#john special interest

[shallowseeker]

The ghostly specter of John's hopes and dreams in SPN 1x01:

Above Baby Sam's crib, we see John's symbolic hopes and dreams. The crib mobile is filled with the baseball items John adores.

Baseball is a consistent special interest of John's, from the djinn dream where he plays softball to his #SPNwin dream of becoming a minor league catcher.

In SPNwin, he's not yet the monstrous inverse of his "dreamer" self. He's still the thing that attracted Mary to him: the soldier who hasn't lost his ability to dream. He keeps believing, even when Mary, a child-raised-soldier, feels like she can't muster up the strength to. Aside// Mary is like Dean this way, with lines like: "it only ends one way... bloody." On the other hand, John doesn't start there. It takes lying, coercion, and manipulation to get John's world to shrink, for his path[s] to narrow to hunting.

Hope is "what" John is (until, of course, he isn't):

MARY: I don't know. He's sweet, kind. Even after the war, after everything, he still believes in happily ever after, you know? Supernatural, 4x13 In the Beginning

// Until Mary died, it seems his dreams were difficult to extinguish. His primary mode of being was hopefulness:

Note: As Mary and John discuss their dreams, we see behind Mary some Jack Kline types of motifs, "The Future," crowing roosters, sunflowers, and a rainbow.

JOHN: See, I, I wanted to be a catcher for the Kansas City Athletics. MARY (fatalistic) : My parents never let me dream like that. Being a kid who killed monsters was my only option.

JOHN (wistful): You know, when I was a kid, I, uhm... I made this list of all of these places I was gonna go to look for my dad. Kept it for years, crossing off destinations, adding more. Enough time goes by... all you see is a list, you know? MARY (angry): Are you saying I should stop looking for my dad? JOHN: I'm saying that once you find him and leave hunting for good, you're gonna need a new list. The Winchesters, 1x03 You're Lost, Little Girl

We're familiar with the Winchester gun, but in the 20s Winchester (yes, the same gun brand: Winchester Rifles and Firearms Co) made a short run of baseball gear, known specifically for its top-of-the-line catcher's gear. It was outlasted by brands by Rawlings, Wilson, and Spalding.

Vintage Winchester catcher gear goes for ~$700 on eBay.

//

Here, John, the ever-hopeful soldier who holds onto his dreams will lose those dreams. The dreams will go up in smoke, and he emerges from the flames like a demon possessed.

In the words of Lady Toni Bevell (12x21): "A mad slowly going mad, searching for revenge."

[arthur-lesters-spinal-cord]

Whoa thats whats the podcast is called!!

[lunafresas]

so. is anyone out there still jopping (watching the terror 2018)

[strawberrylemongrass]

fuck it!!! im combining my special intrests!! The 141 as dogs!!!

Price - Airedale Terrier

just look at the mustaches and tell me you don't see it!

Very smart dog, smart enough to be a stubborn asshole. They can be aggressive to strangers and destructive, but are loyal to and protective of their family. They look so sweet and cuddly but can also be crazy as shit, just like Peepaw! Also, I cannot reiterate enough, look at the mustache.

Ghost - American Pitbull Terrier

This one felt the most obvious,, but whatever, it fits him

Pitbulls aren't born mean and aggressive, that's something they have to be taught. But they can be gentle, playful dogs when properly treated. They are smart and confident, very loyal, but can just as easily be stubborn. They look scary and can seem mean, but they are sweethearts deep down.

Gaz - English Fox Hound

guess what, pretty boy gets a pretty dog, who's shocked?

These dogs are freakishly smart, very independent, and fucking stubborn! They tend to not like strangers, but with people they like, they are so protective and loyal. They also yap. Like... a lot. I don't know enough about Gaz, but I feel like these dogs are a good match.

Soap - Border Collie

Aughh my husbant...

Smart but silly and energetic enough that it can be a little hard to see that. They can be destructive when bored and are more than happy to speak their minds. Super sweet with the people they like and are loyal as all hell. Also, look at the eyes! Look at the face! You can't tell me that this isn't Soap!

[dearsholmes]

[curlymantis]

Chat I’m so cooked. Video on the right was taken in 2020, started collecting stuff in 2018. Video on the left taken a couple weeks ago.

[doctorwhommm]

adding doctor who to the long tradition of media with absolutely shockingly bad beatles wigs

[good-to-drive]

how much of john and paul's relationship would you say was "two deeply traumatized guys who became codependent on each other" vs genuine/healthy chemistry, respect, and love for one another?

This is a really good question, and something I've definitely thought about a lot! Obviously it's difficult to know precisely what's in a person's heart, but I do think that -- while they certainly loved each other very much -- the intensity of their relationship also had a lot to do with mutual pain and need.

