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Submitted by

erinptah!

"Don't know how he possessed me, but I'm happy that he did
'Cause this song is feeling special, and is gonna make me rich"

Blurb: Our narrator finds herself body-sharing with Edgar Allen Poe, decides to let him write as much as he wants, while she and her friend/business partner handle the marketing.

Why is it worth your time?: Austria's entry to Eurovision 2023, which means it's catchy, unreservedly weird, a quick watch, and comes with a great performance. The narrator's relationship with Edgar is incredibly cute and positive, even though the people around her never quite get it (and even though his writing genius doesn't translate into the riches she was hoping for).

Plural Tags: abuse: not mentioned, people: introjects, people: the dead, relationships: teamwork, type: switching, possession

Content Warnings: One line about "Maybe I should call a doctor or an exorcist", but she only brings up the idea to reject it, and never goes back to it.

Access Notes: Audio, the music video has captions in English, lyrics written out and translated into multiple languages on EurovisionWorld

Misc. Notes (if any): I went with the "switching" tag even though it doesn't come up in the lyrics, because the music video gives the narrator a few masc-presenting scenes complete with fake mustache, which I'm gonna go ahead and interpret as "trying to make the body more comfortable for Edgar while he's fronting."

"For the first time since she'd arrived in Malaysia, Jess was alone in her head."

Blurb: When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, it isn't even hers, but the ghost of her estranged grandmother, a deceased spirit medium for the god called Black Water Sister. As Jess gets sucked into a complicated world of lies, attempted murder, spirits, and fights for territory, she'll need to regain control of her body and destiny, before the weight of family secrets kills her.

Why is it worth your time?: It's good! It starts a little slow, but the ending is so deeply satisfying, as is Zen Cho's depiction of spirit mediumship, which is transactional, amoral, and deeply inconvenient. Themes of the book include the complexity of relationships to family, home, history, and self, the cages we make ourselves, and dealing with the past so as to better deal with the present. It's been nominated for multiple awards for good reason. Recommended!

Plural Tags: abuse intermediate content, cofronting, temporary fusion, the dead, enmity and family relationships, community, teamwork, spiritual, visions, voices, possession

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in ebook, paper, and audiobook forms.

"What happens when you do not live in the same reality that nearly everyone else has all somehow secretly agreed to live in while you were busy trying to keep your feet from being tangled by the threads of heaven’s net? (And No, Christians, I do not speak of Christ when I speak of heaven. I am not your brethren.) What happens is that you must construct an internal world to survive and thrive because otherwise you will die."

Blurb: A personal essay on divination, being a poet-prose writer, and consensus reality with schizophrenia, DID, and physical disability caused by medication.

Why is it worth your time?: It's short, free, and a crystalline study of what it means to live in a reality that isn't built for you.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, medical

Content Warnings: passing discussion of medical ableism

Access Notes: Free to read online, screenreadable. (Back-up link in case monstering mag goes down.)

Misc Notes: See also:

Their poem Where My Limbs Hung Far and Fair.
Their old bandcamp for music
Their new bandcamp for music
Their old website on the Wayback Machine
Their current website
Their webcomic (not screenreadable, I don't think, sorry)
Interactive fiction under the FeyXuan name
Interactive fiction and poetry under the Pancreas name

Submitted by

starfallhaven! Thanks!

"this was your shell, but it was all filled up with me. God, the double entendres were hard to resist."

Blurb: the sequel to Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth follows Harrowhark Nonageismus, who has failed to become a true Lyctor--a necromancer who has absorbed the soul of her cavalier. She is being both haunted by both visions and ghosts as she attempts to survive her time aboard the Mithraeum as one of God's chosen saints.

Why is it worth your time?: this book is extraordinarily good if you know what's going on (that is, body and mind sharing). The entire premise of Lyctorhood, one of the novel's defining world building aspects, is based on the idea of a secondary soul residing in a single body. There's even possession.

