#inception headcanons

[occhiolissimo]

@inception30daychallenge

Day 03: A post-canon headcanon.

I'm fascinated by the notion of romantic Ariadne/Robert. For all intents and purposes, they can also be considered as limbo survivors - Ariadne coming after him down there like a knight in shining armour, where they had that tiny, but real and precious moment at the Cobbs' shadow porch, and that was how he remembered her.

The potential incoming dynamics would be so interesting to explore, with Robert feeling inexplicably drawn to Ariadne but not knowing exactly why, and Ariadne harbouring immense guilt for her part in his inception. Yes, it could for the better, for who's to say for sure? Ariadne has had a front seat view of what had happened between Cobb and Mal. So she is torn between staying away from Robert, and staying close to him out of duty, to make sure he's not succumbing to any real damage to his person.

I love the idea of Robert successfully breaking up his father's empire and rebuilding it as his own (there's a hint of this in the shot of the newspaper cutting we saw in the Fischers' dossiers), with Ariadne purposely getting hired at one of his organizations, quietly but steadily rising up in ranks to be one of his most trusted employees. But Ariadne knows the truth is a ticking bomb, she can never decide what is the right time to tell him.

So either everything blows up in everyone's faces, or this ends as a HR procedure where Ariadne tenders her resignation so she can marry her CEO like a kdrama

[mister-eames]

3/? 5. Who made the first move and what were the circumstances?6. How did Eames and Arthur first meet? Are you of the 'Met in the military' boat? I love that scenario personally but I'm also quite fond of the idea that Eames was in the dreamshare business before arthur & met him when arthur was first introduced to dreamshare so maybe arthur was green when it came to the business & wide eyed & eager to learn & didn't have all his defences up yet... & maybe that becomes a point of contention later

5. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Eames is the socially conservative one. In my head at least, he's quite reserved until he's not, and not a born risk-taker - that being said, I imagine Eames makes the first move in a burst of anger/worry/concern. It's a risk he takes because his he's played it safe and now his hand is forced.

Maybe he and Arthur are in a getaway car, speeding away from a job gone south and when it comes to Arthur he's not suave, he's raw and craggy and he's so mad about something and there Arthur is, slouched in the passenger seat, casually typing away at his phone with one hand while the other is bleeding and broken and Eames just can't stop talking. Somehow, Arthur is the one injured but it's Eames who feels like he has an open wound that wont stop festering. They start bickering as soon as the car starts. It grows more heated and eventually Eames sees red, swerves the car and pulls over onto the side of the road. They get out of the car and get real close to each other and start yelling. Fingers are pointed and low-blow insults are hurled, they get physical and start to push and grapple with each other, until Eames takes Arthur by the hips and shoves him hard against the car, pinning him there. He still can't shut up, still in survival mode, and now he's saying things like you're the most irresponsible person I've ever met, look at you, and Arthurs like, that's rich coming from someone like you, and Eames is seething, says, I should have left you behind, and Arthur is like, yeah well why didn't you, asshole, and boom, before you know it their bodies are pressed together and harshly cupping each other by the back of the neck as if they might shake apart otherwise, foreheads pressed together, sharing breath and Eames whispers because I can't, I fucking can't and the Arthur replies, voice shredded, I know, I know because he does know that neither of them ever could, and suddenly they're dropping their gazes at each others lips, inching closer together without realising and ---

6. Okay okay okay as a reader I LOVE 'met in the military AUs', love that sense of history, that connection they share - but I also LOVE the idea they met in different circumstances too. What is so amazing about all these characters and fandom is the different castles we build on the canon breadcrumbs we are given.

It's always stuck out and been very telling to me that Arthur in the film refers to Eames as a thief first, instead of a forger. Like. They're about to attempt Inception, an 'impossible' dreamshare feat and Cobb mentions Eames' name to bring on board. Straight up, Arthur says try someone else, there are plenty of good thieves - not there are plenty of good forgers. To me, that says Eames', when it comes to Arthur in a professional capacity, has been one overwhelmingly who steals either from them or for them, and his capacity as a forger is only an afterthought.

