Member Identity Expanded

Myth and Fiction

Appearance and Nonhuman Shortcuts

Existing myths and fictional characters are often used as quick descriptive shortcuts for members to explain their own appearance - especially for nonhuman system members. Simplified sentences are often thrown around that don’t make this explicit, such as “I’m some kind of centaur”, and while this can be okay casually it’s important to remember that these are usually shortcuts, and being explicit can proactively avoid some conflict over appropriation of myth (or intellectual property).

Fuzz and Fiction

Some system members relate heavily to not a species or mythical creature but rather a specific existing character - or derivation thereof.

Speaking generally, this can range from as simple as taking a name and a hair colour from a favourite fictional character, to having no other explanation than being plucked by an outside force straight from the pages of a book and stuffed into a system.

The language used to refer to pluralfolk that experience these phenomena is diverse, but frequently used terms include fictive (as in "fiction"), fuzztive (as in a "fuzzy" identity / relation to a character), 'having source material', 'having fuzzy experiences', and so on. Keep in mind that like the experiences themselves, this language is defined on an individual level - so don't assume one term or another.

Fuzztivity is a very personal experience, and how anyone might relate to or feel about any "source character/s" (or sometimes "fictional associate/s" to de-emphasise causality) is their own information to keep or share.

When you're familiar with someone's experiences (or your own), it's important to not jump to conclusions about how much is being inherited from fiction. Even fuzztives that feel the most directly-ripped have their identity rooted in a personal interpretation or variation of a character - and have every ability to drift and change over time in the system.

This experience isn't always spawned from externally created media either - sometimes creating characters in art, writing, or role-playing games, can lead to unearthing a similar headmate later on. These headmates may not always consider themselves fuzztives by any term - as it's just as sound an explanation for them to have been behind the pencil all along, as a way to express themselves before they knew how.

Faith and Xenomemory

To go along with system members with faith-based casualties that feel they were sent to or appeared in a system from another place, and fuzztive-esque system members who relate with a character on an identity level, some system members have what are usually called “xenomemories” (or "exomemories") - feelings that they partially remember things that occurred to them before appearing within the system. Often this simply occurs when the given system member dreams - whether it’s the events of a past life or similar, or the events previously absorbed in fiction. These members have to take responsibility and understanding of these past xenomemories (regardless of acceptance or rejection) to be able to properly manage how they might affect how they feel in their present.

Animals and Ages

Inclusion

Some system members may act in similar ways to, think in similar ways to, or be some way in effect, either of a young age or be a sentient (but not sapient) animal. It’s important to have an understanding of the way these members interact in a system, especially in regards to inclusion in spaces. One example is 18+ spaces, where often rules will need to take a minimum between the age of a system and the age of a specific member, and systems may have to disclose whether they’re able to control member interaction closely enough to safely interact in such a space.

The aforementioned animal-esque types - not to be confused with nonhuman members capable of clear thought - are occasionally (harmfully?) referred to as “feral”, and shouldn’t be included in nsfw spaces due to an inability to consent (tldr [2]). Many spaces (including plural spaces) aren’t really designed with animal-like system members in mind, but should make some attempt to allow for them to interact with others, while respecting that room consent could apply.

Culture

Cultural/Religious Engagement / Inclusion

Some system members may desire to engage with a particular culture. It’s the responsibility of the member to ensure that if the culture allows them to engage with it (and in the body they are in), that they make genuine attempts to do so in a way that is deemed acceptable - taking words and labels from another culture without engaging with it can be very harmful.

In the reverse case, some attempt should be made to not exclude a member of a system from genuinely and respectfully engaging with a culture purely due to their presence in a system (unless this directly conflicts with cultural belief).