Plural Tags: mindsharing, switching, visions, setting-specific, abuse not mentioned, fusion/integration, otherworld, enmity and romantic relationships, the dead

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

Misc. Notes: This book is not going to make much sense if you haven't read Gideon the Ninth, and I can't recommend reading one without the other. Although I'm firmly of the opinion that knowing about the bodysharing aspect in advance will only make the reading experience more enjoyable, it is technically a spoiler to know about at least one of the bodysharing relationships in this book.

We have not read this book (and probably won't for a while, for reasons that will be obvious.) Many thanks to

acorn_squash for giving content warnings that allow this listing to exist!

"I want to write as if I am free."

Blurb: Through candid, intimate correspondence with friends, lovers, and family, Emezi traces the unfolding of a self and the unforgettable journey of a creative spirit stepping into power in the human world. Their story weaves through transformative decisions about their gender and body, their precipitous path to success as a writer, and the turmoil of relationships on an emotional, romantic, and spiritual plane, culminating in a book that is as tender as it is brutal.

Why is it worth your time?: Emezi's work is intense, beautiful, and badly needed in a whitewashed plural scene that pretends such experiences like theirs don't exist. They state that they had to pretend Freshwater was fiction, feeling they couldn't publish it otherwise, and Dear Senthuran is them writing without that bending over backwards for marketability. Although it will probably be quite some time before I am ready to read about their Igbo god agony of embodiment, I am very glad it exists, and I hope they find all the success and joy.

Plural Tags: nonhumans, intermediate abuse content, nonhumans [gods, spirits], spiritual

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available on paper, ebook, and audiobook. some of the chapters are available for free online, sometimes under different titles and/or with different editing choices:

Fire | Dear Jahra
early version of Mutiliation | Dear Eugene
Masks | Dear Maki
Canon | Dear Daniel is available here, although unfortunately Emezi is misgendered in the blurb.
(New York Times, paywalled) Deity | Dear Eloghosa
Maps | Dear Toni (There's also an early version.)
Anointing | Dear Ann
Early version of Guard | Dear Katherine

"Romeo, it's okay to feel angry, but you can't just go off on people!!"

Blurb: a short comic about two multiples trying to process being unable to stop abuse at their respective workplaces.

Why is it worth your time?: I've read a lot of comics over the years, and I've never seen work like gray Folie's. Their work is beautiful, raw, and emotionally devastating, and I have to be in a specific mindframe to read it because man can it hurt. They pull no punches when showing the ugly, snotty, painful sides of trauma and mental illness. Also, they depict both an internal and external argument with crystal clarity, despite the multiple layers of reality they're simultaneously happening on, just by using colors and panel layouts, which is masterful.

Plural Tags: abuse high-focus, otherworld, friendship, nonhumans [cat person, snake person, doll, animal people]

Content Warnings: Child abuse. Others contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Short, free to read online. Alas, this one doesn't seem to be screenreadable; other Folie works are. Back-up links:

1
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Misc Notes: Felix, one of the main characters of this comic, has become the protagonist of a bigger (and screenreadable!) webcomic called Catharsis. It has only just started, though, so I'm going to hold off on adding it to this archive until I (or someone else) can give decent content warnings. You also might enjoy the art tags Folie has for them on tumblr; here's Felix's, and here's Izzi's.

"I was a child when Haraniel first came to me. They watched over me for years. Just a thought away. I understood what they were eventually and what they hoped I would do for them. And I did. I offered to be their host."

Blurb: A disgraced warlock and her angel-possessed girlfriend get pulled into a serial killing mystery in Chicago, only to discover things are not what they appear.

Why is it worth your time?: It's good! Short, snappy, with a solid bittersweet ending. The angels in this book tend towards the more eldritch side.

Plural Tags: nonhumans [angels], metaphysical, switching, abuse not mentioned, possession

Content Warnings: This is a murder mystery, so people die badly in it! Others involve spoilers; see comments.

Accessibility Notes: Available in paper, ebook, and audio formats.

Misc. Notes: Won a Nebula! Also nominated for a bunch of other awards.

"No matter how lost you may be, you will always be found, again and again and again!"

