#we coined liminal front btw

[mybrotherinkarkat]

Plurality in Homestuck

Homestuck is an exceptionally plural piece of media, though I doubt it was supposed to be. In this meta I will examine multiple examples of both literal plurality and plural vibes. Examples of literal plurality are ones that fit the definition of plurality that I will give below. Plural vibes are characters or sets of characters that don’t fit the definition for one reason or another, but still have echoes of plural experiences

So what is plurality? It’s any experience of being more than one in a single body. This could be more than one person, part, alter, headmate, facet, etc. This group of [insert preferred descriptor] is often referred to as a system. Dissociative Identity Disorder is included under this umbrella, but it’s not the only type of plurality that exists. This site has a good basic overview if you’re new to the concept. I will also link to the definitions of some terms that might be unfamiliar 

Warning that this meta includes brief references to fusion

Now, on to the actual meta

Actual Plurality

The Cherubs

This is the most obvious example. Calliope and Caliborn, like all cherubs, begin life by sharing a body. They trade control of the body (switching) and have obviously different personalities, interests, and hobbies. They share a body, but it would be impossible to (successfully) argue that they’re the same person. They clearly fit the definition of plurality

In terms of whether this is good rep for plurals, I’m honestly going to have to say no. It falls into the trope of the “evil alter”, which is the most damaging media trope about plurality. The evil, murderous system member steals the body from the good, kind one to commit heinous acts? That’s textbook. And don't get me wrong, I’m glad Calliope gets away from Caliborn, but it sucks that she only gets to be happy as a singlet

Sprites Squared and Twice-Protoyped Sprites

This category contains sprites squared, like Davepeta and Jasprose, but also any sprite who was prototyped with two different sentient beings like ARquius, Fefeta, Erisol, etc. We see from their interactions with others that while they’re no longer two separate people, they’re not fully integrated either. They frequently make comments about how one half of them feels differently about something than the other, or talk about themselves as having multiple parts with different opinions. For example, Davepeta talks about having strong gendered feelings from both Nepeta and Dave, and is surprised that neither part of them is conflicted about being attracted to Karkat. ARquius also repeatedly expresses a strong (hah) opinion and then immediately adds something along the lines of “but also the other half of me doesn’t care”. This all feels very indicative of being a median system, an experience sometimes described as being “more than one, but less than two”. A median system is any system that falls in between being a singlet (one person in one body) and having fully separate system members, AKA being multiple. In my opinion, these sprites fit that definition 

Plural Vibes

Dirk, Hal, and Other Splinters

In terms of characters that have plural vibes without being literally plural, these guys take the cake. The concept of Heart players and their splinters is very plural in and of itself, but we also see specific dynamics play out between them that are very plural. While Dirk and Hal don’t technically share a body, they functionally interact with the world in a very similar way. Since Hal is literally Dirk’s shades, they’re always together, much in the same way that two co-conscious headmates would be. They also share a pesterchum account, and have to take certain steps to make sure their friends know who they’re talking to at any given point. This is similar to how members of a system have to navigate messaging apps that don’t have accessibility options for us (shout out to pluralkit). Many systems also message back and forth the way Dirk and Hal do, if they’re struggling with internal communication. The way their friends react is also an unfortunately common experience as well. Jane doesn’t believe Hal exists, and Jake only wants to talk to the “real Dirk”. This echoes how many people don’t believe plurality exists, or prioritize the person they see as the “real one”. Hal struggles to define himself as a person separate from Dirk, and Dirk tries to control Hal so that he doesn’t ruin other people’s image of him. While that’s not a universal plural experience by any means, it’s unfortunately common for the host of a system to attempt to suppress other headmates 

Dirk being able to be awake in both his apartment and on Derse has the vibes of having a liminal front. Some systems have inner worlds that a headmate can be present in while still being in the front/body. In this example, Derse would be akin to the inner world. It’s not an exact parallel, but the vibes are there 

Players and Their Sprites

A number of characters end up with sprite versions of themselves. Davesprite and Jadesprite have the most plural vibes in my opinion, but the way Rose reacts to Rosesprite feels very reminiscent of discovering that you’re plural. Her crisis around not being the only Rose, and not knowing what that means for her, definitely feels like the crisis many headmates have upon learning they're not the only one living in their head

Davesprite and Dave have some of the same vibes that Dirk and Hal have. John makes a comment to Davesprite about wanting to talk to the “real Dave”, a moment I screenshotted on our recent re-read to make a joke about how singlets interact with systems. Davesprite also has issues defining himself as a person outside of Dave. The fact that they spend a lot of time apart kind of interferes with the plural analogy, but the vibes are definitely there

Dog Tier Jade

Jade and Jadesprite are very plural. For Jadesprite there’s also the same struggle to define herself that Davesprite and Hal have, though she seems very firm in being Not Jade. She has a very different personality than Jade, she’s more emotional and less upbeat. She also struggles with existing, and resents Jade for creating her (which is a fucking mood). This echoes the experiences of some tulpas and parogens, which are both headmates who were intentionally created. In this case Jadesprite was created by throwing her dreamself corpse in a kernelsprite, and doesn’t live in Jade’s head, but again, we’re just going on vibes here

When Jade god tiers, she merges with Jadesprite to become Dog Tier Jade. This echoes systems who achieve final fusion, merging into a single person, sometimes known as an empty system. Many systems who achieve final fusion remain in the plural community, and may continue to consider themselves plural

Heart, Time, and Alt Selves

The aspects of Heart and Time both deal heavily in alternate selves. Heart players have their splinters, while Time players interact frequently with their past and future selves, as well as dealing with versions of themselves from doomed timelines. Dave, Dirk, Hal, and Nepeta all show up in the examples given above at least once, and the Aradiabots could be read as plural (though admittedly that one’s a stretch). Either way, these aspects definitely have plural vibes 

This isn’t an exhaustive list, and I welcome any additions from other plural folks. Though as a heads up, I don't tolerate exclusionary rhetoric. This discussion is open to and accepting of all systems. If you start shit, you’ll get blocked