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[[Image:Wincest.JPG|right|350px|thumb|Sam and Dean in [[1.21 Salvation]]]]

The word is a portmanteau of brothers' last name, Winchester, and the word "incest". The term Wincest is also commonly used as interchangeable with '''Sam/Dean''' (or Dean/Sam) when describing a fanfic pairing. Fans of Wincest occasionally refer to themselves as Wincesters.

In the early days of the Supernatural fandom (around late 2005), the term 'Wincest' referred to slash between any of the Winchester men - so [[John/Dean]], [[John/Sam]] and [[John/Dean/Sam]] as well as Sam/Dean could be termed 'Wincest'.

[[Wee!cest]] refers to Wincest where one or both of the boys are underage.

[[Image:Wincest pic.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Wincest manip by nemo]]

Wincest fic arose the moment the show was aired, supported by the typical ingredients a slasher needs: two extremely hot guys, a dead girlfriend, and a brotherly love that leaves no room for anyone else. Add a bit of spice like daddy issues, betrayal, childhood trauma and emotional dependency and you have your perfect dish to satisfy hordes of [[Slash]] fans.

* 2005.10.16 First recorded use of the term ''Wincest'' as a [[Fic Warning]] in [http://joyfulgirl41.livejournal.com/261178.html Can’t Just Walk Away] by joyfulgirl41.

And it wasn't only fangirls who noticed the dynamic. [http://www.nathanexposed.com/blog/2005/11/supernatural-is-supergay.html Gay blogger Nathan Exposed] wrote in November 2005 "It’s like the Hardy Boys, only gayer. The cheese factor is no surprise. This is the WB, after all. But I love the awkward sexual tension between the brothers."

Due to the fact that there are so few recurring characters on the Show available as potential partners for Sam and Dean in fanfiction, [[slash]] fans who were uncomfortable with Wincest moved into writing and reading [[Jsquared]] fic, many of whom would previously have avoided [[RPF|RPS]] fandoms. This lead to the phrase "Supernatural fandom - where RPS is the moral high ground"!

Stories which feature Sam and Dean in a sexual relationship cover a wide range of themes, but many explore how and why Sam and Dean have developed a sexual relationship, and what that relationship is like. Themes in these stories include:

* Incest taboo - "But we're brothers!" - Sam and Dean deal with their desire for each other

In the [[Top/Bottom]] sexual roles commonly assigned in fanfic, generally Sam is the top, and Dean is the bottom.

[[image:Oxonesis.png]] [[Image:Epiclublanket.gif]] [[Image:Bv1978.jpg]] [[image:Moodymuse19.jpg]] [[Image:Morpheus4-griseldajane.png]] [[Image:Sera.gif]]<br>

The icons here represent a range of fannish engagements with Wincest.

Shippers often seek validation of the character pairing they are interested in from canon. Wincest fans haven't had to look too hard. In fact in December 2006 [[Sera Gamble]] referred to Supernatural as [[The Epic Love Story of Sam and Dean]]. On the [[Season 5 DVD]] commentary for [[5.04 The End]], Kripke, speaking about the brothers' relationship dynamics in the season, says: "they're going to come together and then in the second half of the season they're going to start drifting apart... the boys are kind of like The Defiant Ones in that they're kind of chained together and one moves ahead and drags the other one with him and then they reverse and... it's the epic love story of Sam and Dean."

Since Season One, Sam and Dean have been mistaken for a gay couple on several occasions: by a realtor<ref name="one08">[[1.08 Bugs]]</ref>, by [[Young Michael]]<ref name="one18">[[1.18 Something Wicked]]</ref> at the motel who cheekily asks if Dean and Sam want a "King or two queens?" and by the inn owner [[Susan Thompson]] <ref name="two11">[[2.11 Playthings]]</ref> who asks if Sam and Dean if they are in the area antiquing and whether they want a king sized bed. This later encounter causes Dean to ask

Next we meet one of these slash writers - fangirl [[Becky Rosen]]. She is a fan of [[The Supernatural Books]] by Carver Edlund aka [[Chuck Shurley]] and runs a website called morethanbrothers.net.<ref name="five01">[[5.01 Sympathy for the Devil]]</ref> She is first seen writing a [[Wincest]] fic which can be read [[Becky Rosen|here]]. The fact that the writers of Supernatural had now themselves written Wincest fanfic caused much delight amongst Wincest fans.

