#my job insys is to talk to persecutors

[wishiwasfiction]

hi! system that writes a lot of plurality! i have more thoughts!

if part of the story is 'Villain actually has a reason for doing what they do, and once they get help to work through that reason they're really not so bad anymore' then it often becomes really good rep, since there's dimension and realism and growth/development and stuff.

or you could do some stuff that's POV: Villain that explains their thought process and that they're actually doing it for a very valid reason that the Guy just isn't aware of.

If there are other members of the subsys beyond those two, then giving Villain a close/positive relationship with one of the others will go a long way. if not, give them a hobby or something that brings them obvious joy/passion.

The other option is to give the Villain something that they are completely and utterly terrified of. it could be anything, but making it clear that they aren't invulnerable, that they are doing these horrible things out of fear can go a fair way to making them seem like and Actual Person, and making them understandable/relatable to the audience.

the 'evil alter' trope is generally know for being entirely flat, part of the stereotype is that 'evil alters' are never anything but pure evil and maliciousness, they hate everyone and everything and they're completely a lost cause to ever be anything different.

So if you can give the Villain something they care about, or things that make them have intense emotions, or a hurdle they overcome, it goes a long way to being different from the trope.

So. Long story as short as possible. We’re writing the story of one of our headmates sources.

Issue is that they also happen to be a subsystem and The Villain.

On one hand, we don’t want to write them as Guy With an Evil Alter. On the other, it is very easy to read them to be like that.

While it is far more complicated than that, I’m uncertain on how to approach this. Advice would be appreciated!

Are there other places you can insert some plurality? The evil alter trope is a problem because that's a large portion of our representation, but it's balanced out a bit when there's other examples of what plurality can look like involved.

-Mod Tick Tock

[wishiwasfiction]

You... or your alter. Idk who will notice this ask honestly!

said your insys job is talking to persecutors and malicitors.

Can you explain how it feels, and how to treat/understand them better? Are you affected emotionally, or are you completely chill? I don't ask for your personal system details, you can answer as vague or with any imaginary examples, anything you will see fit, i just want to understand systems functioning better.

🦎🦚🌺🍉 anon

yep hello I'm Quest, the person you're referring to! (quick note, I'm not anyone's alter, and the other alters insys aren't my alters either. we're all equal)

PSA this is my experience, I'm not a professional, and I haven't included very much nuance.

I'm generally really chill, since staying calm and keeping myself under control are really important when I'm doing my job. A lot of my emotions and morals turn off when I'm working, since I need to remain friendly with them no matter what's happening.

I'm also really good at matching formality/language choices/etc. If they're swearing a lot, I'll swear too; if they're very formal, I'll be formal too; if they're angry at someone, I'll encourage them to let that anger out and express it. The caveat to this is that I don't ever reflect negative sentiments back to them, I'm respectful of everyone, even people they don't like.

In terms of how to treat alters that are hurting the system, treat them how they want to be treated, and treat them with respect.

They all have reasons for acting the way they do, and if their actions are causing problems then figuring out why they're doing it is a super important step to fixing said problems.

Alters that cause problems are often treated really badly and seen as evil/villainous/etc. Treating them like people and giving them basic respect and courtesy often goes a long way, since it shows you don't believe the stereotypes and makes you at least a little bit more trustworthy/safe.

Obviously some alters are just doing it to be mean or because it's fun, but they're the minority by far in my experience.

A lot of alters that act out do it because they feel ignored or unheard, and it seems like the only way they can make the rest of the system notice the problem(s) they've found or pay attention to them. Some alters act unhelpfully/harmfully because it's what they were taught and they don't know any better.

It's also worth noting that there might be alters that were really hurt by whoever I'm working with, and it's really important that they have a space to process that and express whatever they're feeling. Keeping them away from each other to start off with is good, because it prevents conflict and gives everyone a safe space.

In terms of how it feels to me? Frustrating. I love my job, but teaching someone who's technically older than me 'how to interact with people without verbally abusing them' is, as i said before, frustrating.

It's worth it 100% and I don't begrudge them for struggling or needing to be taught these things, but it gets tiring and annoying very quickly.

I hope this makes sense, and I'm not really sure if I understood what you're asking, so please send another ask if i misunderstood the question.