Plural Stories

Submitted by acorn_squash! Thank you, acorn_squash!

[Titus] is anywhere I am. He is inside me, and my brain closes around him like hands around a warm drink. [...] And oh, I am so glad of him.

Even though no one else in the world can reach me now, he is never out of reach. Even though Time is a one-way street and it's not taking me anywhere I want to go, with Titus I can travel to and fro through Time—to the Boer War, the Indian raj, the Curragh Races, Gestingthrope in high summer, Hut Point....There was an Otes at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, you know? (I wonder if he was scared too.) From the windows of Glasstown I can see into the future as well—as far forward as my fifteenth birthday, when Titus has promised to take me to the top of the Eiffel Tower! I can't express how glad I am of him.

American Library Association blurb: Fourteen-year-old Symone's exciting vacation to Antarctica turns into a desperate struggle for survival when her uncle's obsessive quest leads them across the frozen wilderness into danger.

Why is it worth your time?: Symone, who goes by Sym, is accompanied by Titus Oates, an explorer who died in the Antarctic and now lives in her head. He and Sym are in love and he plays a critical role in her survival. Despite several close calls, he is still with Sym at the end of the story.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: high-focus (there's no connection between the plurality and the abuse), people: imaginary friends, people: the dead, otherworld (Glasstown), relationships: romantic, type: nonswitching

Content Warnings: Life-threatening danger. Kidnapping by manipulative adults. Murder. Emotional, financial, and occasionally physical abuse. Deeply creepy matchmaking of Sym and another teenager, Siguard. Pseudoscience. Bullying (emotional, not physical). Sym's father, now deceased, was addicted to alcohol and was violent towards Sym and her mother while not in his right mind; this is discussed occasionally. One of Sym's teenage classmates says she is dating an adult man she met on the Internet, which is also discussed occasionally. Graphic description of animal death. Illness and vomit. Drugging of side characters. Imperialist attitudes. Suicidal self-sacrifice, with some associated ableism. Misogynist character. Transmisogyny, p. 254 (American first edition).

More specific content warnings that include spoilers can be found in the comments.

Accessibility Notes: Can be found at libraries. Available in hardcover, in paperback, as an ebook, and as an audiobook on CD and cassette. Translated into Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Catalan, and Persian.

Submitted by acorn_squash! Thank you, acorn_squash!

"My age has nothing whatever to do with the age of Andreas, as I did not share flesh and blood with Andreas from the beginning. It was Andreas who possessed supremacy over this body for almost a lifetime. And it was only later that I developed in our common body, so that this body evolved until there was no longer any room for Andreas."

Blurb: In March 1930 Danish artist Einar Wegener entered Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science (Institut für Sexualwissenschaft) in Berlin, to be interviewed, examined, and photographed before embarking on a series of surgeries that, according to the thinking of the day, would transform him into a woman. Man into Woman (1933) is the life narrative of Lili Ilse Elvenes, popularly known as Lili Elbe and considered by some scholars (and by the narrative itself) to be the first person to undergo what was then called genital transformation surgery (Genitalumwandlung). Elbe’s life story, initially published in 1931 as Fra Mand til Kvinde [From Man into Woman], is the first full-length narrative of a subject who undergoes a surgical change in sex. We would now call this gender confirmation surgery, but Lili saw herself as a distinct person from Einar (Andreas Sparre in the narrative). (from Publication History on LiliElbe.org)

Why is it worth your time?: Lili Elbe gets a lot of attention as (for example) the only trans woman ever to have a uterus transplant, but I had no idea she was plural before I read this. Though she died young, Elbe lived a full and happy life and was accepted and supported by Gerda Wegener (Einar Wegener’s wife) from the beginning. It’s fascinating to learn about her experience as a trans woman in early 20th century Europe and to see how she and others conceptualized her multiplicity.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: low-focus, closeting, creator speaks from experience, type: switching

Content Warnings for the American Edition: headmate death, depression, suicidal thoughts, homophobia, transmisogyny, random transmisandry (page 51), corporeal punishment, forced kisses, blood, language now considered ableist

Accessibility Notes: Free, online, and screenreadable in English, Danish, and German. All versions archived on the Wayback Machine.

