Art: Safe House [Inception]

[motetus]

A while ago I volunteered to create art as a prize for an inceptiversary scavenger hunt winner, and luckily I ended up with an absolutely lovely person whose request was Eames patching Arthur up after a job gone wrong, and who didn't mind when my response was "sure, shirtless Arthur, I can do that, but more importantly, how do you feel about a billion insignificant background details that will take me months and months, YEAH, BACKGROUND DETAILS"

At first I was going to go along with the obvious setting of a hotel room, but then I came across these family holiday photos from about twenty years ago which had this charming old Malay kampung house with blue painted wood panels and gorgeous shuttered windows with intricate green grilles, and suddenly I thought a shabby little safe house in south-east Asia would be a much more interesting location. So sorry I'm using your photography to help me draw slash, dad.

Many thanks to Ms Soot for being so patient and such a pleasure to create art for, and also for being so open to all my ideas. Thanks also to the ever-patient bauble, whose critical eye saved this from being an anatomical clusterfuck!

Comments

[xthursdaynextx.livejournal.com]

All your art is awesome. I love the expression on Arthur's face in this.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you so very much! Glad you like Arthur's face - I am very unoriginal and draw him giving Eames long-suffering sidelong glances way too often, but in my defence it is such an adorable look on him.

[calistomyth.livejournal.com]

This is amazing!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[gekko11.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, this is gorgeous!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! :)

[eva667.livejournal.com]

God this is good, I love all the little details :-)

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I love tiny details too... er, sometimes a little bit too much!

[lauand.livejournal.com]

I think the setting works wonderfully (lovely idea), but what I really love, love, love in this is Arthur's face. It says worlds. Even with the pic filled with a million details (aah, those totems so carelessly left around, it says more about their relationship that even the placement of Arthur between Eames' thighs), I'm totally drawn to it (Arthur's expression, I mean).

Awesome!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, that's a lovely comment! Arthur's face was actually the first thing I started drawing, and the rest of the picture sort of spidered out from it. Glad you think the expression works! :)

[twisted-ream.livejournal.com]

Yummy yummy. The sexual tension is oozing out of the picture!
Not to mention fantastic work and beautiful, soft colors.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm very glad you like it! :)

[arvok.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna repeat what other people already said - Arthur's face really is the best. And the whole scene has something soft to it, like it really is safe and even kinda cosy, now that they are out of the danger's way.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Haha, I guess my many hours of leering at diligently studying JGL's adorable little face have paid off! And ooh, I am glad you got a little bit of a safe and cosy feeling out of it - I turned into a right sap halfway through drawing this and decided it needed less blood and more fluff. Thank you for your comment!

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

OMG this is amazing. I have such a bulletproof kink for bandages and bruises, too. You are brilliant <3

[motetus.livejournal.com]

It's one of my favourite things too, so I was rather delighted to be asked to draw it! Thank you very much! :D

[altri-uccelli.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous. I always die a thousand deaths at how beautifully you do fabric, which I feel dumb writing about because your Arthur and Eames are of course amazing as well. But I have to give a shout out to the filmy flowered curtain, which because I'm a weirdo is what my eye keeps getting drawn to. Lovely work in every way.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

NEVER FEEL DUMB. I always spend so much time obsessing over the little background things like the curtain and there's always a stupid little voice in my head that says no-one cares about the curtain, just draw more nudity and people will love me more, so YEAH, SHUT UP VOICE.

Thank you so much!

[elvirablue.livejournal.com]

It's beautiful. I love their faces, Eames' tender expression and Arthur's knowing look. Arthur's lips are gorgeous. And the way they're sitting, it's so intimate and trusting.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! Usually I have such trouble with Arthur's lips (so distinctive! so bloody difficult to get right!), so yay, I'm glad you like them!

[asya-ana.livejournal.com]

This is gorgeous! <3 Thank you so much for continuing to create fanart for these two!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your lovely comment! I shall keep trying to create Inception fanart then! :D

[mrsdstephens.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous! And I love all the background details so, so much! Especially the wallpaper under the windowsill. And the items strewn across the bed. And the shoes. Their shoes are charming the hell out of me at the moment.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) Heh, I *loved* drawing those shoes. Especially Arthur's - god, the things I'd do for a pair of his in my size...

[bauble]

Where to start with how much I love this drawing. First of all, I really enjoy the process of watching your pieces go from sketch to fully realized image, so am very happy to help in whatever small way I can with that :)

Now onto the details I adore!
-Arthur & Eames' shoes--they look so perfectly them
-the med kit on the floor
-the beautiful window grillwork, the floral curtain, and the quality of light streaming in
-the totems on the bed
-Shirtless Arthur (always deserves a mention)
-the calm, intimate feeling of the piece. There's a real sense of the relationship between the two, the trust that exists, which is both lovely and inspirational. Hence, a ficlet!

[bauble]

"Tut tut, Arthur," Eames says as he opens the door. "Already back again?"

"I've never been here before," Arthur points out with all the dignity he can muster, swaying as he is in the doorway.

"This is the fourth safe house of mine you've dripped blood all over," Eames says as he takes Arthur by the elbow and leads him inside. "I'm starting to think you're using me for my real estate and medical abilities."

A hundred sharp and witty retorts run through Arthur's mind as they make their way into Eames' cramped bedroom. Unfortunately, blood loss has left him woozy and all he manages is a grunt before half-falling onto the matress.

