Sam/Dean

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Pairing
Pairing: Sam Winchester/Dean Winchester
Alternative name(s): Wincest, Dean/Sam, Weecest (if the incest happens while they are underage)
Gender category: M/M, Slash
Fandom: Supernatural
Canonical?: No
Prevalence: High
Archives:
Other:
Sam and Dean: screenshot from the television series
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wincest themed LJ icon, design by lostt1

Sam/Dean is the original OTP in Supernatural fandom. It is one of the most popular pairings within Supernatural fandom. Sam and Dean are brothers, which makes the pairing incest, or "Wincest", as many of the fans like to call it.

Fandom

Ship Appeal

example of a screencap supplied by a Wincest fan, showcasing the intense emotional and physical connection between the brothers
You know Sam and Dean Winchester are psychotically, irrationally, erotically codependent on each other, right?canon quote by the angel Zachariah in the episode Point of No Return

The main appeal of the Sam/Dean pairing is the incredibly intense, chaotic, consuming and emotional connection and indescribable love between Sam and Dean as depicted on the show itself. (They are each other's world, would die for each other and actually do so; then they come back because you don't leave your brother behind!). The relationship between the two brothers is the emotional center of the show; showrunner Sera Gamble has referred to Supernatural as “The Epic Love Story of Sam and Dean”.[2] Some fans are drawn to the idea of Sam/Dean as tragic romance and have even argued that Sam/Dean are the M/M version of Romeo/Juliet.[3] (It also doesn't hurt that both characters are played by attractive young men.)

In response to a 2007 meta post by a non-Wincest shipper, a few fans explained that while the incest was a kink for some Wincest shippers, for others, the fact that Sam and Dean were brothers was not a factor in their interest.

On the show, there have been many references about Wincest, including many outsiders thinking they are a gay couple to the activities in which Sam/Dean engage in having romantic undertones (chick flick moments, emotional bonding, star-gazing together), to being declared as metaphysical soul mates bonded for life that also share Heaven together. Many fans also feel that Sam/Dean's love for each other is much more then that of a brotherly, platonic or friendship love and that their connection and bond is more along the lines of a romantic love. This is because Sam/Dean's love for each other has been seen to be extremely emotional, intense, passionate, all encompassing, highly co-dependent and consuming.

History

Sam and Dean: Original manip by nyaubaby

The first episode aired on September 13, 2005[4], and Sam/Dean slash kicked off immediately. The Supernatural slash community sn_slash (Supernatural Slash - For all your brotherly needs) was founded the very next day and the first story posted was a short 350-word snippet called "Reunion" by janedavitt.[5] Other stories that implied incest such as "Burdens In The Dark" by wistful_fever (16th September)[6] soon followed.

Common Tropes in Fanworks

  • Incest: Sam/Dean fic ranges from deeply angsty and intense on the part of one or both brothers about their relationship being incestuous and thus "wrong", to cheerfully accepting with romantic fluff (with their on-the-road hunter childhood, they were raised different from other kids anyway, so what's one more thing?) of the incest factor.
  • Pre-Series or Wee!cest: a focus on their relationship pre-canon, often showing them having a romantic relationship, sometimes with them breaking things off when Sam goes to college, these stories, especially if they contain sexual elements, are called wee!cest
  • Raised Apart: A subgenre of Sam/Dean fic involves the raised-apart trope, where the brothers were separated when Sam was very young, and on meeting as adults without knowing who the other is, are intensely attracted to each other.
  • RPS: Because some Supernatural slash fans don't want to write, draw, or vid incestuous pairings, there is also a J2 or Jared/Jensen fandom within SPN based on the two actors rather than the two characters. J2 is a highly popular pairing within RPS fiction and within the SPN fandom. This is why Supernatural is sometimes called the fandom where RPS has the moral high ground.
  • Smith & Wesson: focusing on the alternative reality in the episode It's a Terrible Life, where the boys were named Smith and Wesson, this universe can be attractive to fans because in it the Winchesters are not brothers, thus avoid the incest issue

Challenges

Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

See also Category: Supernatural Doujinshi

Vids

Zines

See also Category:Supernatural Zines

Additional Art Gallery

Further Reading/Meta

Archives and Links

References

  1. ↑ From the Sam/Dean essay by slytherinblack at Ship Manifesto
  2. ↑ Super Women: Supernatural's Executive Story Editor Sera Gamble at Sequential Tart, 01 December 2006.
  3. ↑ For example, the TV Tropes page on Dean contains several references to Romeo & Juliet. His relationship with Sam is basically Romeo and Juliet on steroids. When it comes to Dean's devotion to Sam, love doesn't just make him crazy, it makes Dean extremely co-dependent, depressed, self-destructive, and suicidal.
  4. ↑ epguides.com/Supernatural
  5. ↑ janedavitt. Reunion, 14 September 2005. (Accessed 02 March 2010)
  6. ↑ wistful_fever. Burdens In The Dark, 16 September 2005. (Accessed 02 March 2010)
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