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Patience, a Steady Hand
Arthur/Eames (Inception Fanfic)
821 A.D. Arthur is in the nightmare business. Eames is a thief, a liar, and versatile with a pen.
Words:43502 complete
Art by ctbn60
821 A.D. Arthur is in the nightmare business. Eames is a thief, a liar, and versatile with a pen.
Words:43502 complete
Art by ctbn60
131 pages, ebook
First published March 13, 2011
56 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 7, 2022
3.5 🌟 This Arthur/Eames(Inception) fanfiction was recommended to me by @Hibby, a while back. It's set around 821AD, with Arthur as Viking raider and Eames as monk turned slave. It has only 130 pages and though the story is historical, the writing is pretty modern and easy to read. It's also not necessary that you ship this couple.
There are some dub-con scenes but I feel they are fitted with the story as a whole and do not look forced. Now, I will not say this is one of the best fanfic or books I have read with the 'Captor-Captee' trope.' But, after a long time, I have read fanfic from A03 and I am completely impressed.
The setting and writing are good, the story defies whatever expectations I have from a fic with a slavery trope. But, I loved the slow-burn relationship development between the couple. And, the setting is pretty rarely found in MM romances(the last book I read with the setting was Brothers of the wild North).
There are some dub-con scenes but I feel they are fitted with the story as a whole and do not look forced. Now, I will not say this is one of the best fanfic or books I have read with the 'Captor-Captee' trope.' But, after a long time, I have read fanfic from A03 and I am completely impressed.
The setting and writing are good, the story defies whatever expectations I have from a fic with a slavery trope. But, I loved the slow-burn relationship development between the couple. And, the setting is pretty rarely found in MM romances(the last book I read with the setting was Brothers of the wild North).
June 17, 2019
Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a gem of a fic.
There is something very understated and quiet about Helenish' style. They take their time to unhurriedly and tenderly build up the dynamics between the abducted monk Eames and his captor, the viking-ish plundering pillager Arthur. Although in theory this is a slave/captive story that includes non con and forced seduction, there is nothing brutal and harsh about it. Instead, the focus is on the two men overcoming the boundaries that come with their roles, and awkwardly trying to reach some sort of understanding without mentioning their feelings.
For me, this resulted in a gently flowing, almost hypnotic, and very addictive reading experience. I finished this story long after midnight, and will throw all the kudos from all the devices at Helenish. Recommended!
There is something very understated and quiet about Helenish' style. They take their time to unhurriedly and tenderly build up the dynamics between the abducted monk Eames and his captor, the viking-ish plundering pillager Arthur. Although in theory this is a slave/captive story that includes non con and forced seduction, there is nothing brutal and harsh about it. Instead, the focus is on the two men overcoming the boundaries that come with their roles, and awkwardly trying to reach some sort of understanding without mentioning their feelings.
For me, this resulted in a gently flowing, almost hypnotic, and very addictive reading experience. I finished this story long after midnight, and will throw all the kudos from all the devices at Helenish. Recommended!
May 3, 2015
Helenish turns out to be quite the author! And the setting of this story is rather unusual for a fanfic (considering the movie Inception its based on):
In 821 A.D., a monk gets captured and brought to the "North" (Denmark? Norway?) by the warriors ransacking his monastery. He starts to live with Arthur, his new master.
In a way, this reminded me of "Brothers of the Wild North Sea", only the roles are reversed. Here, we leave England and experience 'Viking' village life through the eyes of Eames, the young monk.
I really enjoyed how both Arthur and Eames are transformed through their relationship. How they both work through the minefields of a slave-master dependency. How Arthur redeems himself. How the author avoids the overly predictable plot points. And how this isn't a dark 'dark' fic.
I would have liked a plot involving more of the side characters. Because the little we get to see of the inhabitants of Arthur's village, is well done and begs for more.
In 821 A.D., a monk gets captured and brought to the "North" (Denmark? Norway?) by the warriors ransacking his monastery. He starts to live with Arthur, his new master.
In a way, this reminded me of "Brothers of the Wild North Sea", only the roles are reversed. Here, we leave England and experience 'Viking' village life through the eyes of Eames, the young monk.
I really enjoyed how both Arthur and Eames are transformed through their relationship. How they both work through the minefields of a slave-master dependency. How Arthur redeems himself. How the author avoids the overly predictable plot points. And how this isn't a dark 'dark' fic.
