Player Information:
Name: Chasekat
Age: 23
Contact: visions.in.my.head@gmail.com, ducksouped on AIM
Game Cast: N/A

Character Information:
Name: Dominick Cobb
Canon: Inception
Canon Point: After the final kick, while in Limbo trying to find Saito.
Age: 38
Reference: Inception wiki link
Cobb's wiki link.

Setting: To say that the film Inception is like a regular earth would be false. While the universe is very grounded and similar, there are multiple things added--the main thing being the use of Somnacin. Created by the military, Somnacin is a sedative used to put the user into a deep sleep. Along with a Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous device, or PASIV, people are able to dream lucidly.

Lucid dreaming in the world of Inception takes on a new meaning. Hooking up the PASIV allows for any number of people to share a dream--or, more accurately, share their subconsciousness. Soldiers used the "dream worlds" to practice training on each other--because pain only exists in the mind, subjects can strangle, torture, and complete dangerous military exercises in the mind without waking up or actually dying. It is important to note that once a dreamer is killed in the dream that they immediately wake up.

The military had the right idea--but in order to implement said idea, they needed to bring something else to the table: the ability to actually construct things. From cities to single buildings to a simple floor, the military decided to enlist the help of architects to build the maps for the soldiers to run their drills in.

When the military branched out, and so did the idea of dream sharing. While a secret to the general public--and highly illegal--teams began forming. People realized that asides from training in order to mentally prepare yourself for battle, it could be used for something else--for delving into an unwitting person's subconscious and actually taking information from them that way. To do so, a number of people with speicific skills are needed. The film explicitly states the different roles of a team needed to perform something called Inception--but we'll get to that in a moment.

Cobb's team is the best of the best--literally mental con-men, it consists of 7 people. The first is Cobb himself, who is known as the extractor. His job is self explanatory: he's the guy to actually retrieve the information from the target, referred to as the mark. Extractors do this by talking to the mark in a dream, gently nudging them towards their personal information. With the mark not realizing he's dreaming, the goal is to have the mark believe he's being taught about subconscious security (the ability to protect your mind from cons such as this), and his mind will fill in the rest--which information needs to be protected, and where it is. The extractor then retrieves it with help.

Since the mark (the target) isn't technically a member of a team, the next is the forger. Again, like the name suggests, the forger forges things--but not always paperwork and the like. The world of dream sharing is different than the real world in this aspect, after all--more likened to an actor, the forger has the ability to impersonate and disguise themselves as other people. In the film, the forger is Eames, and he uses his ability to nudge the mark along by taking the form of his God-father.

There's also the role of the point man. Just like in military terms, the point man stays on point and has to be quick on their feet and able to solve problems quickly as they arise. Arthur is Cobb's point man, and person he most trusts. Like the forger sometimes having to trail a person for a while in order to ensure their mimicry is the best it can be, the point man is also responsible for the research aspect, to be as prepared as he can be--for example, checking to see if the mark has any training against others entering their mind.

As mentioned before, there is also the job of the architect. Like they did for the military, they are responsible for the layout of the dream. Every single detail, from the carpet to the entire city is created by them. The role in Cobb's team is served by Ariadne. As well as the finer details, they also fill in certain areas with paradoxes--such as an Escher room, or an infinite staircase--to confuse the dreamer's subconscious if they've had any training, and to buy the team time if they need to get out or something goes wrong.

In the movie, there are also a few other roles that aren't exactly normal--there's the chemist, in this case Yusuf, who makes an altered version of somnacin to help the team perform Inception properly. There's also the tourist, also known as Saito, who hired them in the first place and insists on watching to make sure the idea of inception actually sticks.

There is one main complication in Cobb's team, and that's Cobb himself. More accurately, it's the shade, which is a projection of Cobb's dead wife, Mal. She is sentient and follows Cobb wherever he goes in dreams, constantly ousting their plans--this has her as the main villain in the film, though it's technically just Cobb's subconscious and guilt.

In film's namesake, Inception, is quite hard to pull off--even for someone as skilled as Cobb and a team as amazing as his. The best metaphor to compare dreamsharing--and how to enact Inception itself--would be to layer dreams and go deeper into them, much like a mining, to the point where time is altered and works differently.

Since there are so many layers to a dream, there is actually a place called limbo. This is a void in dreamsharing where nothing is planned--it's pure, unconstructed dreamspace. Untouched by architects, it's a void where, once one goes past the normal dreams, one can make incredible, drastic alterations to the landscape. It's also where multiple people can construct things, and not just the architect. Time is so slow, a mere 5 minutes can easily be 50 years. To continue the mining metaphor, limbo occurs when one digs too deep and the tunnels collapse. On one hand, all the minerals (the ability to create unobstructed) is there, but you're trapped.

Dreaming and excessive use of dream sharing--especially if one is in limbo--often leads the human mind to deteriorate and question what's real or not. Mal thought up of a brilliant idea when she was still alive--a totem. An "elegant solution for keeping track of reality," all members of Cobb's team have this on them. An item of their choice, weighted a certain, secretive way. A totem is designed so it will do one thing in the dream and another in real life--for example, Mal's totem that Cobb had taken, a spinning top. If in a dream, the top will spin continually. In reality, it will eventually topple over.

The reason for the totem was the concept of Inception--which is what Cobb has done to Mal and, subsequently, repeats in the film. It is the act of planting an idea in the mark's head rather than extracting information. It's extremely difficult to do, and, up until the start of the film, had only ever been done once.
Personality: Cobb used to be a rational man. He still maintains a strong sense of integrity, even if said integrity is rather shaky as of Mal's death. In general, he comes across as slightly aloof, and very much inside his own mind. And he very much is--this is even somewhat present even after Mal's death.

