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wren-of-the-woods · 1 year

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Hold the Bar at Hurley's

In which the bartender in Goncharov (1973) has many thoughts about the events of the film, and even more thoughts about what happens afterwards. 1k, rated G, on AO3 here

Life as a bartender, Hurley found, was rarely interesting.

It had been more riveting at first, of course, but Hurley now had enough practice that even brawls and heartbroken lovers had become mostly mundane. He had seen many things in his life — triumph, anger, love, loss, and more — but they rarely involved him. He was simply there: a part of the background, a set piece, there to provide alcohol and nothing more.

Mario was the first interruption to this quiet life, though he was far from the last.

He showed up at the bar one day and ordered a drink. Hurley hadn’t recognized him personally, but he knew what he was; the little six-pointed star pinned to his lapel gave him away. That had been their symbol, at the time — the symbol of what was quickly becoming one of the most feared mafia groups in the country.

Hurley hadn’t wanted to get involved with anything like that, but he knew better than to refuse the man a drink. He had been remarkably polite, it turned out — had introduced himself and even complimented Hurley on the drink. He stayed about half an hour, paid without fuss, and left. No one had died or even been threatened. Hurley counted that as a success.

He was more open, then, when Mario came back. He calmed as day after day went by and nothing went wrong. He began to like him; he was one of Hurley’s more polite customers, after all.

Hurley knew what it was to be a stranger in a foreign land; he himself had grown up in New York and was still adjusting to life in Naples even after all these years. He even understood, a little, how one could find oneself in the situation of these young men. He had seen enough people like them growing up in New York to recognize what had happened. He even understood the urge, a bit. According to family legend, one of his ancestors had been a river pirate. Perhaps he and these men were not so different as they appeared.

That did not mean, of course, that Hurley stopped being cautious. He simply made sure his customers got the good service they requested.

Mario brought friends. Andrey became a regular at Hurley’s bar. Even the infamous Goncharov came more than once for a drink and a meeting. Hurley knew it would do him no good to get attached to people like that; people who had something inside them to do with death. Still, he could not help but watch with interest as Andrey and Goncharov interacted. They

When Katya first came in, all knife-sharp eyes and pale hair, Hurley knew she was special. There were not many women who could keep Goncharov occupied even for a moment; tying him down in any sort of marriage was a feat he would have said was impossible if he did not know she had done it. Hurley rather admired her and enjoyed the few moments he had in her company.

Eventually, as Hurley had known would happen and had hoped would not, things started to go wrong. He did not know the details, of course, and he did not want to — having knowledge like that was a good way to be killed. He knew, though, that something bad was happening. Mario stopped visiting the bar. Andrey drank more and spoke less, looking nervous and stressed. Goncharov jumped every time the clock in the corner chimed. It went on for a few months, slowly worsening. Sometimes the inside of Andrey’s coat was stained with blood, though he did his best to hide it.

When Andrey ran in, shaking, shouting something about clocks and time and blood, Hurley knew the end was approaching. He gave the man a drink and did not ask for pay, then listened to him as he rambled with the tone of one who knew his death was approaching. He stayed for half an hour, perhaps, before leaving, saying he needed to speak to Goncharov. It was oddly polite of him, in a way; it meant that Hurley would not need to deal with whatever was quickly approaching Andrey. Hurley knew in his heart that he would never see the man again. He said a quick prayer for him, closed his eyes for a moment, then continued to wipe down the counter.

It was a few hours later that Katya entered the bar. She was not so outwardly disheveled as Andrey had been, but Hurley could see that she was shaken — more shaken than he had thought she could be. Just behind her was a dark-haired girl that Hurley did not recognize, but who clung to Katya’s hand like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. Katya kept glancing at the girl as though afraid she was about to disappear. Hurley looked at them, at the way they stood close together as though drawing on each other for strength, at the way they were alone despite the fact that he had never before seen Katya without Goncharov. Hurley did not ask.

“A drink?” he said instead, for lack of anything else.

“A place to shelter, if you’d allow it,” said Katya as though the words pained her.

“It wouldn’t be for long,” added the other girl. “We only need a place to hide for an hour or so. They won’t look for us here. You’d be in no danger, I swear.”

Hurley found that he rather doubted that promise, though he said nothing. It was in his best interest to turn them away. Hiding them here could bring any amount of trouble and danger down on himself and his establishment. Sheltering anyone affiliated with Goncharov’s business was bad for the health.

But looking at the two women before him, at the hope and fear in both their eyes despite Katya’s attempts to hide it, at the blood on the other girl’s hand that she was trying to hide behind her back, he found that he could not bring himself to turn them away.

