Supernatural (TV series)/Ho Yay

"Dean: There are Samgirls and Deangirls, and... what's a slash fan?
 * With the Supernatural writers thinking that the real love story is between Sam and Dean, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki admitting they've read "Wincest", can you blame the fans for noting every bit of subtext between the boys? I think not.
 * You also get Misha Collins commenting at cons about how he hopes Sam, Dean, and Castiel will all live together when the series is over and openly asking the crowd how they feel about Dean/Castiel. TPTB know ALL about the slashy subtext.
 * There's a running joke, especially first season, where other characters assume they're gay.
 * In 'Bedtime Stories' Sam explains the basic concept of several classic fairy tales to Dean. Dean then asks Sam if he "can be any gayer!?" Sam just looks at him, and Dean tells him "not to answer that".
 * In 'Lazarus Rising' Dean and Sam sob in each others' arms (understandably, considering the circumstances). The girl who Sam was presumably banging earlier on then asks "So, are you two, like... together?"
 * When you think about it, the fact that they are so clingy and that they completely destroy themselves when the other one is dead kinda makes their love canon, even if they're not screwing like hot, gay, incestuous bunnies.
 * Don't forget that they tend to bring the ridiculously stupid crazy sometimes when it comes to each other. When Sam died, Dean making a year-long deal to bring him back was possibly the stupidest thing that he could possibly do. Ever! And in Time Is On My Side, Sam is willing to make himself and his previously-suicidal brother immortal monsters just so that Dean wouldn't leave him, which is messed up in so many ways.
 * And isn't it just a bit odd that they keep getting compared to self-destructive, clingy, passionate couples? In Nightshifter, Hendricksen called them "Bonnie and Clyde" and in Time Is On My Side, Dean compared them to "Sid and Nancy". Foreshadowing a Downer Ending? Or just Ho Yay-tastic?
 * And they are named after their maternal grandparents, who were, of course, a married couple.
 * The writers play this up for all it's worth, even if it isn't canonically "that kind" of love. One episode has the brothers hunting a Siren, which seduces men by reading their minds and turning into the perfect woman for them (plus a little bit of love saliva). It inevitably gets to the Winchester brothers by becoming (For the record, it's Hand Waved in the episode by saying that the siren gives its victims whatever they desire most. For most men, it is a beautiful woman. For Dean, it was "a little brother who looks up to him.") Doesn't slow the slash down, but it was a clever way of working it in.
 * This bears repeating; in an episode in which the Monster of the Week was reading the innermost thoughts of various men and morphing into whatever their deepest desire indicated (and, for every previous male victim, manifesting as a hot stripper), Dean's ideal, the person by whom he is most easily seduced, is revealed to be ... wait for it ... an idealized version of Sam. This from the same Dean Winchester who does all in his power to be viewed as a womanizing neanderthal. And ignoring the fact that the Siren later draws Sam into his thrall as well, and forces the Winchesters to fight to the death over his love. Yeah.
 * As well as the fact that in every previous incident, the stripper/Siren seduced the male victim and proceeded to convince him to murder the other woman in his life; in Dean's case, the Siren manifests as Dean's ideal male companion and then sics him on Sam. This... is barely even subtext anymore.
 * It finally gets to the point where the brothers actually comment on this after reading fan comments on the internet (of a book series inexplicably written about their adventures).

Sam: As in... Sam-slash-Dean. Together.

Dean: Like, together-together?

Sam: Yeah.

Dean: They do know we're brothers, right? ...that's sick."