I would have liked a plot involving more of the side characters. Because the little we get to see of the inhabitants of Arthur's village, is well done and begs for more.
January 2, 2025
beginning my year as i mean to go on - by reading a viking slavefic in a fandom i'm not even in ✨
this honestly rocked, Helenish is an icon of our times, no major notes*. very Gender™, in that i think Helenish is very good at using settings/circumstances (omegaverse, Vikings taking slaves, etc.) as a proxy for exploring (representations of) heterosexual - and crucially, heterosexist - romantic dynamics? this could totally be a case of me reading into stuff, but i felt like some moments/character beats in the story deliberately echoed your classic bodice rippers (Alpha Male protagonist who lowkey highkey assaults the heroine in the beginning of the story, only for her Steadfast Devotion and Need to be Protected to instigate a gradual but nonlinear shift out of assholery and into True Love territory), but instead of Lord So-and-so and his blushing virginal bride it's the two dudes from Inception, and Tom Hardy is the blushing virginalbride slave
*one minor note is that one of the characters likes to draw the other like one of your french girls, and i kept being distracted by trying to imagine what (horny) studies of the human form would have looked like in 821 AD. art history majors, sound off in the comments.
this honestly rocked, Helenish is an icon of our times, no major notes*. very Gender™, in that i think Helenish is very good at using settings/circumstances (omegaverse, Vikings taking slaves, etc.) as a proxy for exploring (representations of) heterosexual - and crucially, heterosexist - romantic dynamics? this could totally be a case of me reading into stuff, but i felt like some moments/character beats in the story deliberately echoed your classic bodice rippers (Alpha Male protagonist who lowkey highkey assaults the heroine in the beginning of the story, only for her Steadfast Devotion and Need to be Protected to instigate a gradual but nonlinear shift out of assholery and into True Love territory), but instead of Lord So-and-so and his blushing virginal bride it's the two dudes from Inception, and Tom Hardy is the blushing virginal
*one minor note is that one of the characters likes to draw the other like one of your french girls, and i kept being distracted by trying to imagine what (horny) studies of the human form would have looked like in 821 AD. art history majors, sound off in the comments.
August 21, 2015
Irresistibly good
I meant only to check out a few paragraphs and instead I found myself completely immersed in the beautifully stark descriptions and the unfolding story of Eames captured in a Viking raid and taken as a thrall by Arthur.
Told in the third person and present tense it deftly explores the uneasy relationship between these two men as they come to understand each other. I was captured by the laconic and almost hypnotic prose.
The book explores the dynamics of differing cultural views and expectations and the underlying rage that Eames keeps mostly contained about the loss of his freedom and the brutality of the raid on his monastery.
The brilliance for me lies in as much that is left unsaid as the men begin to grasp one another's language and nuance and address the balance of power between them under the scrutiny of the rest of the village.
I was entirely enthralled by the depth and storytelling; of the complexity of the two flawed protagonists and their life together.
The tale was far from predictable and I was enraptured by the shifts and twists in it.
I gather this was written as fanfic, I struggled a little with the names and I have only a hazy memory of the film on which it is based; and so I read this simply as a standalone historical novel. My delight with it immense.
I meant only to check out a few paragraphs and instead I found myself completely immersed in the beautifully stark descriptions and the unfolding story of Eames captured in a Viking raid and taken as a thrall by Arthur.
Told in the third person and present tense it deftly explores the uneasy relationship between these two men as they come to understand each other. I was captured by the laconic and almost hypnotic prose.
The book explores the dynamics of differing cultural views and expectations and the underlying rage that Eames keeps mostly contained about the loss of his freedom and the brutality of the raid on his monastery.
The brilliance for me lies in as much that is left unsaid as the men begin to grasp one another's language and nuance and address the balance of power between them under the scrutiny of the rest of the village.
"I wanted you," Arthur says. "I—work, as hard as I can. I do everything that’s asked of me. I wanted—something. for myself. And that’s you." He pulls in a rough breath..."An—ungrateful, disobedient, insolent, smart-mouthed slave who cannot cook, and who will lie abed until the sun is high in the sky if he’s not kicked out of it."...
I was entirely enthralled by the depth and storytelling; of the complexity of the two flawed protagonists and their life together.
The tale was far from predictable and I was enraptured by the shifts and twists in it.
I gather this was written as fanfic, I struggled a little with the names and I have only a hazy memory of the film on which it is based; and so I read this simply as a standalone historical novel. My delight with it immense.
