#plural raph

It All Starts With You

The first step to writing Plurality is to start with you. Now you might think, "What do I have to do about writing a system? Why does it matter that I've gotta start with myself first? :/" Well, I'll give a simple answer: 

Everything you write reflects who you are as a person and what work you're willing to do for your writing.

Now, I don't mean reflecting yourself as in, "Oh no! You write about murders, so you must be a murderer!" No, I mean how you perceive yourself, the world, and others affect your writing. 

An example of this is one of my favorite books, Life of Pi by Yann Martel. The author enjoys learning and believes in the ability to participate in multiple religions, so the character Pi in his story holds that characteristic, affecting how the story is written. I suffer from intrusive thoughts, so I write Mikey from ROTTMNT with pure O OCD (someone whose OCD doesn't showcase/have outward compulsions), which affects how I write his interactions with the environment and his internal dialogue. 

Why this is important is because if you believe there is such a thing as an "evil alter," that only disordered systems are true systems, and/or that there's no such thing as Plurality and people are just faking it, it'll show in your work whether you want it to or not. So, it's important to tackle your stance on Plurality. How who you are and what you believe and participate in affect how you write a system. 

I'll use myself as a perfect example! I'm very open-minded, but I'm very afraid of ghosts and demons. So when I learned that Possestive Systems were a thing, it scared me because the idea of being possessed makes me scared. I'm still afraid of demons and ghosts, but it no longer affects my interpretation and understanding of possessive systems. 

I'm not religious, but I love learning about religion and how people interpret it so learning about Spirigenic Systems was super cool! I believe endo systems deserve respect and exist. I also think that persecutors do not deserve to be treated unfairly, negatively, and purposefully hurt by their systems or those outside the system. They also deserve respect and understanding. 

This shows in my writing because I write Raphael as a diversian median system with a mixed origin with truamagenic and endogenic origins. I've made a few posts about Leonardo being a non-truamagenic system with non-religious spiritual connections to his ancestors (here, here, and here). I have even blatantly had Leonardo state in my Figuring It Out series the same perspective I have about Plurality: 

In summary, Leo's brother is a part of a system, and if anyone were to ever make Raph, or Mind and Red for that matter, feel awful about that in any way, he and his brothers and sister would fight them without hesitation. There was nothing wrong with being a part of a system, and anyone who disagreed could eat a dirty, used pizza box for all they cared. Red and mind are a part of their family, and no idiot could ever change that. 

Becoming aware of how Plurality makes you feel, think, and do is important, so while learning about Plurality, it's good to take time to assess why things make you feel this way or that way. Why you don't want to even try and write that experience but feel drawn to write about that one. 

And, by the way, it's okay not to write some experiences! I don't write much about DID systems, but a friend of mine does! A part of writing systems is writing what is most interesting/relatable/understandable to you! There will always be some system that resonates with a characteristic you've written about, and it's okay if you can't write some system experiences perfectly or at all!

This leads to the other half of what I said, that who you are will affect the amount of work you'll put into writing about Plurality, and I shall use myself as another example to help you understand what I mean. 

I am extremely passionate about learning about Plurality, so I am heavily involved in the community. I follow a lot of Plural blogs, have Plural friends, am a part of Plural discord servers, in activism, spend my time teaching others about Plurality, and have spent hours reading through Plural systems experiences over genuine, literal years. Because of this, I am very knowledgeable and deeply understand Plurality that not many singlets and even some systems have an understanding of. (This doesn't mean I am an expert and all-knowing, however. Please remember this. I am not a professional). I am willing to put years of research and interactions with the community into a piece of writing. 

You may be the same way, or you may just want to only know enough to get the basics down to a T, which in my opinion, is valid if done correctly! Understanding how willing you are to dedicate yourself to learning about Plurality to write it is just as crucial as understanding how you feel about it and tackling any Pluralphobia or hatred you have towards the community/experience. 

TL;DR: You have to figure out how you feel about Plurality and make sure you fix any issues you have towards or about Plurality. You have to understand how far you're willing to go to write Plurality, whether it's dedicating years to it or just wanting to know the basics. 

Where to Learn About Plurality 

Since I've spent years dedicating a portion of my life to learning and helping the plural community, I know a couple of ways that you can learn about Plurality for yourself and for your writing (because it is crucial you research before writing something). If you enjoy a laidback way of doing it, I recommend following blogs! If you want to read a lot, I recommend the dictionary! If you talk to the community directly, I recommend certain blogs, discord servers, and spaces where learning is the main idea!