Blurb: A comic about playing hide and seek with a younger headmate across inner worlds.

Why is it worth your time?: It's short, sweet, and does interesting things to artistically depict the layers of different realities atop each other. Plus it's free!

Plural Tags: median, abuse not mentioned, otherworld, children, realitymashing, friendship,

Content Warnings: None.

Access Notes: Not transcribed. Free to read.

Misc Notes: Can be read on the web here or downloaded as a PDF here. (Back-up link here)

"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!

Submitted by

expmachine !

"This is your reality. Hurry up and accept it."

Blurb: "Asa Mitaka is an introverted high school student attending Fourth East High School, who has trouble finding her place in society following her mother's death to the Typhoon Devil. One day, after accidentally killing her class' pet devil Bucky, she is confronted by a student who has made a contract with the Justice Devil. The student attempts to kill Asa, but Yoru the War Devil appears and makes a contract with Asa, inhabiting her body and making her a living Fiend host, under the condition that she kills Chainsaw Man. After dispatching her killer, Asa seeks to find Chainsaw Man, though she and Yoru have differing goals: Asa wants Yoru to leave her body, while Yoru wants to reclaim the Nuclear Weapons Devil which was consumed by Pochita."

Why is it worth your time?: Specifically it's the second part of Chainsaw Man when Asa and Yoru are introduced as protagonists. Yoru can read Asa's thoughts, she can only possess (or switch with) Asa when she's not feeling distressed. Asa sees Yoru as a hallucination and talks to her out loud. While the plot is ongoing, the way the possession and relationship between the human and devil is treated so far is interesting.

Plural Tags: mindsharing, enmity

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments.

Accessibility Notes: I'm unsure of any screenreader available.

"This is a plural board game."

Blurb: "it's about plurality, differential consciousness, and a board game from 1993 that has been literally living in my head for almost thirty years."

Why is it worth your time?: This is one of the most original formats I have seen a zine made in: Rax made a comic from photos of a board game with typed out captions, cards, and statuettes maneuvered around it, then cut those photos into comics panels. It uses a '90s board game to discuss a way of plural being, and is denser than you would expect such a short work to be. It's good; try it out!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, otherworld, nonhumans [fox, lion, pangolin, coyote, snow leopard]

Content Warnings: None

Access Notes: Not screenreadable, free to read online. Read it here!

"If you or your doll partner begin to experience identity blending, shared dreams or hallucinations, or other such synchronicity events, immediate self-termination is advised. Failure to do so may lead to ego death, erroneous visions, delusion, reality corruption, and ultimately complete derealization and integration into the human subconscious."

Blurb: A doll and its beloved owner watch reality unravel together.

Why is it worth your time?: It's short, spooky, sad, and good, embracing ambiguity, the grotesque, and queer love at the end of the world.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, nonhumans [doll/robot, witch], setting-specific, realitymashing, visions, romantic relationships

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Screenreadable, free to read online. Read it here! (EDITOR'S NOTE 2023/11/28: deleted? Back up link here.)

"What she is not or cannot embrace, I shall be."

Blurb: A short poem about the sacredness of the shadow self.

Why is it worth your time?: It's short, free, and nice.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned,

Content Warnings: None.

Access Notes: screenreadable, free to read online. Read it here! (EDIT: Cohost is going down. Here is a back-up link.)

"Kora had tried extremely hard not to overhear Eli and Cam's plans. She'd shoved her fingers into her ears, walked out of the room, turned up her music as loud as she could, trying to give them privacy, but it had been no use. The moment she stepped back into front, she was hit with a wave of knowledge."

Blurb: Cam and Eli plan the most amazing birthday surprise for their newest relationship partner, Kora. What happens when common memory fouls things up?

Why is it worth your time?: It's fluffy romantic fun about two headmates trying to sneak a birthday surprise past a third.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, cofronting, romantic relationships,

Content Warnings: None. It's made of happiness.

