Inception Fic Recs: Canon Compliant (updated 5/12/15)
Because we have so little Arthur / Eames canon, there are loads and loads of AUs. It’s a goldmine. Really. Go check it out.
But not all of the gems are AUs. Here’s a list of fics that are (to my mind at least) canon compliant.
For those of you looking for the new additions to the list (though they’re not necessarily new fics), I’ve put a *** next to them.
Also, now that the list is getting longer, I’ve tried breaking it into some rough categories. They’re not perfect and there could be some overlap, but it’s at least an attempt at putting them into some kind of order that will help me find a particular fic when I want it. (Because I’m really happy to share these lists, but in many ways they’re just a handy way for me to find so many fav fics again when I want them. :-) )
Keep the Car Running, earlgreytea68. GAH! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this fic. It’s also a crossover (InceptionLock) and you should read it immediately. Seriously. Go.
Lines that we’ll draw, VIII_XIII. “There are two boxes full of letters in Eames’s desk drawer. The ones he receives from Arthur, and the ones he wishes he could send in reply.” Oh my god, I loooooove epistolary fics. And this one is so well done.
Je ne veux pas travailler, syllic. "Eames had not bargained on the wanton sprawl of Arthur’s limbs, or on the pleasantly unpredictable rhythm with which Arthur drove himself into Eames’ body….There was no doubt that they were both playing an unexpected, but not in any way unpleasant, game of chicken: …Arthur shagged like he didn’t look, which was to say adventurously and unrestrainedly.”
No Map of the Road to You, vaincs. “Eames realizes that he’s in love. During sex.”
To the fullest, annejumps. Threesome. GAH. So hot. Arguably it’s PWP (which is A-Ok in my book), but I also love the character development we see through the eyes of the OC.
Seven Come Eleven, annejumps “I bet,” Eames continued speculatively, “you wouldn’t be able to keep quiet while I fucked you. In fact, I’m certain you wouldn’t be able to shut up.” Arthur narrowed his eyes, looking mutinous. “I’ll take that bet.” This one is surprisingly sweet.
Like a Hook Into an Eye, toomuchplor.
And So We Burn and Perish, scribblescrabbl. Five times UST crackled around Arthur and Eames, and one time they caught fire.
You’ll Be So Pristine, cobweb_diamond. “Arthur gets a tattoo on the inside of his wrist, then does his best to keep it a secret."
You should’ve Made Some Plans with Me (You knew that I was free), cobweb_diamond. Breaking Eames out of jail. Could be AU / could be canon compliant.
Life in Virtual Reality, cobweb_diamond. Eames finds himself haunted by projections of Arthur.
Time May Change Me, But I Can’t Change Time, whizzingfizzbee. “In the near future people can get a digital clock installed on their wrists that tells them when exactly they will meet their soul mate. The catch is they only start counting down after both people have had them installed, and if you’ve already met your soul mate by that time, your TiMER goes straight to zero.” Crossover with TIMER / Magical realism.
Going to Get My Feet Wet (Until I Drown), sweetbutterbliss. Pretend boyfriends. I love that trope.
Origin Stories, laceymcbain. “The story of how Eames and Arthur meet is one of the great legends of the dream-sharing profession. In it, there’s a dark alley, a foreign country, a bar, a punch in the face, a loaded die, a poker chip, a three-piece suit, and a kiss. Not necessarily in that order. And not necessarily all the time.” (Many thanks to januarymarlinquin for the rec!)
All Our Wires Got Crossed, five_ht. “"So you decided the best solution to incompetent coworkers was to break into my room and molest me,” Eames says, only slightly mocking, because it’s not as if this is a new development, and it’s not as if he’d be stupid enough to say no.” Mild D/S.
***No Good in this World, lezzerlee. “Arthur is in love with Eames but Eames refuses to acknowledge it. One night, Eames gets fantastically drunk and Arthur takes care of him. Drunk!Eames admits he knows Arthur’s feelings for him and insists he should find someone else because he’s not good enough for Arthur. When he wakes up, Arthur confronts him.”
***Messages in a Bottle (or by other means), immoral_crow. “In the wake of a job gone wrong, Arthur leaves a series of messages on Eames’s answerphone – then vanishes. “Faced with criminals, forgers, art thieves, and family members, can Eames track him down before it’s too late?”
A fine distraction, Dualwielder & VIII_XIII. “Eames might be an asshole, but the fact that they can’t get out of Canada is all Arthur’s fault.”
