@inception30daychallenge Day 30: If the characters were all in a band, what instruments/roles would they play?

Dom: band manager. Has gotten a lot more distracted and a lot less reliable since his divorce. Is looking for someone to replace the role of lead singer.

Mal: used to be the lead singer until she and Dom had a falling out, ultimately resulting in divorce.

Ariadne: new singer brought in to try and be the lead.

Arthur: drums. Rhythmic, methodical, always precisely on time and keeping the rest of the band on track, and fueled by a barely contained rage.

Eames: lead guitar. Flamboyant and loves putting on a show, but also highly talented and able to absolutely disappear into a song when he needs to.

Yusuf: bass. Do I really need to say more?

Saito: owner of a record label that really wants to pick up the band but they need to get their shit together first, and also find a new lead singer. Gets somewhat unwillingly roped into helping them get their shit together.

@inception30daychallenge Day 28: What piece of media would you want to see in a crossover with Inception?

The Mummy/Indiana Jones!I think I maybe made almost this exact same post last year, but oh well. LOOK AT MY AU BOY!

Dom: formerly well-respected archeologist who has since fallen into somewhat disgrace after several (false) allegations of mishandling and illegally selling artifacts. Used to work with (and be married to) Mal, but they have gone separate ways since Dom's fall from grace and are now rivals. Both have been searching for a particular artifact for a very long time- Dom wants to find it to preserve it and make sure it's kept safe (and also to restore his reputation). He used to believe Mal wanted to find it for the same reason, but now he's not sure that's true.

Mal: archeologist and Dom's ex-wife. Controversial in the field, both for being a woman and for turning to private collection work after falling out with Dom. She's actually the one who started the rumours about Dom mishandling and selling artifacts after he confronted her about selling artifacts to a private collector. Working for Maurice Fischer and racing against Dom to find the artifact they've both searched for years for.

Miles: Well respected and tenured archeology professor. Trained both Mal and Dom. Believes Dom is innocent of the rumours/accusations against him but also blames him for Mal going down the path she did. Mentors Ariadne and fosters her skill and talent, and when Dom comes to him looking for someone to help with this one last job, he reluctantly suggests her.

Ariadne: Miles' secretary and assistant. She really wants to be an archeologist but the university won't accept her as a student since she's a woman so she got a job working with Miles instead to at least have access to the university's resources. Extremely bright and talented and (much to Miles' chagrin) not put off in the least by the more dangerous (and often less legal) aspects of how Dom works.

Arthur: long time friend of Dom's, and serves as his protection/guy who Gets Things Done (legally and otherwise). He often scopes out jobs for Dom and gets things set up before they arrive. Fought in WWI and was involved in espionage during the war, so he's particularly good with codes and scoping places out. He doesn't think the artifact Dom is after actually exists but he knows how important it is to Dom, so he stays with him regardless. Very loyal and determined and absolutely not afraid to get his hands dirty, both literally and figuratively. Initially distrusts Eames and thinks he's unreliable, but becomes increasingly interested in him as it becomes clear that there's more depth to Eames than his casual and superficially flippant attitude might suggest.

Eames: literal forger with some notoriously sticky fingers. Gets pulled into the job to forge papers for Dom, Arthur, and Ariadne so that they can get into the country Dom believes the artifact is in and then gets further roped into shenanigans from there. Initially pokes fun at Arthur for his posh suits and business-like attitude, but becomes increasingly interested by him as it becomes clear that Arthur has no qualms getting his hands dirty and is in fact quite adept at doing so.

Yusuf: chemist and explosives expert, brought in on Eames' recommendation. Was initially only supposed to consult and provide materials, but gets fully roped in through a series of shenanigans that he never stops complaining about.

Saito: museum curator who's trying to keep this artifact from disappearing into a private collection where it'll never be seen again. Is aware of the rumours surrounding Dom but is also aware of his reputation for being effective, if unorthodox. Insists on being part of the job itself to make sure the artifact isn't harmed.

Maurice Fischer: private collector and Saito's rival who's well known for snatching up artifacts through less than legal means. Has been searching for this artifact for most of his life and is now in very poor health.

Browning: Maurice's right hand man, and the one who takes care of the...less legal aspects of how artifacts make their way into Maurice's collection. He's the one who hired Mal.

Robert: not as interested in obtaining artifacts as his father and certainly less insistent on keeping them hidden away, but wants to get this one last artifact for his father before he dies. If just to have his father's approval for one brief moment.

