#sambenny? kinda

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

Thoughts on a potential Sam & Benny relationship? Platonic or otherwise? 👀✨

Hi!!! thank you for asking this hehe. See Benny falls under the category of characters 'assigned' to Dean who personally, to me, also have a lot in common with Sam when you really look beneath the surface (Cas is another character who falls in this camp). And what he has in common with Sam is just. a lot more thematically meaningful to me lol. Also I'm sorry... this is gonna be mostly literary analysis because i'm a real freak who judges ship potential between characters according to ~themes~ 😔

Benny, like Sam, is a character who's born from liminality. He's forced to occupy that space by the nature of his existence, but just like with Sam, his ambiguities aren't allowed to remain within the narrative. I'm using liminal here as a catch-all to cover both the idea of ambiguous identity and ambiguous zones between bordered territories, regions that in essence don't 'belong' anywhere.

Both Benny and Sam are not-monsters. Sam is the human who's never quite human, Benny is the monster who's never quite a monster. It's interesting to me that on a narrative level, Benny has to be 'exorcised' from the story first before the show fully leans into the stable home territory of the Bunker. From that point in the story onwards, any ambiguities in Sam's identity get squashed too. He's forced to occupy a rigid, unquestioned sense of belonging now - to the hunter community and to his family. His monstrous associations are something purely referred to in the past tense (i'm not referring just to the demon blood arc here, but how his soulless and hallucifer arc frame him as something 'dangerous' to the narrative).

Benny's introduction alone renders him a liminal creature, he comes from Purgatory, an 'in-between' realm sandwiched between Earth and Hell, a place of perpetual fighting, journeying and movement. there is no real home to be found in Purgatory. There's no place for rest. And when we learn his backstory, we learn that he was a literal sailor, a monster pirate hunting on open waters. He is a displaced person without a nation, no stable 'home'. The ocean doubles as another form of Purgatory; a liminal space for travellers, where one is always journeying and vulnerable. In that sense, he's a metaphorical double for both Sam and Dean, stuck journeying forever in their car, moving from one liminal space to the next (for them, in the form of motel rooms. there's a great chapter in the book TV Goes To Hell: An Unofficial Roadmap of Supernatural on this).

On a surface level, Benny embodies the type of free, rugged masculinity Dean has always idolised and aspired towards. On one level, he fits neatly into the same category as Gordon, Ketch etc. under the category of guys who just hearken back to John. But the added dimension of him being a non-practising vampire is what ties him to Sam, and what makes him an engaging side character to me. (Like, the literal denying-themselves-of-blood of it all). Real belonging will always come at the cost of erasing some integral part of who they are, a part of them that marks them as non-human.

Benny's brief subplot also directly mirrors Sam's arc in early s8 - both of them try to settle down and try and place roots. For Benny, it's with a descendent in Louisiana (a migrant trying to reconnect with his roots? [sniper on the roof takes me ou-]). But for the both of them, Dean is the ghost of hunting who disrupts this false, temporary sense of settlement. For Sam, it's Dean's return from Purgatory that pulls him away from a 'false' peace. For Benny, it's his association with Dean that draws hunters upon him (through Dean comes Sam, then Martin). Hunting in Supernatural is the boundary enforcer, the border police, the violent vigilantism that draws strict lines in the sand between humanness and monstrosity - a functional metaphor also for the ways we define who gets to be considered a citizen vs. an illegal alien.

(Also all of this fits into a meta I'm currently trying to write where I'm parsing my own feelings on why Sam's isolation/ambiguity resonates so particularly with dilemmas around identity and isolation as an immigrant child of migrants, compared to a character like Dean. So a bookmark here for further meta on a deeper reading into migrant narratives present in Benny + Sam's arcs?)

tldr; imagine if there was a single person of colour in the Supernatural writer's room (lol) damn what could've been!

