Plural Stories

"It's because of the way anything feels possible. The soft tenacity of the narrator, the cozy familiarity. Like when the author told the story, she was telling it to me. Only me. It's like she wanted me to come to Eloraton, and she took me by the hand, and we went through story after story, and I didn't have to worry about if there would be a happy ending. I knew there would be.

"It was a love that I knew wouldn't fail me. It was safe. It was a comfort when I was heartbroken and yearning to feel something good, because I couldn't imagine it on my own. I think that's why I love these books so much. Because even when I felt broken, Rachel Flowers was always there to show me that there were still happy ending to be found... even if they weren't mine."

Blurb: Stagnating after a break-up, Elsy's car breaks down in a small town that is the setting of her favorite romance novel series. But the series was never finished, due to the untimely death of the author, leaving the town stuck in stasis too. And then there's the man in town who seems so familiar, but doesn't seem to be any character she can remember, and he wants everything to remain the same...

Why is it worth your time?: This romance novel kept us reading for its setting and its ideas. The heroine and hero are both bland, but the ending is solid, and anyone who has loved and wished they could retreat into a fictional world will find something to enjoy here!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, otherworld (fictional), fictioneers, friendship

Content Warnings: If you would like to view a list of content warnings (with mild spoilers) for A Novel Love Story, please go here. (It's not a particularly upsetting book.)

Accessibility Notes: Available in ebook, audiobook, or print.

submitted by quailfence! Thank you, quailfence!

But for me, in mid-2020, I found myself in a state that was not particularly healthy. Having Marcellus gently ruffle me from time to time, almost like a therapist, helped me realize how unlike my former self I’d become.

And, as I came to understand, his missives weren’t always condescending. He lifted me up, too.

Blurb: The author writes about how the octopus narrator of the novel she was working on during the COVID pandemic helped her out during it.

Why is it worth your time?: It's a nice short piece about a helpful voice in someone's head, with a bit of "humans through inhuman eyes" on the side.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse:not mentioned, creator speaks from experience, people:fictioneers, people:nonhumans (octopus), relationships:teamwork, type:nonswitching

Content Warnings: Pandemic/lockdown related stress and mental health issues, described in a straightforward and matter-of-fact way.

Accessibility Notes: Online, screen-readable, free on LitHub: https://lithub.com/lessons-learned-from-a-year-listening-to-the-fictional-octopus-in-my-head/

"That evening, Marilyn sat on her front porch and stared out into the yard, where a few of the first fireflies of the season were trying out their neon. The sound of her very American daughter cursing out the police in Yiddish kept running through her brain."

Blurb: A Jewish woman realizes that her college-aged daughter is acting strangely like her deceased Communist grandmother... and her daughter is starting to get into trouble because of it.

Why is it worth your time?: It's really good! Krasnoff writes flawed, complicated Jewish families trying to find their way through the world with heart and challenge. Give it a shot! Besides, this is the first dybbuk on this here catalog!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, bodyhopping, the dead, family, switching, possession

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments.

Accessibility Notes: Available in print and ebook in Krasnoff's collection, The History of Soul 2065 (which is very good) and also in the anthology Subversion: Science Fiction & Fantasy Tales of Challenging the Norm, which has been digitized on archive.org.

Submitted by quailfence! Thank you, quailfence!

Graye: Sarah. Can a figment of someone's imagination think, and feel?
Sarah: ...No. But you can imagine them doing it. That's what all stores are.
Graye: But I'm not a story. Or if I am... I've been brought here for some reason.

Blurb: The newest chapter of Infinity Sailor, the year's hottest shonen manga, has caused a major uproar. Fan favorite deuteragonist Captain Jack Graye is secretly... a woman! Fans of the BL ship Sigraye are in shambles, and the discourse is impossible to escape. Longtime reader Sarah Wilson thought she was above it all-- until, inexplicably, she came home and found Graye alive and animated in her bedroom.

Bad enough to start hallucinating, but for such a stupid reason? Why is this happening? How can Sarah make this go away? And why does Graye keep looking at her like that?

MY CAPTAIN'S UNBINDING is a story about the reasons we have for shipping- both the ones we say we have and the ones we won't admit to ourselves. About how romantic imagination is less scary than owning up to real desire. About the things people do to find freedom, and to destroy it all the same.

Why is it worth your time?: It's a super compelling story about desire, repression, and (not) being yourself. Also, fandom drama. Sarah was very relatable to me as a college student who is very into online fandom but doesn't really have a social life in meatspace or know what they're going to do afterwards. I also really enjoyed the push and pull of Sarah and Graye's relationship, and how they tried to understand each other - sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse:intermediate-focus, otherworld, people:fictioneers, relationships:enmity, relationships:romantic, type:nonswitching, visions

Content Warnings: Per the itch.io page: "Contains adult themes and imagery, imperfect gender discourse, explicit language, and violence. Adults only." Further warnings are spoilers; see comments.

