gabriel_bigbang masterpost
faith is a series of complications
Author: tasogareika
Artist: h4ppy_fun_b4ll
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU/AR; drama, action, angst, a smidge of romance, mythology abuse.
Pairing: Gabriel/Castiel, with an evolving (and eventual) Dean/Castiel angle
Rating: R
Words: 101,241
Warnings: Spoilers for up to 6.15, but also including major plot points for the entire season in general plus Leviathan stuff from Season 7. Warnings for angel on angel action (plus a dash of wing!kink), angst, a notable amount of blasphemy plus gratuitous use (as well as abuse, handwaving and even twisting around) of folklore/mythology, ridiculous amounts of UST (which is over 9000!), major fail everywhere and mainly lots of trainwreck. Oh, and all the drama, because it wouldn’t be fanfiction without it.
Summary: While trapped in the strange alternate universe that Balthazar sent them to, Sam and Dean meet the one person they never expected to see again-Gabriel, who has been living in that world ever since Lucifer killed him. While going out on his way to send the brothers back and return to his comfortable life in the alternate universe, instead Gabriel ends up crossing over as well and gets stuck there. While waiting for his ticket home Gabriel finds out too much and gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself falling into a complicated relationship with Castiel and has perhaps one too many things to answer for as the threat of Eve looms closer and everything is all not what it seems to be. More than that however, Gabriel discovers once and for all just what he has to stand for-and for exactly who he is standing for. AU from 6.15 ‘The French Mistake’.
chapter index
(full PDF version available @ mediafire)
(author's commentary located here)
(art masterpost here)
(FST track listing and downloads available here)
Ø: prologue-nobody thinks about you. (31_days, 15th September 2011) The blade cracked through his Grace, shattering it as it burned like anything and Gabriel could feel his wings breaking apart, fragments of light and Grace scattering into the shadows that Lucifer cast in front of him.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
I: first act-you can’t win a race with a cannonball. (31_days, 9th September 2011) His life was a freaking television show here, for God’s sake. Who the hell would have ever thought of doing his life as some serial drama?
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
II: second act-no more dreaming of the dead. (31_days, 25th May 2010) Once the bell sounded and Bob could do nothing else but bash his head against the wall and contact Sera in hopes of salvaging their eventual downfall, Gabriel went over to where the brothers were, grinning as he saw Dean making a gesture to his brother that could only be interpreted as “Gun. Mouth. Now.”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
III: third act-face to face with the sky. (31_days, 16th March 2010) “So,” Dean started, trying to make sense of all this mumbo-jumbo in his head. “Basically, Gabriel’s dry, but he lost his plug so he can’t just… stick it in and charge himself back up? Is that what you’re saying?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
IV: fourth act-strength will endure the deception of pain. (31_days, 26th November 2009) Gabriel instantly froze at the mention of Purgatory, feeling an icy coldness crawl up his spine. Purgatory. Even Gabriel didn’t have much knowledge on it, but he knew enough to know that it was something nobody should ever mess with. Only the archangels knew why the place existed, and two of them were in Hell, one was out for the end of the world and the last was technically non-existent.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
V: fifth act-everything we talked about yesterday. (31_days, 2nd December 2010) “Singapore,” Dean muttered under his breath, as one now very disgruntled human, one not-so-disgruntled but more interested human, one rather confused angel and one very amused archangel stepped back out into the sunshine, after Loki had cheerily sent them out from the apartment. “Seriously? Singapore?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
VI: sixth act-of force and friction. (31_days, 6th December 2010) The archangel stared at Castiel for a moment, before he pulled out his arm to cast a glance at his watch; the digital screen winked back at him with the numbers 03:51.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
VII: seventh act-satellite orbit. (31_days, 25th January 2011) “Rocks fall, everybody dies, blah blah blah. Yes, Constantine, I already know,” the Trickster sighed once more, finishing up the rest of her ice-cream and tossing the napkin down on the table. “Look, I don't want Raphael to win any more than you do, but it's not as if your own track record has been stellar lately.”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
VIII: eighth act-this broken world we choose. (31_days, 28th September 2009) Both Castiel and Gabriel jerked their heads towards Crowley at the question, and the archangel felt dread gripping him tight, rendering him unable to speak as he watched the angel narrow frosty blue eyes at the other. “What do you mean?” he asked, his voice already betraying the emotions that Castiel had been attempting to hide.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
IX: ninth act-gathering of the murder. (Jack's Crows, John Gorka) Sam nodded, and quoted the words that Loki had told them. “Where everybody’s from and nobody goes, that’s where you’re gonna find Jack’s crows.” The younger human blinked and inclined his head. “What does it mean, anyway?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
X: tenth act-your hand in mine. (31_days, 11th January 2009) “Charade, Cas? Charade?” he laughed again, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as the hollowness of his amusement echoed in his ears. “The game's over, bro. There's no use in pretending anymore.” He was a coward and had always been a coward, even up to the point where he decided to help Sam and Dean and stand up against Lucifer.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
XI: eleventh act-we are all of us haunted and haunting. (31_days, 21st June 2009) Cas frowned at those words, somehow looking as if he wasn't buying it. “Why would performing sexual acts with Gabriel be better for me?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
XII: twelfth act-goodbye halcyon days. (Title of BLEACH manga volume 27/chapter 237) “Because it was destined?” Castiel snapped back, eyes flashing in barely-restrained anger. “Because you believed that it couldn't be changed? Because it has changed, and we proved that destiny isn't absolute. You were just tired of seeing Michael and Lucifer battling each other. I am just tired of having to keep losing the people closest to me. I just want this all to be over, in the same way that you once did.”
