a-system-and-fanworks

[a-system-and-fanworks]

hi! so...

I have a character with A LOT OF early childhood trauma. At first, I didn't think much about it, but as time passed, I saw that much trauma would for sure leave a big mark on them somehow, especially being so young when it was repeatedly happening. So I thought about making them have DID, and I would like some tips, bc at the beginning of my story, my character will not know they have DID, so I would like to see if you have any tips for writing systems that don't know that they are a system yet, I heard that some systems are commonly misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder and stuff, and I also know that you can pass a lot of time and don't realise you're a system, so I wanted to ask if could you help me, please

Sure yeah! From what friends of mine have said, some semi-common experiences are:

parts of one’s identity changing many times in notable ways over the years without clear reason

Having memory issues

“Playing pretend” for really long amounts of time as a kid / getting really in character for more teen hobbies like roleplay or dnd

Not really caring about traumatic memories except in certain situations

Seeming to have a different personality at home versus in public, not just superficially but down to motivations, social preferences, and even opinions (like preferring socializing in public but being entirely fine with aloneness at home)

Changing names/going by many aliases (online, nicknames, etc)

Feeling distant/disconnected from one’s past self

Forgetting details from distressing moments (arguments, etc)

These are just some ideas, and there’s a lot of variety for how things can look! For instance I know someone who essentially presented as someone with PTSD for many years, because their system was keeping them in front and doing all the system related work in the background. Another had a lot of online identities and liked roleplay, and another insisted they were a kid’s show character for a whole year as a child. It can vary a lot! Overall though you seem like you’ve got a good grasp on things, and I wish you luck in your writing!

[a-system-and-fanworks]

hihi sorry to bother,

i was wondering what's your take on like the,, "multiple souls in one body" trope? i have a few ocs who are like this but i don't want them to seem like mockeries of DID... also something like multiple parasites like venom style? and they can all communicate with eachother? would that also be a mockery? should i change them?? and if so, how???

I actually like that trope personally! It’s kind of like the “alien character has no gender” trope, by itself it’s not a problem, and agender people may relate and like the character a lot, it just becomes a problem when that’s the only agender rep they see

I don’t think there’s an inherent problem with the “multiple souls, one body” setup or similar ones, and actually, a neat way to acknowledge dissociative systems could be if one of the character looks up advice aimed towards dissociative systems to figure out managing everyday life! I think if I saw that or something similar in a story, I’d feel acknowledged and like I could enjoy the character design without worrying about it falling into stereotypes, or that the author didn’t understand real life dissociative systems

Overall I say go for it! Maybe do a shoutout to DID, compare/contrast or something like that, it’s up to you. Sounds like a fun story, so good luck!

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Hey! I’m the anon who was asking about the “evil alter” paranoia and amnestic barriers about a specific person, and just wanting to clear up some confusion. I the writer have suspected OSDD-1B, and the character is DID/DID coded; not 1B, so they would have a lot more amnestic barriers than I do. I was mainly just asking for a second opinion since it mainly involved amnestic barriers that are much stronger than mine, and the “evil alter” thing is something I am likely overly worried about. But what you said about it does make me feel better about it; thank you!

Ahh that’s on me for misreading your ask then :) Understandable!

I hope you have a good time writing!!

[a-system-and-fanworks]

being immortal and having DID must be crazy. yeah our boy Carlos hasn't fronted in 300 years and just woke up to the sound of Uptown Funk and started screaming

[a-system-and-fanworks]

I might pivot this blog a bit to include general MCU stuff but still focused on system things, especially since I'm not really interested in a lot of the rest of the MCU at the moment lol

I'll still definitely be open to people asking questions about OSDDID rep or feedback though!

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Hey! I don’t know how active this blog is, but I’m a writer with suspected OSDD-1B, and I’ve been writing a story with a character with DID (or at least extremely DID coded), but I’ve been overthinking and getting paranoid about a couple aspects of him and want a second opinion.

