Plural Stories

"You Wouldn’t Download A Headmate"

Blurb: In a Canada where aliens have joined Earthling society, Jacob Zhang tries to use alien VR to enter his favorite manga, only to accidentally bring a character back with him. He hadn't planned on having a kappa (female!) headmate, but surely he wants to make his new headmate comfortable, right? But changing his body to make her more comfortable leads him to making some realizations about himself... and his alien lesbian roommate.

Why is it worth your time?: This is a cute, sweet light novel about trans inhuman lesbians finding themselves, ways to feel good about themselves and their bodies, and love along the way. Conflict is low, everything turns out fine, happy ending... this will absolutely be the comfort fic someone needs. It's also the only story I've seen so far that deals with fictivity issues such as, "oh my god, I come from a source where the writing is TERRIBLE," and "what is me, and what is bad writing?" This story is like a warm sweater and a cup of tea. It's also only $1, so if it strikes your fancy, give it a try!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, otherworld, fictioneers, nonhumans [kappa], friendship, setting-specific plurality

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: $1, available as an ebook on Kindle and itch.io (PDF and EPUB), so should be screenreadable. Also available to read for free on ScribbleHub!

"SoulBonding isn't a power; it's more—I won't say mundane—more domestic than that, more peaceable, more of a friendship. I picture myself; I retreat from the world, into my own mindscape, and I picture myself sitting in a plush recliner. There's a sofa opposite me, I imagine, and if I wait and listen for their voices, if I welcome them in, Seihara or Shining Star, or several others who I didn't tell the Mentors about, will sit down on the sofa and talk to me."

Blurb: Three teenaged soulbonders get snatched by a military program, intending to use their powers for evil, but the bonders don't play along...

Why is it worth your time?: It's a time capsule into the old soulbonding culture of the time; Laura Gilkey says she originally wrote the story for a college creative writing class, probably in 1998. Its earnest, idealistic support for soulbonding is touching to read, twenty years down the line, even though it falls into the mindframe of the mindscape being intrinsically better than the "real" world.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, cofronting, otherworld, fictioneers, nonhumans [tree, werewolf], romantic relationships, community, friendship, teamwork

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Free to read online. Read it here! (And in case of breakage, here's an alternate link.)

Misc Notes:

"I'm part of your imagination too. I'm you too, Joel."

Blurb: After a painful breakup, Clementine undergoes a procedure to erase memories of her former boyfriend. When he finds out, he undergoes the same procedure and slowly begins to forget the woman that he loved, only to discover that this may not be a good idea. A flight through mindscape ensues, trying to dodge the memory-erasure.

Why is it worth your time?: It's really good! Nowhere else have I seen a story (asides from those about dementia) that is so about the preciousness and pricelessness of memories, even painful ones. The special effects are used subtly to show the differences between memory and reality, with surreal geography, blurred environments representing them not being fully committed to memory, and some looming psychological horror as memories warp before erasure. This is definitely hard on the ish part of pluralish, but seeing as Joel's introject of Clementine comes up with ideas that he himself seems unable to think of, one could argue that his memory of Clementine is somewhat freestanding and has taken on her own life within him. It's also the most relatable movie about amnesia we've ever seen.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, memory work, otherworld, realitymashing, introjects, nonswitching, romantic relationships

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Has subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, dubbing in French--my DVD version, anyway.

Misc Notes: Do not believe the box; this is NOT a romantic comedy, and if you go in expecting that, you will not have a good time.

Submitted by monsterqueers !

"It's okay not to feel `whole'. Even if you feel only partly complete, if you repeat that enough, it'll eventually be `whole'. A part... is better than zero."

Blurb: A cult-classic extremely plotty JRPG about a amnesiac guy named Fei Fong Wong, who journeys across the world with some other folks to overthrow the fascist government, and in the process uncovers the secrets of their world and things about his past. Also there are giant robots.

Why is it worth your time?: Ok so this is a bit of a spoiler but Fei has DID canonically. Really not sure how to sell it as a plural game without saying this. Now its portrayal is deeply DEEPLY dated to 1998 Japan's understanding of it, but for its time its startlingly accurate and sympathetic. The depiction in the game matches the understanding of the time quite well, its just that time was 1998.

They really made an attempt at depicting dissociation through a visual medium, and the dynamic between Fei's alters is well developed. Its not amazing, its got SO many flaws in accuracy and unfortunate tropes, and its definitely not aged the best in many ways, but we did enjoy it quite a bit.

If you want a historical look at something that has a Very Robust plot -by that we mean lots and lots of lore-heavy cutscenes- and a plural character that has their plurality focused on, its beloved for a reason. One just has to keep in mind its from 1998 and everything about it is incredibly dated to that; from the gameplay to the portrayal of plurality and mental illness to the tackling of a variety of other subjects.

