The simplest solution
by orange_crushed
http://community.livejournal.com/shinkumi/86697.html

[ Shin/Kumiko | G | 1/1 ]

All of my absolute favourite Shin/Kumiko stories share some things in common: a dense Yankumi, and Shin, longing and patient. It's a thing. *g*

This is slow, quiet, and utterly beautiful.

Now he’s sitting at her table, watching her grade papers with a deadly expression; his socks are spread out on the heater and it feels funny to be barefoot before her, exposed like this, even though they’re only toes. They were caught in the sudden shower and he’d given her his jacket, and she’d dragged him home for tea and dumplings. Probably just to thank him. She’s dense like that.

Slight Misunderstandings
by Akane-Rei
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2993442/1/Slight_Misunderstandings
http://akane-rei.livejournal.com/974.html?style=mine

[ Shin/Kumiko | PG | 1/1 ]

Oh, Shin! On the night of his graduation, Shin is alone and angsting. Yankumi drops by to cheer him up, and all sorts of misunderstandings are cleared up. I laughed at one of Yankumi's mistakes, because Shin just has *no* luck impressing her.

She looked up at him guiltily before looking away once again. “Eh?” she muttered nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here—"

“Because you heard I was alone on my graduation night,” he finished for her, his voice tinged with a small amount of bitterness. “Because you heard my parents weren’t even at the ceremony,” he added. “Because you heard that they weren’t even in town. Because you felt sorry for me and being the wonderful teacher that you are—"

She stood up, interrupting his tirade as she looked at him with fire in her eyes.

The silence stretched between them before he said, “I think you should leave.” He’d be damned before he became anyone’s charity case. He could feel an angry flush warm up his entire body. The very idea, the very thought that anyone would pity him was galling enough, but the fact that it was her was just added insult to injury.

Everyone Knows
by Adali
http://adaliseranis.livejournal.com/15011.html?style=mine
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3828081/1/Everyone_Knows

[Shin/Kumiko | PG | 1/1 ]

Yankumi was the reason I first looked into Gokusen, and she is without a doubt my OTC for the fandom. I am very fond of her class too, but it's not too often that they appear in fic. Here, Shin's friends and fellow classmates consider what they do and don't know about Shin's relationship with Yankumi.

Everyone knew Shin's idea of the perfect woman. She would have to be beautiful - everyone in 3D knew Shin was handsome enough to be an idol (although maybe that was only in comparison to the rest of them) so there was no way he could end up with some plain-looking girl. She would be smart, too - Shin was a genius (by comparison, at least, and perhaps even in fact) and there was no way he would want some stupid girl he'd have to explain everything to. She couldn't be too lively, either, because Shin thought that was troublesome. She shouldn't be poor - because that just wouldn't look good - but she couldn't be super rich, either, because then she might be pretentious (and Shin had left home because he didn't like rich, pretentious bastards).

Five Dorky Ways Shin Proposed to Yankumi
by mklutz
http://mklutz.livejournal.com/431759.html#cutid4

How much do I love this fic? Lots and lots. It's clever, and funny, and I love it to *bits.* Yes.

"That's it," Shin muttered, pushing back his chair in the middle of the math lesson. She had completely over-looked the umbrella-name doodle with the heart on top that he'd drawn on the board. Thought the chocolates were something of a thank you card. "I quit."

"Sawada?"

[ http://del.icio.us/anenko/gokusen ]

And Then They Lived
by sadieko
http://sadieko.livejournal.com/338896.html?style=mine
http://community.livejournal.com/tophxiroh/516.html

[ Iroh/Toph, Zuko/Mai | PG13 | 1/1 ]

This isn’t a relationship I’d ever imagined as a *pairing,* and may squick some people badly, but this is *glorious.* Despite being wildly implausible, Toph and Iroh’s voices still ring true. I *adore* both Iroh and Toph’s interaction with Zuko, because Zuko is a giant dork and I like seeing him suffer. heh.

“Isn’t he like five hundred years older than you?” Sokka asked. He had his hand on his chin as he worked his way through some serious mental calculations, but by the look on his face, the answers he was coming up with were deeply disturbing.

“I think it’s only about a hundred or so,” Toph corrected him as she messily pinned her hair back, “But he is at least twice as old as my father. Hey,” she said, waving in Katara’s direction, “Make sure you mention that in the letter to my parents.”

As an extra bonus, there’s also a comic following Iroh and Toph’s married life, and Zuko’s mental breakdown.

Only Might
by jetamors
http://jetamors.livejournal.com/29478.html
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3872557/1/Only_Might

[ Hamma | PG13 | 1/1 ]

I think most of fandom agrees that 3.08 was one heck of a creepy episode, primarily because of Hamma and what she’s capable of doing. This fic takes place during her years of captivity, and follows her down the path to murder (and insanity).

