lb_lee: A happy little brain with a bandage on it, enclosed within a circle with the words LB Lee. (Default)
[personal profile] lb_lee posting in [community profile] pluralstories
"This is the strange life of my family. We are the likenesses of ancient figures, but we are not those people. We are only ourselves."


Blurb: Michelangelo's David and a street mural on the side of a donut shop fall in love. What is life to artwork, away from human eyes?

Why is it worth your time?: There are a bunch of works in this catalog about the independent life of fictional beings, but this is the only one I've found where the human creators/audience are completely not involved and the focus is on the statue and mural's relationship to EACH OTHER. The art is gorgeous, and it's short and free to read online; give it a shot!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, otherworld, fictioneers (Michelangelo's David), romantic relationships

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Not screenreadable. Available for free reading on bsky and pillowfort, or as a $10 ebook in the creator's Shorts Collection.
lb_lee: A happy little brain with a bandage on it, enclosed within a circle with the words LB Lee. (Default)
[personal profile] lb_lee posting in [community profile] pluralstories
"I would hate it if people thought of me and Abby as one person split into two separate bodies"

"That's very human of you," Beji replied.


Blurb: Abby and Makeda were born conjoined, separated at birth by their demigod relatives at the cost of their human mother. Abby has mojo; Makeda has none, and that barrier between them has grown thicker and thicker. When their demigod father goes missing, however, Makeda will have to reconcile with her sister... and figure out her own gifts.

Why is it worth your time?: It's good! Where one self ends and another begins is a theme of this book--in Makeda and Abby's former conjoined state, in family and individual, in human and celestial. On top of all that, this story also takes place in a Caribbean culture of spirit possession!

Plural Tags: abuse low focus, identityblending, otherworld (the spirit world), nonhumans (spirits, mojo), family relationships, possession, spiritual

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in hardback, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.
lb_lee: A colored pencil drawing of Raige's freckled hand holding a hot pink paperback entitled the Princess and Her Monster (book)
[personal profile] lb_lee posting in [community profile] pluralstories
"That was her true gift to them: she taught them how to keep hoping in the face of the world that told them their memories were delusions, their lived experiences were lies, and there dreams were never going to come true. Perhaps that was her secret for engendering loyalty in a student body that was otherwise disinclined to trust adults, listen to them, or answer when they called. She believed."

Blurb: Jack and Jill were twins sent to a Gothic mad science world, and when they got kicked out, they came to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children until they could return. Now Jack's back again, having been bodyjacked by Jill; can she get her own body back, save her twice-dead mentor, and keep her undead girlfriend going? Lucky for her, she has other wayward child heroes to help her...

Why is it worth your time?: The Wayward Children series is a weird edge case; many a gateway system, fictionkin, or walk-in can sympathize with the longing to return to a world very unlike this one, and McGuire expresses that longing and need beautifully. It also has one of the best depictions of body dissonance I've ever seen; Jack and Jill might be identical twins, but their bodies are NOT the same, and Jack KNOWS it. The whole series may be well worth a look, though even Come Tumbling Down doesn't exactly have bodySHARING, just bodyswapping and theft.

Plural Tags: abuse intermediate focus, bodyhopping, otherworld, enmity, setting-specific

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in hardback, paperback, audiobook, and ebook.

Misc Notes: Though Come Tumbling Down is #5 in this series, if you only want the Jack and Jill books, you can read #1 (Every Heart a Doorway) and #2 (Down Among the Sticks and Bones). Honestly, I would've preferred to have read #2 first. If you want those books, #1 is available in Hebrew, Portuguese, and German, while #2 is available in German and Portuguese.

dream journal ~ seizure ?

Jul. 13th, 2025 11:09 am
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai

that sure was … weird ?

have this dream about somehow witness divine birth of sheogorath . that was not full thing , to be fair , but that was last thing which remember before wake up .

at 6 am , way too early .

