Fanwork Recs - August 18, 2014

[helloladies]

Fanwork is awesome and sharing fanwork is even more awesome. Join us as we keymash and squee over our favorite fanwork, from fic (both written and podfic) to art to vids and meta and back again.

Recommendations included:

• Inception — fic (6)

---

I was reminded recently by bookshop that Inception fandom is four years old. Since Inception was the first big fandom since Sailor Moon I took actively took part in (I don't count SGA; I was too intimidated/terrified of the size/scope of that fandom), Inception holds a special place in my heart. So because I'm really into nostalgia, I rummaged through my Inception bookmarks and took a trip down memory lane of stories I loved that stuck with me.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to include all the stories I loved. It was a list. It had 59 fics on it! There are so many and I kept stopping to re-read and ran out of time, so I will continue this later, probably at some (regrettable) length.

Aside: This doesn't even touch on the art! Also, for some reason I forgot to bookmark the catboy thing, which feels like an event that can only happen at the right fannish place and time. INCEPTION FANDOM, YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL AND WEIRD AND I MISS YOU. ♥

(Jodie, do you know I found a half-written Arthur/Eames bookstore fic for you? I HAD TOTALLY FORGOTTEN THIS. Why didn't you ever punch me in the mouth and force me to finish?)

[FIC] [Inception] a contraption, armed to the teeth by gunsandbutter (6,086 words) (Arthur/Eames) (TW: torture)
Important fact about me: I am big into revelations. Even if this story hadn't had some of my favorite tropes (Ariadne as kick ass architect! Eames with yet another terrible haircut! Arthur convincing himself he's happy with life adrift!), I would have been sold on it for the revelation Arthur comes to and the way he comes to it and the second revelation that happens right after it. Two emotionally fraught revelations is totally my jam.

There are many, many stories in Inception playing on this trope of Eames coming to Arthur's rescue, probably many of which I likely love, but for some reason it's this one that's stuck with me all these years later for the way the backstory lays over the forefront of the plot and writing itself. I find the writing really striking all the way through. Some of the writing here makes me feel like I wish poetry would make me feel, that is to say, overwhelmed by how the words sound in my head when I think about them and how they hang together.

Words are magic.

[FIC] [Inception] take the long way home (soft as the radio) by gyzym (7,199 words) (Ariadne/Yusuf, Arthur/Eames)
This is part of a larger series of stories about Arthur and Eames, and although I like that series, this story in particular is my favorite. This isn't the first time I've gone back to it since it was published, either, because it's a story generous with emotion, which is how I read Ariadne's character in the film: curious, invested in the feelings and emotions of those around her. Although I do like the idea of Ariadne and Yusuf, that's not the driving force behind my love of what happens in this story. I just love the gentle way Ariadne starts discovering the world by looking through her camera, and then finally starts understanding her world by really looking at the pictures she's taken and what they're telling her. ♥

[FIC] [Inception] Hello, I Love You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name by eleveninches (3,628 words) (Arthur/Eames)
Renay is not my real name.

Okay, it is, sort of. It's my middle name, deliberately misspelled so I could hide from my college R.A. who was monitoring my activity on the Internet due to specious claims of harassment from my then college roommate who was a complete paranoid nightmare who was afraid of the internet. This is not the first time I flipped names: I went by my first name until I was 11, then started going by my middle name. It only took me until I was graduating for the popular kids who hated me to call me by my preferred name. So, unsurprisingly I have a thing, a soft spot, an attraction, for stories about names and pseudonyms and the trust involved in sharing them. This is a delightful little story about lust and trust and taking a risk in order to get the affection on the other side of the attraction. And plus, it's by eleveninches, so it's also hilarious at surprising moments. She always succeeds at telling stories that make you happy and then proceeds to make you laugh for EXTRA GREAT FEELINGS.

[FIC] [Inception] Anal [Inception] aka Not Now Cobb We're Doing BGs by cthonical (3,700 words) (Arthur/Eames)
Listen, I have never played World of Warcraft. I am clueless. The nearest I got to anything like this was Maplestory. But this story still cracks me up and warms my heart even if I barely understand what the hell is going on. Everything about this is adorable and perfect. Eames gets Arthur a fawn and in game speak I don't know what that means or why it matters but he gets him a cute woodland creature, and that cancels my ability to cope with how cute it is. When I need to cheer up I sometimes go back to this story, because I cannot resist the siren call of getting to know someone you know without knowing you already know them. It's my revelation kink again. That sucker is everywhere. Also: chat flirting. My childhood.

[FIC] [Inception/3rd Rock from the Sun] In Duty Homeward Shall We Fly by toomuchplor (4,184 words) (Arthur/Eames)
Sometimes a story comes out of nowhere and sideswipes you. I watched 3rd Rock from the Sun because my friends were into it. We were sporadic about it, but it was always easy to follow along even if you missed a few episodes, which made it perfect for us. I didn't know I needed a story where Arthur was secretly Tommy Solomon, but I did and this is it. When I saw the title in my bookmarks I was overjoyed because I had forgotten about it, and seeing it reminded me of how much I teared up at the end of this fic and how the characterization of Dick made me laugh out loud. This is one of those fics I would give someone (as long as they were familiar with both canons) to explain just how neat fanwork can be.

