About Us
Hi, I'm Tess. I'm plural, which means we're multiple individuals in one head. To refer to us collectively, you can call us Tess. This page is designed to clarify any frequently asked questions regarding who we are.
FAQ:
What is being plural like?
Each system's (the term for a set of individuals occupying the same head) experience of plurality is highly distinct. My answer to this question is my own, don't mistake my experience as universal.
That being said, plurality for us is like having multiple voices in my head that speak with each other. Each of these voices is called a "headmate" or an "alter." They can communicate with each other and have full conversations. Usually only one headmate controls our body at a time, which is called "fronting." We take turns fronting and switch out fairly often.
Headmates are mostly distinct from each other for us. Gender is very fluid between alters, but this isn't always the case with other systems. Each headmate's voice is different and each headmate has distinct personality traits and quirks. Age can also vary, as can appearance and species.
Systems with a mind's eye may be able to visualize each headmate in what is called "headspace," essentially an imaginary space where visualized headmates can exist and interact. An alter's mental appearance and the body's appearance can vary dramatically, including by age, gender, and species. This is a fairly common phenomenon for systems. This also explains why many of us identify with/as non-humans. Despite not having a headspace (or any mind's eye), we still experience the same phenomenon.
Also worth mentioning, we dissociate a lot, which can be related to plurality. Dissociation is like feeling disconnected and disjoint from the external world. We experience it like looking at everything through a haze. Dissociation is disorienting and we experience it at some baseline level constantly. It also messes with our memory.
For more about plurality, check out morethanone.
This sounds made up/not real/like you're faking it.
Kindly realize I have no reason to make this up. There's no benefit I could gain from doing so. I mean every word I say. Send me any variation of the above message and I will block you, so don't bother.
What should I call you?
If you're referring to us collectively, then call us Tess, and use they/she/it pronouns. To refer to one of us individually, use their name and pronouns. Calling us "y'all" is fine. Calling us "you" is also fine. Also if you don't know what name to use, just say Tess.
Why do you have the "bot" tag on Discord?
We use a bot called PluralKit to proxy messages as various profiles. Each profile is for each headmate. One of the limitations of the bot is that it has the bot tag. Also if you want to ping the author of a pluralkit message, right click on the message, click apps, then click "ping author."
I have a question not listed here.
DM me on discord at thetessellation
Incomplete List of System Members
Because we only have a few headmates who front frequently, we'll only list those ones here.
Sophie (it/she)
Sophie is a red panda who listens to way too much music, likes to make pretentious coffee, and likes to gush about music it likes. Her voice is on the higher end of androgynous pitch. Its favorite genre is jazz.
Ivy (she/they))
Ivy is a bunny who is very direct and sarcastic at times, but in reality she wouldn't hurt a fly. Their voice is deeper pitched and more androgynous. Her favorite music is emo, any flavor of it.
Kate (she/her)
Kate is a manul. She's all of our cutesy animalistic autism bundled up into one furry creature.
Caroline (she/they/it)
Caroline (rhymes with in) is a personification of the protagonist from the book "Annihilation." She's analytical and finds beauty in unexpected sources.
Links
We make music under the name A Photograph of God here.
Our RYM is thetessellation
Email me at sophiesmusiccorner@gmail.com