"Uriel: Castiel? He has this weakness. He likes you."
 * And in 5.16, they.
 * To be fair, this is not actually canon, just something fans assumed based on what Ash said. In fact, Dean and Sam . It's even an important plot point that If anything, this episode hints that, but that obviously doesn't prove anything.
 * Well, Ash said people can't leave their heavens (Ash only can because he's worked out the symbols needed to do so), and he referred to Dean and Sam's heaven as "Winchester-land" not "Dean-land" and "Sam-land", so it's a pretty logical conclusion. If getting to someone else's heaven were as easy as simply seeking them out, what is the point of Ash working out the symbols?
 * But doesn't the fact that they were separated in the first place--plus the fact that
 * If anything, Dean is Sam unrequited wannabe soulmate, considering Dean's Heaven was of making Sam happy while Sam's Heaven was as far removed from anything Dean-related as possible. It's kind of sad if you think about it.
 * In Dean's Heaven Sam is about elementary school-age, though (and, as far as This Troper recalls, so are all his idealized versions of Sam). So when you really think about it, it's not romantic at all.
 * Who could forget the line in Mystery Spot: "Sammy, I get all tingly when you take control like that." So blantantly Ho Yay-tastic that I'm surprised it got through the censors.
 * There's a scene where they have been Mistaken for Gay for the second time that episode. Rather than explain that they're brothers again, Dean runs with it, calling Sam honey and smacking him on the ass.
 * Don't forget when the angel Zachariah described Sam and Dean as "erotically codependent." I don't think there are any other ways to interpret that.
 * Unless it was just another way of turning against Sam and Dean.
 * Most recently, in "Shut Up, Dr. Phil"", after an episode of marital hijinks between two pissed-off witches, Sam attempts to wind up the case by turning Maggie and Don's tempestuous eight-hundred-year marriage into a metaphor for his and Dean's relationship. Dean attempts to shrug it off by saying that he and Sam have nothing to work through, but Sam and the viewers know better.
 * During the final moments of Supernatural Season Four, Sam and Dean react to Lucifer's imminent appearance by doing this.
 * In this show the heroes are more concerned with their Heterosexual Life Partner than with any Love Interests. Especially the moment in "All Hell Breaks Loose" where the hellgate opens: Sam, Ellen and Bobby try and shut it; Dean gets pinned to a grave by the Yellow-Eyed Demon, and Sam immediately goes to save his brother, leaving Ellen (who is a woman, but not a Love Interest) to try and shut one door by herself.
 * There's also a bit of Gordon/Dean going around. After all, Dean did get manipulated pretty badly by him in Bloodlust and wanted him as a Daddy figure. When Gordon becomes a vampire in Fresh Blood, he can sense Dean's scent all over the phone shop and before Sam beheads him with barbed wire, he slams Dean up against a wall and bites him, prompting an honest-to-god orgasm face.
 * To be fair, though, nobody seems to have any concept of personal space when it comes to Dean. Can someone say Azazel? He just loves to pin Dean to walls/graves, lean in far too close and tell him how worthless he is. It's especially disturbing/sexy/twisted when he's possessing Dean's Daddy in "Devil's Trap".
 * Continued when Azazel possesses Dean's grandfather and moves into his personal space, showing once again that the Big Bad apparently loves Wincest even more than the fans do.
 * Ahem. Dean and Castiel. Only one episode so far, but he already seems to have a thing for leaning waaaay too close to Dean and staring into his eyes. There's a reason for that.
 * Yep, it's not just the first episode. In particular, the last 5 minutes of the second one were just ridiculously slashy.
 * This troper feels that the solidifying moment of shippiness was at the end of "In the Beginning," 4x03, when Castiel appears beside Dean in the past to bring him back to the present, with a hand on the shoulder and a tender, sympathetic expression. Look at his faaaace!
 * There's a few moments between them in the seventh episode, especially when Dean appeals directly to Castiel to let them try and save the town.
 * And later when Castiel confides in Dean something that he literally cannot tell another soul.
 * It's established pretty early on that Dean trusts Castiel, despite thinking angels are "dicks with wings."
 * In the tenth episode, Uriel delivers a threat to Dean. The explanation given for Castiel not being present?

