Deja Fucking Deja Vu, by weatherfront (PG-13)

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Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: Deja Fucking Deja Vu
Pairing: Nash/Arthur
Length: 5,887
Author on LJ: weatherfront
Author Website: author's fic journal
Why this must be read: Weatherfront's Inception fics speak for themselves. It's impossible to pick a single fic of hers to rec this month, so I'm not going to try. But if held at gunpoint, I'd have to go with this one, because in choosing to write about Nash--the sniveling, quickly-disposed-of architect from the beginning of the film--Weatherfront goes where few other members of the fandom have dared or cared, and shows us what it means to truly transform a minor character into a major revelation.

What makes "Deja Fucking Deja Vu" remarkable is not just that it's a devastating story thrillingly & unforgettably told, not just that it manages to make us empathize deeply with the unlikely/unlikable Nash, but that it shows us Arthur in one of the few critical perspectives we're offered in the film. And Arthur shines all the more, all the more heartbreakingly, amid Nash's cynicism and wry realism. It's a paradox that's as enthralling as it is heartclenching, and makes Nash's voice come alive with all the engaging 3-dimensionality he was denied in the film.

I suspect the reason more fans don't write about Nash is because this fic is a hard standard to match. But it's a brilliant standard, an amazing fic, and a perfect example of all the untold stories of Inception canon that are still waiting to be mined.

That's how you end up sitting across the pavilion from a pair of dicks in suits called Cobb and Arthur. Your customer is at your back, like he's having you judged, like he's selling you off.

"It's crisp enough," says Arthur, not looking around. "But much too boring. Much too dull."

"Oh, that's because--" starts the customer, flustered, "this is according to my specifications, you shouldn't-- I'm sure Nash could add some details to your liking, if you hired him. This is the way I prefer it, that's all."

Arthur's lip curls in contempt. You find yourself staring at his mouth.

"What do you think of mazes?" asks Cobb.

"Mazes?" you ask. "I don't think anything of mazes. They're fucking mazes. Why would anyone have an opinion on mazes?"

"Let's drop this," says Arthur. "Obviously he's an idiot."

"My god," you say, delighted, "you're an asshole, aren't you?"

Deja Fucking Deja Vu