Never just barge into any system/plural safe space with questions and concerns unless you know for certain they want to teach you. It isn't anyone's job to teach you or spend their day explaining what you want to know. They are beings with lives of their own, and they do not owe you anything. Respect is important; if you don't respect a system's time, boundaries, and wishes, you are in the wrong period. It is always important to ensure that you're asking questions and talking to systems that want to answer your questions with respect and patience. 

Here are the blogs and sites I recommend interacting with if you're not sure where to start (I will take any mentions off if those I've mentioned would rather I not @ them): 

@mixed-origin-system-culture-is

@funnier-as-a-system

@positively-plural

@dear-systems

@persecutorlifeandsupport

@endo-memes

@non-traumagenicsupport

Pluralpedia

Power to the Plurals

I am available to ask questions or get to know Plurality better, but as I said before, I am not an expert; I am not all-knowing; I am simply one opinion/experience in a sea of many, many others. Do not take my word as law and an end-all. 

I recommend following and interacting with open communities specifically for the kind(s) of Plurality you want to write. This will help you in writing system experiences/struggles/achievements/interactions relating to those experiences you choose to write about.

TL;DR: To write Plurality correctly and to the best of your abilities, you have to learn about Plurality in the best way that suits your learning needs. Also, systems don't owe you anything. Respect them. 

What to Avoid and How to Avoid it

Now, because there are a lot of stigmas, demonizations, misinformation, and discourse about systems, I am only going to talk about the main things you should always or at least try to avoid.

1) Gatekeeping Plurality 

Whether you're a system or a singlet, this is extremely important to remember. It is not your place to dictate who, when, or what is deemed "Plural enough," especially system experiences you/you& do not experience yourself/yourselves. 

You should avoid gatekeeping since it excludes systems from communities, help, and safe spaces. It's awful, and it hurts systems a fuck-ton. It's something that gets on my nerves because exclusion is literally the absolute worst. Excluding beings/groups/communities/experiences literally does nothing but hurt those just trying to exist. And it's never okay to hurt others on purpose. 

As someone who's super open-minded in the way that I am, it's honestly difficult for me to gatekeep, but here's what I have heard that might help keep you from gatekeeping: 

Not everything is about you. You may not get/need it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist/someone needs it. 

The existence of something/someone doesn't mean less for someone else who isn't a part of that group.

If it isn't hurting anyone, it's not a problem. (There may be struggles or a change that needs to be made, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily hurting someone/a group.)

Everyone is capable of change, and that's okay.

Everyone makes mistakes, and that's okay. 

Everyone is allowed their own opinions, and that's okay.

There are no rules for how being exist. 

2) The So-Called Evil Alter(s) 

We've all seen those characters in media that have that one side/alter who is slapped with the label of being evil. A perfect example is the Goblin from Spider-Man, the Beast from Glass, and literally any media you consume that has DID villainized. When writing Plurality, it is your job to avoid hurtful and harmful stereotypes such as the "Evil Alter." 

The reason it's important to avoid falling into the stereotype is simple: It's overused, demonizes, stigmatizes, villainizes, and continues to push forth the idea that systems are to be feared. Systems are real and valid, and creating fear around their experiences and existence causes real-life problems. If you're choosing to write about marginalized groups (just like drawing, it should be something you practice/incorporate often), you must always keep this in mind. What you write affects real beings. Write responsibly. 

The best way to flick a middle finger to the evil stereotype is by ensuring that a headmate is well-rounded, an actual individual instead of a plot device or just a flat character. It is okay to have characters who may fall into stereotypes, be a persecutor, or do bad things because they're a being; they're capable of such things. But you have to make sure to get across to the audience that they are not evil. You can do this by not having a headmate be the antagonist in the story or filling the common roles a villain does in most stories. 

If you're incapable or aren't sure you can write a character like that, avoid writing headmates who can fall into being a villain in your story. If you're sharing your work publically, it's best not to incorporate it at all, but I highly recommend practicing privately on how to write demonized headmates in a stigma-free light in your own time and pace. You're going to fail at first; what matters is that you're trying. 

3) Writing Only "Evil" or Antagonists as Pural 

Similar to what I said above, even if you don't follow the "Evil Alter" villainization of a headmate, it's important to always pay attention if all or most of your system characters are villains/antagonists in your story. While having a diverse set of characters with various roles in a story is fine, it's important to ensure that you're not accidentally falling into the thin line of villainizing characters. 

