Erotically Co-Dependent: A Dean/Sam manifesto

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

Title: Erotically Co-Dependent: A Dean/Sam manifesto
Author: slytherinblack and kissedbythegods, and thanks in large part to lea_ndra on the quotes section, and clex_monkie89 on the updated version.
Pairing: Dean/Sam
Fandom: Supernatural
Spoilers: For the first five seasons. I remain largely unspoiled for season six, and the information I have isn't relevant to this manifesto, so I won't be addressing upcoming episodes. There are, however, MAJOR spoilers for seasons 4-5.


Note: this manifesto is currently undergoing major updating. Parts may be missing or incomplete. Thank you for your patience.

"You know Sam and Dean Winchester are psychotically, irrationally, erotically codependent on each other, right?" - Zachariah, "Point of No Return"



Overview
The above quote is from an angel who is trying to get the third Winchester brother, Adam, to help with a plan against Sam and Dean. Throughout the series, Dean and Sam show that they need each other - neither functions very well without the other, and they function together as a unit much better than they ever could as individuals.

Dean Winchester


Dean is a typical bad boy, alluding to James Dean, or at least on the surface. (Later we learn he's actually named after his grandmother, Deanna.) He tends to hit on women a lot ("We're allowed to have fun, you know. That's fun," he says in reference to an attractive waitress.) He comes off as a bit of a rebel, and in normal society he would be considered odd or rebellious, the black sheep and the one you don't mention in polite company, but in the Winchester family, he's the good boy, the one who always follows their father's orders without question and didn't disappoint him. He appears to be a fairly simple character, who doesn't really like to talk about issues or have "chick flick" moments. However, after the first couple of episodes, Dean begins gaining some depth.

Much of Dean's posturing and personal trademarks are attempts to emulate his father, who was a very tough ex-military man. In early seasons he almost hero-worships John Winchester, though later on he begins to admit that maybe his father wasn't perfect - and neither was his relationship with their mother, Mary. "It was only perfect after she died," he says in season five in response to Sam expressing surprise at a fight Dean remembered between their parents. Dean's trademark leather coat, his taste in classic rock, and his black '67 Impala are all things Dean acquired from John Winchester. (In season four, Dean travels to the past with the help of the angel Castiel and it turns out he helps talk John into buying the car, instead of the VW bus Mary wanted.)

In episode nine, Home, we see the first glimpse of a more vulnerable Dean. He's extremely torn up about having to return the the home where Mary Winchester died. "I promised myself I'd never go back there," he said. A little while later, he calls their still-missing father to try to get his help, nearly in tears at getting the answering machine yet again. At the time of the episode's running, it had a very powerful impact to see Dean break down for the first time, something that didn't happen again until late in the first season.

Dean's driving purpose in life is to take care of his family - after season one when John dies, and before half-brother Adam is in the picture, this means Sam. It's especially so because Sam is younger and his job was to take care of Sam when Sam was growing up, and because John told him to do so. Dean has always known about the world of the supernatural, since he was old enough to remember their mother's death at the hands of a demon and John's subsequent research into what killed her. Sam, on the other hand, didn't know about this until he was nine, though he was smart enough to have a clue earlier. The demon seemed to be after baby Sammy and Sam had a lack of knowledge about the things that go bump in the night, which also may have contributed to Dean's protective, and sometimes overprotective attitude. And he was also the one to carry baby Sam out of the fire that killed their mother, on John's orders. While Dean also has a drive to protect the wider world, his first priority is always to Sam.

Wisecracks seem to be how Dean handles everything, but especially the things he's uncomfortable with. His response to Sam's precognitive abilities is constant wisecracking but his initial reaction showed the viewer that he's not comfortable with it at all (but then again, neither is Sam). He also tends to take jabs at Sam's book learning, which indicates to me that he feels a bit inferior to be the uneducated one. He is very smart - he turned a Walkman into an EMF reader - but sometimes it seems like he doesn't realize that. Sam usually gets stuck with the research side of hunting, which Dean doesn't seem to find terribly interesting.