@inception30daychallenge Day 26: Which summer Olympic sport would each character compete in?

Dom: rowing (he's very good but a pain in the ass as a teammate)

Ariadne: fencing

Arthur: fencing (he becomes Ariadne's mentor)

Eames: gymnastics

Yusuf: swimming

Saito: equestrian

Mal: fencing

Robert: tennis

@inception30daychallenge Day 19: Your favourite bit of fanon.

I'll be completely honest, because I came into the fandom pretty late, I don't actually know a lot of the fanon and don't tend to hold too much of it particularly dear as a result. That said, I really like the fanon that Arthur and Eames both got their start in dream sharing as soldiers in the original military training program. I like to combine this with my own hc (I have no idea if this is common fanon or not) that Dom and Mal got involved on the academic side of things, which I feel would create an interesting dynamic of how Dom and Mal approach dream share early on (awe, wonder, intellectual curiosity) vs how Arthur and Eames approach it (this was specifically design to Make You Kill, Die, and Feel Extreme Pain with no lingering physical effects). Which I also think would create a FASCINATING dynamic of Arthur were to ever find out what exactly happened to Mal.

@inception30daychallenge Day 2: Classify each character according to the alignment chart

Dom: Neutral Evil. This sounds a lot crueler than I mean it to. I don't think Dom acts with malice and I do think he often believes he's acting in the best interest of others. But I also think he's very good at lying to himself. Most of what we see of him in the movie, both currently and in the past, is him acting in his own self-interest, without much regard to the impact on others and often to their (usually unintentional) detriment.

Ariadne: Neutral Good. On the other end of things, we have Ariadne. We see her take major risks and break major rules to help people (mostly Dom, though also Fischer to some extent) throughout the movie. I think she's got some True Neutral flair, but ultimately falls best in the Neutral Good category.

Arthur: Lawful Neutral. My boy loves rules and even when he breaks them, he tends to do so in methodical ways governed by rules of their own (e.g., paradoxes). He's also not one to take unnecessary risks and prefers there to be an orderly and well defined plan before going into something. I do think he's got a Neutral Good flair, particularly in the support of Dom and mentoring Ariadne, but ultimately I think his actions tend less towards intentionally helping or hurting others and more towards establishing an orderly way to achieve his goals, whatever they may be.

Eames: Chaotic Neutral. As a forger, I think identity is particularly important to Eames and he strikes me as someone who holds his personal freedom and identity as a priority above just about anything else. Similar to Arthur, I don't think he necessarily tends towards specifically helping or hurting others per se, but his primary goal is maintaining that personal freedom and he will help or hurt others to achieve that if necessary.

Yusuf: True Neutral/Neutral Evil. I think Yusuf kind of saddles the line between True Neutral and Neutral Evil. He strikes me as the one most removed from the actual dream process itself, viewing it much more as a dispassionate science than the others do. He approaches dream sharing in the same way he approaches the chemistry of making a compound, and tends to seek the correct balance necessary for a particular situation. He's also simultaneously very aware of the damage long-term dream sharing can have, especially with a very strong compound, and completely willing to ignore those consequences because doing so is good business.

Saito: Lawful Evil. Saito is a fabulously wealthy man with a very in depth understanding of the systems he works within and enough money to manipulate them to get what he wants. His goals aren't necessarily always bad (breaking up the Fischer-Morrow empire) but even when there are genuinely good outcomes (preventing a full monopoly), these outcomes are secondary to his personal motivations (protecting his business interests). He isn't one to intentionally harm others in pursuit of his goals, but he will manipulate the systems he's in and the people within them to achieve his goals.

Mal: Alive- Chaotic Good. Shade- Neutral Evil. Alive, I think Mal valued freedom above just about anything else and dream sharing encapsulated that, but only as long as she could wake up after. She convinced herself that she was awake in limbo and when Dom interfered with that, the consequences were drastic. And when she came to believe she was still asleep in the real world, she took the drastic steps she viewed necessary to regain her freedom and wake up. As a shade, I think Mal retains that ruthless pursuit of her goals, but she's also been infused with Dom's guilt and regret. And through that, her goal of freedom has been replaced by the goal of ensuring Dom suffers the fate he believes he deserves. Whatever impact that may have on others is no longer her concern.

