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crack_van2011-12-05 08:53 am
laceymcbain.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2011-12-05 08:53 am
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed by SomeInstant (R)
Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Arthur/Ariadne
Length: ~ 10,291 words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
someinstant
Author Website: Art and Fiction Master List on LJ
Why this must be read: I didn't see Inception until months after it came out, but for the people who saw it in the theatres and were part of those early days of the fandom emerging, it must have been exhilarating. This story has a few small inaccuracies, but those can be easily forgiven considering the author had only seen the film once, and there were no DVD copies or fandom write-ups to make sure every detail was accurate. And to be honest, the choice of Ariadne's chess piece totem as a pawn in the story rather than a bishop allows for a depth of metaphorical interpretation that isn't there with the actual totem.
The story leads up to the events of the movie, and shows a lovely intensity to Arthur and Ariadne's relationship. It's from Ariadne's POV, and it feels so right to me. She's a paradox in many ways, an impossible structure--she's at that stage of figuring things out while still knowing desperately exactly what she wants. She's brilliant and inexperienced, confident but insecure, and in the midst of a job like inception, Arthur's a maze she can't quite navigate. Should she pursue? And ultimately, how can she be sure anything is real?
(And if you need another reason to read, Ariadne threatens to put rabid amorous polar bears on Eames' level of the dream. Don't you want to know what he did to deserve that? *g*)
"If we're not dealing with the scary knockout drops right now," she said, her breath bouncing back off of the mask in humid pulses as she started to work on the screws, trying to ignore the presence of his body so close to hers, "why are we dressed up like Bill Nye?"
"It's not doing anything for you? I don't know," he said, dropping his voice in a parody of seduction, "I've always had a thing for rubber gloves." Arthur was wearing his mask, so she knew she couldn't really feel the damp heat of his breath against her neck, but she had always had an excellent imagination and this-- the thought, Arthur's mouth is near my neck-- was enough to make her shudder a little.
Arthur must have noticed (Arthur always noticed), because he rested a hand lightly on her waist, his thumb a warm pressure against the curve of her ribs. Ariadne held her breath. "Maybe I just really like girls in glasses," he said, his voice low and amused. There was knowledge in that voice: the sound of something who has found a piece of a puzzle and knows exactly where it fits. "Maybe--"
"Maybe you're a prick who should stop panting in my goddamn ear," she said, fed up and frustrated, and jabbed her elbow backwards with as much force as she could muster. She telegraphed the hit, though, and her arm met nothing but air.
"Not a bad move," he said from several feet behind her, assessing. The heat was gone. Arthur's voice was pleasant and impersonal, and she felt like a butterfly on a pin. "You've taken a self-defense course?"
"You're testing me," she said, annoyance and something she couldn't name bubbling back up in her. "Right. Fuck. Of course you are."
On Livejournal: Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed - this entry also has a link to a DVD commentary of the story
On AO3: Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Two time-stamp ficlets related to this story can be found here: Making Passes and information is the currency
It doesn't matter how old or new a story is, authors love feedback!
Pairing: Arthur/Ariadne
Length: ~ 10,291 words
Author on LJ:
someinstantAuthor Website: Art and Fiction Master List on LJ
Why this must be read: I didn't see Inception until months after it came out, but for the people who saw it in the theatres and were part of those early days of the fandom emerging, it must have been exhilarating. This story has a few small inaccuracies, but those can be easily forgiven considering the author had only seen the film once, and there were no DVD copies or fandom write-ups to make sure every detail was accurate. And to be honest, the choice of Ariadne's chess piece totem as a pawn in the story rather than a bishop allows for a depth of metaphorical interpretation that isn't there with the actual totem.
The story leads up to the events of the movie, and shows a lovely intensity to Arthur and Ariadne's relationship. It's from Ariadne's POV, and it feels so right to me. She's a paradox in many ways, an impossible structure--she's at that stage of figuring things out while still knowing desperately exactly what she wants. She's brilliant and inexperienced, confident but insecure, and in the midst of a job like inception, Arthur's a maze she can't quite navigate. Should she pursue? And ultimately, how can she be sure anything is real?
(And if you need another reason to read, Ariadne threatens to put rabid amorous polar bears on Eames' level of the dream. Don't you want to know what he did to deserve that? *g*)
"If we're not dealing with the scary knockout drops right now," she said, her breath bouncing back off of the mask in humid pulses as she started to work on the screws, trying to ignore the presence of his body so close to hers, "why are we dressed up like Bill Nye?"
"It's not doing anything for you? I don't know," he said, dropping his voice in a parody of seduction, "I've always had a thing for rubber gloves." Arthur was wearing his mask, so she knew she couldn't really feel the damp heat of his breath against her neck, but she had always had an excellent imagination and this-- the thought, Arthur's mouth is near my neck-- was enough to make her shudder a little.
Arthur must have noticed (Arthur always noticed), because he rested a hand lightly on her waist, his thumb a warm pressure against the curve of her ribs. Ariadne held her breath. "Maybe I just really like girls in glasses," he said, his voice low and amused. There was knowledge in that voice: the sound of something who has found a piece of a puzzle and knows exactly where it fits. "Maybe--"
"Maybe you're a prick who should stop panting in my goddamn ear," she said, fed up and frustrated, and jabbed her elbow backwards with as much force as she could muster. She telegraphed the hit, though, and her arm met nothing but air.
"Not a bad move," he said from several feet behind her, assessing. The heat was gone. Arthur's voice was pleasant and impersonal, and she felt like a butterfly on a pin. "You've taken a self-defense course?"
"You're testing me," she said, annoyance and something she couldn't name bubbling back up in her. "Right. Fuck. Of course you are."
On Livejournal: Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed - this entry also has a link to a DVD commentary of the story
On AO3: Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Two time-stamp ficlets related to this story can be found here: Making Passes and information is the currency
It doesn't matter how old or new a story is, authors love feedback!