This is a long post, so uh, maybe open this one in a new tab so you can read it more easily; s'part of why I have it unlisted instead of locked. For the sake of convenience, I'm gonna start this by listing off the personae I might refer to during this post & what they're associated with:

* The Inumos (both he/him), the two fursonae I had in high school & college, distinguished as:
** Avianumo, javan trogon, first fursona, men's formal wear and swing dancing
** Laninumo, green & orange dog/rabbit hybrid, second fursona, eyesore and raver
* Kat (she/they), hooded rat, third fursona from shortly after ID'ing as agender; punk activist, rope top, and brat
* Kilo (xeh/xem), powercat, fourth fursona (though incubated as a potential third for a while); All The Cat Vibes, skater, and also the tooth & claw top
* Nika (she/they), 3-banded armadillo, fifth fursona (still need to finish her ref), The Bottom™
* Sara (she/her), human, henchsona; knife/service top, "put me on my knees and use me" sub
* Rustbite (they/them; aka M _____), human, villainsona, swords & at-a-distance top (so also usually impact)
* The /Soʊəɹ/ (fae/faer), human-looking, faesona; language play, gaming, gambling, and name bottle top.

These personae are all distinct from me, Niko _____ (they/xeh), the sort of default/assumed speaker. You can maybe see why I might start having Thoughts and Feelings about the word "plural." :P I think most of this post will be a rehash of a conversation I had with a flirtfriend a while back, but I kinda wanna put it down someplace so I can also come back to this in the future & see how I've changed (if at all).

I guess to kick things off, let's hash out what "plural" means to me, or I guess what it -can- mean to me. In descending order of "how many people do I think share this understanding," we have 1) multiple distinct and independent personalities swapping back & forth to control one body, 2) any situation where multiple distinguishable personalities share control of one body, and 3) a metacognitive framework where constellations of traits & behaviors are assigned to personalities as a sorting method. I'm definitely not plural by definition 1, while I'm definitely plural by definition 3; the question for me is whether or not I'm plural by definition 2. As best I can tell, the answer is "maybe sometimes, & possibly enough that I could be legible as plural."

Without getting too deep in the details, I've definitely had these personae "pipe up" at times, to the point that they've interrupted trains of thought, but it's also usually been "primed" by me y'know, thinking about them piping up or interrupting. It's hard to differentiate between "artificially" recreating the experience of plurality vs having these personalities largely just waiting in the shadows until they decide their influence wants to be known. The closest I've had to them acting independently is like, when I'm fantasizing about things I've sometimes had Kilo cycle into the "imagine who's topping me" position, and sometimes xeh'll play the role of flirty antagonist when I'm susceptible.

I think the best statement I can give, and the one that I gave my flirtfriend that while ago, is that I am legible as plural to certain people/communities, but I don't think I'll claim the term "plural" for myself. This is also how I feel about like, being called a lesbian, or transbian, or whatever. Like, a big question is "what does calling myself plural -do- for me," and the answer near as I can tell is "make my therapist question my mental integrity, confuse well-meaning mundies, and overstate my headspace to people in the know." It doesn't really settle anything in my own head, & it seems to complicate social situations, so there's not really a -need- to use it, y'know? Still, I know my flirtfriend found it helpful to categorize my experience as plural, & maybe it'll help others to do the same, but like. Hopefully only if they've read this post and understand that there's some nuance to the term being applied to me.

Anyways congrats on reading this post to the end, if we're ever in the same place I owe you a homemade cookie. :P