The best way to avoid this is to make sure you have an equal balance of plural characters spanning from "good" to "many shades of grey" to "bad." And to not use demonizing characteristics with "bad" characters but instead in good or a certain grey area. This will challenge you to break norms and think outside the box, depending on your character. But in the end, if you don't feel capable, practice! Learn! As long as you're trying, that's what matters!

4) Final Fusion

Many singlets don't know this, so I won't just link what Final Fusion is but define it. In the simplest explanation I can give, Final Fusion is when a system becomes a singlet. 

I would avoid this in writing at all costs. The point of writing Systems isn't to make them singlet, and it's like learning how to write black characters to make them white. You just don't do that. You write systems to write about system experiences/have a genuinely diverse cast of characters, not to make their existence in stories an end goal to become one single being in a body. 

If you're singlet, don't ever write about Final Fusion. In my opinion, it isn't your place to write about that; leave that to systems as it is a touchy subject and not one singlets should handle. 

TL;DR: When writing about Plurality, avoid gatekeeping Plural experiences/groups, falling into evil stereotypes, making all your plural characters antagonists, and writing anything on Final Fusion.

General Writing Rules

How you write systems depends on what system you decide to write about, the headmates within that system, and any other characteristics you choose to add to the body or the headmates themselves will influence how you actually write things out. An example is how I write my Shard System (fic here). 

First, my Shard System has polyconsciousness and can communicate internally, though it changes depending on who's talking and fronting. This leaves me having to find a format for the audience to know what is internal and external and who is specifically talking. I wrote that lil fic I shared while sleep-deprived, so it isn't the prettiest-looking format, but it's a format nonetheless, and that helps readers! I recommend having a key or using consistent formatting so readers understand what is happening. 

Secondly, my Shard System dissociates when switching and co-fronting, so I describe the experience as I would an emotion or when a character is using their powers. When you have systems that have characteristics that affect the body and their perception when fronting or in the inner world, it's good to describe it like you would anything else! And if there's something significant about it or it changes depending on what perspective you're writing from, that's just as important as writing feelings or background characteristics! 

Thirdly, systems have characteristics where they have a quirk where they'll write/type/speak in that quirk. For example, my Shard System has a few quirks where Red types in bold (hence why I wrote his dialogue in bold) and has a Spanish accent and a deep voice when fronting and in the inner world. Savage speaks in broken English, so it'll be very prominent when he communicates. Considering the little details about your headmates when writing them in your stories is never bad! Especially when it's a common quirk in systems to have! 

Finishing Thoughts

There is nothing wrong with wanting to learn how to write Plurality or any other marginalized and demonized experience. You're going to make mistakes, and you're going to be a fool the first time you write Plural characters, and hey, it's all a part of the learning process! What matters is that you try and remember to check in to ensure you're not excluding or creating real-life problems in your writing. 

This long-ass answer to your ask or anyone wanting to write about Plurality isn't meant to scare you off or overwhelm you; it's to simply inform you how you can write Plurality to the best of your ability. And like learning to do anything, it takes time and patience. Not everything will make sense right away, and it's expected that your first emotions learning about something you don't understand are fear, anger, and denial. But to grow as a person and as a writer is to tackle those feelings and remember why you're writing these experiences. 

I write about plural characters and experiences because I love Plurality. I love it so much that I just want to express my love through my favorite characters and spend my time learning and consuming content on it. I write plural characters because I care so deeply for the plural community. I am passionate about giving them media and content they can enjoy, where they feel safe, heard, and understood. I write plural characters to destroy the idea that Plurality is something to fear and hide away when systems should take pride and be able to be wholeheartedly themselves. I write plural characters because I choose to. Because I want to. 

Having a reason, no matter how "dumb" or "profound," for wanting to write Plurality is valid and good as long as it doesn't hurt real-life beings. And I am more than ecstatic to hear that you and others may want to write plural characters, even if you're singlet or not! 

It isn't that hard to write once you get the hang of it and the moment you get the basic understanding of the system experiences you're trying to write. But, I want you to know that no matter how hard it gets, how challenging and maybe even overwhelming it may be, your best is enough, and your trying is enough. That doesn't mean you need to stop learning because you're always going to keep learning things until you die, but just know that your best is enough and will always be enough. 

Thank you so much for reaching out, and I hope this long-ass post helped you or you&! I tried my best to cover everything, but if anyone else has anything more to add, feel free! 

Raphael:

He's a headmate and part of a Plural System! I have talked about this many times, and you can find more info on my pinned post on my writing Tumblr. I won't dive into it here because this post will be 10x as long because Plural Raph means everything to me, LMAO.

