( inception - arthur & eames - darling heart )
darling heart
an arthur & eames (inception) and florence + the machine study
so this actually happened. i am surprised, i'll be honest. usually, i am all talk and i make promises i cannot fulfill and this sounded like one of those. however, i keep listening to florence + the machine and being like "OMG THIS SONG" in regards to arthur and eames, not to mention, they nag at my brain all day because they are perfect and wonderful and etc. what is this exactly? it's sort of like a fanmix, in that it is a bunch of songs with lyrics that fit the ship in question. however, they are all by the same artist, so it can't be a fanmix, and also, you get to hear me talk your face off about why i think the lyrics are ~so perfect~ for them. in this instance, it's about arthur and eames from inception (and seriously, if you still haven't seen it, get off your computer right now and remedy that) and the band florence + the machine, and more specifically, the album lungs. as always, i don't know how my artwork happens. though this is one of my least conceptual. anyway, i hope you enjoy, and don't find me too ridiculous.
01 | blinding
(arthur/eames)
Seems that I have been held, in some dreaming state
A tourist in the waking world, never quite awake
No kiss, no gentle word could wake me from this slumber
Until I realise that it was you who held me under
+
And I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack
All around the world was waking, I never could go back
Cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn right open
And finally it seemed that the spell was broken
+
No more dreaming like a girl so in love with the wrong world
alright so, let's start off with the obvious. "seems that i have been held, in some dreaming state/a tourist in the waking world, never quite awake" yes well, if that didn't just describe the team of inception as a whole, i don't even know. but then! the next two lines, especially "until i realize that it was you who held me under" i originally had this pegged as arthur to eames, because i think, as much as he is not as forthright about eames (no darling or quite as many quips), his feelings are just as strong, but then i had to step back a moment and of course, flip the coin and realize that, for all the shit eames gives arthur, he really is very attached to him. and then, that second verse, "cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn right open" UM, THE DREAM IS COLLAPSING, ANYBODY? this pairing + the album = mfeo from the get-go. and finally, that last bit, i think it fits both of them so well. (we can either assume that in this case, the lyric should be boy, or make them both girls. it's up to you.) i think their relationship has so many sides to it, from it being perfect, to it being really not perfect, to it being very demanding, to it being put on the back burner, etc. but i think, most of all, is that they know it's usually not the best idea (being people who work together, people who can sometimes be so opposite) but it still feels so right in comparison to anything else they've known.
02 | drumming song
(arthur to eames)
There's a drumming noise inside my head
That throws me to the ground
I swear that you should hear it
It makes such an all mighty sound
+
I swallow the sound and it swallows me whole
Till there's nothing left inside my soul
As empty as that beating drum
But the sound has just begun
+
As I move my feet towards your body
I can hear this beat it fills my head up
and gets louder and louder
it fills my head up and gets louder and louder
+
Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell
oh arthur. we all know that you love eames. you have a hard time showing it, but it's always there, in your head and reminding you. basically, this song is very arthur-centric. i mean, i guess it could be him to eames, but i could have just as easily only put arthur in parentheses. because even though there's tons of you's in the lyrics, i think he's mostly wrestling with himself on the idea that he is so impacted by eames. and of course, the fangirl in me really wants to point out "sweeter than heaven/and hotter than hell" because um hello. yes, yes it is.
03 | hardest of hearts
(eames to arthur)
There is love in your body but you can't hold it in
It pours from your eyes and spills from your skin
Tenderest touch leaves the darkest of marks
And the kindest of kisses break the hardest of hearts
+
Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But you'll never know what a fool I've been
Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But that's no excuse for the state I'm in
+
There is love in our bodies and it holds us together
But pulls us apart when we're holding each other
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
+
There is love in your body but you can't get it out
It gets stuck in your head, won't come out of your mouth
Sticks to your tongue and it shows on your face
That the sweetest of words have the bitterest taste
THIS SONG GUYS. THIS SONG. it has shown up on so many arthur/eames mixes (including my own) and seriously, there is a reason. this is their anthem. both of them are totally badass, they have the hardest of hearts. and yet, something very emotional resonates from the both of them and is sometimes very obvious to one another, and when they let their guard down, they're gambling with getting hurt. and sometimes, they do. and i think, it affects eames more than arthur. arthur tries to compartmentalize (usually fails probably) but eames struggles with it. the idea that arthur can brush him off and ignore the tension, and this song is him pointing all of this out to arthur. "there is love in our bodies and it holds us together/but pulls us apart when we're holding each other/we all want something to hold in the night/we don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight" ok guys, seriously. i know everyone loves the "darling heart..." bit because...well obviously. and i do too, don't get me wrong. but this verse. i have probably never heard anything more arthur/eames than this verse. the idea that they are always drawn back to each other and every time, it forces them apart again but eventually, they need someone to love them who understands them and they don't even care anymore if it burns them in the end or they fall too far or fast. fuck yeah this song.
