jebbzfixations

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30 Days of Inception - Day Eight: What board game did the team play together and how did it go? @inception30daychallenge

Technically not a board game, sorry I’m cheating, but I love to think about the group playing poker.

Arthur: You’d think he’d be excellent at a game like poker. He’s smart, calculated, and patient. He knows when to quit and when to push. Unfortunately, he is in fact terrible at poker and most games in general. You see, there are rules to games, and Arthur follows those rules. The people he’s playing with? Perhaps not so much. But even if they were all playing up to code, I still think Arthur would suck. He can’t read anyone’s tells, he gets tunnel-vision about his hand, and often ends up missing an obvious moment when he really should’ve thrown in the towel. He typically refuses to play, because it’s basically like stealing candy from a baby, but he’ll occasionally join in when he’s feeling overly confident (or drunk).

Ariadne: She’d be one of the top players at the table. She’s smart, but in a group as smart as this one, that can’t fully carry you. What helps Ariadne is her ability to read people. Eames is the one known for this skill, but out of everyone, she’s the one who reads Cobb like a book throughout the film despite not even knowing him. She can practically see what hand everyone at the table has, much to their chagrin. She, however, doesn’t have great luck, and so she doesn’t always win.

Yusuf: Middle of the road player, definitely plays a little risky and is punished for that. He’s mostly here to have fun, he’s not taking it very seriously. He talents lie in other, more technical and scientific fields, but poker’s fun for everyone (except Arthur) and he likes playing with the group.

Saito: Similar to Yusuf, but for someone will excessive funding, he plays very carefully. Almost too carefully. He enjoys the thrill of the game, but gets anxiety from it. He also gets flustered easily, which the team takes advantage of.

Cobb: I think Cobb would be right up there with Ariadne, mostly because he’s got a lot of practice. Mal was an expert player who beat him nearly every time, but that didn’t stop him from learning and getting better. The game, like many things, brings grief to Cobb, but he ultimately enjoys the memories it brings. He does often wish that just one time, Mal could beat him again.

Eames: Predictably, Eames runs the table. Yes, he does cheat. Or, at least, he did. It didn’t take long for the group to catch on, and so poker games always included a side quest: how do we ensure Eames doesn’t cheat? The answer ends up being Arthur, who doesn’t mind watching Eames like a hawk and is surely getting nothing else out of the task. Eventually, Eames realizes he can probably beat this group without cheating, and sure enough, he certainly can. He’s the group expert at camouflage as well as understanding those around him. How can you beat someone at a lying game when their job is becoming other people? Usually, Eames only loses when he’s got a truly bad hand that he can’t work around. Or, when Arthur is so dejected that Eames can’t help but throw him a bone.

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30 Days of Inception - Day Seven: How did Cobb propose to Mal? @inception30daychallenge

I’d like to think that Cobb did it in a classy way. I can’t help but think it happened near that fated hotel room. Perhaps the two were on a vacation when he popped the question. When I think about Cobb’s grief, I imagine a lot of it is tied to that room. I think his story becomes more poetically tragic if what started in that hotel room also ended there. Perhaps I’m just in the mood for doomed fates.

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30 Days of Inception - Day Six: Which character could you see yourself being friends with in real life? @inception30daychallenge

(Missed another day, curse having a busy life when all I wanna do is think about this movie)

I’m definitely gonna have to go with Ariadne first and foremost. We’re similar ages, and I’ve always loved her characterization. She seems like she would be a lot of fun. I also would like to believe that Eames and I would get along because I really love his personality type, but I think I’d be extremely intimidated by him. Arthur is the character I feel the most similar to and relate to the most, I’d like to talk to him about books and movies and shit.

I definitely would not be friends with Cobb. I feel like every conversation with him would leave me extremely deflated…

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AW SO SWEET thank you!!! Was not expecting this at all 😭😭

@jebbzfixations - You are a such a positive and happy existence in the fandom. Also love your writing style so much as well! Wishing you joy!

