Fandom: THE O.C.
Pairing: Ryan/Theresa (in a non-shippy way)
Authors on LJ:
brandywine421 and
joey51Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read: I admit freely that I am a huge sucker for Ryan-angst. It is what initially drew me into The O.C. fandom. The authors of "The Chino" are two of the finest purveyors of Ryan-angst around, particularly Brandywine, who to my mind is pretty much the Queen of Tortured!Ryan. That said, this story is much more than a mindless wallow in pretty melodrama. The plot picks up immediately after the Season One cliffhanger, which showed Ryan leaving Orange County to return to Chino in order to take care of Theresa and his maybe-baby.
The authors portray the gritty details of Ryan's return to Chino in a much more attentive and realistic way than we will actually ever see on the show. Partially written in first-person Ryan point of view, this fic gives us real insight into why he is so driven to do the right thing in supporting Theresa and her unborn child, even to the point of near self-destruction. Ryan will sacrifice anything, do anything, to prevent his child being raised the way he was raised. While hardly an uplifting tale, this is an utterly riveting character study.
The Chino