SPN Podfic Recs - part 9 - Who's That Riding? John the Revelator
Cross-posted from spnroundtable, where I'm a guest recs person for the month.
Supernatural is a show that runs on mysteries, the slow reveal that turns our perceptions on their heads. This is very much true of the character of John Winchester, who casts a huge shadow over the show and his sons, considering how little screen time he's had. He's been a character who invites speculation, and a lot of it unflattering, due to the scattered hints we get early on. Obsessed and driven and raging in grief, we knew all that. But there's a lot more we don't know, and only find out by tiny degrees. What tells us more about his character, the knock-down, drag-out fights between him and Sam, or the split-second, snap-to-it obedience of good soldier Dean?
There are fic writers who've found more evidence of abusiveness in Dean's reactions to him than in Sam's, and there are some who paint him as an unremitting bastard, sometimes an alcoholic, sometimes a scarred Vietnam vet. In S4's "In the Beginning," we finally have the chance to meet John on his return from active duty, and discover that he's ... well ... kinda sweet. It's Mary who's the badass, the woman raised to hunting, though she wants to get out. John, it seems pretty clear, has been shielded from her world until the night Mary dies, and stumbles his way to the life his wife had left behind without even realizing it. The revelations are still continuing for the boys and the viewers. Fanfic views of John are getting Jossed or reinforced left and right.
I have a big love for flawed characters, and John is that, even if you take to the most flattering view of him. He's the perfect representation of the Philip Larkin poem, "This Be the Verse": "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do."
My favorite fanfic John is the one who was a good dad, but still fucked up his kids (and generally knows it). He's more interesting than the monstrous father who is a one-note villain (which is a version of John I've encountered not so much directly as by seeing that kind of fic referenced).
So I thought I'd offer up a post about some of my favorite John podfics, ones that view him sympathetically.
Parental Instincts by dodger_winslow,read by riverbella, Gen, PG-13. Weechesters! 35 minutes.
This fic, which appears in an anthology called "Looking In" (as well as being found on its own), has an outsider's POV of the Winchester family. It's parent-teacher conference night, and John appears with Dean and Sam in tow to meet Dean's second-grade teacher. Mrs. Jessup already has a pretty clear idea of what she thinks of the father of the silent, withdrawn boy in her class, and John has some strong opinions on certain messages she's given his son. But neither one of them meets the other's expectations, and John is surprisingly forthcoming about why he's made the choices he has in raising Dean. It's an interesting perspective on John and the three of them as family, given a graceful, warm reading by riverbella.
Open Your Eyes also by dodger_winslow, Gen, PG-13 (though according to MPAA rules, language alone would make it an instant R), H/C, Preseries. 1 hour and 15 minutes. Read by Issaro/fanfic_read_by. Dean, John.
I've recced this podfic before, in a post on hurt!Dean fics, but since I haven't posted that one over here yet, I'm going to mention it again. This is going to be one of those fics I come back to again and again, because I love the John and Dean relationship here, and I love the urgency conveyed in both the text and in Issaro's reading, with the repetitive refrain of "Open your eyes, Dean." John and Dean are out on a hunt while Sam's away at Stanford, and Dean's injured. Neither of them realizes how bad it is right away, as Dean tries manfully to "rub a little dirt on it" and be his father's good soldier. But it's bad, and when John realizes that, we see the soldier he must have been in Vietnam and the father he is now as he does what's necessary -- even lie through his teeth -- to save his boy. What makes this such a terrific John fic is the aftermath, when he can finally have his private reaction.
Of Bastard Saints by nilchance and beanside, read by grrli and embroiderama Mostly gen, Adult, Alternate post-S1 "Devil's Trap." 10 hours. Warnings apply; see warnings at text (linked from MP3 link given here).
This one took me through a whole week of commuting, and probably caused me to take that extra trip into the city this weekend so I could hear the final hour. The story opens a few weeks after the accident in "Devil's Trap." Sam's seriously injured, John's permanently maimed, and Dean has been declared dead. Meanwhile, there's an amnesiac who's escaped from the hospital, who has no idea of his identity, but discovers he has some pretty specialized skills....
If SPN canon was far too short on the interaction between John and his sons for your taste, this fic will make you happy. (And sad, and angst-filled, and quite a nervous wreck, too.) Sam and his father do what they do, now without the buffering presence of Dean. They'll undertake a quest together, always one step behind a hunter with a large dose of paranoia. And Dean will face his own dark side and his drive for self-sacrifice, and ultimately the damage done by the damaged man who raised him. We get to see more of John, and share more of his thoughts, than we ever were able to in the series. And hey, there's YED, and he is one creepy bastard here.
I love this story to pieces, but there are a few caveats. There's a lot of variation in sound quality in the individual chapters, and the volume is all over the map, sometimes so low it's hard to hear, and on one chapter, super loud. Be careful if listening over earbuds or headphones -- chapter 34's the one that's much louder than the rest. One chapter was clearly missed in the editing process so there are some repetitions, but that doesn't bother me, and besides, there's a little interjection that made me laugh out loud. (I won't spoil it for you.) My only complaint regarding the reading style is that sometimes grrli goes a bit too fast in the narration to make it easy to follow.
