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

[cocombat.livejournal.com]

So...

As to why the Incest in fanfiction *ever*:

Here's one theory:
That it's not just me, but that a lot of slashers actually *like* the fucked up relationship. The one that can't possibly work, and probably also has all kind of dark undertones.
OTP is not necessarily about the healthy relationship or the one that's not going to socially isolate you.
E.g. Smallville's 1st season Lex/Clark?
I mean, maybe not everyone was woobie-ing about how sweet they were together, and some were actually thinking the dynamic was a little fucked.
Billionaire and 15 year old, in a gay male relationship.
Oh yeah. Like that's gonna be accepted.
Not.
And uh. Exact same text for Batman/Any!Robin. With added 'father' dynamic. Lovely.
Mulder/Krycek, again *not* healthy.
Not to mention, Te has led me down a rabbit-hole with Superman/Superboy & Superman/Tim, that just has me quivering in a corner with the fear. I mean, seeing the S symbol now? Gonna make me scream like a little kid.

But damn, she makes me like it. Why?
*grasps*

I guess I'm just an angst-whore. I hate dysfunctional relationships in real life, but in fiction?
It's definately more interesting. Because it's not *easy*.

I'm also only just reluctantly coming to grips that maybe, just maybe, I actually (sometimes) find those fucked-up guilty dynamics kinda, hot. Sometimes.
(Ouchy for the number of minimising termsI put in there...).
It's... if they feel *that* guilty about it, and are doing it anyway? Yeah.
Or it's just emotional S&M.
*shrug*

This does lead me to clarify that 'cest where it isn't acknowledged to be fairly fucked up? I tend to think of as bad fic.
(except when it's a Constantine crossover with a psychic bro! - http://www.livejournal.com/users/cccarioca/33090.html - they can be happy)

[ratcreature]

I totally agree that a twisted and dysfunctional relationship in fiction does not mean it's squicky or unattractive for the reader, I know for me it isn't, it's just that the author still has to make me believe the level of warped she goes for in a story. I can definitely see the attractiveness of Sam/Dean (I mean, duh, *g*), even though my mind doesn't go there from watching the show itself. I think what puzzled me a bit is how common it is in fanfic, like, I just saw some Supernatural rec post, and the reccer warned that she was *not* reccing incest stories, and... that's just weird, you know?

I think in SV a big factor for why so many didn't write it as more warped might have been that the actors weren't the age of the characters but rather older, so the visuals you got on tv were quite incongruous with the fictional reality in a way.