The main concern I have is one alter in particular could easily be read as an “evil” alter, and has killed someone on at least one occasion; including someone close to the host. I want to make it clear in the story that she isn’t a mindless killer, and had no choice but to kill in order to protect herself, the rest of the system and people they love, even if her panic makes her go too far. This does have negative consequences and isn’t just brushed off as another alter’s actions, and while said alter is rowdier and more aggressive than the rest, I want to make it clear her actions are due to trauma and desperation, not because she wanted to cause harm.

The second thing I’ve been overthinking (but admittedly not as much) is that the character has high amnestic barriers, barely remembering anything before the age of 17… but there’s one thing (or specifically one person) that he’d need to remember for Plot Reasons. This was someone heavily associated with his trauma, but not the person behind it; someone he was trying to protect but went missing suddenly, with him trying to find them ever since. (… Should probably mention that this is not one of the people close to him that he killed.)

Hopefully all of this isn’t too complicated; mostly just wanting a second opinion. Have a nice day!

Hi there! I think as long as you approach it how you’d approach any other character in a similar situation without the system dynamic, it should probably read just fine! The way you’ve described it so far makes it read pretty clearly that it was a defense response, and she isn’t a terrible person or playing into the “evil alter” trope

I have a side question about the amnesiac barriers in this character system: since they have OSDD-1 with the 1B subtype, wouldn’t that contradict the very high amnesiac barriers one character has? It might be worth thinking over how the amnesiac barriers work for them, whether OSDD-1 or DID fits better, and whether they care about this distinction/whether the distinction matters to you as a writer

There’s no right answer though in my opinion, your writing is your writing, and high amnesiac barriers with the exception of a specific person seems realistic and makes sense to me, especially for the role this character has in the broader system

Good luck with your writing! Overall I think you’re doing a great job, and I wish you the best!

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Hi! I hope this blog isn't inactive but if it is and you've decided to log back in years later for whatever reason and see this- that's cool! Dw abt it

My situation: I'm specifically trying to not write a character with DID/OSDD because I feel it would be harmful representation in the story with how it works. However, I'm worried that it will read as if I am anyway. I'd appreciate help to avoid this.

My character is a conduit that connects their world to a magical otherworld. They are not aware of this till much later in the story. This means that at any time, creatures from that otherworld (wether accidentally or on purpose) can suddenly inhabit their body, shoving their own consciousness to the back.

A lot of the time, if the creature has entered accidentally, they may be confused or disoriented and do things humans wouldn't do, sometimes getting violent because of it. There is one (or two) reoccurring charcter(s) that are first disoriented and maybe violent but over time and re-entering their body repeatedly, form a connection with the character and work towards a common goal. However there is also another one that appears in their body exactly once on purpose, and then tries to tear them apart in order to make their connection to the otherworld more physical and larger.

I dont think this would be a good allegory for DID/OSDD specifically because of the violence. So I want to know if there's any way I can do this without making it read as such. I have friends in systems and I absolutely do not want to contribute to the hatred against them. Your help would be much appreciated.

P.S. I am writing another character that actually has DID in a different story! They're still in the research and construction phase but just wanted to let you know :)

Haha yes this blog is still active, I should probably put a little note in the header or something

But as for your ask, maybe drawing a parallel between their situation and things that affect all sorts of people would help clarify the difference. It seems like the main point of conflict is that the character has to play a role they didn't choose (even if they come to be okay with it later), and that's something that can happen to anyone.

Some parallels could be working a retail job, being closeted to your family, or even being in the military. All of those can have a massive effect on one's life and make them feel out of control of their lives, and that might distance the comparison to DID/OSDD.

Another idea is that you could include a reference to DID/OSDD within the story, specifically to contrast it against how your character's situations works.

