by Steps (link)
Genre het, drama, comedy, romance
Pairings Taylor/OFC
Length 16 chapters
Status Unfinished
In the introduction to Barfight, Steps explains that she was inspired by the Blue Collars challenge to write a similar story featuring Taylor working at a bar. While there are any number of humorous scenarios that spring to mind at the thought of Taylor doing any sort of manual labor, Taylor the bartender seems particularly ripe for comedy.
However, much of this fic is more concerned with Taylor’s personal life than with his job, and he comes across as, frankly, a jerk and a homophobe when he reacts poorly to the discovery that his girlfriend is really bisexual and is cheating on him. Aside from that and hints of a falling out with his family over his career prospects, neither Taylor nor any of the other characters get much in the way of development. Both female characters have somewhat tragic backstories that feel pasted on, even though they might have otherwise been interesting.
Similarly, the bar setting is rarely used to its full advantage, such that I’m never really sure what sort of bar it is at all. The eponymous Barfight doesn’t even have a chance to happen in what few chapters were posted. There is a possibly interesting scene involving a feud of sorts with another bar, but that fizzles out after a crossdressing scene that’s like something out of a bad sitcom.
Steps clearly had plenty of ideas for Barfight, but it’s a case of putting a few too many eggs in one basket. There’s far more telling than showing, and none of the various characters or plot points get the attention they deserve.
review by Bethany (website)