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30 Days of Inception - Day Five: A Fic Rec @inception30daychallenge

Despite how much I adore fanfiction, I actually don’t read a lot of it. That’s half because I don’t have the time, but also half because when I really fixate on something, I actually get overwhelmed by that love and struggle to consume content about it without becoming overstimulated and, for lack of a better word, insane. I literally take like, poison damage from consuming the things I love which sucks sometimes but also is just like. What?

Buttttt if there is somehow anyone in this fandom still unfamiliar with @gyzym’s work, it really is incredible. I’ve Got Nothing To Do Today But Smile (The Only Living Boy in New York) genuinely changed my life and I’m not even kidding. It’s the fic that kickstarted this multi-year Inception fixation. I’ll always be grateful to this piece of writing for what it’s given me. It’s a beautiful, funny, poignant story that showcases the best this fandom has to offer, and I really do recommend it.

Also, shameless self plug, I also write Inception fanfiction <3 Right now I’ve got a series of origin stories and Arthur x Eames nonsense, if you’re interested. I’m also working on a huge, full-length Arthur x Eames fic that’s over 100K words as of now. It’s not up yet, but I’m on the last few chapters, and once I get the thing edited, I’ll throw it all on AO3 in case anyone in the world has the time, patience, energy, and desire to read that much gay Inception fanfiction. Here’s my account if you’re interested, but really, just go read gyzym’s work. You won’t regret it. Every fic is a joy.

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30 Days of Inception - Day Four: What is each character like at karaoke? @inception30daychallenge

Another fun one!!!

First of all, karaoke’s gotta be Ariadne’s idea. I extrapolate a lot about her personality from a two-hour movie, but to me, she’s rambunctious, loud, ferociously intelligent, and helplessly wild. Maybe that’s because I so desperately want her to be the opposite of the archetype of “quiet girl” that so many movies force upon the one female character, but I still think that description matches her movie persona. She is definitely dragging this group to karaoke, and she is singing any embarrassing dad rock song she can. Deep down, she listens to that sort of music because it really does remind her of her father, but also, who doesn’t want to scream American Pie at the top of their lungs?

Yusuf would be having almost as much fun as Ariadne. His personality seems most similar to hers imo, and after a couple drinks, I think he would be belting his heart out a little. I think he’d be pretty susceptible to peer pressure when picking songs. Ariadne wants me to belt out Elton John? Fine. Eames is screaming about The Who? Okay, sure. Just put the lyrics on the screen and buy me a drink, I got you.

Eames would also have a lot of fun, but I think he’d be shyer than anyone would expect. It would definitely take him some alcohol to get on stage, but I think afterward he would form himself into a showman effortlessly. I like to headcanon Eames as a fan of new wave British rock/pop and so I think he’d sing a lot of that. He would also absolutely, 100% force Arthur to sing with him. I think he is the sole person who could convince him to get on that stage. Speaking of Arthur, he’s the in between on the line between characters who would definitely participate and those who definitely would not. There is no shot Arthur is getting on the stage on his own, I don’t care how drunk he gets. He has too much shame, especially in front of a group who sees him as so strait-laced. But Eames could certainly force him into a duet. Arthur would gripe and gripe and gripe on and on about how Eames is forcing him, coercing him, using his tricks on him or something. But really, Arthur’s just fond of Eames, and maybe he likes the way the man smiles while goading Arthur through a verse of Call Me Maybe.

Now, Cobb…there is just no way. I’m sorry, Cobb is not singing fucking karaoke. He’ll show up, he’ll sit in the corner, and he’ll definitely laugh at his friends, but he is not singing. Okay, maybe, just maybe it’s the end of the night, and most of the group is out of it. Ariadne is passed out on the couch, Yusuf and Saito are having a nonsensical conversation about some topic neither of them understand, and Eames and Arthur are giggling in a corner as if no one else is watching. Then, maybe, just maybe, Cobb snakes up to the mic and sings a few lines of Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. Maybe.