July 17, 2015
All the stars.
Awesome. Beautiful. I loved every word. As another reviewer has already mentioned, it reminded me of Brothers of the Wild North Sea - one of my all time favourites.
Highly, highly recommended.
Awesome. Beautiful. I loved every word. As another reviewer has already mentioned, it reminded me of Brothers of the Wild North Sea - one of my all time favourites.
Highly, highly recommended.
November 3, 2015
3.5 stars.
Slave and master fiction, no doubt, there's a fine line between gross, bad, wrong, disgusting and oh-so-good here. Really well written, but disturbing. Not sure whether I can see how love can develop between master and slave, especially considering the murder and mayhem and the rape in the beginning, though.
Well. As you can see: ambivalent feelings all around. Nevertheless, an interesting, captivating and well-written piece of fanfiction.
Slave and master fiction, no doubt, there's a fine line between gross, bad, wrong, disgusting and oh-so-good here. Really well written, but disturbing. Not sure whether I can see how love can develop between master and slave, especially considering the murder and mayhem and the rape in the beginning, though.
Well. As you can see: ambivalent feelings all around. Nevertheless, an interesting, captivating and well-written piece of fanfiction.
January 7, 2025
I just read a very long fanfic in a fandom I'm not in, nor I will ever be. I don't ever read a lot of fanfics really. I went into this entirely as an original story and it worked perfectly tbh, so please read it without a single care in the world.
Is this delicious? Yes.
Is it perfect? No, but it's also free work, so who cares.
Is a great historical novel? No, the setting is pretty much just background scenery and little else (there's not one single norse god mentioned in the whole thing!!!!!), but I honestly did not care, again. And you know why?
BECAUSE THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR ARCS ARE PERFECT, THATS WHY.
OMG. I want a Eames for me. I wouldn't complain if he came in the shape of Tom Hardy, but I'll also take the one I've imagined while reading.
I absolutely ADORED that ending, also.
Very nice subversion of the usual, boring tropes of slavefic. That's what we like
I'm positively swooning. I read it in one sitting (yes I have entirely neglected working today, fuck capitalism).
Do yourselves a favour and pick this uuuup
Is this delicious? Yes.
Is it perfect? No, but it's also free work, so who cares.
Is a great historical novel? No, the setting is pretty much just background scenery and little else (there's not one single norse god mentioned in the whole thing!!!!!), but I honestly did not care, again. And you know why?
BECAUSE THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR ARCS ARE PERFECT, THATS WHY.
OMG. I want a Eames for me. I wouldn't complain if he came in the shape of Tom Hardy, but I'll also take the one I've imagined while reading.
I absolutely ADORED that ending, also.
Very nice subversion of the usual, boring tropes of slavefic. That's what we like
I'm positively swooning. I read it in one sitting (yes I have entirely neglected working today, fuck capitalism).
Do yourselves a favour and pick this uuuup
November 8, 2021
One of the best fics I have ever read. I have read this so often I can recite whole chunks and it gets me every time. The UST, the deep thoughtfulness about enslavement, the angst, the slow slow burn, the symmetry of how their relationship flips, the unexpected HEA, the ethnographic details — not a hair out of place, not one wrong step. Helenish’s prose is spare and allusive as always, somewhat less so than in her fic set in modern times. Here a delightful archaic flavour tempers the spareness. And nobody does masculinity and non-direct communication of feelings better than Helenish.
ETA Nov 2021: This story never fails. It is one of my all-time greats, perhaps the greatest, the one I'd rescue from an oncoming tsunami. Some of the language feels a bit dated and that is interesting in itself. The ethical heart is true; the build up delicious; the show not tell out of this world; the dialogue unbelievably good; and the pairing, the world building, the carefully judged use of minuscules -- all such an utterly readable reading pleasure.
ETA Nov 2021: This story never fails. It is one of my all-time greats, perhaps the greatest, the one I'd rescue from an oncoming tsunami. Some of the language feels a bit dated and that is interesting in itself. The ethical heart is true; the build up delicious; the show not tell out of this world; the dialogue unbelievably good; and the pairing, the world building, the carefully judged use of minuscules -- all such an utterly readable reading pleasure.
August 5, 2015
Review to come...
May 17, 2025
Morally opposed
to slave fic, but boy howdy,
Helenish's the GOAT.
to slave fic, but boy howdy,
Helenish's the GOAT.
