Snowflake Challenge - Day 9

 

Day 9 - In your own space, promote at least one canon that you adore (old, new, forever fandom). Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.



I don't mind admitting that I'm fascinated, bordering on obsessed, with the character Dean Winchester from Supernatural.  He's a complicated, deeply flawed multi-faceted character full of charm, conflict and contradiction. He's brave yet scared; he's good, yet bad; he's a big kid because he had to grow up too fast.

For the snowflake challenge last year, for a very similar question, I said that I loved Dean's subtly understated intelligence.

This year, I'm going to talk about Dean's appetite.

Throughout the whole show, Dean has been depicted as a shameless eater.  He loves his pie, he loves burgers, he loves bacon.  (The fact that despite eating all this crap he still manages to look like a freaking adonis is one of those little eccentricities of the show that we don't ask too many questions about!).

Dean's unbridled appetite is one of the many quirks that makes the character so endearing, and there is no origin story to why Dean eats the way he does.

However, I have a headcanon that fills in the gaps - for me at least:

I believe Dean has a relationship with food because of his difficult upbringing.  When his father was off hunting, leaving him to be mother, father and brother to little Sam for days on end, Dean's first focus was always Sam.  When there was only one tin of spaghettios or one slice of bread in the larder, it was Sam that got it.  Sam ate, Dean got what was left - if any.  In short, Dean didn't know where his next meal was coming from and  so when food was available, he gorged on it, and savoured every mouthful.

Now, as an adult, although he's in control of his own food supply, that self-preservation instinct has never left him; when he has a plate of food in front of him, he tucks into it with gusto, taking huge mouthfuls and making the absolute most of it.

I love to watch Dean eat, because it's wonderful to see the sheer joy and satisfaction he gleans from his favourite meals.  He loves his food, and by extension, he equates food with love.

Although he's a tough guy badass hunter, Dean is a nurturer through and through.  There are many examples of Dean providing food for Sam, for Kevin, for Clare, for Jack, and for many other of the waifs and strays that have crossed the Winchesters' paths throughout the show. 

When Dean makes you food, he's basically saying 'I love you'.