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Wincest
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[[Image:Wincest.JPG|right|350px|thumb|Sam and Dean in [[1.21 Salvation]]]]
== '''Definition''' ==
Wincest is the term commonly used to describe fanfiction (or other fanworks) that depict or assume a romantic or sexual (i.e. [[Slash]]) relationship between [[Sam]] and [[Dean Winchester]]. It is the most popular pairing in Supernatural fandom, along with [[Destiel]] or Dean/Castiel.
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.
=== '''Wait a second... Just which Winchesters are involved in Wincest?''' ===
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'.
In Season 5, interest rose in the pairing of [[Michael]] and [[Lucifer]] - itself an incestuous relationship. The pairing often occurs when the angels are possessing their [[Vessel]]s Sam and Dean, and so is a form of [[Wincest]].
== '''You do realize they're brothers?'''==
[[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.
''Supernatural'' is certainly not the first fandom to feature a popular incestuous pairing. There's the Weasleys, Draco and Lucius Malfoy and the Black family from ''Harry Potter'', Simon and River Tam from ''Firefly'', the Eppes brothers in ''Numb3rs'', all the Petrellis in ''Heroes'', and not forgetting Luke and Leia in ''Star Wars''. In [[RPF]] Gerard and Mikey Way from ''My Chemical Romance'' have been a popular pairing in recent years.
== '''Themes in Wincest''' ==
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.
== Other [[:Category:Fanworks|Fanworks]] ==
[[image:Oxonesis.png]] [[Image:Epiclublanket.gif]] [[Image:Bv1978.jpg]] [[image:Moodymuse19.jpg]] [[Image:Morpheus4-griseldajane.png]] [[Image:Sera.gif]]<br>
Wincest also appears in various types of [[Fan Art]] including digital manipulations, drawings and paintings and [[:Category:Fanvids|Fan Vids]] which may imply a sexual relationship through clever editing or the use of manips. No [[Fan Craft|cross stitch]] samplers have yet been seen, but are sure to exist.
The icons here represent a range of fannish engagements with Wincest.
== '''Wincest in Canon''' ==
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>
The Supernatural writers even hint a close metaphysical conenction when they show Sam and Dean share the same "heaven", a situation Ash points out occurs between soulmates. <ref name="five16"> [[5.16 Dark Side of the Moon]]</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>
In [[8.04 Bitten]], students [[Michael Wheeler]] and [[Brian Wilcox]] film Sam and Dean who are posing as FBI agents investigating a case. Michael comments to Brian on first seeing them: "Is it just me or are you getting a workplace romance vibe from those two?" Later, after watching Sam and Dean in a cafe, Brian reports back to Michael: "They just sat and talked about how they’ve been apart for a year. You were probably right about that whole office romance thing."
== '''What do those outside fandom think?''' ==
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:
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>
== Other Use of Term ==
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]
== See also ==
* [[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]]
== External Links links==
* [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.afterelton.com/print/2010/08/slash-fandoms-part-one?page=0%2C0 Has Slash made the world better for gay men?] on After Elton
== References =={{reflist}}
[[Category:Fandom]][[Category:Fanfiction]][[Category:Fic Genres]][[Category:Slash]][[Category:Pairings]][[Category:Vernacular]][[Category:Fanworks]]