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[personal profile] lb_lee
"A woman who hears voices is a lot more dangerous than a woman with an army. Keep that in mind."

Blurb: Radical feminist play about a smartass butch lesbian named Jeanne Romee (AKA Joan of Arc) who recounts her story as the hero of France, heretic burned at the stake, and redeemed saint against her will.

Why is it worth your time?: This play is award-winning for a reason. Jeanne is incisive and insightful, witty and angry, and Gage has a rare ability to cut to the heart of dissociation as a tool of control. This play is very much of its time and culture, but if that's not a problem for you, check it out! It's good!

Plural/1+ Tags: Abuse intermediate-focus, the dead (saints), spiritual, voices, nonswitching

Content Warnings: It is not a spoiler to say that Jeanne suffers the fate of the historical Joan of Arc. Others DO involve spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: This play is shockingly easy to get, aside from an actual performance! It's available in audio form as MP3 download or CD, in script form, and in the collections The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and other plays (printed in 2004 from HerBooks) and The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Selected Plays (self-published and A DIFFERENT COLLECTION), the latter of which is available both on paper and ebook. It was also published (and now freely available online) in Sinister Wisdom #35, Summer/Fall 1988, pg. 95-116. Archive.org has audio recordings of various performances. Available in French, Bulgarian, Chinese (Mandarin), Portuguese, Italian, German, and Spanish.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] thishouse. Thank you, [personal profile] 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.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] beepbird! Thanks, [personal profile] beepbird!

"Zed didn’t say that you were the ones that called her my sister, and it’s too late, now I have always loved her and she has always loved me, and I cannot imagine thinking without her."

Blurb: A man brainshares with the spaceship he lives on... and does everything in his power to get her back.

Why is it worth your time?: This has pretty explicit parallels to multiplicity- to the point that the narrative itself asks the question of whether Epsilon is an alter and/or tulpa at one point. It's also one of those rare narratives where separation is presented as a negative, where the system wants to share brainspace- and where being plural is the happy ending.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, nonhumans (spaceship), family, teamwork, setting-specific, switching, cofronting, on purpose

Content Warnings: Main character fakes own death by suicide, conscious surgery without pain

Accessibility Notes: Audio and text freely available at https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_03_23/. (Back-up link here.) You can also purchase a print edition or ebook of the magazine this is hosted in from a bunch of sources linked on that page if you'd like. Also holy moly, this story has been anthologized a LOT!

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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] beepbird! Thanks, [personal profile] beepbird!

"“The formal definition of insanity,” I said, “is actually quite fluid. Two people can have the exact same condition, with the exact same severity, but one can be considered sane by the official standards while the other is considered insane.""

Blurb (taken from the back of my copy): Stephen Leeds, AKA 'Legion,' is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a multitude of personae: hallucinatory entities with a wide variety of personal characteristics and a vast array of highly specialized skills. As the story begins, Leeds and his aspects are drawn into the search for the missing Balubal Razon, inventor of a camera whose astonishing properties could alter our understanding of human history and change the very structure of society.

Why is it worth your time?: Despite being framed as hallucinations, Leeds' aspects are treated as fully autonomous people who make their own decisions, sometimes surprising him. It's nice to see them treated as rounded characters of their own, let alone rounded characters with independent relationships with each other.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, realitymashing, friendship, romantic, enmity, teamwork, nonswitching, visions, voices

Content Warnings: character death, gun violence, terrorism mentions, kidnapping(? Debatable about whether it counts, but they do get knocked out and wake up tied to a chair at one point), debate about wanting a "cure". This is also the first book of a series, which has a content warning in the comments.

Accessibility Notes: Physical book or ebook (legitimate or otherwise); audiobooks are available on audible, Amazon, Google Play, etc. I'd assume that it can be found at libraries given that I found it at a library sale. All text, so screen reading shouldn't be an issue for ebooks. This particular book of the series has also been translated into French and Spanish!
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Recommended by [personal profile] nevanna!

"I never signed a pact with the Devil in my own blood, and I don't have nipples in my ears... but I do consort with spirits, don't I? You said so yourself. Bear does follow me everywhere like a familiar. And I am possessed."

Blurb: Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide. Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding. Makepeace is one of the latter.