Sam Winchester


Sam has experienced a lot of tragedy in his life, starting with the untimely death of his mother when he was six months old. His mother died above his crib, presumably attempting to protect him. Unlike Dean he has never had the chance to be a normal child, as his father began chasing supernatural creatures in order to find his wife's killer immediately after her death, before Sam was able to retain memory. It is implied in many places that the sole or at least main source of affection for Sam as a child was from his older brother, as their father was consumed by the need to hunt and kill until his wife's death was avenged. In "A Very Supernatural Christmas", a flashback shows John Winchester missing at Christmas time, leaving Dean to figure out how to "acquire" gifts for Sam (he stole them).


The death of Sam's mother and the obsession of his father seem to be the culminating reasons that Sam craves the normalcy of "ordinary" life. He leaves home at eighteen as many teenagers do, in search of a life outside of his "home" at college. His father tells him that if he leaves he is not to return, and Sam still makes the decision to become independent from the only family that he has ever known. It's worth noting that Sam is very smart - scored a 174 on the LSAT- and wants to go to law school at Stanford when he graduates as of the pilot. (In season five, he appears to have let this go as something not meant to be.) In "After School Special" we see a flashback where one of Sam's teachers spots his intelligence and tells him for the first time that it's okay to not want to go into "the family business."

While at Stanford, Sam finds a girlfriend - Jessica (Jess) - and at the end of the pilot episode she meets the same fiery death that his mother did, incinerating above his bed while he is lying on it. That moment can be considered the inciting incident in the Sam/Dean relationship, as Dean yet again becomes the only source of emotional support and love that Sam has access to. Much like his father, Sam becomes consumed with the desire to find the demon that killed Jessica (and possibly their mother, as well), and he agrees to join Dean on a quest to locate both their now missing father and the perpetrator of the deaths of the only women that have ever played significant roles in his life.

While Sam and Dean both represent literary archetypes, Sam appears to be the reluctant hero. He is, so to speak, the brains of the operation and the sensitive one. He is a dreamer. He tries to escape his destiny, only to be drawn back into the one thing that he had sworn never to do again. It is established quite early in the series that he is beginning to have psychic premonitions in the form of dreams, a gift that only proves handy to his destiny as a hunter.

As the series unfolds, Sam's character conflict begins centering on his desire for Dean to treat him as more of a partner and less of a little brother. Dean lives for Sam's safety, but at times tends to not treat him as a grownup capable of making his own decisions. This often expresses itself as Sam pushing Dean away and sometimes parting company with his brother in an effort to be his own person.

Sam also displays anger management and substance abuse issues. After the season three finale and Dean's death, it's implied that he spends most of his time heavily drunk until the demon Ruby finds him, at which point she gets him hooked on demon blood (sort of a supernatural steroid). His anger issues display as early as "Asylum" in season one, where a ghost gets him wound up to the point where he shoots Dean in the chest with rock salt for bossing him around during the episode. In late season five, it turns out that Sam and Jess were introduced by a demon working to insure that anger was maintained, because during his college years when things were going well he was starting to settle down. We also learn mid-series that in the pilot episode, when Sam's mother was trying to protect him from a demon, that demon fed Sam demon blood. The blood can impart a variety of powers; in Sam's case it first manifested as visions related to other children with demon blood and to the demon whose blood he was given. Later, when he starts drinking Ruby's blood, it mostly manifests as the ability to exorcise demons from their hosts.

Angel Condoms
The mytharc of Supernatural is ultimately about how Dean and Sam are descendants of Cain and Abel (Cain through Mary; Abel through John) and are destined to be the human hosts for Michael (Dean) and Lucifer (Sam). Their parents' romance was even orchestrated by the angels to help bring about Sam and Dean's existence.


Sam/Dean in canon: Who needs a fourth wall? We don't need no stinkin' fourth wall!
Sometime around the fourth season, Supernatural decided "hey, fourth wall? We don't need no stinkin' fourth wall." In episode 4.18, The Monster at the End of the Book, Sam and Dean discover that there's been a series of books written about them by a man named Chuck, who happens to be a prophet. (He's also widely believed to be a stand-in for Kripke, the creator of the show, and is later implied to be God's human form on earth.) Chuck's been having dreams about Sam and Dean and has begun writing them down and publishing them. The publication of the Supernatural books in the Supernatural universe corresponds to the first three seasons, after which the publisher went bankrupt.
After discovering the books exist, Sam Googles them (never Google yourself, Sam, it's a bad idea) and discovers fanfic. "They do realize we're related?" quips Dean.
Yeah, Sam/Dean fanfic is canon in the Supernatural universe. Wrap your head around that. It's also the only pairing acknowledged to exist in the fandom for the Supernatural books.
At the beginning of the fifth season, Chuck needs to deliver a message to Sam and Dean. He does so via a Sam/Dean writing fangirl he sends to meet them named Becky. Later on, it turns out that Chuck may have a bit of a crush on Becky and they start dating mid-season five. The creator of the show/God is dating a Sam/Dean fangirl. What are you trying to say there, Kripke?
In the same episode where Becky and Chuck start dating, we meet Demian and Barnes. Demian and Barnes are Sam and Dean roleplayers who also happen to be dating. This is probably as close as Sam/Dean can get to canon and still make it past the censors (and also not scare off the non-Sam/Dean fans).

