I'm so scared to write about ANY character that goes through ANYTHING I can't relate to because I'm so terrified of getting things wrong. Thank you for doing this and educating us!
I don't want you to be sad. But sometimes things that happened to you maybe already happened to someone else also. You can refer to a book that the character there have the same experience and feelings you have.
you can ask someone that went through the thing, or has the thing, to review it for you. there are people that do that for work, or as a side job. contact them and they will let you know their rates. :)
I find analogies are a good place to start. They tend to bridge the gap in understanding through similar/relatable experiences. I could describe something to you but unless you have an analogous reference it will be hard to comprehend.
You have to start somewhere, but writing what you know is the best place to start. Life will be hard and give you more experience, so you will improve that way by just living. You can also interview people to see what their point of view is if they can relate and you can't. Often, there's more similar between experiences than dissimilar.
Never be afraid to write. If you write something with a conscious goal to truly understand and portray the idea you're talking about, no one should be upset with you for getting something wrong. I have never been in a relationship, but I still find joy in writing them. If you take the time to research, talk to people who suffer from things, then don't allow someone to scare you away from writing what your heart calls you to write. I have helped so many people on the topic of suicide and depression. There is someone out there willing to help you!
I would love to see accurate representation of Persecutor Protectors. Seeing how they are actually protectors with so much trauma that they are misguided. A positive representation of this would have definitely helped our old persecutors feel a lot less alone. -Kai
The Elysian System Hi! I’m currently working on a story where the main character has DID, any tips you can give me on writing persecutor protectors would be really helpful!! If you have Twitter you can contact me there was well (seeing as CZcams’s notifications are not always working) I’m @3ambird !
@@Thinking-OutLoud What would be really cool about a persecuters struggle to work through her/ his trauma and to work together with his/her system. Persecutor protectors need to be validated and understood.
I'm actually in the process of writing a character with DID. Gonna give a little context before asking my question. This character is being portrayed from the eyes of another character who has never met anyone with DID and doesn't know much about it until that point. This character's disorder is not the point of the book, it's just an important part of the plot, which is why I don't intend to reveal it right away. Somewhere in the second half of the book, I'm intending to show the persecutor/protector of the system, just one time. I understand this alter very closely as the writer, and I see him as a hurting, traumatized, isolated, lonely character who has an awful yet critical job and ices most alters out, bullys the host and a few other alters, and puts up a cold, angry front to hide how hurt and scared he really is. The stuff he holds and has experienced are things that no adult should ever, ever have to see or experience, much less a four to ten year-old. Point being, I understand him for being the traumatized, misguided protector he is, but selling it from the eyes of an outsider is a completely different story. Do you have any advice?
for the longest time we've wanted to make a videogame (theyre very important to us and where all our fictives come from haha) about a did system where talking to and learning about other alters is how you unlock new abilities and stuff. it's a weird concept but we've always wanted to see more representation in our favorite medium! -emil
That would be so cool! I’m picturing a game that involves mysteries to be solved, and different alters have different pieces of the big puzzle that solves the mystery.
I have a book coming out next year about a character with DID. I did a LOT of research. Right now it's in the hands of a therapist who has DID being read for accuracy.
@@arseen33 Thanks! I've been writing for a long time, so it just kinda made sense to make sure I got the research right. I did the same for a book on human trafficking that I have coming out this year.
@@katesmith4787 I'd be eager to read such a book. Can you give us the title or a link to your site so that I can remind myself tou buy it? Thank you :)
@@katesmith4787 Congrats! I'm happy for you. Ummm since you succesed do you have any advice for someone who wants to start and give the best to success? I love tips that video gave me but hearing/ reading how it looks like in practice would be appreciated :)
Just a little note ... Me and my system when we were back in highschool we didnt speak English very well ( Greek being our mother language ). Although we were taking classes , we just didn't seem to get it . So our English were pretty horrible . Then at some point , which i don't personally remember something changed. I wasn't aware of our OSDD back then so I couldn't explain it , but now I believe it was due to some split. After that our English improved significantly to the point that it now is the default language for our inner communication . So yes we didn't start speaking a foreign language out of the blue , but an alter was created fluent on English ( to the level that we were studying of course ) while the rest of the system straggled getting a foul sentence correctly.