Misc. Notes: Skip the introduction. It’s not worth reading.

"-- I am not a monkey, she signs. -- I am a girl.

Blurb: A chimp, taught ASL and implanted with the personality of a man's dead daughter, is raised as that daughter until his death. Taken to a scientific research facility, it's up to Rachel to decide who and what she is, and how she wants her life to go.

Why is it worth your time?: Rachel's experience of species dissonance, deciding where she fits in (among humans? among apes?) and reconciling her past, human self with her current chimpanzee self feels relevant to anyone who's had to undergo a major identity change (and move from one species to another). Check it out!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, identityblending, copies, nonhumans (chimpanzee), setting-specific, serially singlet

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: Available in German, Dutch, Japanese, and French. This story has been reprinted oodles of times, and is available in paperback, hardback,

Misc. Notes (if any): This story has also won some awards. It's well-reputed!

"ARTICLE III: The man going by the name Brother Francis is charged with claiming to have begun life miraculously, without father or mother, in the body of a boy about thirteen years of age."

Blurb: An epistolary short story about the fall and rise of Brother Francis/Leopold Graz, who in a post-nuclear apocalypse preached brotherhood and kindness: condemned, burned alive, and then beatified... at a cost.

Why is it worth your time?: Pangborn is a kind writer who tells the story of a boy, his invisible Companion who urges him to great things, and the major front switch that occurs when he is thirteen, which leads to his fall and rise under the pseudo-feudal fundamentalist church afterward. It's pretty good!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, switching, serially singlet, spiritual voices, visions

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Only officially available on paper, but anthologized multiple times; one of them, Still I Persist in Wondering, is screenreadable on archive.org. (Please ignore the pulpy cover.) Available in German and Italian.

Submitted by thishouse. Thank you, thishouse!

We

Bootstrap ourselves from mere insensate clutches of jelly and molecular interaction until We

Remember

We were on an adventure.

For many long spans of time we were Lante, once we had repaired Lante. Except that Those-of-We who had learnt what Lante was had to make such repairs so that what came out was less Lante and more We. But Those-of-We had experienced what it was to be Lante and could fill in the gaps. We were We and We were Lante and Lante was Lante and did not know it was also

We.

Blurb for Book 1: Avrana Kern spearheaded an exoplanet terraforming program with the goal of populating new Earth-like worlds with monkeys uplifted to human-like intelligence by a nanovirus. Her program was sabotaged by people who rejected her scientific ideals, and the conflict blossomed into nuclear war back on Earth. Avrana escapes the sabotage, and she uploads herself to a computer system while she waits for rescue. The monkeys died, but the virus lived on. Its host becomes a species of jumping spider, beginning their ascension toward a space-faring society. Thousands of years after the nuclear war, ark ships take off from Earth and seek terraformed planets to re-establish a home for humanity. The ark ship Gilgamesh discovers Kern's World, and its crew are determined to make a new home there.

Why is it worth your time?: Besides the unique and interesting plurality portrayed in these books, they're fantastic science fiction with an emphasis on worldbuilding and speculative evolution. Their greatest strength is their empathy toward atypical experiences of sentience and intelligence.

In Book 1, Avrana Kern is the primary plural character as the distinction between her, the computer system, and her uploaded version of herself blur together. In Book 2, Children of Ruin, Tchaikovsky adds sentient octopuses, and the octopuses' selves divided between their Crown, Guise, and Reach showcases a permanent co-fronting experience. Also introduced in Book 2 but explored further in Book 3, Children of Memory, is a naturally plural species that seeks to understand what it means to live as one and as many at the same time. In Book 3, there's also a sentient headspace-like world.