I've talked about this a little bit before, but I think Paul's need for external validation may have dovetailed nicely with John's need to put a relationship/person on a pedestal. Being "chosen" by John could have theoretically provided Paul with a very powerful feeling of worthiness and that might partially explain the sheer intensity of their relationship. When the feelings between you represent something larger, believing in the importance and uniqueness of your relationship and leaning into the intensity/power of those feelings can become almost obsessive.

There's also this performance piece to being inside of that kind of bond, like you really, deeply need to perform the specialness of it to other people -- to self-soothe by witnessing other people witnessing how close and powerful and important your relationship is. Not just that it's the most important relationship in your life, but that it's the most important relationship, period. And I feel one of the most interesting things about Paul and John is just how many people they could perform the specialness of their relationship to, and how widespread and meaningful the understanding of that specialness became. To the point where it's basically a being unto itself.

(That sort of thing is also more effective when you're one of the most successful creative partnerships of all time).

But obviously they also genuinely liked and loved each other very much, and the degree to which their relationship was about mutual pain/soothing and the degree to which it was about sincere, healthy affection is basically impossible to say. And what's probably even harder to say is the degree to which the widespread understanding of the specialness of that relationship is about their mutual pain/soothing or their actual underlying love and affection.

(There's also some larger questions here about whether performative love is still a kind of love, which for some people I think it absolutely can be, and whether loving someone from a place of pain isn't still love as well.)

I think it's very tempting to say "John switched his hyperidealized connection to Yoko so easily, it must mean his bond with Paul was never about Paul as a person but just about using him as a prop in a narrative that brought them comfort." But those two things are not mutually exclusive, and I think sometimes the hardest thing about these kinds of intense, hyperidealized bonds is looking back on them after they explode and not assuming that if they weren't perfect, peerless, eternal, or whatever else you used to tell yourself, then they weren't anything at all.

That assessment is in some ways an extension of the obsessive specialness that you're trying to discard. It ignores the genuine affection that existed between them, which wasn't peerless or perfect or eternal, but it absolutely was real. It was of value. And in a way that's even harder to accept. But it does both of them a disservice to only reckon with what their relationship wasn't. Rather, I think it's equally difficult and equally important to reckon with what their relationship was.

[vixenihy]

i know like 3 other people have said this already, but whenever i listen to class of 2013 i think of jfk and it genuinely makes me so sad to the point of it being physically painful

[atlas-dr0wned]

when i was a kid i used to think i really understood beatlemania and why everyone was so crazy about them, but it turns out i’m just autistic

[goat-among-cycads]

Happy 4/13, homestucks!!!

[littleguy-pi]

God sorry I’m gonna be mentally ill for a second. I love the Beechey Island mummies so much they are such exquisite mummies. They are persevered soooo beautifully. Like look at Torrington’s hands and feet

They look perfect. Hartnells hands too

How magical it is that we can see their faces and know their names. To know the shapes of their noses and look in their eyes.

My artistic rendition of a recently deceased John Torrington in his coffin. He died at 19 years old of pneumonia after being sick from tuberculosis. He was only around 85 pounds at the time of his death

[anthemsofsuccess]

pretty sure fate decided to kill off jfk bc if he’d lived any longer then he probably would have met the beatles and god knows i wouldn’t have been able to handle them being in the same photo

(also if you’re wondering if they would have actually met jfk bc they didn’t meet johnson i’d still say yes bc why tf would johnson’s old wrinkly ass wanna meet them bro was like 60 pls)

[clementine-thedestroyer]

Finally made my decisions on which owl each of the 141 are!! Because yes, I’m still thinking about this!! I’ve been drawing this idea a bit too, mostly in the form of a hybrid AU because since before I can remember, I’ve always just loved the idea of humans with wings- so why not do a bit of well needed drawing practice to bring it to life?

John - Great Horned Owl

Why: Even from when I first started thinking of all this, I always knew Price would be a Horned Owl- mostly because I thought the ear tufts would look cute on him and Great Horned owls look eternally grumpy (just like our favorite captain), but also because to me, a Great Horned Owl is kind of the most iconic and recognizable species of owl. They’re almost like the kings of the owl world and they’re beautiful creatures (big ones too!). I felt that just fit really well for Price. It’s hard to describe but I just see the resemblance so clearly in my head.

Fun facts (included because I love owls and hopefully you do too): Great Horned Owl can take down and will even eat other large birds of prey like Peregrine Falcons!! Also, they can scream!! Just like barn owls!!

Kyle - Western Barn Owl

Why: So I actually had some trouble with Gaz. A lot of owls could have worked, but I really wanted one that captures how beautiful I find him. I could stare at his face for literal hours, and I think the reason I eventually settled on the Western Barn owl is because (like I mentioned in my earlier owl post) I think barn owls are just gorgeous. Most owls can be described as gorgeous, but barn owls just look so (almost hauntingly) beautiful to me. They look intelligent- they look deadly. What more could you ask for from a bird?