“There’s a couch in the back,” he said gruffly. “Don’t get blood on it.”

“Thank you,” said Katya. Hurley thought it was the first time he had heard gratitude in her voice.

He ushered them to the back room and watches them settle themselves on his sofa. They said nothing. The silence was deafening.

“Do you need anything?” he found himself asking.

“We need to get out of the country,” the dark-haired woman grumbled to herself.

“Sofia,” sighed Katya.

Hurley debated with himself for a moment before finally speaking.

“I have a cousin in the States who might be willing to take you in,” he said, hoping against hope that he had not made a mistake.

When the women looked up at him with interest and hope in their eyes, though, he thought it might have been worth it regardless.

“That would be wonderful,” said Sofia.

“I’ll write him,” said Hurley.

It might have been unwise. It might have been dangerous. Hurley found that he did not mind. What was life, after all, without a little excitement? Who would he be if he did not help those who needed it, those who he might consider friends?

He left the two women hiding in his back room, found paper, and wrote a letter. He asked his cousin if he would be willing to help the woman, knowing already that the answer would be yes. His cousin had always been adventurous and this was exactly the kind of thing he would love.

Hurley knew that he might be endangering himself and possibly his family, but he did not let the thought stop him. He knew, deep down, that this was worth it. Saving these two women would be one of the few truly worthwhile things he had done in recent memory. He could not, in good conscience, do otherwise.

He went back to the two women and showed them where he kept food for himself. He dug up some blankets from a cupboard he had forgotten about. He made sure they were settled for the night, and only then did he go home. He closed all his blinds and locked all his doors securely. He went to bed feeling more satisfied than he had in months.

Perhaps life as a bartender was not as dull as he had thought, after all.

#goncharov #goncharov (1973)#unreality #idk the film is fake but this fic sure does exist #wren writes #did i write this mostly so that there is a fic on ao3 with this title because of the love run lyric thing? maaaybe #the things i do for this band i swear #also i have a soft spot for bartenders because my last dnd character was one #anyway i can barely believe i wrote this but here it is #enjoy! :D

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outofsstyles · 4 years

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✨CRISY’S FIC REC MASTERPOST✨

Hello friends! In honor of today’s fic writer appreciation day I’ve decided to compile my favorites that I’ve read so far this year!! Please make sure to check everyone’s masterlist as well cause they’re all incredibly talented writers and I love them all ✨💞

Please don’t forget to support their work with a reblog as well as sending them some love cause they all deserve it very much!!

Also keep in mind that this is organized in no particular order!So here we go:

* = indicates smut

@harrystylescherry (masterlist)

Wallowing

↳ best friend!Harry

Somebody Else* (series)

↳ Friends with benefits (fair warning: Nat will play with your heart on this one but you’ll love every minute of it I promise)

@bopbopstyles (masterlist)

Residue*(part 2)

↳ camping!Harry (friends to lovers)

Elevated Surfaces*

↳ fratboy!Harry + Sorority!y/n (had to take a water break while reading this one be prepared)

Behind the Bar*

↳ fratboy!Harry + Bartender!y/n (this Harry.... please!!)

@havethetimeofyourstyles (masterlist)

Where the World Takes You*

↳ uni!Harry, friends to lovers (this one legit make me cry please read it if you love yourself)

Do You Love Me?*

↳ best friend!Harry, friends to lovers, fake dating (The fluff!!!! I die)

Love Me Please?

↳ boyfriend!Harry

@stellarboystyles (masterlist)

Fix You*

↳ mechanic!Harry (idk what it is about Harry fixing cars but I would gladly let this man do whatever he wants to me)

@toothpastekissy (masterlist)

turpitudinem* (part 2)

↳ 70s pornstar!Harry (I mean... what more could you want)

@theasstour (masterlist)

Strange Tides (Series, WIP)

↳ lightkeeper!Harry, fake dating (I mean I don’t even have enough praises for this one, I’ll just say it is one of the best fic I’ve ever read and it’s not even halfway through so there’s that! Legend says I used to have a heart before Nora stole it with this right here please read it if you love yourself)

Love is a MixSextape*

↳ boyfriend!Harry (please this is so hot I choked on my water while reading it)

@harrysclementines (masterlist)

Act My Age*

↳ Dad!Harry (Someone give this man a baby please!!! The fluff!!!!!!)