Plural/1+ Tags: setting-specific sci-fi stuff, enmity in Book 1, the naturally plural species is a scary antagonistic force in Book 2 at first, teamwork in Books 2 and 3

Content Warnings: nuclear war, extreme isolation, murder, lynching

Accessibility Notes: audiobooks available; pretty easy library book; Book 1 is available in English, French, German, Romanian, Portuguese, and Dutch; Book 2 is available in English, German, French, Romanian, and Dutch; and Book 3 is available in English, German, and Dutch

Misc. Notes (if any): Even though Book 2 has a "plurality is a scary monster" situation, the resolution is peaceful and empathetic, and the species is redeemed and explored further in Book 3.

Submitted by quailfence! Thank you, quailfence!

"There is a radio in the distance. A radio of the world. Playing sound: Good morning, Elysium. Soon you will return to the world"

Blurb (from TVTropes): One miserable morning, you awaken from pain and darkness in a trashed motel room with the hangover to end all hangovers. You have no idea where, or even who, you are, but some details begin filling in as you explore: you are a police detective visiting Martinaise, harbor district of the city of Revachol, jewel of the Insulindian Isola, in the year '51 of the current century. Perhaps most importantly, you were sent here three days ago to deal with a lynched corpse, but instead went on a deranged bender of drug and alcohol abuse.

Now, you must resume the investigation with the aid of Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, a fellow detective from a rival precinct. But of course, it won't be as simple as it seems — the victim, a security contractor for a major international shipping company, stands at the center of a labor dispute involving the local dockworker's union, corrupt businessmen, communist agitators, and foreign interests, with blood on the streets looking more likely by the day. Everyone involved is eager to use you for their own ends — and of course, you're no titan of mental stability, what with the two dozen voices in your head vying for your attention...

Why is it worth your time: The aforementioned voices in your heads are your skills. As you get your skills higher, they become more talkative and interact more with you and each other. Overall the game places a lot of emphasis on crafting an identity and making your own choices. While the player character has a past and a personality that goes along with said personality, the main character's amnesia means that you can choose to follow that past or create your own identity. How you choose to shape your personality also affects your ability to connect with and learn about other characters and engage with sideplots, with certain dialogue checks being easier if you level up certain skills - though there is always a small chance (3%, to be precise) chance of success or failure.

Plural/1+ tags: abuse low-focus, people: the dead, people: copies (you can talk to the victim's corpse if you pass a check), people: nonhumans (you can also talk to your necktie in certain circumstances), voices, visions, otherworld (in the form of dreams), type: spiritual, type: medical(?), type: setting-specific (to elaborate: it's theorized in-game that the skills/voices are a result of some combination of an in-universe phenomenon known as The Pale and the player character's pre-existing mental problems, but it's ultimately left unclear as to exactly why this is happening), teamwork

Content Warning: It's a murder mystery where the player character is a cop who struggles with addiction to/withdrawal from alcohol and other substances. Other warnings are spoilers, see comments.

Note: due to the nature of the game, compiling a full and accurate content warnings list is rather difficult - I had to ask on Discord for help, and even then I still probably missed some things. Some of these things are unavoidable, while others can be avoided with varying amounts of difficulty

Accessibility notes: All dialogue/lines appear on-screen, and all dialogue and most narration is read out loud, though menus and such aren't. There exist let's plays/streams but I haven't seen any of them and the nature of the game, involving lost of little variations and branching choices, means that a completionist playthrough is basically impossible. Translated into Japanese, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, French, German, Russian, Polish, Turkish, and Arabic, though audio is only available in English. Available on Steam, Gog, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, and Switch

Submitted by beepbird! Thank you, beepbird!

"I'm so tired of the bad blood between us. But it's hard to let it go. You've hurt me. And I've also hurt you."

Blurb: You're on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Princess. You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

Why is it worth your time?: Overtly median protagonist where hearing voices is a central part of the narrative, an ever-changing princess whose fluidity of self is emphasized, and it's all amidst a narrative where your choices all have meaningful consequences (despite the time loops). Hearing voices is presented as a strength, not a flaw, and you even have the chance to tell one of them that you missed him.

