FAQ
˚︶꒷︶꒷꒦꒷︶꒷︶˚
These are the most frequently asked questions that we have gotten or that we see others getting about our plurality and about plurality in general. If you have non-redundant questions you can ask us through one of our social medias, but we do not have to answer and will ignore you if you are being blatantly rude.
What is plurality?
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Simply put, plurality is the state of having more than one conscious identity in a body. The entire group of entities sharing a body is usually called a system, though other words are used by some (like us! we use Plural and/or Collective). You may have heard of plurality before if you've heard of "multiple personalities", but it's important to note that this term is very outdated and shouldn't be used if you don't want to offend plural folks. You wouldn't call yourself a personality instead of a person, and many plural people feel the same way.
Plurality is more than “work me, home me”. Members of a collective are felt to be at least somewhat separate from each other, whereas "work you" is still you. Furthermore, plural members are not within each others' control and can act independently. Plural experiences range from being completely separate people sharing a body to being different ages or parts of a central self, sharing a body with spiritual entities, having many fragmentory selves that combine in different ways to create new people, hearing voices inside that are able to influence or control one's behavior, and a variety of other experiences. Every Plural is different. Regardless of these differences, all plurals are more than one person in some way. No one member of a plural collective is the "real" one, and plurals are not roleplaying or imagining their own existence.
Some plurals are disordered, typically due to trauma. The disordered forms of plurality are Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD-1). To have DID, a plural must have amnesia for the recent or distant past and must be experiencing distress in addition to being plural. OSDD-1 is like DID, but without amnesia and/or discrete members. It's worth noting that not all plurals are disordered and that plurality is not inherently a problem. For some, it can be a very positive aspect of their lives that helps them function better.
You may have heard the word "alters" used to describe the members of DID and OSDD plurals, but not every Plural uses that term for their members. Even textbook-disordered Plurals don't always refer to themselves as alters. Different plurals will prefer different words- ask them what they prefer to be called, and default to "members" if you're not sure. We personally call ourselves headmates, similarly to roommate since we share a head/brain.
Plural people are not murderers or out to get you, contrary to what media would have you believe. Hollywood get so much wrong especially when it comes to mental disorders, and it's portrayed plurality extremely inaccurately. If you want a good example in media of what plurality can be like, "Inside Out" is generally praised by the plural community for being remarkably similar to their experiences if one substitutes the emotions for people.
I talk to you all the time. Why didn't I notice this?
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"🎶~That's what the mask is, That's what the point of the mask is~🎶" We are Autistic and have ADHD. We have been told to sit down and blend in. We have been shamed and bullied and punished severely for minimal things that aren't even punishable such as being overactive and talkitive. We have been treated horribly and been traumatized for mild things such as fidgiting... So we have learned how to mask. I can Guarentee you know quite a few who have one or the other or both and you would never be able to tell because society has taught us to hide. It's the same for Plurals, so we mask so well that you wouldn't have noticed. Besides for a lot of Plurals their plurality functions in such a way that it's inherintly covert and as such would be hard to notice especially if they are not open about their plurality or do not even know they are plural themselves.
Are you insane or just trying to be special?
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Well first of all that's a rude question. No we are not insane. We are diagnosed and medically recognized. We went through therapy for 7 years and recieved the diagnosis of DDNOS (Which is what OSDD was called at the time, that is now an outdated term.) That's 7 years of being seen by a specialist who studied our daily life, just for that therapist to tell us what we already knew! No we are not insane.
As far as trying to be special... Honey if we wanted to be special we would try to become a celebrity or something. No we don't care for any attention at all, in fact we are paranoid about being the center of any attention (in any way where we cannot escape such attention) That's agoraphobia for you. We manage to feel safe enough online because we don't show the body's face, nor do we reveal any informantion that can dox us. Besides we have enough other disorders to be considered "special" :)
Are you planning to fuse/integrate into one person?