One of my favourite fics ever that illustrates this is The Material Life of the Californian Suburb by eleveninches where Arthur is just a normal dude and returns to a perfectly normal life after the Fischer job and converts Eames into domesticity/legality. It's so fucking sweet and funny and perfectly believable to me. This pretty much aligns with one of my ultimate fave origins for them - I think Eames had dipped his toes into dreamshare before Arthur, but I think they met via Eames's other line of business first. I actually have a WIP about this where Eames stole a PASIV from the Cobbs with an intent to sell it, came across where Arthur is working in a coin laundry and stashed it there momentarily ---and the rest is history etc etc. One day I might finish it 😂

[thenwhatthefukcisthis]

so,

I love the kick scene. The cheeky smirk, the exasperated look, the dangling legs and steady foot hovering near the unstable chair and how mr. zimmers music gives the perfect drop to create one of the most visually satisfying scenes ever.

but.. I also like the immediate line which precedes it.

from the beginning of the movie, we get to see snippets of how arthur is well and truly done with Cobbs shit and the unpleasantness it brings. he knows cobb can potentially sabotage the entire mission, and being the pointman, he needs to ask the important questions, he needs to know how they all wake up. But here, he brings up the previous mishap. while arthur really doesn’t need to add the part he got shot by cobb, he says it anyway..

Is it anger? Is it frustration? Or is it both? Is it both of those and also cause he’s hurt?

that wasn’t the first time arthur was killed by either of his best friends, and even though it comes as some sort of twisted mercy from cobb, it still stings. He hides it as much as he can but he’s only human. it’s not easy to gloss over the fact that despite not being able to kill his own projection, cobb is always ready to kill his only friend who dropped everything and ran away with him. he doesn’t show remorse over it and even here, when arthur does mention it, the most cobb manages is an exasperated eye roll. it’s all arthur will ever get from dominic “one apology” cobb.

eames sees this. he sees thru the brittle anger and fragile frustration and sees how hurt arthur really is. eames also knows that he can’t interrupt and may be try giving a cobb piece of mind or acknowledge arthurs pain, both eames knows that Arthur wouldn’t appreciate. So he goes with one thing he has always been good at in getting Arthur to relax a little.

Distraction. tried and tested and confirmed over the years to get an exhausted arthur to smile, a scared arthur to chuckle, a stressed arthur to smirk, a worried arthur to snort or a sad arthur to give a fond eye roll.

and it works. the moment is stolen from cobb and eames can’t help by smile at arthur levelling him with a lovable bitch face. It’s not perfect, and may be a poor substitute for a hug that eames really wants to give, but he knows he has made arthur tear himself from a bad memory and look at eames with a promise of some laughter.

[your-nanas-house]

She could be my "woman"

◇ Pairing: Robert Fisher X fem!Reader/ (future Robert Fischer X android!Reader)

◇ Warnings: angst, androids, security, fear, business, robots as "slaves"

◇ Summary: Robert fears for his safety and tries his luck with Y/n's business.

◇ Note: Sorry for the mistakes and the English. FINALLY wrote the first part of the fic I mentioned months ago!

Robert chuckled at that.

"What is this, a movie?" he mocked, trying to lighten the mood, his light eyes staring at the old woman in front of him as if she was nuts.

He called her that day for a specific reason... his security and now she was talking about some weird futuristic stuff.

"I thought we were talking about a security system, not personal assistants!" He reminded her slightly annoyed by the situation.

When he didn't receive a response, he tried again with a softer tone this time.

"I can see why your granddaughter would need someone to try this out," he started, rubbing his chin with his long fingers, "...But I can hardly be her test case.... I can't believe androids are that advanced."

The disbelief of the young man was understandable and the older woman got perfectly Robert's point of view but was still a bit offended by the lack of trust in her... after all the years she had worked with his father.

"You're underestimating my granddaughter, dear. I tested them out as well...they do anything and if someone tries to enter your dreams they come inside as well working as your bodyguard there too" she informed him with a soft nod.

Security and assistance, Robert thought not believing at a word.

He raised his eyebrow surprised by the informations but still with the feeling of being made fun of. "This has to be a joke," he said, shaking his head.

"Your granddaughter created androids that protect you even in your dreams? I've heard some insane things in my life but that tops the cake."

