Towards Zero

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Fanfiction
Title: Towards Zero
Author(s): mirabella
Date(s): 18 October 2010
Length: ~15000 words
Genre: slash fanfiction
Fandom: Inception
External Links: Towards Zero (Dreamwidth)

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Towards Zero is an Inception fanfic by mirabella. The plot was originally a prompt idea for inception_kink, but mirabella later decided to write it herself.[1]

Summary: Five levels down, and five to dig yourself back out. Arthur met Eames' projection long before he met Eames.

Towards Zero centers around getting to know each other through another person's projection, a typical trope in Inception fanfiction (often leading to sex with the projection before any sex with the actual person occurs). In contrast to many similar stories, this time it is Arthur getting fascinated by a projection.[2]

Recs and Reviews

God, I am so glad that prompts were closed and you had to write this yourself, because it is absolutely amazing. I think it might be the best thing I've read in this fandom yet, and certainly the story that most had me clutching my laptop, laughing out loud, on the edge of tears of happiness, quoting furiously to absolutely anyone who would listen, and desperate for the end while wishing it never would. I love your writing so much, and you have outdone yourself with this one. I was so invested in the characters and this journey that it almost stopped feeling like fanfiction and was simply a story about these two people in this world that no one else would ever be able to replicate. There are moments in this that will stick with me for ages, and I already know I'll be back to re-read and re-read again. The way Arthur meets Eames, and the way Eames meets Arthur (love), and the way it takes them so long to finally come together so perfectly. This is nearly everything I've ever wanted from a story about these two, and I can't tell you enough how happy I am to have read it. I'm in awe.[3]

[...] Arthur's projection is his impression of Nash's impression. Then when he meets and starts working with the real Eames, it's very disjointing. And the real Eames is superior, which he realizes on a subconscious level at first, when the projection disappears. The conscious level is more confused but catches on eventually: "...the real Eames is like dreaming in color, like rich splashes of cobalt and scarlet on the walls.[...][4]

Unlike most of the other fandoms on this list, I was actually in Inception fandom, and when this fic came out, it felt like everything I'd wanted for this canon. It's a staggering exploration of dream work, human psyche, and the complicated relationships we're introduced to in the film. It's not hosted on AO3, so I also worry that people who came into the fandom later might have missed it--which would be a shame, because it's stunning.[5]

The first. The best. The only one that I still regularly think about. Arthur meets Eames projection before he meets him. It’s angsty and sexy and all kinds of awesome.[6]

References

  1. ^ see mirabella's story notes. Towards Zero, Inception, Arthur/Eames NC-17, 18 October 2010, (Accessed 13 November 2010)
  2. ^ meitachi: "Arthur being the one who got tied up with projections for once was refreshing" comment by meitachi, 19 August 2010, (Accessed 19 November 2010)
  3. ^ airgiodslv. comment by airgiodslv.livejournal.com, 19 August 2010 (Accessed 19 November 2010)
  4. ^ rainey_creek. comment by rainey_creek 20 August 2010 (Accessed 19 November 2010)
  5. ^ Comment by AirgiodSLV on International Fanworks Day Feedback Fest 2022
  6. ^ "heather recs things pt. 2". Archived from the original on 2022-12-27.