Inception fic, "I Hope You Blink Before I Do"

[asimaiyat]

Title: I Hope You Blink Before I Do
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Mal/Cobb
Rating: R
Warnings: Dark themes, some blood. Mild sexuality. Possible self-harm triggers. Spoilers for the movie.
Summary: I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow; I hope it bleeds all day long. Mal holds on to the world she wants to believe in.
AN: Title and inspiration from "No

Comments

Author's Note

[asimaiyat]

So this story is weird for me because I felt like I needed to write it to help me empathize with some characters I felt really angry at while I was watching the movie. I wanted to imagine what it would be like to be in Limbo and not want to leave, to embrace that kind of total escapism.

Also, I think this might count for my "blades" square on kink bingo, but I have no idea if the "erotic focus" requirement is met or not. The eroticism here is so weird and broken that I can't figure out if this actually counts as kink.

Also: I have hardly read any fic at all for the movie, which I just saw yesterday. So I'm really sorry if everyone has read this exact fic several times already!

Re: Author's Note

[speccygeekgrrl]

Not knowing the fandom, I just read it to see if I'd qualify it as a bingo fill, and I think I would. But that's me.

Re: Author's Note

[asimaiyat]

AAAAH NO DON'T SPOIL THE MOVIE FOR YOURSELF! It's so good! Just forget everything you read, okay?

But I'm glad you think it counts as a bingo fill! With how blocked I've been lately, I'll take what I can get. :D

Re: Author's Note

[gelishan]

YAY, FINALLY FIC IN A FANDOM I KNOW

Please write more Inception fic! The vast majority of the stuff I've come across in the fandom thus far, um, could use some improvement.

[octoberland]

I thought this was really good. I can't remember...do you write original fiction? Just curious. I have no idea if this counts for kink bingo but I liked it. The eroticism was very minimal but the angst was high and I loved that.

[asimaiyat]

Thanks! I had no idea you even read my journal. :) I'm really glad you liked the angst -- it came from a really angsty place.

I rarely write original fiction. Every once in a while.

[octoberland]

Oh I read it I've just been terrible about commenting. With everyone, not just you. When I'm going through depressive episodes I tend to pull back. It's not personal at all.

And I'm glad to hear you write original fiction even if it's only occasional. You're definitely talented enough to be published. :)

[asimaiyat]

Thanks so much for the vote of confidence. <3

I totally understand; when I'm having a bad spell I pull back from people, too. Which I guess contributes to the "limbo" mentality I was going for in this piece -- I can almost imagine myself pulling back from reality altogether, so taking a long look at what that would feel like... my priestess would say it was a dance with the Shadow.

[augustbird]

holy shit.

i...

god.

you just. you always somehow manage to blow me away with your words. i love this piece--i love how you wrote mal's thought process--how some of it is fragmented and drags the reader right into the confusion with her. and ugh, the characterization. flawless <333

[asimaiyat]

THANK YOU SO MUCH OMG I was hoping you would like this despite the tragic lack of Arthur. :D

Also your icon, oh god, how am I supposed to stop watching it?!

[augustbird]

YOU AREN'T. KEEP STARING AT IT. WILL IT FALL? YOU NEVER KNOW!!!

fff THIS IS TRUE ARTHUR IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER. but probably only because of jgl I AM UNCOMPLICATEDLY SHALLOW ;_;

IT'S BECAUSE YOU HAVE EXCEPTIONAL WRITING BB <33

[joyshine]

*nuzzles*
This makes me want a long, hot bath.

Also, I can just see this whole scene, vivid and painfully beautiful - the closeup on the drop of blood, the concern on Cobb's face, the wide, worried sadness of her eyes. It's gorgeous.

[asimaiyat]

Thanks so much, bb! I'm glad the imagery worked for you.

Mme. Cotillard has such ~haunting~ eyes -- I love that I can describe the way he's looking at her and you can just see those eyes reflected back. Of all the visual stunningness in the movie, that's what stayed with me the most.

[chn_breathmint]

YES! Now I won't feel so alone in my Inception obsession, even if I'm writing a mega-sized Neuromancer-style heist fic with more Eames and Arthur in it than anyone else.

- Mel

[asimaiyat]

I don't think you're alone -- in the browsing I've done in the fandom, it seems like Arthur, Eames, and of course Arthur/Eames are pretty popular. :) I'm really excited to read your work!

[chn_breathmint]

You are the only person on my FL writing Inception fic right now, though. (:

I think this whole forced isolation of the past 5 years (immigration, logistics, et al) has made me so unused to making friends that I just drift around on the outskirts of fandom and watch.

- Mel