  • daggerfall form
  • definitely lean on theory of lorkhan's divine spark / sithis-shaped hole
  • except actually do not understand lorkhan or sithis so … who can really be sure ?

great job , brain :P

should also say : this appear as really bright flash , almost kind of have trouble remember at this point , and suddenly wake up not long after . this only ever happen once before , and that was sleep seizure - long time ago now , but happen during really painful sleep , and sure tick off that pain box through whole spine . nothing was comfortable , and still not comfortable . 

do also feel little bit of headache and sluggishness , which is overall consistent , just on milder level here . unfortunately do sleep alone , so have no idea how look from outside . so maybe this was another sleep seizure , trigger by intense pain and discomfort - pain is not usually trigger alone , but can absolutely provoke if already on edge .

in that case : haha , brain , very funny to choose sheogorath . that might also explain why explanation feel so nonsensical and weird .

mid-artfight reflection

Jul. 12th, 2025 08:38 pm
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai

genuinely , to some extent feel like something is different about artfight art this year - worse , even . but then step back and realise , last year kossai did 22 attacks in total , through whole month - and first day specifically was 4 attacks , so more like 19 days of art .

this year , by july 12 , already up to 17 attacks ... with one in progress right now , too . some days have none , but others have 2 or even 3 pieces . balance is completely different from last year - only have so much time to draw , so when migraine take out this day or that day , really want to make up and still get ideas done .

so while not try to rush and churn out production , fact is that when so many things inspire - and when also have to take into account revenges this year ! - will not be able to focus on each one quite as much .
( of course revenge is not literal obligation , however , kossai have faerie's honour and want to give fair shake . )

besides that , there is honestly stuff which do better this year in comparison to last year . was never totally proud of how fat faces look , so make conscious effort to work on that , and now think alright . just need to balance time and expectations better .

lb_lee: Rogan drawing/writing in a spiral. (art)
[personal profile] lb_lee
We will be tabling from 5-9 PM on Friday, July 11th (TONIGHT!) at EmVision Studios, 131 Essex Street, Lynn, MA 01902. We'll have comics and zines, including floppy copies of our Crisis Planning zine!

Check out the Eventbrite link here!
Expandimage behind cut )
Hope to see you there!
lb_lee: A happy little brain with a bandage on it, enclosed within a circle with the words LB Lee. (Default)
[personal profile] lb_lee posting in [community profile] pluralstories
"I could do without my warhorse; I could drag about in a skirt; I could let the banners and the trumpets and the knights and the soldiers pass me and leave me behind as they leave the other women, if only I could still hear the wind in the trees, the larks in the sunshine, the young lambs crying through the healthy frost, and the blessed, blessed church bells that send my angel voices floating to me on the wind."

Blurb: A soulbonder's "character notes and monologue work for Joan of Arc."

Why is it worth your time?: It's a short, ephemeral remnant of work from a soulbonding subculture of the past, giving extra pathos to Joan fighting those who would take her voices from her. Check it out!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, creator speaks from experience, spiritual, voices

Content Warnings: It's a monologue from Joan of Arc's prison cell as she prepares to die. I don't know what you expect.

Access Notes: Screenreadable, free, and archived online on the Wayback Machine

Misc Notes: Del was on Kurai's 1999 SB list. This piece is old enough and anonymous enough I felt safe to use the tag.

ugh

Jul. 9th, 2025 08:48 pm
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai
really want to draw for artfight today but just have no juice at all , even after mostly-successfully dropkick pain of migraine . world still feel slightly too bright , and still pretty tired . can finally paint tree , anyway , so want to do that ! want to do really nice detail work eventually , and that also might be too much for right now , but base coats pretty simple .

website work !

Jul. 9th, 2025 06:18 pm
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai
well , most of website work is specifically on character references and profiles , and most of that is what already post over here on dreamwidth , so nothing super huge to point to .
but did put up page today about how kossai handle speech bubbles for nonverbal communications ! this is very much not complete list , and bias toward characters who can use magic and what not , but still think fun to highlight :3
lb_lee: A happy little brain with a bandage on it, enclosed within a circle with the words LB Lee. (Default)
[personal profile] lb_lee posting in [community profile] pluralstories
"-- I am not a monkey, she signs. -- I am a girl.