04 | between two lungs
(arthur/eames)
And my running feet could fly
Each breath screaming: "We are all too young to die!"
+
Because it was trapped
Trapped between two lungs
+
Now all the days of begging
The days of theft
No more gasping for a breath
The air has filled me head-to-toe
And I can see the ground far below
I have this breath and I hold it tight
And I keep it in my chest with all my might
+
Between two lungs it was released
The breath that passed from you to me
well let's just see that second line. all i can think about is how they're constantly facing death, i know it's in the dream world but still, and seriously. they are not old. it is not time for them to die. and the "trapped between two lungs" line, oh man. i just imagine that they treat their ribs like prison bars, holding back their heart because they refuse to let emotion control their life when they have the job they do. so they lock their hearts away and keep telling them that one day they can return, but so far, no such luck. and of course, i am not even going to bypass "the days of theft" um what is eames? well yes, he is the forger. but also, arthur says, "there's plenty of good thieves." and cobb responds, "we don't just need a thief. we need a forger." but yes, basically, eames is also a thief. (~A THIEF WHO STOLE ARTHUR'S HEART~) and my subtext glasses are always on so i needed to point out that line to you.
05 | ghosts/i'm not calling you a liar
(arthur to eames)
I'm not calling you a liar, just don't lie to me
I'm not calling you a thief, just don't steal from me
I'm not calling you a ghost, just stop haunting me
And I love you so much, I'm gonna let you kill me
+
There's a ghost in my lungs and it sighs in my sleep
Wraps itself around my tounge as it softly speaks
Then it walks, then it walks with my legs
To fall, to fall, to fall at your feet
arthur. arthur arthur arthur. when did you get so emo? ok no i'm kidding. but, for all the love i have for eames and all the characters of the film, arthur may just have the edge as my favorite. we understand each other. he is a logical person, he deals with things rationally and he treats everything like a job, especially his job. i interpret this as, not being born with a penchant for logic, but an overcompensation for being extremely emotional in the past and getting hurt and deciding that never again would he open himself up like that. (which of course makes me want to write him as a total needy slut. but i mean really, every fandom needs more needy slut fic. just saying.) and i think this is arthur's declaration of that. or rather, that he is the way he is but he is trying. he asks for eames not to fuck with him like people have before, but also that yeah, when it comes down to it, i really fucking love you. so much that, i can't even control it, but i always find you and fall at your feet on my knees.
06 | falling
(eames to arthur)
I've fallen out of favor and I've fallen from grace
Fallen out of trees and I've fallen on my face
Fallen out of taxis, out of windows too
Fell in your opinion when I fell in love with you
+
This is a song for a scribbled-down name
And my love keeps writing again and again
+
I dance with myself, I drunk myself down
Found people to love, left people to drown
I'm not scared to jump, I'm not scared to fall
If there was nowhere to land I wouldn't be scared at all
+
Sometimes I wish for falling, wish for the release
Wish for falling through the air to give me some relief
Because falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace
It's only when I hit the ground it causes all the grief
i am of the popular fandom opinion that eames has a much easier time coming to terms with being in love with arthur (even through all the snark) than vice versa. (or at least i think it's popular fandom opinion? i feel like most people write arthur as shy, reserved, reasoning, logical, etc and eames as his foil of sorts, emotional, free, borderline hedonistic, albeit a bit ridiculous but we love him for it. maybe they don't, but i have been. so maybe i'm just writing "popular opinion" when i mean "my opinion" but hey, i've always believe they're interchangeable.) so this is eames' ~coming to terms with loving arthur~ song. but this is a very eames-centric song, reflecting on stuff he has done that has been stupid and the idea that falling in love with arthur is probably very stupid and belongs on this list, he's going to do it anyway. "because falling's not the problem, when i'm falling i'm at peace/it's only when i hit the ground it causes all the grief" because it feels good/right/etc until something bad happens, and he's going to enjoy the good for as long as he can.