Why is it worth your time?: This book is VERY good! The plot goes through so many twists and turns, and Makepeace grows from a nigh-feral girl to a strong young woman in her own right as she accumulates her ghosts and learns to deal with them.

Plural Tags: abuse low-focus, bodyhopping, closeting, cofronting, the dead, nonhumans (a bear), friendship, teamwork, enmity, possession, voices

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in French, Spanish, ebook, and audiobook.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
"Please. I could go to one of the others, maybe. But I feel closest to you. Please. Please. [...] I wouldn't try that again, an unwilling host. You have to say you'll let me, or I won't come in."

Blurb: Deep space captain Adam is on his first trip through deep space when a free-floating "matrix" personality escapes containment and takes residence in his body. She seems nice enough, but the rest of the ship is deeply afraid; how can they hide her?

Why is it worth your time?: It's a good, bittersweet tale of two different people finding and connecting with each other in space! Give it a shot!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, bodyhopping, closeting, cofronting, teamwork, friendship, intimate relationships, setting-specific

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in audiobook, ebook, and still in print; also Italian, French, and German. Also on archive.org

Misc Notes: Nominated for Hugo, Locus, and Nebula.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Thanks to [personal profile] beepbird for telling us about this!

"She and her and us and we
All of us love all of you
And that's all we know how to do"


Blurb: A plural love song by an all plural therian band.

Why is it worth your time?: It's cute, bouncy, and fun!

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

Content Warnings: None

Access Notes: Available for pay what you want on bandcamp! Lyrics now available in the comments below! (Thanks, [personal profile] synecdoches!)
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] acorn_squash! Thank you, [personal profile] acorn_squash!

"Hi! I’m James, the Bored Work Alter! I come out to promote synergy and provide best-of-breed service to put alimentary products on our table unit to provide sustenance."

Blurb: The Shattered Souls System are the latest guests on Dysfunction Junction, where Hess and Zip support struggling systems in becoming more functional by connecting them with systems who have their sh*t together. Unfortunately, Ellen Barbara, this episode’s advice-giver, has her own ideas of what “functional” means—and the business-jargon-addicted James isn’t helping much, either. It’s a workplace satire! It mocks ableism and two-dimensional views of multiplicity! In short, it’s a Plures House production.

Why is it worth your time?: It’s funny and has some great voice acting!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: low-focus, cofronting, creator speaks from experience, relationships: teamwork, type: medical, type: switching

(Edit: Technically abuse isn't mentioned at all? Just unspecified trauma.)

Content Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, plus the topics in the blurb.

Accessibility Notes: Free online audio drama with a screenreadable transcript. Some dialogue is in all-caps. Backed up on the Wayback Machine.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
This was submitted by [personal profile] beepbird! Thanks, [personal profile] beepbird!

"...we are a different kind of real. It’s a kind of real that adults don’t understand, so they just assume we’re imaginary.”

Blurb: Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.

Why is it worth your time?: The entire book is told by an imaginary friend, and he's largely treated as a real person by the narrative; he has his own opinions, hopes, and fears independent of the kid imagining him, and he has an interest in his own survival. The power dynamic of being an imaginary friend is a central theme of the story, which I haven't seen explored much before.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse intermediate focus, children, imaginary friends, on purpose, neurodivergence [autism], friendship, nonswitching

Content Warnings: Kidnapping, ableism against an autistic child, bullying, claustophobia, death and existential horror of imaginary friends, threats of institutionalization, abuse, grooming, gun violence, cancer and terminal illness, panic attacks and anxiety

Accessibility Notes: Available for purchase; it's been fairly easy to find at libraries in my experience, and it can be found on archive.org for free (https://archive.org/details/memoirsofimagina0000dick). Audiobook versions are also available (https://www.audible.com/pd/Memoirs-of-an-Imaginary-Friend-Audiobook/B008X9YLAU).

Misc. Notes (if any): Unfortunately, the imaginary friend does not survive the narrative; fortunately, he gets an epilogue that still treats him as a person after the fact, which was touching.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] beepbird! Thank you, [personal profile] 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!
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] numinousdread! Thanks, [personal profile] numinousdread!

