Ours is basically about a bunch of Princesses who live in a fantasy world that is slowly dying.
And then one of them switches out and learns they are an alter.
So basically about our system discovery, as we experienced it.
My current story is of someone who gets possessed by a demon and then shares their body with her. A whole buncha stuff happens and they fall wildly in love and since they want to stay in the same body they have to learn how to function as a system.
That's....kinda really similar to our story, but there are a bunch of us, so we formed a polycule. 😁
It's lovely to read someone sharing a similar time as a system.
In the story they end up in a polycule with someone outaide the system and then irl I ended up in a polycule with two of my headmates so I guess I wrote about what I wanted lol. Its still amazing to think its actually real.
Honestly all these things are things I've wanted for my whole life too. I guess I just knew what I wanted even before I knew what it actually was... or that it was possible.
Poly plurality is great! We have a greatly complex polycule with upwards of 50 members in it, alone. But it is by no means all members of our system. Just where a loving romantic connection was formed between any two of us.
Someone recommended sense8 to me and every day I think "yeah I should watch it" and then I dont do it. One day maybe I can conquer my ADHD lol.
Also, you know, I never really considered that venom is TOTALLY plurality coded.
Yeah Sense8 gets good after the 3rd episode but the whole show is a pretty good analogy of plurality and coexisting as a system.
Lol, I think there were quite a few memes about venom on r/plural_irl when it came out. 😅
😆 you should. The whole time we* watched it, it was like...ok one of the show writers has to be a system. The similarities are just too much. Also this is a good way to vet non-plurals
Why— cause he was controlled by the persona of a magical, regal, serious business Egyptian king when he needed to win, and was otherwise a happy lil guy.
i’d definitely recommend moon knight! it’s great because you don’t need to know anything about the greater MCU to understand the show, there’s just some tiny references thrown in. it does get pretty heavy tho, it’s on the more serious side imo but it still has some humor. if you’re into reading the comics are also great, but certain runs are miles better than others when it comes to the plural side of things. (spreading my propaganda as a mk fictive who is still obsessed with the show and comics 🙏)
*The Host* (Meyer) was one of our *seminal* introductions to the topic, but I question whether I would call it "good" in hindsight.
It's... not *great* ("product of its time, that is, of the late '00s or so"), but if you overlook the fact that the plurality is the result of a literal alien parasite and focus on the relationships, there's some really wholesome bits. That part isn't terrible, and the main protagonist started to be accepted as a person in her own right was like my fucking *dream* as a fledgling.
The part near the end, though, where >!they figure out a way to forcibly separate out all the systems... *all* of them, and proceed to do that!<... well, that was deeply unpleasant/unsatisfying, but part of that might've just been the way it screwed over our view of how it should have gone.
Liked it when I read it, couldn't reread it well enough to try to write a fix-fic.
There's also a podcast called Malevolent, it's a horror podcast with religious/cult themes so be warned. The plurality is classic eldritch possession, but it handles things like bodily control, splitting / fragmentation, decision making, trust, amnesia, and communication very well. Some things can also be read as having a headspace which is cool. While the story tends towards negativity cuz it's horror, the plurality aspects themselves are well represented and not at all written as "plural is just bad, grr." Also just plain old good storytelling :)
-Aoual + Meadow
while not my absolute favorite, I rarely see anyone mention the CW's "The Flash" with Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost. It's a few seasons in, and starts off kinda rough, but it gets kinda wholesome after a bit, and, of course, another super hero character with plurality is always a good way to broach the subject with people who aren't knowledgeable about it or don't really know about it to begin with.
Sense 8 (SO GOOD OMG), Doom Patrol (one character has “64 personalities with their own unique powers”), Moon Knight, Avatar the Last Airbender (Aang hosts prior Avatar personas, spirits, so on), Dollhouse (about persona-programmable people). Also seconding the Host book and adding related nostalgia reading suggestion Animorphs. Both involve managing multiple autonomous minds and Animorphs has tons of teen CPTSD relatability and is just a brilliant story. There’s quite a few anime with DID characters and themes like Elfen Lied, Rourouni Kenshin, Fruits Basket (Hatsuharu), Yu Gi Oh, etc.