And as words of mockery left his mouth he couldn't help but imagining it happen to him... Having someone watching over him even in his most vulnerable moments... it wouldn't be so bad.

After a couple of minutes in silence the older woman spoke again, her shaking and wrinkly hands put a note on his rich desk

"Think about it, if you need more information just call my granddaughter, she will be able to explain everything to you."

It wasn't a bad idea after all.

Robert looked down at the card in his hand, sighing. He had hoped to convince the older wise woman to work with him as well, but this was a nice alternative.

And as soon as she left his office he grabbed his phone, he read the number and then dialed it.

He couldn't waste any precious time and luckily for him, he didn't have to wait much.

A female voice replied after just a couple of rings, introducing herself as 'Y/n Y/l/n' exactly as he expected. She sounded calm and young.. probably in her 20s, her tone made him feel at ease and it was quite charming even though a bit awkward.

"Good morning, miss. I'm Robert Fischer... I had a meeting with your grandmother today and she gave me your number. I'll put my hands forward and tell you that I don't really believe in all this, it seems excessive and not very functional to me but... I have nothing to lose so I'm willing to try, and even if it is a scam, I'm pretty sure I could deal with it very easily. If you know what I mean..." Robert informed her with a calm tone, his hand busy playing around with his pen as his face remained tilted and rested against the back of his chair... serious as his business mask.

It was business after all, he needed some kind of security around him and the guarantee of being 100% safe every day.

"But I would like to know more about this androids" he quickly added after not receiving an answer, his heart strangely beating fast in his chest and his hand sweated anxiously

"Oh, sure thing. I can do that, are there any specific questions? Or would you like to receive the policy first?" the voice replayed softly, echoing now in his empty office.

He could actually hear her moving around, probably working or getting ready for something in a rush... not that he cared though.

At the questions Robert sat up in his seat, his grip tightened around the pen as he thought quickly before dropping it on the desk and let his light blue eyes travel towards the phone.

"I want to know everything. Starting from how they work, what they can do, where they come from and most importantly... how protected I am with them watching over me" The business man listed while staring intently at the object as if it would make Y/n reply faster at everything.

There was a soft music in the background, he could hear it, even if a bit muffled, and his mind focused on it, snapping back just when her voice interrupted the melody with her owns

"Well first of all I won't tell you how I created them. I'm not stupid, am I? They can do anything you want them to, they come from my cellar" she informed with a soft chuckle after apologizing and explaining to him the reason of the background noises.

"You are 99,9% protected, they have the ability to watch over you whenever you need or don't need. Not in a creepy way of course. They have the ability to enter your dreams if someone else does, so that they can protect you.... They are also loyal to their owners and you can set the program you prefer. There are a lot of different androids... each one more adapt for a situation" she explained with a more focused and professional tone, her knowledge and passion for her creations showing just by the seriousness of her speech.

She made it sound pretty acceptable and intriguing, leaving Robert silent for a moment, still and lost in his thoughts as he took in the informations. He honestly wasn't expecting such a comprehensive answer from her.

"They sound like the perfect companions," the man said, making an attempt at joking before asking her other questions, his hands already turning on his laptop

"What kind of androids are there, where can I purchase them and what sort of program do you suggest should be installed in them?"

It really was catching his interest, even if he didn't really believe in all the progress the science was doing lately... but he still was willing to try.

"Well... They are like puppies, Mr. Fisher. Like pets, without need to care too much for them. And it's highly depends on your situation and what I have down here." She explained while probably pouring herself a cup of something.

A moment of silence and Robert hummed lost in thoughts again, surprised and amused by Y/n's analogy.

"I'm glad that I won't have to worry about them too much," he murmured, rubbing his chin "And I'll happily take a look at what you have available. My main concern is my dreams, so what do you suggest to deal with that?" He murmured out, leaning back to stare at the ceiling and glance at the phone... she wasn't answering anymore but he could feel that she was thinking intently.

Then... her harsh words of truth came out "Your voice sounds lonely, you are probably sitting in a rich office, playing with something in your hand while you talk to me— I want to try to give you my first invention" the young woman declared cheerfully, making sure he didn't took her analysis as an insult before starting to explain again.