"I often imagine what my neighbors think as I am rushing huge catering trays into my car, and then the next day I have a full drag outfit made all of synthetic hair that I'm rushing to my car, and then the next day I'm covered completely in blue paint because I'm doing a Violet Beauregarde drag number. [Both laugh] You know, I think about it. I'm just kind of embracing. For me, it is about gender. It does relate to gender, because I just think of myself as a house for many different beings, and they all are employed. [Both laugh] They all have jobs. They have all different jobs, they have different outfits, they have different likes and dislikes, and they're all trying to make this human vessel their home. Sometimes chaos ensues. [Laughs] That's how they’re all tied together: they all live in the same house."

Blurb: A Nigerian-American trans artist and chef discusses his work, feelings about top surgery, and experiencing his body as a house for multiple beings.

Why is it worth your time?: An interesting discussion of drag as an outlet for plurality, and a very non-sensationalized/chill presentation of Amabebe's experiences (imho).

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, spiritual

Content Warnings: Discussion of the loss of Amabebe's father, as well as non-specific discussion of his difficult childhood and how he used dissociation as a coping mechanism. (Abuse is not specifically mentioned.) Brief mentions of angry family responses to his top surgery.

Accessibility Notes: Available for free in audio and transcript form.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] erinptah! Thank you, [personal profile] erinptah!

"You saved me. I survived because I knew I wasn't alone. You were always there, so alive, so full of hope...You are the only real superpower I ever had."

Blurb: Steven Grant is an ordinary London retail worker, with an interest in Egyptology and a problem with sleepwalking. Marc Spector is a mercenary-turned-superhero, fighting evil as the Avatar of the god Khonshu, on one last mission to stop a divine genocide. And they were headmates (oh my god, they were headmates).

Why is it worth your time?: Possibly the most mainstream DID rep to get a ton of positive reviews from IRL systems. The headmates start out disconnected, spend some time aggressively clashing over their different values/priorities (not to mention Steven's instant crush on Marc's wife Layla). Then they need to lean on each other's skills to survive a classic superhero world-saving quest, get dragged through some magical trauma-processing, and ultimately figure out how to understand and appreciate each other. Oscar Isaac plays both of them, and (with the help of an amazing crew + diligent FX team) has amazing chemistry with himself. Avoids the usual Marvel settings to bring us to London and Cairo; it's the rare Egypt-centric series driven by IRL Egyptian creatives, and it shows.

Plural Tags: abuse intermediate-focus, cofronting, memory work, otherworld, people: imaginary friends, relationship: friendship, relationship: teamwork, type: medical, type: switching

Content Warnings: Genre-typical violence. Others contain SPOILERS, see comments.

Accessibility Notes: Streaming version has multiple translations, subtitles in multiple languages, and a couple of audio tracks with voiceover descriptions included. Also available on DVD.

Misc. Notes (if any): When the show's portrayal of DID gets criticized, it's mostly over aspects that have been simplified or dramatized to keep things clear for the audience. Example: at first, when we see Marc and Steven switch, it's physically exaggerated, like they're having a seizure...because new viewers need the visual cue that something disorienting and unusual is happening. The guys have more subtle and realistic switches later, when the audience has gotten the hang of how it works.

Meanwhile, the series takes care to get a lot of important dynamics right. Like "if one headmate is doing distressing things behind another headmate's back, it doesn't mean the first one's a horror-movie villain, it means they have different ideas about how to stay safe." And "friends/loved ones don't have to be perfect experts, or to disregard their own needs, to be a good supporter for a system." And "sometimes alters are based on fictional characters, it's fine." And "trauma holders deserve to be told the trauma wasn't their fault." And "healing with DID doesn't require keeping The Original and getting rid of everyone else, it's about everyone figuring out how to work together and support each other."
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by a kindly anon! Thank you, anon!

Full title: Clock Tower Ghost Head AKA Clock Tower 2: The Struggle Within

"Don't be afraid, Alyssa..."

Blurb: Teenager Alyssa Hale is trying to start over in a new city after a horrific incident at her previous school. She is haunted by someone named Bates who has been taking control of her body against her will. Things go from bad to worse upon reaching her uncle's house and finding a dead body shortly after. The reason why Bates exists will be revealed, but she must learn to accept him in order to find that truth and, most importantly, survive the night.

Why is it worth your time?: Alyssa and Bates switching is a game mechanic that can be used to solve puzzles! One can do or find something the other can't, and vice-versa. That itself is pretty cool, especially for a PS1 game.