I've had a story concept in mind for a while now and I would love some thoughts from those it would be representing. The basic concept is that it's a post apocalyptic world. Each chapter is marked by a number and a character name. Initially the reader is left to think that these are a group of survivors who are working together to survive. One of them barters for goods. Another hunts /traps while yet another keeps track of how many supplies there are and what is needed (each one does more obv but this is the base idea.) They have conversations with each other, though one or two may forget things from these conversations at times. As the story progresses it files to light that the whole group are sharing a body, that they are a system and that they are surviving the crazy world by working together and depending on each other. These are broad ideas and the story would have more to it than that. But I kinda wanted to run the idea by the community to see if it sounds decent or if it would be offensive.
@@trinityfranklin8356 I have basically this exact story idea post apocalypse and all, I'm on the 3rd draft and its based on my own inner world. Its sort of narrative of my own life and how I discovered I had the disorder. I guess I'm not original lol.
@@demonjaws6869 There are tons of the same story out there (not this one, stories in general). I'm sure yours will be different than the OriginalCommentor; maybe it's the characters/alters, maybe it's the plot or aim of the story, it could end differently, maybe the characters have different skills, you could have a different writing style. No matter what it is, the story will be different in some way & that will make it special.
@@demonjaws6869 I think it's cool that we have similar concepts. I'm sure that in the details our stories will be very different. I don't have a system, but I have other things that shape my personality and my writing.
I've wanted to write a story with a character in a post apocalyptic world too, but it's made clear that it's one body with a system (in fact it's mentioned early on to clarify). They've been seperated from their brother and are barely getting a hang of the fact that they're sharing a body while they have to find him and survive through struggles.
Great video. I think of DID as a 100 dollars, but instead of being a 100 dollar bill they are 5 twenties or maybe 10 tens or even 100 ones. It's all still money and equals the same amount just in different denominations. I really love your videos btw. You are so very helpful.
There is a book about a system who solve a crime, their own case out there! I don't know if it's been translated but it's called Stimmengewirr by Misha Bach
Number 3 resonated most with us. When we were first diagnosed I was terrified about having an “evil alter” because of the way media had portrayed D.I.D.. I was so worried that someone in “my” body could have done something terrible during the times I had memory gaps. My anxiety was awful and it all could have been prevented if there had been positive representation of the disorder. Thanks for another great video!
Tip #5 is true even for systems writing systems! Just because we all experience things so differently, like I experience the inner world differently than others. The basics may remain the same but the detail can vary so wildly that what is a perfect description of experience for one system may be untrue for another system. And that’s okay! Brains are complex little things.
These are so helpful. I've had an idea for a character for a while and now I'm a lot more equipped to make them accurate. As someone who is a POC and has unstable mental health, I like writing positive representation for underrepresented communities, DID being one of them. Thanks.
but with DID you don't need your own body to be a POC with physical and mental conditions. one is still legit, even if they share headspace with "the oppressor group"
@@kaiyodei I fully understand that, I was just talking from my own perspective (being POC and mentally ill) leading to my want to represent those communities that are underrepresented.
I watched DC Universe’s Doom Patrol. There’s a character that is named Jane, I think they did a pretty okayish job with being a character with DID. Of course, she’s a comic book character so there’s alters that have “metahuman” powers and there’s physical or sometimes subtle changes when she switches, but I think it’s to help the viewer recognize switches. But as a singlet, from what I’ve learned from Entropy System and others, basics are there. Plus, it’s a pretty fun show! 😝
I’ve heard great things about that character! Unfortunately I don’t have a DC Universe subscription so I haven’t been able to watch it myself. I really need to get that one of these days haha
The Entropy System I believe they finally put it on HBO if you have that already or would rather get that subscription! Just fair warning, theres some pretty triggering stuff in it so I’d watch with caution.
I'm an author and although I'm not writing a book about DID, this is a really useful video for anyone who is! In particular the first point about how centering the drama around the DID leaves you with only a few conflict options. I hadn't thought of that but it's such a key point.
