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She liked the sharp angles in the bar. It felt clean and crisp, minimal with luxury, the kind of bar where the son of a billionaire industrialist might sit and have a drink and brood about the future. The light was good, too: she wanted lots of windows, and diffused white sunlight. Drinking in the dark was a sad bastard activity, and Robert Fischer seemed like the type who’d say he was melancholy, rather than depressed. That sort of refined brooding required light, and space, and openness. Overall, it wasn’t the sort of bar she’d ever visit on her own--she wasn’t in the tax bracket that could afford this kind of no-price-on-the-wine-list atmosphere. Ariadne didn’t think she ever would be, even after Saito’s check landed in her shiny new account in the Caymans. But she was pleased with it: Cobb would blend in here, and Arthur would like it, she thought. Sharp look at Ariadne as she learns the job; good Arthur/Ariadne UST. And I really love the explanation of Arthur's totem.

CJ runs for president. It's pretty awesome.

“It’s not--that’s shameful! A man of honor shouldn’t do--” Zuko starts, bright red and this close to panic again. “Yeahhh, okay, but I’m pretty sure a teenager of honor isn’t gonna repress the need for his morning jerk-off so easy,” Sokka cuts in dryly, just cocking an eyebrow at him. “I mean, come on, you do it, right?” “I--I don’t have to answer that!” “. . . oh holy shit, you don’t.” Sokka demonstrates the fine art of the handjob. Hilarious. Sokka FTW! (Note: this does involve Aang egging them on, which is kind of squicky, but I mostly just ignored his presence.)

Tense, gorgeous Arthur/Ariadne. "How do you know we're not in a dream right now, Ariadne?" "If this was my dream," she says, leaning closer to him so she can steal the last piece of chapati off his plate before she shifts back again, "we'd be eating thai."

Sam's two weeks in Flagstaff. Heartbreaking.

vid title: U. R. A. Fever music: The Kills source: Fringe duration: 2:09 Premiered in the vividcon Also Premiering (non-attending premieres) vidshow. summary: You only ever had FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham when you were a fever. download: streaming video 30mb xvid avi via mediafire Find more…

OLIVIA DUNHAM IS MORE AWESOME THAN YOU!

"I'm trying to help you, Zuko." "I don't need any help," Zuko grumped. "Really," Mai said. "I hadn't realized losing was part of your strategy." "I'm not losing!" "You fooled me," Mai said. Mai takes over when Zuko is getting his ass kicked at pai sho. Adorable.

Showmanship was always the name of the game. Really cool backstory for Deanna Winchester.

Zuko has a secret - his vision is compromised way more than he lets on - and he doesn't know how to tell his new friends. Lovely.

In which Zuko continues to be the dorkiest Fire Lord ever, making having sex with Mai way more awkward than it ought to be. Includes hilarious advice from Uncle Iroh.

Lovely look at Toph, Katara, Sokka, and Aang from Zuko's POV as he slowly starts to fit in at the Western Air Temple. Zuko listens with half an ear and thinks of the would-have-been invasion. He wonders if anyone realizes the remarkable thing about it: not that it failed, but just how close it came to succeeding.

Eames reaches for the PASIV machine, and gets punched by Arthur and hit in the head by Ariadne's shoe, at the same time. They end up holding Eames at real gunpoint until he has wisely taken three shots of tequila and one of whiskey. Then they try to roast marshmallows in the electric fireplace. Apparently the locked iron gate has been placed there for a reason, and hotel management declines to agree with their justification that the suite is much warmer with the couch on fire. Hilarious team fic featuring some cute Arthur/Eames interaction.

The Vulcans fed her, housed her, were kind to her. She was shown to her room by Admiral T'Lara; Sarek paid her the solemn courtesies due a daughter of his house. But she grew used to the silence of the desert, the silence of nothing left to say. She was old enough, now, to understand the curious grammar of loss. Uhura/Language=OTP! Lovely.

Toph, Suki and Katara. They could do anything, after the war. Lovely post-finale look at all three girls.

Very cool story in which the Inception folks bring in Sophie to help them out on a job, but I think the real takeaway is that Parker is awesome and scary.

It wasn't even about Ben, he thought later that day when he was leaning against a wall in the shade near the Impala and watching Ben snapping pictures of engine blocks. Nor was it about the ready-made family he was terrified he was creating out of Lisa and Ben, as if he could slide into their lives and completely forget about his own. It was about him and how he could fit in this world. He had a hobby, and he couldn't even believe that, and a pocket full of business cards with job offers for restoration work scribbled on the back of them. He had friends who understood that you had to let things do what they were made to do, that cars had to be driven and people had to follow their own paths. Dean, during the summer after Swan Song, feeling out a different way of life. *sniffle* Oh, Dean.