Eldest Daughter Syndrome all the way; this boy has trauma regarding taking care of his family and boundary issues because of it. This also applies to him loathing and loving his family in a complex way.

He's Autistic, and one of my favorite things about Raphael's traits is that he enjoys the feeling of intense sensory input. Especially when he was younger, he used to get hurt a lot because Raph used to throw himself around when he was understimulated. It's something Donnie teases him about and doesn't understand at all. But they bond over their shared neurodiversity, especially about emotional shutdowns.

He's Dyslexic! He struggles a fuck ton when it comes to reading and writing, so much so that it's one of the main things that caused him to melt down. The frustration over being unable to do things his brothers could became too much, really fast when he was younger. Things are better now, but he often struggles, as outwardly shown with his sloppy handwriting, sometimes taking a while to write out texts and mishearing what people are saying to him.

He's also Dyscalculic, so he struggles with math just as much. Unlike his Dyslexia, however, Donnie was more than happy to help him out and show him multiple ways of doing it. After Donnie went through a whole entire perspective change over not being able to grasp why Raph was so "dumb" until he finally realized Raph understood numbers differently, like how Donnie did but in the opposite. Raph hates numbers, but it doesn't get as much of an emotional reaction out of him as reading/writing does. 

He is a puzzle freak! I cannot stress enough how much he loves puzzles, especially Tangrams and Sodoku! He has his own stash of puzzles in his room or somewhere in storage. It's one of the things he allows himself to buy for himself, a treat of sorts. When he's stressed and needs to be alone, he pulls out a few puzzles and completes them until he feels better. Donnie and Raph have their days that they'll do Sodokus together, and at times Mikey joins Raph in jigsaw puzzles and/or challenges, especially the big ones that take days to complete. It's one of the ways the three bond.

Raph has special interests in Dinosaurs, Puzzles, Anatomy (like how muscles work), Sports, and Stuffed Animals. He's able to info dump on the histories and information about each one but doesn't, mostly because he's so busy making sure his family is taken care of that he's combated the urge to info dump unless asked to.

Leonardo:

In a possible AU(?) or, in some fics, I write Leo as Plural, which you can also find in the pinned post I linked. However, it's not a big headcanon of mine as it is with Raphael's Plurality, but it's still something I can talk about for ages. 

He's an insomniac and has been since he was a baby. He struggles to sleep, and when he does, it's not for very long. His family accommodates his fucked up sleep schedule and never puts him down for not being able to sleep or spend time with them because he needs to sleep in/is too exhausted to participate. He feels guilty for not being able to join them in the morning at times, has anxiety about how short days seem, and sometimes feels like he isn't doing enough to spend time with his family because he can't control his sleep. 

He has an Anxiety Disorder. Many things affect him differently than his brothers because of this, like dealing with stress. He also places much of his self-worth in his appearance, his family's perception of him, and the need for constant success. So, if any of those things are affected, he spirals into panic attacks that leave him emotionally drained and mentally fucked for days. Until he eventually bounces back into three of his unhealthy coping mechanisms.

He has Internalized Homophobia, deadass.

He's a music-orientated boy like Mikey is. The only difference is that when he's upset, he'll drown everything out with loud music and pretend to be a rock star/his favorite artist(s) for escapism. He has the most music on his playlist out of all his brothers but still has nearly every song memorized by heart. He hums songs a lot, whether to calm himself down or when he's really happy. A humming, muttering lyrics Leo is usually a good sign unless he's rubbing at his wrist. 

This leads me to my next headcanon: Leo's also very unhealthy coping mechanism is digging and rubbing at his wrist when he has a panic/anxiety attack. It started when he was younger and only worsened until his family helped Leo find different ways to cope.

He loves tea more than Splinter. Anything tea flavored? He'll love it. Get him any kind of tea? He'll down that shit no matter what. Splinter doesn't understand how Leo can enjoy black tea, but he fucking does, so if he's super tired in the morning, he'll drink some caffeinated black tea and watches as his family cringes and teases him for his terrible taste buds. April usually buys Leo some new tea for him to try for the day that they all finally witness Leo actually not like a certain kind. It hasn't happened yet.

Donatello:

Autistic and mostly sensory, avoidant to everything except his eyes, leaving him loving when things are really vibrant, hence why his purple lights in his lab are so strong sometimes. When he was younger, he went through a lot of trial and error trying to find his comfort food/foods he's comfortable with. Sensory issues are his nemesis. This is why he never experiments with his pallet beyond his own food abominations (as Mikey calls them). Hates scented detergents/candles/strong-smelling foods and will avoid really high sensory challenges their family plays that Raphael dives right into.