07 | howl
(arthur/eames)
If you could only see the beast you've made of me
I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free
Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart
Drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart
+
My fingers claw your skin, try to tempt my way in
You are the moon that makes the night for which I have to howl
My fingers claw your skin, try to tempt my way in
You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to
+
Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers
Starts so soft and sweet and turns them into hunters
+
A man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night
May still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright
ok, so out of all the songs i picked, this is definitely the most conceptual and abstract. (however, so is the dream world, so it already kind of fits) this is the darker tone of their relationship. how they have changed each other, and maybe that change isn't the best. i think they fuel each other's passion but also each other's impulses. i imagine that when they started working together and there was the spark of something new in them, they got careless on the job. they'd say stuff like, "should i kill him? just for the fun of it?" and the other would answer, "go for it, love." and they just would. i mean, it's the dream world, but they made themselves obvious, were never inconspicuous, loved the thrill of the chase, even if they were the ones being chased. and it felt like it was them against the whole damn world and that's why they always find their way back to each other. because there is no one else who gives them that feeling. the last two verses i quoted, i see as eames' point of view, then arthur's. eames knows that it was once about passion and the good of that, but it has put their lives in danger. while arthur is the "man who's pure of heart and says his prayers at night" and tries so hard to be that man, but knows he turns into the wolf when eames is around. wow this is definitely more ridiculous than i intended, maybe i'm the only one who even sees the similarities.
08 | rabbit heart (raise it up)
(arthur to eames)
Here I am, a rabbit hearted girl
Frozen in the headlights
It seems I've made the final sacrifice
+
I must become a lion hearted girl
Ready for a fight
Before I make the final sacrifice
+
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
just like eames had a i love arthur song, this is arthur's ~declaration of love~ and like everything else in his life, it is logical. he thinks of love as the final sacrifice, letting emotions take over like that. he feels weak ("a rabbit hearted girl" which ok, that's just asking for genderswap, i know, but whatever.) and defenseless to love/when he is in love. and he tries to fight it, tries to be strong, but knows that he cannot win. he knows the price but he is willing to pay it. and of course, i think of eames as midas, or at least, arthur thinks of eames as midas, the "king that holds him so tight" and the last line, in my eyes, is a metaphor that even though sometimes things can be sour with the two of them (see the song above for evidence of that), eames does make him a better person. because he is emotional again. so him being emotional = turning to gold.
09 | hurricane drunk
(eames to arthur)
And you can't save me now,
I'm in the grip of a hurricane
I'm gonna blow myself away
+
Nothing to keep me from the storm,
And you can't hold me down,
'Cause I belong to the hurricane,
It's gonna blow us all away.
+
I'm going out, I'm gonna drink myself to death
And in the crowd I see you with someone else,
I brace myself cause I know it's going to hurt,
But I like to think at least things can't get any worse
+
I hope that you see me cause I'm staring at you,
But when you look over, you look right through
Then you lean and kiss her on the head,
And I never felt so alive, and so dead
oh this song. it's got eames written all over it. first of all, have you ever heard a better way to describe eames than "hurricane drunk"? because if you have, let me know, because i haven't. i see this song as either being in the future or very early in the past, i.e. when arthur was still not over cobb. (for my whole yadda yadda on that, see song 11) eames sees him trying so hard to please cobb and sees arthur leave him for cobb so many times but he tries to find comfort in the fact that this is the worst it's going to get. or, it's when arthur and eames finally are apart for good (well, i say for good but i don't actually mean it. they are mfeo. they're just on a break.) and arthur finds someone else and eames is getting shitfaced at a bar (what a bamf) trying to cope only with arthur leaving but then seeing him not only not with him but with someone else, and he has a hard time coping with it. seeing arthur kiss someone else reminds him of when arthur would kiss him and it makes him feel alive (and you know, it's probably the only action he's gotten in awhile. ok i am kidding. you know eames would totally find a tawdry harlot that was reminiscent of arthur and try to pretend.) but he is brought back to reality because arthur isn't kissing him anymore, so he feels dead. yeah, this one might just be the most literal analysis i've done.
10 | kiss with a fist
(arthur/eames)
You hit me once, I hit you back
You gave a kick, I gave a slap
You smashed a plate over my head
Then I set fire to our bed
+
My black eye casts no shadow
Your red eye sees no pain
Your slaps don't stick, your kicks don't hit
So we remain the same
+
I broke your jaw once before
I spilled your blood upon the floor
You broke my leg in return
So sit back and watch the bed burn
Love sticks, Sweat drips
Break the lock if it don't fit
+
A kick to the teeth is good for some
A kiss with a fist is better then none
in my head, the future unfolds for arthur and eames in many different ways. so many possible scenarios. but i imagine this song for the possibility of them living together. because seriously, when they think it's a good idea to move in with each other and go forth with it, it totally backfires at first. maybe it's not quite so literal, but hey, maybe eames and arthur really do hit each other. (i like to imagine that the song is from arthur's perspective cause he would definitely be kicked by eames and slap him in return) and then after they get really angry and heated, they have the hot sex. because angry sex is the best. (well ok i don't really know that, but i think it's the hottest) so everybody wins!