August 13, 2021
I wish there was something similar to this. I've read it so many times now and my search for something like it has been fruitless.
September 13, 2025
Very well written and, contrary to what one might expect from the content warnings, not violent (well, let's forget the beginning..).
The slave/master dynamic is also handled in a way that feels neither predictable nor stereotypical. I really appreciated the slow, evolving development of the relationship.
Content warnings: Rape, attempted rape, coercive sex, dubiously consensual sex, physical and emotional abuse, violence, sexual violence, and sexism.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/170...
The slave/master dynamic is also handled in a way that feels neither predictable nor stereotypical. I really appreciated the slow, evolving development of the relationship.
Content warnings: Rape, attempted rape, coercive sex, dubiously consensual sex, physical and emotional abuse, violence, sexual violence, and sexism.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/170...
May 16, 2017
Here is the link to this fanfic: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1700...
Patience, a Steady Hand was recommended to me because of its similarities to Captive Prince.
5/16/2017 It's been a while since I wrote a full review, so I'll just messily jump into the fray of things.
Confession time: I un-friended (on Goodreads) my one and only real-life friend that I had added on this site because I read this book. It was just too weird knowing that I had read this book, which seems a bit taboo, and also knowing that she would be reading my thoughts on it.
I mean, I know that's the point of Goodreads, but I like sharing my thoughts on books with strangers, not friends. Actually, the reason I joined Goodreads was so that I could give my poor mother's ears a break from my chattering about books, and so that I could give commentary on books that she probably wouldn't want to know I was reading.
To the point, I don't normally read fanfics. I liked this one well enough, though. It seemed more... emotive than regular books. Is that how all fanfics are or is Helenish just an interesting writer?
If I had to clarify my rating, I'd probably rate it 3.5 stars. I can't rate it more, because I went into it thinking that it would be another Captive Prince, but it was nowhere near. I guess my expectations were just a tad too high, no? The overall tone of the read was much more tame compared to Captive Prince.
It was a good read though. Without giving anything away, the ending left a little hollow hole in my chest. One complaint that I have though is that it was sometimes hard to determine whose thoughts we were reading at the moment, and I often found myself rereading sentences or whole passages trying to straighten it out. Despite this flaw, I can definitely see it expanded into a full book, one that would add more detail about the minor characters. It seems there is a whole world newly created that I find absolutely fascinating.
It was a good night read, and I thank those that recommended this fanfic to me!
Patience, a Steady Hand was recommended to me because of its similarities to Captive Prince.
5/16/2017 It's been a while since I wrote a full review, so I'll just messily jump into the fray of things.
Confession time: I un-friended (on Goodreads) my one and only real-life friend that I had added on this site because I read this book. It was just too weird knowing that I had read this book, which seems a bit taboo, and also knowing that she would be reading my thoughts on it.
I mean, I know that's the point of Goodreads, but I like sharing my thoughts on books with strangers, not friends. Actually, the reason I joined Goodreads was so that I could give my poor mother's ears a break from my chattering about books, and so that I could give commentary on books that she probably wouldn't want to know I was reading.
To the point, I don't normally read fanfics. I liked this one well enough, though. It seemed more... emotive than regular books. Is that how all fanfics are or is Helenish just an interesting writer?
If I had to clarify my rating, I'd probably rate it 3.5 stars. I can't rate it more, because I went into it thinking that it would be another Captive Prince, but it was nowhere near. I guess my expectations were just a tad too high, no? The overall tone of the read was much more tame compared to Captive Prince.
It was a good read though. Without giving anything away, the ending left a little hollow hole in my chest. One complaint that I have though is that it was sometimes hard to determine whose thoughts we were reading at the moment, and I often found myself rereading sentences or whole passages trying to straighten it out. Despite this flaw, I can definitely see it expanded into a full book, one that would add more detail about the minor characters. It seems there is a whole world newly created that I find absolutely fascinating.
It was a good night read, and I thank those that recommended this fanfic to me!
October 25, 2019
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this one.
I especially appreciated both MC's internal conflicts and struggle to accept and justify their own actions and feelings.
Good dark story with a nice pace and development. And it's a free read, so bonus points for that.
I especially appreciated both MC's internal conflicts and struggle to accept and justify their own actions and feelings.
Good dark story with a nice pace and development. And it's a free read, so bonus points for that.
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