He has trouble sleeping, not in the same way as Leo, but mostly because he fixates on a project and doesn't want to go to sleep until he's finished. It's led to quite a few arguments from Raph, but only when it leaves Donnie up for 24 hours, affecting his health. Donnie or Leo will mostly silently join each other, so they're not alone. At the same time, everyone else is asleep, and depending on if the other is having some issues, they'll do their Wrist Grab, which is their specific affection grab that developed in their childhood. 

He makes Stress Binders, binders full of information he's printed out, laminated, and specifically made in a certain order. He has some on lab SDS (Saftey Data Sheets), his special interests, data from each of his creations, his family, and random interesting facts. They're on a shelf in his lab that's properly labeled and something his family doesn't even dare to touch because it's literally Donnie's emotional crutches.

He hates fish. Like. With a full-on passion, he hates fish. He hates the touch, looks, and just- everything about them. His family will tease him for it, but they never go too far because he will fucking lose it if he has to touch a goddamn fish. 

He was non-verbal when he was younger and communicated through building Legos. Everyone keeps the Lego figures he's made just for them, whether they were an important thing or as a gift. Donnie still loves Legos but doesn't build with them as much as when he was a kid, but from time to time, he'll leave his family Lil Legos for them to find. 

Because Donnie was non-verbal and can become semi-non-verbal when he is overhwlemed, everyone learned ASL to talk to each other when one of them was silent or needed help. They use it outside when Donnie is non-verbal, but it isn't often enough that anyone would know they knew ASL if they weren't around when Donnie went mute.

He's a father to all his creations and treats them all like they're his children, even if he reflects Splinter's parenting that had hurt him onto them, intentional or not. I know this could be considered canon, considering S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. and the Sentient Bed. But seriously, he has so many AI children that no one can even joke about it because it's literally too fucking real, LMAO.

Michelangelo: 

He has Intrusive Thoughts that have a wide fucking range that affect him constantly. I sometimes write him with OCD, but he generally suffers from Intrusive Thoughts. Out of all his brothers, he has the best handle on his issues and healthy coping mechanisms, but he still struggles. He grows silent and distant when his mind is fucking with him, and only on desperate occasions does he confines himself to his bedroom. He never outright locks himself away like Splinter. He would rather suffer than do so, but he does take time away from everyone else to vent or deal with the thoughts until he's all better. 

He was taught how to cook by Raphael before he exceeded Raphael's knowledge and self-taught himself in everything else. He loves cooking, and it's a way for him to get creative and feel like he's contributing to his family and properly accommodating what they need to be. However, he will playfully strangle whoever steals a taste of the food he's making before he's done, and everyone has gotten hit with a spatula by him a few times because of it.

He enjoys making jewelry, mostly bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, for his family's mask tails and ears for those who have them. It started when he used to take a string and tie little rings on his fingers as a kid, and eventually, when he got older, he could make some of his own and self-teach himself how to! 

He is 100% an ADHDer and is a mix of hyperactive and unattentive. He usually stims by doing tricks and hanging himself upside down, especially when understimulated. He gets upset really easily when he isn't able to focus on something, though, and when Mikey was younger, Mikey used to bite down on the inside of his mouth as a way to try and focus, but it never worked, and he ended up leaving scars in his mouth and making himself bleed. It's all fixed now, and he instead finds different ways to express his frustration.

He loves history. He watches videos, documentaries, and easy-to-read books on different cultures and all their information. Reading about history, culture, and such, he can overcome art block and draw things inspired by what he learns. Because he's so passionate about it, April shares everything she gets taught in her history classes and lets Mikey keep whatever she doesn't need anymore from that class.

He writes not very often, but he dabbles in creative writing from time to time, especially if it's poetry or describing his feelings. 

Mikey has issues with not being seen as mature and independent, so it causes a lot of fights in their family when anyone doesn't allow him to do something he thinks he's ready for. He hates being babied, and because of this, he and Raph can butt heads a lot, especially when Raph is being overprotective and hovering. At times Mikey understands, but in others, it's just a one-way trip to him not talking to you until he's calmed down. 

That should be most of them! Sorry that this is really long and might have some spelling errors. I like talking about these turtles and how I interpret them and my Dyslexic ass only vaguely payed attention to grammer, LMAO