Please note this game is well known for being wildly dark and having a complicated and often confusing plot. The plot requires your full attention to make sense, and even then it can be confusing to many people. Its not for everyone but we personally enjoyed it and thought it wasnt as confusing as a lot of people find it.

Plural Tags: memory work, fusion/integration, otherworld, children, mpd/did, enmity, abuse high-focus

Content Warnings: This includes spoilers. See comments.

Accessibility Notes: Physical copies for the ps1 are rare and expensive due to being out of print, but it may be bought on the ps vita/ps3 eshop, it's been uploaded to archive.org in English and a Quebecois French patch (can't vouch for quality) and there are lets plays available on youtube. Linked lets play is a no commentary run: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMHR2xnx8VCrRvNrgh10j0eq5UQFvM_WC It isnt a completionist run, but shows the full main plot.
A lets play is the recommended option as the gameplay has aged considerably and its on an old system.

Misc. Notes (if any): Its also worth noting that some of the director's later works also feature plurality, and are more accurate to the experience indicating that the portrayals flaws were more due to the times than views towards plurals.

"This is a love story—a love story disguised as a piece of scholarly research."

Blurb: "Megan Rose, Ph.D., examines the practice and purpose of spirit marriage around the world, presenting transcultural evidence of this form of sacred union. [...] She shares her in-depth interviews with ten contemporary practitioners of spirit marriage, including a Faery Seer, a Shakta Tantric, a West African Shrine Keeper, a New Orleans Voodoo Mambo, Haitian Vodou practitioners, and a ceremonial magician," along with her own spirit marriage.

Why is it worth your time?: This is an unusual entry for this catalog, since it is anthropological research from a religion and magic perspective, but it is easy enough to read and crammed with personal stories of spirit marriage, along with possession, channelling, and indwelling, and that seems super-relevant. If you have been itching to read about metaphysical or religious experiences of pluralish phenomena and love, this book fills a big hole in a lot of plurals' education. Megan Rose is herself in a spirit marriage, and she states at the start that she will not spend the book arguing about the reality or truth of her subjects' (or her own) experiences--and indeed, she does not.

Plural Tags: creator speaks from experience, abuse not mentioned, mindsharing, otherworld, dreamfolk, nonhumans [gods, spirits, lwa, fairy], the dead, romantic relationships, teamwork, community, and metaphysical/spiritual

Content Warnings: Much discussion of religion, mentions of religious oppression but nothing too intense. That said, this can be an emotionally intense read, just because of its subject material.

Access Notes: Available in paper and ebook forms.

Alim:
She still keeps plastic on the furniture.

Cary Grant:
It keeps the evil fresh.

Blurb: Alim seems to have it all: a great career, a handsome boyfriend, and a personal guide in the spirit of Cary Grant. And living thousands of miles away from his mother, Nuru, and his family in Toronto, he can keep his lifestyle hidden. But when his mom pays an impromptu visit, Alim needs to reconcile these different sides of himself.

Why is it worth your time?: It's good and bittersweet! This is a rare time I will put a story on this list where someone has to leave their headmate behind. Cary Grant and Nuru simultaneously represent parental figures and different sides of Alim-- Cary is racist but wants Alim to be happy, while Nuru is more abrasive on the surface but also more able to change. Alim's relationship with them both can be fraught. Nuru steals the show, if you ask me; she's sympathetically complicated.

Plural Tags: imaginary friends, nonswitching, other world

Content Warnings: homophobia and racism, both external and internalized, past parental death, strained familial relationships

Accessibility Notes: Available on DVD, probably streaming somewhere. Subtitles in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai

“Dear Mr Spratt, It has come to our attention that you may be attempting to give up the booze and reconcile with your wife. While we approve of this as a plot device to generate more friction and inner conflicts, we most strongly advise you not to carry it through to a happy reconciliation, as this would put you in direct contravention of Rule 11C of the Union of Sad Loner Detective’s Code, as ratified by the Union of Literary Detectives, and it will ultimately result in your expulsion from the association with subsequent loss of benefits. I trust you will do the decent thing and halt this damaging and abnormal behaviour before it leads to your downfall. ”

Blurb: Third book in a series. Thursday Next takes refuge in the Book World to lick her wounds and be pregnant in peace. Unfortunately, she's a disaster magnet, so she ends up uncovering a Jurisfiction conspiracy, helping two Generics become well-rounded characters, and fighting an introject mindworm in her psyche who's determined to destroy all her happiest memories.