I was happily surprised to find out that Kaitlyn Snow from The Flash is depicting DID very accurate to what I've heard from you guys and other DID channels. I mean, she's still a fictional superhero, but that's a cool way to portray it. Also, Sense8
Some of it is questionable, especially in the earlier season when they didn't know what to do with it, but CW show writing is a little bit all over the place anyways. It's developing in a great direction in the later seasons, if a little simplistic.
I don’t have DID but trying to write a ‘fix it fic’ fan fiction for a character with DID that was horribly misrepresented in the cannon of the series. I’m trying to make it less of a *convenient serial killer disease* and shed light on the other aspects of it as well as having her develop a better understanding of it and a better way of coping with it. (For those wondering the character is Toko Fukawa from Danganronpa) . I would just like to ask what would the best way for someone to greet an alter who has just switched into the front and for them to introduce themselves? (in your experience). I am wondering what it is like to switch to the front as in what questions would an alter have or how much knowledge do they typically have of the situation? Anyone who has DID that wants to answer that would be great thanks!
I like all of your writing advice, Wyn, but especially especially the idea of not having DID be the focus of the story. Over the years I've found the best help for destigmatizing something (whether autism, Down Syndrome, Williams, or any other aspect that potentially places someone in the marginalized category of "different" and "them") is to simply show it as just a part of the person, not the core of their identity, no matter how well-inteded that spotlight might be. Lionizing can many times be as harmful as demonizing.
I actually once posted something on a forum to ask DID systems about their life as a system, and also their views on what they wish were represented about DID in medias. I got a few answers back, but some other people actually warned me to avoid writing about DID if I didn't have it. Being very anxious about it I just deleted my post, but I understood their concern afterwards, which is perfectly legitimate. Writing struggles you never experienced may be hardly relatable for people who did go through them... But I do want to write about it, just to help. Maybe introducing it to a public who don't know much about the disorder and can have a more positive view on it as an introduction, maybe. Even though I'm sure I will screw up some parts, no matter how accurate I wish I could be. You're the first channel about DID I discovered and I'm loving everything about you all. Your videos about writing DID also made me feel a little bit lighter about writing. Thank you very much ♥
This is timely! A dear friend of mine, major support person, is an amazing writer and is doing a book where the main character is a detective with DID and her alter's points of view on the clues helps them find out what happened. We're helping her with accuracy but I really love how you put all these points. We sent it on to her already. Knowing our friend and the discussions we are having we're super excited about this project.
@Rach Follow Amanda M. Lyons on amazon. The project is still in planning stages so will be a couple years before fully out. If you follow me on twitter @radio_collectiv you'll see updates and things maybe even put in your two cents on it. Our experience of DID isn't the only experience and Amanda is great at seeing the vastness of people.
Thank you for this! Definitely given me a few 'I didn't think of that' moments whilst looking over what I've written so far. ❤️ I've had a concept for a stage play following a system for a while now but it's been completely on the back of my mind. The premise is that we're following two alters in a DID system and we see their progression as a system until eventually they integrate at the end of the play. The 'twist' of the play is that the two actors represent both the alters in the system and the people that the system meets throughout the play. We see them flip flop between the inner world and their experiences in the body. Whilst one actor plays the alter who is out, the other will play another relative in that system's life, for example, a therapist, a friend, etc. This means that one actor plays many characters throughout the duration of the play. I plan on making use of physical theatre, experimental dance alongside poetic verse to give it a wistful, dream-like atmosphere during the inner world segments, then grounding more in traditional theatre during the irl segments. The fact that the system has DID is unknown to the audience throughout also. This doesn't change the fact they do have DID and behave as if they are a DID system, but it's not explicitly mentioned until the end. I don't want to draw attention to the fact that they have DID; moreso that they are working together to reach that end goal which, for their system, is integration.