"I'm pretty proud of her. And I will make sure to deliver everything as soon as the payment is done also I'm sending you the contract so that you know that whatever the android sees it will remain between you and them" the young woman quickly stated, ready to say goodbye and hang up.

It was convincing... enough to bewitch Robert and his business mind, which was now fully engaged, even though a part of him was still cautious.

He wasn't really sure about allowing someone else to intrude so deep in his personal space and in such a little time. "How do I know that the androids and their recordings will remain private? What if they witness something... embarrassing or something that should remain fully private?" The man asked lowly, tapping his fingers against the rich wood of his desk.. he couldn't and didn't want to afford a scandal.

"I make you sign the contract because of that. I have no intention to look through all the memory. I just delete everything when their work it's done" Y/n reassured him sweetly with a soft chuckle, giving her availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in case of questions or problems.

Robert considered it all in silence, weighing his options carefully. On one hand, he was still hesitant about sharing his space with these things.

But on the other hand, they would be guarding his dreams, which was exactly what he needed. And their "mother" seemed trustworthy enough to make him take things further.

"I want to see the contract first," he stated thoughfully, adding after a small break of suspance "If I like its terms, I'm ready to sign."

And she already did, everything was in his laptop now. So Robert checked his emails, finding the contract attached.

He opened the PDF with a single click and began reading, his eyes scanning each word for any potential loopholes or hidden meanings.

After a few minutes of reading, he let out a sigh and printed it out, signing it before scanning it and sending it back to her along with a brief message:

"I agree to the terms, please start the installation as soon as possible. RF"

Since their call had ended just a couple of minutes before he could have finished to read it all.

Afyer that, the proceedings began and the young woman asked him a couple of personal questions, plus an address before reporting to him the date and the hour of the delivery.

'To: Robert Fischer, NYC'

Android n. 0.0'

[ladysarai]

@inception30daychallenge Day 3: A post-canon headcanon

Arthur and Eames completely disregard Dom's rules and go hole up in a hotel suite for a long weekend (or a week), phones off or silenced the whole time. They mostly sleep (well, Arthur sleeps after being sleep-deprived for years) and have sex and do a lot of Talking--about their past, about this time they've been apart, and about what they want for the future. They don't necessarily decide to, but after Inception, they only accept jobs together.

One day, one of them looks around and realizes that they live together and every facet of their lives are so interconnected that they may as well be married. And so: "We've got a long weekend coming up. Want to get married?"

And they do. Quietly, just the two of them. They don't tell anyone, because it's just for them. Ariadne figures it out because Arthur mentors her and she's smart, and also has eyes--she sees the rings. Yusuf figures it out because Eames casually begins referring to Arthur as his husband. No one knows how Saito figures it out, but he sends them a lovely wedding gift.

Cobb doesn't figure it out until everyone is over for a barbecue and Phillipa climbs into Arthur's lap and announces, "I'm glad you married Uncle Eames, but I wanted to be your flower girl."

[den-kunn]

my definition of silly bi-han is:

smacking forehead against doorframes

complain about everything

"SHIRAI RYU DOG"

"FUCKING KUAI LIANG"

rivalry with Sektor

big brothering the shaolin monks

and of course:

Tomas.

[po1sonous-l0ve]

Cabin 23 headcannons! (Morpheus cabin)

•So. Children of dreams. I can work with that.

•I dunno, it came to me in a dream. (Geddit?)

•They have poppies planted outside their cabin.

•Most of his kids have wings that they can unfurl from out of nowhere.

•They're SUPER flexible. Like contortionist level.

•They can manipulate people's dreams, and cause nightmares so powerful they can drive a person mad.

•On the other hand, they can make healing dreams.

•They can cause strong hallucinations.

•I bet these kids have very dark potential.

•I wonder if they could like mess with reality.

•Like they have a dream space, but you don't know you're in a dream space, and they can alter it to their liking.

•Like Inception? Or domain expansion?

•Some rare children can shape shift.

•Like the fluidity of dreams?

•The majority of genderfluid kids are in the Morpheus cabin.

•They also help with transitioning and all that.

•People come to them in the dead of night because of their nightmares.

•These guys are definitely most active at night.