"Castiel: And I did it, all of it, for you."
 * Also in the tenth episode, the plan is to set the angels and demons on each other and get out of the crossfire. Yet Dean, who makes it no secret that he has little love for the angels, saves Castiel from Alastair.
 * Add in the look that Castiel has when he sees Dean kissing Anna.
 * By the sixteenth episode, Castiel has been demoted because he cares too much about Dean and his superiors feel it will 'impair his judgement'.
 * They're right. Castiel goes on to investigate something he has been ordered not to, because Dean was hurt.
 * In the 18th episode he bends the rules almost to the point of breaking them entirely to help Dean, and by the 20th episode he's all set to disobey completely and tell Dean what the angels are really up to.
 * By at least the 18th episode, if not earlier, Dean has figured out that he can manipulate Castiel simply by threatening to end their friendship.
 * Every single episode in which Castiel appears seems to be a teaser for Castiel/Dean. He watches him in his sleep, he visits him in his dreams, in the final episode of season four, he pins him to a wall and covers his mouth, leaning in REALLY close... Not to mention the scene in 4.21, where Dean and Castiel just stare at each other. For... about 20 seconds.
 * The zoom-out shot of them in that scene always reminds this troper of the shots employed for especially romantic kissing scenes in many movies. You know the ones, beneath a starry sky, wrapped up in each other and oblivious to the rest of the world, surrounded by the scrap parts and old tyres of Singer Salvage Yard....
 * Aaaaand the last episode of season 4, wherein
 * And he does this by . Fan Service at its best.
 * Don't forget the fact that Dean trusts Castiel, despite enough to go along with everything without question or complaint.
 * Also don't forget that Castiel does all this because Dean becomes disgusted with him and tells him, "We're through." Castiel reacts with visible distress.
 * Not forgetting Castiel's repeated assertions (5.02 and 5.18 in particular) that everything he has done, he did for Dean.

"Dean: Are you coming?
 * It's definitely worth noting that nobody gets under Castiel's skin like Dean does. Not even the biggest bad guys in all Creation can get Cas that riled up.
 * And in the third episode of the fifth season, Castiel appears out of nowhere about a foot away from Dean so that when Dean turns around their faces are really close together. Later in the episode, Dean straightens Castiel's collar and tightens his tie.
 * And when Dean takes Castiel to a brothel to get him laid, they both end up fleeing the place, with Dean admitting that he hasn't had that much fun in a while, as he slings his arm round Castiel and the two share a smile.
 * But Dean promised Castiel wouldn't die a virgin. Many a fanfic has sprung up around him keeping that promise when the brothel plan fell through.
 * Dean also, quite pointlessly, informs Castiel that Bert and Ernie are gay before taking him off to get laid. One has to wonder why.
 * Not to mention the reason he takes Cas to a brothel is because he asked Cas what he wants to do (on his last night), and offers booze, women...the look Cas gives Dean could easily be mistaken for "you"
 * Even in the post-apocalyptic future of 5.04, Castiel remains on Earth with Dean and fights beside him for 5 years, and despite becoming utterly disillusioned he still follows Dean into a situation he knows to be potentially deadly.
 * Future-Dean basically admits that he is using his friends as cannon-fodder, and yet:

Castiel: Of course."

"Future!Castiel: But instead, we become this. The only thing I think we have left, Dean and me, is each other. (unadorned sincerity) If Dean says it’s time to go out in a blaze of glory, win or lose, so be it. I’m in. But then. . . (smiles at Past!Dean) That’s just how I roll."
 * One of the things that appalls Dean most about future-Dean is his willingness to sacrifice his friends, but Dean seems especially horrified that he's sacrificing Castiel. "You mean you're going to feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas too?" He seems to imply that he could possibly understand sacrificing the others, but deliberately letting Cas die is crossing the line.
 * Cut from the production script:

"Castiel: I'm there now.
 * Dean called Castiel "huggy bear" over the phone in 5.10.
 * And pretty much every other phone conversation between them.
 * Especially the one in 5.14 where Dean calls Castiel to give him their location, and Castiel appears right in front of him before the call is even finished. Which prompts this exchange, all while standing mere inches apart and staring at each other, apparently oblivious to the fact that Sam is in the room with them:

Dean: Yeah, I get that.

Castiel: I'm going to hang up now.

Dean: Right."