(Side note: I don't think violence inherently makes it a "bad allegory," violence can definitely be a part of system dynamics, but you're right, it's an oversaturated aspect of works about DID/OSDD/similar things, and contributes to stigma)

I hope these spark some ideas for you, if you want to write back and keep brainstorming feel free! :)

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Hi! I don't know how active this blog is, but wanted to give it a shot anyways--I'm writing a fic right now with a character who is canonically a dissociative system, and I want to make sure I get it right! I have a couple of questions:

1) How would you describe the feeling of leaving the front? If, for example, System Member A was fronting, and System Member B came to the front, what would that experience feel like for System Member A? Would they still be aware to some extent? Is there a physical sensation associated with it?

2) Then, vice versa, what would that experience feel like for System Member B? Would they have any awareness or understanding of the situation they are in? E.g. If System Member A took the body to a doctor's appointment, and then B came to the front, would it be possible for B to know what was going on at all?

3) Is it possible for a system member not to know the body's given name? For example, if a system member went by their own specific name, and maybe didn't front very often, then saw an old childhood friend on the street. If that friend called them by the body's given name, would it make any sense whatsoever for the member in question to be confused?

4) I know it's possible for multiple system members to front at once, but is there such a thing as a situation where no one is fronting? If so, what would that look like?

Thank you so much for your help!!

Despite how it looks, this blog is in fact active! Thanks for the ask! I’ll put the rest under the cut, but I hope this helps. Good luck with your fic!

How does switching feel to the people leaving/entering front?

It’s different from system to system, but there are some common descriptions of what switching feels like. To some, it feels like waking up/falling asleep. To others, it feels like fading into the background/coming into focus. Sometimes a physical sensation or muted physical sensations goes with switching, like a chill running up the spine or getting goosebumps. Some people twitch or make other movements, and switching headaches are notorious (but not always present)

Remembering things between switches

Again, this varies from system to system. It’s pretty much a consistent thing for systems to have some sort of separation between switching, between simply emotional distance or full blackout amnesia. Generally though, having some impression of what happened before one switched in is normal. How much one remembers between switches tends to follow a pattern, so you should keep that in mind. Often how much is remembered between switches improves over a long period of time with better communication, so that can change as well

Remembering details about the body

Whether or not someone’s able to remember details about the system’s life depends on the barriers they have between other system members. This can vary from system to system and member to member. Often a system member will have at least some idea of the body’s life and memories, but clarity varies. Full amnesia about the body’s life isn’t impossible, but neither is knowing exactly what’s going on.

For the specific scenario of someone calling out the body’s name and whoever’s fronting being confused, yes that’s entirely possible. I would expect them to be confused about other things too though, especially if they’re not used to fronting or are new

Can the front be empty?

Technically no, but it might seem that way if the system as a whole is very dissociated and so blurry that it feels like there’s no one in front. Some systems may also describe it that way because it translates better in everyday talk. If a system is very dissociated and blurry though, that might look a lot like the freeze or flop response when one is triggered, so that could be something to look into for writing purposes

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Hello! Recently, I've wanted to write a character with DID (not associated with Moon Knight, I've kinda been scrolling for a bit), and although I have friends who are/have systems (is that the correct term?), I don't know how to exactly ask for help because I don't want to come off as rude or prying.

The character in question is quite stressed out in life with no one to turn to for support, and he witnessed a close friend being shot to death. I checked out some of the posts on this blog, and noticed a few times it was mentioned that people usually have DID due to similar traumas. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I want to learn!)

So, I want to ask a few questions;

1) Is it possible for an alter to forget someone that the host knows? So that when that alter is fronting, they won't recognize the other person?

2) Do alters have to know about the host's significant other? Can the alter dislike that significant other?

3)Is it possible for an alter to front at the same time as the host, if the system is confused for example? (for example, in my story, the system not agreeing on if they should shoot someone or not because the host cares for that person, but the alter doesn't?)

