amfiguree | Like All Good Fairytales (7/7)

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Like All Good Fairytales (7/7)

master post | prologue | i | ii | iii | iv | v | epilogue

epilogue: and they lived happily ever after

Ten minutes before the interview concludes, David is interrupted by a phone call. In a move that should be unprofessional but is instead strangely endearing, he promises me ten additional minutes of his time before excusing himself to take the call.

He's smiling when he returns, and apologizes for holding us up.

"Dinner plans?" I ask, trying to sound casual.

I clearly fail, because David refuses to elaborate further, apart from shooting me a sly grin and saying, "Something like that."

We finish the interview amicably. David has plenty of anecdotes to share from the time he's spent on tour, and with his family. He remains notoriously tight-lipped about his relationship, only saying, "He's great. Some days I wish we were out, so we could do things together, like see a movie, or go out for dinner. But it's, uh, it's a trade-off, I guess, and so far we've had a really good run."

All too soon, my time is up.

Judging from the fact that David's first priority, once he's thanked me, is to sneak into the men's room with his cell phone, I'm going to say that "a really good run" is probably a vast understatement.

I may not know who the lucky leading man is, but I'm pretty sure this romance ends with castles, horses and riding off into the sunset.

Threaded | Flat

And, hon, at the end of this long ride, I have to say: I kind of understand why you might have doubted this fic.

It was not your in the usual classic fairy tale oeuvre that you are best known for; instead, it was grittier, and at the same time had a cool modern-fairy-tale vibe. And it was subtle in its brilliance, where your classic oeuvre is just in-your-face obviously brilliant and inventive.

The five parts were very different, too, and to a casual reader, might be seen as disjointed. But apart from the fact that they were all really well written and worked as stand-alones, I really loved that they were interconnected in a subtle, layered way - by the modern fairytale titles, by the overarching interview and response theme, by the running metaphor of seeing/not seeing, and all those interwoven grace notes I pointed out earlier in my multiple comments on this fic.

So, here I am, climbing out of my chair to stand and applaud you, darling girl. I kind of think your writing has, subtle and gorgeous, really come of age with this momentous fic. TAKE A BOW, bb.

What a wonderful, amazing, long and beautiful story this is. I'm such in awe. Thank you so much for writinf and posting this awesomeness.

omg.
omfg.

this collection was seriously perfection. i was just randomly looking for something good to read and i got way more than i was expecting at 3:00am. i feel like every story you wrote outdid the one before, but no that's not exactly true because i can't pick a favorite.

the first story was so lovely and tender and i could feel the WANT to just be able to touch the person you love. my heart melted at moments like when David had come home to dimmed lights and Archie serenading him with, "'Cause everything that brought me here, well now it all seems so clear, baby you're the one that I've been dreaming of--" and then was trampled all over with Just Like Heaven is sitting on the coffee table, right where he left it the day before everything fell apart.

but the ending! oh love. ♥

the second one was so fucking sweet and loving that i was just smiling and laughing the whole time. OH TWITTER!

the third one made me ache for more because it was so filled with possibility. oh my heck seriously. ♥ ♥

the fourth one just roundhouse kicked my heart multiple times because it feels like the love that i'm most acquainted with. the kind of love that should work out fine, but i don't know - some people can't help but to kill a good, beautiful thing. my heart ached for archie and i wanted cook to just fucking stop.

the fifth story was so so so magical. ♥ and the perfect upper after the last story. srsly, you had me soaring. ♥

i also just really enjoyed the titles to each fic and trying to guess what each would be about, what angle you would take.

this is just the best fic i've read in a while and i just want to thank you for sharing it with all of us. AGH. so much love. ♥

Very beautifully written and extremely original AU scenarios. Great job!

i seriously wanted to quote the entire 21K words... because it's way beyond awesome!

prologue: guh, I love it when men wear pink, *flails*

i: suits, his mouth, his guitar and pad thai... HIS MOUTH *dies* I got confused for a while, until he said he's eating for one that I went OMG OMG! Cook slamming into the door is major brilliant! xD

ii: OMG "Be back before you know it." & "I saw that," awwwwwww... plus Twitter love! ♥ I TOTALLY LOVE THIS!! All the photos and tweets are sooooo adorable and pretty and cute and funny and LOVE LOVE!! btw, i swear durian is the scariest fruit on earth *dies*

iii: I'll never recover from this one OMG SO MUCH LOVE! protective daddy cookie, little princess T and kindergarten teacher archie, I'm so dead xD this is beyond awesome. totally totally love their phone conversation, i can SEE them on the phone! May I fangirl YOU?

iv: had a hard time breathing through the angst, from the broken glass to "slow" through the goodbye and beyond. practically kills me T__T thank goodness for your perfect ending!

v: OMFG I OFFICIALLY FANGIRL YOU!!! this one blown me away to pluto! you made me cry and I love it so friggin' much! sign language always melts me to no end and you made it so beautiful that i want to quote the entire fic. so many perfect moments between them. and this line totally killed and sent me to fluff heaven.