Hamma watched all of them, people and animals alike, and considered her own situation carefully in light of what she saw. Her fellow prisoners were no help; if any of them had the ability to escape, they would have done so long ago. But the rats and the guards held a key. There were really only two sorts of people, Hamma decided: the powerful and the powerless. And the only way to gain power was through strength: brute physical force, or bending, or intelligence, or an iron will.

Phases
by sporkyadrasteia
http://community.livejournal.com/adrasteicfic/12582.html

[ Hamma | R | 1/1 ]

This Hamma fic is even darker than the last; there is no shying away from the brutality of the Fire Nation prison here (although I found the rape a bit gratuitous, all considered).

You are alone in this locked cell in this rocking ship of steel and it is this fact more than anything that humiliates you.

Had you left in the previous raid, you would have been with Akna the healer and Chupun, your neighbor. Had you submitted to the raid before that, you would have been in the comfort of the great Pikatti, who could pin an otter seal 100 paces away with his ice daggers, and perhaps that brave young son of Kara who had only begun his first lessons before the Fire ships docked. But, while as you have failed as have your family, friends and heroes, you have no one to hug, no one to talk to, no one to share your fears.

And you hate these men of flame and metal for making the life of the last Southern waterbender painful as well as meaningless.

And Thus, Kyouya Hates Her
by kay_obsessive
http://community.livejournal.com/museandblabber/3869.html

[ Kyoya/Haruhi | PG13 | 1/1 ]

I say this every time I rec an Ouran fic, because it remains an absolute truth on my part: Haruhi is ‘shippable with just about any character. She is deeply important to all of the members of the Host Club, and brings out a different side to, and impulses from all of them.

Of all the the Host Club members, Kyoya’s relationship to Haruhi is the trickiest to manage. This fic is very *Kyoya* in tone: control over self and others is valued above all, and he tries to keep his emotions under a tight rein.

Kyouya decided very quickly that unrequited [love, lust, curiosity, distraction] did not suit him at all.

Its worst sin was the utter destruction of his concentration. He catches her in the corner of his vision, and his eyes pull away from his lists and ledgers to follow her until he can no longer do so without turning his head. His ears have become tuned to her sounds, and he can pick her out merely by her footfalls and is painfully aware of her presence in a crowd. He touches her as often as Tamaki or the twins these days, though he is far more discreet about it. Quite simply, he is damnably and ineluctably drawn to her.

Aladdin

On Electric Girls, And Worn Down Toys
by Muffytaj
http://muffytaj.livejournal.com/311355.html

[ Jafar/Jasmine | PG13 | 1/1 ]

I don’t seek out fanfic about my childhood favourites for the thrill of seeing them “corrupted” (note the cries of “my childhood!” that frequently accompany such fics), but when I run across such a story, I usually do give it at least a quick glance. This is why I do: good, solid writing; the characters are made a bit darker, a bit more adult, without loosing all semblance to who and what they are in canon.

Jafar always thought Jasmine would look better in red. Once he happened to mention something along those lines to her, and from that day on she only wore blue. The next time she appeared before him, she flipped her long black hair in a decidedly provocative way, as if daring him to comment.

Doctor Who

Hitchcock Bottle Blonde
by LizBee
http://lizbee.livejournal.com/667476.html

[ Ten/Rose, Romana, Martha, Donna | PG13 | 1/1 ]

I’m not an Old School Who fan, but I’m still not thrilled with the direction to show took towards the end of the second season, and into the third. LizBee has opinions on New Who as well, and she turned them into fic: brilliant, wonderful, funny fic.

The fic makes fun of everyone, but there’s still affection evident towards the characters. And while Rose wasn’t my favourite character, I love what this fic does with her, and hope that she ended up with a happy ending somewhere along these lines.

The realisation was this: she was going to have to kill the Doctor. Either that, or break open the walls between dimensions and retrieve Rose Tyler from alternate universe oblivion. But in the short term, killing the Doctor was going to be easier.

Inevitable
by chicklet73
http://chicklet73.livejournal.com/274434.html

[ Ten, Martha | G | 1/1 ]

This fic is an absolute delight. Martha is sparkly, and Ten is charming, and their interaction is a joy to read. I haven’t seen very many episodes with Martha yet, but I hope that there are at least a few Doctor-Martha scenes able to match this fic in pure bantery fun.

Something occured to him and he abruptly turned, grinned at his reflection, and winked.

Oh.

That was rather endearing. Charming, even.

Perhaps, on second thought, it wasn’t all Martha’s fault. Perhaps the poor girl couldn’t help herself. Shaking his head, he clicked his tongue. He was older and wiser and the superior species on top of that; he should have known better even though he really didn’t know - wow. Dropping in a graceful tumble to sit cross-legged, he tilted the mirror down on its stand until it was about an inch from his face. Winked again. Really, maybe he ought to be more careful. He tried winking with the other eye. Just as charming. Raised an eyebrow. Oh dear – more so. Perhaps a wink without the smile…