Plural Stories

The two editions have different subtitles. The 1996 edition is Nearly Roadkill: An Infobahn Erotic Adventure and marketed as cyberpunk, while the 2025 edition is Nearly Roadkill: Queer Love on the Run, and marketed as romance.

Karn: Question: ... ::drumroll:: Online, what *is* your "self"?
Leilia: Oh, christ, there's the question of a lifetime.Karn: Uh huh. Why so for you?
Leilia: I really become that person online. That's the scary thing. i really believe my fiction. Used to feel bad about it, but obviously there's truth in those fictions.

Blurb: Genderfucking netizens Scratch and Winc splatter across self and identity in this cyberpunk epistolary novel, accidentally starting a global Internet strike, getting accused of high treason, and falling in love.

Why is it worth your time?: Sullivan and Bornstein are queers who used lots of their own chatlogs for this book, which depending on your feeling will be either a good thing or a bad thing. The 1996 edition especially has a lot of pontificating on the nature of self and personality on the Internet, including an exchange where the hero/ines email with a self-declared MPD multi going by "StLouis7." (They decide that they aren't that kind of multiple, but they DO have multiple genders and are exploring interesting expansions of self!) Scratch's persona of Razorfun is ESPECIALLY separate, to the point that Razorfun outright says that "it is my most primitive persona. It is where I go when in danger" and when Winc has to ask Scratch to break out of the Razorfun persona, it's stated to be both difficult and painful. If you're interested in queer cyberspace of the '90s, check it out!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, creator speaks from experience, otherworld (cyberspace), fictioneers (Lt. Yar and Jadzia Dax from Star Trek), nonhumans (Dax is a Trill, Scratch mentions multiple times wishing ze wa a wolf with a tail), switching, on purpose

Content Warnings: include spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: Okay, so heads up, the 1996 edition and the 2025 editions of this book differ subtly but significantly! The 2025 edition just came out, and it's available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook; it's much easier to find and removed a fair bit, including stuff that really needed removal... but also a lot of the most interesting (to us) ponderings of the nature of self! It also simplified the typefaces and style, but in our opinion to the book's detriment; with all the chats, web diaries, emails, news stories, and announcements flying around, it can be easy to get lost! So the 2025 edition is smoother and simpler.

Meanwhile, the 1996 edition is rough and crunchy in a very '90s way; while the 2025 edition focuses more on gender and romance, the '96 edition pays more attention to self in general. The older edition is expensive and difficult to find these days, though it's been scanned and bootlegged online, and the first chapter is available in clean screenreadable PDF on the Wayback Machine. Take a look, compare and contrast the formatting, and pick the edition you prefer! We are grateful for reading both simultaneously, comparing the drafts side-by-side.

Submitted by a generous Anonymous! Thank you, Anonymous!

“You're not from Mars. You're from too much pressure on my brain.” “FORGIVE ME–US–YOURSELF. …NOT “MARTIAN.” NOT LITERAL. SYMBOL/SYNECDOCHE– “OUTLINE OF BEST FIT.” MARTIAN CONCEPT-CONSTELLATION—ALIEN–DIFFERENT–FAR AWAY.”
And I… see isn't the right word… there are no words for it…New nonsense senses describing–experience of–somewhere so distant the universe will burn out before light from Earth can reach it…a place beyond places”

Blurb: a year after FBI agent John Jones moved to the Stochastic Terrorism Unit in Middleton, he is caught in a suicide bombing. Afterwards, he starts seeing colored smoke coming from people and knowing close details about people around him. He also begins perceiving messages from an unknown being he calls the Martian. Together, they must learn to work together in order to protect Middleton from acts of violence and the encroachment of the mysterious White Martian.

Why is it worth your time?: This ongoing series is a refreshing new take on the DC superhero Martian Manhunter. The Martian is truly eldritch in nature, and the story visuals do bend your brain a bit in a delightful way. Despite the triggering content (and there is a LOT of it–see content warnings), the story so far has an altogether positive outlook on humanity.

Plural/1+ Tags: realitymashing, type: setting-specific, visions, voices,

( Spoilers for days! )

Accessibility Notes: Currently available where comic books are sold. May be available online (though currently that may only be on bootleg sites.)

Misc. Notes: definitely for adults and possibly older teens but definitely not younger teens

“What are your pronouns?” I ask, after they introduce themselves, trying to be polite.

“We/us/our,” is the response.

Blurb: A drunken date, a sloppy makeout, a merging into a happy greater hivemind.

Why is it worth your time?: A fun realitybending story of mind joining. It's short, online, and free!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, creator speaks from experience, identity blending, romantic relationships

Content Warnings: identity loss and alcohol

Access Notes: free, online, screenreadable

Misc Notes: Read it here! Back-up link here.

Submitted by erinptah! Thank you, erinptah!

"Eventually, we all have to accept reality. So, here it is. I am a person. You are not. I make the decisions. You do not. And if you ever do anything to my fingers, know that I will keep you alive long enough to horribly regret that. Your resignation request is denied."