11 | my boy builds coffins
(cobb to eames about arthur)
My boy builds coffins with hammers and nails
He doesn't build ships, he has no use for sails
He doesn't make tables, dresses or chairs
He can't carve a whistle cause he just doesn't care
+
My boy builds coffins for the rich and the poor
Kings and queens them all knocked on his door
Beggars and liars, gypsies and thieves
They all come to impact he's so eager to please
+
My boy builds coffins for better or worse
Some say its a blessing, some say its a curse
He fits them together in sunshine or rain
Each one is unique, no two are the same
+
My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself, One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you
alright. so in my world (it is a silly place), pre-film is a backstory that could maybe possible take years to explain. ok i'm kidding. but it is there. and in my world, the pre-film backstory goes like this. arthur started working with cobb and mal a long time ago. like, maybe had only had a few jobs without them in the business before he found them. and there was a very weird love triangle going on there. but not really a triangle, because they all loved each other. it wasn't like, arthur loved cobb and cobb loved mal and so on. it was that they all loved each other equally. until suddenly, they didn't anymore and mal and cobb got married. and arthur was devastated. it's why he doesn't do emotions anymore, why he never falls for anyone especially not someone he works with. (well obviously this changes but yes) but he's still loyal to cobb, because he substitutes loyalty for love. he can't love anymore, or so he tells himself, so he will do everything cobb asks of him for the rest of time because it's all he can do. and cobb is very aware of this, knows that deep down, he still loves him and this is why he's always putting his neck on the chopping block, always killing people for cobb and etc etc. and in the process, it kills him. (cobb, that is) he hates that he can't be what arthur wants him to be for him. and when arthur finds something in eames and vice versa, cobb has to tell eames exactly what he is getting into. that arthur doesn't trust/love/do anything for anyone who doesn't really matter to him, so if he's killing for you (or doing anything else for you), you have to know that arthur seriously cares about you, no matter what he says. and that, once you realize this, that he's killing himself, sacrificing himself for you, it will slowly kill you like it's killing me. aka the lines "he's made one for himself, one for me too/one of these days he'll make one for you" WOW. i did not think i had that much to say about this song but apparently i do.
12 | you've got the love
(arthur/eames)
Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you've got the love I need to see me through
+
Time after time I think, Oh Lord what's the use?
Time after time I think it's just no good
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose
But you got the love I need to see me through
+
Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying, Lord I just don't care
But you've got the love I need to see me through
oh this song. this song is the most legitimate love song i have for them. because really, they're not legitimately in love. but i think, even through all the messiness and the crap and the shit that drives each other crazy, they are so dependent on each other. during jobs, when things are shaky and unstable, they just glance at each other and things are gonna work themselves out. and they know, that maybe it won't always be like that ("sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose") but they try not to think about that and instead focus on the fact that, even though they hate each other, they love each other.
.zip of the twelve f+tm songs
(just ask if you want the entire lungs album)
an //
alright guys. i had way too much fun with this. i hope you enjoyed and didn't find me too ridiculous, like i said before. i know i can be a bit soap box-y but i figure, nobody who doesn't believe in ~the otp to rule them all~ will be reading this so nobody will think i'm preachy and everyone will just have good fun rolling in the sparkly glittery shiny joy that is arthur and eames set to music. i am also listening to the sleeping beauty soundtrack right now (yes, the disney movie) and the song "once upon a dream" is making me think of an au where eames is cheeky prince phillip and arthur is aurora because he is pretty (and their names both start with a!) and cobb and mal are king stefan and his wife except they get more screen time and saito is king hubert and eames is all, "i can marry the boy i love! come now saito, this is the fourteenth century!" and yusuf is the joker that gets wasted on wine while the kings are discussing marriage plans. except maybe saito is not king hubert because i think he would be the most bitchin' maleficent. then he could be all, "no need to look for arthur. i bought the entire forest. it seemed neater." wow will someone please write this for me? THE WORLD NEEDS MORE CROSSOVERS WITH DISNEY AND INCEPTION SEEMS LIKE A GOOD WAY TO START THIS. ahem. putting aside that abrupt idea of epic from out of nowhere, i love each and every one of you that reads this. and loves arthur and eames like i do. i'm so glad that for once, i am not late to the fandom and can have my puppeteering fun while other people do as well. cause i'm usually behind and then when i finally pull up, the party's over and the confetti's on the floor and nobody's dancing anymore. I LOVE YOU FANDOM ♥
an arthur & eames (inception) and florence + the machine study
so this actually happened. i am surprised, i'll be honest. usually, i am all talk and i make promises i cannot fulfill and this sounded like one of those. however, i keep listening to florence + the machine and being like "OMG THIS SONG" in regards to arthur and eames, not to mention, they nag at my brain all day because they are perfect and wonderful and etc. what is this exactly? it's sort of like a fanmix, in that it is a bunch of songs with lyrics that fit the ship in question. however, they are all by the same artist, so it can't be a fanmix, and also, you get to hear me talk your face off about why i think the lyrics are ~so perfect~ for them. in this instance, it's about arthur and eames from inception (and seriously, if you still haven't seen it, get off your computer right now and remedy that) and the band florence + the machine, and more specifically, the album lungs. as always, i don't know how my artwork happens. though this is one of my least conceptual. anyway, i hope you enjoy, and don't find me too ridiculous.
