Add a Story to the list!

[lb_lee]

If you have a story you want to add to the list, leave it in the comments below! Anyone can do this; you don't need an account!

This catalog purposely takes a very broad, ambiguous view of what constitutes "plural." Make our day! Story types that have been accepted in the past include:
* Spirit possession
* Imaginary friends
* Spirit marriage
* Exploring geographies of the mind, imagination, and fiction
* Bodysharing symbiotes
* MPD/DID
* Plural stories
* Telepathic bodyhopping shenanigans

Rules for submission (changed 5/17/2024):

• Only submit stories. We're willing to play with what defines a story, especially for personal experience accounts and experimental work, but self-help, philosophy, 101 and such do not belong here.
• Don't submit your own work. Boost your fellows!
• Please do not submit more than four titles by the same creator/s. When this archive gets bigger, we'll expand how many entries one creator/s can have.
• The story must be made by an adult (or at least not easily identified as made by a minor). This is to prevent malicious submissions and harassment of kids.
• The story must be publicly available. No unrecorded LARPS, rare books, or stuff on account-locked websites.
• If incomplete, the story must at least have a decent stop point. No just-started webcomics, please! They may not endure!
• You must have taken in the whole story (or at least all that's available at the time of submission). This is for complete content warnings and stuff.
• Spirited/many-selvedness must be core to story or main character/s. If you can remove it from the work without the whole thing falling apart, then please do not recommend it. (If you're not sure, ask! Make our day!)
• You must say why it's worth plurals' time. It doesn't have to be good, exactly, but it's gotta be worth it. This is to avoid completionist spam.

Does the story qualify? Then submit it using the form below! (Feel free to use the tags page for pointers.)

[Title] by [Creator/s] ([genre] [medium], [year released])

"[insert a cool quote from the work here]"

Blurb:

Why is it worth your time?:

Plural/1+ Tags: Choose from the ones on the tag list, or add your own!

Content Warnings: please include spoilers! I have this comm set up so that individual posts have only plural tag spoilers (because that's what folks are here for!), while content warnings will be in the comments. That way, people who want to remain spoiler-free can read the post itself and be fine, and the people who want all the warnings can scroll down.

Accessibility Notes: See the tag list for examples. Also note how you can get it. Is it an easy library book? Has someone digitized it and put it elsewhere? Is it backed up anywhere?

Misc. Notes (if any):

Is it long, medium, or short?: I wrote the standards here.

It is for kids, teens, adults, or everybody?

Comments

[erinptah]

Thinking of submitting Nobody Should Believe Me season 4, so I wanted to double-check that it counts.

Short background: it's a podcast about medical child abuse (popularly known as "Munchausen's by proxy"), and season 4 focuses on Jordyn Hope, a survivor the host met through her activism while making earlier seasons. It's basically a biography-documentary. Jo is introduced as a nonbinary person who uses singular they, and this season reveals that they're also a plural they. Their multiplicity is only discussed in any detail in episode 7, but symptoms like dissociation and amnesia come up elsewhere in the season -- and obviously they're plural the whole time, even when it's not getting focused on.

If that qualifies, let me know, and I'll do a full writeup!

[lb_lee]

Wooooow, that looks intense! Interesting, but harrowing! You know what, long as you note that the multi is only discussed in detail in episode 7, and link it specifically so people can jump straight to that if they want, I'm willing to take it. It's a kind of story I haven't seen before, definitely don't have on this catalog, so that's good enough for me. (Especially since between the content and it being a podcast, ain't no way any of us are ever going to be able to take it in!)

[erinptah]

Excellent! (I put the right episode in the writeup -- it was video #7 in the Youtube playlist, but on a closer look, it's Episode 5.) Onward:



Nobody Should Believe Me season 4, by Andrea Dunlop (documentary podcast, 2024)

"It's like we're all on a bus. And sometimes I'm driving the bus, and so that means I have access to my body and my words and things like that, and then sometimes I'm on the back of the bus, and I have no ability to do anything -- but I can see what's happening. And I feel like it's gotten to a point, for the most part, where I feel like all the parts that need to be around are driving the bus together."

Blurb: When Andrea Dunlop's sister was investigated for medical child abuse (popularly known as "Munchausen by Proxy") more than a decade ago, it tore her family apart. This catastrophic series of events sent Andrea on a journey to understand a form of abuse that many people don't want to believe exists, speaking with experts, the occasional perpetrator, and a lot of survivors. Season 4 follows the story of Jordyn Hope, a survivor Andrea became friends with while making earlier seasons, as they unravel the secrets of their childhood.

Why is it worth your time?: The podcast is excellent in general, with the host neither sugarcoating nor sensationalizing the abuse she covers, and getting a wide range of relevant voices on-mic. Jo had guest appearances in earlier seasons to give a survivor's perspective, and this season they step into the spotlight. Their multiplicity is only discussed in Episode 5: Revelations (Youtube link), but symptoms like dissociation and amnesia come up elsewhere in the season -- and obviously they're plural the whole time. It's rare to see DID come up in a series where that isn't the focus, and refreshing that, in contrast to all the negative/damaging health effects Jo deals with as a result of their abuse, the multiplicity is presented as neutral-to-positive.

Plural Tags: abuse high-focus, cofronting, dissociation, relationships: teamwork, type: medical, type: switching

Content Warnings: Medical child abuse (from Jo's mother), emotional abuse, sexual abuse (from someone else), gaslighting, narcissism, alcoholism, racism toward Jo's biological father, eating disorder, inpatient mental health stays. Jo's mother dies in the course of the season, which they and their sister struggle with at the end.

Accessibility Notes: Audio, available on Apple Podcasts and other podcast services. The Youtube uploads have auto-generated transcripts, with all the errors you would expect.

Misc. Notes (if any): Added the "switching" tag because Jo talks about it happening in general while they made the season, though they don't call out any specific switches on-mic. They're not the main creator or editor of the podcast, but with this specific season I'd say they're involved-enough to rate the "creator: plural" tag.

Format: Audio

Is it long, medium, or short?: Long (10 episodes, totaling about 8 hours)

It is for kids, teens, adults, or everybody?: Teens/adults

[lb_lee]

Sneak: I've added it to the catalog! I admit, in most cases the DID wouldn't be huge enough to warrant it, but the unusual and useful subject material means I'm willing to be flexible on this one! Thank you for submitting it! ^_^

[erinptah]

I was hoping for something like that! Glad I checked =D

[lb_lee]

Sneak: Yes! I am willing to make exceptions for unusual or exemplary work! :D The rules are to prevent spam and trolling, not prevent cool things from getting in!