this whole world is out there just trying to score
Inception
autoimmunity by fahye
The rules of forgery are these:
1) As the name suggests, forgery must always be an act of copying rather than an act of creation. It differs from dream architecture in this regard. Minor aspects of the forged individual may be adjusted or omitted, but it has proven impossible to appear as an individual who does not exist and has not been carefully observed by the forger.
2) Any forgery carried out by the DREAMER therefore consists of a precise memory rather than an original construction, and so puts the DREAMER at severe and immediate risk of attack from the SUBJECT's projections.
3) Forgery should under no circumstances whatsoever be attempted by the SUBJECT of a dream. Eames, before and after. I enjoyed this a lot.
the democracy of sleep by smallacts
Heartbreakingly lovely origin story for Arthur. In those early days, he learns more from Mal than he thinks he ever will from Dom. Dom is the one who teaches him how to steal the secrets from other people's dreams, how to flit undetected in and out of a foreign consciousness. Dom teaches him all that, teaches him how to feel at home in dreams, but Mal is the one who teaches Arthur how to fit inside his own skin while he's awake.
Dull Boy by sparky77
"Can I ask you a question?" Eames says when there is nothing left on Arthur's desk for him to destroy.
"No." Arthur has no hope that his answer will dissuade Eames from asking.
"Why do you do it? I mean, Cobb does it because he's out of his mind. I do it because it's fun. You're not crazy and you never seem like you're having any fun."
Arthur looks up from his notes. "Are you implying that you're sane?"
Eames laughs. "You're avoiding the question." Highly enjoyable Arthur/Eames.
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed by someinstant
She liked the sharp angles in the bar. It felt clean and crisp, minimal with luxury, the kind of bar where the son of a billionaire industrialist might sit and have a drink and brood about the future. The light was good, too: she wanted lots of windows, and diffused white sunlight. Drinking in the dark was a sad bastard activity, and Robert Fischer seemed like the type who'd say he was melancholy, rather than depressed. That sort of refined brooding required light, and space, and openness.
Overall, it wasn't the sort of bar she'd ever visit on her own--she wasn't in the tax bracket that could afford this kind of no-price-on-the-wine-list atmosphere. Ariadne didn't think she ever would be, even after Saito's check landed in her shiny new account in the Caymans. But she was pleased with it: Cobb would blend in here, and Arthur would like it, she thought. Sharp look at Ariadne as she learns the job; good Arthur/Ariadne UST. And I really love the explanation of Arthur's totem.
Five Times Eames Was (Shockingly) A Gentleman by deepsix
Five times Eames was (shockingly) a gentleman and ignored Arthur's sloppy-drunk advances, and the one time Arthur finally got fed up enough to just jump him sober. exactly what it says on the tin, with some lovely pining and imagery.
je ne veux pas travailler by syllic
Slow, gorgeous, utterly heartclenchy Arthur/Eames, using one of my absolute favorite relationship dynamics. Arthur had thought he was giving away only a small thing, only for a little while, doing the logical thing, retreating in order to advance, but what did he think they'd been doing [...], doing all this time, how could he tell himself he'd been playing a strategic game when his chest felt like something caught in a vice [...], when he could see that what he had thought would be finite, contained, logical, was everything but: one long sinuous curve of change, of endless uncertainties, and how had he not seen it before, lined up like that, a pattern rather than a moment, a foundation stone rather than a façade, building a life rather than negotiating a ceasefire.
Kobayashi Maru by hackthis
It takes Arthur a while to figure out what he's got with Eames. Really nicely done.
the new world order by vinylroad
Arthur won't fuck her inside their dreams. Eames won't touch her outside of them. Achy, lovely, intense Arthur/Ariadne/Eames.
Perfection in Design by kellifer_fic
"Why do you guys always make everything so complicated? If you wanted to see me, you could have picked up the phone," Ariadne says. She holds her hand up to her ear, thumb and pinkie extended to make a handset and sets her face in a stern expression. "Hey Ariadne? Want to have coffee with me?" she says in a lowered voice.
"Do I actually sound like that?"
"I don't know. How about you try?" she prompts, holding her hand phone out. Arthur smiles and leans down, mouth and ear at her fingers.
"Hey Ariadne, want to order room service on Cobb's tab?" Adorable Arthur/Ariadne story.