•I don't think they're necessarily sleepy all the time like the Hypnos cabin, though.

•They host group therapy sessions along with the Hypnos and Dionysius cabin.

Thats all for now, folks!

[wolfboywarmachines]

every time jgl is in a movie where they let him grow his hair out so its all curly, an angel gets its wings. hit post

[valerileygreen]

@inception30daychallenge day 24: a headcanon about my favourite friendship or relationship.

The real pivotal moment in Arthur and Eames' relationship wasn't when they started having sex, or when they actually started spending time together outside of work or a hotel bed, or even the first time they said 'I love you'. It was the first time one of them allowed the other in a place he considered home.

They're both very private people, preferring to keep their personal and professional lives separated and to hide their true selves, their vulnerabilities, so to protect themselves and the people they care about. Even after starting a relationship they still kept a certain amount of distance between them for the longest time, preferring to meet up in neutral settings.

Things changed one day after a botched job left them battered and bruised and in need of a place to lay low. Arthur took them to one of his safehouses to be patched up, and Eames was so out of it that didn't realize till the next day that there was something off about it. It had a lot more life and personality than he expected, and when the truth clicked Eames was awestruck, no one had ever been to Arthur’s home, not even Cobb, not even Mal.

At first he thought maybe it was just circumstances, even though he was sure Arthur could have found another solution if he didn't want him there, but still tried his best to not take advantage of it and be on his best behaviour, so to not overstay his welcome or something, not wanting Arthur to withdraw and kick him out. But Arthur just reassured him it was fine, he trusted him to not snoop for real secrets, so to relax, and Eames accepted it, his heart melting. It was a sign of the seriousness of their commitment, it wasn't just a casual relationship anymore but something much deeper and more meaningful.

They ended up spending much more time than necessary there, living together and sharing more intimate pieces of themselves than ever before in their years of acquaintance, till they both started to think of it as home.

[chaos-and-all]

headcanon: arthur and eames knew each other in the military and inevitably fell in whatever their definition of love is while they worked on the PASIV together (scandalous considering they were from different countries). of course, their project ends and they lose each other, what would this be without some angst?

arthur eventually leaves the military and devotes all his time to being cobb's right hand man while eames runs from his problems by becoming other people. arthur never so much as looks at another man the same way while eames takes any distraction to try and forget. neither tell a soul about each other.

then, they meet again during the inception heist. how on earth do they react? easy, these idiots simply ✨ don't ✨. yes, they both just...don't acknowledge it. cue the major UST throughout the movie, much to the delight and confusion of the rest of the crew. like, if arthur and eames are complete strangers, why do they know each other so well? why do they work together as an unit without having to ever exchange words? surely, it's not just them being good at their jobs of reading people? news flash: of course it isn't.

they have both lived as a thousand different people within a single lifetime. and yet, fate brings them back together? of course they eventually learn to open their hearts back to each other and love once more. but...it's secret, it's intimate. they keep their love to themselves, and shares it with no one else. does the crew figure out they're together? of course, they're not idiots. of course, there's guesses as to why they're so in sync with each other (ariadne is 100% convincef yusuf gave them love potions and cobb thinks he's just an amazing unintentional wingman). but do they ever know the truth of their past, of just how well they knew each other before this heist? absolutely not. speaking their story into existence for others isn't needed. they know and that's all that matters.

in the end, they find each other again. they learn to love and be loved again. they find their family, their people that'll stick with them through thick and thin. it's cheesy, it's mushy, it's angsty, it's their life. and of course, they adopt three cats once they finally settle down. what happy ending can they have without cats?

(this was possibly inspired by my love for the reunion trope with a secret shared past and by dress by taylor swift. I have many headcanons like this across many fandoms.)

[prettypeppermint]

the complete oeuvre.

for you.

5/22/24 - homage to the square.

11/21/23 - swan song.

09/19/23 - crane's paradox.

09/16/23 - peach woes.

09/04/23 - the gift of silence (how sweet the sound)

08/28/23 - amazing grace.

08/22/23 - complicatedly breathtaking.

08/21/23 - cherry-pick.

08/19/23 - His gift to man.

08/15/23 - jonathan.

08/13/23 - grottos.

08/11/23 - the unchosen one.

