Inception-specific thematic list: Mal-was-right
I've been thinking about an Inception-specific thematic list for a while. There are common themes in Inception fics that, like any other fandom-specific themes, are unique to the fandom (excepting fusions & crossovers).
To kick off my Inception thematic lists, the 'Mal was right' trope. Basically, Mal was correct in believing that the events of the movie are all a dream. There have been some fabulous and varied fics that explore the idea.
I've tried to compile a comprehensive list, but if you have any additions, recommendations or suggestions, let me know!
Amazing Grace by airgiodslv (PG)
18,400 words | gen with Arthur/Eames, Mal/Cobb, Arthur/Cobb
Quote: “Cobb’s in a coma,” Arthur says. It’s the first time he’s said it out loud; the words feel strange in his mouth. “He’s fallen into limbo. Mal and I can’t wake him up.”
And I Am Nothing of a Builder (on AO3) (on DW) (on LJ) by soda_and_capes /
feverbeats (PG)
1,327 words | Cobb/Mal, background Arthur/Eames
Summary: Perhaps he’s a brilliant architect after all.
Quote: "She remembers going to sleep on their living room floor while their children played outside, but that's not . . . She can't remember the world before that one, but she knows there was one. She realizes what Dom's "limbo" is. They're in a dream within a dream, but she was never meant to remember that. He dreamed the first level and she dreamed this one as the unwitting subject. He's designed this world, something he's never been very good at. She has to wake them up."
Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart by kaydeefalls (PG-13)
6,123 words | gen, with Arthur/Eames, Mal/Cobb, Arthur/Cobb
Summary: In which Mal wakes up, Cobb doesn't, and Arthur is still waiting for the kick.
Quote: Eames says flatly. "You do realize that, right? That's not Dom Cobb. Cobb is sleeping the sleep of the perpetually sedated in some undisclosed Somnex laboratory, not wandering through Mal's dreams with an axe to grind. Literally, in some cases, I'd imagine."
Cause I Can't See the Sun by
Sour_Idealist (G)
7,186 words | gen
Summary: Mal was right, but forgot that they were in a dreaming facility - one that seems to be abandoned now.
Quote: She wakes to the hissing of PASIVs echoing against the blank white walls.
The Cold Side of the Pillow by lanyon (PG-13)
3,107 words | gen
Summary: You never really remember the beginning of a dream, do you?
Quote: “What does it say about my husband that he populates his dream-world with projections that have names and personalities and he believes in them when he will not believe in me?” “I think it is very - “ ❡ - much down to chance. Or it would be a chance observation, if not for the loaded die. “When did Cobb change his totem?” “Did he? I didn’t notice,” “You’re slipping, old man. He always used his wedding ring, didn’t he?”
Figured Out What We're Missing by imogenedisease (R)
882 words | Arthur/Eames
Summary: Mal was right, and Arthur goes back to try and save Dom.
Quote: “Please, Arthur,” Eames whispers, just barely touching him in the dark. “Please come back.”
“I’m dreaming,” Arthur says. “I am.”
“You’re not,” Eames says, and it sounds wrenched out of him, sounds raw.
Home by the Sea by
valderys (PG-13)
9,783 words | Arthur/Eames
Summary: Arthur wasn't expecting the end of the world to be so peaceful. Or for Mal to turn out to be right. Except she isn't, not really, she's still just as screwed up as she ever was. There's only one man Arthur can count on, if only he can find him - it really is the collapse of civilisation, if Arthur has begun to miss Eames.
I Am the Hero of This Story (Don't Need to Be Saved) (or at inception_kink here) by electrumqueen (PG)
4,131 words | Cobb/Mal
Summary: Mal wakes up; Dom doesn't.
Written for the prompt: Mal tries to go on with her life in the real world without Dom, who's still asleep.
In Our Line of Work by Fee / enjambament (R)
~15,500 words | Arthur/Eames, Cobb/Mal
Summary: Arthur wakes up and realizes the last ten years of his life have been a dream. He is nineteen, and he can barely remember where he is. What he can remember is the ghost of Eames’ hands pressed down on his chest trying frantically to stop the blood flooding up around his fingers as Arthur died (as he woke up).