"Dean: Why's it always gotta be me that makes the call, huh? It's not like Cas lives in my ass, dude's busy!
 * In 6.03, Castiel states (like it's the most obvious thing in the world) that he and Dean than Cas and Sam.
 * Amusingly, whenever another character points out the "profound bond" that Dean and Castiel seem to have, the normally snarky Dean goes completely silent and cannot even seem to muster a denial.
 * In Caged Heat, Castiel and  unexpectedly start making out. The Winchesters could've turned around or pretended not to see, but the fact that they ogled the whole thing with those particular expressions on their faces made it hard not to think other things. Dean's shuffling and awkward little dance--like he doesn't know what to do with his hands--made the entire scene all the more Ho Yay-tastic.
 * Most of season 6 has Dean being a big baby about Castiel not being around enough for him. He openly laments Cas not being human-like anymore. He just seems so entitled and used to having Cas by his side, and he's being a big jerk about it. When Castiel finally opens up enough to say things aren't going so good for him, Dean finally starts cutting him some slack.
 * It's not just that Cas admits things aren't going well for him, it's that he admits he'd rather be with Dean and Sam.
 * Not to mention, later in the same episode It's more significant in context.
 * This troper is a het Cas shipper and honestly believes that Dean is completely straight, except sometimes the way he acts around Castiel is, to put it lightly, hard to explain away. Just look at that body language. And that's just one of out many instances.
 * In 6x17, "My Heart Will Go On", Balthazar tells the boys (mostly Dean, whom he's looking at for the last part), "I'm sorry, you have me confused with the other angel. You know, the one in the dirty trenchcoat who's in love with you?"
 * We now have this, from "Mommy Dearest."

Bobby: *Gives a disbelieving look*

Castiel: *Shows up behind Dean*

Dean: Cas, get outta my ass!

Castiel: I was never in... your... *Cue awkward looks*"

"Announcer: "And at 4:30, there's the "Homoerotic Subtext of Supernatural.""
 * 'The Man Who Would Be King' is one giant testament to Dean and Cas's relationship, depressing ending included.
 * In October 2011, the articles for both Dean and Castiel in The Other Wiki had to be protected due to continuous Ho Yay'ing.
 * And then there was also Alastair and Dean. With all the implications of "poking and prodding", Alastair acting like an stalker ex-boyfriend and even calling Dean "Daddy's little girl", it was all quite yummy to say the least.
 * Let's be realistic. There is no way in Hell that Alastair did not get around to tormenting Dean that way at some point.
 * There's only so many ways you can try to break somebody. Has to be taken into account. (I'm not sure how I feel about that...)
 * Sam and "It had to be you", after some rather intimate moments in bed with  Jessica.
 * Actually the whole  had shades of an arranged marriage, with   doing his best to "court" Sam and trying to convince him that it was his destiny. Brought to its fullest subtext in the finale of Season 5 when   Really he came off as an older dutiful husband trying to please his young, unhappy bride!
 * While everyone in the fandom assumed as much during Sam's time in hell, Episode 2 of season 7 outright states that Lucifer made Sam his 'little bitch in every sense of the term.'
 * Balthazar more than implied this way back in the middle of Season 6; Michael and Lucifer "hate-banging" Sam, anyone? And even earlier on, Castiel was making some extremely suggestive comments about how traumatized Sam would be as a result of the two pissed-off angels "taking out their frustrations" on him.
 * And in Season 7, Episode 15  Not helped by the Monster of Week's relationship to his former host almost explicitly paralleling Lucifer's relationship to Sam, and they were anything but subtle!
 * Not to mention the line about how Lucifer had missed interacting with Sam: "The rapier wit, the wittier rape..."
 * "The Real Ghostbusters" hangs a massive lampshade on all this.