[theangiediary]

I know a lot of people like samcasdean, and I personally love a good polycule, so I was wondering if you had any thoughts on sambennydean? 👀

Ik a lot of people also don’t tend to ship sambenny or see it as something that could really work out, but I really and truly think that with some time Sam and Benny could’ve grown really close, in a sense that they struggle a lot with the same things and have similar life experiences, such as blood addiction. I’m a huge sambenny and deanbenny girlie so I was wondering what your thoughts were, if you have any? 😗💕

my thoughts are that Sam would murder Benny in cold blood <3

I'm sorry ! 😭 He's just such a jealous bitch; Dean is NOT allowed to have male friends/mentors/etc let alone lovers. For entertainment sake we could say that Dean holds him off long enough to quell Sam's rage ig. Then we could maybe get SamDeanBenny action. Benny calling Sam "sugar", letting him call the shots.

Someone pointed out Sam has a line like "Dean I know what you had to do down there to survive but it's over now", and just generally Sam's kinda... nonchalance about Dean scamming/tricking/baiting, so there is the possibility of coming in with a sort of disgusted/patronizing attitude. "Yeah Dean open up for him, why are you wincing it's not like it's your first time, what has Benny gotten bigger or something? Not as big as me though so you better buck up.."

Dirty talk aside, I don't think Benny and Sam could actually bond very well, over anything that wasn't Dean? Tbh I don't really remember Benny well outside the accent, henley, and Dean's panting looks so idk, but it seemed he had more of a chill, "I'm a monster and that's just How It Is" approach, vs Sam's "no I know demon blood is dangerous but it's for the right reasons and I can handle it!".

(Also I have read Sam/Benny, with sub!Sam and Benny getting all "aw cher just wanted some attention huh? this is what it felt like for him.. Good thing about monsters, we can do this allll day...")

[lovetransaction]

I’m a big sambenny and deanbenny girlie, so I wanted to know what you’re thoughts were on a potential sambennydean relationship or even just sambenny in general? 👀 If you have any ofc!

I’m someone that can personally see Sam and Benny bonding over shared life experiences and struggles with addiction, and I’m just curious on getting other’s perspectives. 😗😭

A-hoy hoy!!

Within the timeframes of the show, I can't see where sambenny would fit in (just for the constraints of the plot) but if they'd had some time? If Sam had been stuck in Purgatory for a while when Benny went in to spring him? I think they could've bonded.

The way I see it Benny would for SURE have been the one to bridge the distance between them because he'd be there with this magical baby brother he's mostly just heard about, and he'll finally have a chance to get to know a Sam who's neither the intense Dean-narrated version nor the version intent on slaughtering Benny for being a vampire. I don't see Sam wanting to just spill the beans about being addicted to demon blood so it would have to be Bobby who lets that one slip.

And then Benny would bring it up at the campfire one night while Bobby was snoring away into a rolled-up coat so he wouldn't be too loud, and Sam wouldn't want to talk about it much but also Benny's spent a shit ton of time with Dean and he can kinda catch on to what their methods of communication are. Sam's embarrassed to talk about his own struggles if nobody asks, or if they change the subject, or a million other anxious fiddly little things, but Benny's got patience and Benny doesn't have anything mean to say about Dean, so with some persistence he actually gets Sam talking for real.

I don't know if they'd be able to have any more intimate moments together what with Bobby always there lol although ... Sam and Benny are both good at being quiet. Maybe one night once the muffled snoring commences, Sam nods to Benny that he's got something to show him. Benny follows Sam a little ways off, and Sam backs himself into a tree and grabs Benny and hauls him in close and hisses, bite me. And Benny doesn't even hesitate.

[milfsamwinchester]

sambenny good!!! sam feeling honestly truly jealous for the first time in his life over benny getting to be close w dean in purgatory. sam being very clear of his hatred of benny & sending him death glares every time he comes near. meanwhile benny ups his southern charm and is super sweet to sam until it wears away at sam and sam is like ok we can have a little hate fuck. as a treat. also youre kinda handsome. it’s the ideal dynamic !!!!!!!!!!