@helladirections (masterlist)

Sunflower, vols 1-5 (series)

↳ musician!Harry, friends to lovers

@bfharry (Materlist)

Groovy*

↳ 70s!Harry + bi!y/n (one day Olivia woke up and was like I’m gonna give Cristina everythig she needs... and then this fic was born. Legit felt my soul leave my body while reading this one it’s one of my favorites of all time!!)

Carolina

↳ modern prince!Harry (this is prince Harry like you’ve never seen him before)

@smokeinherperfume (masterlist)

You and I

↳ Friends to lovers (this one made my heart scream, it’s so beautifully written i’ll never get tired of praising it)

Primavera*

↳ prince!Harry (I don’t think anyone is ready for the smut on this one, just keep a glass of water next to you while reading it)

@sunflowervolvimp3 (masterlist)

Garden

↳ king of hell!Harry (the way I want koh!harry to punch me in the face and caress my cheek afterwards tells you everything you need to know)

NFWMB*

↳ boxer!Harry (this fic made me scream for 2 hours straight while I was reading it and idk I feel like that breaks a record somewhere)

42 hours* (part 2)

↳ enemies to lovers, roadtrip (I felt every existing human emotion while reading this, Leyla just has a way of making you howl that’s just different...I love it)

@harrysgucciloafers (masterlist)

cause i’m high, chewing on your taste*

↳ sub!Harry, pegging (listen to me... no one is writing smut like Lu does... this right here will set you on fire metaphorically and literally)

your lips, my lips… apocalypse*

↳ pregnant!y/n (this goes from very sweet to very hot rEAL QUICK)

@styleslovebot (masterlist)

White Wedding*

↳ best friend!Harry, fake dating (the writing on this one is incredible I swar through the whole fic I was just *lady gaga’s voice* talented, brilliant, amazing, show-stopping)

When I Kissed the Teacher*

↳ professor!Harry

@meetmeinfleetwood (masterlist)

Adieu*

↳ boyfriend!Harry (HARRY FILMING YOU!!!! This concept is so hot it had me panting)

@jawllines (masterlist)

Y/N is taking care of Harry’s boss and she’s absolutely smitten*

↳ gang!Harry

Harry hates the other camp counsellors and Y/N is very optimistic

↳ camp counsellor!Harry

@majorharry (masterlist)

Polished*

↳ bodyguard!Harry (pleaseee this right here!! I’ve probably rea it 20 times and it still gets me every single time)

@adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy (masterlist)

Sweet and Sour*

↳ bartender!Harry (this had me sweating honey, I was in tears almost, it’s so good, the tension,the banter, everything is just... *chef’s kiss*)

you’re someone i just want around* (Series with @sunflowervolvimp3)

↳ Vampire!Harry (okay now listen to me... I don’t think anything I say can prepare you for this one... Vampierry is that man you want to punch him in the face and then tell him you love him)

#the way I already KNOW this is not gonna show up in the tags #so I'm not even gonna try but please #check all of these out!!!#they're the most talented set of humans you couldever come across and as I said I love them all #so yeah!!!#FICREC #I might add people later rn my brain is not working

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aikainkauna · 5 years

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Fanfic trope meme

Apologies to those of you who see this for a third time, as I’ve crossposted it to both LJ and Pillowfort. Feel free to comment over on there (or my other posts) if you like. And of course, feel free to grab this one and do it yourself, if you like.

***

Grabbed this meme from a couple of people on LJ. It's... well, apparently about fanfic tropes. Some of them more terrifying than others.

I have written:

-Hurt/comfort (Yeah, baby! Most of my fic is this.)

-Body swapping (Sort of? Souls slipping into each other's bodies for a bit? Jaffar feeling what Yassamin feels? Sex swap, I've definitely done.)

-Soulmate identifying marks (tattoo, red thread of fate, etc) (I have! The Throne of Solomon. And maybe The Past Forgotten counts, in its way. I may have written more, but I forget.)

-Snowed-in cabin/isolated together for extended period of time (The Jaffar/Pwinzezz Cavefic!)

-Found families (I guess the Samarkand gang counts for poor old Fadl? Even if Jaffar *is* his brother, so technically it is his family. But he does have his religious congregation and Zainab, and is... well, he always does seem to be seeking something, so he's the kind of guy to go for this trope.)

-Fairy tale/mythology AU (And not just when I am writing in *actual* fairytale/mythology fandoms. Which I am doing most of the time, what with Thief of Bagdad being a 1001 Nights fanfic anyway. So I'm writing fanfic about a fanfic of some age-old RPF (fantasy AU!) about historical figures from the late 700s/early 800s...)