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No. We do not desire to become a single individual. For 1 we can not imagine our life as a singlet, there are many pros to beign a plural (as well as cons) and those pros are worth more than all of the cons. 2nd aside from the benifits of being a plural, our pluralhood has saved our life many times. Besides that, our plurality is not a hinderence on us, yes there are downfalls to being plural, as there are downfalls to everything in existence. We love being plural and other reasons aside we are a big close-nit family, We would never want to get rid of eachother no matter how much we annoy eachother. This is not to say that plurals who do chose Final Fusion are bad or anything. I's a complicated subject and plurals that chose it have every right to, it simply isn't for us.
How should I interact with you?
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- When referring to our collective, use any of the following names; Nic, Forest, Spec, Spector, Spectator, or Freak. For Pronouns use plural they/Them, It/Its, "you", "you all", "ya'll", "you&", "you guys", or whatever other term(s) you would use to refer to a group of people.
- When referring to specific people in our collective, use their individual names and pronouns.
- Don't expect us to always take hints or pick up on sarcasm. Sometimes we miss those cues and take things literally.
- Ask before touching us. Some of us are uncomfortable with being touched. Asking first avoids problems and makes everyone more comfortable. Also note; you'll need permission from each member of any collective.
- If anyone other than the host is fronting don't demand to speak to the host or refuse to interact with the fronter/rest of the collective.
- Don't act like you know/are bestfriends with everyone in our collective. We are individuals and as such have personal preferences for everything including friends.
For one common sense; Don't do things to harm us and don't be rude. For two; anything listed under the "What are some things I should avoid saying to you/to a Plural?" tab applies to us. We are still people so most things will be the same as with anyone else, but there are some things that get on our nerves.
Things you can do to make us -specifically- feel more comfortable:
Do's
Dont's
Other plurals have different preferences and it's best to ask each plural individually how they want to be treated.
Why are you showing me this?
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Mostly only systems will see this. This site was made so that we can share some information about our collective, and so that others can get to know us better. If any singlets see this, then it wasn't because of us
Why Spectator Mode?
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In plural communities Plurals name their collectives for easier referencing of their collective. As for Spectator Mode itself; It took us a long time to find a name that fit. We ended up trying out multiple names including; Forest of the Lost System, Forest of the Lost, Forest_Freaks, and Freak Storm. When we changed it again for the last time, it wasn't because we wanted to change it necessarily, but we somehow ended up making a connecting between Spectator Mode and co-consciousness. For those Minecraft fans out there who have Java/play hardcore you probably know about Spectator Mode or Mode 3. This is a gamemode where you are able to fly and pass through objects, you're invisible to other players if any are in the same world as you, however you also can't interract with the world (save for opening chests that have been opened while in survival mode). We made a connection between this and co-consciousness since when being co-con we kind of experience the world like this, 1) no one knows that us headmates are there, or that we even are plural, 2) we aren't in control of the body and therefore can't interact with anything, and 3) there are anywhere from 1-10 members in co-con at any one time, meaning that there's always at least on of us experiencing co-consciousness. Because of this we decided to adopt this name!
Why is this site so plurality focused? Aren't you more than that?
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Well of course we're more than our plurality, but our plurality is a really big part of our life such as being lgbt might be a big part of someone's life. We are a collective and as such we will always experience life as a multiple. Our Plurality will always have an impact on every other aspect of our lives, it isn't a henderence to us but it's a part of who we are. We will never know what it is like to live life as a Singlet, but as far as why this site is Plural focused, this site is made to let others get to know our collective. Yes, we are more than our plurality; we area sibling, a cousin, an artist, a writer, a dreamer, a thinker. We are so, so much more than our Plurality. But, at the end of the day we can stop being an artist, or author, or whatever else but we can't stop being plural.
Why do you use [insert term] instead of an existing term?
