J2 - Fanlore

J2 is the term used to describe the RPS fandom that revolves around the relationship between actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, stars of the CW television show Supernatural. It is also referred to as J Squared and as Padackles. It's the biggest part of the larger CWRPS fandom.

Popularity

There are many theories as to why J2 is such a popular RPS pairing. One theory is that J2 is attractive to fans who like Supernatural and the chemistry between its two stars, but who are not interested in reading or writing fic that centers on an incestuous relationship. Another possibility is that the overall tone of the canon in Supernatural lends itself to darkfic rather than lighter themed or romantic stories.^[1]

History and Structure of the Fandom

J2 became integrated into Supernatural fandom as a whole very early on.

In December 2006, A combination SPN/J2 Big Bang challenge community was founded at spn_j2_bigbang.

When the masterlist of SPN/J2 Big Bang stories for 2007 were posted at spn_j2_bigbang. ^[2], twenty Jared/Jensen stories (and one Jared&Jensen gen story) were produced by the challenge, as well as a comparable number of SPN stories in various genres. AUs were popular, with Jared and Jensen cast as everything from porn stars to camp counselors.

The next year, in 2008, there were over fifty Jared/Jensen stories. Again, AUs were popular, and Jared and Jensen were cast in various stories as doctors, lawyers, FBI agents, US Marshals, fashion designers, punk rockers, figure skaters and/or professional bullriders. ^[3]

For 2009, over 130 stories including the Jared/Jensen pairing were listed in the SPN/J2 Big Bang masterlist, with AUs once again enjoying significant popularity.^[4] The 2009 year saw the rules changed to allow stories with either Jared or Jensen paired with someone else. There were four stories posted without Jared/Jensen as a listed pairing.

Many rec sites like Crack Impala, Sawed-off Recs, and discussion sites like SPN Roundtable include J2, CWRPS and Supernatural works.

At one point Jared and Jensen moved into a house together [citation needed]

Fanfiction

While some people may argue that all RPF fanfic is AU, most J2 fans refer to stories where Jared and Jensen live something akin to their actual lives as actors as canon stories, and reserve the AU label for stories where they live other, sometimes wildly different, versions of their canon reality. J2 fandom can truly be considered to have "a Jared and a Jensen for every occasion". ^[5]

Vids

Because Jared and Jensen make frequent appearances at conventions, and appear in DVD extras for Supernatural, there is video source beyond the show itself that allows for the creation of RPF vids.

Fandom on Livejournal

Many J2 themed fanworks can be found at CWRPS communities

padacklesrps -- Created November 21, 2005. 7353 entries, 2525 members and 2306 watchers as of Nov. 18, 2008. Moderated by chelseab.

jsquared_rps -- Created June 3, 2008. 399 entries, 748 members and 824 watchers as of Nov. 18, 2008. Moderated by affectingly, benitle, keepaofthecheez, and raynedanser.

SPN J2 Xmas -- Created November 06, 2008. A secret santa gift exchange that runs yearly and features SPN FPF and RPF featuring Jared and/or Jensen.

Fanzines

• Friends and Lovers (J2 zine)
• Dark of the Moon J2 zine) (Bound and Determined Press/Griffin Song Press)

References

1. ↑ Annihilating love and heterosexuality without women: Romance, generic difference, and queer politics in Supernatural fan fiction by, Monica Flegel and Jenny Roth in TWC Vol 4 (2010), accessed March 23, 2010.
2. ↑ Wendy. 2007 Big Bang Masterlist Posted July 16 2007. Accessed November 18 2008.
3. ↑ Wendy. 2008 Big Bang Masterlist Posted August 4 2008. Accessed November 18 2008.
4. ↑ thehighwaywoman. 2009 Big Bang Masterlist Posted 17 August 2009. Accessed 15 October 2009.
5. ↑ lexilla's Themed J2 AU Fic Recs, accessed March 23, 2010.