That said, the game's got a lot of issues. The English version's box claims that Alyssa has an 'evil split personality and she is thirsty for blood oh nooo' without acknowledging Bates as his own person. The Japanese version at least makes it clearer that they are two separate souls in the same body. In both versions, Bates, the so-called 'evil' one, is really more Chaotic Neutral.

See comments for clarifying spoilers!

Plural Tags: spiritual, teamwork, enmity, switching, the dead, family

Content Warnings: death (child and adult), bodily mutilation, strong language, parental neglect, medical experimentation

Accessibility Notes: It is a PS1 game long out of print with two language options (Japanese and English, separate releases); the English version is prohibitively expensive to acquire secondhand, but it's available to play on archive.org. This Let's Play has unobtrusive commentary, reads all text aloud, finds all endings and extra bonuses. The game itself comes with all dialogue subtitled and audio both.

Misc. Notes (if any): Honestly...the game kind of sucks lol. But this system appreciates protector tropes, and Bates very much hits that trope. Plus, in the English version he's voiced by Roger L. Jackson who is so very fun to listen to!
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] acorn_squash! Thank you, [profile] acron_squash! ^_^

“Vern reached out to squeeze Lucy’s hand. Lucy squeezed back. In her mind, Vern said the words, I love you, I miss you. Lucy put down the book, turned to Vern, and said, ‘I like living inside of you.’”

Blurb: Everybody in Cainland is used to hauntings - visions and night terrors supposedly caused by withdrawal from white people's toxins. But in Cainland, everything is connected and nothing is what it seems. After fleeing the Cainland cult compound pregnant with twins, an exoskeleton develops on Vern's disabled, teenage body, a passenger that saps her energy but connects her to something greater than herself. Meanwhile, she learns to communicate with her hauntings and develops loving relationships with some of them.

Why is it worth your time?: It’s a fast-paced thriller with some of the most unique and creative science fiction elements I’ve seen in a while (did I mention the exoskeleton?). Definitely read the content warnings first, though!

Plural Tags:abuse high-focus, the dead, children, setting-specific plurality, family, friendship, and intimate relationships, visions

Content Warnings: The author includes the following content warning: “I hope that even as Sorrowland delves into the pain these colonial states have wrought, one might see the joy, triumph, and humor of those who resist, resist, resist. That said, there is no mincing words about some of the darker themes in this book. Note discussion and instances of racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicidality, and homophobia, inclusion of animal death and explicit violence, and references to sexual violence that have taken place off the page.”

In addition to this, the book also includes the death and sexual abuse of children, the forced removal of children, poverty, homelessness, cults, medical experimentation, and drugs. Pregnancy, childbirth, and consensual sex also appear.

Accessibility Notes: Available in e-book, audiobook, and print.
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] acorn_squash! Thank you, [personal profile] acorn_squash!

“Seeing is believing in the things you see
Loving is believing in the ones you love!”


Blurb: A sweet song about being friends with a unicorn, the northern star, and someone who lives inside of you.

Why is it worth your time?: It’s cute and it’s about love!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, imaginary friends, nonhumans [unicorn, celestial body/northern star in English, flying elephant, moon and stars in Cantonese], friendship

Content Warnings: Discussion of facing ableism and lack of understanding, which is shrugged off immediately. This is a happy song!

Accessibility Notes: The audio and lyrics are available for free on the singer’s website. The songsheet is $5. Also, in 1984, this song got covered and adapted in Cantonese by George Lam, with the title San Ren Xing/三人行! You can listen to it and see the lyrics both in Chinese and English here!
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[personal profile] lb_lee
"you can’t do anything, we getting in
put some money on a god, i bet we win
i feel the power on my skin, setting in
i feel a demon at my door, LET IT IN"


Blurb: Akwaeke Emezi's debut EP, with the declared premise of, "I'm here, I'm a god, now shake your ass ;)"

Why is it worth your time?: It rocks! It's a kicking album covering themes like spirit lovers, godhood, deviant victory, and Jean Grey! Give it a listen!

Plural Tags: abuse intermediate-focus, otherworld, nonhumans [gods, demons, spirits], dreamfolk, relationships romantic and teamwork and community, spiritual, visions, voices

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: All songs come with lyrics and notes. Parts of a couple songs are in Portuguese and Igbo. You can listen for free, but please do buy it on Bandcamp! It's only $7!