As for Saito…yeah that motherfucker actually is not singing. I think he does have a fun side, and he’d definitely be okay with the plan, but he just sits on the couch like a slightly disappointed father as all of the losers who he thought were serious people scream-sing into a microphone.

Oh, yeah, and as for skill — none of them have any. Well, except for Arthur, but he won’t sing loud enough for anyone to hear him.

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30 Days of Inception - Day Three: Eames’ Takeout Order @inception30daychallenge

(Ahhh missed day three cause I had an insane day at work but I’m here now. This question is so cute!!)

I like to headcanon Eames as a very good cook. He’s seen a lot of the world and lived in so many different people’s skins, and all of those experiences would give him a lot of different cultures to work with. Still, I don’t think he’s a food snob or anything like that, I think he just genuinely enjoys the act of service cooking provides. It’s not just the skill, the creativity, and quick pace, but also the rewards of the meal. It’s not often that Eames is fully sincere, but he can certainly show love a lot better through food than his words.

I think that Eames would order pretty much whatever takeout place is closest (convenience, darlings) even if the entire group protests that wherever he’s ordering from has one star on Yelp and twenty-seven reviews about the restaurant being infested with rats. Luckily for everyone, Eames is crafty and can spice up pretty much any meal he gets his hands on. The team quickly realizes that Eames has this ability to make a shitty burger or soggy pizza into a masterpiece. Eventually, it would almost become a game. How awful of a place can he order from and still make the meal edible?

But, when he’s really tired and doesn’t feel like cooking, who doesn’t like Chinese takeout?

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30 Days of Inception - Day Two: Headcanon about Favorite Character @inception30daychallenge

For his entire life, Arthur has never been able to sleep through the night. Ever since he was a kid, he’d relentlessly toss and turn, back and forth, kept awake by the ramblings in his head and always woken up by the nightmares that followed. After joining up with Cobb and dreamsharing so often that he stopped dreaming, he hoped the problem would be solved, but to no avail. Eventually, he gets used to this aspect of his life. The exhaustion becomes background noise, the slight buzz in his head becomes second nature. He learns to work with the lack of sleep, and, in his very Arthur way, take advantage of it. After all, it’s quiet at three in the morning, and therefore the best time to get ahead on some work. The team’s always impressed with how it seems like somehow, this guy has more hours in the day than everybody else, and that’s because he kind of does. Sure, he’ll probably die a few years earlier, and maybe he’s forgotten what it feels like to be rested, but hell, his job is sleeping. It’s not like he needs any more of it, right?

Then, once they’ve stopped acting like fools, Eames and Arthur shack up. There are obvious perks to this relationship, namely that neither of them are going insane anymore, but there’s an unexpected benefit of Eames’ newfound constant presence in Arthur’s life. See, it doesn’t really make sense. Eames is anything but a pleasant sleeping partner. He’s first of all big, full of muscle, and takes up far more space than anyone reasonably should. He’s not shy about that, either. He will flail out all over the bed, moving pillows wherever he wants, kicking blankets off of the bed, Mr. Eames will do anything to get comfortable. He also snores louder than anyone Arthur has met in his life, so loud he’s certain it seeps through the walls and disturbs the neighbors. All of this, and yet the first time Arthur sleeps next to Eames, he sleeps through the night. At first he thinks it’s a fluke, but then it keeps happening. Somehow, he consistently wakes up…rested? It’s so foreign to him to feel properly groggy from sleep rather than a lack of it, and it quite honestly takes some getting used to. It even bugs him at first. Eames is already a fantastic distraction, and now he’s stolen Arthur’s extra work time, too. But eventually, Arthur realizes that it is much easier to work and function when you’re getting eight hours. He starts performing better at work, getting tasks done more efficiently, and, much to the glee of the team, tends to be in a better mood these days.