Blurb: Employees at Lumon Industries have undergone "severance"—a medical procedure that splits their mind and consciousness between a work self and a home self. The switch is triggered by going in and out of their office floor, so the "outie" never has to experience the drudgery of being at work...and, you know, the "innie" will spend their entire existence never seeing sunlight, but if their outie keeps coming back, what can they do about it?

Why is it worth your time?: Strong acting, compelling plot, good characters. Even with all the creepy unreal sci-fi worldbuilding (the severance procedure itself is just the tip of the iceberg), the way the corporate evil actually plays out is upsettingly realistic. The writers are interested in exploring different versions of "why would someone volunteer for this procedure?" and "what kind of systemic indoctrination does it take to keep the innies going along with it?" The main four employees are complicated and messy and you can't imagine how they're going to get free...but you sure do hope.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse high-focus, fusion/integration, relationships: family, relationships: romantic, relationships: enmity, relationships: teamwork, type: setting-specific, type: switching, type: on purpose

Content Warnings: General for the series: Worker exploitation, imprisonment, severe mental/emotional manipulation. Others involve spoilers; see comments.

Accessibility Notes: Apple TV+ offers closed captions and audio descriptions in English, dubs with the option for audio descriptions in multiple languages, and translated subtitles for even more languages

Misc. Notes: I tagged "abuse high-focus", but it's not for the kind of child abuse typical for real-world plural narratives, it's because the whole plot is about the setting-specific exploitation of the work selves

Submitted by Sploosh! Thanks, Sploosh!

"Even if we lose our way, we keep moving."

Blurb: The sequel to BanG Dream! It's MYGO!!!!! following the titular band coming together and falling apart as each member is forced to confront their struggles, insecurities, and traumas.

Why is it worth your time?: Mutsumi Wakaba, the rhythm guitarist of Ave Mujica, has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her alter Mortis first fronts in Episode 3, and is a recurring character throughout the series. While Mortis is somewhat of an antagonist to Mutsumi, she's given more nuance then most Jekyll and Hyde style systems are given in media, and she's shown to be genuinely well meaning and trying to protect Mutsumi. Their arc together ends with the rest of the system reawakening after several years of dormancy, able to work together and switch out depending on the situation.

The series does dramaticize its depiction of plurality, but the entire show is very, VERY dramatized, and while Mutsumi and Mortis are in conflict for a good portion of the series, they do eventually reconcile. This show isn't for everyone, but it's still worth watching if you can tolerate/enjoy Girls Being Bad With Each Other.

Plural/+1 Tags: abuse high-focus, closeting, enmity, teamwork, friendship, switching, visions

Content Warnings: parental abuse/neglect, hallucinations from character's pov, depictions of poverty, depictions of alchoholism, the bandmates all just generally having very toxic relationships with each other, character lying about their entire identity, same character being unhealthily obsessed with the protagonist,

Accessibility Notes: Show is available on Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime Video(?) officially.

Misc. Notes: Currently has a sequel movie in production as of the time of writing.

Submitted by sagittaoftime! Thanks, saggitaoftime!

Blurb: The apocalypse has been cancelled, thanks to the work of scientists Hermann Gottleib and Newton Geizler (although they aren't the rockstars in the giant mecha). Then Hermann has to save Newton from bureaucracy's need to make sure he isn't going to try to get the world-destroying kaiju back, prompting them to move to a new city and start over. After everything that's happened, though, that's going to involve a lot of missteps, miscommunications, and misapprehensions.

Why is it worth your time?: Beautiful prose, accurate descriptions of the weird workings of the human brain, two friends stumbling their way through an asexual romance, it's about living through the end of the world and dealing with the mundanity of life while struggling with trauma. Its ability to pull out the raw human emotion from a summer blockbuster action movie showcases the best of what fanfiction can be. Also has so many references to various fields of science and math and philosophy such that, if you are acquainted in some depth with any of them, you will have a moment of "Hey! I know what they're referencing!"

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: high focus, people: copies, people: the dead [i.e., copies of dead people], relationships: enmity, relationships: teamwork, type: setting-specific, type: non-switching [mostly; characters switch at two points, but it's experienced as a bug, not a feature]