01 | blinding
(arthur/eames)
Seems that I have been held, in some dreaming state
A tourist in the waking world, never quite awake
No kiss, no gentle word could wake me from this slumber
Until I realise that it was you who held me under
+
And I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack
All around the world was waking, I never could go back
Cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn right open
And finally it seemed that the spell was broken
+
No more dreaming like a girl so in love with the wrong world
alright so, let's start off with the obvious. "seems that i have been held, in some dreaming state/a tourist in the waking world, never quite awake" yes well, if that didn't just describe the team of inception as a whole, i don't even know. but then! the next two lines, especially "until i realize that it was you who held me under" i originally had this pegged as arthur to eames, because i think, as much as he is not as forthright about eames (no darling or quite as many quips), his feelings are just as strong, but then i had to step back a moment and of course, flip the coin and realize that, for all the shit eames gives arthur, he really is very attached to him. and then, that second verse, "cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn right open" UM, THE DREAM IS COLLAPSING, ANYBODY? this pairing + the album = mfeo from the get-go. and finally, that last bit, i think it fits both of them so well. (we can either assume that in this case, the lyric should be boy, or make them both girls. it's up to you.) i think their relationship has so many sides to it, from it being perfect, to it being really not perfect, to it being very demanding, to it being put on the back burner, etc. but i think, most of all, is that they know it's usually not the best idea (being people who work together, people who can sometimes be so opposite) but it still feels so right in comparison to anything else they've known.
02 | drumming song
(arthur to eames)
There's a drumming noise inside my head
That throws me to the ground
I swear that you should hear it
It makes such an all mighty sound
+
I swallow the sound and it swallows me whole
Till there's nothing left inside my soul
As empty as that beating drum
But the sound has just begun
+
As I move my feet towards your body
I can hear this beat it fills my head up
and gets louder and louder
it fills my head up and gets louder and louder
+
Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell
oh arthur. we all know that you love eames. you have a hard time showing it, but it's always there, in your head and reminding you. basically, this song is very arthur-centric. i mean, i guess it could be him to eames, but i could have just as easily only put arthur in parentheses. because even though there's tons of you's in the lyrics, i think he's mostly wrestling with himself on the idea that he is so impacted by eames. and of course, the fangirl in me really wants to point out "sweeter than heaven/and hotter than hell" because um hello. yes, yes it is.
03 | hardest of hearts
(eames to arthur)
There is love in your body but you can't hold it in
It pours from your eyes and spills from your skin
Tenderest touch leaves the darkest of marks
And the kindest of kisses break the hardest of hearts
+
Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But you'll never know what a fool I've been
Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But that's no excuse for the state I'm in
+
There is love in our bodies and it holds us together
But pulls us apart when we're holding each other
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
+
There is love in your body but you can't get it out
It gets stuck in your head, won't come out of your mouth
Sticks to your tongue and it shows on your face
That the sweetest of words have the bitterest taste
THIS SONG GUYS. THIS SONG. it has shown up on so many arthur/eames mixes (including my own) and seriously, there is a reason. this is their anthem. both of them are totally badass, they have the hardest of hearts. and yet, something very emotional resonates from the both of them and is sometimes very obvious to one another, and when they let their guard down, they're gambling with getting hurt. and sometimes, they do. and i think, it affects eames more than arthur. arthur tries to compartmentalize (usually fails probably) but eames struggles with it. the idea that arthur can brush him off and ignore the tension, and this song is him pointing all of this out to arthur. "there is love in our bodies and it holds us together/but pulls us apart when we're holding each other/we all want something to hold in the night/we don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight" ok guys, seriously. i know everyone loves the "darling heart..." bit because...well obviously. and i do too, don't get me wrong. but this verse. i have probably never heard anything more arthur/eames than this verse. the idea that they are always drawn back to each other and every time, it forces them apart again but eventually, they need someone to love them who understands them and they don't even care anymore if it burns them in the end or they fall too far or fast. fuck yeah this song.