Living with Mal's shade has given him a profound sense of guilt, and it permeates everything he does--he's wary and he doesn't even trust himself. The closest confidante he has is Arthur, and even then he holds him at arm's length.

Smart as a whip, Cobb has a knack for picking up those that share his quick thinking and tend to think like he does--outside the box. While he isn't naturally curious (he's hardened himself, being a professional), there's still that spark that he both has an enjoys seeing in other people, like Ariadne.

He also has an intense desire to create and expand. While he suppresses this and is capable of incredible self-restraint, he does tend to go on gut instincts alone. In artistic terms, he's much more of a director than a producer or actor--he sees what he wants, the big picture, and collaborates with others to get what he wants. He's quite good at this, and as such appears to be a leader-type despite not thinking of himself as one.

The reason why Cobb is so good at collaborating is because he knows how to stay focused and on task, even with extremely detrimental things his way--for example, the train in the first dream level in the film, and his memories haunting him. He continues on and adapts accordingly, able to persevere. Not quite manipulative, Cobb is very good at getting everyone to work together and stick with the plan. As stated previously, a large part of this is because he's quite emotionally driven and intuitive and, as such, finds it easy to appeal to people.

He's not above lying, of course--and, as is the nature of dreamsharing and running cons, he is able to manipulate and con people extremely well. While he chooses not to do this outside of the job, he does possess the ability. When roused, he does have quite a forceful personality and has been seen as stubborn. He is nothing if incredibly determined, especially when it comes to his kids, and has a very hard time letting things in the past remain in the past.

Despite being very forward thinking and empathetic, he does not wear his heart on his sleeve--quite the contrary. He is extremely private, and will go to lengths to keep his personal life just that. A lot of it stems from the aforementioned guilt and the fact that, because of Mal and how he incepted his wife and inadvertently killed her, he is quite scarred and will constantly be haunted by her shadow. Perhaps not directly, like the shade of her, but she will constantly be on his mind.

A very large part of Cobb is that he tends to be incredibly hypocritical--he tells Ariadne not to do a lot of things he goes ahead and does, and while he's aware of his actions it doesn't seem to bother him at the moment. He's quite adept at skirting responsibility until later, and isn't afraid of shirking it completely if it never comes up.

Despite all of these negative qualities, Cobb is a fundamentally good person--the entire film is spent doing one last job just so he can get back and see his kids, after all. He wants what's best for his team, even if the job in the film shows his selfish streak.

As for arriving on the island--waking up on the shore is kind of par for the course for Cobb when it comes to limbo. While he's never been on a giant turtle before, he does understand the concept of being in between dreams. However, he's more likely to believe that the entire thing is an odd version of limbo, perhaps going so far as to likening the residents as projections. The fact that there are canonmates to explain things to him is a very, very good thing--otherwise it's entirely possible he'll try to kill himself, thinking this is all a dream.

Appearance: here

Abilities: Outside of lucid dreaming, Cobb is a normal human being, simple as that. He has no powers or super powers. For headcanon purposes, he was an architect only and not in the military. He keeps physically fit, able to snake through crowds and run for quite a while but it's certainly not up to military standards.

He is, however, quick-thinking and a fairly decent problem solver. He's quite often able to think of the big picture. He's also fairly well-versed in firearms courtesy of learning from lucid dreaming.

also he'll never win an Oscar

Inventory: this outfit from limbo, as well as a spinning top totem and his own wedding ring.

Suite: EA3-A or EA3-B. I'd like for Cobb to be around a castmate, but not so much that he's always alone--with Ariadne and roommates, this gives me an excellent excuse to branch out but still be IC about it.

In-Character Samples:
Third Person: It isn't the first time Cobb's woken up on a shore. In fact, he thinks for a brief moment that this is it--some odd form of purgatory, by the beach where he spent all of his time with Mal. This, he thinks, is not heaven but something similar.

His mind fills in the blanks as he grunts and tries with most of his effort to get up. The simple act of moving his arms leaves him feeling exhausted as his brain finally catches up with him: limbo. This place was limbo. And that's exactly why it looks like the shore him and Mal spent so many years on. He rises, finally, remembering his purpose--to find Saito before he becomes an old man, filled with regret.

A quick glance at his left ring finger speaks volumes, and he's momentarily able to lift himself before the same weakness overcomes him. Cobb's face hits the sand, rough and coarse and grainy, and he's unable to move his head again for a while, vision swimming.

He needs to find Saito. He needs to get him out of here--out of limbo--to keep his promise. Mal's gone now. He tries to focus on that fact. Mal is gone--and it's not even Mal, but her shade, her corrupted visage that Cobb has held onto. He has to move on.

"Mal..."

No--he has to find Saito. Has to. But right now, it's all he can do to hold on to his consciousness, to fight. He pays attention to the waves lapping up next to him, to the grains of sand stuck to his face and tries, once more, to raise his head. He manages to see a castle built on a cliff--an oriental one, rich in taste. Familiar.

He's found Saito. There, on the shore, Cobb finally allows himself to give in to blissful unconsciousness.

Network: [Cobb has been there for a while--sees no reason to remain overly cautious, not anymore. That's not to say he's not a little wary about everyone, that's something that comes with the territory when you've been on the field long enough. One has to be careful, after all. He deems it appropriate enough to talk to the network as a whole now. Plus, he's seen enough to catch the basics--he's in a cafe at a console there, sipping a coffee and typing anonymously. ]

I'll spare the 'I'm looking for someone' routine at cut right to the chase.
How many people here are well versed in Oneirology?

-Mr. Charles