Réclame by recrudescence
Really well done Yusuf and Eames backstory. For the right price and the right people, you can make a man do anything. But overambitious amateurs are not your clientele. "Let me see what you can do," you demand, and when you look at him again he's wearing your body the same way he had been wearing his slouch and his neatly combed hair. When he walks, it's with a gait that isn't yours, and when he smirks it looks foreign on your face. It's still some of the best work you've ever seen.
"This is what I can do," he tells you, in your own voice. His hand mirrors yours, sliding into a coat pocket that contains something he can't possibly know about. "Will you help me or not?"
And you do.
remember how you got here by kellifer_fic
Ariadne thinks maybe she does know the reason why Arthur appeals to her. She's a worldbuilder and he's a strong foundation. Lovely bit of Arthur/Ariadne + Eames.
seaside by owl_vs_dove
Lovely, achy Arthur/Eames. "Clearly, you wanted to fuck me," he bites out through clenched teeth, trying to think past the distraction that is Eames's cologne, the one that makes him want to curl up in Eames's old shirt and roll around. "You got that."
"Yes," says Eames, looking from Arthur to Ariadne like the answer is hidden somewhere between them. "Yes, I did."
"So, I don't see why we're still doing this," he waves his hand around, all-encompassing, "All of this. You - you got what you wanted."
sense memory by vinylroad
Tense, gorgeous Arthur/Ariadne. "How do you know we're not in a dream right now, Ariadne?"
"If this was my dream," she says, leaning closer to him so she can steal the last piece of chapati off his plate before she shifts back again, "we'd be eating thai."
Thank You for Your Interest by moonythestrals
Eames reaches for the PASIV machine, and gets punched by Arthur and hit in the head by Ariadne's shoe, at the same time.
They end up holding Eames at real gunpoint until he has wisely taken three shots of tequila and one of whiskey. Then they try to roast marshmallows in the electric fireplace.
Apparently the locked iron gate has been placed there for a reason, and hotel management declines to agree with their justification that the suite is much warmer with the couch on fire. Hilarious team fic featuring some cute Arthur/Eames interaction.
~*~
autoimmunity by fahye
The rules of forgery are these:
1) As the name suggests, forgery must always be an act of copying rather than an act of creation. It differs from dream architecture in this regard. Minor aspects of the forged individual may be adjusted or omitted, but it has proven impossible to appear as an individual who does not exist and has not been carefully observed by the forger.
2) Any forgery carried out by the DREAMER therefore consists of a precise memory rather than an original construction, and so puts the DREAMER at severe and immediate risk of attack from the SUBJECT's projections.
3) Forgery should under no circumstances whatsoever be attempted by the SUBJECT of a dream. Eames, before and after. I enjoyed this a lot.
the democracy of sleep by smallacts
Heartbreakingly lovely origin story for Arthur. In those early days, he learns more from Mal than he thinks he ever will from Dom. Dom is the one who teaches him how to steal the secrets from other people's dreams, how to flit undetected in and out of a foreign consciousness. Dom teaches him all that, teaches him how to feel at home in dreams, but Mal is the one who teaches Arthur how to fit inside his own skin while he's awake.
Dull Boy by sparky77
"Can I ask you a question?" Eames says when there is nothing left on Arthur's desk for him to destroy.
"No." Arthur has no hope that his answer will dissuade Eames from asking.
"Why do you do it? I mean, Cobb does it because he's out of his mind. I do it because it's fun. You're not crazy and you never seem like you're having any fun."
Arthur looks up from his notes. "Are you implying that you're sane?"
Eames laughs. "You're avoiding the question." Highly enjoyable Arthur/Eames.
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed by someinstant
She liked the sharp angles in the bar. It felt clean and crisp, minimal with luxury, the kind of bar where the son of a billionaire industrialist might sit and have a drink and brood about the future. The light was good, too: she wanted lots of windows, and diffused white sunlight. Drinking in the dark was a sad bastard activity, and Robert Fischer seemed like the type who'd say he was melancholy, rather than depressed. That sort of refined brooding required light, and space, and openness.