-The heaven
-the siren
-running joke about people mistaking them for lovers


Sam and Dean apart


They would do anything for each other


Because of what happened to Jessica and his mother, Sam feels guilty, and as though people around him keep dying, as he confesses in the episode "Hook". More specifically, it seems to be the women in his life that keep dying. It seems unlikely that Sam would allow himself to get close to another woman, or really anyone at all, for this reason.
This is where Dean comes in. Dean is "safe" because Dean knows how to take care of himself, unlike their mother or Jessica. As the older and more experienced one, Dean is usually the one to save Sammy from getting in deep with whatever creature's got him in the current episode, though occasionally Sam gets to rescue Dean.
These two have a complicated relationship, but that's part of what makes it interesting. Sam is jealous of what Dean has with their father. In some ways, there's a lot of built up resentment here. Sam hates that Dean is the default boss, as any good younger brother does. Dean hates that Sam ran out on them. Dean may also resent that Sam did have that normalcy, no matter how deep that resentment's buried.

Oddly enough, Dean is not entirely comfortable with Sam's new abilities. He seems to be mostly coping in the episode following Home, but his initial reaction was one of worry/concern/freaking out a little bit.
In The Journey Home, Sam encounters his mother's ghost. It wasn't really shown what effect this had on him, but since he didn't remember much of her up to that point, it probably had at least a little. Maybe it's the fact that Sam having supernatural abilities begins to make him similar to the things that Dean has sworn to hunt down and destroy.

But at the same time, Sam's all Dean has got, and since Sam's dreams literally burned to ash, Dean's all Sam really has, too. They were raised on the road and never really had a chance to develop normal relationships, and now that they're both constantly on the move again, they probably never will. Both of them, however, seem to need the other to lean on. Despite their differences causing sparks sometimes, they truly complement each other. When one gets in trouble, the other is always there to bail them out. Dean has a mental library of knowledge about the supernatural, but Sam has the technical know-how of how to do library and internet research. Dean's a smooth talker, but Sam is naturally the sort of person you trust your secrets to. Dean acts when they need to, and Sam thinks when they need that. Watching the show, one can tell that they work together perfectly, watching each other's backs.


In conclusion: Why we ship it

Well, for one thing, it's hot. [g] Just look at those two. This pairing has everything I look for in a couple. It's angsty, it's twisted, they have as many issues to work out as the middle east (my apologies to the middle east and the analogy police). But despite the problems, they're each all the other's got (well, Dean's got a car, but in terms of worldly possessions and long standing relationships, neither of them is exactly rich). Every time one of them gets into trouble, you can see the other one worried to death about it. The levels of emotion between the two in the series are amazing.

Also, Sam's the only one allowed to touch Dean's car. (No, that's not a metaphor. But it could be.)

Noteworthy Episodes
Siren

Heaven

Point of No Return


Quotes

Pilot
Sam: I swear man, you gotta update your cassette tape collection.
Dean: Why?
Sam: Well, for one, they are cassette tapes, and two... Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock!
Dean: You know house rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.
Sam: You know, Sammy is a twelve year old chubby boy. It's Sam, okay?
Dean: [cranks up the volume on the radio] Sorry, I can't hear you! The music's too loud!

Sam: What were you thinking shooting Caspar in the face, you freak!
Dean: I saved your ass.

Sam: Dean, what I said about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry.
Dean: Hey, no chick-flick moments.
Sam: All right. Jerk.
Dean: Bitch.

Cop: Is there anything about you that's real?
Dean: My boobs.

Skin

(after a villian stole Dean's car)
Dean: ... the thought of him driving my car...
Sam: Dean, come on!
Dean: It’s - killing me.

