Test Drive 01

[cognitivus]

ɢᴇᴛ ᴄʟᴜsᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ

A Sense8 AU Sandbox

IN THE BEGINNING

It doesn't happen all at once — the world does not reorient itself and thrust upon you seven other cluster mates. No, it happens in stages. Snatches at a time. Moments, sometimes individually, sometimes in sets of two or three. Maybe you're reading a book, and you notice someone sitting beside you on the couch. Maybe you're surfing, and suddenly there's a second person on the board. Maybe you see them in passing, or maybe you both stand there, face to face, equally confused, wondering how you can both speak the same language when one of you is from Middle Earth and the other is clearly in Tokyo.

There's time to talk. Time to figure it out.

Unless, of course, there isn't. It's entirely possible that your first meeting is not during a calm, cozy, collected moment. Maybe you call on one of your sensates during a time of need. A fight, a chase scene, a moment of public speaking in the spotlight. A time when you're truly out of your depth, and you need someone with a particular, complimentary set of skills that can step in on your behalf.

It's time.

warnings : violence, psychological horror

GETTING STARTED

WELCOME TO THE CLUSTER!


On this TDM, don't worry too much about your official cluster pairing. This is for either workshopping different combinations, or different characters. If, in the end, you find you really like a certain combination, simply be sure to ask to be in the same cluster as the folks you've threaded with! For now, worry instead about playing out first meetings. It could look a little something like this:

Tag in with your character name & canon.

Set a scene by providing a variety of moments other characters can witness and jump into.

If you're going to tag into the same prompt someone else has already tagged into, consider making it a group thread; the premise eof this sandbox revolves highly around multi-person interactions. Don't be shy! These are your cluster mates, after all.

Or, if you're feeling especially daring and dramatic (and let's face it, we all are):

Set up a scene from an impactful moment around your intended canonpoint.

AU it to your heart's content. Maybe things go exactly the same as they did in canon, or maybe with a sensate cluster influencing things, it begins the path that deviates things wildly from the canon we all know and love. It's entirely up to you!

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NETWORK USAGE

Communication via text is still very possible!

Through the magic of the powers of the human mind, that group text across universes still totally exists. Maybe it appears as an actual text chain to you, or maybe it's freshly dried ink on that magical scroll that keeps writing itself the more messages are exchanged.

Whatever the case, your mind retains the communications written down by your cluster, and all correspondences to one another are visible — unless otherwise stated to be private, of course. Create a prompt on your top level with some inbox action, and do a little lowkey texting!

Be sure to specify if a thread is private, otherwise you may have a handful of other folks chiming in with their opinion on your back-and-forth exchange at any time!

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ANYTHING ELSE

Check out the info page for details, or post to the enable me please meme with information about characters you're considering bringing in! If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask me below, or on plurk!

Comments

[aperturesubject0001]

No, you don't, she signs back, blinking. She's very certain of what he was going to say, and equally certain that he meant it. Not in the usual way, where she assumes most people don't know how to sign. It's like -- it's like she can feel the not-understanding somewhere.

But he understood her.

There's something else, too. Like a limb waking up from falling asleep. Something she didn't know was numb is prickling.

This is a dream, she adds, but she looks unconvinced. Must be.

[cognitivus]

As much as he'd like to say there's something surreal about this, there isn't. It's odd, unusual, and unnaturally comfortable in an instinctive way, but it feels all too real. The smell of grass, the wet fur under his hands, it's all tangible and tactile and real — and yet.

He shakes his head slowly.

"I don't think so," it's a low, speculative murmur — to be honest, his dreams are usually far less pleasant. If it were, it would have to be hers — but he's almost certain this woman has never been here before. He'd remember her, he's confident of that.

All of that, of course, being aside from the logistics of sharing a dream with a stranger — it would have to be that, because everything in him is telling him she's not of his own making. With him, but not from him.

Winston looks up at him, head tilting. Calm, but confused. He idly scratches behind damp ears, and that seems to be enough to content him.

[aperturesubject0001]

How would you know? You're something I made up in here. She taps her temple -- then frowns.

Unless they pumped a hallucinogenic in here and didn't mention it. Ugh. Have you seen a big red button around?

[cognitivus]

Unless they pumped a hallucinogenic in here — Will's brow furrows, his fingers stilling in Winston's fur again. That's a concerning statement to just casually toss out into the wind, Chell. When he makes to stand, Winston takes it as his cue to hop out, immediately shaking off wet fur, sending a spray of water out all round him. Will tips his head away automatically, but he's far more preoccupied by this new wonder playing out.

"Hallucinogenics? Are you being drugged? Do you need help?"

That's a no on the big red button, apparently.

[aperturesubject0001]

Oh, man, you wouldn't believe the things she can be casual about.

She flinches in surprise when Winston shakes, and then looks down at the dark spots of water appearing on her jumpsuit. Would that happen in a hallucination? Would everything feel so normal?

No, no, I'm fine. Probably. She waves that off. Help would probably jeopardize the test, anyway. Who are you?