Last candle, the_ragnorak. “A tale of of romance, data storage devices and the True Meaning of Hanukkah (that is, guerrilla warfare and setting things on fire).”
Underneath your clothes, the_ragnarok. “Eames knows that Arthur worked as a stripper before. But knowing and seeing are two different things.” Could be one of ragnarok’s other verses, but I think it could be cc as well.
***I Turn My Camera On, lezzerlee. “In Arthur’s spare time he shaves himself smooth and dresses up in panties, garters and stockings and does live cam shows. One evening, Eames stumbles on one of his shows and realizes who he’s jerking off to…”
Hello, I Love You, Won’t You Tell Me Your Name, eleveninches. “Many people, Eames would find out later, assumed Eames had wanted Arthur from the moment they’d met. It was true Arthur was devestatingly attractive, but in all honesty, the first thing Eames had thought when he’d met Arthur was, Why did Cobb bring his son? (Or: It’s all about trust.)”
All’s Fair, eleveninches. “Arthur can always find Eames, and Eames needs to know if Arthur wants him just as badly.”
The Third Time, witling. “"We need to get back to the city, we need a cab. And a cab won’t take you if you’re covered in blood.“”
Our man in Africa, witling. “The nice thing about being a shady ex-pat is that you have connections.”
If only in my dreams, osaki_nana_007. Christmas fic.
Spitfire (Yours to Shake), riverlight. ““All right, that’s it,” Eames says, slapping the file shut and shoving back his chair. “I’ve had enough. Fucking or fighting, Arthur, your choice.””
***Wake the Rocks, Aja. “Arthur wants inception, and Arthur may want Eames, but Arthur does not have enough alcohol to deal with having the two of them at the same time. (NOT ENOUGH ALCHOL IN THE WORLD.)”
***And the Dust Will Still, Nellie. “Eames dies, but sticks around as a zombie rather than have himself decapitated. This takes some getting used to.”
***Perfection in Your Flaws, Nellie. “It’s such an obvious secret, and Eames is surprised it took him so long to figure it out.”
Watch these silly boys pine for ages
Presque Vu, rageprufrock. Arthur meets Mal first, gets into dreamsharing by accident, meets Eames. It’s epic and heartbreaking and wow.
In this part of the story, gunsandbutter. Seven chapters, seven cities. Chapter 6 (LA) has one of the best Arthur confronts Eames scenes. Ever.
***Metaphors as Mixed as You Can Make Them, halflinen. “Eames tries to incept Arthur. A story of forgiveness, family, fancy suits, and ~feelings.” Ugh, this *fic.* Just go read it. (Thanks to EGT for the rec)
***Breaking and Entering, resonant. “Eames is very good at pretending.” This was the first canon fic I ever read, so I have a soft spot for it. I especially love how intertwined Eames and Arthur are and Eames has *zero idea* because he’s just, like, *not grasping it.* (Thanks to EGT for the rec)
***High Hopes, ester_inc. “Arthur at seventeen is not the same as Arthur at twenty-nine; Eames is one of the few people to have met Arthur at both ages. Some days, Arthur thinks that if he could go back in time and smack some sense into his teenage self, he would. A story about lust, love, and the years between.”
***Living Proof, ester_inc. “Making friends, making enemies, making compromises; taking jobs, taking lovers, taking care of those you love; losing sleep, losing people, losing sight of what is real; reconciling the past with the present; accepting who and what you’ve become. This is Arthur. This is ten years of his life.”
Dreams they break in the morning light, scribblscrabbl. “Arthur forgets and Eames tries to make him remember, finding that two years is at once infinite and nothing at all.” This amnesia fic is breaks my heart.
In our line of work, enjambament. “Arthur wakes up and realizes the last ten years of his life have been a dream. He is nineteen, and he can barely remember where he is. What he can remember is the ghost of Eames’ hands pressed down on his chest trying frantically to stop the blood flooding up around his fingers as Arthur died (as he woke up).” This one just gutted me. So beautifully written and incredibly moving and such a smart way to play with the possible implications of the passage of time in dreamsharing.
Mr Eames &, wldnst. “Eames obsessively tracks a young adult series that may or may not be based on his life.”
One part ambition, two parts cocaine, pushdragon. “There is a reclusive tech genius and the liberty of the free world is at stake, but the important bit is that Arthur goes undercover as a supermodel.” Almost feels like it should be in the AU post, but nope, he’s just undercover.
A Methodological Dispute, ineptshieldmaid, trojie. Delightful, cracky, let’s-have-sex-for-science banter.