I know how it feels when you listen to me sing, right here, David adds, pressing his palm to his chest, over his heart, And I know nothing else will ever feel the same way.

epilogue: phone call during interview --> so cookie! xD

I totally totally love this! Thank you so much! ♥

I just got up and had to check my emails for work when I saw all your replies coming through and I realised I forgot to leave a comment on this part!

First, you've captured Cook's voice perfectly in the epilogue, a lovely way to round things off.

Second, I just want to say how GLAD I am you decided to post this, hopefully you have gathered by now how much I love all the stories. And, seriously, I am just in awe, as always, of your talent. ♥ ♥ ♥

hi ♥ haha, this is kinda awkward, not to mention so very freaking late, but i decided to do something a little different as feedback for your story. i hope it's okay? (i can filter them for your eyes only if you'd like.)

(click on the thumbnails)

Wow, this was really cool! I seriously liked all this different possibilities of them being with each other and the last one totally made me cry - so happy-making! :D
Thank you so much for writing and sharing this!

ASDFGHGKLGW WE ARE AT AN END. :///// Woman, I seriously don't know what you were going on about with all your loathing for this story, it's such a good read. All these different scenarios you put them in, and they worked and clicked together in every single one. I've always loved the way you play with your universes, everything always comes across like you've been there and done that yourself. (ARE YOU A TATTOO ARTIST IN DISGUISE, NAT?)

Siiiiiigh, and just, this was wonderful, no matter what fandom you're in, because you clearly adore these guys and it shines through so much. I don't see a lot of your writing these days, so whenever I do I'm always struck by how good you are, and how amazing you are with your characters and their chemistry. That's my favorite thing in writing (lmao um, I think you know this) and you have that in abundance. I hope you know that you've always been one of my favorites, and still are. And NO WONDER you needed a rest after this one, askdfjhdfghjk, SO MUCH storybuilding. YOU ARE AMAZINGCAKES, DID I MENTION THAT?

You know, I have never liked '5 times' fics, and usually avoid them, but I decided to give this one a go, and damn, am I glad I did!!

I loved the way you tied it all together with the prologue and epilogue, as well as with the quotes at the top of each chapter. It gave it a sense of being one story, while also including different scenarios.

The most brilliant bit of this to me, was that though you had these five different AU's, each one stayed true to your characterizations, and each one was emotional and moving in their own way. I really liked that they weren't all perfect, and romantic. Each had their own struggles and things to overcome. They had to fight for their happiness.

Thanks you so much for writing, and sharing this.

I don't think I can put into words how much I love some of those AUs. Aaigh. <333

(deleted comment) (Show 1 comment)

hello love, this is my first time reading any kind of fic like this, and i loveeeeeee it!!!

not sure if all the stories are supposed to link up together (i got kinda confused with the 'dublin' thing haha) but whatevs. you write so well. i still have to say my fave is (i) and (ii) cos i dont like them fighting or anth, and i love the twitter thing. heee.

BEAUTIFUL STUFF ALL THIS.

:D

I left comments everywhere so I wouldn't have to make a long one. HA. *resourceful*

This was fucking amazing. Ohmygosh! It makes me so happy! I love it so much! Everything is so beautiful and well-written and gorgeous! Thank you so much for writing this!

hmm, yes, i definitely did just sit here and read this whole thing again. unsurprisingly, it does not get old.

reasons why this is my favorite fic of all time:

It seems like a good time to introduce myself, and when he says, "I always thought I'd end up marrying a Natalie," I start to understand how he has every reporter he's ever met wrapped around his finger. Already, I hope I don't look as impressed as I feel.

(first, because you like, mary-sued yourself and pulled it off somehow, and you are probably the only person i know in this lifetime who could do that. i mean, making yourself the interviewer! brilliance! and second, because, yes, yes yes, what you said about cook immediately entrancing every interviewer. this is canon. but i've spoken to you about this before.)

And then David kisses him, and it's like the world dissolves into heat and need and nothing else. I see you, David thinks, hazily, blood burning as they stumble backwards into his - their - apartment. Archie clings to him, making soft, sweet noises against his mouth. I see you.

(because, here's a story for you: i am sometimes a complete fucking retard, okay. there's that part in this chapter, a few paragraphs before - Archie stares at it some more, throat working, mouth moving, soundlessly, and when David reaches for him again, he chokes out, "I didn't forget." - and, for some reason, the first time i read this chapter, i thought the chapter ended at that part? like, i know i scrolled down to see if there was more, and i don't remember SEEING anything more, which was why i was like, "what, why did she stop it there! anguish!" but then the second time i read that chapter, i discovered the last few paragraphs! had they always been there? i don't know! it shall remain a mystery forever. but yes, that scene - yes.)

