crack_van | A Bruised Road by k, PG

Fandom: THE O.C.
Pairing: Ryan/Seth
Author on LJ:

callmesandy
Author Website: lowercase k
Why this must be read:

The author has this listed as a Seth/Ryan story, but to me it's more of a Ryan story. Ryan is, pretty much without contest, the show woobie. He's had a hard life. He's messed up. And that's how we like him. There is a great Ryan POV here, as he spends time with his old family and his new one. And it kind of hurts. But in the good way.

You find pop culture references in The O.C. fic a lot. That's because you find them on the show a lot. Especially ones related to the college radio type music that generally makes up the show's soundtrack. So OC writers get a lot of opportunities to show off what cool music we listen to and what obscure comic books we read. Which tends to work out, because, hey. Fangirls for a reason. Here, k takes a Wilco reference, and runs with it. But in the good way.

"Okay, John Cusack's in it. And some other people. That guy. Hey, it's that guy. John Cusack and his girlfriend go visit her dad in prison but the girlfriend can't bring herself to go in." Seth frowns. "Okay, that's a really inadequate metaphor. Analogy. But prison."

"She won't go in?" Ryan would like to do that. He won't, but it's tempting.

A Bruised Road