FAQ
What is this 'plurality' stuff?
Basically, plurality is when more than one person is sharing a body. This can be due to any number of reasons, from trauma to daydreaming to tulpamancy. Plurality is more than having different "masks" you use in different places; each person in a system has their own sense of identity, whereas all the different "masks" used by a singlet - a person who is not plural - are simply diffferent parts of one singular identity.
Plurality can present in a vast number of different ways, and no two systems/collectives/plurals are the same. From differences in memory sharing, to system size, to communication, to functions, to the origins of members, and many many more, there is so much variety in systems that it would be impossible to cover the whole breadth and depth of being a system here in this FAQ. The most important thing to know about plurality is that it comes in a variety of different forms, and each and every one is valid.
How should I talk to you now?
Just talk to us like a normal person! If you want to address all of us, you can refer to us as Mooneye, and as a whole we prefer they/them pronouns - however, we do ask that, if you know the pronouns of the person you are talking to, you use them. We do try to make it easy by putting our pronouns in our 'display names' whenever possible. We have very little in the way of memory barriers, so if you start talking to one person about a topic and then someone else pops in, go ahead and treat them like another person who's just been lurking near the conversation and thus knows what's going on - there's a good chance that's what was going on anyways!
Why are you showing me this?
Because we feel like we can trust you to be kind about it, and we hope this will help you understand us better. We are careful about who we choose to show this to, so if you've been shown this, know it means we consider you important and trustworthy. We are likely sending this because we are hopeful that you will allow us to act as ourselves around you instead of upholding our "singletsona". We'd love to have a conversation about it, and if there's anything else you want cleared up after reading this please talk to us.
Why are you called the Moonfall Collective? Why did you change it from the Moonlit Knots?
We call ourselves the Moonfall Collective because we all have a shared love of the moon and the night, to some degree or another. The 'fall' part is, quite frankly, just because it sounds cool. We spent a long time trying to think of a suffix to put with moon, and 'fall' just kept coming back up. I think, to us, it symbolizes the shakeups we've given each other, and the shakeups we hope to give others who need their worldview shifted so they can learn a bit more about others.
As to why we changed it, Moonlit Knots simply didn't encapsulate the whole system, only two layers. We wanted to find a name that felt like it represented all of us, not just the members of the Old Brick City and the Great Plains. Frankly, the name just started feeling too small for us, like it couldn't encapsulate the full truth of who we are, as a collective. Hell, it didn't even seem to imply that we are a collective at all! We all just, agreed it was time for a change.
How are there so many of you?
Our system is formed by stress. When the body undergoes large amounts of stress, we 'split' new fragments to attempt to support ourselves through the high stress times. A vast majority of the system does not go near front and spends all their time in headspace, living out their lives in their own areas. Even those who seem to not be doing much have their own necessary purpose; from living out a childhood we wish we had, to creating mental infrastructure to support emotional wellbeing, to releasing dangerous impulses in a safer manner than can be achieved in the physical world. We do not ask anyone to know all of the members of our system; even we have quite a bit of trouble remembering exactly how many people are here.
Are you planning to get diagnosed? What about fusing/integrating into one person?
We do not plan on seeking a diagnosis, because we do not believe it would be beneficial to us to be diagnosed, nor do we believe we need to be. Our system is not dysfunctional; we are able to work together in fairly good harmony for the most part, and the rare problem that crops up we are usually able to deal with ourselves. As to fusing/integrating into one person, the idea is fairly abhorent to the majority of us. We do not wish to be a single person; as a group, we are far more able to support each other and cover each other's problem areas. As a singlet, we imagine this brain and body would have been unable to become a functional adult, capable of having a job and a home to itself. Thus, we vastly prefer being a collective.
What are some things I should avoid saying to you?
It is generally considered rude to ask if a system wants to fuse/integrate into one person. (We know, this could have been before the last question, but we figured we would give you the answer before we gently informed you it was rude.)
It is rude to ask after the "original personality" or similar phrasing. Many systems do not have an "original", and asking after an "original" implies that the other members of the system are not as "real" as the supposed "original". All members of a system are equally important and real, and implying that a member of a system is not real can be a negative trigger for some.
Do not attempt to get someone to front without the permission of the person currently in front and the person you are attempting to bring to front. Switching can cause dissociation, headaches, and other negative reactions, especially if not done by the system on purpose. As well, asking for other people can make the person fronting feel very ignored and spoken-over. The people who commonly front can change often, as well as frequency of switches; please be conscientious of this, and dont get mad at a system if a member you met is suddenly less able to talk.
If you meet an introject, do not attempt to have them "prove" their source or assume they will be exactly like their source selves. Introjects are not their source and treating them like they are is incredibly dehumanizing. If an introject differs from their source material, do not refer to the difference as their "headcanon", it is their history and should be treated as such.
- If you're on discord, and you see something like this
then the person you are speaking to is using a discord bot called "Pluralkit" or "Tupperbox" to proxy their own name and avatar. Do not refer to this person as a bot, even in jest. I promise, we've heard it before. Even if it's a positive joke, like "I for one welcome or robot overlords". It's not funny. It's tiring. Please stop it.