Bugs

(Sam and Dean investigate strange accidents happening on a building lot. Sam and Dean introduce themselves to Larry, the salesman selling the houses.)

Larry: Let me just say... we accept home owners of any religion, race, color or... [meaningful pause] - sexual orientation.
Sam and Dean: ...
Dean: ...we're brothers.

(Later they meet Larry's assistant, Linda)
Linda: So, you two want to become homeowners.
Dean: Well...yeah...
Linda: Let me just say, we accept home owners of any race, color, religion, or... sexual orientation.
[pause]
Dean: I'm gonna talk to Larry, okay, honey? [slaps Sam's ass and walks off]

Bloody Mary

Sam: You're my brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself.

Dean: [when Sam's filming him on camera to test it] Do I look like Paris Hilton?

Asylum

Dean: [to Sam] So who's the hotter psychic: Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt, or you?

The Benders

Dean: [desperate, defeated tone] If you hurt my brother, I'll kill you, I swear. [angry] I'll kill you ALL!

More quotes provided by wistful_fever and can be found here. Also see sn_quotes


Sites
http://craftymonkie.com is the source of all screencaps, including the ones I used.
sn_slash
sam_dean
snslashnotebook
wincest
samanddean
supernaturalvid
sn_quotes

Fanfiction
There is an insane amount of stuff out there at this point, guys. The list below is from the original 'manifesto, but at this point I couldn't even begin to point you to all the stuff worth reading, if this is your thing. I definitely suggest checking out Crack Impala's weekly Sam/Dean recs, or spnfencentral or spnroundtable, both of which do regular rec lists. And the Sam/Dean tags on delicious are also a good way to go.
Factum Amoris
Closure
Exorcism
Demon Country
And the great genderbending sequence by three different authors: Man, I Feel Like a Woman; That Old Slippery Slope, and Opportunistic Lover.
The Rules Remain a Mystery
Those are my absolute favorites, but 90% of the fics I've seen are just excellent.

Comments

[koneko-meow.livejournal.com]

This is great, I haven't actually seen Supernatural, but it's a fandom I'm thinking about dipping into...because really, they're hot and they're brothers, and apparently there's angst. What isn't to like?
I was wondering if [either of] you have read the Things My Brother Taught Me (http://www.livejournal.com/users/deannaz/61443.html) series by deannaz, and if you have...would you recommend it to someone just getting into the fandom?

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

I do enjoy that series, though it's not one of my absolute favorites. Again, pretty much every fic I've seen posted on the sn_slash community is wonderful - I'll have to ponder what a good one might be for someone new to the series. What sorts of stuff are you looking for?

[koneko-meow.livejournal.com]

Pretty much anything lengthy, that doesn't really require a lot of knowledge of the canon. I'll probably go to TWoP to read the recaps...but I don't know how likely it will be for me to actually watch the series. Angst and hurt/comfort is probably the best thing.

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

Off the top of my head, I can think of about five ongoing longer stories in the Supernatural fandom. I'm just mentioning the ones that have been going for at least a few parts, since that seems to be kind of what you want.

There's the one you mentioned by deannaz, Send Angels (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=dreaminginchaos&keyword=Send+Angels&filter=all), Demon Country as linked above, Haunted (http://www.livejournal.com/users/sylph_ironlight/20017.html#cutid1), and the False Comforts series (http://wordsmiths.net/Maygra/spnindex.html).

Demon Country is by far my favorite of these. False Comforts is extremely well written, but it's too heavy on the angst for me (I like angst, but this is more like hopeless situation angst, and bone crushing) and her style tends to bore me a bit - she's very flowery and I find myself skimming a lot to get to the action. It might also be hard for a new-to-the-series person to understand.

Things My Brother Taught Me is probably next on the list - it's pretty well written, entertaining, but I feel it's slightly OOC (especially Sam) and I always have trouble believing fics that have the brothers together before Sam went to Stanford. Personal preference there, but it strikes me as unlikely. Also, in this fic, Sam is 11 and Dean is 15 (or somewhere thereabouts) when they start having a sexual relationship, and that particular thing hits one of my slight squicks, so just a warning. It's not too deep into series detail.

Haunted and Send Angels are both written by authors that could use a little polishing. Neither series is really terrible (I happen to like SA better) but they do need some work. Nevertheless, they're probably also both reasonably simple for the audience new to the series.

