One and Many- A Sense8 Group Game (Seeking M and F, Non-American Characters)

[VioletPanda]

One and Many

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

   Do you read horoscopes? I never believed in that crap until recently- like the place the stars happened to be has anything to do with your life! Libra, Virgo, Capricorn...I never thought it mattered. I'm stubborn as hell, and the day I was born ain't going to change that.

  But eh, like I said, that was until recently. The odds of people having the same birthday gets less like the more people you add- don't ask me the math, because I don't know. Well, I know it's at least 8 in 7 billion, or whatever Earth's population by now. I know that because I've gotten help from a guy in Sweden to get this job so I can keep a roof over my little girl's head for one more month. Could last longer, if I don't blow it. I'm a sensate, that's the word he used. It's damn spooky at first, but it's kinda nice. Like a second family. We help each other out, no matter how far away we are since, well, We all got problems. But you'll learn all about that soon.
So no, you're not crazy. You're just more human.

                                                                     Vince, New York
  This is the Sense 8 interest thread- Welcome! I'd love it if we could move our discussions here and start to bring this idea to life! Anything you'd like to add, any sheets or anything please feel  free to post here!  ;D

  Now, it's been a while since I have watched the series, and some of you may recognize this from last year or the year before. While I had intended for this to be an OC group, this will involve Angelica's death spawning not one, but 2 clusters of Sensates. And while Jonas is dealing with this first one, the second cluster gets...Well, you all get Vince, the man quoted above.

There's got to be some fellow Sense8 fans out there- let's make some noise!  :D

   For those of you just stopping by who aren't familiar with the series, this group rp is based on the Netflix series Sense8.
The premise is that people -in clusters of 8- who share the same birth date share a special bond. Eight separate lives will no longer be separate, but slowly become one. You'll see things, feel things, from your cluster-mates that at first you won't understand. There's a lot of depth to this concept, so I've gone ahead and linked a trailer below, as I may not be able to explain it as well as the trailer could.

Sense8 Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9c_KSZ6zMk

 

[FeveredDreams]

I'm totes ready.

I'll likely be playing some form of bad ass women. 

[VioletPanda]

 Awesome! I don't have a character sheet up just yet, but I'll get to work on one! What did you have in mind for a concept? And where were you thinking for nationality? The world is your oyster here, literally!

[FeveredDreams]

Well,  I'm leaning towards someone kind of street rattish.  probbly bouncing from one...  illicit job to the other.  Probably has a chip on her shoulder,  and a bit of a fighter.

[VioletPanda]

 Cool! Sounds like Vince's kinda girl.

[FeveredDreams]

Name:                Cassandra Morgan
face claim:          Noomi Rapace


Background:

Cassandra was born in Chicago,  and she enjoyed the city.  The cold weather,  the hot summers were nice. . . But what she really loved was the city itself.  She loved the dirt and the grime,  she loved the massive buildings,  the ethnic diversity.  She was happy when she was there,  but,  in the end she had to move.   In those early years,  she still wasn’t exactly what many would considered normal.  She was always kind of cold and stand offish.  Yet,  she wasn’t out and out rebellious.

What was perhaps the worst of all though was thanks to her being disowned by her family. It came to pass when she came out as MtF.  He was kicked out of the house.  She didn’t know what to do,  instead she seemed to slip into the darker side of society.  She was often found picking pockets or stealing purses in her years. 

She eventually moved onto stealing cars and selling them at a nearby chop shop.  She learned how to be tough.  On the streets she was always seen as a victim.  Yet,  she would never allow it.  Sure it meant that she carried switch blades, firearms,  and even tended to wear way to many rings on her hands.   She would though never be a victim.   


Personality:  Cassandra is a bit of an aggressive person.  She’s been tugged around by life a bit and she isn’t one to hold back.  While she doesn’t go out of her way to get into struggles with people,  she will often times step up when she or the people she cares about are insulted. To strangers she can come off as rather callous and just a bit rude,  but,  when someone makes their way into their good graces things change She’s rather protective.  She’s intensely loyal. The psychic is also truly inquisitive and will often get involved in situations just to figure out what’s going on.  Yet, if you get on her bad side you will find an aggressive monster who seemed to vent her frustration at life on those that have agitated her.

Theme Song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEHHh8IBhpY

[Sally Aces]

I LUV SENSE8

So want to be a part of this.

Still working on a concept, am thinking Doctors Without Borders type of gal. Born to wealth and privilege but turned her back on it to do something good, something real with her life. Will flesh this out after giving it some thought.

[VioletPanda]

Ohhh I like so far!

I don't have a formal character sheet as of yet, but Fevered Dreams made a pretty basic one I think will suit us just fine. ^^
Does anyone mind if I also play a member of the cluster as well as Vince? While I love GMing, part of why I made the group is because I loved the premise. I was going to play a male to balance out the lovely ladies we have so far.

