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It's a Terrible Life
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | Sandover!verse, 4x17verse, Terrible Life 'verse |
| Related tropes/genres | Alternative Universe, Canon AU |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
It's a Terrible Life is episode 4x17 of Supernatural, and a canon alternative reality created by the angel Zachariah. The most prominent element of this alternative reality is that Sam and Dean are not brothers, they are Dean Smith and Sam Wesson, and they both work in a mundane setting, an office, where Sam works in IT and Dean is a junior executive.
This universe can be attractive to fans, because in it the Winchesters are not brothers, thus avoiding any issues with wincest, Sam/Dean are the most popular pairing for this AU, and are often tagged as Dean Smith/Sam Wesson to differentiate them from the regular pairing. Sam and Dean are the only two regular characters, aside from Zachariah, who are shown in this universe, but it is not unusual for fans to include other canon characters, or original characters, in their fanworks.
Example Fanworks
Fanart
- Dean and Sam by SketchYu
- it begins when you notice by Yumezaka
- It's ( not really ) a terrible life by Bluekid1995
- It's a Terrible Life, Archived version by angeloftuesdayy
Fanfiction
- How to Wear Polka Dots by homo_pink
- The truncated love story of Smith and Wesson by glovered
- The Colts and the Haunting of the Port Hadley Lighthouse by halfhardtorock
- all those lovely things by museaway, an example of Dean/Cas fic in this setting
- smith&wesson comment fic meme at smithwesson-spn
Graphics and Gif Sets
- Favorite AU version Smith and Wesson, 4.17, Archived version gif set by hallowedbecastiel
Meta
- been thinking about how spn literally gave us the “what if sam and dean weren’t related” scenario, Archived version by various tumblr users
Resources
- Episode: s04e17 It's a Terrible Life, Alternate Universe - It's a Terrible Life, Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc. (Supernatural) and Dean Smith/Sam Wesson tags at Archive of Our Own
- 4.17 It's a Terrible Life at Supernatural Wiki
- smithwesson-spn (LiveJournal community, that was dedicated to this universe and the Smith/Wesson pairing)