about Supernatural fanfic...

[ratcreature]

I'm not feeling particularly fannish about Supernatural, but I have watched most episodes, thus while I was bored I looked around for Supernatural fanfic to read. I was mostly interested in gen, and while of course I knew that there's Sam/Dean slash I was actually surprised how common it is, from my first impressions even more widespread than gen (though I could be wrong about that). And I just don't get it. Personally I just have a hard time seeing Sam/Dean slash.

It's not that I'm particularly squicked by sibling incest, but the story has to somehow work harder to make that kind of thing work than other pairings. Not only because it has to make me buy that they would act on a sexual attraction despite incest taboos, that is similar in a way to other "relationship obstacles" in romance stories, but because it has to make me buy that there would be attraction in the first place. With most pairings I can buy that the author simply has a character feel attraction, inappropriate or not, and then the story goes from there, but for me (and I suspect most people) thinking about close family members with whom you grew up with, like your own siblings or parents and sex together is, well, sort of icky. Not just incestuous sex, but even the fact that your sibling or parent has sex with anyone, that's the kind of thing you don't want to contemplate in much detail. At least I don't, and I suspect I'm not alone in that.

I tried reading a couple of Sam/Dean stories, but they seemed to be much like regular slash in the way that it assumes that the reader buys the possibility for attraction between the guys in the first place. I don't quite get what makes this plausible for Sam/Dean shippers just from watching the series, and yet it seems very common. Which leaves me puzzled. I looked whether there was an essay on this pairing at ship_manifesto to provide me with some insight, but there doesn't seem to be one yet. So does anyone know of any Supernatural meta that would explain to me where the Sam/Dean shippers are coming from?

Comments

[cccarioca.livejournal.com]

Not all siblings get along. That's true. And the arguments don't mean they don't love each other. Also true. But while my brother and younger sister keep blowing up at each other every so often (though fortunately, no bladed weapons were involved ... so far) yet are two peas in a pod the rest of the time, if they had even the slightest hint of Sam/Dean behavior, I'd be seriously freaking out.

The Sam/Dean relationship goes way beyond sibling arguments. It sounds like it at first, but before you know, this Flowers in the Attic vibe shows up. It's not to say they don't have the sibling thing going on too. But there's a second layer to their relationship that is not sibling-like at all ().

Plus the slash goggles tend to stay perched on my nose like many people do with their reading glasses, so when I watch the show and we occasionally get gems of dialogue like the one in the pilot ...

Dean: Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?
Sam: No, and she's not ever going to know.
Dean: Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy, but sooner or later, you're gonna have to face up to who you really are.
Sam: And who's that?
Dean: One of us!
Sam: No! I'm not like you! This is not going to be my life!

... well, it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

I think the real problem of the fandom is that since the show involves two WB hotties, we got a lot of young HP-style fangirls who want the brocest without any of the build-up. And so they'll merrily write Dean/Sam with all the same psychological finesse they would put into writing Harry/Voldemort/GiantSquid.

Alas, it's a young fandom, so we'll need time until we get enough good fics. I don't tend to reread fics often so I rarely save links to the good one, but I'll try to see what I can find for you.

In the meantime, you might want to check this fic (http://www.livejournal.com/users/cccarioca/33090.html) out if you missed it when I posted it. I think the low Wincest content might be more your speed.

[thete1.livejournal.com]

Dean: Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy, but sooner or later, you're gonna have to face up to who you really are.
Sam: And who's that?
Dean: One of us!
Sam: No! I'm not like you! This is not going to be my life!

... oh Christ. Timmish buttons being pressed... dark!Dick buttons... also pressed...

THIS IS NOT TO SAY YOU WIN.

This is just to say... yeah, okay, *I* get it now.

[cccarioca.livejournal.com]

*shines his nails on his jacket and then blows on them smugly* ^_^

[ficbyzee.livejournal.com]

I think the real problem of the fandom is that since the show involves two WB hotties, we got a lot of young HP-style fangirls who want the brocest without any of the build-up. And so they'll merrily write Dean/Sam with all the same psychological finesse they would put into writing Harry/Voldemort/GiantSquid.

*Yes,* exactly. Lots of fangirls seem to look at Sam/Dean the same way they would look at any other major slash 'ship, and just--no. Ick.