Black Swans

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Fanfiction
Title: Black Swans
Author(s): omphalos and Wolfling
Date(s): June 10, 2010
Length: 66,445 words
Genre(s): Slash, Post-apocalyptic
Fandom(s): Supernatural
Relationship(s): Gabriel/Sam Winchester
External Links: AO3
"Illustration of a Sam in the foreground, wearing a black leather jacket, and looking over his left shoulder. In the mid-ground is Gabriel, dressed in a gray jacket, looking at Sam. In the background is a black swan in flight against a gray sky, overlayed with the text Black swans by wolfling & omphalos"
Art by cybel, created for the 2010 Supernatural and J-Squared Big Bang Challenge

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Black Swans is a Supernatural post-apocalyptic AU fic by omphalos and Wolfling, focused on the pairing of Gabriel/Sam Winchester. It was created for the 2010 Supernatural and J-Squared Big Bang Challenge, with art provided by cybel. It is often recced as a must read for fans interested in Sabirel, and some fans have credited this fic as the one that made them ship the pairing[1][2]. As of January 2022 the fic has over 99,000 hits, 3200 kudos, 205 comments, and 1000 bookmarks on Archive of Our Own.

Summary

A post-apocalyptic road trip with a still recovering archangel wasn't how Sam had envisioned the aftermath of their big plan, but it sure beat a lot of the alternatives.

Reactions and Reviews

Sam and Gabriel have averted the apocalypse, but the world is a mess. They have awoken on the other side of the country from Dean and Castiel, and Gabriel's grace is depleted. When the angels make contact Sam and Gabriel begin the slow journey to meet Dean and Cas in the middle: picking up friends, running into monsters, butting heads and falling in love. Warning - wear sunscreen. There are some sizzling hot scenes in this.[3]

Canon divergent- Another one of my faves, this is a great post-apocalypse fic where things go a little further south after season 5- it does get a little heavy and angsty in places, and it’s quite long, but if I’m in the mood I can really get stuck into this one.[4]

My ultimate Sabriel fic. Their characterization is so perfect in this one. And the expansion of the mythology of Grace and demon blood – right up my alley. That and the utter adorableness that is Sabriel…perfect.[5]

The road trip fic of dreams. AU from 5.13 onwards. THE NUMBER OF TIMES I”VE READ THIS. Such gorgeous imagery and spot on characterization. A must read.[6]

This was absolutely brilliant, so well written, and the plot was phenomenal! The misunderstanding was painful, and the original characters were great.[7]

Beautiful, beautiful fic. You will find yourself reading and suddenly notice, “OMG, it’s 3AM already? Oh well, onto the next chapter!”[8]

I really love this fic for a number of reasons. There’s something entirely too poetic about it. The title itself refers to the black swan theory – that there are events, impossible to predict and impossible to comprehend at first that change the fabric of our reality in one fell swoop; events that deny the reality of one’s entire universe and rewrite it with the whisper of a wing... Yes, the Winchesters are a pair of black swans flying through the field of the apocalypse. This is a post apocalyptic road trip, where a beaten-up but victorious Sam and Gabriel seek out Dean and Cas. It’s… very philosophical. There’s some sex. It has some violence. I like it very much… and I’m going to re-read it tonight. Also, there’s sex. You probably shouldn’t read it at work. Just sayin’.[9]

Brilliantly written post-apocalypse fic. It’s a lot of fun to read at the same time as it’s more than a little heartbreaking at times.[10]

What a wonderful fic! Starts off after 5.13 Swan’s Song. Well -paced and funny, I really fell head over heels with Sam and Gabriel falling in love during their journey to be reunited with their brothers. I could actually picture this fic as a canon episode.

I’d add in that while this is a lovely fic, it does get quite dark and angsty. There’s a solid couple of chapters where Sam and Gabriel are in some bad places mentally (mainly Sam); it does get better in the end and there is a HEA :D

Post-apocalypse fic? I’m so there. It’s one of my favorite scenarios ever, and it’s as plot-focused as I hoped it would when I read the summary. There’s romance, there’s angst, but it’s all conductive to the plot. Awesome characterization, too.[11]

I’m mostly kinda meh when it comes to sabriel – especially within canonverse… but this is just so amazing. It’s essentially the perfect roadtrip of Sam and Gabriel finding their way back to Dean and Cas after they all found a different way of stopping the apocalypse, but one which turned up new consequences. Involves some brilliantly hot smut, all the best features of a post-apocalyptic road-trip story, and actually deals with the trauma of Mystery Spot and what happened with Sam’s demon blood addiction and whether the ‘taint’ needs to be permanent.[12]

As someone who doesn't read incest fic, my Supernatural reading has ended up being very Dean heavy, which is why I was so thrilled when Sam picked up a fanon angel of his own. While Dean and Castiel tend to be very moody and angsty, Sam and Gabriel are more melodramatic and have a tendency toward being drama queens, which is a different and enjoyable dynamic. Mix in some Sam and Gabriel bitchery, cameos from Dean and Castiel, and all of the fun of a post-apocalyptic road trip (zombie vampires! demon clouds! literal ghost towns!) and you have solid action fic for Sam/Gabriel fans.[13]

Words cannot express how much I recommend this fic. If you read just one, let it be this one. It will suck you into this ship and have you craving more.[14]

A bigbang fic of creatively epic proportions; slow build with strong characterizations while still being smokin' hot.[15]

It goes AU after episode 5.13 and is character-centric as opposed to plotty/creature-of-the-week-centric but even so, or maybe even because of it, I thought it was still a fun and engaging story. The ending is a bit sweeter than I usually like but overall, it makes for a very satisfying read.[16]

This was a joy to read, and even a month later I remember the details. This is vivid, emotional, and beautiful. It's one of the best post-apoc fics I've ever read. Sam is just...amazing. And Gabriel...wow. Their journey to reunite with Dean and Castiel is a thing of beauty. A work of art. I'm getting flowery, so you know it has to be damned good. Read this thing, and tell me it wasn't one of the best things you've read in a while. Go on, I dare ya. [17]

References

  1. ^ "sabriel fic rec". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  2. ^ "Comment by whitmerule on Sabriel Fic Recs, October 4, 2014". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  3. ^ "Astrozoot's Completely Subjective Sabriel Fic Rec List". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  4. ^ "Sabriel rec post woooo!". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  5. ^ "Sabriel Fic Recs". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  6. ^ "Sabriel Fic Rec List". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  7. ^ "Sabriel, Nov 27 2020 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  8. ^ "Comment by circlenowsquared on Black Swans (Supernatural fanfic), Oct 25, 2011 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  9. ^ "Freak Geek's Fanfiction Recs (10/10 would read again)". Archived from the original on 2020-09-16.
  10. ^ "October 14, 2012 Tumblr post at sabrielstories". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  11. ^ "Feb 25, 2015 Tumblr post at fuckyeahsabrielfics". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  12. ^ "August 26, 2015 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  13. ^ "Post by slyprentice at epic_recs, March 26, 2011". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  14. ^ "Sabriel Fic Rec List". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  15. ^ "Why yes, I do have a thing for Sam/Gabriel. What of it? ;), ivyadrena posting in ficrecs_ftw, April 10, 2011". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  16. ^ "Post by bloody_american in giant_recs, June 16, 2010". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  17. ^ "SPN fic rec: Black Swans, August 12, 2010 Livejournal post". Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
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