#pluralprose

[the-indigo-symphony]

pspspspsps idk what media yall r studying but we r working on a spreadsheet with as many books about plurality or heavily textually suggests it and if yall have ideas for more books pleassse let us know!!

I can't remember what texts I was talking about at the time when I got this ask, but I'm just gonna use this opportunity to share how plural Neuromancer is. Yes, the spark of cyberpunk is plural as hell. There's literally a whole thing about a character being/having two personalities (I will not spoil it but if you read it or look up the book's characters it will become obvious fairly quickly who I'm talking about), not to mention simstimming, which is a technique/practice in which Person A can connect to Person B's body and ride along as a passenger, sensing everything they do (Case expresses some frustration about not getting to choose what Molly looks at in one part, haha) and even communicating with them to a limited extent.

Okay okay actually while writing this answer I have a suspicion that I was talking about The Haunting of Hill House?? Exactly what is going on in that story is left very ambiguous but it is very possible to see Eleanor as plural. Some plural things that stood out to me near the end are: she begins thinking of herself from a different perspective, refers to herself ("Eleanor") in the third person, and uses "we" when thinking about her actions. I might write an essay on it for my class and if so perhaps I'll post it here after getting my grade back, but I don't really want to spoil much because this interpretation mostly comes together near the end. Though, if you go into it while thinking of plurality, you'll probably pick up on the same details I did that support a plural Eleanor reading all throughout the story.

... actually. Thinking on it more. I probably wasn't thinking about Hill House. But whatever, it's relevant so it will stay. I was probably more so referring to Monster Culture: Seven Theses and an annotated version of Frankenstein I read pretty much back-to-back, since both of them brought up "elements of horror" that can really just be seen as elements of plurality. This was sent in response to me-us talking about plurality in horror, right? I think it was, anyway. But the former isn't a story and the latter... I was talking about the annotations, not the book itself (although, an essay that analyzes plural themes in Frankenstein would be a cool and interesting one to read, that's for sure). Still, assuming this link works for you, feel free to knock yourself out reading it. (A PDF of the former is freely available online, last I checked, if you want to read that, too)

That's all I can think of rn. I think it's really cool that these sparks of genres (cyberpunk and haunted houses, respectively) have plural themes to them!! If I think of more books that make me think of plurality I'll try to reblog and add to this post

[pluralprompts]

we’re in the middle of writing something that was inspired by several prompts on this blog, and recently published a short piece from it, so we figured we’d send the link in here!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50523433#main

Neato! For anyone else who'd like to read this fic, here's a direct link to it! It's an Undertale AU fic centered around Nightmare from Dreamtale. We're glad we could inspire you, anon

(old ask, cleaning out inbox; thank you for your patience in receiving this response)

[thescrapyardblog]

"I already told you," the robed man replied, "I need this body to exist on this plane. Why would I give it back so soon?"

He looked down. The woman was drenched, face wet and red from tears. "Please... I want my boy back..." Her voice was hoarse from her yelling and crying. "I promise I won't call you a demon, just please let me see him again..."

He frowned at the word, then slowly lowered himself, his gaze piercing into hers. "Look into my eyes, mortal." He moved them even closer now. "What do you see in here? Do you see your son's soul?" His voice had a bite to it that almost seemed bitter.

"I will tell you the truth, woman. He is simply asleep. I'd advise you not to disturb him." He let himself out of her space, out of the light of the room. "Our bond is permanent now, and controlled by forces beyond your understanding. No matter what you do, you can never be rid of me." Her expression barely changing, her eyes simply followed him as he left the room.

"Now if you'll excuse me, my followers are waiting for me."

[the-indigo-symphony]

One of those tropes that technically doesn't have anything to do with plurality but usually manages to hit plural experiences + feelings pretty accurately – and, therefore, a trope I very much enjoy – is "these twins(/triplets/quadruplets/etc.) were made to pretend they were only one, singular person their whole lives". Like, yessss, explore what happens when you are made to give up your individuality for a collective identity!! Explore how people will judge you for not being exactly the same all the time while never landing on the answer that you're literally not the same all the time!! Explore how fucked up it is to be put in this position in the first place!! Explore how it feels to have only a select group truly know and see you instead of the amalgamation you have crafted into a mask based on what others desire of you!!

[pluralprompts]

Hello! I was wondering if you had any resources for reading about or writing systems?

A few of your posts have really inspired me and I wanna make sure whatever I put out as more "serious" work is a better representation than just "what this one headmate thinks plurality might be like", especially for other system types/origins!