Fairly typical post-apocalyptic (AU) hurt/comfort, but I do love it when Sam and Dean get taken in by a community and this hits that button right on the nose and hits it hard. It’s just – he likes it here. Likes Randy and Sonya, likes the crew, and the work is tough, but no tougher than other things he’s done in his life. In fact, it feels good – these days, the earth is the one solid thing they’ve got left going for them, now that more than half the population’s gone and the major cities have been blown to smithereens. He’s been eating shit like rice-a-roni for two goddamn years, and all along there were places like this – fresh food, straight from the ground, so easy to grow once you knew how. It’d be awesomer if Sonya and Randy hadn’t sold all their cows, because the only thing better than a cheeseburger is a double cheeseburger, but at this point, Dean’ll admit that broccoli is a hell of a lot more welcome than refried-refried beans from a dented can.

Heartbreakingly lovely origin story for Arthur. In those early days, he learns more from Mal than he thinks he ever will from Dom. Dom is the one who teaches him how to steal the secrets from other people’s dreams, how to flit undetected in and out of a foreign consciousness. Dom teaches him all that, teaches him how to feel at home in dreams, but Mal is the one who teaches Arthur how to fit inside his own skin while he’s awake.

Ariadne thinks maybe she does know the reason why Arthur appeals to her. She's a worldbuilder and he's a strong foundation. Lovely bit of Arthur/Ariadne + Eames.

The rules of forgery are these: 1) As the name suggests, forgery must always be an act of copying rather than an act of creation. It differs from dream architecture in this regard. Minor aspects of the forged individual may be adjusted or omitted, but it has proven impossible to appear as an individual who does not exist and has not been carefully observed by the forger. 2) Any forgery carried out by the DREAMER therefore consists of a precise memory rather than an original construction, and so puts the DREAMER at severe and immediate risk of attack from the SUBJECT's projections. 3) Forgery should under no circumstances whatsoever be attempted by the SUBJECT of a dream. Eames, before and after. I enjoyed this a lot.

"Hello, Judith Butler. Allow me to scrub your back. So you and Feminist Hulk are saying that my devotion to Old Spice body wash might be part of a larger regulative discourse to maintain an essential ontological gender?" Feminist Hulk + Old Spice Man + Judith Butler. THIS MIGHT BE THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER READ EVER! ♥

"Why do you guys always make everything so complicated? If you wanted to see me, you could have picked up the phone," Ariadne says. She holds her hand up to her ear, thumb and pinkie extended to make a handset and sets her face in a stern expression. "Hey Ariadne? Want to have coffee with me?" she says in a lowered voice. "Do I actually sound like that?" "I don't know. How about you try?" she prompts, holding her hand phone out. Arthur smiles and leans down, mouth and ear at her fingers. "Hey Ariadne, want to order room service on Cobb's tab?" Adorable Arthur/Ariadne story.

Post-apocalypse, Sam is trying to deal with the vestiges Lucifer left behind and his own simmering rage. Dean helps. For a story that's so much about Sam's rage, it's very quiet and sweet. (AU; Wincest)

"Parker," Hardison said through gritted teeth, his mouth locked in a forced smile, "you can't con the baby. We will straight up go to hell if you try to run a con on a baby." Hee! Parker and Hardison have to steal something from a baby shower. Adorkable!

Long, achy, heartbreaking preseries girl!Sam/Dean story.

“Can I ask you a question?” Eames says when there is nothing left on Arthur’s desk for him to destroy. “No.” Arthur has no hope that his answer will dissuade Eames from asking. “Why do you do it? I mean, Cobb does it because he’s out of his mind. I do it because it’s fun. You’re not crazy and you never seem like you’re having any fun.” Arthur looks up from his notes. “Are you implying that you’re sane?” Eames laughs. “You’re avoiding the question.” Highly enjoyable Arthur/Eames.

beautiful and heartbreaking. i cried the whole way through. I love that it focuses on the women and their stories. ♥

"I thought you might draw on me," he said, "or cry for your father's guards." "Had it been any other, perhaps." Romeo pressed a kiss to Mercutio's temple. "But you have ever led me into temptation." Mercutio's eyes went dark. "And still will you go and call this sin?" Quite of a sudden Romeo felt lost, and angered, and afraid. "It has some other name?" he asked. "I am in mortal terror for your soul, Mercutio." Mercutio pushed away. "Look you to your own, and leave me mine," he said Beautifully written Romeo/Mercutio.

Dean will always do something that Sam can't believe because Dean himself is impossible. Sam's impossible brother, and it's improbable how much Sam needs him around to do his impossible things. Gorgeous first kiss between Sam and Dean. Also, fire.