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The reason we don't use system is quite simple; We are multiple systems sharing a body. As such calling ourselves a system feels wrong, because of this we use "Collective" and "Plural". We are also aware that there are others who do not identify with the term system, and as such we use Collective and Plural for the Plural community in general, similarly to have one would use they/them if they don't know a person's pronouns. Other terms either are not widely known, we coined, there are multiple variants, or there isn't a term for those experiences.
Why/How are there so many of you?
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The short answer is; We don't know. This is how we've always been, we just have always been a large collective, and we've always just grown even when it doesn't seem like there's a cause. It is what it is 🤷
What are some things I should avoid saying to you/to a Plural?
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- It is generally extremely rude and possibly even triggering to ask a Plural about their trauma regardless of if they are traumagenic or not.
- It can be considered rude to ask if a plural is planning/wants to fuse
- It is 100% rude to ask for an "original" or "real" alter/member. Some plurals don't have an Original, and asking for one or for the "real" one is seen as implying that the other members of the collective or not "real" or are less "real" than the "original".
- Do not try to force a switch onto a plural without their permission
- Do Not purposefully Negatively trigger a plural
- Don't act like you know/are bestfriend with everyone in any collective. Members are individuals and as such have personal preferences for everything including friends. Also some plurals have memory barriers and as such you will be a stranger to them.
- Do not ask for specific members to front or for the plural collective to switch for you. Some plurals can't control when switches happen, or it could make the current fronter feel ignored and unwanted. It could also make the collective feel like they are being used as a form of entertainment. For some systems switches cause dissociation, derealization, depersonalization, stress and other issues.
Also note; The people who commonly front can change often, as well as how often a collective switches. - Do not compare introjects to their source or assume that they are similar to their source, no matter if they are a fictive or factive
- Do not call fictives "just kinning a character"
- Do not call factives "attempting to impersonate an actual person"
- if an introject's Source is not cannon do not refer to the difference as their "headcanon", it is their history/past and should be treated as such
- Introjects cannot control what they are sourced on so do not treat them badly for their source. This also overlaps with not comparing them to their source
- Persecutors are not out to get you. There is no "evil alter"
- Do not refer to plurals as such in public unless they've said it's okay. This is a safety thing; not everyone reacts well (especially those that are misinformed about plurality) to finding out someone is plural. Please ask in private before telling anyone.
- If you are on discord and see the following;
Do not call them bots, not even as a joke. We've all heard it a thousand times and it's old and not funny. These are the bots Tupperbox or Pluralkit. These bots delete and replace messages with one that uses a profile picture and a name of the users choice. These bots are used so that Plural members can speak freely and comfortably as themselves
There's Quite a lot I could list here... The Main thing is Common sense, If you wouldn't ask a singlet don't ask a Plural.
What is with your members names? Why are they so long?
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- Jinx a members name or X a members nickname; are the first elements. This element depends on what the member wants to be called.
- ༻☾She/Her☽༺ or ༻☾He/Him☽༺ is a members pronouns
- | divides between the member specific elements (name/nickname and pronouns), and the broader elements (Subsystem, nestsystem, and system tags).
- ༻[❌📁]༺ is a subsystem tag, this is only present for members who are in subsystems.
༻[💾 ꭖ ❌📁]༺ is a nested subsystem -a.k.a nestsystem- tag, this is only present in members who are in nestsystems.
ꭖ is a divider. - ⦑ Phoenix Paragon ⦒ represents the system they are in.
- 〘§-sm-§〙 the Polyplex tag, For most this is simply a System tag. It works the same but we call it Polyplex tag since we are a polyplex not a system.
What is with your members names? Why are they so long? What do all the things mean?
Every element in our Member Displaynames has a purpose. Here is the breakdown;
An example of what our Displaynames look like
We'll use Jinx and X as examples
And that is the breakdown of the displaynames. Obviously names, pronouns, emojis and system tags will all change for each member, the last element -the Polyplex tag- is the only element that is the same for every member.