SPN: Brotherly Manlove by Winchesters (19)
Chapter "Provenance" in the Catalogue of Touches between the Brothers Winchester. And in case you missed the previous installments:
Pilot. Wendigo. Dead In The Water. Phantom Traveler.
Bloody Mary. Skin. Hook Man. Bugs. Home. Asylum.
Scarecrow. Faith. Route 666. Nightmare. The Benders.
Shadow. Hell House. Something Wicked.
Sorry this is late. And I wish I had more to offer y'all.
Every time they touch, it's in front of a girl named Sarah. *glee!* In fact, in the last touch sequence, we see the back of Sarah as if she is a fangirl watching JP and JA acting out a hooker PWP.
I'm just saying.
19.0
Type of Contact: Captain Obvious
Deliberate?: Yes
Chick Flick?: No
Note: While I realize this episode was meant to show that Geeks also have (oral) sex, it was still funny to watch their reactions to her. Dean: slack-jawed at the body, later realizing "Oh! Fearless = brain attached." Sam: slack-jawed at the brain, later realizing "Oh! Eyelash = body attached."
19.1 Questionable
Type of Contact: Undetermined
Deliberate?: Yes?
Chick Flick?: No
Note: If you listen closely, you can hear a faint slapping sound. Dean clapping Sam's arm? Hand?
Not meta-worthy, really. Just a bit o' cute.
In other news...
Sam realizes who's been leaving the cap off of his Kiss My Face® Whitening Toothpaste.
19.2
Type of Contact: Pwn
Deliberate?: Nah
Chick Flick?: No
Note: This is more accidental than anything. Sam wraps his big paw over Dean's hand, and grabs the money without shying away from the touch as he's done in the past. Here I would insert a ramble about his increased comfort with the physical stuff, but eh, that's old news now. :)
It so looks like a gag reel highlight. Taylor Cole, the fangirl stand-in. JP thinking, I can't believe he just went there. JA, getting JP back for whatever prank he'd pulled the day before. (It's such a joy to see that they're just a couple of guys who like each other. They're like candy for each other.)
And that's all, folks.
Well, that's where the touching ends. But I can't wrap this up without including a certain scene.
Honorary Mention
19.3
Type of Contact: Bona Fide
Deliberate?: Yes
Chick Flick?: Quite
Note: I swear, all that's missing is a spoon.
Dean waits tenderly as Sam gives him The Angstful Look of [Insert Slash Here]. (Deathfic, natch.)
Joking aside, and despite the lack of touches (which is developing into quite a distressing trend, all things considered), the beauty of Provenance is that they have taken the friends-&-equals camaraderie of Hell House and the deep brother love of Something Wicked to a unified, refined level. They aren't friends first, or brothers first. There is no emphasis on either/or. They are simply friends and brothers, and that is all. It's the plateau of their relationship. This Jessica scene, in particular.
They covered similar ground in Bloody Mary, but while there was great love in that episode, there was a faintly different atmosphere. Whether his advice was more paternal than fraternal is open to some interpretation, but Dean's reaction to Sam's pain was, first and foremost, that of someone who feels responsible for another. He did not brush off Sam's feelings, but he wanted less to understand Sam's pain, than to solve it. He listened, but his first instinct was to protect. He was looking slightly down, not up, not across. It was an ironic appearance of superiority by a man whose motivation was (is?) rooted in absolving himself of past failures. When he takes on the role his father fashioned for him, is when he seems most superior, and yet it is precisely then that he's feeling the most inferior. (Just my take on it.) That's a dichotomy about Dean which the post- Asylum relationship with Sam has begun to resolve, to some degree.
Similarly, Sam's attitude has changed since the days of Wendigo and Bloody Mary. He is no longer reacting as the child to Dean's adult. And I don't meant that in the sense that he's expected Dean to hold his hand; rather, he's taken for granted that Dean will be there to prop him up. When I think back on those days, at how unhappy Sam was in the first few episodes to follow Dean's lead and yet how he never ventured away, it seems clear to me that he hadn't disassociated himself from the concept of being under Dean's care. By the time Provenance comes around, he is no longer depending on the solution, on the one hand, and resenting the messenger, on the other. There's no more of a sense that this "adult" in his life can't hurt as much as he does, and no longer the sense of wonder when he witnesses another layer peeling. They're both adults, and both John's children, in his eyes. He's no longer looking slightly up, but across. (Well, okay, he's looking down. Mere technicalities. Though, yeah, that does take on a deeper level in DT.)