Some Dream, Others Rise (at AO3) (at LJ) by musesfool /
victoria_p (PG)
2,013 words | Cobb/Mal
Summary: Mal wakes up. Dom doesn't.
Quote: She shakes her head. There's no way she can make him understand. "We lived a lifetime, and then we killed ourselves to wake up, but we didn't wake up in the real world. We were just in a more shallow level of the dream." She reaches for her pack of cigarettes, lights up another one. "Dom was convinced we were awake, but I knew it was still a dream. So I killed myself. On our anniversary. I tried to convince him to come with me, but he said James and Philippa needed him." She heaves another sob that rattles her bones. "They need him here, Arthur. They need him awake." Arthur puts an arm around her, squeezes her shoulder with a steady hand. He smells of cool night air and freshly pressed linen. He will make everything better.
Sworn to Lucidity by
GloriaMundi (G)
4,845 words | gen
Summary: Mal is awake. Dom sleeps on. At Miles' urging, she assembles a team to bring Dom back to reality, but he may be too lost and twisted to save.
Quote: "This is my dream journal. I must write the twists of every dream: I must write the details of every day. Now, more than ever before, it's vital I remind myself, minute to minute, of the fine lines between dream, memory and the waking world."
They Tried to Blow Me Down (or at inception_kink here) by indysaur (PG)
2,268 words | Arthur/Eames, Cobb/Mal
Written for the prompt: Can I please please please have a fic where Mal tries to go on with her life in the real world, as an architect/extractor/whatever, without Dom, who's still asleep?
Quote: "He has a whole team with him. Arthur, of course, more solemn, more silent than the one she knows. Eames, of whom Dom has only seen pictures and heard stories about; but the stories Arthur had told couldn't help but leave an impression. A lasting one, it appeared. Her brother is the mark in Dom's latest scheme. Poor Fischer. All the faces most loved by her, Dom keeps at a close but safe distance. The girl, the one he whispers to, she doesn't know."
Unclaimed Luggage and Unscheduled Departures by psocoptera (R)
2,135 words | gen, Arthur/Eames, Saito/Yusuf | Warning: quasi-deathfic
Summary: If the entire movie was Cobb's dream, what would happen to the rest of the characters (projections all) after Dom leaves them in the airport?
Quote: "I have no idea what to do with the information that I don't exist," Yusuf broods. "How can my actions have any moral weight?"
"You would not be the first person to conclude that the world is illusion," Saito points out.
"You sad-sacks are looking at this the wrong way," Eames announces. "We can't be sure how long he's been dreaming, but given the time ratio, we could have maybe a week before he wakes up and - poof."
"So?" Arthur asks.
"So what would you want to do if you only had a week to live?"
"What would you want to do?"
"Well, I wouldn't spend it at the fucking airport," Eames says.
(Waves) Break Upon the Shore by cherryice (PG)
1,925 words | Cobb/Mal, Arthur/Eames
Summary: What if Mal was right?
Quote: "Of her husband's projections, Mal wants to say this: These are not your people. These are not your friends. Every quirk or quibble elevated to defining trait and she wants him to remember Arthur, barefoot in the sand and tie loose, or Eames with a book of Tennyson slipping from slack fingers as he drifts deep into sleep, sprawled across their overstuffed chair. He doesn't, of course, and Arthur's buttons are always done and his hair perfectly slicked; Eames makes endless bawdy jokes and sharp comments."
What Dreams May Come by
Mortissimo / mortissimo005 (PG-13)
12,367 words | crossover with Brick | Arthur!Brendan/Brain, Cobb/Mal
Summary: Arthur Brendan Frye's past is not as behind him as he'd thought it would be.
Wherein Dreaming Was The Only Escape by anonymous
1,324 words | gen, Cobb/Mal | drama
Written for the prompt: Arthur is dying in reality, and Cobb keeps begging for him to hold on a little bit longer.
Quote: "Have you ever considered the possibility that Mal may have been right?"
The question is posted to Cobb over glasses of whisky one night by Arthur, Arthur of all people.
ETA 11/17/10: Added "Wherein Dreaming Was The Only Escape" by anonymous.
ETA 11/24/10: Added "Some Dream, Others Rise" by musesfool.