Confession: I was so nerdy and hyped up that I miiiiggght have written up part of the setting IC post where you get to see Vince and Jonas interacting... ::)

[LordRod]

I'm thinking maybe the math guy from Numbers, who is able to help with some really esoteric stuff but his primary skill is that if one of the hunters gets inside of his mind he wishes he wouldnt because he starts doing Train problems with 12 digit numbers and calculus.

[Sally Aces]

Name: Valentina Dorrance

Age: 27

Sexuality: Pan-sexual - falls in love with a person, not genitalia

Relationship Status: Single

Starting location: Port as Prince, Haiti

Face Claim: Odette Annable

Background: Valentina was born in Philadelphia, and grew up on the Main Line. She went to the best private schools and was surrounded by wealth and privilege. Though brought up to be a socialite and expected to little more than someone gracious, beautiful and charming, Valentina had a keen interest in science, politics and community service that her parents couldn't be drummed out of her by her parents. They did try to fill her days with dressage, ballet and social calls in an effort to keep her too busy to focus on her studies. It didn't work due to Valentina's able mind and studious nature, she did everything she could to master all her pursuits.

When it came time to go to college, Valentina ended up going to Harvard for both PreMed and her Medical degrees. Her parents tried to get her to focus on an Mrs. degree instead, but she would have none of it. When it came time for her to pursue her residency, she decided deliver a final shock to her family by joining Doctors Without Borders to help address the health needs in Haiti after it was slammed by multiple hurricanes. She felt it was the best way to give back to those who needed her skills the most.

Personality: Valentina is genuinely kind and caring, patient and sweet. Having had everything she'd ever wanted used as a means of control against her by her parents, she's intrinsically unmaterialistic, valuing a person's character above all things. She's quick and clever, fit and graceful, always willing to give her all to the things that really matter. She doesn't suffer arrogance and cruelty lightly, bullies really get under her skin. An optimist who doesn't deny the evils in the world, she knows that its the responsibility of all of us to make the world a better place.

Notable Skills:

• Brilliant Doctor: bright and discerning, she frequently picks up on things others miss. She's a gifted surgeon and meticulous lab tech who knows efficiency requires diligent attention to details.
• Graceful Dancer: she's had years of ballet and ballroom dancing training and excels at them both
• Polyglot: Speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch and Japanese
• Great with animals: She's a highly skilled equestrian who has a gift for establishing a rapport with animals
• Athletic: she loves the freedom of running, enjoys rock climbing, cliff diving and swims like a fish.

Theme Song: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5t5QSiydF9Y


Desired Supporting Characters

Yan Toussant

Notable Skills:

• Feared Warlord: Yan has a well deserved reputation for brutality and violence that gives even strong men pause.
• Devilishly good with a Machete: Partly from his youth working in the sugar cane fields, Yan is an artist with a blade and a fearsome fighter.
• Well connected: He's 'the Devil you know', if your someone to know. He's done dirty deeds for powerful men who no longer want to get their hands dirty and more then a few of them owe him big.
• Feral Cunning: Though he possesses little formal education, he's has a sharp mind and the kind of will that allows him to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat
• Noblesse Oblige: He feels a responsibility to those who he extends his protection to, though he expects loyalty in exchange for his largesse.

[FeveredDreams]

Looking forward to this,  and excited to see the other characters.

So how are we going to do this?  Are we going to be spread throughout the world or are we gonna try to quickly bring the group together?

[Sally Aces]

I presumed we'd start out scattered, but some of us could be near each other, I guess. I want to have Valentina start in Port as Prince, Haiti

[VioletPanda]

@Sally  + Fevered:  I thought we'd start out scattered, yes. Eventually we'd all congregate. We'll start out a bit slower, my idea being that at first Whispers is occupied with this first cluster, and realizes that there is a second one. I'm actually going to go back and watch the first season again in case I missed any important details. As if I need an excuse though, really... :P


@LordRod:   Hi there! Interesting idea, but could you flesh it out a little more? Are you familiar with the series? If not, feel free to peek up at the trailer in the first post.

[Sally Aces]

I had a thought re: interplayer interactions, we could all have a main character, then play supporting characters in each other's stories. The way Nomi has Amanita and Bugs et al, Diego has his boyfriend Hernandez and his female co-star, Wolfgang has his BFF and the German gangsters etc. Also, a few of us can decide to be connected, the way Will and Riley are and Wolfgang and Kala.

So we'd be separated but as players writing together even when out main characters are apart. Make sense?

[VioletPanda]

Oooh that's a great idea, Sally! *APPROVED STAMP*

Was anybody interested in seeing the partially completed IC post? My brain's a bit dead, but I'm happy to bounce ideas around here on the OOC.

[FeveredDreams]

Sure!

[VioletPanda]

Possible Opener

   To say that a part of him was dead was an understatement. To say that part of him a raw and bleeding stump was a hell of a lot closer to the truth. And the worst part of it was that no one around him knew the  truth. He had to hide the pain behind a smile because his ex wife didn't give a shit, his coworkers and friends had no idea that a piece of him had been ripped away. Nor would they care that in an old warehouse, a woman named Angelica had died. People thought they knew what loss was when a sibling or a lover died. But they would never understand the loss of a sensate.

