What a good question! The answer is yes, and I’d like to share them.

» For Love For Glory [LJ | AO3] - bellanovaskies

83,400 words, NC-17, AU

Summary: It’s the 1940’s, the war is tearing Europe in half, and the Nazis have a plan to uncover an ancient weapon belonging to the Egyptian gods that can tip the scale in their favor. With the help of a librarian named Castiel, it’s up to Sam and Dean Winchester, respectively a professor of archaeology and treasure hunter, to get to the Lost City of Amun-Ra and stop the Third Reich from achieving world domination. But with a missing father, secret societies, and an unexpected romance, things get more than a little complicated in this race against time. Loosely based on the Indiana Jones franchise.

This story taught me how to write a fanfic so it reads like a movie in the reader’s mind. Sometimes I wish I’d written this - but thankfully it was written by jaegersaurus, who happens to be one of my best friends in the whole wide world, so I get the honour of being proud of her. (She’s not bribing me to say this, I promise.) She blew my mind with her writing skills here. The scene with Dean walking under the Nile River was the single most incredible scene I’ve read in a fanfic story. This is a cinematic masterpiece, and it deserves to become fandom famous. Hell, in another life, I think it could’ve made the New York Times best-seller’s list. I will rec this as the greatest piece of Destiel fanfic, probably until my dying day. (If I’ve oversold this, I’m sorry. I just really love it, okay?) P.S. The ending will make you cry. And that only adds to how great it is. (It’s not major character death, before you ask.)

» All Things Shining [AO3] - Askance, standbyme

142,000 words, NC-17

Summary: Something in the world is waking up. It isn’t long before it’s brought to the attention of the Winchesters and Castiel: miracles are spreading across the country, the paranormal seems to be shrinking back on itself—and it all has something to do with the missing prayer book of a traveling preacher who died over a century ago. Dean is convinced it’s all the lead-up to another Apocalypse; Sam and Castiel aren’t so sure. Regardless, it sends them out on a less-than-typical road-trip, following the Mississippi and remnants of a very old story that seems increasingly to call to them. And along the way the trio learn much more about themselves—and the consequences and origins of love—than they’d ever have anticipated.

I started reading this nearly two years ago and I haven’t finished it yet, so it never made it to my rec list. But that’s the fault of my reading difficulties, not the story. This story taught me how to write original characters. It taught me how to weave extra characters into a fanfic narrative, and it taught me a better way to make ambience out of words. It also taught me it’s okay for a narrative to meander, because whatever you do, you’re still paving the road for the rest of the story. The settings of this fanfic are places of peace for me; all I have to do is remember it and I’m filled with a sense of calm. This is a story that seems raw in all senses of the word. Honestly, I’m getting emotional just thinking about it. I’ve never read a fanfic like it, and I doubt I will again.

» Shut Up (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) [LJ | AO3] - kototyph

23,900 words, NC-17, AU

Summary: Dean’s done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov— likable guys he’s ever known. Dean doesn’t know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.

This taught me how to write fluffy stories in concise little packages. kototyph is another one of those talented people who I’m proud to call a friend (who is also not bribing me!). This story (and all the Dean/Cas stories by kototyph, particularly Domesticated) taught me it’s okay to be completely self-indulgent when writing. Sometimes you can just let your heart lie back on a cushion of happiness and beautiful words, and, on occasion, it becomes escapism you’ll never forget.

Why yes, I did just watch all 22 episodes of Season 1 today.

jaegersaurus replied to your post: Psycho-Pass

yes good.