Yes, exactly! You have hit upon what the flying/Atlantis thing is for me. Definitely.

Actually, though I don't mind more variety in John than you do (or the flying/Atlantis thing toned down, though, obvs, the family of choice aspect of it (which is part of the Atlantis side) is key for me), you've totally hit things on the head with regard to the way I look at him. The flying/Atlantis dichotomy makes so much sense - and the more well-adjusted John needing to be dorkier, too.

I have to say that as much as I really love Atlantis-as-a-character fics, I don't see Atlantis as necessary in my fic (reading or writing) and tend to think of Atlantis (in AUs) as the thing that threads them together (in cesare's Foster bakery AU, it's the bakery; in my Impromptu 'verse, it's the music), and not necessarily a character that's instantly recognizable. I think, though, that I'll start looking at that closer. I was rereading Pru's Boom Boom Room the other day, and the most notable thing to me was that John and Rodney were the only Lanteans there (and there was absolutely nothing representative of Atlantis, in either of our ways of thinking of it). I know some people like that. I'm more of the mind that I want to populate places with the characters and see what happens; soleta gets bothered by that because she can't imagine such various people ending up in the same place if it's not Atlantis. *shrug* This stuff is endlessly fascinating for me.