04 | between two lungs
(arthur/eames)
And my running feet could fly
Each breath screaming: "We are all too young to die!"
+
Because it was trapped
Trapped between two lungs
+
Now all the days of begging
The days of theft
No more gasping for a breath
The air has filled me head-to-toe
And I can see the ground far below
I have this breath and I hold it tight
And I keep it in my chest with all my might
+
Between two lungs it was released
The breath that passed from you to me
well let's just see that second line. all i can think about is how they're constantly facing death, i know it's in the dream world but still, and seriously. they are not old. it is not time for them to die. and the "trapped between two lungs" line, oh man. i just imagine that they treat their ribs like prison bars, holding back their heart because they refuse to let emotion control their life when they have the job they do. so they lock their hearts away and keep telling them that one day they can return, but so far, no such luck. and of course, i am not even going to bypass "the days of theft" um what is eames? well yes, he is the forger. but also, arthur says, "there's plenty of good thieves." and cobb responds, "we don't just need a thief. we need a forger." but yes, basically, eames is also a thief. (~A THIEF WHO STOLE ARTHUR'S HEART~) and my subtext glasses are always on so i needed to point out that line to you.
05 | ghosts/i'm not calling you a liar
(arthur to eames)
I'm not calling you a liar, just don't lie to me
I'm not calling you a thief, just don't steal from me
I'm not calling you a ghost, just stop haunting me
And I love you so much, I'm gonna let you kill me
+
There's a ghost in my lungs and it sighs in my sleep
Wraps itself around my tounge as it softly speaks
Then it walks, then it walks with my legs
To fall, to fall, to fall at your feet
arthur. arthur arthur arthur. when did you get so emo? ok no i'm kidding. but, for all the love i have for eames and all the characters of the film, arthur may just have the edge as my favorite. we understand each other. he is a logical person, he deals with things rationally and he treats everything like a job, especially his job. i interpret this as, not being born with a penchant for logic, but an overcompensation for being extremely emotional in the past and getting hurt and deciding that never again would he open himself up like that. (which of course makes me want to write him as a total needy slut. but i mean really, every fandom needs more needy slut fic. just saying.) and i think this is arthur's declaration of that. or rather, that he is the way he is but he is trying. he asks for eames not to fuck with him like people have before, but also that yeah, when it comes down to it, i really fucking love you. so much that, i can't even control it, but i always find you and fall at your feet on my knees.
06 | falling
(eames to arthur)
I've fallen out of favor and I've fallen from grace
Fallen out of trees and I've fallen on my face
Fallen out of taxis, out of windows too
Fell in your opinion when I fell in love with you
+
This is a song for a scribbled-down name
And my love keeps writing again and again
+
I dance with myself, I drunk myself down
Found people to love, left people to drown
I'm not scared to jump, I'm not scared to fall
If there was nowhere to land I wouldn't be scared at all
+
Sometimes I wish for falling, wish for the release
Wish for falling through the air to give me some relief
Because falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace
It's only when I hit the ground it causes all the grief
i am of the popular fandom opinion that eames has a much easier time coming to terms with being in love with arthur (even through all the snark) than vice versa. (or at least i think it's popular fandom opinion? i feel like most people write arthur as shy, reserved, reasoning, logical, etc and eames as his foil of sorts, emotional, free, borderline hedonistic, albeit a bit ridiculous but we love him for it. maybe they don't, but i have been. so maybe i'm just writing "popular opinion" when i mean "my opinion" but hey, i've always believe they're interchangeable.) so this is eames' ~coming to terms with loving arthur~ song. but this is a very eames-centric song, reflecting on stuff he has done that has been stupid and the idea that falling in love with arthur is probably very stupid and belongs on this list, he's going to do it anyway. "because falling's not the problem, when i'm falling i'm at peace/it's only when i hit the ground it causes all the grief" because it feels good/right/etc until something bad happens, and he's going to enjoy the good for as long as he can.