Blurb: A chimp, taught ASL and implanted with the personality of a man's dead daughter, is raised as that daughter until his death. Taken to a scientific research facility, it's up to Rachel to decide who and what she is, and how she wants her life to go.

Why is it worth your time?: Rachel's experience of species dissonance, deciding where she fits in (among humans? among apes?) and reconciling her past, human self with her current chimpanzee self feels relevant to anyone who's had to undergo a major identity change (and move from one species to another). Check it out!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, identityblending, copies, nonhumans (chimpanzee), setting-specific, serially singlet

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: Available in German, Dutch, Japanese, and French. This story has been reprinted oodles of times, and is available in paperback, hardback,

Misc. Notes (if any): This story has also won some awards. It's well-reputed!

ow

Jul. 9th, 2025 07:15 pm
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[personal profile] kossai
one weird effect after psychosis , regardless of clarity level : always get headaches by next day , sometimes even migraine nausea and aura outright . definitely worse if have enough clarity to push past boundaries , but even without overextend will always still get headaches . would love to know if others get that too , because like , fucking ow .

Many-Selved Etymology: role terms

Jul. 8th, 2025 05:18 pm
lb_lee: A clay sculpture of a heart, with a black interior containing little red, brown, white, green, and blue figures. (plural)
[personal profile] lb_lee
Rogan/Mori: Lark of Hungry Ghosts asked me about the origination of plural role terms (which are apparently now this super-rigid straitjacket of How Plurals Must Be?). I dove into my records, and here's what I done found!

It's possible these terms were used earlier than I found here. These were the earliest I could find them in the multi files I have on hand.

Core: This terms looks to originate with Billy Milligan's case, in use by February 1980 in Wallace, Wallechinsky, Wallace, and Wallace's The Book of Lists #2: "In addition to his core self, Milligan has at least nine other personalities" (380) and 1981 in Keyes's The Minds of Billy Milligan. Seeing as Milligan was imprisoned for rape in 1977, it's possible "core" was used in earlier news stories about the case; I'd have to dig in. But Keyes quotes it (and "host") as being used by Cornelia Wilbur on page 50; she also treated Sybil. So: Wilbur, by 1980?

Helper: used by Ross, 1989: 
"Most persecutor personalities are in fact helpers who are using self-destructive strategies." (110).

Host: first attributed to Wilbur in Keyes, 1981: “the original Billy, sometimes known as the host or core personality” (50). So that explains why "host" and "core" get confused a lot in these things, it's because Wilbur conflated the two in Keyes!

Inner Self-Helper/ISH: Ralph Allison created it by 1977 in Hawkworth's The Five Of Me: "[Phil] was, in the beginning at least, hardly a personality at all, but rather what Dr. Allison refers to as an 'Ish'--an Inner Self-Helper[...] a separate personality whose sole function seems to be to prevent the other personalities from tearing the physical body apart." (20) Allison says he started treating multiples in 1972 (Hawksworth, 5), so 1972-1977.

Original: Wilbur again! She uses it in Keyes 1981 (50) and the term "original Sybil" is used a decent number of times (sorry, my ebook had no page numbers). Flora Rheta Schreiber wrote Sybil, but it seems sensible that Wilbur originated the term? So, by 1973 for adjective form, will have to dig for stand-alone noun. (EDIT 7/10/2025: INCORRECT! This term is older; "original patient" or "original personality" is used by Thigpen and Cleckley (38, 153), so I should dig into older work to see if it's used previously.

Persecutor: Used by Ross (and Norton?) in 1989: 
"An interesting finding (Ross & Norton, 1989b) was a clinical triad of Schneiderian made-impulses, voices in the head, and suicide attempts. This traid should alert the clinican to the possibility of MPD, especially if the made impulse is self-destructive, and the voice is commanding suicide or is hostile and critical. The triad is indicative of the actibility of a dangerous persecutor personality" (Ross, 99)

Protector: Used by Hawksworth once in 1977 (72), but Keyes uses it more formally, declaring Ragen "the protector of the family" (xv).