Scarecrow had that old dynamic, during the fight. Dean being very wise mentor type, trying less to listen and more to solve the problem. Sam being very teen rebel type, trying less to listen and more to insist on his way. The adult can't see why the child will resist the solution, and the child can't see how the adult could ever understand his pain. They pushed each other deeper into those mindsets: Dean became Dad to Sam, and Sam became Traitor to Dean. It's no wonder they both walked away. (And, yes, I realize that interpretations vary on this scene, and fans still kill each other over it. I'm just trying to see it from both sides here, 'kay?)
In Provenance, Dean is brother/friend, not walking on eggshells but not making any assumptions, either. He's not a Solve-It-All here; he now feels no pressure to be. Not from himself in this realm, and not from Sam. And Sam is no child, making no assumptions of his own. He is not defending himself against a perfect son he feels overshadowed by, nor a father figure he feels controlled by. He sees that a certain wall has crumbled between them, and that this man who (perhaps) all but raised him can understand him, too. And more, that he can hear him on the same frequency.
A great deal of that is from the gradual revelation of Dean's vulnerabilities. And a great deal of it is the increasing awareness of Sam's strengths. They have fed each other all the way, and this is the emotional payoff. Shadow, to break them open. Hell House, to set aside their defenses. Something Wicked, to be invited inside. And Provenance, to stay there. Had the journey ended on any other note or any other episode, even one as immediate as Shadow, they wouldn't have been ready for the final Demon arc. Not for the unity in DMB. Not for the harsh karma in Salvation. Not for the life-changing decisions in DT. They might have still done the same things, spoken the same lines, but it would have felt quite empty without the side-by-side climb up to this plateau. It's over the course of these four episodes that they've cemented the thought of "we," not "you and Dad, and me" ...which was a distance they both felt, ironically.
Sam, in DMB, speaks openly of their relationship as if he sees them as a single unit. It's more than an easy sentiment in the heat of the moment; it's the natural sum of what they've shared. He feels as if John is dragging them back down to Asylum/ Scarecrow, and, really, is it any wonder that pisses him off? From his perception, and not merely for the sake of their joint quest, that must feel like the ultimate betrayal by Dad, salt in the wounds they've been trying to heal. And Dean...?
Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. Will continue this thought in the next chapter.
Dead Man's Blood is on the menu, but all I can think about is Salvation.
I am a nut. And ready to pull out the sadly neglected dork attacks (yay?).
p.s. I listen to this soundtrack, and instead of Matthew Quigley, I think Dean Winchester. Obsess much??
Pilot. Wendigo. Dead In The Water. Phantom Traveler.
Bloody Mary. Skin. Hook Man. Bugs. Home. Asylum.
Scarecrow. Faith. Route 666. Nightmare. The Benders.
Shadow. Hell House. Something Wicked.
Sorry this is late. And I wish I had more to offer y'all.
Every time they touch, it's in front of a girl named Sarah. *glee!* In fact, in the last touch sequence, we see the back of Sarah as if she is a fangirl watching JP and JA acting out a hooker PWP.
I'm just saying.
19.0
Type of Contact: Captain Obvious
Deliberate?: Yes
Chick Flick?: No
Note: While I realize this episode was meant to show that Geeks also have (oral) sex, it was still funny to watch their reactions to her. Dean: slack-jawed at the body, later realizing "Oh! Fearless = brain attached." Sam: slack-jawed at the brain, later realizing "Oh! Eyelash = body attached."
19.1 Questionable
Type of Contact: Undetermined
Deliberate?: Yes?
Chick Flick?: No
Note: If you listen closely, you can hear a faint slapping sound. Dean clapping Sam's arm? Hand?
Not meta-worthy, really. Just a bit o' cute.
In other news...
Sam realizes who's been leaving the cap off of his Kiss My Face® Whitening Toothpaste.
19.2
Type of Contact: Pwn
Deliberate?: Nah
Chick Flick?: No
Note: This is more accidental than anything. Sam wraps his big paw over Dean's hand, and grabs the money without shying away from the touch as he's done in the past. Here I would insert a ramble about his increased comfort with the physical stuff, but eh, that's old news now. :)
It so looks like a gag reel highlight. Taylor Cole, the fangirl stand-in. JP thinking, I can't believe he just went there. JA, getting JP back for whatever prank he'd pulled the day before. (It's such a joy to see that they're just a couple of guys who like each other. They're like candy for each other.)
And that's all, folks.
Well, that's where the touching ends. But I can't wrap this up without including a certain scene.
Honorary Mention
19.3
Type of Contact: Bona Fide
Deliberate?: Yes
Chick Flick?: Quite
Note: I swear, all that's missing is a spoon.
Dean waits tenderly as Sam gives him The Angstful Look of [Insert Slash Here]. (Deathfic, natch.)