[FIC] [Inception] It's Automatic by weatherfront (5,175 words) (Arthur/Eames)
I sat for hours going, "Okay, I have to pick one fic by weatherfront because if I don't I will end up writing 5000 words about multiple pieces of fanfic and nothing else will get done." This is the first fic by weatherfront I ever read, and in one of my private bookmarks I've given it six hearts in a row. The relationship between Arthur and Eames here is wonderfully done, heart-wrenching and surprising by turns, but really looking back on this fic my favorite part about it is the scope of the world that's been built: a truly international world, where Arthur and Eames are international criminals. It's a difficult trick to make a story feel so emotionally intimate on a personal level but so expansive on a worldbuilding level, which makes the spaces, both physical and emotional, between the characters all more arresting. I still love this story as much as I ever did, it's just different with time and distance. Funny how time changes how you see a thing and changes your perspective.

---

Dear people who were in Inception fandom: what stories do you remember fondly? The fandom was so huge and I was in university at the time so I know I probably missed so many awesome things, so if you feel comfortable sharing your favorites/your bookmarks, I'd be super pleased to see them so I can live vicariously through your experiences! :D

Comments

[marenfuga]

YAY! Inception fandom felt like the most important part of my fannish life. I'm a lurker 95% of the time, but most of the comments I've made IN THE HISTORY OF TIME were about Inception. That kinkmeme! The Big Bangs! Everything about Eames ever written!

I didn't finish law school, and that's a big part of my identity, I guess, so Gyzym's I've Got Nothing To Do Today But Smile, which is about Lawyer!Arthur struggling to make partner at his firm while hating everything about his job, felt both like a lifesaver AND a gut punch. I used to listen to its podfic obsessively and cry myself to sleep. Fun times! But also, a good place to start the healing process. Isn't it wonderful when a fic manages to deliver all the tropes you like (lawyer, coffeeshop AND bakery AU, with Eames wearing funny hats! What's not to love?) AND give you an insight into yourself? :)

Toomuchplor wrote that huge AU in which Arthur is a pianist and Eames a... baritone? dunno, and it's a thing of beauty. I owe her my entire spotify playlist of classical music (and all my knowledge of lied and Schubert)

[renay]

YES. Inception was totally where I learned to stop lurking so much and embrace loving the things that I did. I wasn't 100% perfect about leaving comments and celebrating the stuff I liked but the fandom and the people there were so friendly that it got easier and easier to reach out. All the comment fic! Bina's picspams! All the meta and debate about totems and dreaming!

Awww, bookgazing loves that story! It's a great piece, and I totally understand what you mean about finding a piece of fiction that tackles issues in a way that's appropriate to personal events and helping you deal with them. Those fics are my favorite, and they're few and far between. But it's so nice when you find them. ♥

OH GOSH, yes! Steinway!verse. I REMEMBER NOW. I remember reading through the series by the breakup story (because I think that's as far as the story had been published at the time?) and going "OH MY GOD WHERE IS THE REST???" and being gutted. My emotions were not ready to handle breakup fic. That describes my whole experience of Inception fandom. My emotions were not ready to handle it. OVERLOAD OF FEELINGS.

[bookgazing]

Well obviously there's a highschool AU that's v.close to my heart :P

I also loooooved "je ne veux pas travailler" when I first read it: http://syllic.livejournal.com/32248.html?style=mine

And you know I have a lot of interest in "everything's magic": http://inception-kink.livejournal.com/17669.html?thread=38112773#t38112773

And I remember 'A Permenant Collection fondly too: http://suaine.livejournal.com/650312.html

[bookgazing]

Oh also - bookstore fic. We agreed you weren't going to finish it. I think you said it didn't have any conflict and wasn't shaping into a story or something like that (long time ago).

[renay]

No, I remember that conversation! But apparently I revised it, tied it closer to canon, and kept the bookstore elements? DID I NOT TELL YOU ABOUT THIS???

[bookgazing]

No you told me none of this :P How near to done was it? Like, can I read it?

[renay]

GOD NO I WOULD DIE OF EMBARRASSMENT. Only the dialogue is written plus huge sections going "this happens here" and "gunshots!!!". But maybe I could finish it! Hmm.

Twice as many AUs as you asked for :D

[alasen]

* I've Got Nothing To Do Today But Smile (The Only Living Boy in New York) (19867 words) by gyzym

I always feel so so sorry for Arthur in this, but there's cake?? mmm, cake.

*Waiting On (2173 words) by thehoyden

Continuing the food theme. This is short, but I like it.

*Simple Math (45683 words) by foxxcub

Probably I should reread this, since I can't remember what happens though I guess the tags say it all!

* Let Not My Love Be Called Idolatry (20094 words) by toomuchplor

Another hs au that I haven't reread recently

*I bet Nureyev never had to deal with this shit. (21409 words) by cobweb_diamond

Ballet au! (Not that i'm particularly into ballet.)

*Breathe Into It (9763 words) by rageprufrock

Yoga instructor au! (ditto yoga...)