(And hey, does anyone know if there's a sequel to this?)
And It Went Right to My Head by kimonkey7, read by twasadark. Gen, PG-13. 25 minutes.
A briliant John fic in which John never appears; time unspecified, but after his death. Dean steps out for a beer, and the sense memory of the particular kind of bar it is makes him think of his dad. One beer becomes a whole lot of booze, and he comes back to the motel to tell Sammy something he'd never known before. Remember the scene where Dean tells Sam that he carried him out of the burning house, and it's the first time Sam's ever heard that? Remember anytime you've ever heard a family story that you never knew before, some huge event in the family -- possibly one that happened right under your nose when you were a child -- that fascinates (obsesses) you, makes you look at everything again in the light of this new knowledge? That's the kind of power this story has. And twasadark reads an awesome drunk!Dean.
The Knuckles of Skinnybone Tree by hansbekhart Sam/Dean, NC17, 3.5 hours. Warnings apply; see text link at podfic site.
It's been an extremely long time since I heard this one, so I'll give you the author's summary: John Winchester walks the badlands, lost on the Path of the Dead, when he meets two mysterious men: a pair of hunters chasing the same ghost that he is, who tell him that he's wound up more than twenty years in the future. They promise to get him back to his own time - back to his young children - but refuse to tell him anything about themselves. The three men find themselves entangled with the warring spirits of the land, but John is pursued by nightmares and caught up between the two hunters, who are keeping secrets that John doesn't understand.
A different insight into John Winchester here, early in his hunting career, the father of two small boys. John's very much a man of 20 years ago, and some of his attitudes reflect that. I had some points where it was difficult to suspend disbelief (some actions that did not seem quite in character), but I found the fic well worth the listen. Dodificus is a good reader, and adds some production elements -- your mileage may vary on whether you like music and the occasional sound effects or have difficulty with them; be aware that they are there.
And one last fic, though it's not full of insights regarding John Winchester -- it's not meant to be. It's a helluva lot of fun.
Accidents Will Happen by holli, read by juice817. Gen, PG. 30 minutes. Another fic with an outsider POV. I'll forego any spoilers, but this is hilarious. juice817 makes the most of the humor. (The reading gusts up to 45 mph at times, but it's obviously a choice that reflect the material. Even with speed it's clear, and totally works with the narrative voice, a gothy teen girl, and it adds to the humor.)
As always, recs for additional John-centric podfics are extremely welcome.
Supernatural is a show that runs on mysteries, the slow reveal that turns our perceptions on their heads. This is very much true of the character of John Winchester, who casts a huge shadow over the show and his sons, considering how little screen time he's had. He's been a character who invites speculation, and a lot of it unflattering, due to the scattered hints we get early on. Obsessed and driven and raging in grief, we knew all that. But there's a lot more we don't know, and only find out by tiny degrees. What tells us more about his character, the knock-down, drag-out fights between him and Sam, or the split-second, snap-to-it obedience of good soldier Dean?
There are fic writers who've found more evidence of abusiveness in Dean's reactions to him than in Sam's, and there are some who paint him as an unremitting bastard, sometimes an alcoholic, sometimes a scarred Vietnam vet. In S4's "In the Beginning," we finally have the chance to meet John on his return from active duty, and discover that he's ... well ... kinda sweet. It's Mary who's the badass, the woman raised to hunting, though she wants to get out. John, it seems pretty clear, has been shielded from her world until the night Mary dies, and stumbles his way to the life his wife had left behind without even realizing it. The revelations are still continuing for the boys and the viewers. Fanfic views of John are getting Jossed or reinforced left and right.
I have a big love for flawed characters, and John is that, even if you take to the most flattering view of him. He's the perfect representation of the Philip Larkin poem, "This Be the Verse": "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do."
My favorite fanfic John is the one who was a good dad, but still fucked up his kids (and generally knows it). He's more interesting than the monstrous father who is a one-note villain (which is a version of John I've encountered not so much directly as by seeing that kind of fic referenced).
So I thought I'd offer up a post about some of my favorite John podfics, ones that view him sympathetically.
Parental Instincts by dodger_winslow,read by riverbella, Gen, PG-13. Weechesters! 35 minutes.
This fic, which appears in an anthology called "Looking In" (as well as being found on its own), has an outsider's POV of the Winchester family. It's parent-teacher conference night, and John appears with Dean and Sam in tow to meet Dean's second-grade teacher. Mrs. Jessup already has a pretty clear idea of what she thinks of the father of the silent, withdrawn boy in her class, and John has some strong opinions on certain messages she's given his son. But neither one of them meets the other's expectations, and John is surprisingly forthcoming about why he's made the choices he has in raising Dean. It's an interesting perspective on John and the three of them as family, given a graceful, warm reading by riverbella.