Misc Notes: Contains seven tracks, all less than three minutes:
  1. Let It In
  2. Summoning 101
  3. Diabozinho
  4. The Thing You're Looking For is Inside Me
  5. Jean Grey
  6. Banye
  7. Light Fantastic
lb_lee: Sneak smiling (sneak)
[personal profile] lb_lee
"dragons may be make believe -- that doesn't make them fake."

Blurb: A children's song about a young boy and his imaginary dragon friend.

Why is it worth your time?: I mean, if you want a sad song about the abandonment of childhood wonder and dreams, there's the original. If you want the happy ending, you can read Spider Robinson's 3rd verse addendum!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, otherworld, imaginary friends, nonhumans [dragon], friendship

Content Warnings: loss of childhood innocence and wonder

Access Notes: This is a very well-known song and easy to find lyrics and recordings of. It's also on archive.org! Spider Robinson's verse is also freely available online, because the fanzine he put it in (Niekas #30, from 1981) got digitized a while ago. If you are TRULY deadset on owning Robinson's verse on paper with an illustration, it was also printed in Fifty Extremely SF* Stories, edited by Michael Bastraw.

Misc Notes: Since Robinson's verse is so short, I just copy-pasted it into the comments below, because it seems like the kind of ephemera that might disappear. I know he's performed it live, but I haven't found any recordings, sorry!
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[personal profile] lb_lee
Submitted by [personal profile] 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.


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[personal profile] lb_lee
"The you that killed Viola Wright was mulched a month later. I found my outlying scrap of consciousness balled up in Gus's pocket, all unbeknownst to him, along with the rest of your magically compressed matter and a great charge of vibrating magic. It was an unsettling vantage, for where I curled infinitesimally in your remains I could hear what I might call my primary self screaming above Gus's head.'"

Blurb: Gus is a sorcerer so obsessed with Catherine that he murders her, and her ghost is stuck haunting him forevermore. Unable to accept that Catherine doesn't love him, Gus then becomes obsessed with finding other girls that remind him of Catherine and making THEM love him... only to kill them when the inevitably don't'. He creates magical duplicates of himself to do that dirty work, forever recycling them into new copies, using Catherine's ghost to follow them. But over the decades, that means a piece of Catherine is embedded in those pieces of Gus. And she still wants her revenge...

Why is it worth your time?: It's pretty good! This is a book covering 150+ years of time, with three major time periods and two (or three, depending how you count) different points of view, and a decently sizable cast, all organized well enough so as not to throw us. Gus is utterly convincing as that special brand of romantic obsessive who sees himself as the most loving person, all the while being an utter horrorshow, and Catherine's revenge is delicious.

Plural Tags: abuse (mostly of a ghost) high-focus, cofronting, copies, the dead, enmity, setting-specific, possession

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in print, ebook, and audiobook
lb_lee: A happy little brain with a bandage on it, enclosed within a circle with the words LB Lee. (Default)
[personal profile] lb_lee
"These stories were very old, as old as people, and they had survived because they were very powerful indeed. These were the tales that echoed in the head long after the books that contained them were cast aside. They were both an escape from reality and an alternative reality themselves. They were so old, and so strange, that they had found a kind of existence independent of the pages they occupied. The world of the old tales existed parallel to ours, as David's mother had once told him, but sometimes the wall separating the two became so thin and brittle that the two worlds started to blend into each other.

"That was when the trouble started."


Blurb: After the tragic death of his mother, his father's remarriage, and the birth of a baby brother, troubled boy David finds himself sucked into a fantasy world that seems cobbled together from the various books in his room. But those books and stories don't all belong to him, and some of them are very grim...

Why is it worth your time?: It's an enjoyable dark fantasy with truly frightening villains, tragic heroes, all overhung with a backdrop of World War II, which David is too young to fully understand the nature of. Give it a shot!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, otherworld, fictioneers, the dead, visions, voices

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: This book is mainstream and well-liked and has gotten multiple printings, so it's easy to find in libraries. Available in ebook, audiobook, paperback, and hardback formats. Also got translated into French, where it won an award!

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pluralstories: James of William Denn leafing through the DSM-III-R (Default)
Many-Selved Stories and Multi Media

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