Thanks :3

Hm... Well, I can't recommend @writing-plurals enough for advice, honestly! As for my own advice, here's three posts where I've given advice before:

Post 1 (general tips for writing plural characters)

Post 2 (general tips for writing plurality)

Post 3 (avoiding stereotypes and challenging the fears that come with creating representation)

I think the best thing to do in order to get to know a certain group better is just to talk to people of that group (or at least, read their posts and works about what their lives are like). Especially since no two lives will be exactly alike; the more people you talk and listen to, the more patterns you'll be able to notice, and the more material you'll have to use as inspiration (which is especially useful, since you never know what will or will not work for your story until you actually sit down to write it). Plus, most folks are happy to answer questions about their system and how it works! Or at the very least, most will correct common generalizations they've seen that don't actually apply to all systems. It's better to ask and risk getting rejected than not give yourself a chance to get any input at all, in my opinion.

On that note, it's alright to write things clumsily, so long as they're genuine. Plurality can be difficult to portray all the nuances and details of, as I've found through my own experience. It's alright if your work sounds clumsy or cheesy at some points – trying to talk about one's identity and personal experiences often is. As annoying as it is, such personal topics just aren't always going to translate perfectly into seamless prose, especially if you're trying to introduce the audience to new information about something that occurs in the real world. Finding that balance between informative "nonfiction" and the plot and flow of a fiction story is difficult (I think that's why a lot of language education videos have just fully embraced that awkward in-between and refuse to apologize for it, and honestly, all power to 'em for that, at least they've found a way to own it). Don't give up on a scene or idea just because it sounds clumsy, especially if it's your first few drafts. Sometimes, clumsy writing is the only way through the muck of it all (even if only on your first few attempts).

If you need references or examples, we have a lot of works on this blog under the pluralprose tag, or you could go to Ao3 and search under the Multiplicity/Plurality tag (they have longer works there than we get, so I definitely recommend it if you want an example of how a longer story could work). Reading – and giving yourself time to analyze what you're reading (what you like, how the author does something, any stylistic choices you might want to implement into your own work, etc.) – is important as a writer, after all! Especially here, where those works can double as resources for understanding other systems and how they might like to be written about.

I hope this helps!!

[the-indigo-symphony]

Writing tip: if it feels like one of your characters just doesn't have enough going on in their arc, ask yourself if this problem would be fixed by them discovering that they're actually a system. Or by them becoming a system – either works. Plurality is a surefire spice of life in stories, after all!

[pluralprompts]

i wrote something for submitted prompt #49!

Also, it was agreed among them that the best case scenario would be finding a way to switch between meatspace and headspace freely, but that would have to wait.

But first, they needed to do a headcount. Everyone lined up, and Distortion eventually decided there were nine of them altogether, and one more suspected headmate. They had a discussion on how to tell the parents, and everyone thought Distortion’s idea seemed fair. Now, to wait…

I NEED COMMENTS

Submitted Prompt #49

Oh, that's awesome! Hey, everyone – here's a plural story featuring fictives from multiple different medias who wake up one day to see they're all in their own individual bodies! Why not give it a look, if that sounds interesting to you?

[mindotaur]

We are seven and we are in the forest, picking up seed pods and pretending to speak to each other through them as if they were the communicators from Star Trek. We are in our grandmother’s house discussing what we want for breakfast and arguing over how much Nescau to put in our milk when our brother first nicknames us Sméagol.

We are fifteen and throwing up in our boyfriend’s lap because someone just had the brilliant idea to chug a bottle of cachaça during a party. We are reading the Lord of the Rings in class because it’s the best way to dissociate while the teacher goes over the material we already know by heart.

We are nineteen and, somehow, we are still alive. We made it through high school, though no one knows how. We are moving to another state to attend university – a university we never thought ourselves qualified for – and now we are a completely different person.

We are twenty-one and our world shatters. We are a completely different person.

We are twenty-five and hope blooms. We know each other now, we’re learning to work together and trying to forget less. We are employed, we are in a healthy relationship, we have friends and inspiration.

We are twenty-six and we are married, but the depression sets in and we let our house and headspace go to waste. We are setting ourselves on fire to keep others warm.

We are twenty-eight and we are happy. We are still happily married. We own our house. We work together to overcome every obstacle, we pamper our dog, we spoil our cats with toys and climbing space, we have the support we need to grow and stabilize.

We are functional. We are together, always. And Sméagol gets to tax us whenever we get sushi – the sashimi is always his.