What is the Lilac Grove?

It's what we call ourselves as a System. Unlike most systems, we really prefer not being called a "system" of sorts. We're a grove - like a bunch of trees, growing tall. Lilacs just happen to be the flower we identify the most.

As for our labels for such? We're a mixed-origin tulpa/median system of nine entities - Jaida, Navi, Cassandra, The Huntress Collective (Two in one), Kay, Maxi, Rei, and Rosie.

A Median System?

Being Median is not like what is shown about systems in media. One does not need to have moments of visible switching to be plural. According to PluralPedia, a median system is a system where members seem to not be fully distinct from one another. It can be hard for the system itself to determine who is in first sometimes. This is what we call blurring. Some Median systems focus around a core identity, or the main identity that each facet (rather than alter) is a key part of. Facets tend to see themselves as their own unique person, yet still a piece that comprises the full core identity.

Tulpa?

A Tulpa is a thoughtform that is purposefully created through focus and other techniques. The word is borrowed from Tibetan Buddhism, although the use of such in the west is far detatched from the orignal use. The catch-all, 'thoughtform', can be used if you don't wish to step on any toes. In some instances, tulpas can be accidentally forced into existence. While there is a controversy - tulpas, alters, and facets are all the same sort of kin mentally, sharing one mind with you. As such, the Ethic of Reciprocity does extend to these other entities until you decide to merge, if that is the angle you wish to go through.

I notice a name of a fictional character there...

It happens. Fictives are introjects that have the same identity as characters from fiction. Occasionally, after adjusting to life within the new headspace, fictives may choose to doff their fictional identity to something that befits their new purpose within. (This is the case of the Huntress Collective, see below.)

What is your history with plurality?

Simply put - I (Jaida) needed an outlet. Something or someone to talk me through my trauma in childhood. Growing up, getting it trouble was the most panic-inducing thing I could ever experience, and when it happened, I generally consulted what I thought to be myself. Turns out, enough talking and focusing on what could be another person can cause them to manifest within the mind. That is how Navi was created. She didn't have a name until we were out of college and just chose one for herself.

That 'over-focus' accident happened two other times - with the Huntress Collective and with Rei. The Huntress Collective got their start with an over-focus on Artoria Pendragon and Utena Tenjou. Somehow, the two thoughtforms became their own unique entity, becoming a subsystem. As such, the two decided to take on the name Artemis and keep their surnames. As for Rei, she herself was a walk-in. Some people say they could tell through how much of a focus there was on this character from Neon Genesis Evangelion. As for the other two. Once Navi was formed, the other two seemed to be more facets of my own personality becoming their own entity.

What is inner communication like for you?

Inner Communication is the communication various facets or headmates have with each other. For us, it happens a bit like how Jacen and Jaina Solo communicated with Leia Organa-Solo from The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn. Basically, in the book, the twins used The Force to communicate raw emotion to their mother, who was able to interpret such and send mental images and her emotions back to the two to comfort them in times of their distress from within the womb.