Access Notes: Free, short, fully screanreadable. Read it here! (Back-up link)

"When you aren't alone in your head
you learn to listen
to the flavored thoughts
of the people behind your eyes."

Blurb: A poem about the intersections between plurality and blindness.

Why is it worth your time?: It's an insightful look into a plural world that is often ignored by the sighted, including the complications of sighted headmates in a blind vessel.

Plural Tags: abuse low focus, fictioneers, nonhumans [Transformer/robot, doll], children, teamwork and friendship, switching

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Free, short, and screenreadable. Read it here! (Back-up link)

"If I had more strength, I could leave this place before it becomes my tomb as well as yours. If you had flesh, you could finish your quest. We could help each other..."

Blurb: A slime monster and the ghost of a cleric adventurer join forces (and body parts) to finish the cleric's quest and escape a dingy dungeon.

Why is it worth your time?: It's short, free, and enjoyable.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, nonhumans [slime], teamwork, setting-specific plurality (the slime absorbs the skeleton of the cleric to give them a shared body, becoming vertebrate in the process), median, plural on purpose

Content Warnings: Death, mild body horror, ineffective injury, mentions of religion

Access Notes: Fully screenreadable, free to read online. Read it here! (EDIT: Cohost is going down. Replacement link here.)

" We allotropes might share the same body…but we are far from carbon copies!"

Blurb: At a boarding school based off the periodic table, all the elements are students or teachers! Now, due to scheduling mix-ups and a lack of communication, Graphite, Diamond, Grapheme, and their headmates have to last-minute figure out what to do about their school talent show!

Why is it worth your time?: It is adorable, full of science puns, and has a fun scientific premise. Lighthearted, low-stakes.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, switching, teamwork

Content Warnings: None! This is the world's cutest, cheerfulest comic.

Access Notes: Free and fully screenreadable! Read it here!

Misc. Notes: WIP and on hiatus as Ava Pun applies for grad school. We sensitivity read the whole script though, so we know it exists!

"Trying to quiet that part of you won't work, but you try regardless. You know that this will only hurt you, but you try regardless."

Blurb: "an interactive story about how one person discovers they're far more than one. also about trauma, online community, and godfeels."

Why is it worth your time?: I admit, I did not understand any of the references in this story, but it's about being young and plural online during the pandemic, interactions with gender and media, so give it a shot. Hey, it's free!

Plural Tags: abuse low focus, nonhumans [dragon, monster, bird, mouse, animal people, Homestuck troll, sentient space probe/robot, Octoling/octopus person, dog person], community, enmity

Content Warnings: Transphobia, self-hatred, plural suppression, intrasystem conflict, source violence, specifically Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

Access Notes: Screenreadable. Free to read online. (CATALOGER'S NOTE: moved and updated! Back up link of old version here.)

Misc. Notes: Spoilers for Endwalker level 83 quest "In From The Cold"

"What ya doin?"

"Making a comic about us making food"

"Can I be in it?"

Blurb: a comic made to describe the creators' experience of being many, depicted alongside the process of making a meal together.

Why is it worth your time?: It's a short trippy comic about the ordinary process of making dinner together alone. Also it's free!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, switching, cofronting, otherworld, nonhumans [snake, animal], medical plurality (OSDD), median

Content Warnings: minor injury, blood, dissociation

Access Notes: Available for free to read online or as a PDF. (Back-up link)

Submitted by

monsterqueers !

"Sometimes i close my eyes to talk to you
when i can’t make up my mind since you make it up, too
one in the same one in the same, it always felt so real
lemme hold your hand, hold our hand, so you can feel what i feel"

Blurb: A song explicitly about being friends with your headmates.

Why is it worth your time?: Are you tired of edgy plural media? This one is warm and fuzzy for a change! The creator has OSDD and this song is explicitly about being plural.

Plural Tags: teamwork, OSDD

Content Warnings: none

Accessibility Notes: You can buy the song here for $1 on Bandcamp! (And that link also has the lyrics.)

Misc. Notes (if any): The creator has OSDD-1b and this song is about her experience with that.

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