-Enemies to friends to lovers (Yes, please! Aplenty. I'm surprised that enemyslash/FoeYay/Hero(ine)/Villain(ess), whatever you want to call it, isn't mentioned on this list.)

-Characters swap roles AU (Uh... I've written sexual switching in some isolated chapters? Like when Laura briefly doms Torsten in The Fall of Angels, to help him get over some traumas?)

-Friends to lovers (With RPS, Veidtbone in particular, and Theta/Koschei. This also seems to happen whenever I write femslash.)

-Magical connection (telepathy, etc) (Doctor/Master basically ruined me for all my other ships what with their telepathic ability. So that now, it feels less interesting for me to write love/sex that *doesn't* have telepathy.)

-Fake dating/fake marriage accidentally turns into feelings (see next trope)

-Royals/political marriage turns into feelings (These last two are pretty much the same thing in ToB, as I've had Yassamin marry Jaffar a couple of times--like The Past Forgotten and The King's White Falcon, but without him laying a hand on her for up to a year, until she finally grows a brain and realises how loveworthy he is after all.)

-Seemingly unrequited pining (Emphasis on the "seemingly." Jaffar's unrequited pining is painful enough in the movie, so there's no point in making him suffer any more.)

-Accidentally fell in love with the mission target (Well, *kind of,* what with Torsten. Lars-Erik was definitely his mission target in the original film, and at the start of Because The World Belongs to the Devil, he made no bones about having wanted to kill Laura Erika [the teenage girl version of Lars-Erik in this AU, to those of you just joining in] when she was born.)

-They break up (but then they get back together) (With Jaffar/Fadl. Fadl's stormed off in a huff at least twice in the past. And Doctor/Master is always the same old on-off car crash, isn't it? Although this is not a favourite trope of mine, as the setup would usually necessitate them being an existing couple in the first place, and I tend to not write canon or "plausibly lovers" ships because they're already happily together. What do Two and Jamie, Holmes and Watson etc. need me for? They're already as good as married. Let them have their happiness.)

-Supernatural creature/human romance (Sort of. I've written Time Lords/humans, humans/djinn at least. And surely wizards count as supernatural romance, anyway?)

-Reincarnation/'25 Lives' AU (What's with the 25 lives? Is this some big fandom thing again? One of the darkest, most fucked-up fics I ever wrote was the Master killing the Doctor during sex and fucking him as he regenerated around him. As you do. And there's reincarnation in one of my Jaffar/Pwinzezz fics, but I won't spoil it for the new readers by telling you which one it is.)

-Selfcest (possibly due to time travel) (I am scratching my head trying to remember when I wrote this and in which fandom, but I have the distinct feeling I've written it. I've certainly whacked off to that World Of Simm!Masters clusterfuck what with the pink dress so many times I... I think I broke two clit buzzers during that time. I've certainly drawn it. And drawn some Connies on Connies. And then there's, of course, Sarosh the Sexbot who's a clone of Jaffar, looks-wise, but he is very distinctly just a robot, not a living character as such--not the sort with which you could have a real, interpersonal dynamic. My problem with selfcest, in general, is that I like having that character dynamic--and that requires the characters to be different from one another. If it's two characters that are too similar--if they fulfill a similar role in the canons--it's hard to create a dynamic between them and to make it interesting.)

-Polyamory (Swinging away ALL the bloody time with the Roses!Jaffar and Yassamin, and Torsten/Laura. Sometimes I miss the monogamous 'verses.)

-Amnesia (I've got a post-movie "Jaffar comes back from the dead" WIP I'll probs never finish, because it doesn't seem to get off the ground. If I wrote this trope, I would have the characters gradually regain memory, though; complete mind-wipes are horrid. I did have Handy lose the majority of his cognitive/motor/Timey skills in No More and that was the main reason I had to... well, I'm not going to spoil it if someone hasn't read it yet, but it wasn't the cheeriest of fics. The Past Forgotten *sort of* has this, but I don't want to spoil as to how that happens.)

***

I could write:

-Daemons (Why the archaic spelling? I have written djinn, so I almost put this in the 'have written' section. I can't remember if I actually *have* written real demons, because I might have. Surely, Torsten counts...)

-'Everyone is evil'/mirrorverse AU (Well, mostly, if I want to explore "evil" characters, I write about those types of characters in the first place, without having to turn anyone evil. Devilry is the 'verse for that. Hell, usually it's the other way around; I try to look for the human elements of the baddies, or at least explore their logic--what makes them tick, what makes them the way they are. So, IDK, I could've also put this in the "unlikely to ever write" section.)

