My name's Michelle.

I read. Sometimes I review. Mostly I lurk, accumulate dozens upon dozens of bookmarks, and go through them all in one fell swoop, reviewing for several hours at a time. (At least, getting through them all is the idea. My favorites list is so sparse because many of my favorites are still tied in bookmarks, or are LJ-only. I'm also hesitant to favorite what might be abandoned stories, unless I think the fun of the writing itself overpowers the lack of closure.)

Anyway, here's my favorite authors list, since they don't come with summaries automatically, with the fandoms that I enjoy from each. In many cases, a story from one of these authors is also on my favorite stories list.

BEKi of Dorvan: Supernatural. Awesome characterization, extremely talented at weaving all the darkness that tends to come with realistic portrayals of people. She does a lot of John POV, and was the first author to make me like him and all his intriguing complications. She has many long, finished stories, and I have been close to shaking after finishing a few of them. Highly recommended if you want to crawl into any of the characters' heads, though I warn you: it's intense.

CastorPollux: Yu-Gi-Oh!, mostly drabble-style. Good character insight, with beautifully visceral descriptions.

Deanish: Supernatural--awesome characterization being first and foremost, long and multi-chaptered fics being another plus. One is a very well thought out AU fic, with probably my favorite rendition of Jess's character to date. The second is a divergent fic (and if you like Henricksen or the brothers' law troubles, this deserves a double rec), and they both feature great action and well-written drama. Deanish is just incredible at pulling out Sam and Dean, as well as SamandDean: there is indeed a difference.

Deadwoodpecker: Harry Potter. I don't normally favorite an author when I've only really read one of their fics, but that one fic (Backward with Purpose) so utterly floored me that I couldn't stop myself. Anyone who can maintain so many active characters, such a massive plot and story, and write it all with such eloquence has my attention.

Emma15: Damn good Supernatural fic. I especially love her "A Beer" 'verse, which starts with the AU story "Area Codes", in which Dean almost meets up with Sam at Stanford--and then he actually does. She works through the issues of Sam leaving, from Sam and Dean's sides, in a way that is touching, painful, funny and beautiful all at once. A little more schmoop than I usually go for, but well done and amazing. Jess and John are also added with all the right details. In addition, Emma also does some great preseries-fic (mostly one-shots).

Fanfictionwriter83729: Transformers fic. Creative one-shots (mostly) with brilliant uses of humor, sadness, and everything in between.

happycabbage75: Supernatural fic. Mostly case files in an episode-style, but I haven't finished reading all her works because I'm determined to review as I go. She doesn't seem to be as well known as some other authors (some who are almost icons in the fandom) and I honestly can't tell why. Loosely connected, multi-chaptered, complete fics, with creative and different plots, but consistently interesting takes on Dean and Sam. Leaning toward Dean-centric, but she doesn't leave Sam behind. I definitely recommend her works.

Lizeth: Yu-Gi-Oh!, and specifically she's written a Yu-Gi-Oh! and Harry Potter crossover that I'm fairly fond of. (Warning: it's not completed and hasn't been updated in a bit.) She's also written a wonderful companion piece to Reaper Nanashi's Naruto fic, "Door Number Two", which I also strongly recommend (it's listed in my favorites). Look at the fan art on her Deviant Art site--it's really amazing stuff.

Mara Greengrass: I like to read her DC comics (mostly Batman), but she seems to have her hand in many different fandoms. Stargate: SG1, Doctor Who, X-men, and Buffy, just to name a few. Mostly one-shots, and it's hard to pin down a genre, but I really like her characterizations and her writing just flows.

Marz1: Full Metal Alchemist, Harry Potter, and Naruto, along with a few others. Specializes in dry humor and plot-heavy crossovers that work. Everything I've read from Marz finds the logic in fandom and manages to align or compare that logic to the inner workings of another universe, while juggling characterizations with just as much insight.

Merlin Missy: I love her Justice League and other DCAU fics, but she's also in Star Trek, Discworld and a few others. "Flash by Northwest" isn't on my favorites list for the sole reason that I'm ashamed to add it until I stop being a lurker and review it. While that one stands out to me right now, in general, her fics are just really well thought-out.

nightwalker3: Animorphs, Gundam Wing/AC Harry Potter, Ninja Turtles and Yu Yu Hakusho, and others that I don't read. Also mostly one-shots. I like her parodies best, because her sense of characterization is so strong, everyone shines true even if placed in hilarious circumstances.

