crack_van | Real Forever If by astolat (R)

Hello and happy October! I'm

maerhys and the driver for the American Idol 7 van this month. I am new to the fandom and I was pleasantly surprised to find a very loyal and active group of fans even though the season ended over four years ago. I will be focusing on my personal favorites, which may be summed up as Cook/Archuleta angst fic. Well, angst with a happy ending. If the Davids are not your thing, there will be a few rare pair posts too, but check out

nsaphrodite's recs made back in November 2008 for myriad slash pairings comprised of David Cook, Jason Castro, and Michael Johns.

Fandom: AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 7
Pairing: David Cook/David Archuleta
Length: 20,563 words
Author on LJ:

astolat
Author Website: fan fiction website

Why this must be read: I seem to always open a

crack_van run with my favorite story within the fandom and this time around isn't any different. This is a wildly popular story that most Cook/Archuleta fans have already read, but it's so good, incredible, really, that I rec it to anyone and everyone. I've had friends who have less than zero idea as to who these guys are read this fic and love it. "Real Forever If" is just that kind of fic.

astolat is a masterful writer and anyone familiar with her work knows to expect that she has her craft down from the basics and to centering a premise in "canon" and then creating a mind-blowing AU that hits the reader upside the head (in a good way, I promise), and this story accomplishes this in a way that relies on getting into the characters' heads, delivering dialogue that uses the vocabulary, dialect, and cadence of the characters, and spinning a tale that we can strongly believe in even as her world is not ours. Further this is a light R rated fic (my rating) but it's also one of the sexiest stories I've had the pleasure to read.

astolat reveals just enough to show the reader the most exciting bits without dipping into graphic porn. Often fade to black leaves me a bit cold because I want the payoff of the emotional aspects to play out physically, yet with "Real Forever If" a "glimpse of stocking" as it were is better than I could have imagined. A short example from David Archuleta's point of view:

David couldn't help leaning against Cook as soon as he'd gotten into the seat. There was still the big first-class armrest between them, but it was already so much better, and then Cook said, "Hang on," and reclined his seat all the way flat. "Okay, hop up, let's try this."

"But, um, won't I be like, crushing you?" David said, sneaking a glance over his shoulder at the rest of the cabin, with his dad sitting right there across the aisle, partly meaning won't that be weird. But really what he wanted was to throw himself on Cook, so when Cook said, "Yeah, Archuleta, I don't know if my ribcage is up to the strain of your massive bulk," and crooked a finger, David quit even trying to argue anymore and crawled on top of him.

"Oh, gosh," he said, because wow, that was a relief already, and then there was, um, this kind of awesome squirming they did to get into a comfy position, and Cook sort of took hold of him and just bodily hefted him up a little bit further, which was—yeah. David managed to awkwardly spread the blankets over them, and Cook turned off the overhead light, and David had his head tucked against Cook's shoulder, and it was warm, and Cook's arms were around him, and Cook's hand stroked through his hair, and he fell asleep.

I love to say this is my favorite part (and it is!) but the whole fic is my favorite part. Everything must go wrong so that it ends right, and this fic delivers on more levels than I can textually render.

If you are interested in podfic, check out

rhea314's amazing reading that I've listened to more than I've probably read the text.

Real Forever If

Real Forever If by astolat (R)

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