Why is it worth your time?: If you liked/disliked the other Thursday Next books, you'll feel the same way about this book for much the same reasons. It's fun, sometimes a little too pleased with its own cleverness, but crammed to the brim with interesting ideas, English literature, and fictionality. Also, this is likely the only book in the catalog that merits the "memory work" tag but has nothing to do with abuse. Here, Thursday is fighting for her memories, but the source of it the loss is the villain, not herself. Much of the emotional high points come from watching her fight the rising amnesiac tides. Also, introjects of her eradicated husband, the vanquished villain of the first book, and the current villain all show up in her dreams, interacting with each other and Thursday, helping or hindering her.

Plural Tags: introjects, abuse not mentioned, fictivity, memory work, nonswitching, otherworld

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in paper, ebook, and audiobook formats. Translated into German, French, and Spanish.

Misc Notes: The series continues but I need a break from this series. Shotgunning three 400 page books was too much!

"That hit you're feeling deep in your lizard brain is your essence untethering from this plane. Where you're going... Well, I hope you packed a strong sense of self..."

Blurb: After losing her magic and washing out of wizard school, overachiever Percy Mori becomes a superintendent of an apartment building with Leeds, a rogue familiar who senses what others want from him and feels compelled to obey... not a good character trait in a super. In Chapter 5, a burglar(?) sends them to the abstracted realm, which is built on Percy and Leeds's psyches... and they both have baggage. Percy has to join forces with her past self to get them out... or does she?

Why is it worth your time?: Ota and Hirsh's art is gorgeous. The colors are lush, the inks fluid; at least two of my comics colleagues were inspired to go into the field because of their work. Chapter 5 is the only one with pluralish content, but the whole thing is worth reading, especially since it's free online. Percy's struggle with reconciling her intense ambition with her ethics, and struggling to discover who she is when she can't overachieve, is powerful, and so is Leeds wrestling to hold to himself when he's constantly bombarded with the psychological tugs of other people. This is a beautiful comic, absolutely worth your time.

Plural Tags: otherworld, abuse not mentioned,

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Not transcribed, the print copy will hopefully be coming out soon. So far, only available online.

Misc Notes: Chapter 5 can be read on its own, but it really is best to read the whole thing.

Read Chapter 5 here! Or, read the whole thing from from the start!

"When the rose ???s, so too will you ??? away..."

Blurb: You play a nine-year-old girl named Ib who, upon visiting an art exhibit with her parents, gets sucked into a world spawned from the imagination and creations of the deceased artist being exhibited. Unfortunately, the vast majority of that imagination DOES NOT LIKE YOU.

Why is it worth your time?: It's pretty good, fun and spooky! Both are short, and the original is still free online. The only plural themes are getting sucked into a fictive world created by someone else, inhabited by beings formed from that psyche. The Fabricated World doesn't work on conventional rules of reality, and the game does some fun things with that idea.

Plural Tags: otherworld, fictivity

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: A pretty good completionist Let's Play of the remake exists! (Alas, I haven't been able to find a Let's Play of the original that I feel worth recommending.)

Misc Notes: There are multiple versions of this game. Version 1.07 of the original game, translated to English, is still up for free online (back-up link 1 and 2), but being an RPGmaker game, running it on non-Windows machines may require some fiddling. The remake, which only came out a few months ago, is $13 on Steam and streamlines the game, makes some of the puzzles easier, and fancies up the graphics a bit, but the core experiences are about the same.

“I saw a multiple killed once. Not in the strict sense of the word, of course. Her therapist did it. [...] Her psychiatrist tried his damnedest to force her—them, her other selves, to integrate. He wanted to see one 'wellrounded, whole' person. I think in many ways the fragmented aspect of MPD scared the hell out of him, especially when he saw things he couldn’t comprehend, ideas he couldn’t have conceived himself in a million years. There was so much beauty unfolding in that woman, and she had such a long way to go—her people getting to know each other fully, exploring themselves and her, showing their wares, if you will. They never had a chance.”

Blurb: The Troops' autobio about their trauma history, their system function, and trying to get their act together and go public to help fight abuse.

Why is it worth your time?: There's a reason that this book still seems to be remembered comparatively fondly, while most other old MPD memoirs are not. The Troops originated a good number of terms and ideas that multiples online use today. They were notable for fighting integration adamantly, instead preferring to work cooperatively, and while their book is incoherent and hard to read, it's worth it. They are also one of the larger systems to have written one of these books; their system was of roughly a hundred, and they go in-depth about their system landscape, functioning, and roles, which are a bit different than the smaller systems in prior books.

Plural Tags: MPD/DID, switching, memory work, otherworld, abuse high-focus

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in paper and ebook formats.