-And they were roommates! (This would be terrible and also hilarious, whatever characters ended up becoming my victims. Even if I'm more interested in those hurt/comfort plots, overall. And I have always found it *impossible* to live under the same roof with other people because I need peace and quiet and solitude too much. So this is almost a bit too much like the sorts of negative RL experiences I don't really want to get more of in fic. But I *could* write it as a comedy for cheap lols, especially if the stress were resolved by hot bonking, ASAP.)

-'They all work in an office' AU (Otherwise, I would've put this in the "just no" category, but... the Barmakids were civil servants. So I *could* write Jaffar and Fadl drowning in paperwork--"WHY DID WE EVER introduce paper into THIS EMPIRE?!?" and cursing their fates and Jaffar restraining Fadl from braining Harun al-Rashid with a paperweight. Same with Lina doing Zainab's books and trying to hold back The Fist of Death when Fadl carelessly drops a piece of his lunch over her perfectly calligraphied accounting.)

-'Falling for a coworker/teammate is a bad idea' except this is fiction so it works out (Maybe. Just maybe. But it'd also be in a medieval ToB context.)

***

I will probably never write:

-'Groundhog Day'/karmic time loop (I just never got the appeal of this. Sounds like the sort of thing experimental writers would like? The sorts who really like filling in bingo cards and challenge lists?)

-Vampires/werewolves AU (I'm not that big on either. Super-unpopular opinion coming up: I prefer sex to the sublimation of it that vampires are often all about; bloodsucking in lieu of sex, and/or being seen as way better than sex just always feel to me like a cheap cop-out from writers who are disappointed in sex, or afraid of it. I've never grokked it any more than that stupid, stupid "chocolate is better than sex" quip from women who don't know what masturbation is--yes, it fucking well is sex, TYVM! I much prefer to make partnered sex better than it is IRL by adding supernatural stuff like telepathy to *that*. Immortality alone is interesting to explore, as are Gothic themes, but all the usual themes that vampires *specifically* usually represent just... either hold little interest for me, or then, I can explore them in other ways.)

-'Pride and Prejudice' AU (I don't hate Jane Austen, but it's not my fandom. That kind of society stuff and being witty over teacups in bonnets has never really been my thing--if anything, I usually have my characters exist in their own bubble, isolated from society and its restrictive mores and social stresses.)

***

JUST NO!

-Coffee house AU/food service AU (AUGH! Please, no coffeeshop AUs for me; the world is full of them already. Maybe I could write it as some terrible, short parody? Or doodle it? But no more than that.)

-Hogwarts AU (Haven't read HP. Young Adult isn't really my genre. I know, I know; I've just lost all my WLW cred.)

-High school/university AU (I've done Time Lord Academy-era stuff with Doctor/Master, but I expect this means a sort of American high school/university AU with jocks and cheerleaders and shit. Hell, no. Again, the exact sort of horrid society stuff I would rather have my characters escape from.)

-Adopting/raising a baby (Erm, not unless you count Jaffar/Yassamin adopting a cheetah? They do have kids in some 'verses but there's none of that everyday baby stuff that this question/trope probably implies. I'm squicked by babies, sorry.)

-Unusually specific occupation AU, like, the Author clearly has the same job (It worries me that this is, by virtue of its inclusion here, apparently seen as normal and acceptable..? When it's crap fanfic, inserting yourself into something that should be about the *established* characters instead. Jesus, I don't want to go in expecting a fanfic, and then find out it’s your diary instead! Unless you're Anaïs Nin. And even if you really *do* want to write about yourself, then just... write original fic? An autobiography? A blog? Write an OC that has your job. Don't do this false advertising where you insist it's fanfic when it's not. That's a dick move towards your readers.)

-Loyalty kink (see next trope)

-Alpha/beta/omega (Too creepy. I can write about piss, shit, incest, necrophilia and cannibalism, but not these last two. Any more than I can glorify the Nazis I've written about; I either take the piss out of them, as with Strasser, or just step outside of their politics and bring them into the land of happy sexings like with von Kolb, with the aim of dragging him out of that madness and leaving it behind.)

-Hot single parent(s) (Please. Rundvik: "You love children." Torsten: "I loooooathe themm.")

-Unrequited pining (Too much of an emotional squick. Has to be requited. I write fanfic to fix things, to avenge wrongs, to set things right. I don't write them to make the characters more miserable than they already are. Unless it's for temporary, character-development purposes, that is.)

#writing #meta #personal #meme #and no #idk what's up with the extra spaces in the formatting either

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