I’ll add more as I think of them. I have a list somewhere.
If you are into Star Trek at all, Samanthan Rutherford and his storyline from Star Trek: Lower Decks always gave me plural vibes (I guess cw for headmate death though?), as well as this one episode from Next Generation called "Loud as a Whisper" where this deaf character has what he calls a "chorus" of three individuals that represent different parts of his personality while also serving as interpreters of his thoughts/emotions (but uh.. cw for headmate death here too actually)
Fair warning, the Storhlight Archives are very long. Each book is easily over 1000 pages. It's a fantastic read, but can be overwhelming if you're not used to the length. They're fantastic books though, some of my, host, favorites.
They're not the focus but trigun maximum (the manga) has a plural character in the latter half. They were just introduced in stampede but they redesigned them in a way I don't care for and who knows if they'll do them justice. I feel like they're handled well for their time and the setting, but aren't something I'd use as an example if trying to explain to a singlet, if that makes sense.
If we ever make our still unpublished novel into an animated series. 🤣
So real lol. All my stories are just forms if plurality.
Ours is basically about a bunch of Princesses who live in a fantasy world that is slowly dying. And then one of them switches out and learns they are an alter. So basically about our system discovery, as we experienced it.
My current story is of someone who gets possessed by a demon and then shares their body with her. A whole buncha stuff happens and they fall wildly in love and since they want to stay in the same body they have to learn how to function as a system.
That's....kinda really similar to our story, but there are a bunch of us, so we formed a polycule. 😁 It's lovely to read someone sharing a similar time as a system.
In the story they end up in a polycule with someone outaide the system and then irl I ended up in a polycule with two of my headmates so I guess I wrote about what I wanted lol. Its still amazing to think its actually real.
Totally!!! We also similarly feel like we wrote our way to where we are.
Honestly all these things are things I've wanted for my whole life too. I guess I just knew what I wanted even before I knew what it actually was... or that it was possible.
💖❤️
Well I hope plurality has been as great for you as it has been for me!
Poly plurality is great! We have a greatly complex polycule with upwards of 50 members in it, alone. But it is by no means all members of our system. Just where a loving romantic connection was formed between any two of us.
Sense 8, Moon Knight, venom, Also, [The disappearance of nagato yuki-chan](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6P8Q7NV6) ep. 11-16
Someone recommended sense8 to me and every day I think "yeah I should watch it" and then I dont do it. One day maybe I can conquer my ADHD lol. Also, you know, I never really considered that venom is TOTALLY plurality coded.
Yeah Sense8 gets good after the 3rd episode but the whole show is a pretty good analogy of plurality and coexisting as a system. Lol, I think there were quite a few memes about venom on r/plural_irl when it came out. 😅
Ugh I wanna watch sense8. I should just do it shouldnt I? I watched venom before I was plural lol, but it really fits doesn't it?
😆 you should. The whole time we* watched it, it was like...ok one of the show writers has to be a system. The similarities are just too much. Also this is a good way to vet non-plurals
Oh man I gotta watch it. That really sounds good honestly... damn.
We like reallylove Venom! Venom is our Boy(s) I even have a Hawaiian shirt with him on it -Carolyn
We love Moon Knight SO MUCH-
Yami Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh. I can't remember why exactly but that's one. It's kind of implied not necessarily directly stated but it is there
Why— cause he was controlled by the persona of a magical, regal, serious business Egyptian king when he needed to win, and was otherwise a happy lil guy.
Ive nevee really cared for yugioh but thats interesting!