livejournal link part a and part b @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
XIII: thirteenth act-carry on my wayward son. (Carry On My Wayward Son, Kansas) Of all the places in the world, the last spot that Gabriel expected to find himself to go to again was the Elysian Fields hotel.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
Ø: epilogue-all this leads to one outcome. (31_days, 2nd July 2008) It was like waking up from a long dream.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
∞: encore-after the end. “One for sorrow, two for mirth…”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Writing this note now, I can say for a fact that I have a lot of ~feelings~ in actually managing to post this in its entirety (while blowing my brain out through my nose - goddammit flu). This has been a work in progress ever since September, and to see it wholly complete and up... well, I can say that I certainly feel accomplished, although I do solemnly swear never to write a fic as big as this again. OTL HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS.
That said, I have a whole bunch of people to thank for making this possible - first, to the awesome mods of the gabriel_bigbang challenge who had to put up with all my minty newness when I first signed up for the challenge. In between writing this a lot of things have happened, and I have gained a lot of experience, and I think in putting up this story I have surpassed all of that and become a better person than before. Hopefully. Another person I have to thank is tawg, who has let me bounce ideas off her and encouraged me when I needed to get my ass into finishing this story before the deadlines. Also to my two last minute betas tinypinkmouse and bekkamero for using their eleventh hour beta superpowers to go through this monster for me, and my artist h4ppy_fun_b4ll for being really great and awesome. And of course, internet twin Michele for enduring my neverending spam about FEELINGS and PLOT or whatever it was I needed to spam about to her on AIM/Plurk/Tumblr.
After having spent so much time and effort in writing this beast, I'm really glad to say that its' finally complete, and I really really hope you guys will enjoy this story. I've never written something as big and/or epic like this before, so to hear anything from you guys will be very much appreciated. Please, do enjoy the story.
Author: tasogareika
Artist: h4ppy_fun_b4ll
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU/AR; drama, action, angst, a smidge of romance, mythology abuse.
Pairing: Gabriel/Castiel, with an evolving (and eventual) Dean/Castiel angle
Rating: R
Words: 101,241
Warnings: Spoilers for up to 6.15, but also including major plot points for the entire season in general plus Leviathan stuff from Season 7. Warnings for angel on angel action (plus a dash of wing!kink), angst, a notable amount of blasphemy plus gratuitous use (as well as abuse, handwaving and even twisting around) of folklore/mythology, ridiculous amounts of UST (which is over 9000!), major fail everywhere and mainly lots of trainwreck. Oh, and all the drama, because it wouldn’t be fanfiction without it.
Summary: While trapped in the strange alternate universe that Balthazar sent them to, Sam and Dean meet the one person they never expected to see again-Gabriel, who has been living in that world ever since Lucifer killed him. While going out on his way to send the brothers back and return to his comfortable life in the alternate universe, instead Gabriel ends up crossing over as well and gets stuck there. While waiting for his ticket home Gabriel finds out too much and gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself falling into a complicated relationship with Castiel and has perhaps one too many things to answer for as the threat of Eve looms closer and everything is all not what it seems to be. More than that however, Gabriel discovers once and for all just what he has to stand for-and for exactly who he is standing for. AU from 6.15 ‘The French Mistake’.
chapter index
(full PDF version available @ mediafire)
(author's commentary located here)
(art masterpost here)
(FST track listing and downloads available here)
Ø: prologue-nobody thinks about you. (31_days, 15th September 2011) The blade cracked through his Grace, shattering it as it burned like anything and Gabriel could feel his wings breaking apart, fragments of light and Grace scattering into the shadows that Lucifer cast in front of him.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
I: first act-you can’t win a race with a cannonball. (31_days, 9th September 2011) His life was a freaking television show here, for God’s sake. Who the hell would have ever thought of doing his life as some serial drama?