Open Your Eyes also by dodger_winslow, Gen, PG-13 (though according to MPAA rules, language alone would make it an instant R), H/C, Preseries. 1 hour and 15 minutes. Read by Issaro/fanfic_read_by. Dean, John.
I've recced this podfic before, in a post on hurt!Dean fics, but since I haven't posted that one over here yet, I'm going to mention it again. This is going to be one of those fics I come back to again and again, because I love the John and Dean relationship here, and I love the urgency conveyed in both the text and in Issaro's reading, with the repetitive refrain of "Open your eyes, Dean." John and Dean are out on a hunt while Sam's away at Stanford, and Dean's injured. Neither of them realizes how bad it is right away, as Dean tries manfully to "rub a little dirt on it" and be his father's good soldier. But it's bad, and when John realizes that, we see the soldier he must have been in Vietnam and the father he is now as he does what's necessary -- even lie through his teeth -- to save his boy. What makes this such a terrific John fic is the aftermath, when he can finally have his private reaction.
Of Bastard Saints by nilchance and beanside, read by grrli and embroiderama Mostly gen, Adult, Alternate post-S1 "Devil's Trap." 10 hours. Warnings apply; see warnings at text (linked from MP3 link given here).
This one took me through a whole week of commuting, and probably caused me to take that extra trip into the city this weekend so I could hear the final hour. The story opens a few weeks after the accident in "Devil's Trap." Sam's seriously injured, John's permanently maimed, and Dean has been declared dead. Meanwhile, there's an amnesiac who's escaped from the hospital, who has no idea of his identity, but discovers he has some pretty specialized skills....
If SPN canon was far too short on the interaction between John and his sons for your taste, this fic will make you happy. (And sad, and angst-filled, and quite a nervous wreck, too.) Sam and his father do what they do, now without the buffering presence of Dean. They'll undertake a quest together, always one step behind a hunter with a large dose of paranoia. And Dean will face his own dark side and his drive for self-sacrifice, and ultimately the damage done by the damaged man who raised him. We get to see more of John, and share more of his thoughts, than we ever were able to in the series. And hey, there's YED, and he is one creepy bastard here.
I love this story to pieces, but there are a few caveats. There's a lot of variation in sound quality in the individual chapters, and the volume is all over the map, sometimes so low it's hard to hear, and on one chapter, super loud. Be careful if listening over earbuds or headphones -- chapter 34's the one that's much louder than the rest. One chapter was clearly missed in the editing process so there are some repetitions, but that doesn't bother me, and besides, there's a little interjection that made me laugh out loud. (I won't spoil it for you.) My only complaint regarding the reading style is that sometimes grrli goes a bit too fast in the narration to make it easy to follow.
(And hey, does anyone know if there's a sequel to this?)
And It Went Right to My Head by kimonkey7, read by twasadark. Gen, PG-13. 25 minutes.
A briliant John fic in which John never appears; time unspecified, but after his death. Dean steps out for a beer, and the sense memory of the particular kind of bar it is makes him think of his dad. One beer becomes a whole lot of booze, and he comes back to the motel to tell Sammy something he'd never known before. Remember the scene where Dean tells Sam that he carried him out of the burning house, and it's the first time Sam's ever heard that? Remember anytime you've ever heard a family story that you never knew before, some huge event in the family -- possibly one that happened right under your nose when you were a child -- that fascinates (obsesses) you, makes you look at everything again in the light of this new knowledge? That's the kind of power this story has. And twasadark reads an awesome drunk!Dean.
The Knuckles of Skinnybone Tree by hansbekhart Sam/Dean, NC17, 3.5 hours. Warnings apply; see text link at podfic site.
It's been an extremely long time since I heard this one, so I'll give you the author's summary: John Winchester walks the badlands, lost on the Path of the Dead, when he meets two mysterious men: a pair of hunters chasing the same ghost that he is, who tell him that he's wound up more than twenty years in the future. They promise to get him back to his own time - back to his young children - but refuse to tell him anything about themselves. The three men find themselves entangled with the warring spirits of the land, but John is pursued by nightmares and caught up between the two hunters, who are keeping secrets that John doesn't understand.
A different insight into John Winchester here, early in his hunting career, the father of two small boys. John's very much a man of 20 years ago, and some of his attitudes reflect that. I had some points where it was difficult to suspend disbelief (some actions that did not seem quite in character), but I found the fic well worth the listen. Dodificus is a good reader, and adds some production elements -- your mileage may vary on whether you like music and the occasional sound effects or have difficulty with them; be aware that they are there.
And one last fic, though it's not full of insights regarding John Winchester -- it's not meant to be. It's a helluva lot of fun.
Accidents Will Happen by holli, read by juice817. Gen, PG. 30 minutes. Another fic with an outsider POV. I'll forego any spoilers, but this is hilarious. juice817 makes the most of the humor. (The reading gusts up to 45 mph at times, but it's obviously a choice that reflect the material. Even with speed it's clear, and totally works with the narrative voice, a gothy teen girl, and it adds to the humor.)
As always, recs for additional John-centric podfics are extremely welcome.