[koneko-meow.livejournal.com]

For False Comforts...an episode summary should be able to clear up any lack of understanding...or should I read the TWoP synopsis/summaries?

I think chan in TMBTM context won't bother me too much if it's more of a playing "doctor" just got dragged on from their younger years. But I'll more than likely read it either way.

Thanks a lot for the recs! <3 I just finished what there is of Demon County and it was really good. *grin*

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

TWoP might work - specifically, you'd need the episode summary for Skin since that's the ep. it's based on. Glad you're enjoying the recs. :)

[lea-ndra.livejournal.com]

could you... like... clean up my typos and mistakes in the quotes section? *cough* accept instead of except in the "Bugs" quote. I guess you didn't get my message about it. ;-)

thanks for compiling this, once more!

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

Dammit, I thought I _did_ fix that. I must be losing my mind.

[wistful-fever.livejournal.com]

This is really wonderful, and thought out. But since this is my pairing of choice right now (the shame!), can I make a few suggestions?

With the quotes, it might be better to include a few pairing-specific ones that give some insight to their characters and their relationship a well. Like 'so that's why you ran away' and the fight on the bridge, where Dean is telling Sam he can't deny who he is, just as examples.

And also, as a vidder for SPN, I gotta say I wish supernaturalvid was linked in there somewhere. ;)

I really liked your character summaries and the photos you chose.

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

I'm terrible with quotes so if I attempted, I'd fail miserably. The ones I included were almost all ones I'd gotten from others. But if you want to type some up and comment here, I'll edit this!

[wistful-fever.livejournal.com]

Wonderful, I'll throw some together.

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

And I just posted the playlist I was working on to super_santa. [/off topic]

[wistful-fever.livejournal.com]

You are just seriously awesome. I'm going to be spending the next six months are so vidding those!

*hugs you*

Oh! btw, did you want me to post the quotes here or e-mail you? Whichever you prefer. I have the pilot done so far.

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

Post them here would be easier - I can find them better. :) I'm glad you like, and totally look forward to seeing the vids.

[wistful-fever.livejournal.com]

It's just a wonderful gift. Thank you for being such a great secret santa. :)

Okay, here's what I have of character noteworthy clips from the pilot, specifically related to their dynamic:

Sam's Friend: How does it feel to be the golden boy of your family?
Sam: Ah, they don't know.
Sam's Friend: Hell no, I would be gloating! Why not?
Sam: 'Cause We're not exactly the Bradys.

*

Sam: Dean, what the hell are you doing here?
Dean: I was looking for a beer.
Sam: What the hell are you doing here?
Dean: Okay. All right. We gotta talk.
Sam: Ah, the phone?
Dean: If I'd have called, would you have picked up?

*

Dean: Now are you gonna come with me or not?
Sam: I'm not
Dean: Why not?
Sam: I swore I was done hunting. For good.
Dean: Come on, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad.
Sam: Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45.
Dean: Well, what was he supposed to do?
Sam: I was nine years old.

*

Dean: So what are you gonna do? You gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?
Sam: No. Not normal. Safe.
Dean: And that's why you ran away.
Sam: I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was going to go, I should stay

gone. And that's what I'm doing.

*

Dean: I can't do this alone.
Sam: Yes, you can.
Dean: Yeah. Well, I don't want to.

*

Sam: Okay, so now what?
Dean: Now we keep digging until we find him. It might take a while.
Sam: Dean... I told you. I've gotta get back by...
Dean: Monday. Right. The interview.
Sam: Yeah.
Dean: Yeah. I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just

gonna become some lawyer. Marry your girl?
Sam: Maybe. Why not?
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: You're one of us.
Sam: No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life.

*

Dean: Sam! You know... we made a hell of a team back there.
Sam: Yeah.

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

I'm glad. I was so worried I'd be a crappy secret santa, you have no idea. ^_~

[wistful-fever.livejournal.com]

If you'd like me to do more episodes, just let me know. It's kind of fun. :)

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

Sure. Do as much/little as you like. I dunno if I can add all of the quotes, though - it'd make the manifesto a little long. (Course I could always link down to the comments...)

