::does the shrift rocks shimmy::

I don't know if anyone here is a Sir fan enough to care, who isn't in the Supernatural thread, but I've been getting increasingly irritated with the treatment/representation of John in fics recently (not canon--I'm delighted with that), and a complaint about same in the show thread tipped me over the edge.

I don't know how long my good intentions will last, but I'm collecting good representations of John here:http://johnwinchesterisahero.tumblr.com/ (I mean, in terms of tone, not quality--not trying to puff up my self-submission or anything).

I think John is a great character. He's one of my favourites in terms of how messed up he is. I do think he made huge mistakes raising the kids, but he raised sons I love watching week after week, season after season (J2 say they'll do season 10 if CW lets them). I think he had all the best intentions, but was rabidly monomaniacal in a very Batmanish way--he just didn't have to outsource orphans. He grew his own.

So while I think he wasn't as demonstrative as is healthy, and he put more on Dean's shoulders than any five year old should bear, never mind his unrealistic demands of Sam's entire life, he did think he was doing it for them, and for his wife. He never didn't think that.

All these stories where he's blind drunk and neglecting and savagely beating his kids and wrapping his car around poles--fuck that noise. That guy have never been onscreen. Why are so many writers defaulting to him on paper? It feels like even more of a trend than a year ago, and I don't like it. I want a little happy place, so I'm going to try and make it.

Stories with Awesome!John, GIFsets, screencaps, art, whatever celebrations of John (either incarnation) are eagerly welcomed.

And if you know people who'd either contribute or consume, please spread the word. I don't know how that works.

Good idea.

Vaguely relatedly, those commercials for JDM's new movie totally read to me like some kind of genderswap fic brought to life film.

It does seem that, in any fandom where there's canonical abuse and abandonment, there's a subset of fandom determined to make it worse, not that I know these particular characters...

Obviously I'm okay with living in an alternate reality, because hey! I ship slash. But given that, some of the decisions people make...I'm all dude--I'm detached from canon and I can't get where you are. What show are you tuning into?

Sam and Dean don't need further woobification. They have a father that made some pretty bad decisions.

But he didn't just die in a deal to save his son's life, he crawled out of hell and saved it again after resisting a hundred odd years of torture.

So why do so many writers have him a drunk lush with a history of DUIs and leaving his kids without enough food to eat and only dying of cirrhosis if drunk driving doesn't get him first?

Good lord, people. What are you satisfying with your interpretation/alteration? I can't work it out.

I used to wonder that with Tim Bayliss stories, ita. Because it's canon that his Uncle George abused him sexually, and you could probably make the argument that he didn't have the warmest parents in the world, but some of the stuff that came from the knowledge...reads a little sick to me.

I saw Peter Wingfield today.

I'm temping at UVM- College of Medicine and he's currently a 2nd year med student. I was walking back to my office and passed through this lounge area((not really a lounge area, it's an open area with couches) and he was sitting on a couch, looked like he might be waiting for someone.

He's gone back to med school? That's the best thing EVER.

Yeah - here's a good article by a local paper [link]

I adore that he's going to med school. I mean, he's been characters I love but he's also this actual person and, hey, go follow your dream and have a real life. I am totally in support of that.

I think John is a great character. He's one of my favourites in terms of how messed up he is.

I thought, "like Batman!"

I think he had all the best intentions, but was rabidly monomaniacal in a very Batmanish way--he just didn't have to outsource orphans. He grew his own.

And then you mentioned it.

He made a lot of mistakes. A lot of them. But I don't see him as an overall bad guy. I think he was flawed as a father, sure. They weren't exactly the Brady's. But I still like the character of John and think he falls way further on the side of good.

Ha! There actually happened to be a vid in Nearly New show during Vividcon that was dedicated to Peter Wingfield, set to Live and Let Die: [link]

Not deep, but enjoyable nonetheless. And good on him that he's pursuing his other dreams.