The team is so pleased with this outcome that eventually, they buy Eames a cake and thank him for finally erasing the bags from under their point man’s eyes.

[jebbzfixations]

I ♡ writing internal monologue it's crazy

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30 days of Inception - Day One: Favorite Scene @inception30daychallenge

Wow I’m glad I’m getting in on this little challenge right before the deadline!! It’s obviously really hard to answer this because I love every scene in this movie, but I do have an answer. Maybe it’s basic, but the infamous rotating hallway scene will always be my favorite. It’s always the one I look forward to the most. I love Arthur so damn much and it shows him off so well. The scene was also made completely practically, a Nolan speciality, and it truly is incredible to see how it was made! I’ll attach a video I rewatch a lot about the process. JGL really worked his ass off to get that scene perfect and I admire him a lot for it. Runner up scene is when Robert finds the pinwheel in the safe, Cillain’s acting always gets me there. Just the possibility that his father loved him, finally getting that catharsis…I’ll never get over it.

Also, every scene Arthur and Eames are in together. Obvious favorites.

[jebbzfixations]

“You do not have to go through with this.”

“I wish you were drunk.”

Andor: On Mothers and Daughters

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Prompt from lofter

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Non-writers don't understand how much of writing is just googling things like "when was the croissant invented" for worldbuilding reasons and staring off into the distance.

[jebbzfixations]

I'm just a girl… I'm alone, on my own. No one wanted to play with me as a little kid, nobody ever lets me in. Something different bloomed writing in my room. I see the great escape, I play my songs in the parking lot just to learn that my dreams aren't rare. Maybe I'm just a girl on a mission but I'm ready to fly in the angel's city, chasing fortune and fame. No one in my small town thought I'd meet these suits in L.A. and the camera flashes make it look like a dream. The kind of radiance you only have at 17, making my own name, chasing that fame. The crown is stained, but you're the real queen selling dreams, selling make up and magazines and your secrets end up splashed on the news front page. No cameras catch my pageant smile and my cheeks are growing tired from turning red and faking smiles. They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it till you make it" and I did. Cause ladies always rise above, so I became the butt of the joke. Talk your talk and go viral 'cause, baby, I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me. Crowd goes wild at her fingertips but there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west. I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me. I was in the alley surrounded on all sides. Brought a knife to a gunfight. I looked around in a blood-soaked gown and tried to tell the town. You said the gun was mine, so they filled my cell with snakes. They say I did something bad then tell me I'm despicable. People look at me like I'm a monster. Now they're screaming that they hate me. I can feel the flames on my skin, and you find something to wrap your noose around. They're burning all the witches even if you aren’t one. So light me, and if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes too. So I leap from the gallows, and I levitate down your street. I didn't want to have to haunt you but I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined. They say, "move on", but all I think about is karma. I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze tell me what are my words worth. My pennies made your crown. You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same. The knife cuts both ways, look at how my tears ricochet. Them's the breaks, they don't come gently. It still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart, and I can go anywhere I want just not home. He's got my past frozen behind glass but I've got me. I’m still on that trapeze. I'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me. Lights, camera, bitch smile. I can still make the whole place shimmer. I pushed each boulder up the hill, climbed right back up the cliff 'cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned. Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here. Always risin' from the ashes 'cause I'm a real tough kid, I can handle my shit. I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this. And at last she knew what the agony had been for. I built a legacy that you can't undo. Long story short, I survived. You're on your own, kid. You always have been.

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This is genuinely so fucking funny

I was deeply immersed in writing men kissing when I suddenly heard a deep rumbling sound in my headphones and realized that my "dinosaur ambience video" was still running in the background.

Really helped with the writing tho

[jebbzfixations]

“You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”

[jebbzfixations]

your family and career shouldn’t be your priorities. your priorities should always be your blorbos and archive of our own