 * Season five's "Point of No Return" has a lot of fun with this:
 * Dean responds to one of Castiel's way-too-intent stares: "Last person who looked at me like that, I got laid."
 * Followed by a wink when Castiel starts to leave.
 * Dean's "Blow me, Cas", may have been a retort, but taken out of context...
 * Castiel's confused expression immediately afterwards says he didn't realise it was a figure of speech.
 * The fight (or rather beat-up) scene. While it was surely brutal and nothing to be encouraged, not many fangirls missed how CLOSE their faces were.
 * And just the fact that Cas took it that personally that Dean in particular was giving up...it was all very emotional.
 * That scene was significant for another reason: this troper is of the opinion that Dean is terminally heterosexual (if overcompensating quite a bit), though in that moment in time he was buzzed, ready to give up his existence for Michael, and had nothing to lose. He practically propositions Castiel, who then proceeds to beat him up. Dean never tries anything similar again.
 * All things considered, us fangirls can probably be forgiven for thinking that could easily have segued into angry sex.
 * It seems very likely that the quite stunning overload of Ho Yay in this particular episode was all quite deliberate Fan Service, since this was a milestone episode (the show's 100th) and what better way to thank your fans than trampling all over that fine line between subtext and text?
 * In 5x17, Castiel whispers into Sam's ear, for no apparent reason other than fanservice.
 * Let's face it: the demon Crowley and everyone. He has a naturally sexual air about him.
 * Let's not forget

"Gabriel: Face it. Lucifer's going to ride your ass one way or another."
 * And was it just me, or did Sam seem way too interested in whether or not that had happened?
 * Gabriel has many seemingly Camp Gay mannerisms, although he seems to be more of a Depraved Bisexual.

"Dean: Bite me.
 * Also with Dean:

Gabriel: Maybe later big boy."

"Balthazar: The footsteps I've been following--they're yours...you might as well blow coke and jump on the bed"
 * In 5.14, there's a Cupid. He's naked. And he hugs Dean, Sam, and Castiel quite enthusiastically.
 * Dean, of course, gets taken from behind.
 * Castiel and Balthazar. The cheesy (in-universe) music that plays during their first scene together doesn't help.
 * It helps that the two of them already have a history. Balthazar tells Castiel he admires him for rebelling (though his type of rebelliousness is the more shiftless, hedonistic Gabriel-type) and wastes no time trying to get Cas to indulge.

"Dean: You got to look at me, man. You got to level with me and tell me what's going on. Look me in the eye and tell me you're not working with Crowley.
 * He then takes on the archangel Raphael to save Castiel, despite telling Castiel that he won't help him with the Civil War in Heaven.
 * And then in "The French Mistake" he does help--despite all his previous declarations about staying out of the war--and shares a long look with Cas while he was at it.
 * Sam and the Trickster/Gabriel in Mystery Spot. Whether Sam has Gabriel pinned against the wall, or is begging him to bring Dean back, this troper is torn between feeling evil for finding it slashy and wanting to cry at the second scene.
 * Then Gabriel admits who he is to Sam, despite Dean being there as well.
 * And then very, very clearly holds eye contact with Sam for a beat longer than is entirely necessary.
 * This Troper was mighty pleased when after Sam asked Balthazar for "angel advice" in 6.11, Balthazar immediately makes a quip about his "boyfriend" and Sam simply responded with "Cas can't help me."
 * 6.17. "I'm sorry, you have me confused with the other angel. You know... the one in the dirty trench coat who's in love with you?"
 * Pointing out other people's hoyay seems to be Balthazar's hobby. When Sam is knocked out by, he calls him "Sleeping Beauty" and asks if Dean stole any kisses.
 * In 6.20-6.22, the Castiel/Crowley hoyay is off the charts. Crowley calls him 'kitten' and 'sweetie', there's angry slamming up against walls, Dean and Balthazar make bitchy comments about them being a couple ("THAT marriage is going swimmingly"), Balthazar quite seriously asks if they're "in flagrante"... oh, and Crowley reminds Cas "you're the bottom in this relationship".
 * In 6.20, when Crowley questions whether Castiel is compromising their goal by being too close to the boys, he gets real close to Castiel, sniffs him, and says "the stench of that impala is all over your overcoat, angel." - Additionally, even though we know why Castiel was in the impala, Crowley's quote can be taken another way.
 * In another scene with Castiel and Crowley in the same episode, when they have a fight about Crowley sending his demons to kill Sam, Dean, and Bobby, Crowley says "Well, I got news for you, kitten. A whore's a whore's a whore." regarding Castiel's conflicting loyalty. Castiel proceeds to slam him up against the wall and gets right in his face.
 * Dean seems really relunctant to suspect Castiel's working with Crowley, and seems visibly distressed by it. When Castiel is spying on them, he gives Dean a long, mournful look.
 * OHMYGOD this episode is so Dean/Castastic it's not even funny. Dean not wanting to believe the truth about Castiel, Castiels desire to have his friends [read: Dean] not think poorly of him topped with the emotional confrontation at the end. Take away all the heaven/hell/angels/demons stuff and this it just an episode about cheating. Castiel is a cheating husband who covers his tracks and eventually slips up, Crowley is the other woman and Dean is the wife who wont listen to her girlfriends when they tell him her man is cheating. Take a look at this exchange and replace 'working' with 'sleeping', seriously.

