dean, which would be just about the coolest, funnest voting there ever could be.)
Thought 6. It's 5:45 AM and though obviously not thrilled to be woken up, Dean after wincing at hearing the time, doesn't whine he just quips about "where does the day go"?
Why You Might Want To Think About This - It's not that Dean has this response that I wonder about. It's why does he have this response? Is this a response due to Dean knowing that Sam is not sleeping well, and so is not fighting Sam waking him up at a pretty early hour because Sam needs Dean both to talk to and be an awake presence for distraction? Or is this a leftover from days with Dad, where Dad didn't put up with his sons complaining or whining about sleeping when they were burning daylight and had a job to do? Or…?
Dean & Sam Sleep Tally
-Dean's got the protector spot and sleeps closest to door. This is established in the early morning coffee scene (4 minutes in) where Dean is asleep, face down, hugging a pillow (a pillow with a big fat knife under it!) and Sam brings him and Dean coffee and breakfast (it might be donuts in that box--now what sort of donuts do you think Sam and Dean prefer...hm?).