Barn owls both haunt my night mares (my father scared the shit out of me with a mask made to look like one once) and live in my day dreams. What better bird to (hopefully eventually) draw Kyle as.

Fun facts: They scream!!! Look up their calls- it really is like a scream! I believe most owls are able to scream/screech, but I love that it’s the barn owl’s call.

Also!! And this is so interesting, the Native American Newuk tribe believed that if you were a good and brave person, you became a Great Horned Owl when you died, while if you were evil, you became a Barn Owl. Technically this wouldn’t apply to the Western Barn Owl since it’s an old world species, but I still thought it was interesting- plus it talks about Prices owl too! (There’s a lot more Native American tribes that held beliefs about Great Horned Owls, but I struggled to find a consistent reputable source for those so take that with a grain of salt.)

Simon - Barred Owl

Why: Originally, I was considering the Snowy Owl, Boreal Owl, and Ural Owl. Eventually I had actually decided on the Ural owl before, while doing research on another owl I saw a picture of a Barred Owl that immediately struck me. While the Barred and Ural Owls both look relatively similar, the Barred Owl definitely has more ghostly (hehe, get it?) air to it, and I think it’s facial disk is a bit more defined, reminding me a bit of Simon’s mask. While the Barred Owl is a new world bird and the Ural Owl is an old world bird, it didn’t live in the UK so I mean yes… I *have* technically given 2/4 of the 141 American species of owls- but the Ural owl didn’t even live in the UK so it’s fine.

Fun facts: The Barred Owl’s only natural enemy is the Great Horned owl!! Make of that what you will, but personally, as a big fan of that one Ghost x Price dynamic where Price is the only thing bigger and badder than Ghost, I know what I’ll be making of it.

Johnny - Tawny Owl

Why: I mean it has a little brown mohawk. How could I not make this Johnny? These owls are quite adorable and honestly, most of the reason I chose this one was the brown stripe drown its head looking just enough like a mohawk for me to giggle about it.

Fun facts: This guy actually lives in Scotland!! Its range is pretty big and includes almost all of Europe and a bit into the Middle East, but the fact that it can be found in Scotland just makes it an extra perfect choice for Johnny.

If you’re a long time follower, you may vaguely remember how in a post I said that in hybrid AUs, I love when a character is a hybrid of a species that’s native to where they were born/where their family is from. While I do love that idea, I also unfortunately realized most of my favorite owls are American, so Johnny and Kyle are the only ones that idea really comes through with. Simon and Price’s owls are completely American ones.

(Below the cut are my honorable mention + the owl I imagine Laswell as- because this post is already super long)

Laswell - Northern Saw Whet Owl

Why: In addition to being native to North America, this owl’s color reminds me a lot of Laswell’s hair. It’s a small owl, but it’s quite fierce. It’s been known to eat only the heads of its prey if prey is plentiful, and that bit of info reminded me of laswell a bit. She’s so strong and confident- I love her.

Fun facts: There’s Native American beliefs about Saw Whet Owls too!! They’re super interesting and there’s quite a few!

Honorable mention:

Laughing Owl

The laughing owl is an adorable owl which apparently chased its prey on foot, rather than flying after it- which sounds really cute. The owl could only be found in New Zealand and unfortunately has been extinct for probably about 100 years, with its extinction being caused when European settlers arrived on the island. Really, this honorable mention section was just an excuse to tell you about them.

(Most of my info from this was gathered by browsing owlpages.com - which is a lovely website you should totally check out if you like owls!!)

[romeoisalesbian]

so. sherlock and co has already been adapting stories from after sherlock returns from the dead, in the timeline of publication of original stories. which makes me realize the possibility that the show might END somewhere around the final problem (or they will do some sort of seasonal divide, perhaps).

but my goodness imagine getting through all other 60 or so (depending on what, exactly, they decide to go into) stories, at least over 100 episodes at that point, and realizing the final problem is all that's left to adapt. I don't have many thoughts about this podcast, beyond casually enjoying it as a longtime fan of the original Holmes and Watson stories, but DAMN it would hit me hard if they had some sort of ending with Holmes' death.

I would actually be really into the show seeming completely done with the final problem and then, perhaps a few months or a year later, getting some sort of epilogue or resolution focusing on Holmes' return. I don't exactly think this will happen, but damn am I curious about if, when, and how they will adapt Sherlock's death.

on another note, I also am deeply curious about how their moriarty will turn out, but that is neither here nor there

[lostburkes]

Lost is being put on Netflix in the US soon and everyone on twitter is talking about a renaissance. How we feeling about this besties??