Blog Introduction
What this blog is:
This blog serves the purpose of cataloguing and reviewing plural characters in media.
For the uninitiated/singlets who come upon this blog- These are characters who are multiple people or ‘personalities’ in one body. Have a very nice FAQ [HERE] about that.
What this blog is not:
A judgement on characters or a source as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ - This blog seeks to note characters that exhibit plural traits, what tropes they play into, and what things they get right about the experience. The bar is so low its on the ground for this kind of representation. Because media rep of plurals is so inaccurate, a character that is ‘good representation’ is good representation compared to what is out there and will often exhibit at least a few inaccuracies or tropes that some systems may find offensive. A character or source with many of these tropes is not nessesarily a ‘bad’ character or source, simply one that is often inaccurate to irl plural experience and filled with stereotypes. While there is a ‘score’ that characters and sources are graded by, this score serves as a spoiler-free tldr to what inaccuracies/potentially upsetting tropes they exhibit, nothing more.
A definitive voice of the community - We are simply one system who wanted to catalogue plural characters. That is all. We do not pretend to be the authority on ‘good plural rep’ and we don’t want to be.
A place to bring discourse - We hold Neurodiversity and Mad Pride views. Arguments about what ‘counts’ as being multiple people in one body will not be tolerated here and will earn swift blocks. Do not bring this into our notes or inbox. Simply block us if you are so upset about this and move on.
A good single source on the plural experience for singlets - To all of you who are here because you are not plural but are curious or want to write better plurals, welcome! Please do your reading up on what plurality is elsewhere, if that is what you are here for. There is a good faq linked above as a starting point.
How this blog operates:
Sources rather than characters will be listed, as some characters are spoilers for their source. Out of respect to people who wish to remain spoiler free, all details will be under a cut and a spoiler-free tldr will be available. This will be the case even for older fandoms.
As readmores can become broken, to help archiving, there will be a dreamwidth mirror of this blog where all reviews are also available [HERE].
A review on this blog does not mean a recommendation or a condemnation for the series. We do not recommend viewing a source solely for the representation it offers as this will potentially set you up for distress and disappointment when the story is not to your tastes, but do what you will.
The finished reviews may be found [HERE]
IF YOU ARE SENDING IN A CHARACTER AS A CHARACTER TO ADD TO THE LIST GIVE THE NAME OF THE MEDIA YOU ARE SENDING IN OR IT WILL BE DELETED. YES EVEN IF ITS OBVIOUS
FAQ:
[LINK HERE]
The TLDR scoring system:
If there is a definitive canon system type it will be noted.
Plurals will be examined on 7 fronts; Personhood, Dynamic, Narrative Sympathy, Consistency, Edge, Singlet Nonsense, and Overall Score.
The spoiler free TLDR will use a number score of 1-10 for each category.
Personhood- Grades when systems that who are clearly separate entities are given their own characterization, such as their own motivations, likes/dislikes, relationships, identity bits, etc. A system with a high score means the narrative and others give each of these demonstrably separate members personhood, and a low score means they do not.
Dynamic- About how the system operates and interacts with each other. A system with a high score functions not nessesarily well but they do interact with each other and the world in ways that make sense for their level of functioning. A system with a low score does not.
Narrative Sympathy- About how the narrative vilifies or doesn't vilify the plural character and their headmates and how the narrative treats their personhood. A system with a high score is treated well and given sympathetic reasons for their behavior on the level of the other characters. A system with a low score is not.
Consistency- Regarding consistent portrayal. A high score indicates the character is acknowledged as plural throughout the narrative and headmates are not forgotten when not driving the plot. A low score does not.
Edge- Regarding the ‘edgy’ plural tropes like evil/berserk/superpowered headmates and heavy angst regarding their headmates ‘taking over’. A high score indicates the plural has a heavy dose of these tropes. A low score does not.
Singlet Nonsense- Regarding any other inaccurate, stereotypical, or uncomfortable-for-some tropes that singlets like to add such as singletification(integration, killing all but one person in a system, splitting them into separate bodies) and unexplained setting/power inappropriate shapeshifting(ie- nonmagic setting with random werewolf animal alter is this, magic user in a fantasy setting customizing their hair/eye color where this is not possible).
Overall Score- The overall score based on the previous values and how much weight each thing has on the narrative. High Edge and Singlet Nonsense scores drive this score down. High number in the other categories lift this score up.
The Character List:
[Here] is the google doc featuring all the characters we know of that are plural. Again, unmarked heavy spoilers may be found here.