["cinderella realized that happily ever after takes work" in its entirety goes here]

(probably because of the twitter conversations. reading it now, now that cook really does have one - i mean, i know we haven't gotten any cookleta twitter conversations yet (because there is angst going on and it sucks), but, now there is the potential for that to actually happen, if the two of them stop being losers. but, yeah. reading this AU now, it's like there's a distinct "pre-cook's twitter" and "post-cook's twitter", and everytime i read this, instead of thinking, "i wish cook actually had an account, dammit," i realize that he does and then i spend a lot of time smiling to myself.)

His baby girl scrapes both her knees before David can get her down. She hides her face in his neck while he gets the first aid kit out and cleans her wounds, her small fists bunched in the fabric of his shirt, his shoulder muffling the tiny hiccups in her breathing.

(fuuuuuuuck me, cook and child. i love that, even when i've read this particular AU more times than i've re-read all other fics combined, i still always find new sentences to zoom in on and flail about. scraped knees! burying her face in his neck! muffled crying! bunching his t-shirt in her fists! dlfkjdlskfdjkf, brb weeping forever.)

He doesn't protest when Cook paws at his shirt again, just raises his arms so Cook can pull it off. Inclines his head so Cook can kiss him.

"Hi," Cook murmurs, against David's mouth.

"Hi," David whispers back.

(because nnnnnnnngh, jesus, i could not have a stronger love-hate relationship with a verse than i do this one. i mean, really. come on now. and also, the "hi" thing, i didn't even realize that was a kink of mine until you wrote it and i got all fucking squirmy. and yes, you did need to know that. i hope you know that there is no such thing as TMI with me and you anymore.)

I know how it feels when you listen to me sing, right here, David adds, pressing his palm to his chest, over his heart. And I know nothing else will ever feel the same way.

(because, seriously? you still wonder why this is my favorite fic ever?)

YAAAAAAAY \o/ GAH this was so great! I suck for just now getting through it, but I'm so glad that I did! Such a lovely concept. I loved this to pieces <33

Decided to stop spamming each story. These are all amazing though. Funny,sweet a little heart wrenching and very much awww inducing. I don't know which is my favorite. You managed to keep them in character and yet real to the situation each time, plus there was always something unexpected as an added bonus. I'm so glad this was recced. It's been forever since I read any Cookleta and this was so worth jumping back in to it. Definitely will go on my re-read list.

:O
this is sooo awesome, cute, pretty, beautiful,lovely,endearing,romanctic,flaily,awesome thing ever.
I love it.
Every single one.
<3333

So. I stumbled(when I should have been running full tilt!) across this via

i_refuse_to and her rec list at

oh_my_recs and all I can do is quote one of Archie's texts.

!!!!!

This fic was like what the fairytales /should/ be like, in fact, from now on, forget the Disney princesses, Cook & Archie are forever and ever the hero and the damsel and the cheesy theme song and the important life lesson and EVERYTHING ELSE EVER.

I love how all the AUs put them through different times, jobs, places, what-have-you but they were always Cook and Archie. It wasn't two guys who vaguely resemble them in fun(and not so fun, ahh, the professor one! that is the soundtrack to my heart breaking omgsh) alternate universes. Archie was Archie and Cook was Cook and if I knew the special coding or whatever to make those hearts I would but unfortunately you'll have to settle for

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Oh my good this fic is the most amazing thing ever. And with the scrapbook and the fanmix, I've had the most amazing time in my life with this. Brilliant, perfect, fantastic <3

Wow. This was amazing. I don't even-- just-- wow.

Oh my god, I'm Natalie too, and that's just a side note, because you have to know I loved this so much , like, everything just fit together, how there was so much want and bittersweetness and love, I don't even have to coherence to tell you how much I loved the interactions and characterisations. The stories were the best ways they could have fallen in love in all these AU-verses and the possibility is so awesome and hurts so much at the same time.

This is just. Thank you. ♥

I have no idea how I've managed to go this long without knowing this existed!! O_O

It's one of the best stories I've read in Cookleta fandom, and you are one of my absolute favorite writers in any fandom, ever. I have no idea how you do it, but you write in such a creative way, you have your own identity in all your stories, and still they're all unique. Reading your stories just gives me so much.

My favorite has to be professor!Cook just because I'm such a slut for angst, and also because it was interesting to see something so dark and ~naked from you. As with everything else, you leave your mark on it, and it gives me great joy to see such a cliched premise be handled in such an elegant and ~cliche free~ way. ♥___♥

Out of curiosity (and my own desperation for MORE from you lol): are you still writing Cookleta? Are there any new works coming up? She asked hopefully haha. :D

Seriously, though. You're one of the best. ♥

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