Joking aside, and despite the lack of touches (which is developing into quite a distressing trend, all things considered), the beauty of Provenance is that they have taken the friends-&-equals camaraderie of Hell House and the deep brother love of Something Wicked to a unified, refined level. They aren't friends first, or brothers first. There is no emphasis on either/or. They are simply friends and brothers, and that is all. It's the plateau of their relationship. This Jessica scene, in particular.
They covered similar ground in Bloody Mary, but while there was great love in that episode, there was a faintly different atmosphere. Whether his advice was more paternal than fraternal is open to some interpretation, but Dean's reaction to Sam's pain was, first and foremost, that of someone who feels responsible for another. He did not brush off Sam's feelings, but he wanted less to understand Sam's pain, than to solve it. He listened, but his first instinct was to protect. He was looking slightly down, not up, not across. It was an ironic appearance of superiority by a man whose motivation was (is?) rooted in absolving himself of past failures. When he takes on the role his father fashioned for him, is when he seems most superior, and yet it is precisely then that he's feeling the most inferior. (Just my take on it.) That's a dichotomy about Dean which the post- Asylum relationship with Sam has begun to resolve, to some degree.
Similarly, Sam's attitude has changed since the days of Wendigo and Bloody Mary. He is no longer reacting as the child to Dean's adult. And I don't meant that in the sense that he's expected Dean to hold his hand; rather, he's taken for granted that Dean will be there to prop him up. When I think back on those days, at how unhappy Sam was in the first few episodes to follow Dean's lead and yet how he never ventured away, it seems clear to me that he hadn't disassociated himself from the concept of being under Dean's care. By the time Provenance comes around, he is no longer depending on the solution, on the one hand, and resenting the messenger, on the other. There's no more of a sense that this "adult" in his life can't hurt as much as he does, and no longer the sense of wonder when he witnesses another layer peeling. They're both adults, and both John's children, in his eyes. He's no longer looking slightly up, but across. (Well, okay, he's looking down. Mere technicalities. Though, yeah, that does take on a deeper level in DT.)
Scarecrow had that old dynamic, during the fight. Dean being very wise mentor type, trying less to listen and more to solve the problem. Sam being very teen rebel type, trying less to listen and more to insist on his way. The adult can't see why the child will resist the solution, and the child can't see how the adult could ever understand his pain. They pushed each other deeper into those mindsets: Dean became Dad to Sam, and Sam became Traitor to Dean. It's no wonder they both walked away. (And, yes, I realize that interpretations vary on this scene, and fans still kill each other over it. I'm just trying to see it from both sides here, 'kay?)
In Provenance, Dean is brother/friend, not walking on eggshells but not making any assumptions, either. He's not a Solve-It-All here; he now feels no pressure to be. Not from himself in this realm, and not from Sam. And Sam is no child, making no assumptions of his own. He is not defending himself against a perfect son he feels overshadowed by, nor a father figure he feels controlled by. He sees that a certain wall has crumbled between them, and that this man who (perhaps) all but raised him can understand him, too. And more, that he can hear him on the same frequency.
A great deal of that is from the gradual revelation of Dean's vulnerabilities. And a great deal of it is the increasing awareness of Sam's strengths. They have fed each other all the way, and this is the emotional payoff. Shadow, to break them open. Hell House, to set aside their defenses. Something Wicked, to be invited inside. And Provenance, to stay there. Had the journey ended on any other note or any other episode, even one as immediate as Shadow, they wouldn't have been ready for the final Demon arc. Not for the unity in DMB. Not for the harsh karma in Salvation. Not for the life-changing decisions in DT. They might have still done the same things, spoken the same lines, but it would have felt quite empty without the side-by-side climb up to this plateau. It's over the course of these four episodes that they've cemented the thought of "we," not "you and Dad, and me" ...which was a distance they both felt, ironically.
Sam, in DMB, speaks openly of their relationship as if he sees them as a single unit. It's more than an easy sentiment in the heat of the moment; it's the natural sum of what they've shared. He feels as if John is dragging them back down to Asylum/ Scarecrow, and, really, is it any wonder that pisses him off? From his perception, and not merely for the sake of their joint quest, that must feel like the ultimate betrayal by Dad, salt in the wounds they've been trying to heal. And Dean...?
Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. Will continue this thought in the next chapter.
Dead Man's Blood is on the menu, but all I can think about is Salvation.
I am a nut. And ready to pull out the sadly neglected dork attacks (yay?).
p.s. I listen to this soundtrack, and instead of Matthew Quigley, I think Dean Winchester. Obsess much??