Flannel: A Love Story, jibrailis. Not quite my usual head canon Arthur but it’s fluffy and funny I really enjoyed it. “Arthur has a secret love of flannel. Eames has a not-so-secret love of Arthur. They end up in Canada. ”
Mutual Hardships, Aja. Short and sweet and hot and hilarious. And Arthur’s description of Eames’ condition made me laugh and laugh. Read it and you’ll see.
All the boys with their toys, jibrailis. Canon compliant, I guess, and TOTALLY CRACKTASTIC. Arthur likes to invent things. Eames likes Arthur. Even with his mustache.
And the doors are open, gunsandbutter. “Yusuf,” she says, dangerously, “did you give my point man a love potion?”
Not Necessarily the Best Policy, five_ht. “Arthur has a lot of feelings, mostly about Eames’ penis. Yusuf’s accidental truth drug helpfully illuminates them.”
Wunderkind, mirabellafic. "Eames has a hard and fast rule against fucking anyone underage. Arthur would have the utmost respect for this rule, if he hadn’t just gotten cockblocked by it at the age of twenty-three.“ AHAHAHAHA. This fic is hilarious and amazingly well written and the smut at the end is SMOKING HOT. Seriously. Check it out.
Grief, illness, and hurt/comfort
Far Out to Sea and Alone, traincar. “Arthur doesn’t know what they have, but it tastes like grief. Eames finds out why.” Oh, I love this vulnerable Arthur.
Enchantillon, mellonbutterfly. Arthur and Eames share a dream under a new drug; hurt/comfort.
Toxic, witling. “Eames tackles him from behind, brings him down onto his belly on the carpet, and plants a knee in his back. “What,” he pants, “the hell.” Arthur gets into trouble, and can’t remember how he got there. Eames lends a hand.”
A contraption, armed to the teeth, gunsandbutter. “Just once,” Eames says, “I wish you’d let me come round when I’m not in mortal peril.” (There’s lots of gunsandbutter on this list. Go read the fics and you’ll see why.)
Focused on sexual identification(s) a/o kinks
Allowed, the_ragnarok. It’s like there’s an Eames-shaped hole in Arthur’s defenses. (Asexual!Eames)
This just might hurt a little, gunsandbutter. "Arthur is a sub. He’s in a shitty relationship or arrangement, scratching the itch without really getting what he needs/wants. Arthur is unhappy with the situation, but he’s resigned to it. Eames figures out what’s going on. He knows he can do better, and he sets out to prove that he can give Arthur what he needs–and more”
Wherever you will be (that’s where I’ll call home), gyzym. Also known as the DomesticVerse. Eight marvelous stories.
Lucky, earlgreytea68. Arthur finds a baby.
Renovations!verse, joosetta. “In which Eames builds a nest and (accidentally) lures Arthur into it.”
***The Material Life of the California Suburb, eleveninches. “Arthur seduces Eames into good.”
***Lives I’ve Pursued, indysaur. The one where Arthur has an unexpected housemate, takes a gig with Saito, and exchanges letters with Eames.
***Plate Techtonics, indysaur. “Arthur is forced to move in with Eames. The world moves.” Well, I don’t know if I’d really call this one domestic–but it seemed like as a good a category as any for filing. :-)
Not my usual head canons, but I Iove them
All the world is bullet shaped, pushdragon. Wow. This is a totally different Eames—with an extended (criminal) family and a much cooler (as in distant) disposition. And the sexual dynamics are complicated and very hot. It’s long but the character development is pretty darn amazing. “If Arthur thinks that, just by waving enough money around, he can get Eames to risk his life and reputation to rescue him from a death sentence, he’s got another thing coming. So Eames sets a malicious, undignified price on his services, one he can be certain that a man like Arthur would never condescend to pay. It turns out to be the first of many mistakes.”
Do you run (when it’s just getting good), VIII_XIII. I really like the way this fic uses Eames’s pov to unpack the ways he and Arthur both surprise one another. And me. Neither this Arthur nor this Eames fit my usual head canons—but they absolutely work for me here and I found myself a bit desperate for them to get together and stay together. Finally, I don’t think this is spoilers, but stop reading here if you want to be sure, the bit about what one of these characters applied for gave me all the feels.
Delayed reaction, witling. Eames unintentionally observes Arthur getting dumped; a job (and some smut) ensues.
You can find more links and recs at my larger Inception: A Guide for Beginners post.