If you ever do read this, thank you, and I do apologize for not being the most knowledgeable about these things. :(

Hi there! Uninformed questions are totally okay here, that’s what the blog is for :)

DID is caused by trauma, yes, but the key point is that it forms in childhood before a child’s personality is fully integrated (we don’t know exactly when that is, but it’s speculated to be around ages 6-9). You could probably change the timeline of when the major trauma occurred, or establish gun violence as the cause of their trauma, then have the aftermath of their friend’s death as when they face their DID head-on. These are just some suggestions, but identity separation generally doesn’t occur past childhood, and is a bit different than DID as we currently understand it

As for your questions:

“1) Is it possible for an alter to forget someone that the host knows? So that when that alter is fronting, they won't recognize the other person?”

Yep, and this is because of the way switching amnesia and dissociative barriers can work in DID.

Switching amnesia is amnesia between alters based on whether they were fronting/near front when something was happening. It might not be total, blackout style amnesia, but with switching amnesia there’s usually some “fuzziness” that accompanies trying to remember what another alter did. This can definitely extend to whole relationships.

Dissociative barriers are what separate memories, identity factors, skills, opinions, emotions, etc between alters. They can be lowered as part of healing, but are the base “building blocks” of what makes alters alters.

“2) Do alters have to know about the host's significant other? Can the alter dislike that significant other?”

Not at all, and absolutely. Like I said about dissociative barriers, different alters may have different memories and opinions, and that can extend to people the system knows. As an example, our social protector sees the body’s parents as his peers, whereas our host sees them as their parents.

“3) Is it possible for an alter to front at the same time as the host, if the system is confused for example? (for example, in my story, the system not agreeing on if they should shoot someone or not because the host cares for that person, but the alter doesn't?)”

This is called co-fronting, which is when two or more alters are fronting at the same time. This is similar to co-consciousness, which is when another alter is aware of what’s happening on the outside, but isn’t in control of the body. Co-consciousness is a little like having someone in the passenger seat of a car to give driving instructions, whereas with co-fronting, both people have their hands on the wheel.

Also as a side note, the host of a system is an alter too, they just happen to “run things” :)

I hope this was a good reply! Good luck with your writing!

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Will a protector ever front if there is nothing that the host needs 'protection' from? (like if they are not currently in a stressful situation)

Short answer: yes. Sometimes alters with specific roles only front when their role is needed, sometimes they front regardless of if their role is needed, it depends on the dissociative system and the alter. Whether someone fronts only for their role or not can also change with time, in either “direction”

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Hi I have a question!! Are there ever cases where an alter dislikes the host's romantic partner, or isn't really close to them at all? And if so how is this usually dealt with/resolved? And do all alters have to warm up with that person individually? Sorry if that was worded really awkwardly, or if you've already answered this, but you're really awesome for offering this advice out to people!! Thank you ^^"

You’re totally alright! They are cases where that happens, and we’ve actually been in that exact situation before. If anything, this may be more likely than not, since different alters may or may not develop the same feelings and opinions towards a person.

Sometimes there’s emotional bleed-over or make it easier to get to know someone, but this isn’t guaranteed, and how that presents may vary (for instance, most of our main fronters are fond of our host’s partner due to our host’s feelings, but don’t have the same feelings towards our host’s partner). Different alters may also have different reactions towards a partner because of past experiences. For instance, a child alter who’s scared of men may not warm up to a male partner for a while.

For systems who are open about their systemhood, I suppose a conversation would have to be had around boundaries and making sure that a system’s partner is okay with fluctuating boundaries from alter to alter. How a relationship ends up in the end can really vary. Sometimes a partner is only dating one alter, sometimes they’re dating the whole system or otherwise partnered with them, sometimes they’re together with multiple alters, and may or may not consider this polyamory (at that point it sort of comes down to how they personally view it).

If they’re not open about it, aren’t fully aware of their situation, and don’t have much control over switching, that may lead to some problems and internal conflict (like “why do I love my partner one moment and the next I feel grossed out by the idea of kissing them? I must be a bad person for this”).