 
 
"Caretaker" is proving weirdly hard to pin down, so I'm calling it quits on that one for now, but of all these other terms, all of them come from medical contexts. If they aren't outright, obviously created by therapists themselves (Ralph Allison, Cornelia Wilbur), they're cited in books that they were involved in--like Sybil or the Minds of Billy Milligan. These are terms created by medical personnel to compartmentalize and organize headmates like a stamp collection... and often deny us the right to self-determine or grow. There's an icky historical context there; there's a reason these terms were considered unfashionable tools of the oppressor when we came on the scene in 2007!

These therapists are not little tin gods you should worship. There's a reason Allison, Ross, and Wilbur have controversies about them! (And I'm not as knowledgeable about them as I should be because... well, read on.) So here's some information about that, as a sorta "multi beware, worship not your doctor" thing.

ExpandWhy You Shouldn't Believe Everything Doctors Say )

ExpandSources )

NDE thoughts

Jul. 8th, 2025 03:04 pm
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[personal profile] kossai

crosspost from tumblr @ thaliendir .
not to get too in depth , but like … have very different perspective on NDE than others , and think one big part of that is plurality plain and simple .

hypnosis & plurality

Jul. 7th, 2025 04:07 pm
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[personal profile] kossai
hypnosis is funny here ... not sure how other plurals experience , but here in kossai ? trance is individual , not front-wide . that is to say , someone can be in very deep trance at front , but someone else can take over and immediately not seem to be in trance at all , with only slight bit of crossover fuzziness . and if that subject of trance switch back in , trance will return , though might need small re-deepener after crossover jostle .

which feel so weird , because would think that should be whole brain and carry between front , not individuals ! but no , can just switch in and out . almost like eira largely unaffect by these trances , or something . eira can still be affect by other things , and those persist between fronters - like word crashes , psychosis , and other involuntary things - but not chosen trances .

so infinitely curious about how others experience . like this can be very useful , so not exactly complain , but feel like this is weird . maybe will have to properly experiment sometime and see if someone can truly target eira for trance , and what would happen then .

LB Dreamwidth Etiquette

Jul. 7th, 2025 09:15 am
lb_lee: A B-movie blond young man with a pompadour, resembling a Cabbage Patch Elvis, grins weirdly into the camera. (wowzy wow wow!)
[personal profile] lb_lee
We’re getting followed by folks from elsewhere on the Internet and seeing sentiments along the lines of “eep, I don’t know the social rules here,” so here’s how we conduct this blog!

ExpandRead more... )

orchid in bloom

Jul. 6th, 2025 11:38 pm
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai
crosspost from tumblr .

faeries do not necessarily abide by any human expectations of gender and sex . of course , olden stories might play up importance of these things , as that was what human society place importance on . likewise , some faeries take on pretenses of these things as performance to appease or toy with humans - or take these basic ideas just to twist beyond recognition for plain and simple fun .

truthfully , traits of sexes can come in number of mixes and expressions . and that is not just faerie thing , this is very much human , animal kingdom , and beyond . sure , there can be predominant clusters of these traits , but that is not end by any means - that is only start .

unfortunately , fair amount of people do not recognise this , do not want to recognise this . ultra rarity , medical anomaly , something to gawk at . often see this as porn tropes , refusal of existence and autonomy , or requests for personal , intimate information just to satiate curiosity .

these attitudes major contributor to why kossai dance around labels , but ... honestly come to realise that tired of this , for as much as also tired of these attitudes and wish to escape . want this world to be one where no one label sex to start with , let alone whether within binary or not - but right now , still have to deal with effects of world that demand this , and only so much anyone can do to avoid .

on one hand , kossai do not feel need to consider body as intersex , regardless of human standards which say so - more important to know what feel happy and true to heart , rather than what kossai " is " . but on other hand , can get so tired to hide stories and perspectives just for frustrations of how others act , have to just silently watch as these things go by - and equally , nice to have labels and spaces that can give some safe ground back .

that all said , still have no intent to give anyone intimate details , not for any reason . kossai say this not to be spectacle for others , but to try and find some of that safety - and if not find , then make . try to pretend for long while now that feel fine with seek safety through silence and avoidance , but honestly not .

so what should this change ? nothing much - was probably not very hard to assume this anyway . but even if not directly part of this blog , hope to at least carve out something more comfortable , and to show some of that comfort for others .should break down these walls for everyone's sake .

mushroom musume ~ aaaaaaaaaa !!!