He fades in and out of consciousness as Eames sets to work on him: cutting the shirt away from the worst wounds, cleaning them, bandaging his arm. After he's been cleaned off, the injuries don't look too bad--mostly shallow cuts and scrapes that produced a great deal of blood but might not even scar.

Arthur slowly becomes aware of Eames' voice and arms encouraging him to sit up. Arthur does so, ability to stay awake and concentrate improving after he downs the large glass of water Eames offers him.

"I'm not using you," Arthur says as Eames rearranges his body like a rag doll. "I fully intend to blow you after I sleep for three days."

"No debts left unsettled, hm?" Eames' voice is warm and amused as he climbs behind Arthur, wrapping gauze around Arthur's chest. "If there were an elderly Malaysian woman living here instead, what reward would you offer her for saving you life?"

"Same deal," Arthur says, looking back at Eames with a completely straight face. "I'd give her a night to remember."

"Good thing I sent the housekeeper home early today," Eames says. "I can only imagine the mischief you two might have got up to."

"A side benefit of stumbling into homes near death is that I usually get laid after," Arthur says seriously, craning his neck to steal a kiss from Eames' amused lips. "Sometimes right after. Immediately after."

Eames kisses back for a moment before guiding Arthur backwards onto the bed. "What happened to sleeping for three days?"

"I can rally," Arthur says, even as his eyelids grow heavier. "I'm good to go. Seriously."

Eames lays a heavy palm on top of Arthur's chest and smiles. "Go to sleep, Arthur."

fin

[pronker]

Aw, others took most of my comments ... but one: the light! The hazy light, as if everything is behind gauze *gets cosmic*

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! :D

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

So beautiful! Them, the setting, everything.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I do like the idea of Arthur and Eames being globe-trotting thieves, and it was much more fun than just another hotel room.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

This is beautiful! <3 I love the way they look at each other.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!

[pushdragon.livejournal.com]

Mmmm ... I love the eye contact! And the textures, all the lovely textures, but the eye contact - smokin'!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! :) Bloody eyes, one tiny change and suddenly the whole picture has gone terribly wrong yes they did cost me a number of frustrating evenings.

[ctrl-issue.livejournal.com]

This is just simply GORGEOUS! I'm not an artist, but I like how it appears soft in form but the action going on is hard and rough and you just made it beautiful. Also, I love the flowery curtains. You did an amazing job right there. And Arthur. Another amazing job. And that their totems appear behind and to the side of them, easily reachable, and almost as if they'd been used recently. And the map of the oceans above Australia. And that Arthur is sitting in Eames's lap.

So, in conclusion, everything here is really amazing and you did a great job and I'm totally showing other folks. Thank you for all your effort!!!!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Yay, someone noticed the map! I thought the house interior didn't really make where they were supposed to be that clear, so I thought: a map! A map is pretty unsubtle! :D I am so glad you like the soft feel - I set out intending to make it a bit grittier (because, well, Arthur's in need of medical attention), but somewhere along the way I tripped and landed face-first into something almost resembling fluff. Whoops.

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I truly appreciated it. :)

[tuesdaeschild.livejournal.com]

I love that they're sitting in a spoon-y kind of way! I love all of it, actually! ♥

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The spoony position took a while to figure out (my expectation of the average male's flexibility is apparently a bit too demanding, according to my beta), so I'm very glad you like it! :)

[sneaqui.livejournal.com]

ARTHUR SITTING IN BETWEEN EAMES' LEGS OMGAAAAW. <3____________<3

And the little details in the rug/curtain, the flower curtain, the grate are all AMAZING. And I like that you put them off to the side so that they don't distract from the boys.
Well done executing Arthur's pose. That's a tough one. And I love their shoes too!!

Amazing work as always bb. <3

[motetus.livejournal.com]

It is an excellent position to be in! Though it is responsible for the overall fluffy feeling of the picture, because I felt it couldn't end up as dark and gritty as I originally thought it would once I realised how Eames was pretty much grinding his dick into Arthur's ass. But who could blame him.

I am glad you like all the little details too! I have always wanted to draw Arthur's pretty little boots. Thank you so much for your comment! :)

[fififolle]

Oh, that's glorious. The mattress is just wonderful. I realise how that sounds, but, well, long story :) Mmm, Eames all wrapped around him and big <3
It's an h/c heaven, this pic, that's what it is :D

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Heh, well, it's lovely to know that even lowly details like the mattress are appreciated! :D Yeah, I am picky about my h/c scenarios, but this particular one is exactly my kind of thing, which made it a delight to draw!

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

Know nothing of the show but it's well drawn. Lovely!

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! :)

[lezzerlee.livejournal.com]

This is gorgeous! Ugh. I just love them. I love Arthur's expression, though. So perfect.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I have come to the realisation that I draw Arthur side-eyeing like that an awful lot, but... he just looks so fetching like that!

[fruityshirts.livejournal.com]

Ok so when this came up on tumblr I spent like five minutes staring at that little window grille in awe thinking "where on earth did the inspiration come from for this because it's fantastic!" so now I'm glad to know the story! :-D The whole window is so distinctive and beautiful and I love the little map and note pinned up on the wall. All the little details really do make the scene!

I will add my voice to the chorus of OMG SHOES! Seriously, Arthur's fussy little shoes! XD Also, can we talk about Eames's suspenders, because I LOVE Eames in suspenders. <3 I also love the way the light is hitting the side of Arthur's face and defining it perfectly. Lovely! :-)