Overall, it wasn't the sort of bar she'd ever visit on her own--she wasn't in the tax bracket that could afford this kind of no-price-on-the-wine-list atmosphere. Ariadne didn't think she ever would be, even after Saito's check landed in her shiny new account in the Caymans. But she was pleased with it: Cobb would blend in here, and Arthur would like it, she thought. Sharp look at Ariadne as she learns the job; good Arthur/Ariadne UST. And I really love the explanation of Arthur's totem.
Five Times Eames Was (Shockingly) A Gentleman by deepsix
Five times Eames was (shockingly) a gentleman and ignored Arthur's sloppy-drunk advances, and the one time Arthur finally got fed up enough to just jump him sober. exactly what it says on the tin, with some lovely pining and imagery.
je ne veux pas travailler by syllic
Slow, gorgeous, utterly heartclenchy Arthur/Eames, using one of my absolute favorite relationship dynamics. Arthur had thought he was giving away only a small thing, only for a little while, doing the logical thing, retreating in order to advance, but what did he think they'd been doing [...], doing all this time, how could he tell himself he'd been playing a strategic game when his chest felt like something caught in a vice [...], when he could see that what he had thought would be finite, contained, logical, was everything but: one long sinuous curve of change, of endless uncertainties, and how had he not seen it before, lined up like that, a pattern rather than a moment, a foundation stone rather than a façade, building a life rather than negotiating a ceasefire.
Kobayashi Maru by hackthis
It takes Arthur a while to figure out what he's got with Eames. Really nicely done.
the new world order by vinylroad
Arthur won't fuck her inside their dreams. Eames won't touch her outside of them. Achy, lovely, intense Arthur/Ariadne/Eames.
Perfection in Design by kellifer_fic
"Why do you guys always make everything so complicated? If you wanted to see me, you could have picked up the phone," Ariadne says. She holds her hand up to her ear, thumb and pinkie extended to make a handset and sets her face in a stern expression. "Hey Ariadne? Want to have coffee with me?" she says in a lowered voice.
"Do I actually sound like that?"
"I don't know. How about you try?" she prompts, holding her hand phone out. Arthur smiles and leans down, mouth and ear at her fingers.
"Hey Ariadne, want to order room service on Cobb's tab?" Adorable Arthur/Ariadne story.
Réclame by recrudescence
Really well done Yusuf and Eames backstory. For the right price and the right people, you can make a man do anything. But overambitious amateurs are not your clientele. "Let me see what you can do," you demand, and when you look at him again he's wearing your body the same way he had been wearing his slouch and his neatly combed hair. When he walks, it's with a gait that isn't yours, and when he smirks it looks foreign on your face. It's still some of the best work you've ever seen.
"This is what I can do," he tells you, in your own voice. His hand mirrors yours, sliding into a coat pocket that contains something he can't possibly know about. "Will you help me or not?"
And you do.
remember how you got here by kellifer_fic
Ariadne thinks maybe she does know the reason why Arthur appeals to her. She's a worldbuilder and he's a strong foundation. Lovely bit of Arthur/Ariadne + Eames.
seaside by owl_vs_dove
Lovely, achy Arthur/Eames. "Clearly, you wanted to fuck me," he bites out through clenched teeth, trying to think past the distraction that is Eames's cologne, the one that makes him want to curl up in Eames's old shirt and roll around. "You got that."
"Yes," says Eames, looking from Arthur to Ariadne like the answer is hidden somewhere between them. "Yes, I did."
"So, I don't see why we're still doing this," he waves his hand around, all-encompassing, "All of this. You - you got what you wanted."
sense memory by vinylroad
Tense, gorgeous Arthur/Ariadne. "How do you know we're not in a dream right now, Ariadne?"
"If this was my dream," she says, leaning closer to him so she can steal the last piece of chapati off his plate before she shifts back again, "we'd be eating thai."
Thank You for Your Interest by moonythestrals
Eames reaches for the PASIV machine, and gets punched by Arthur and hit in the head by Ariadne's shoe, at the same time.
They end up holding Eames at real gunpoint until he has wisely taken three shots of tequila and one of whiskey. Then they try to roast marshmallows in the electric fireplace.
Apparently the locked iron gate has been placed there for a reason, and hotel management declines to agree with their justification that the suite is much warmer with the couch on fire. Hilarious team fic featuring some cute Arthur/Eames interaction.
~*~