07 | howl
(arthur/eames)
If you could only see the beast you've made of me
I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free
Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart
Drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart
+
My fingers claw your skin, try to tempt my way in
You are the moon that makes the night for which I have to howl
My fingers claw your skin, try to tempt my way in
You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to
+
Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers
Starts so soft and sweet and turns them into hunters
+
A man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night
May still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright
ok, so out of all the songs i picked, this is definitely the most conceptual and abstract. (however, so is the dream world, so it already kind of fits) this is the darker tone of their relationship. how they have changed each other, and maybe that change isn't the best. i think they fuel each other's passion but also each other's impulses. i imagine that when they started working together and there was the spark of something new in them, they got careless on the job. they'd say stuff like, "should i kill him? just for the fun of it?" and the other would answer, "go for it, love." and they just would. i mean, it's the dream world, but they made themselves obvious, were never inconspicuous, loved the thrill of the chase, even if they were the ones being chased. and it felt like it was them against the whole damn world and that's why they always find their way back to each other. because there is no one else who gives them that feeling. the last two verses i quoted, i see as eames' point of view, then arthur's. eames knows that it was once about passion and the good of that, but it has put their lives in danger. while arthur is the "man who's pure of heart and says his prayers at night" and tries so hard to be that man, but knows he turns into the wolf when eames is around. wow this is definitely more ridiculous than i intended, maybe i'm the only one who even sees the similarities.
08 | rabbit heart (raise it up)
(arthur to eames)
Here I am, a rabbit hearted girl
Frozen in the headlights
It seems I've made the final sacrifice
+
I must become a lion hearted girl
Ready for a fight
Before I make the final sacrifice
+
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
just like eames had a i love arthur song, this is arthur's ~declaration of love~ and like everything else in his life, it is logical. he thinks of love as the final sacrifice, letting emotions take over like that. he feels weak ("a rabbit hearted girl" which ok, that's just asking for genderswap, i know, but whatever.) and defenseless to love/when he is in love. and he tries to fight it, tries to be strong, but knows that he cannot win. he knows the price but he is willing to pay it. and of course, i think of eames as midas, or at least, arthur thinks of eames as midas, the "king that holds him so tight" and the last line, in my eyes, is a metaphor that even though sometimes things can be sour with the two of them (see the song above for evidence of that), eames does make him a better person. because he is emotional again. so him being emotional = turning to gold.
09 | hurricane drunk
(eames to arthur)
And you can't save me now,
I'm in the grip of a hurricane
I'm gonna blow myself away
+
Nothing to keep me from the storm,
And you can't hold me down,
'Cause I belong to the hurricane,
It's gonna blow us all away.
+
I'm going out, I'm gonna drink myself to death
And in the crowd I see you with someone else,
I brace myself cause I know it's going to hurt,
But I like to think at least things can't get any worse
+
I hope that you see me cause I'm staring at you,
But when you look over, you look right through
Then you lean and kiss her on the head,
And I never felt so alive, and so dead
oh this song. it's got eames written all over it. first of all, have you ever heard a better way to describe eames than "hurricane drunk"? because if you have, let me know, because i haven't. i see this song as either being in the future or very early in the past, i.e. when arthur was still not over cobb. (for my whole yadda yadda on that, see song 11) eames sees him trying so hard to please cobb and sees arthur leave him for cobb so many times but he tries to find comfort in the fact that this is the worst it's going to get. or, it's when arthur and eames finally are apart for good (well, i say for good but i don't actually mean it. they are mfeo. they're just on a break.) and arthur finds someone else and eames is getting shitfaced at a bar (what a bamf) trying to cope only with arthur leaving but then seeing him not only not with him but with someone else, and he has a hard time coping with it. seeing arthur kiss someone else reminds him of when arthur would kiss him and it makes him feel alive (and you know, it's probably the only action he's gotten in awhile. ok i am kidding. you know eames would totally find a tawdry harlot that was reminiscent of arthur and try to pretend.) but he is brought back to reality because arthur isn't kissing him anymore, so he feels dead. yeah, this one might just be the most literal analysis i've done.
10 | kiss with a fist
(arthur/eames)
You hit me once, I hit you back
You gave a kick, I gave a slap
You smashed a plate over my head
Then I set fire to our bed
+
My black eye casts no shadow
Your red eye sees no pain
Your slaps don't stick, your kicks don't hit
So we remain the same
+
I broke your jaw once before
I spilled your blood upon the floor
You broke my leg in return
So sit back and watch the bed burn
Love sticks, Sweat drips
Break the lock if it don't fit
+
A kick to the teeth is good for some
A kiss with a fist is better then none
in my head, the future unfolds for arthur and eames in many different ways. so many possible scenarios. but i imagine this song for the possibility of them living together. because seriously, when they think it's a good idea to move in with each other and go forth with it, it totally backfires at first. maybe it's not quite so literal, but hey, maybe eames and arthur really do hit each other. (i like to imagine that the song is from arthur's perspective cause he would definitely be kicked by eames and slap him in return) and then after they get really angry and heated, they have the hot sex. because angry sex is the best. (well ok i don't really know that, but i think it's the hottest) so everybody wins!