Paperbkryter: Supernatural fanfic, and a very prolific author. Mostly angst or drama, but she's also got some very cute humor fics. Preseries, episode tags, epilogues and general one-shots mostly. (Paper has also written for Smallville.)

red rose knight: Star Wars, from various time periods. Very well written fic, many of which are complete and some of the series are fairly long. Great characterization--I really love the dialogue, silent and spoken, that she has between characters. Scenes flow into each other seamlessly, and just about every one of her stories has a thread of mystery to it--everything just clicks. It's awesome.

sodakey: Supernatural fanfic, and "In Reverse" is my favorite in particular (I haven't added it to my favorites yet only because I need to sit down and review it, but the Awesome tends to overwhelm me). I like reading about the intersection of Sam's Stanford and hunting lives, which "In Reverse" covers as well as the aftermath of "Faith". Great characterization, of both canon and OC characters (Sam's friends), a very suspenseful plot, and...and...:explodes: Seriously, it's amazing.

Thundera Tiger: Lord of the Rings. This is a person that really gets her characters. Generally pretty lengthy fics, though she's got a few one shots that are just as fantastic. Intricate plots, beautiful descriptions and a great grasp on how to make something sound colloquial without making it sound modern/American-colloquial.

vegakrist: Dark Angel/Supernatural. I favorited her on "The Wellspring" series alone because I love it so. Schmoop that doesn't feel like schmoop, or angst? Familial themes front and center? Spot on character voices? Snark up the wazoo? Crossover awesomeness? What else can I ask for? Even a pony pales in comparison.

Stories by Fandom

Know what I hate? You can't sort favorites by fandom. So here are mine, by fandom (use CRTL+F to find it in the list below, I guess). Completed stories are marked by a pound sign (#) because FF-dot-net apparently hates asterisks. (I'll finish the story summaries later.)

I love long stories, though I'm usually wary of starting them. My favorite types of stories are humor, AUs, divergent fics (or, 'what if?' fics, diverging from canon), transplant fics (canon characters fall into AUs or vice-versa), time-travel, crossovers, and what I've heard so charmingly referred to as "identity porn" (secret or mistaken identities). I'm a sucker for good banter, and stories which center on sibling relations or friendships. Crossovers are bold-faced.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

#A Nautilus Shell by Tiamat's Child: drabble. Aang in the Avatar's sanctuary in the Southern Air Temple. Painful and comforting at once.

Batman/DC Comics in general

#Birds of a Feather by cmar (part of a series): AU multi-chaptered. Bruce Wayne doesn't go to the circus that night...and still partners up with Dick Grayson.
#Little Boy Lost by Dannell Lites: Kind of AU; longish one-shot. A young Bruce Wayne searches Kansas for Superboy, and meets Clark Kent. Bruce has such drive in this story, and I love how Clark works hard to keep his secret, but his regret at not being able to help Bruce with his mission still feels genuine.
#Living in the Red Light by E Kelly: longish one-shot. An outsider's POV on Batman and Robin I, and an insider's POV for the red light district of Gotham. Balances Batman's spooky persona with steadfast good intentions, and Robin's competence with childish energy.
#Good Deeds by A.j: one-shot. Hilarious, sweet, and characterizations are spot-on. Tim Drake as Bruce Wayne's intern, balancing his life between coffee-making and crime-fighting, and trying to suppress his inner need to do his best. Babs also plays a large role, and the banter between them is awesome. There's also a surprisingly heart-warming moment, but I won't spoil that for you.
#Visiting Hours by Maven Cree: One-shot. Jim Gordon-centric, though Batman's presence is clearly felt throughout the story, for all that he's hardly seen, and hardly speaks. Still one of my favorite pieces for their friendship, and Maven is great at weaving in that uncertainty of just how much Jim Gordon really knows, without being obvious about it.
World's Finest vrs The Children of Atom by Kusco: crossover between DC and Marvel Comics, long multi-chapter. The updates aren't quick, but everything that's up there already is amazing. It's rare to see someone balance such a large cast, have fantastic characterizations for even the smaller players, and to top it all off, the joining of two different but similar worlds is done so smoothly. Plus, it's fascinating to read about how these great icons try to out-maneuver one another.