Jul. 5th, 2025 10:08 pm
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai
so , mushroom village . actually not visit mushroom village in little while , ever since fufu refuse witch's request to wipe out - attend moreso to abandoned dungeon and beanstalk , since run through most of basic dialogue in mushroom village .
but today something very different happen . witch make intent clear to control this village as personal domain , and that any mushroom who still live here put self in grave danger .

this particular daughter ( guess what , another deathcap ) basically roll eyes and walk on through village anyway , and come upon grave district . here attend morbid mushy meeting , and try to rally everyone up . some girls seem apprehensive about idea of kill witch , but one verdigris agaric say already kill witch once before .

verdigris agaric ! dearest besse , witch-slayer besse ! love how get references to previous daughters , so very much love .

thoughts on edible effigies

Jul. 5th, 2025 03:18 pm
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai
as think about with post from [personal profile] lb_lee  , and by extension one from [personal profile] hungryghosts  …

cultural differences fun . now will be clear that not sure if this come from one of human cultures kossai grow up around , if faerie thing from within court , or maybe sprinkle of both , but : can not imagine actually eat effigies of people that hate .



anyway . none of this is to say what is right or wrong , just get such visceral reaction to this idea and realise never put these thoughts in words before , and so this might be interest to talk about !

Eating the Rich

Jul. 5th, 2025 09:31 am
lb_lee: a black and white animated gif of a pro wrestler flailing his arms above the words STILL THE BEST (VICTORY)
[personal profile] lb_lee
Mori: we have a rule here: when something terrible happens, we must resist the urge to go numb and paralyzed, and instead reinforce our bonds to others and do SOMETHING to build morale and fight back, if only in our own minds.

So when that Big Buttfucking Bill passed and I found out early because Social Security sent me an ass-licking email lying about how Trump was personally benefitting ME, I was pissed, and I ranted to my roommates: “I AM GOING TO EAT THIS MAN IN EFFIGY.”

And they said, “sounds good, can we join?”

ExpandWHY YES YOU CAN. )
kossai: masculine form of kossai (Default)
[personal profile] kossai
also , very excite , start to get deeper into long story of mushroom musume . of course , short cycle story is clear enough - recluse want for daughter , witch offer up , again and again and again . but there is reason to this cycle , deep secrets to this world . just become matter of how to unlock .

kapii - weeping maroon deathcap - help jo to restore cafe up in clouds , and now work there happily with jaq . like kuna , not many chances to actually act on cruel or visceral nature , even though try hard . want to act tougher than really able to sustain .

mevina , deathly devilish bleeding tooth , climb past jo's cafe on beanstalk to reach moon for first time . can not do anything here yet , but learn of violet-eye lady , and strange palace . ( finally recognise that picture which show off behind-scenes creation for ! yay ! ) other than that , mevina take caelia to gala , because why not .

wanami , weeping red deathcap ... yes , that is 3 deathcaps now , this garden setup is extremely good at deathcaps . will have to tweak this , because also really laggy . anyway , wanami have plenty of chances to act on visceral urges , and end up with 3 desiccation traits on top of each other ! that was huge mycelium and dampness loss with every round , but fortunately garden provide lots of dampness , and recluse provide lots of mycelium , so actually survive whole game . mostly . wanami try to pick eye flower , pick fight instead , then fail to flee and fall down chasm . with only 18 mycelium left , just no way to get back out .

but before all that ...


this game is so good . need to know more immediately and consume into fibre of soul .
well , maybe not quite that dramatic , but pretty dramatic . :P
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