Yes, to all of the above! The fact that he is a non-typical father figure in his construction - a desperado that still remains a parent (as opposed to leaving the nurturing to the wife-figure while he goes off and kicks ass with nothing to lose) is really the key thing that makes me love John, and love to write him.

And YES to and we know what kind of man he must be, because we see the result of his parenting in his sons. I always turn back to that whenever people bash John, because seriously, even if Dean has a low self esteem, both he and Sam are pretty damn awesome considering the structure of their childhood. Clearly John was doing SOMETHING right. It bugs me so much when people talk about how much they love Sam & Dean, and yet refuse to respect John. Dudes, how do you think they GOT so loveable???

I'm glad you enjoyed the commentary :D It was fun to write. I'm surprised at what I remember!