Content Warnings: Per the author: "The story contains realistic depictions of neurological, physical, and bureaucratic trauma. The prose is powerful. Stop reading if it triggers you. All of that being said, like everything I write, I consider this to be a hopeful story about the ways to carry something beautiful in your heart during the darkest of times." Additionally, there's a point at which Newt goes on top of a very tall wall in an inadvisable mental state (not suicidal but like he's not Okay either), alcohol is consumed at various points, Newt can't stand the sight of the tattoos that cover most of his body, Newt and Hermann Have Issues, frequent references to past character death, horrible communication, frequent semi-graphic flashbacks but no on-screen abuse, grief, not so much ableism as being extremely frustrated with disability preventing you from climbing into a giant robot to fight kaiju, vague unhappy family relations on Newt's part... look, humanity had to fight world-destroying kaiju for twelve years, and everyone and everything is messed up from it. Newt gets nosebleeds a lot. People throw up once or twice but it's not really described. There's neurologist visits. You might think sex is about to happen but it never does and everyone's chill with that. It's life. Also Newt cuts his (and Hermann's) hand open at one point to put in a little computer chip so he can control the lights by snapping his fingers. Also Newt starts experiencing psychosis from sleep deprivation. Also coerced consent to medical procedures (off-screen), traumatic medical procedures (off-screen but the consequences make up a majority of the story). The stress of suddenly being a global superstar (mostly background, Newt's living under a rock). The AO3 tags say self-harm, I think it's in the sense of reckless behavior.

Accessibility Notes: Available on Archive of Our Own (and thus in various EPUB, HTML, and PDF formats) and on the author's website (in webpages, EPUB, and PDF; EPUB and PDF are the 2013 edition that seems to be identical to the 2025 one but I can't tell). Chapters 1 through 21 (of 28 total) are available as an audiobook here, in MP3 format. Website is mobile friendly.

Misc. Notes (if any): It also has a prequel/sequel and a prequel-sequel, which are in the process of being re-uploaded. (yes the author refers to them as that)

{SEE THROUGH ME}
{FEEL THROUGH ME}
{MY BODY}
{IS YOUR BODY}

Blurb: An android connects to her giant robot for the first time and finds a new intimacy.

Why is it worth your time?: Though abandoned short, it gets through its first scene and made me happy to read. The comic version does a good job of using a visual medium to convey kinaesthetic cofronting. It's short, free, and available in two different forms; maybe you'll like it!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, bodyhopping, cofronting, nonhumans (robots), setting-specific, voices

Content Warnings: None

Access Notes: Read the comic for free online here, and pay-what-you-want to play the game version here! Neither are screenreadable.

Misc Notes: This work is incomplete and looks to sadly be abandoned, and the comic makes it a LITTLE bit further into the story than the VN does.

Submitted by matsushima! Thank you, matsushima!

Full title: Exploring the Aventine: An autoethnography on making sense of immersive daydreaming in the context of developmental trauma

"I summon my fantasy world characters and imagined others into dialogue and interaction. As we all converge at an intersection of immersive daydreaming and developmental trauma, ancestors whisper of intergenerational trauma and patriarchal psychiatric discourse."

Blurb: Immersive daydreaming is fantasy activity that is vivid, intricate and highly absorptive. Akin to an ongoing ‘movie-in-the-mind’, it often has the quality of feeling real and can continue over a period of months or years. The term ‘maladaptive’ daydreaming (MD) was introduced (Somer, 2002) to describe immersive daydreaming before researchers investigated it as a distinct psychiatric condition (e.g. Somer, Soffer-Dudek, Ross & Halpern, 2017) related to developmental trauma.

This thesis presents an autoethnographic journey into the Aventine, a term I use to refer to an elusive, liminal space. I ask readers to adopt and experiment with various lenses I use in my attempts to navigate immersive daydreaming from a critical, post-qualitative perspective. … The pathologization of creative responses to trauma is then countered to reveal fantasy as a site of liberation.

This creative-relational research is situated, experience-near and dialogical. Attending to the social/political, I challenge traditional forms of trauma-related fantasy representation and claim a space where the intuitive, imaginative and numinous are welcomed into therapeutic practice and scholarship. This thesis highlights the importance of process-driven research: from intrapsychic wars to synchronicities , and ultimately to a sense of homeness, I invite you as reader to accompany me on what became a reclamation of artistic and spiritual freedom.

Why is it worth your time?: It is a PhD dissertation on immersive daydreaming that includes transcripts of extensive inner dialogues between the researcher and real and imagined others from the researcher's life and immersive daydreaming story that spanned over a decade as well as real world historical figures.

Plural/1+ Tags: creator speaks from experience, people: copies, type: setting specific

Content Warnings: racist intergenerational trauma

Accessibility Notes: Full text PDF available on the University of West England (UWE) Bristol Research Repository

"How long have you known I wasn’t real?"

Blurb: The adventures of Batman, an eldritch imaginary friend who has sadly outlived the child who first imagined him. What does he do now, especially now that Superman's figured it out?

Why is it worth your time?: This is an impressively original interpretation of Batman that explains so many things about the character in such a delightful way. (Why is he able to do so many things a regular human can't? Why does his cape change in shape and size so? How is he still doing this after so many decades? Because he isn't actually human.) Reading about spooky asocial protector-of-children Batman building relationships despite his lack of humanness is heartwarming. This story is especially fun to read paired with Trippe's Something Terrible.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, imaginary friends, nonhumans (eldritch nightmare monster thingy?), friendship

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: Free to read and screenreadable on Ao3 and also backed-up on archive.org!

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.