Ruth Sadelle Alderson

There's probably a time in life when you're supposed to discover Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah." I think that, as with many things related to music, I missed that time. I'd heard of it by the time it was on The O.C. the first time ("The Model Home"), and I remembered it and therefore got the reference when I heard Imogen Heap's version over Marissa's death in "The Graduates," but I didn't know it particularly well or have much of an opinion of it. Sometime in the last year or so, Seth Roberts had a comparison of "Hallelujah" versions (some entertainment site/magazine, possibly Entertainment Weekly, did the same thing at about the same time), and I got caught up listening to it over and over again. I'm in a kind of melancholy mood today, so it seems appropriate.


Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

(Dear imeem, Please tell me which things will embed the whole thing and which only clips. No love, Ruth You can also hear this with the video.)

I've had a rough summer, emotionally speaking, which required a lot of comfort. Consequently, I've memorized all of my favorite romance fics/books/movies that I didn't already have memorized.

This is where you come in. I'm looking for more romance. I want declarations of love, dramatic scenes in the rain, running through the terminal to catch the plane. Rec me your favorite romance fics, books, movies.

To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, and to serve as something of an exchange, here's a list of all the favorites I can think of:

Fic

Xander and the Magic Lamp by tesla321, Spike/Xander.

Francesca, Jim/Blair. I like lots of Francesca's stuff, but particular comfort favorites are "Nature's Conferences," "Stands for Comfort," "Bother," and "Legacy."

Little Runaway and Little Runaway 2 by tabaqui, Spike/Xander.

Conjunctions by flaming_muse, Spike/Xander.

Entrenous (website, LJ memories), Spike/Xander, Xander/Andrew. Entrenous has written many good romances. I particularly like "Shacking Up," "Expecting," "A Living Growing Thing," "For the Count," and "Spander on Ice."

Spikedluv, Spike/Xander. Favorites include "When Visions Come True" and the untitled human-au cop-thingy.

Lilith Sedai's Elements series (fics at Master Apprentice), Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan.

LadyCat (website, LJ memories), Spike/Xander. I have some favorites, but what they are depends on whatever mood I'm in at the moment.

The Long and Winding Road, The Long and Winding Road II, and Missing Scene: The Long and Winding Road by Kassandra, Mulder/Krycek.

A Week of Wrong and Your Horoscope for Today by Anna S., Spike/Xander.

Loserville by Shrift, Spike/Xander.

Wordsmith, Spike/Xander. In addition to the "Reconstruction," "Restoration," "Reunification" trilogy, I also like "Spike's Boys."

Recoveries by Lianne Burwell, Vic/Mac.

Extraordinarily Resilient by Cori Lannam, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan.

The Familiar and Transfigurations by Resonant, Harry/Snape and Harry/Draco, respectively.

Work With Me by Anne Higgens, Vic/Mac.

Books

Dancer of the Sixth by Michelle Shirey Crean. One of my absolute favorite romances of all time.

Bellwether by Connie Willis. One of my other absolute favorite romances of all time.

"Spice Pogrom," "Time Out," and "At the Rialto" in Impossible Dreams by Connie Willis. One screwball comedy and two science romances.

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. Fairy tale retelling.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley. Another fairy tale retelling.

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. Yet another fairy tale retelling.

Silver Woven in My Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. Yes, it's another fairy tale retelling.

The Complete Ivory by Doris Egan. Not a fairy tale retelling, but nicely romantic. (I actually own each of the books separately; they've now been re-released in one volume.)

Light Raid by Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice. Yummy.

Promised Land by Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice. A forced marriage on a farm love story.

The Merro Tree by Katie Waitman. Interspecies same-sex romance, which is not really the main point of the story, but which is very romantic.

Sable, Shadow, and Ice by Cheryl J. Franklin. Every time I read this, I feel like I shouldn't like it because it's so cheesy. And yet I love it.

Mel by Liz Berry. Another one that's cheesy, but I love. Alas, I discovered on Saturday that our local library no longer has a copy of either this or Easy Connections, which finally started to creep me out on my last reread.

Quest For a Maid by Frances Mary Hendry. Historical romance for kids.

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye. A good new-school fairy tale.

Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Teen romance set in Ancient Egypt.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith. Weak battle scenes, but a nice romance.