[wistful-fever.livejournal.com]

Hehe. I've actually read manifestos that have had to have two different LJ entries, because of length, if that gives you any peace of mind. ;)

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

The mod told me I was limited to 5000 words, but maybe she lied. >_> lol

[wistful-fever.livejournal.com]

Huh. Maybe they had to have permission or something. Well, never mind then. :)

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

Lovely, altogether.

One thing, though, in the comments about Bloody Mary. I had more the impression that she went after people for their guilt-- not necessarily guilt about someone who was dead/who they cause to die.

So the question, which I covered in a "Missing Scenes" drabble here (http://halfshellvenus.livejournal.com/24024.html#cutid1) is, what is Dean guilty about? I maintain that he's guilty about loving Sam more than he thinks he should...

[xphoenixrising.livejournal.com]

Nicely done, even though I have to disagree with the shipping. Pretty pictures always help. :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/onion_/]

Can I just say that I love all you guys out there for doing this? Not just this fandom, but all ships in all fandoms. *huggles*

Between this and the newbie guide, getting into a new fandom (like I'm doing with Supernatural) has been made like infinitely easier. Really. Before, it was such a tedious affair trying to skim out the relevant and the not so relevant, the good and the bad (well that's subjective really, but ya), it almost put me off getting involved in new fandoms entirely. But now? I almost whooped with joy when I saw this *g* This place will be my first stop every time I want a new fandom from now on.

Oh and the quotes? Priceless. *love love so much love*

[merihn.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was really and truly brilliant. Amazing character analysis, I think it was perfect.
And really good quotes... I almost died when I watched Bugs and both of the real estate agents thought they were a couple... so, so perfect.

question?

[moothril.livejournal.com]

Since I'm new to this fandom, and I'm too lazy to watch every episode-can you tell me which episodes of season 1 I should watch in terms of Sam/Dean slash moments? Those episodes that would make the slash fangirl inside of me delighted?

>_>; I just managed to "acquire" season 1 and would be delighted if you could point me in the right (or rather, wrong! since they are brothers...:D) direction. :D Thanks~~

And by the way, this is a great manifesto. I love these, they make migrating to new fandoms so much easier (these and crack_van summaries are what convince me to try out new series :D).

Re: question?

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

Sorry I couldn't reply earlier - I was on vacation without internet access. I would recommend - well, all of them! But you should definitely watch 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 18, 21&22. Skip 13 and 19 if you don't want to see outside romances.

[dire.livejournal.com]

hahaha, excellent! i just got into the fandom and have seen little more than the pilot, but out of curiosity, why do you think it's usually sam/dean and not dean/sam? kind of a superficial question, but i'm curious.

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

That's just the way people list it and has nothing to do with top/bottom. And I'd say either a habit or we think it sounds better that way.

[dire.livejournal.com]

gotcha! *g* thank you!

RECS

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

This post needs some AUTHOR RECS. So here I go.

You should REALLY READ candle_beck's stuff. It's here (http://candle-beck.livejournal.com/125810.html#cutid1). You should also read setissma's stories (http://setissma.livejournal.com/660780.html), and winterweathered's stories (http://winterweathered.livejournal.com/91910.html), and lazy_daze's stuff here (http://lazy-daze.livejournal.com/tag/my+spn/cwrps+fic), and sevenfists's stuff here (http://sevenfists.livejournal.com/142584.html#cutid1), and astolat's stories are here (http://www.intimations.org/fanfic/#Supernatural), and balefully's stuff is here (http://balefully.livejournal.com/tag/fic+-+spn+and+cwrps), and destina's stuff here (http://destina.livejournal.com/tag/spn_fiction), and ethrosdemon's stuff is here (http://ethrosdemon.livejournal.com/tag/cock+rock+is+balls).

WHO ELSE GOD. There are so many good writers in this pairing, it is RIDICULOUS. NOTE ALSO: Some of the above (and below!) writers aren't active in the fandom anymore, or have DEFECTED to a less worthy pairing >.> but you should read all their old stuff ANYWAY. And their new stuff too if you aren't irrational like me :D Or you will be MISSING OUT. Also, a lot of these people write J2 (Jared P and Jensen A, the guys who play Sam and Dean) and it'll show up when you look for their fic, but you can just SCROLL ON BY and I promise God won't send you to hell if you end up reading RPS while looking for fictional gay incest fic. Or something.