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
II: second act-no more dreaming of the dead. (31_days, 25th May 2010) Once the bell sounded and Bob could do nothing else but bash his head against the wall and contact Sera in hopes of salvaging their eventual downfall, Gabriel went over to where the brothers were, grinning as he saw Dean making a gesture to his brother that could only be interpreted as “Gun. Mouth. Now.”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
III: third act-face to face with the sky. (31_days, 16th March 2010) “So,” Dean started, trying to make sense of all this mumbo-jumbo in his head. “Basically, Gabriel’s dry, but he lost his plug so he can’t just… stick it in and charge himself back up? Is that what you’re saying?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
IV: fourth act-strength will endure the deception of pain. (31_days, 26th November 2009) Gabriel instantly froze at the mention of Purgatory, feeling an icy coldness crawl up his spine. Purgatory. Even Gabriel didn’t have much knowledge on it, but he knew enough to know that it was something nobody should ever mess with. Only the archangels knew why the place existed, and two of them were in Hell, one was out for the end of the world and the last was technically non-existent.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
V: fifth act-everything we talked about yesterday. (31_days, 2nd December 2010) “Singapore,” Dean muttered under his breath, as one now very disgruntled human, one not-so-disgruntled but more interested human, one rather confused angel and one very amused archangel stepped back out into the sunshine, after Loki had cheerily sent them out from the apartment. “Seriously? Singapore?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
VI: sixth act-of force and friction. (31_days, 6th December 2010) The archangel stared at Castiel for a moment, before he pulled out his arm to cast a glance at his watch; the digital screen winked back at him with the numbers 03:51.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
VII: seventh act-satellite orbit. (31_days, 25th January 2011) “Rocks fall, everybody dies, blah blah blah. Yes, Constantine, I already know,” the Trickster sighed once more, finishing up the rest of her ice-cream and tossing the napkin down on the table. “Look, I don't want Raphael to win any more than you do, but it's not as if your own track record has been stellar lately.”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
VIII: eighth act-this broken world we choose. (31_days, 28th September 2009) Both Castiel and Gabriel jerked their heads towards Crowley at the question, and the archangel felt dread gripping him tight, rendering him unable to speak as he watched the angel narrow frosty blue eyes at the other. “What do you mean?” he asked, his voice already betraying the emotions that Castiel had been attempting to hide.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
IX: ninth act-gathering of the murder. (Jack's Crows, John Gorka) Sam nodded, and quoted the words that Loki had told them. “Where everybody’s from and nobody goes, that’s where you’re gonna find Jack’s crows.” The younger human blinked and inclined his head. “What does it mean, anyway?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
X: tenth act-your hand in mine. (31_days, 11th January 2009) “Charade, Cas? Charade?” he laughed again, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as the hollowness of his amusement echoed in his ears. “The game's over, bro. There's no use in pretending anymore.” He was a coward and had always been a coward, even up to the point where he decided to help Sam and Dean and stand up against Lucifer.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
XI: eleventh act-we are all of us haunted and haunting. (31_days, 21st June 2009) Cas frowned at those words, somehow looking as if he wasn't buying it. “Why would performing sexual acts with Gabriel be better for me?”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
XII: twelfth act-goodbye halcyon days. (Title of BLEACH manga volume 27/chapter 237) “Because it was destined?” Castiel snapped back, eyes flashing in barely-restrained anger. “Because you believed that it couldn't be changed? Because it has changed, and we proved that destiny isn't absolute. You were just tired of seeing Michael and Lucifer battling each other. I am just tired of having to keep losing the people closest to me. I just want this all to be over, in the same way that you once did.”
livejournal link part a and part b @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
XIII: thirteenth act-carry on my wayward son. (Carry On My Wayward Son, Kansas) Of all the places in the world, the last spot that Gabriel expected to find himself to go to again was the Elysian Fields hotel.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
Ø: epilogue-all this leads to one outcome. (31_days, 2nd July 2008) It was like waking up from a long dream.
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
∞: encore-after the end. “One for sorrow, two for mirth…”
livejournal link @ inktrain // dreamwidth link @
mightyenas // chapter link @ AO3
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Writing this note now, I can say for a fact that I have a lot of ~feelings~ in actually managing to post this in its entirety (while blowing my brain out through my nose - goddammit flu). This has been a work in progress ever since September, and to see it wholly complete and up... well, I can say that I certainly feel accomplished, although I do solemnly swear never to write a fic as big as this again. OTL HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS.
That said, I have a whole bunch of people to thank for making this possible - first, to the awesome mods of the gabriel_bigbang challenge who had to put up with all my minty newness when I first signed up for the challenge. In between writing this a lot of things have happened, and I have gained a lot of experience, and I think in putting up this story I have surpassed all of that and become a better person than before. Hopefully. Another person I have to thank is tawg, who has let me bounce ideas off her and encouraged me when I needed to get my ass into finishing this story before the deadlines. Also to my two last minute betas tinypinkmouse and bekkamero for using their eleventh hour beta superpowers to go through this monster for me, and my artist h4ppy_fun_b4ll for being really great and awesome. And of course, internet twin Michele for enduring my neverending spam about FEELINGS and PLOT or whatever it was I needed to spam about to her on AIM/Plurk/Tumblr.
After having spent so much time and effort in writing this beast, I'm really glad to say that its' finally complete, and I really really hope you guys will enjoy this story. I've never written something as big and/or epic like this before, so to hear anything from you guys will be very much appreciated. Please, do enjoy the story.