08/05/23 - earth & ocean.

09/25/22 - actions speak louder than words.

05/02/22 - kissing your way out of arguments.

07/07/21 - fools.

06/30/21 - just one.

05/15/21 - sometimes.

x.

[occhiolissimo]

@inception30daychallenge

Day 25: What would each character talk about in therapy?

Cobb: Mal and his children obviously. That the kids are still afraid that he will leave them again without knowing when he's going to come back.

Ariadne: She had always known what she's going to do after she finishes school. Job offers already lined up, prestigious firms, glowing recommendations. She knows she's the best and brightest. Now she's not too sure. Reality doesn't seem enough.

Robert: He hasn't felt this happy and at peace in a long time, but still there's just a tiny piece of sadness that he just can't shake off. Like there's something or someone he has to find. He needs help to not let it consume him this time around.

Saito: The deep fear that for all his wealth and worldly possessions, he will end up a decrepit old man full of regrets. He has enough self-awareness to know that he probably deserves to feel like that.

Arthur: He loves what he's doing right now in dreamshare, it's both a job and a passion for him. But he's scared that it will also be his ruination someday.

Eames: All the constant psychological impersonation would have taken a toll on his own mind at some point. He wonders if he can even be honest to himself.

Yusuf: He hates being restrained in the way he does things, which is why he went rogue with his dreamshare chemistry in the first place. But he also had never had to witness first-hand the destruction that his work would bring, his dreamers had always seem fine to him. He's having second thoughts now.

[mister-eames]

something something that one tumblr post about someones boyfriend screaming in the shower.. that's arthur. that's arthur who is pretending he's in a metal band, screaming into a shampoo bottle, wet hair plastered all over his face.

eames, the first time he hears in, rushing in with a gun:..... ???

[thenwhatthefukcisthis]

Ineption 30 Day Challenge 2024

Day 10: a headcanon about your favourite character

@inception30daychallenge

I think arthur is someone who finds it tad too difficult to deal with problems he can’t control. I don’t mean it as a person who worries about everything all at once; but rather a person who would take a longer time to accept the sudden changes, specially the ones which are out of his control. yes with time he’d make terms with it and hell, he will adopt to it brillinatly the best way he can, but, the initial stages are harder for him. he’d want others to give him a little time to get through it. I think “stick in the mud” comment could’ve stemmed from early days when eames couldn’t see how and why arthur was silently mulling over uncontrollable things, and often spilling his anxiety and discontent over to others. Arthur may have gotten better with time, but I guess even in situations where he had to go through his own usual process within two minutes and get his shit together (read: mals demise), the reverberations lasted a long long time. like a suppressed rubber ball. I don’t think he magically got over it, rather slowly came to terms in his own time. or may be never fully.

[roosterbox]

Inceptiversary Day 5

A headcanon about your favourite character.

Another one about darling Arthur? Hmm…

How about this: he absolutely HATES pet names. Like despises them. Intense loathing. His mom used to have a bunch of cutesy ones to call him - baby, cupcake, shnookums, etc. Any partner who’s tried to give him one has been let down. Hard.

EXCEPT Eames. Arthur can’t explain it, but hearing himself called darling? Or pet? Or my love? In Eames’ voice, it suddenly makes sense. “I was never ‘baby’ until you,” he says one night in bed.

Eames smiles, drawing him closer.

“I know.” He replies, and kisses his darling.

@inception30daychallenge

[ladysarai]

@inception30daychallengeinception30, Day 19: Your favorite bit of fanon.

UGH ONE FAVORITE???? I can't.

I mean. I obviously subscribe to Team Dream Husbands. If Arthur and Eames weren't a couple during the movie, they used to be, or they will be.

The idea that Arthur was Mal's friend. Whether it was that they met first, or that they were best friends, whatever--I love it like burning. It adds so much dimension to the lengths Arthur is willing to go to (and has clearly gone to) for Cobb, especially given what we the audience knows about Mal and Cobb. (And why are there not more fics where Arthur Finds Out? Because I need that.)

Arthur having a military background. I know, he explained the whole military background of shared dreaming, and he's generally the audience's teacher, but he also used a military issue gun and... I just love it, for so many reasons.