Bleach

#Everything new is old again by afrai: short one-shot. It's such an intriguing idea that I just had to favorite it. Ichigo dies, but he has a debt to settle. How he does it...

Dark Angel

The Wellspring by vegakrist: crossover with Supernatural, long multi-chapter. Sam and Dean find Alec and then Ben shortly after they run from Manticore. It's schmoop, but the most rock hard, bad-ss schmoop ever, as only the invariably screwed-up, tight-knit Winchester family can make it. Understated, with stark and irreverent wit, excellent characterization and development all around, and now a suspenseful plot in the works.

Digimon

#Essays of Yamato Ishida: The Depths of Friendship by EllaJ.W: multi-chaptered character study on all of the Digidestined kids from season 1, from the POV of Yamato/Matt. The insights are good, the writing is crisp and clear, and the story itself is very sweet.

Full Metal Alchemist

#Good Intentions by Lisse: anime-verse, post-Conqueror of Shambala, AU one-shot future-fic. Poignant and suspenseful, with beautiful prose and an excellent OC, which is not something I say lightly.
Invert by Marz1: long multi-chaptered crossover with Harry Potter. Hilarity tempered with plot/direction; well-thought out approaches to the unseen rules of magic, and comparisons to alchemy. Excellent characterizations for both fandoms.
Mirrorworld by Tramontana Keeper: anime-verse, post-Conqueror of Shambala, long multi-chapter.

Good Omens

#When Summoning, Please Watch The Wording by Ryuuza Kochou: one-shot crossover with Supernatural. Crowley is summoned by amateur Satanists and is not pleased. Hilarious combination of two worlds, guided by a bit of plot.
#Even If by murderofonerose: snippet, slash (Crowley/Aziraphale). "There's really only one thing that makes falling in love with an angel a terrible idea." I love well-written snippets because they can knock me flat in 300 words or less. And this is a really well-written snippet.
#the death of anthony j crowley by smokey2307: one-shot (I pray for more) crossover with Supernatural. Seamlessly integrates Pratchett's snark and Gaiman's deadpan into the Supernatural world. If you like either fandom, you must read this.

Gundam Wing A/C

Stranger Things by nightwalker3: crossover with Yu Yu Hakusho, but possibly abandoned--I still completely rec it though.

Harry Potter

Invert by Marz1: long multi-chaptered crossover with Full Metal Alchemist. Hilarity tempered with plot/direction; well-thought out approaches to the unseen rules of magic, and comparisons to alchemy. Excellent characterizations for both fandoms.
Meetings of Marauders by Whiskey: long, multi-chaptered time-travel fic (Harry and Fred to Marauders' time period).
Timely Errors by Worfe: multi-chaptered time-travel fic (Harry to Marauders' time period). Time travel done right, with fantastic characterizations and use of humor.
#Thrice by lyin': pre-series multi-chaptered fic. The three times Lily and James have defied Voldemort--the best Lily and James banter ever, and an extremely well-written, well-rounded story.
#To Err is Human, To Forgive Is, Well, Hard by kaydi: long one-shot.

Lord of the Rings

#Beyond this World by Thundera Tiger: multi-chaptered post-RoTK, character death. Gimli passes on, and Legolas struggles to cope. Angst done right, with hilarious and touching glimpses of their history.
#In the Hall of the Wood Elf King by TreeHugger (has a sequel): long multi-chaptered semi-divergent fic. HILARIOUS rendition of The Hobbit, using the elves' POV and wacky hijinks.
#The Official Fanfiction University of Middleearth by Camilla Sandman: long multi-chaptered. Yes, this is the original fanfiction university fic.

Mega Man

Epilogue by Griffinkhan and Triad Orion: longish multi-chaptered time-travel and crossover fic (between the Mega Man Classic, X, and Zero series). Witty banter, schnazzy action, and great character development.