ETA 08/28/11: Added "Cause I Can't See the Sun" by Sour_Idealist, "Home by the Sea" by valderys, and Sworn to Lucidity by GloriaMundi.
To kick off my Inception thematic lists, the 'Mal was right' trope. Basically, Mal was correct in believing that the events of the movie are all a dream. There have been some fabulous and varied fics that explore the idea.
I've tried to compile a comprehensive list, but if you have any additions, recommendations or suggestions, let me know!
Amazing Grace by airgiodslv (PG)
18,400 words | gen with Arthur/Eames, Mal/Cobb, Arthur/Cobb
Quote: “Cobb’s in a coma,” Arthur says. It’s the first time he’s said it out loud; the words feel strange in his mouth. “He’s fallen into limbo. Mal and I can’t wake him up.”
And I Am Nothing of a Builder (on AO3) (on DW) (on LJ) by soda_and_capes /
feverbeats (PG)
1,327 words | Cobb/Mal, background Arthur/Eames
Summary: Perhaps he’s a brilliant architect after all.
Quote: "She remembers going to sleep on their living room floor while their children played outside, but that's not . . . She can't remember the world before that one, but she knows there was one. She realizes what Dom's "limbo" is. They're in a dream within a dream, but she was never meant to remember that. He dreamed the first level and she dreamed this one as the unwitting subject. He's designed this world, something he's never been very good at. She has to wake them up."
Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart by kaydeefalls (PG-13)
6,123 words | gen, with Arthur/Eames, Mal/Cobb, Arthur/Cobb
Summary: In which Mal wakes up, Cobb doesn't, and Arthur is still waiting for the kick.
Quote: Eames says flatly. "You do realize that, right? That's not Dom Cobb. Cobb is sleeping the sleep of the perpetually sedated in some undisclosed Somnex laboratory, not wandering through Mal's dreams with an axe to grind. Literally, in some cases, I'd imagine."
Cause I Can't See the Sun by
Sour_Idealist (G)
7,186 words | gen
Summary: Mal was right, but forgot that they were in a dreaming facility - one that seems to be abandoned now.
Quote: She wakes to the hissing of PASIVs echoing against the blank white walls.
The Cold Side of the Pillow by lanyon (PG-13)
3,107 words | gen
Summary: You never really remember the beginning of a dream, do you?
Quote: “What does it say about my husband that he populates his dream-world with projections that have names and personalities and he believes in them when he will not believe in me?” “I think it is very - “ ❡ - much down to chance. Or it would be a chance observation, if not for the loaded die. “When did Cobb change his totem?” “Did he? I didn’t notice,” “You’re slipping, old man. He always used his wedding ring, didn’t he?”
Figured Out What We're Missing by imogenedisease (R)
882 words | Arthur/Eames
Summary: Mal was right, and Arthur goes back to try and save Dom.
Quote: “Please, Arthur,” Eames whispers, just barely touching him in the dark. “Please come back.”
“I’m dreaming,” Arthur says. “I am.”
“You’re not,” Eames says, and it sounds wrenched out of him, sounds raw.
Home by the Sea by
valderys (PG-13)
9,783 words | Arthur/Eames
Summary: Arthur wasn't expecting the end of the world to be so peaceful. Or for Mal to turn out to be right. Except she isn't, not really, she's still just as screwed up as she ever was. There's only one man Arthur can count on, if only he can find him - it really is the collapse of civilisation, if Arthur has begun to miss Eames.
I Am the Hero of This Story (Don't Need to Be Saved) (or at inception_kink here) by electrumqueen (PG)
4,131 words | Cobb/Mal
Summary: Mal wakes up; Dom doesn't.
Written for the prompt: Mal tries to go on with her life in the real world without Dom, who's still asleep.
In Our Line of Work by Fee / enjambament (R)
~15,500 words | Arthur/Eames, Cobb/Mal
Summary: Arthur wakes up and realizes the last ten years of his life have been a dream. He is nineteen, and he can barely remember where he is. What he can remember is the ghost of Eames’ hands pressed down on his chest trying frantically to stop the blood flooding up around his fingers as Arthur died (as he woke up).
Some Dream, Others Rise (at AO3) (at LJ) by musesfool /
victoria_p (PG)
2,013 words | Cobb/Mal
Summary: Mal wakes up. Dom doesn't.