[speckledspout]

SamBenny and SamMax for the ship game thingy :D

SamBenny is something that i could kinda see happening. i mean, it would be more of sam really can’t stand benny because of all the time that he’s been spending with dean and well, honestly he can’t stand the guy. but dean took them down to benny’s neck of the woods to work a case or something and maybe sam might have had a tad bit too much whiskey and well, benny’s voice, there was something about it that was just... it was supposed to be a one time thing. right? a hate fuck but it happened again and then maybe it happened again before it happened to many times to be called nothing more than a semi-relationship.

now for SamMax because this is something that i absolutely love. i mean, i absolutely love this ship. just, i think that it would be such a pure ship. sam would have dabbled in witchcraft a little bit. it came with the job and max, well max was more than willing to teach sam a little bit more. and that’s how sam would get away. he would use the excuse that the only reason why he wanted to keep seeing max. he wanted to learn more magic. simple as that. max wasn’t oblivious to the way that sam would seem to blush whenever max would compliment him or the way that he would blush even harder and fumbled over his words when max pressed up close to him and so it was max who took the first step and he was the one who kissed sam first.

[glitter-lisp]

SamBenny Love Week Day 1 - Firsts

The first time Sam meets Benny, it’s awkward.  Dean’s pissed at Sam for abandoning him to Purgatory, Sam’s grateful to have his brother back but feels like Dean’s not willing to consider what it was like for Sam, and they’re fighting.  And then Sam learns that Dean’s been buddying it up with a vampire.  A monster.  A killer.

And Dean had the nerve to act surprised that Sam went for the machete.

Sam knew the difference between “not human” and “monster”.  Lots of overlap, but not synonymous.  Benny was a blind spot.  Intellectually, he knew that if Dean trusted Benny, then Benny was probably not going to be a problem – and if he betrayed Dean, Dean would be the first in line to take his head off.  It was just too hard looking at this vampire Dean was putting so much faith in and wondering why he couldn’t put that same faith in Sam.

The first time Sam had a civil conversation with Benny was after the mess with Elizabeth and Martin and Desmond.  Against his better judgment, he listened to Dean.  When he learns the truth about what’s happening in that town, he calls off Martin and goes to talk to Benny himself.  It’s awkward, but it ends with an agreement.

Sam helps Benny as much as he can over the next few months, and when they discover the Bunker, Sam supports Dean’s decision to invite Benny.  Benny helps support Sam through the Trials and the illnesses, helping him stay on his feet.

The first time Sam kisses Benny, it’s even more awkward than that first conversation.  Benny jerks back and practically runs away.  He comes back several minutes later, and Sam can smell the mouthwash.  “Sam, don’t take this wrong.  You didn’t misread anything, I would love to be kissin’ you right now, but I can’t.  Not while you’re coughin’ blood.  I can taste it, and I can’t.”

Sam felt much better about things as he cuddled into Benny’s arms.  He probably should have thought of that.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

Oh geez, poor Benny, wanting to kiss Sam but also being like “this is a really really bad idea.” And poor Sam, he was probably panicking for those few minutes. And it ends with cuddles!!! My kinda fic, tbh

[laughablelament]

Truce

Supernatural Poetry Challenge @laughablelament vs @thecandylovingarchangelgabriel​​ Prompt: Benny Lafitte Rated: PG (mild language) Tags: Dramatic monologue, missing scene from “Taxi Driver”

(on ao3)

You ain’t gon believe this, chief, but I got a real ol soft spot for ya.

Naw I mean it. Never done much in the way of sharin and carin but Dean and that angel both— I’s startin t’think you hung the moon, time we got clear of this place.

Oh I know he exaggerates.

But… both of em says you whooped the Devil, right inside your mind. Angel says you got a forgivin soul, n’Dean… well, Dean says you’s a bitch but it’s how he says it—affectionate-like.

Naw I ain’t never had no brother, not by that kinda blood anyways. Brothers in other blood. Spilt, shared.

Naw, man, what the hell’s wrong with you? Tell me somethin, stretch, you been hungry at all since you rolled in here? Well…

Strictly on donors, same’s I told Dean. Bag blood, horrible tastin but gets the job done. More or less.

Yeah I know. Easy done, judgin a man for his hist’ry. Lucky you, I’m a forgivin soul too.

Author’s note: Many thanks to @saintedsam, for your conversation (and devotion to SamBenny). This one’s for you. ^_^