I loved deciding that he'd been a somewhat indulgent parent to Dean before Mary died...because I think some vestiges of that can be argued to have held out in his early treatment of Sam.
Oh, I agree. I have always thought I saw hints of a gentler man in John. Sure, he was a bastard at times, and he made some really crappy choices for his sons, and his decisions were not always in their best interests, by any shot. His obsession definitely led him in some screwed directions.
But ... there were times when just something in his tone of voice, in his address of the boys, in that weary, forebearing manner he sometimes took on, that gave me the sense that yes. Sometimes John *could* be indulgent and amusedly tolerant and a "dad." If always counted the fact that Sam was *that* quick to seize any olive branch John offered, or return a hug from Dad, must have meant that sometimes John *could* be someone Sam truly loved and wanted to be on good terms with. Sometimes.
So yeah. It's good to see the father he might have been, in this early fic, and tragic to think how much of that burned away. :(
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-06-10 03:51 am (UTC)Oh, I agree. I have always thought I saw hints of a gentler man in John. Sure, he was a bastard at times, and he made some really crappy choices for his sons, and his decisions were not always in their best interests, by any shot. His obsession definitely led him in some screwed directions.
But ... there were times when just something in his tone of voice, in his address of the boys, in that weary, forebearing manner he sometimes took on, that gave me the sense that yes. Sometimes John *could* be indulgent and amusedly tolerant and a "dad." If always counted the fact that Sam was *that* quick to seize any olive branch John offered, or return a hug from Dad, must have meant that sometimes John *could* be someone Sam truly loved and wanted to be on good terms with. Sometimes.
So yeah. It's good to see the father he might have been, in this early fic, and tragic to think how much of that burned away. :(