Movies

She's All That. My love for Freddie Prinze Jr. movies is well documented.

10 Things I Hate About You. Mmm, Shakespeare retelling.

Love Actually. Romantic movie with romantic music.

The Princess Bride. Everyone's favorite new-school fairy tale.

King Arthur. I love this, and one of the things I love is the way the romance is so toned down.

IQ. Einstein's niece and a mechanic in love.

Bringing Up Baby. Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant speaking very fast.

Comics

"Dramatic Spring," From Eroica With Love story. What I find so romantic about this is the last page where we see Klaus trusting Dorian to watch over him as he sleeps.

Daisy Kutter: The Last Train. Excellent, excellent western.

Uncanny X-Men 318. The arc that ended with this issue is what made me want some Bobby/Emma.

TV

"Thespis" and "April is the Cruelest Month," Sports Night. Two very romantic Casey/Dan episodes.

Wonderfalls. Mmm. A great story premise with a very nice romance.

Keen Eddie. Fabulous romance in the midst of a cop show.

The O.C. Ryan and Marissa are everything I could possibly want in a teen TV couple.

Here's my prediction for the rest of The O.C. season 2:

Alex and Marissa hook up. Julie comes home from Europe and is too absorbed in Caleb and her magazine to notice anything else. Eventually the school calls or she otherwise finds out Marissa hasn't been in school for a while. Then she finds out about the tattoo and about Alex. She and Marissa fight for a while.

Eventually Marissa stalks out. She gets drunk and ends up in a situation where she's in danger. She's pushing away or rejecting or fighting with Alex, because Alex doesn't know how to handle a hurting, drunk, and acting out Marissa. Ryan, Lindsay, Seth, Summer, and possibly Zach are there.

Ryan steps away from Lindsay to catch Marissa before she falls, literally or figuratively. She sleeps in the poolhouse and has breakfast with the Cohens in the morning. She stays a few more days, in the poolhouse, and then Lindsay breaks up with Ryan.

She says, "You're in love with Marissa. You're always going to be in love with Marissa," or something like it, because she's just figured out what the rest of us already know. Unless he feels he has some previous duty to someone back home, Ryan will always choose Marissa and Seth over anyone else.

Alex will take her broken heart off into the sunset, Lindsay and Ryan will awkwardly work on labs together, and Seth and Summer will sit on the couch together.

(I just told Sky I don't write silly, cliched things anymore, but this one wouldn't leave me alone until I did.)

Ryan wakes up when the door opens. He slits his eyes and watches Seth manage to close it again without making too much noise.

Seth crosses the room and stops beside the bed. Ryan can't see him anymore without moving. He lays quiet and still and lets Seth believe he's still asleep. The bed dips under Seth's weight as he slides in under the covers. Seth tucks his chin over Ryan's shoulder and lets out a soft sigh that ruffles Ryan's hair.

Ryan relaxes into Seth's warmth at his back and Seth's arm around his body and goes back to sleep.

He wakes up again a few hours later. This time he hasn't heard the door, but Marissa sits on the couch watching him.

"Hey."

"Hey." She gives him a soft half smile.

"What's up?" he asks.

"I guess I just came to do what he's doing," she says with a nod at Seth.

Ryan twists a little to glance over his shoulder at Seth. He turns back to look at Marissa. "There's room," he says and holds up the edges of the covers.

Marissa hesitates for a moment and then gets in. Ryan's arms settle around her and she tucks her face into the hollows of his shoulder. Seth's knuckles brushing against her skin in the space between her top and her shorts send as much heat through her as Ryan's hands stroking up her back and into her hair.

Seth is already awake and sitting up in bed when Ryan and Marissa wake up in the morning.

"So, listen," he says. "I was thinking, and Marissa hasn't been on my boat. There's enough room for three." He looks from Ryan to Marissa and back again.

"Yeah, all right," Marissa says. She smiles at Ryan, and then at Seth. "I'll go home and change."

Ryan smiles back at her. "Come back here. I'll make breakfast."

"Awesome," Seth says. "Awesome. Ryan makes a great breakfast."

( The O.C. )

If you haven't seen The O.C. yet, don't despair! The pilot reruns yet again Monday at 8.