Quote: She shakes her head. There's no way she can make him understand. "We lived a lifetime, and then we killed ourselves to wake up, but we didn't wake up in the real world. We were just in a more shallow level of the dream." She reaches for her pack of cigarettes, lights up another one. "Dom was convinced we were awake, but I knew it was still a dream. So I killed myself. On our anniversary. I tried to convince him to come with me, but he said James and Philippa needed him." She heaves another sob that rattles her bones. "They need him here, Arthur. They need him awake." Arthur puts an arm around her, squeezes her shoulder with a steady hand. He smells of cool night air and freshly pressed linen. He will make everything better.
Sworn to Lucidity by
GloriaMundi (G)
4,845 words | gen
Summary: Mal is awake. Dom sleeps on. At Miles' urging, she assembles a team to bring Dom back to reality, but he may be too lost and twisted to save.
Quote: "This is my dream journal. I must write the twists of every dream: I must write the details of every day. Now, more than ever before, it's vital I remind myself, minute to minute, of the fine lines between dream, memory and the waking world."
They Tried to Blow Me Down (or at inception_kink here) by indysaur (PG)
2,268 words | Arthur/Eames, Cobb/Mal
Written for the prompt: Can I please please please have a fic where Mal tries to go on with her life in the real world, as an architect/extractor/whatever, without Dom, who's still asleep?
Quote: "He has a whole team with him. Arthur, of course, more solemn, more silent than the one she knows. Eames, of whom Dom has only seen pictures and heard stories about; but the stories Arthur had told couldn't help but leave an impression. A lasting one, it appeared. Her brother is the mark in Dom's latest scheme. Poor Fischer. All the faces most loved by her, Dom keeps at a close but safe distance. The girl, the one he whispers to, she doesn't know."
Unclaimed Luggage and Unscheduled Departures by psocoptera (R)
2,135 words | gen, Arthur/Eames, Saito/Yusuf | Warning: quasi-deathfic
Summary: If the entire movie was Cobb's dream, what would happen to the rest of the characters (projections all) after Dom leaves them in the airport?
Quote: "I have no idea what to do with the information that I don't exist," Yusuf broods. "How can my actions have any moral weight?"
"You would not be the first person to conclude that the world is illusion," Saito points out.
"You sad-sacks are looking at this the wrong way," Eames announces. "We can't be sure how long he's been dreaming, but given the time ratio, we could have maybe a week before he wakes up and - poof."
"So?" Arthur asks.
"So what would you want to do if you only had a week to live?"
"What would you want to do?"
"Well, I wouldn't spend it at the fucking airport," Eames says.
(Waves) Break Upon the Shore by cherryice (PG)
1,925 words | Cobb/Mal, Arthur/Eames
Summary: What if Mal was right?
Quote: "Of her husband's projections, Mal wants to say this: These are not your people. These are not your friends. Every quirk or quibble elevated to defining trait and she wants him to remember Arthur, barefoot in the sand and tie loose, or Eames with a book of Tennyson slipping from slack fingers as he drifts deep into sleep, sprawled across their overstuffed chair. He doesn't, of course, and Arthur's buttons are always done and his hair perfectly slicked; Eames makes endless bawdy jokes and sharp comments."
What Dreams May Come by
Mortissimo / mortissimo005 (PG-13)
12,367 words | crossover with Brick | Arthur!Brendan/Brain, Cobb/Mal
Summary: Arthur Brendan Frye's past is not as behind him as he'd thought it would be.
Wherein Dreaming Was The Only Escape by anonymous
1,324 words | gen, Cobb/Mal | drama
Written for the prompt: Arthur is dying in reality, and Cobb keeps begging for him to hold on a little bit longer.
Quote: "Have you ever considered the possibility that Mal may have been right?"
The question is posted to Cobb over glasses of whisky one night by Arthur, Arthur of all people.
ETA 11/17/10: Added "Wherein Dreaming Was The Only Escape" by anonymous.
ETA 11/24/10: Added "Some Dream, Others Rise" by musesfool.
ETA 08/28/11: Added "Cause I Can't See the Sun" by Sour_Idealist, "Home by the Sea" by valderys, and Sworn to Lucidity by GloriaMundi.