semirahrose:

Oh goodness, yes, Anon, Sam is the baddest of badasses and the sweetest of cinnamon rolls. Sam’s displays of his power during s4 don’t fall on my favorite moments list because that whole season is so unbearably painful to watch. (That’s not to say that him killing Alastair wasn’t super freaking intense, though!) 

In the same way, Sam’s displays of strength in, say, 10.01 and Mystery Spot don’t really register on my badassery scale, though I totally see why many people like them. The moments I find Sam to be most badass (usually!)  have little to do with ruthlessness, though.

Here are some parts I thought Sam was particularly badass:

• Psychic Sam using freaking telekinesis to free himself when Max is threatening Dean (1.14).
• Sam throwing himself in front of a Wendigo, arms spread, to protect two innocent people (1.02).
• Sam taking down a few werewolves and saving the day after being shot in the gut and pretty much choked to death (11.17).
• Sam in “The Usual Suspects” wasn’t a badass in the traditional sense, but the way he and Dean were totally competent sassmasters made me happy. Like, how freaking awesome is my tall puppy son?
• Sam leading the Special Children in 2.21. Again, it wasn’t a display of violence that made it seem so badass to me, but it was instead the way he prioritized the safety of the people around him over his own fear. What is that if not badass?
• Any time Sam does a spell, honestly. (Witch!Sam feelings!)
• Scary as heck, but Sam taking control of the dream in “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” I mean, no big deal. He’s just doing what this other guy has spent ages learning to do without any effort at all.
• Psychic-nosebleed!Sam. I know I said s4 is tough for me, but HNGHHH.
• Sam in “My Bloody Valentine.” It’s not his displays of power that make him so badass to me, but the fact that Famine’s influence made lovers eat each other, but Sam not only had the presence of mind to make his friends lock him up, but the strength of will to refuse the blood/strength offered to him when he was literally right in front of Famine, which made even Castiel, an angel, lose himself in his desire to indulge.
• “Swan Song.” That is all.
• Soulless!Sam. Especially that bit where he chewed into his own forearm to get the blood necessary to paint a huge devil’s trap on the ceiling. Smart!Sam + Badass!Sam is the best combination.
• Sam taking back his Soulless memories and absorbing his Hell!Self in order to wake up and help Dean. “You know me. You know why.” Honestly Sam is the most badass when he is not holding a weapon. His true displays of power so rarely involve violence.
• Sam in “Born Again Identity.” Sometimes he shows the most breathtaking strength when he is physically and mentally at the end of his rope.
• Sam hunting hellhounds in s8 and s12. Glasses are a plus.
• Sam taking out a series of demons while doing his best not to hurt the host in “Our Little World.”
• Sam facing the guy who tortured him for centuries head-on in 11.09 and 11.10. That is one of the most badass things anyone could ever do.
• Sam doing whatever he could to save people in “Don’t Call Me Shurley,” which ultimately led to him getting infected by the Evil Fog of Doom.
• “You can ask me any kind of question you want. The answer’s gonna be the exact same–Screw you. You want to get mad? You want to get mean? I’ve been tortured by the Devil himself, so you—you’re just an accent in a pantsuit. What can you do to me?”
• Leader!Sam in 12.22.

(And many more.) But those are just a handful of my favorites.