Naruto

#Falter by iamzuul: longish one-shot. Hands down my favorite origins-story for Iruka and Naruto's friendship, because this shows it to be rocky and painful and real.
Foxhunt by Saro: multi-chaptered fic.
#Time and Again by KyLewin: LONG multi-chaptered apocalypse time-travel fic. One of my favorite time travel pieces of any fandom. Mostly serious, but with dashes of humor and a solid direction. There's also a WIP sequel.

Ninja Turtles

#Homesick by penvision: longish one-shot, Casey-centric, 2007movie. Very sweet portrayal of Casey that delves a little deeper than the movie even tried.

Numb3rs

#Alone by Dawning Star: multi-chaptered tag fic for the episode "Trust Metric". The hallucinations are as heartbreaking as they are heartwarming, and it has an excellent take on Colby and his relations with the team.
#Q is for Quarry by celadon: long, multi-chaptered fic. Celadon creates some of my favorite impressions of Don, in addition to wonderfully autonomous characters, and weaves a damned interesting mystery here.

Star Wars

#An Uncertain Path by red rose knight (part of a series): long multi-chaptered divergent fic. Qui-Gon survives, and Obi-Wan has to find a way to do the same. Intricate storyline, gorgeous descriptions, and the kind of angst that manages to squeeze your heart to the size of a pin, and still propel you to read more.

Supernatural

#A Pleasant Bonus by Lady FoxFire: short, one-shot crossover with Supernatural. The YED is on his way to meet the Winchesters, and is using a certain semi to do it. Chilling and intriguing.
#Behind the Words by Kansas42: longish one-shot, Teenchesters. Kansas42 is incredibly good with making emotions a palpable thing, but this one in particular was just amazing. Dean-centric, and the most beautiful blend of haiku and text that I've ever read.
#Darwin Looks Away by gekizetsu: longish one-shot.
#Evil As You Say by Nixa Jane: one-shot. Horror and anguish in a wretchedly gorgeous sort of way.
#Hooey by paperbkryter: one-shot. Humor and Henricksen and the boys having fun--mm, mm!
#Keeping Things Whole by jdyt: one-shot, John-centric. A painfully-edged coda for John from pre-series to 1.16 "Shadow". Some of its lines still haunt me; this is John as I wish he had been portrayed in canon.
#Knee High to a Sasquatch by Starrylizard: short one-shot, Weechesters. The Winchesters as a functional family! Funny and sweet.
#ode to broken things by dress without sleeves: short one-shot, Dean-centric. 5 times Dean gave up his life for someone else; instances wrapped up in pain and his own brand of logic.
#Reading by Deanish: short one-shot character study on pre-series Dean and Sam, from the POV of John. Perceptive and cute, with just sprinklings of angsty foreshadowing.
#the death of anthony j crowley by smokey2307: one-shot (I pray for more) crossover with Supernatural. Seamlessly integrates Pratchett's snark and Gaiman's deadpan into the Supernatural world. If you like either fandom, you must read this.
#The Toaster Incident by CaffieneKitty: short one-shot, Weechesters, sort of a tag ("The man can barely work a toaster, Dean.") Very cute and funny portrayal of John as simply a father, having to learn from his kid.
The Wellspring by vegakrist: crossover between Dark Angel and Supernatural, long multi-chapter. Sam and Dean find Alec and then Ben shortly after they run from Manticore. It's schmoop, but the most rock hard, bad-ss schmoop ever, as only the invariably screwed-up, tight-knit Winchester family can make it. Understated, with stark and irreverent wit, excellent characterization and development all around, and now a suspenseful plot in the works.
#When Summoning, Please Watch The Wording by Ryuuza Kochou: one-shot crossover with Good Omens. Sam's about to get sacrificed to a yellow-eyed demon. The wrong one shows up. Hilarious combination of two worlds, guided by a bit of plot.

Transformers

#A Pleasant Bonus by Lady FoxFire: short, one-shot crossover with Supernatural. Optimus discovers the supernatural and is involuntarily used as an instrument of evil. As chilling as it is intriguing.
#Cast of Fools by Fanfictionwriter83729: one-shot. An interesting ret-con of the plotholes of the original 90s animated series.

Yu Yu Hakusho

Stranger Things by nightwalker3: crossover with Gundam Wing A/C (but possibly abandoned--completely still rec it though. For the moment, it's a long single chapter).