@inception30daychallenge Day 11: Mal's favourite fairytale

It's maybe not a fairytale in the traditional sense (or maybe it is? I don't actually know what specifically makes a fairytale a fairytale), but I think Mal has a very deep love of Alice in Wonderland. She was fascinated with it as a child, insisting Miles read it to her over and over again and constantly asking questions about it. Miles always encouraged her curiosity and desire to try and understand how and why these were happening, and I think that love and approach carried over to her involvement in dream sharing.

@inception30daychallenge Day 7: If you had to change a scene from the movie to have a musical number, which scene would it be?

Okay so this maybe isn't quite the prompt but I think it would be really cool if, in Dom's dream sequence with the elevator and levels, you could always hear someone singing Non Je Ne Regretted Rien, just in the background, below the noise of the dream itself. Each level down that Ariadne goes, the louder and easier to hear the singing is, and vice versa as Dom takes her to higher levels. It's only when she runs to the elevator and takes it all the way down to the basement that she discovers the source of the singing: Mal, sitting in the trashed anniversary hotel room, singing the song she and Dom used to use to wake from a dream.

Inception Ultimate Blorbo Bracket: Extended Edition

Round 2 - Mal vs Saito

@inception30daychallenge

Day 02: Reimagine Inception as a different movie genre.

Historical swashbuckler adventure movie a la The Mummy (1999 version of course), with some Indiana Jones vibes to boot. You'd still get the opportunity for an ensemble cast and could even keep everyone in relatively similar roles, but it would be a super fun vibe. I'm picturing all of this taking place in the 20s (again, a la The Mummy). Here's how I think it would play out (it got WAY longer than intended, so putting it under a Read More):

Inception Ultimate Blorbo Bracket: Extended Edition

Round 1 - Mal vs. Tadashi

Inception Ultimate Blorbo Bracket Round 1 - Ariadne vs. Mal

Inception + text posts

Inception + textposts

Inception Meme Time pt. 2

@inception30daychallenge Day Twenty-six: If each character was a snack food, what snack would they be?

Dom: black licorice. Tends to rub people the wrong way and generally gets a worse wrap than it deserves. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea though, and it can leave a bad taste in your mouth sometimes

Arthur: chocolate covered coffee beans. A little bit sweet, a little bit bitter, and- most importantly- full of caffeine

Eames: chocolate with chili in it. Sweet, decadent, but enough of a bite to maybe make you think twice

Yusuf: ma'amoul. It's a delightful Middle Eastern cookie that's often filled with dates. It's tasty and buttery and I feel like it encapsulates Yusuf's Very Huggable Quality very well

Ariadne: wasabi peas. Small but spicy

Saito: matcha white chocolate. Decadent but with a somewhat more refined flavour that isn't for everyone's palate

Mal: sugar free Haribo gummy bears. Not that threatening on the surface but HOOOO BOY are you gonna regret it later

Robert: Nature Valley granola bar. You LOOK at it the wrong way and it immediately crumbles into the worst mess you've ever seen

@inception30daychallenge Day Twenty-four: Recast some Inception roles! What other actors can you picture playing the characters in Inception?

Dom: Idris Elba. I feel like he'd do a phenomenal job of portraying Dom's guilt, grief, and regret while still maintaining the air of someone who was at least once the best at what they did. I feel like he's also add a wonderful weight and gravitas that would make it very believable that Dom has lived 50-odd years (if not more) beyond what his actual age is

Eames: Robert Pattinson. Eames is a surprisingly distant and aloof character in the movie, with his charm often having an almost superficiality to it's allure. I think Pattinson would capture that well, and I also think his odd and often theatrical personality would just generally work well with the concept of forging

Arthur: Luca Marinelli. I really loved his portrayal of Nicky in The Old Guard, and I feel like he'd bring that same sense of quiet competence and deep loyalty to Arthur. I think he'd also be able to switch between both the efficient violence and surprising warmth we see in Arthur throughout the film and make it still feel believable

Saito: I couldn't think of anyone, Ken Watanabe is just to perfect

Yusuf: Riz Ahmed. Yusuf has some of the least in-field experience of the team, and I feel like Riz Ahmed would be able to channel the high strung nervousness of someone who is realizing they've maybe accidentally ended up a bit out of their depth wonderfully

Ariadne: Kiki Layne. I think she'd do a great job of channeling the wonder Ariadne has at this whole new world she's been introduced to while not losing her strength and determination

Mal: Rachel Weiss. I just think she'd be neat!

Robert: okay this is cheating but I'm going to say Robert Pattinson again. Simply because he's excellent at playing pathetic little meow meows and that's exactly the vibe Robert needs