Overall it can be complicated to work out a relationship as a system, but it’s definitely not impossible! We’re friends with a solid handful of systems with singlet partners, system partners, multiple partners, only in-system partners, there’s a ton of ways people can find healthy companionship

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Occasional reminder that this blog still exists 👋

If you want to send in questions about portrayal of dissociative systems in media, especially how to portray us in fanworks, feel free!

[a-system-and-fanworks]

hi!! so this isn't related to what fandom is particularly popular on this blog, but I'm writing a gift for an older fandom in which a character has sort of, dual personalities after the tragic loss of a parent-- the alter that comes out after the event is what I believe to be akin to a protector (again, coming from a singlet who has friends who have systems/are part of systems themselves) but I've seen discourse saying it is uncommon for only two separate entities to exist within a system-- (like just a host & one alter). also, do you have any tips for writing within headspace? the fandom I'm writing for (knb) has scenes that sort of focus on a shift between alters but it's just a blank space where the host & alter interact with one another. I want to do it justice without my portrayal being harmful, I suppose. thanks for running this blog, it's been very helpful as I've done research!!

Hey there! Other fandoms are totally fine, Moon Knight is what we’re mostly familiar with but this is a blog for any fandom at the end of the day.

You might not have thought of this (or maybe you have), but if you’re writing a dissociative system whose dissociation stems from a major event, that’d have to be in their childhood (before about ~10 or so). Without support and a healthy environment to process that, a kid could definitely develop as a dissociative system.

Systems with only two alters aren’t as common to our knowledge and experience, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with writing a system with two alters. If the loss of their parent happened in adolescence or adult life, then yeah, it would be unusual or possibly downright impossible at that point for there not to be other alters. Since you’re writing fic though, you can mess around with the timeline as you like if you want.

When writing the character who’s a protector, keep in mind the variety that can come with that role. Is their job to take the painful emotions so that the host doesn’t have to feel them (so they’d be a trauma holder/protector)? Is their job to mask painful emotions when they come up, and not display grief? There’s a ton of different ways a protectors file could present in this case.

Alright, now for headspaces. Headspaces can look like anything, or they can look like nothing at all, or a system may not have one and communicates internally in some other way that doesn’t have a physical space (like exchanging thoughts, emotions, external messages, stuff like that). Having it be a blank space isn’t wrong at all, plenty of headspaces look like that. Since this is the nature of the space though, you have a lot of potential wiggle room where you can add things. Symbolic objects (like a filing cabinet for memories), a way to visualize the connection to the outside world (like a screen), symbolic settings (like a childhood home or comforting space), or other things.

I hope this explains things and gives you some tips! Feel free to write back if you have other questions

[a-system-and-fanworks]

We haven’t been to active lately, but if anyone’s got questions or wants to stop by, we’ll be here for a couple hours :)

[a-system-and-fanworks]

As far as one alter momentarily interrupting another alter fronting to do or say something, often that gets played as a horror device, or for angst, or whatever other negative action you want.

And yes that can happen, that does happen for many, but that’s often not all that happens.

Case in point: A more playful alter who I didn’t know was on co co-fronted for a second just to imitate a friend of ours saying “uwu” in a Goofy voice

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Heyy we’ve got some time available tonight, so just a reminder that this blog does in fact exist!

If you’re a singlet and wanting advice on representing dissociative systems in fanworks, or wanting to ask questions related to that, this is the blog! Silly, awkward, or niche questions are all okay :)

Check description and pinned if you like, but otherwise just stop by our ask box

[a-system-and-fanworks]

Thinking about that big final fight again and thinking about how fucking cool it was to see a system with the dissociative equivalent of suddenly being able to fight amazingly, like it went right along with the superhero genre and the way that the arc of getting acclimated to new abilities tends to go in superhero stories, but with something we could relate to! And it was amazing! And it fit perfectly!

*sigh*

It was just so good