While a beautiful woman died in a disgusting abandoned building on a dirty mattress, Vince was watching The Fox and the Hound with his 8 year old daughter and he felt all of it.
"Daddy! Daddy, it's okay! Todd and Copper will still be friends at the end!"

The cartoon woman was leaving Todd out in the woods while tears streamed down his face and that evening's dinner was going to make an second appearance any second.
"I-I'll be right back baby girl, my tummy's not happy-" he chocked out before dragging his ass to the bathroom to throw up. It burned like hot tar, like he'd swallowed gasoline and a lit match. Oh God, he couldn't do this. How could anything hurt this much?!

He body jerked violently and felt Jonas's hand on his shoulder, comforting wordlessly. Though he knew Jonas was miles away, the touch was just as solid and real as if he were in this grimy ass bathroom with him. At least someone in the world understood this pain. In fact...it was only 6 other people now. He could feel the others, lending him their support, gathering around him from around the world, stroking his hair, murmuring softly.

Once again he was stunned that they could be so...compassionate. So strong. They were in just as much pain as he was- how could they still give like this? As his shuddering eased, he reached down and tried to give some comfort of his own, holding the hand of one of his clustermates. He wasn't really any good at that sort of thing. But at least he was trying.

How were they going to get through losing Angel?

Jonas was the one who seemed like their rock, right now.

"Vincent, there are two other clusters out there. We have to help them. I'm going to Chicago tomorrow. They won't have much time."

Vince wiped his face off with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"I can't fucking do that, Jonas."
He throat felt raw and his soul even worse.
"I'm not like you, okay. Never have been. How am I supposed to teach other people what this means when I still fuck it up myself?"

"You never give yourself enough credit, Vincent. You are capable of so much more than you believe you are. We need you. We need you to find them and help them. ...Do it for Angel."

[persephone325]

I'm gonna bookmark this. I can't commit to anything 100% right now since I'm in the process of moving. I've had this series on my queue for a while, and just never got around to watching it. I even batted around the idea of starting a game based off of it as well! ^^

But yes; very interested, just can't fully commit yet.

[VioletPanda]

  Not to worry! We've got 2 characters confirmed right now, and if we get overbooked, I can always make a second game, or do a solo or something. I moved about 6 months ago- take your time!

[Sally Aces]

Oooh that's a great idea, Sally! *APPROVED STAMP*

Yay! Happy to help, might I suggest on our sheets that we come up with 2 or 3 secondary characters we'd like to see played. For instance, with Valentina I can see her having a Local Haitian Mentor/Friend, I'm thinking a school teacher or doctor whose taken her under their wing. I'm also thinking she might have given the unrest in Haiti, she may have to have a working relationship with a gang/cartel leader in order to maintain the safety of the clinic. The local thugs 'protects' the clinic and its patients but expects to her to return the favor by asking no questions when gang members come in with machete or gunshot wounds and such.

Was anybody interested in seeing the partially completed IC post? My brain's a bit dead, but I'm happy to bounce ideas around here on the OOC.

Looks very interesting, will give us to build off of, very evocative and powerful.

Makes me think Valentina's opener will begin in surgery...

[VioletPanda]

  That opener is above if anyone wants to read it.

[LordRod]

Yes, I have seen the series and am happy to flesh it out a great deal more.  I'm curious as to which details intruige you most short of a full character profile, which I can certainly do.

[VioletPanda]

Well, I had asked for more information because I haven't seen Numbers. I'm familiar with the...trope? If you want to call it that, of the brilliant guy.

I'm interested to see how you're all going to impact each other. ^^

I figure we'll wait for one more person, maybe two? I was going to do a member of the cluster as well and that will put us at halfway. Others can always join in later- I know Persephone325  had wanted to join us too and I don't want to pressure her when she's in the process of moving.

I don't want to have those who are ready waiting either, so I figure we wait for a 4th player, I'll make cluster-mate and we'll be good to go!

Input from you guys is always welcome- what do you guys think? I know it's not the entire cluster, but we do have side characters that we can play too. Sally had suggested that- has anyone added potential side characters they would like played?

[FeveredDreams]

I think she had a good idea.

Also,  if your willing to mess around a bit with the birth  of the cluster thing,  we could always have players if they join later somehow fighting against their new abilities unconciously until they just have to give in.  It could explain why new clustermates could pop up,  others could have been killed or died before awakening.  Ya know?

[VioletPanda]

  Well, I'd been vague about the birth of the cluster so far- I think Sally had specified that her character was 27? I was thinking mid-twenties anyway, so whatever you guys want?

I could do a poll or something?

I'm looking forward to some of the conflict that can come up in these character's lives- Sally's character and yours, Fevered, already seem to lend themselves to that. I'm still thinking about my character so I can add more variety to the cluster.

So far we've got-
Street Rat
Doctor
Super Smart Math Man

Considering some just kinda in the middle of the road character, maybe an artist or writer, since we have the highly educated and someone on the street.