Fandom: INCEPTION, The Chocolate War
Title: Breaking Temper
Pairing: Arthur/Eames, background Cobb/Mal, implied Arthur/Mal and Eames/Robert.
Length: 22,000
Author on LJ: kunstundtechnik
Author Website: fics on author's LJ
Why this must be read: Heads up: this is not your average high school AU. Sometimes you just have to rec fics because they hurt so good, and if there's ever a formula destined to fuck your shit up and leave you crying for more, it's the combination of kunstundtechnik, whose fics are smooth and satisfying as bitter dark chocolate, and Robert Cormier's classically bleak YA novel The Chocolate War.

The amazing thing about crossovers is that when they're done right they make you see both universes in new ways, and the effect of putting each of the members of the Inception team into the darkly satirical roles in The Chocolate War is that the absurdity of the social rituals Cormier attacks becomes even more absurd, even more terrifying. Mal as the calculating and unflinching leader of the Vigils is chilling and believable, as are Saito as the teacher who spurs them on, and Robert as the holdout who refuses to follow the rules. And, of course, Eames and Arthur who get caught in the middle of it all.

Just as in Cormier's novel, for all its moments of lightness and comedy, the stakes are ultimately just as high as they are in Inception--and even higher, because this is reality. And if ever you forgot that the characters of Inception are amoral criminals and mind violators whom you love because despite this, they're also perfectly, imperfectly human, you're about to be reminded in the best/worst way. Weatherfront said in her review that this fic was 22,000 words of "pure fucking sleaze," and I really can't think of higher praise.

( 'You don't *want* to?' Mal asked, incredulous. Fischer nodded. A beat passed while Mal surveyed his expression, that fake sincerity still plastered on her face. )

Breaking Temper