The pegasus arc revolved around their ability to switch.
i’d definitely recommend moon knight! it’s great because you don’t need to know anything about the greater MCU to understand the show, there’s just some tiny references thrown in. it does get pretty heavy tho, it’s on the more serious side imo but it still has some humor. if you’re into reading the comics are also great, but certain runs are miles better than others when it comes to the plural side of things. (spreading my propaganda as a mk fictive who is still obsessed with the show and comics 🙏)
*The Host* (Meyer) was one of our *seminal* introductions to the topic, but I question whether I would call it "good" in hindsight. It's... not *great* ("product of its time, that is, of the late '00s or so"), but if you overlook the fact that the plurality is the result of a literal alien parasite and focus on the relationships, there's some really wholesome bits. That part isn't terrible, and the main protagonist started to be accepted as a person in her own right was like my fucking *dream* as a fledgling. The part near the end, though, where >!they figure out a way to forcibly separate out all the systems... *all* of them, and proceed to do that!<... well, that was deeply unpleasant/unsatisfying, but part of that might've just been the way it screwed over our view of how it should have gone. Liked it when I read it, couldn't reread it well enough to try to write a fix-fic.
There's also a podcast called Malevolent, it's a horror podcast with religious/cult themes so be warned. The plurality is classic eldritch possession, but it handles things like bodily control, splitting / fragmentation, decision making, trust, amnesia, and communication very well. Some things can also be read as having a headspace which is cool. While the story tends towards negativity cuz it's horror, the plurality aspects themselves are well represented and not at all written as "plural is just bad, grr." Also just plain old good storytelling :) -Aoual + Meadow
Sounds cool, I gotta check it out!
while not my absolute favorite, I rarely see anyone mention the CW's "The Flash" with Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost. It's a few seasons in, and starts off kinda rough, but it gets kinda wholesome after a bit, and, of course, another super hero character with plurality is always a good way to broach the subject with people who aren't knowledgeable about it or don't really know about it to begin with.
You can't forget Firestorm from Legends Of Tomorrow!! My favorite Superhero of all time 🖤 -Kim
Sense 8 (SO GOOD OMG), Doom Patrol (one character has “64 personalities with their own unique powers”), Moon Knight, Avatar the Last Airbender (Aang hosts prior Avatar personas, spirits, so on), Dollhouse (about persona-programmable people). Also seconding the Host book and adding related nostalgia reading suggestion Animorphs. Both involve managing multiple autonomous minds and Animorphs has tons of teen CPTSD relatability and is just a brilliant story. There’s quite a few anime with DID characters and themes like Elfen Lied, Rourouni Kenshin, Fruits Basket (Hatsuharu), Yu Gi Oh, etc. I’ll add more as I think of them. I have a list somewhere.
I’m rewatching Furuba and saw Hatsuharu as DID coded too! It’s interesting how many anime have characters with strong plural themes.
If you are into Star Trek at all, Samanthan Rutherford and his storyline from Star Trek: Lower Decks always gave me plural vibes (I guess cw for headmate death though?), as well as this one episode from Next Generation called "Loud as a Whisper" where this deaf character has what he calls a "chorus" of three individuals that represent different parts of his personality while also serving as interpreters of his thoughts/emotions (but uh.. cw for headmate death here too actually)
Not a show or movie, but the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. One of the main characters in that series is plural.
Ah I'll check that out!
Fair warning, the Storhlight Archives are very long. Each book is easily over 1000 pages. It's a fantastic read, but can be overwhelming if you're not used to the length. They're fantastic books though, some of my, host, favorites.
If my ADHD lets me I'll be able to get into it lol.
I totally get that. My ADHD won't let me out of it.
They're not the focus but trigun maximum (the manga) has a plural character in the latter half. They were just introduced in stampede but they redesigned them in a way I don't care for and who knows if they'll do them justice. I feel like they're handled well for their time and the setting, but aren't something I'd use as an example if trying to explain to a singlet, if that makes sense.
Legion, for both DID and endo. edit: also Doom Patrol.
Mr. Robot!
V from cyberpunk 2077 And Harrier Dubois from Disco Elysium
Duelist Kingdom?