Accessibility Notes: Available free in English on itch.io for PC, Mac, and Android. Made in Ren'py, which has built-in accessibility features like voicing, changing text font/size, and autoplay

Misc. Notes (if any): Made for the Toxi Yuri Game Jam 2026

we are the ones we have been waiting for
souls and selves feel this down to the core

Blurb: A song by a multiple about everyone banding together to find goodness.

Why is it worth your time?: It's a free multi song online from a multiple who did a lot of neat stuff. Check it out!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, creator speaks from experience, children, teamwork

Content Warnings: none

Access Notes: No lyrics I could find, but acorn_squash transcribed them in the comments below! Free to listen to or download online. Listen to it here: https://humboldtmusic.com/Music/CindeeGrace_WeAreTheOnesWe'veBeenWaitingFor.mp3 Check out the rest of her music here: https://humboldtmusic.com/webpage/index.cfm?id=1275&page=songs

Misc Notes: Cindee Grace also made and spread for free Holistic Self Care for PTSD and Dissociative Identity in 2008 and also ran a multi newsletter/org called MPDignity in 1989. Busy lady!

"My hallucinations get me stoned.”

”Lucky you. It costs everyone else money."

Blurb: A lesbian is visited by her dead, sexy, emotionally messy ex.

Why is it worth your time?: Do you have a hankering for messy dykes? Who fuck? Do I have a story for you!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, the dead, romantic, visions, voices

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments.

Accessibility Notes: Collected in Allison's short story collection, Trash, which got reprinted so is available in paper, ebook, and audio, plus in Italian and French! The English version has also been made available for folks with print disabilities on archive.org!

Misc. Notes: RIP Dorothy Allison (2024).

"Windraven Hall, where my dreams began and seemingly must forever end in a dream..."

Blurb: a shockingly successful Gothic romance writer escapes her crummy marriage into a happy ending of her own creation.

Why is it worth your time?: It's short and free to read online. What have you to lose?

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse intermediate focus, other world, dreamfolk, fictioneers, romantic relationships

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: Widely reprinted, including in Italian, and in English it's still in print today. Its first appearance (with an illustration!) has been digitized on archive.org and it appears to be screenreadable.

Misc. Notes (if any): Tom Reamy was found dead of a heart attack, slumped over his typewriter while working on his latest writing project. Maybe he went to Windraven.

submitted by quailfence! Thank you, quailfence!

"That power is called a Persona... It is a manifestation of your psyche. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli... You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships."

Blurb: Every night when the clock strikes midnight, a phenomenon known as the Dark Hour occurs. During that time, people turn into coffins, and strange monsters called shadows roam the streets, looking to inflict Apathy Syndrome on their victims. You are an orphan in high school that has just transferred to Gekkoukan High School located on Tatsumi Port Island, and are seemingly one of the few people who are able to exist in this time. You are quickly recruited into a school club called SEES, who use the manifestation of their hearts, known as Persona, in order to fight the shadows. Now you must balance your school life and friendships with hunting shadows and uncovering the mysteries of the Dark Hour.

Why is it worth your time?: It's a beautiful, lovely story about making connections with other people and living life to the fullest. The gameplay, which combines turn-based battles and dungeon crawling with social sim elements, is very fun and engaging. The characters are all very interesting, unique, and well-developed whose individual arcs explore the game's main themes in various interesting ways.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: intermediate-focus, copies, fictioneers, nonhumans, the dead, realitymashing, relationships:community, relationships:teamwork, nonswitching, switching, on purpose, possession, setting-specific, spiritual

Content Warnings: General: Death and grief are major themes of this game. In addition, while there is no actual suicide, suicide imagery is a major part of the game: characters pretend to shoot themselves in the head in order to summon their personas. Suicidal thoughts/ideation and depression also come up frequently. Occasional blood. More detailed warnings are spoilers, see comments!

Accessibility Notes: English and Japanese subs and dub. Also subs for Spanish, French, Italian, German, Korean, Simplified and traditional Chinese. Russian and Turkish available for Portable via fan translation. Reload is also officially available in Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Turkish. Also has a manga, four anime movies, and stageplays adapting the story. Let's Plays are available on YouTube. See below for what consoles it's available on.

Misc. Notes (if any): There are four versions of Persona 3: original, FES, Portable, and Reload. Original and FES are available only on PlayStation 2. Portable was originally made for the PlayStation Portable but was eventually ported to PS4, Windows, Xbox one and X/S, and Switch 1. Reload is available for PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One and X/S, and the Switch 2. The Persona subreddit has a guide to the differences between the versions here under the FAQ header. I've copied the relevant bit below to guard against linkrot:

What is the difference between Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES?