Plural Tags: nonhumans, the dead, realitymashing, enmity, teamwork, nonswitching (mostly), median, voices, possession

Content Warnings: a detailed list of content warnings written by the developers can be found here (it even breaks it down by route): https://blacktabbygames.com/content-warnings-stp

Accessibility Notes: Game can be purchased from Steam, Gog, itch.io, and on Switch. Dialogue is narrated and the accessibility menu includes font replacement and adjustment, text-to-speech for non-narrated dialogue, and contrast improvements. Game is a visual novel, so it's mostly text, though there are some stunning images that don't give much information that's not also stated in text.

The audio is only available, however, in English. (The text is available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (both Catalan and Latin American), Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.)

If the violence is too much for you, ManlyBadassHero did a censored Let's Play here covering all routes and updates.

Misc. Notes (if any): Abuse is not related to the plurality; there's never any explanation given for the voices existing, actually. Check the content warnings for sure on this one. It's definitely a horror game.

Also, there is merch: shirts, stickers, and posters!

"He... I don't know how to say this either. He wore his face differently. The MacDonald he loosened into was changed, somehow older."

Blurb: A crew of free-rolling barflies assist a young telepathic man in trying to contact his comatose brother in the mental ward.

Why is it worth your time?: Spider Robinson at his compassionate, bad-puns best; he has a thing about group telepathy that reads very powerfully even after fifty years. Plus it's short.

Plural Tags: abuse low focus, cofronting, family relationships (brothers), setting-specific

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: You can find this story in the omnibuses Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Callahan and Company, and Callahan Chronicals [sic]. It was also in Analog magazine from May 1975. I know at least ONE of those has been digitized and been screenreadable, Callahan Chronicals I think, which is also available in audiobook. Available in the French collection Le bar du coin des temps, the German collection Die Zeitreisenden in "Callahan's Saloon" and the Italian collection I crocevia del tempo.

Misc Notes: Part of a series, but can be read stand-alone no problem; the early Callahan stories were episodic on purpose, since they were being serialized in magazines.

Submitted by packbat!

"And indeed, this is what must have happened now, because the next thing I knew was that I was waking suddenly out of sleep.

"A Full Moon stood in the centre of the Single Doorway, flooding the Hall with Light. The Statues on the Walls were all posed as if they had just turned to face the Doorway, their marble Eyes fixed on the Moon. They were different from the Statues in other Halls; they were not isolated individuals, but representations of a Crowd. Here were two with their Arms about each other; here one had his Hand on the Shoulder of one in front, the better to pull himself forward to see the Moon; here a Child held on to its Father's Hand. There was even a Dog that — having no interest in the Moon — stood on its Hind Legs, its Front Paws on its Master's Chest, pleading for attention. The Rear Wall was a mass of Statues — not neatly arranged in Tiers, but a jumbled, chaotic Crowd. Foremost among them was a Young Man, who stood bathed in the Moonlight, elation in his Face, a Banner in his Hand.

"I almost forgot to breathe. For a moment I had an inkling of what it might be like if instead of two people in the World there were thousands."

Blurb: A series of journal entries by a man living in an apparently-infinite House full of Statues, oceans, and clouds, as he comes to learn more about the nature of his world and realize certain truths which were hidden from him.

Why is it worth your time?: Mostly it's a really cool story and we loved reading it? The protagonist's memory issues mean that he is solving a mystery where we know a lot more than he does. But also, the story being structured around a journal lets us see the perspectives of multiple inhabitants of the protagonist's body over the course of the story.

Plural Tags: abuse:high-focus, memory work, visions, closeting,

Content Warnings: gaslighting, animal death (fishing, a monkey offscreen), human death, kidnapping, unsanitary (one character is implied to have soiled himself, another throws up), fatphobia (very brief but intense), violence, drowning. Also, there's a heroic cop character, and the only explicitly LGBTQ+ character out of the dozen or so named characters is a villain.

Accessibility Notes: Available in audiobook, and in MANY languages, including Spanish, Polish, German, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Turkish, French, Bulgarian, Russian and Czech.

Misc. Notes (if any): There is a lot of obvious inspiration from Jorge Luis Borges and similar otherworldly fantasty, but it also draws from the author's experience with ME/CFS in a lot of subtle ways. And it has a good ending, which for us Packbats makes it easier to deal with the heavy stuff.

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."