11 | my boy builds coffins
(cobb to eames about arthur)
My boy builds coffins with hammers and nails
He doesn't build ships, he has no use for sails
He doesn't make tables, dresses or chairs
He can't carve a whistle cause he just doesn't care
+
My boy builds coffins for the rich and the poor
Kings and queens them all knocked on his door
Beggars and liars, gypsies and thieves
They all come to impact he's so eager to please
+
My boy builds coffins for better or worse
Some say its a blessing, some say its a curse
He fits them together in sunshine or rain
Each one is unique, no two are the same
+
My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself, One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you
alright. so in my world (it is a silly place), pre-film is a backstory that could maybe possible take years to explain. ok i'm kidding. but it is there. and in my world, the pre-film backstory goes like this. arthur started working with cobb and mal a long time ago. like, maybe had only had a few jobs without them in the business before he found them. and there was a very weird love triangle going on there. but not really a triangle, because they all loved each other. it wasn't like, arthur loved cobb and cobb loved mal and so on. it was that they all loved each other equally. until suddenly, they didn't anymore and mal and cobb got married. and arthur was devastated. it's why he doesn't do emotions anymore, why he never falls for anyone especially not someone he works with. (well obviously this changes but yes) but he's still loyal to cobb, because he substitutes loyalty for love. he can't love anymore, or so he tells himself, so he will do everything cobb asks of him for the rest of time because it's all he can do. and cobb is very aware of this, knows that deep down, he still loves him and this is why he's always putting his neck on the chopping block, always killing people for cobb and etc etc. and in the process, it kills him. (cobb, that is) he hates that he can't be what arthur wants him to be for him. and when arthur finds something in eames and vice versa, cobb has to tell eames exactly what he is getting into. that arthur doesn't trust/love/do anything for anyone who doesn't really matter to him, so if he's killing for you (or doing anything else for you), you have to know that arthur seriously cares about you, no matter what he says. and that, once you realize this, that he's killing himself, sacrificing himself for you, it will slowly kill you like it's killing me. aka the lines "he's made one for himself, one for me too/one of these days he'll make one for you" WOW. i did not think i had that much to say about this song but apparently i do.
12 | you've got the love
(arthur/eames)
Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you've got the love I need to see me through
+
Time after time I think, Oh Lord what's the use?
Time after time I think it's just no good
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose
But you got the love I need to see me through
+
Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying, Lord I just don't care
But you've got the love I need to see me through
oh this song. this song is the most legitimate love song i have for them. because really, they're not legitimately in love. but i think, even through all the messiness and the crap and the shit that drives each other crazy, they are so dependent on each other. during jobs, when things are shaky and unstable, they just glance at each other and things are gonna work themselves out. and they know, that maybe it won't always be like that ("sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose") but they try not to think about that and instead focus on the fact that, even though they hate each other, they love each other.
.zip of the twelve f+tm songs
(just ask if you want the entire lungs album)
an //
alright guys. i had way too much fun with this. i hope you enjoyed and didn't find me too ridiculous, like i said before. i know i can be a bit soap box-y but i figure, nobody who doesn't believe in ~the otp to rule them all~ will be reading this so nobody will think i'm preachy and everyone will just have good fun rolling in the sparkly glittery shiny joy that is arthur and eames set to music. i am also listening to the sleeping beauty soundtrack right now (yes, the disney movie) and the song "once upon a dream" is making me think of an au where eames is cheeky prince phillip and arthur is aurora because he is pretty (and their names both start with a!) and cobb and mal are king stefan and his wife except they get more screen time and saito is king hubert and eames is all, "i can marry the boy i love! come now saito, this is the fourteenth century!" and yusuf is the joker that gets wasted on wine while the kings are discussing marriage plans. except maybe saito is not king hubert because i think he would be the most bitchin' maleficent. then he could be all, "no need to look for arthur. i bought the entire forest. it seemed neater." wow will someone please write this for me? THE WORLD NEEDS MORE CROSSOVERS WITH DISNEY AND INCEPTION SEEMS LIKE A GOOD WAY TO START THIS. ahem. putting aside that abrupt idea of epic from out of nowhere, i love each and every one of you that reads this. and loves arthur and eames like i do. i'm so glad that for once, i am not late to the fandom and can have my puppeteering fun while other people do as well. cause i'm usually behind and then when i finally pull up, the party's over and the confetti's on the floor and nobody's dancing anymore. I LOVE YOU FANDOM ♥