[Castiel looks at Dean, but then looks away]

Dean:...Son of a bitch.

Castiel: Let me explain.

Dean: You're in it with him? You and Crowley have been going after Purgatory together? You have, huh? This whole time!"

"Crowley: You fancy a drink before you smite me?
 * It should be noted that this has bled over into the behind-the-scenes stuff, especially Jared. Somehow, he tends to be the one that tries to get all the other actors to Corpse, and tends to resort to things like just-off-camera ass pinching and kissy faces to do it. One time, he was lying in a hospital bed for a scene, and tried to get Misha to break by planting his foot in Misha's crotch (Misha: "There's a foot in my balls, just FYI.")
 * Season 7 is already off to a good start ho yay wise, what with calling Sam things like "bunkmate" and "his little bitch in every sense of the word". It's far beyond subtext now.
 * Actually, what Mark Pellegrino has unleashed upon the seventh season is probably the most blatant Ho Yay in the history of the show.
 * Except that at this point, we're pretty sure that Lucifer isn't actually there. Which means that yeah, it's Sam's mind that generates all of Lucifer's yay-tastic comments. "Aww, he wants to hold your little hand... How sweet."
 * Speaking of Season 7 Ho Yay:

Castiel: No.

Crowley: You like to bend 'em right over, do you?"

"Crowley: There's a lot of angels swooning over you...you've got what they call, 'sex appeal'."
 * Castiel's archangel brother once calls him a "pretty boy angel", and the male demon Crowley very discreetly checks him out while acknowledging the following:

"It can later be seen in the trunk of the Impala."
 * When Castiel seemingly explodes underwater and his trench coat (over coat) washes ashore, Dean picks it up, folds it, and takes it with him.

"Dean: "It shows, you look amazing." (to Sam) This never happened."
 * This troper can't be the only one who found Cas standing in front of a tied-up Sam, then removing his belt and putting it in Sam's mouth, effectively gagging him, just a little bit hot (minus the excruciating pain for Sam that followed).
 * In episode 17 of season 7 Dean goes to find Emmanuel and instead finds out that he is Castiel, but with major amnesia. Am I the only one who noticed the look on Dean's face when he found out Cas was married to Daphne? It was like someone had kicked his puppy and then ripped out his heart.
 * Not to mention he kept his coat in the back of their car, and the line from the promo "part of me always believed you'd come back." How is this not canon?
 * This deserves to be repeated. Despite Cas lying to them about a major issue and, and despite the two having to change cars at least seven times over the past few months, Dean never stopped carrying the coat around. He always kept it with him. He never washed it, either, as if he wanted it to still smell like Cas.
 * Let It Bleed. Despite it being an episode with Lisa and Ben, it screams of break-up for Dean and Castiel. This troper thinks that the equation is thus: in Dean's mind all things having to do with Cas>Lisa and Ben. Because if it were the other way around he wouldn't have hesitated to have Cas help him save them. YMMV, of course.
 * The Girl With The Dungeons & Dragons Tattoo: Charlie has to flirt her way past a guard to get to Roman's computer, but has no idea how to flirt with someone who isn't a girl. Dean has to coach her through picking up a guy.

"Sam: We should call Castiel.
 * Those demons and their lampshading. In the season 7 finale, Meg tells Dean Castiel was his boyfriend first.
 * The whole season 7 finale was Dean/Castiel filled, from the apology to The only thing missing is the big kiss.

Dean: Dude, on my car, he showed up naked, covered in bees.

Sam: Yeah, I am not really sorry I missed that."


 * Even the Downer Ending seems to come right out of a Slash Fic!