ALSO THESE PEOPLE ARE GOOD TOO. killabeez is here, and hansbekhart is here (http://hansbekhart.livejournal.com/176081.html), and lyra_wing is here (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=lyra_wing&keyword=Supernatural+slash&filter=all), and mona1347 is here (http://mona1347.livejournal.com/tag/fic), and musesfool is here (http://musesfool.livejournal.com/tag/sam/dean) and nutkin is here (http://nutkin.livejournal.com/tag/fic), and onelittlesleep's stuff is here (http://onelittlesleep.livejournal.com/tag/) (and you can just click on the SAM/DEAN tag if you want or you can read ALL HER FIC because her porn is SO HOT omg) and poisontaster's stuff is kinda hard to find so I'm linking you to her TAGS page and you can find various stories from there (http://poisontaster.livejournal.com/tag/) and I THINK THAT'S IT. WHEW.

Okay I lied. eighth_horizon's stuff is here (http://gekizetsu.net/sn/fic.html) and kroki_refur's stuff here (http://kroki-refur.livejournal.com/68780.html#cutid1) is EXCELLENT if you want GEN fic and maygra's stories are here (http://maygra.livejournal.com/tag/supernatural).

I'm still missing A LOT of really amazing Sam/Dean writers, so you should take CAREFUL NOTE of the dudes I have recced because they're probably friends with writers who are JUST AS GOOD but didn't get recced by me because I didn't remember them :D and generally speaking, when the above guys rec a fic, it'll be worth reading.

Also, the Supernatural fandom has a very annoying tendency to argue about SAM or DEAN being the better brother, which is BEYOND silly (I said diplomatically). This tendency can sometimes run off into the writing and ruin an otherwise good story. The above writers, for the most part, have managed to avoid this. Bless them.
(http://seacouver.slashcity.net/killa/index.html#SPNDESC) ()

Re: RECS

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

Let me know if you have any questions!

BECAUSE I CAN'T STOP

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

I also recommend chash AKA longsufferingly. Her stuff is here (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=chash&keyword=Supernatural&filter=all) and here (http://longsufferingly.livejournal.com/856.html#cutid9). I adore her Sam/Dean, but she writes a metric shit ton of J2 as well, and it is refreshingly light-hearted and FUN. When the show isn't taking itself too seriously the fandom usually is, so I really recommend chash AKA longsufferingly because her sense of humor is fucking A+.

FINALLY

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for good WINCESTuous fanvids stop by proofpudding's journal, specifically here (http://proofpudding.livejournal.com/tag/spin+it+sideways), more specifically here (http://proofpudding.livejournal.com/81106.html) (adorable!), here (http://proofpudding.livejournal.com/95745.html) (hot!) or here (http://proofpudding.livejournal.com/101702.html#cutid1) (hot like burning!) and now I'm done.

Re: FINALLY

[wildebrian.livejournal.com]

I SALUTE YOUR DEDICATION TO RECCING, SIR!

Re: FINALLY

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

It was the least I could do :D

Re: FINALLY

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

ALSO this gigantic motherfucking recs page (http://gossymer.livejournal.com/83820.html) might be the most useful recs list in this fandom. BOOKMARKING IT would be a good idea!

Re: RECS

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

You can also check my recs here (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=dangomango&keyword=supernatural%20fic%20recs&filter=all), which I am constantly updating.

Nice summary

[(Anonymous)]

One thing it could have done with a bit more of though was explanation of the Sam/Dean relationship itself, the reasons people tend to be attracted to the fandom outside of the 'they're hot' argument. I mean there is such a level of debate as to it (the vid Climbing up the Walls is only part of the discussion, but really relevant) that it could have done with a mention.

Sorry if it seems a bit nit-picky, because it was a really good summary anyhow!

[aki-san.livejournal.com]

This is totally random, but I can't wait until this is updated in like, at minimum a year XD

[slytherinblack.livejournal.com]

I'm swearing I'll do it over the summer, since I think after this arc will be a good stopping point. We'll see.

[pen-rhovan-nin.livejournal.com]

I thought The Cain/Abel thing ran only through John's family's bloodline, and that is why Adam could be used as well as a vessel? To imply that Mary's side of the family originated from Abel would be saying that Mary and John are basically committing semi-incest. Ah, well. I'm not sure, I'll go back and do more searching.

[quinquenio.livejournal.com]

waiting anxiously for you to finish this!
it's awsome