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crack_van2011-12-28 08:14 pm
laceymcbain.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2011-12-28 08:14 pm
The Manor House by Fahye (R)
Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Arthur/Ariadne/Eames
Length: ~ 23,636 words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fahye (formerly "mercurial_wit")
Author Website: Fic on AO3; Fic Masterlist;fahye_fic
Why this must be read: It's beautiful and ethereal, and above all, it's atmospheric. Ariadne has designed levels for the team based on how she views their personalities. The descriptions of these personal levels are brilliant, but more than that they're startlingly insightful; Ariadne manages to see into who her colleagues are, but she also unfailingly turns the same light of introspection on herself.
Naturally, it's Arthur who is most reluctant to look into those dark personal spaces, but with Ariadne and Eames beside him, wanting him just as he is, he eventually comes to accept his feelings and theirs. And yet, there's so much more to this story than that. It's complex and beautifully layered without spelling things out. It's thought-provoking. Would you imagine Eames as a masked Carnevale or a fun-house hall of mirrors? Is Arthur really a staid Victorian manor house, or is that only the beginning?
I think of this story like a dance. The characters weave in and out around one another, equals with different strengths. They're all detail-oriented: Ariadne with her eye for detailed design, Eames with his instinct for the human condition, and Arthur with his precision and unerring focus. This is a story you'll immerse yourself in, and then want to do it all over again just to see what you missed the first time.
"Actually, do you know what this whole place reminds me of?" Eames says, gesturing around the room with a whirl of his hand. "Arthur. Look at it. It's the Victorian Country Home version of expensive ties and silver suitcases and never getting anything stuck in your teeth."
Arthur's about to pointedly ignore that when Ariadne makes an annoyed sound and walks over to slap Eames on the arm, hard.
"I don't believe you," she says warmly. "Nobody was supposed to notice."
"I always notice." He winks at her. "That's my job."
"Wait," says Arthur.
Yusuf picks up an elegant brass paperweight, stares at it, and then breaks into howls of laughter.
"Wait," says Arthur again. He leans forward, elbows on knees. "This is me?"
Ariadne nods. She's blushing but otherwise doesn't look ruffled. "The whole point of this exercise is to give us intimate knowledge of a few stock designs, right, and I thought -- it'd help if I made them representative. Of us."
Arthur looks around at the high, high windows stretching nearly to the high, high ceiling; the rich unpatterned carpet; the gilt edges and the glossy reinforced wood of everything. He feels at home here. He feels as though he could dream himself into the fabric of the place and weaponise it.
"Who else have you done?" he says.
On LJ: The Manor House
It doesn't matter how old or new or (how popular) a story is, authors love feedback!
Pairing: Arthur/Ariadne/Eames
Length: ~ 23,636 words
Author on LJ:
fahye (formerly "mercurial_wit")Author Website: Fic on AO3; Fic Masterlist;
fahye_ficWhy this must be read: It's beautiful and ethereal, and above all, it's atmospheric. Ariadne has designed levels for the team based on how she views their personalities. The descriptions of these personal levels are brilliant, but more than that they're startlingly insightful; Ariadne manages to see into who her colleagues are, but she also unfailingly turns the same light of introspection on herself.
Naturally, it's Arthur who is most reluctant to look into those dark personal spaces, but with Ariadne and Eames beside him, wanting him just as he is, he eventually comes to accept his feelings and theirs. And yet, there's so much more to this story than that. It's complex and beautifully layered without spelling things out. It's thought-provoking. Would you imagine Eames as a masked Carnevale or a fun-house hall of mirrors? Is Arthur really a staid Victorian manor house, or is that only the beginning?
I think of this story like a dance. The characters weave in and out around one another, equals with different strengths. They're all detail-oriented: Ariadne with her eye for detailed design, Eames with his instinct for the human condition, and Arthur with his precision and unerring focus. This is a story you'll immerse yourself in, and then want to do it all over again just to see what you missed the first time.
"Actually, do you know what this whole place reminds me of?" Eames says, gesturing around the room with a whirl of his hand. "Arthur. Look at it. It's the Victorian Country Home version of expensive ties and silver suitcases and never getting anything stuck in your teeth."
Arthur's about to pointedly ignore that when Ariadne makes an annoyed sound and walks over to slap Eames on the arm, hard.
"I don't believe you," she says warmly. "Nobody was supposed to notice."
"I always notice." He winks at her. "That's my job."
"Wait," says Arthur.
Yusuf picks up an elegant brass paperweight, stares at it, and then breaks into howls of laughter.
"Wait," says Arthur again. He leans forward, elbows on knees. "This is me?"
Ariadne nods. She's blushing but otherwise doesn't look ruffled. "The whole point of this exercise is to give us intimate knowledge of a few stock designs, right, and I thought -- it'd help if I made them representative. Of us."
Arthur looks around at the high, high windows stretching nearly to the high, high ceiling; the rich unpatterned carpet; the gilt edges and the glossy reinforced wood of everything. He feels at home here. He feels as though he could dream himself into the fabric of the place and weaponise it.
"Who else have you done?" he says.
On LJ: The Manor House
It doesn't matter how old or new or (how popular) a story is, authors love feedback!