Pinned
Welcome to canonically plural.
This is a blog that is dedicated to your favorite characters who are canonically plural in some way.
Defining plurality
When I say canonically plural, what I mean is that the characters are depicted with multiple self-conscious agents of some kind sharing a single body.
It should also be long-term rather than characters who just share a body for a few moments. This time limit is relative. If a character is plural for all of their existence, but only exists for a couple hours, they've been plural their whole life. For characters with normal lifespans, I would say their plurality needs to be demonstrated to exist at least over a period of multiple days. But discretion is allowed.
This can take many forms. Venom from Spider-Man has a form of biological plurality where the alien symbiote fuses with a host. Blue Beetle is technological plurality. Moon Knight is both psychological and spiritual.
The Checklist
By my criteria, a character is canonically plural if...
- The character has multiple agents in their mind/body. ✅
- These agents share a body for a decent length of time. ✅
- These other agents possess at least some rudimentary level of self-awareness and memory, and could reflect on past events. ✅
- You used your best judgement and the submission is in good faith. ✅
If the above criteria are met in canon, the character is canonically plural!
The Good Faith Rule: On the last criterion, note that I won't be researching a lot of these before posting. So please be reasonable and remember the goal of the blog is introducing people to plural characters in different media. I realize that maybe something like the Power Rangers spending a few days in a Megazord can technically fulfill the criteria of multiple people sharing a body if you stretch it enough. So please don't go on a mission to find loopholes to the criteria.
Nothing is metaphorical
Assume for the sake of this that unless something is explicitly stated to be metaphor in the work, it is literally happening within the context of the narrative.
Perhaps the writers of Inside Out wrote the emotions as a metaphor for the emotions of singlets. But within the Inside Out universe, the emotions are actual distinct characters with their own distinct personalities. They have their own memories, their own wants and desires, their own agency. Within the fiction of the Inside Out universe, people are just naturally plural through these self-conscious emotions in their head.
All the characters in Inside Out are canonically plural.
Canonically plural character guidelines
When submitting a character that is canonically plural, please include a description of why you think that they are plural. There's no maximum length but at least a few sentences would be ideal. It doesn't need to be a huge essay. But it at least needs to convey what is plural about the characters.
Please state both the name of the character or characters who are plural, as well as the piece of media they originate from.
Ideally, submissions should use the following template:
[Character Name(s)] from [media name] is canonically plural. [Description of their plurality.]
For example...
Pearl from Steven Universe is canonically plural. In one episode, Steven enters into Pearl's mind through her gem. Inside, she has a layered inner world, each with its own compartmentalized version of her. Each Pearl has its own memories and there are even dissociative barriers between the inner Pearls, where some are just not aware of what other Pearls are doing. There's the main Pearl with control of the body on the outside. There's a Pearl on the surface level of her mind responsible for organizing thing and keeping them neat. And then each layer beneath that holds a different trauma Pearl suffered from her past. One Pearl holds onto the death of the person she loved. And another from her trauma over the deaths of her friends in the war. And another holds onto a trauma from losing who she used to be.
Fanfiction Contributions Guidelines
For those looking to share fanfics, formatting is slightly different!
[Character Name] from [fanfiction name], a(n) [original media name] fanfiction is canonically plural. [Description of their plurality.] [Link to the fanfiction]
The link and the media name help make it easier to locate the fanfic and share fan works about plurality with others. It also helps me what tags to use for the post. Additionally, you can optionally post links to FREE original fiction such as free webcomics or stories that involve plurality.
Self Promotion
If you've written any plural works, you're welcome to share those here too! But please mention if you're the author in the description! Thank you!
And thank you all for your contributions!
