Struggling With Your Identity?

Submitted Prompt #166

[character A] makes a deal with a supernatural entity, giving up their ownership over their body.

only after the deal has been made does the supernatural entity realise that [character A] is a member of a system, and as such isnt actually the sole owner of the body. leaving the supernatural entity now trapped in a body they dont fully own.

Two sentence horror story (warning very scary 😰😱😨)

"I have a new hyperfixation!" I said happily.

(Three days later) sigh…pk;m new

me: "i dont know how i ever coped as a singlet"

my headmate Ashley: "poorly"

me: "ok i mean that is true but theres no need to call me out like that"

sorry if i forget your name, im really bad at remembering peoples names.

i dont even remember my own name half the time.

its so nice to take a break from fronting all the time. im always so much more relaxed when i come back.

its great and i really have to do it more.

if you make a special box in your head called "thoughts that aren't mine" and put every thought that doesn't feel like your own into that box. let's just say. something magical happens

Me when I was a "singlet": I wonder if my system friends think it's cheesy when I say "ya'll" or "you guys" to them.

Me knowing I'm a system, after someone just referred to us as "you guys":

how fitting for this to be answered while we've got a really bad headache.

plural culture is headache

.

I can't stop thinking about a plural future. I can't stop thinking about the day a plural kid goes to school and won't be forced to "get rid" of his "imaginary" friend when he gets older. About the day a plural kid goes to university and joins a plurality affinity group and takes a class about disability, neurodivergency, and plurality in society. About the day a parade rushes through Washington D.C. flaunting icons of intersecting rings and ampersands, joyous and unafraid. About the day non-discrimination policies say that you can't discriminate against someone on the basis of their multiplicity. About the day a system can introduce themselves in public as Jackie and Johnny, not just Jackie. About the day a presidential candidate gets on stage and tells the nation that they believe plurality is real and worthy of respect. About the day someone talking about their sysmate is as normal as talking about their partner. About the day a system dies and the names of all of their sysmates are carved on their gravestone. I can't stop thinking about the day that we are unbound and happy. May we never lose sight of that day.

As awareness of plurality continues to spread online, that also means more and more people will realize they are plural. And unfortunately, there will be a response from certain gatekeepy exclusionist types, who will push back against these newfound systems and insist on invalidating them. They’ll insist they’re just hopping on a trend, or just fooling themselves, or whatever other justification they can make up to maintain the idea that being plural is extremely rare and being plural means suffering for it.

Don’t fall for it. Being plural presents challenges and difficulties without question, but being plural also can bring joys and clarity that weren’t possible otherwise. Being plural can be hard, and it can be beautiful.

No two systems present and function exactly the same ways. No two systems are plural for the exact same reasons. So we can’t expect there to be an absolute common trait present in every system. So any attempt to weed out the “fakers” is pointless and malicious.

If someone believes themself to be plural, they have good reason to. No further “proof” needed. If someone comes to us believing themself to be plural, we will help them along without critique or question. And above all we will be happy for them. Even if someday they realize they aren’t plural, that process of being allowed to question and experiment is so important, and they should be allowed to do so regardless of where they end up.

Plurality is a spectrum that encompasses a vast swathe of experiences and outlooks. It can be difficult to reckon with, which is why community is so vital. And as that community online grows and becomes more and more visible, we should all do our part, systems and singlets, to make sure these newfound systems feel safe, seen, and welcome.