When Becky later invites Sam and Dean to a Supernatural convention the MC announces that there will be a session on "The homoerotic subtext of Supernatural". The two fanboys featured in the episode [[Demian and Barnes]], who are role playing as Sam and Dean at the convention, are revealed at the end of the episode to be lovers.<ref name="five09">[[5.09 The Real Ghostbusters]]</ref>

Over time more references are made in the show to the extreme closeness of Sam and Dean's relationship, not actually suggesting that the characters were involved in a sexual relationship, but acknowledging that it is a relationship of great intimacy. Even Dean finds it hard to capture what it is "Because whatever we have between us -- love, family, whatever it is ..."<ref name="five04">[[5.04 The End]]</ref>

[[Zachariah]] is less subtle. When trying to make sure a resurrected [[Adam]] doesn't side with the Winchesters, he says: "So you know you can't trust them, right? You know Sam and Dean Winchester are psychotically, irrationally, ''erotically'' codependent on each other, right?" <ref name="five18">[[5.18 Point of No Return]]</ref>. Even [[Lisa]] says to Dean of his relationship with Sam: "You two have the most unhealthy, tangled up, crazy thing that I've ever seen". <ref name="six06">[[6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth]]</ref>

Wincest got its first bit of official recognition at the [[Asylum 2007|Asylum fan convention in England]] in the Spring of 2007. When [[Jensen Ackles]] was asked what he thought of fan fiction, he replied:

When asked about Wincest and fanfiction at [[EyeCon April 2008]], Jared proved diplomatic - and eloquent:

On 6 November 2011, [[Jim Beaver]] responded to some [[Tin Hats]] on [[Twitter]] with this comment: For the record, I think slash fiction is cool, and if Wincest is what you dig, more power to you. But regardez vous: fiction ISN'T real life. [https://twitter.com/#!/jumblejim/status/133132542814597120 source]

Even the New York Times noted in a 2011 review of the show "at its most basic it is about sibling devotion: no pair of brothers or sisters on television is more closely bound — not even the siblings on “Brothers and Sisters.” Proving their intimacy each week the Winchesters argue as if they were a married couple ..."<ref name="NYT">[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/arts/television/27supernatural.html?_r=1&src=twrhp New York Times 2011]</ref>

In an article on "Shipping" in the print edition of Entertainment Weekly, (February 17, 2012; p. 26, "Just Do It" by Jeff Jensen), Wincesting was given the nod by [[Sera Gamble]]:

::The CW’s Supernatural — which owes its seven season to a fiercely loyal an dynamic fan base — has periodically winked at its “Wincesters,” shippers who write sexually charged fan fiction about bogeyman-hunting brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester. “We have no judgement about that,” say exec producer Sera Gamble. “We’re glad we spark people’s creativity.”

Early in Season 8, TV Guide again bought up Wincest, with its review of the first couple of episodes entitled "Is Wincest Dead?" The article provided a handy definition of Wincest, although it actually focused on the rift between the brothers. It ended with the salutation "So get well soon, Wincest! We miss you already." <ref name="TVGuide Oct 2012">[http://www.tvguide.com/News/Supernatural-Season8-Wincest-Sam-Dean-Winchester-1054745.aspx]</ref>

TVGuide continued its Wincest obsession in an article title "The Pros and Cons of Shipping" <ref name="TVGuide Nov 2012">[http://www.tvguide.com/News/Shipping-TV-Couples-1055186.aspx The Pros and Cons of Shipping]</ref>

On the imageboard 4chan incest is referred to as Wincest although this is not related to the Supernatural fandom. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrotherSisterIncest source]

* [[Supernatural Fic Link Archive]] - delicious tags of over 30,000 Supernatural fics classifed by pairing, rating and author

* [[SPN J2 Big Bang]] - an annual fic challenge for fiction over 20,000 words.

* [[Slash]]

* [http://delicious.com/supernatural_fic/Sam%2FDean Sam/Dean fics] tagged at the [[Supernatural Fic Link Archive]]

* [http://community.livejournal.com/supernaturalfic/profile Supernatural fic community] on LJ

* [http://www.journalfen.net/community/daddycest daddycest] - A community for John/Dean, John/Sam and John/Dean/Sam fic on Journal fen - inactive since 2007.

* [http://papawinchester.livejournal.com papawinchester] - John-centric [[Livejournal]] community. Slash is locked for members only.

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