FES is Persona 3 with additional content, there is no reason to play Vanilla Persona 3

The big additions are:

A new epilogue chapter, The Answer
More personas
More social links
A new hard mode
New equipment
New quests

Which Version of Persona 3 Should I Play?

Persona 3 FES:

+ The Answer (an additional campaign after the events of Persona 3)

+ Animated Cutscenes

+ 3D-Overworld

- No Party Control Option

- No Female Main Character Route

Persona 3 FES is an updated version of the original vanilla P3 game on PS2. It's the most traditional experience, but lacking in QoL elements that later versions got. What FES has that other versions lack though is "The Answer", an epilogue that takes place after the events of the P3 main story.

Persona 3 Portable:

+ Female Protagonist Campaign with completely different Social Links than the Male Protagonist

+ Control your party member's turn

+ Quality of life additions, including extra difficulty modes Beginner and Maniac

- No "The Answer" epilogue

- No Animated Cutscenes

- No 3D-Overworld

Persona 3 Portable was originally a remake of Persona 3 for the PSP. Later ported to modern consoles in 2022, it features a more visual novel style of presentation to the slice of life aspects, while the dungeon crawling retains the 3D presentation. While the cutscenes were reduced to still images, Portable includes an entirely new route with a Female protagonist to choose from, featuring new slinks and events specifically for the route.

Persona 3 Reload:

+ Overhauled visuals

+ Overhauled combat system (including revamped shuffle time and party control)

+ Animated Cutscenes

+ 3D-Overworld

+ Additional Content

+ "The Answer" epilogue is DLC

- No Female Main Character Route

Persona 3 Reload is a complete remake and reimagining of Persona 3. The game updates the graphics, combat, and retains a lot of the QoL features from modern titles. While intended to be a remake of base Persona 3, it will retains additional content from FES like new S.Links and FES's "The Answer" was added as DLC post launch. Of note, it does not have the additional Female Protagonist route of Portable.

All Versions of the game will give you the full story of Persona 3's main campaign, so feel free to pick the one that most interests you!
(Note from submitter: Something not mentioned in this FAQ is the fact that Reload and the Female MC route of Portable are the only versions that allow you to chose which character(s) to romance. In all other versions of the game your relationship with the romanceable characters automatically turns romantic once your Social Link rank with them is high enough)

Submitted by polyethelene! Thank you, polyethelene!

"Yeah, on that topic... I don't remember meeting this girl at all.
I don't remember knowing her at any point.
Um, and I remember you saying that we were, that we, we are, um, exactly the same age.
Right. I, I just don't remember even hearing about anyone going missing.
I don't remember anything like that. I mean, I was a kid... but even then...
...
I do agree there's a resemblance.
Very strong resemblance between us."

Blurb: A man named Paul finds an obscure in-dev PS1 game in his mother's possessions along with an odd note, and begins recording videos of it to show a friend. The game is soon revealed to contain a second game hidden under the surface, and in time, it becomes clear that paul's psyche is structured much the same. The game seems to be full of allusions to his life and family.. but wherever he would expect to find himself, he only finds a girl named Care

Why is it worth your time: The horrors in petscop are faulty memory, trauma, repression, and the threat of fusing. it is very rare to find a horror series focused on things that actually scare us, and petscop is one of very few works that have made us feel seen.

plural/1+ tags: identityblending, memory work, family, children, long, film, free, online, horror, mystery

Content warnings: Though petscop never depicts any abuse or violence directly, it is focused on the aftermath of the abuse of a child

Access Notes: watch it on Youtube here!

"Mike? Did that really just happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid. I know I have problems with... reality."

Blurb: After three tours in Iraq and too much time as a tortured prisoner of war, Samantha works in a junkyard with her imaginary friend, a massive gorilla named Mike. It's a comfortable existence, but then a UFO crashes into the junkyard...

Why is it worth your time?: Terry Moore is a cartoonist with glaring strengths and weaknesses. His plots are ramshackle, but his character relationships are some of the best in the biz, and Sam and Mike's relationship carries this comic on its back. Read it for their friendly bickering and staunch mutual love and support, but if that alone can't sustain you, look elsewhere.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse:intermediate-focus (POW type, not family or childhood type), imaginary friends, nonhumans (gorilla), realitymashing, friendship, medical, visions, voices, nonswitching

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments.

Accessibility Notes: Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook. Not screenreadable

Misc. Notes (if any): Originally printed as ten floppy issues, which were then consolidated into two paperbacks, which were consolidated in turn into one big omnibus. The characters also appear in Moore's later crossover series, Five Years, but I haven't read it and can say nothing about it.