I am a writer with memory loss issues. The one thing I have consistent control of is my writing, since I can always look back at my notes and ideas and know I’m the one that came up with them. Because I put my own experiences into characters, a lot of them experience similar symptoms to DID, so I’ve recently debated creating a character with DID and using my experiences with memory loss to make it as accurate as I can. I’m still unsure, but this video was definitely encouraging
This is so useful to me! I've been planning out a superhero kind of story that included characters with more stigmatized disorders to at least create something a little more positive 😅 I already had a hero with my own disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and I had an idea for a hero who was part of a function DID system but I was really hesitant about it because I didn't really know how to go about it. This is super helpful to that end. Thanks for this video Wyn!
I'm a singlet writer with a few systems in my stories myself, and tips like these are very helpful! Thank you so much for making videos like these. I actually have a playlist full of videos from you and other systems to help me build and develop my system characters, but having specific advice and encouragement really helps. Thank you so much again!
Yes! Thank you so much. I am currently in the process of writing a spin off and my main character I planned was to have DID. I have been so skeptical about doing this tho because I didn’t want to get anything wrong and make the stigma around DID worse. But this has really helped me thank you
Makes me feel better about doing a story involving 5 roommates (where one roommate, main character I think, has DID) and how the 5 interact during a 6 month period. Going to take a long time for me to actually get to writing and drawing it about. But thanks for this!!
As a writer, I've found your channel and others like you to be invaluable. I shared this video within my writing groups to give people some extra perspective. Thanks for trying to help us to not play into stereotypes and stigmatize you. I think most people genuinely want to write good stories, and are sometimes misguided in what's real and what's *movie magic.*
When I first learned of DID from a supernatural book as a teen(Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) I'd always considered a character with it. When Split came out I started researching more and educating myself. Most of the representation I've seen is usually supernatural based, completely inaccurate, or negative and I would love to be one of those that change that. I'm not sure if I'll ever actually write a character with DID but I've decided that if I do I want to handle them as respectfully and accurately as I possibly can.
Thanks so much for this! I'm currently writing and creating a D&D character with DID, and my DM and I are watching a lot of your videos to educate ourselves and portray this character the best way we can. I do not have DID, but I find it fascinating, in fact, I find it amazing how the brain can create so many different people to efficiently deal with trauma. I hope you are doing well, and have a nice day! :D
This is sooo good. I've been playing around with the idea of having a character with DID, but I keep hesitating because I'm not sure how well I'd be able to represent them. I'd love to see more of these videos. I personally have PTSD and watching your and others' videos have given me a better understanding of my own condition and I love watching your system work together to make life as good as it can be. Thanks for all you do!
The last one is so important. You have to have that grounding and that logic to think "I may be getting this wrong" just so you can get it right. It keeps your mind open to mistakes rather than you just going in, doing it all and not allowing anyone or yourself to doubt a scene or situation within the story. You can use that doubt as a tool to make your story more accurate
these 'writing tips' videos are so helpful. it's really, really nice hearing directly from someone with DID (and many others via the comments) what they would want to see in media, and what sorts of things to avoid.
we are a super covered system and I sometimes wish there was a representation that shows how normal that can look and how often people miss it. I hate that people think that 'if they knew someone with DID they would KNOW they have DID'. the most telltale sign in us is that we are organized like crazy and always on time. when we are not on time we had an accident or something. the way we make sure never to forget anything is actually what makes us stand out, singletons mess up more often than we do.
From the little I know about DID the novels Les Gestionaires de l'apocalypse (the Managers of the Apocalypse in English, my translation of the title) do a good job representing DID. The character with DID has a violent alter, but is from rage, not evil. That alter fronts when there is a trigger of recent trauma. The doctor in the book said that alters are created for specific tasks, which means that in a way, people with DID are better adapted than other people.
Thank you for this, I’m wanting to write a character with D.I.D but I don’t want to it to be what the story is centered around about so this is super helpful!
I'm currently working on a 'self-help' book for DID. I have been diagnosed with DID, but I was wondering what you (& your system) would like to see in the non-fiction section aimed towards DID? I have never heard of that movie before, I am going to go find it. I love finding positive representations as well of this disorder. I don't know that I have any further insight or advice. You did such an amazing job, another great video. Thank you for all that you and yours do for this community!
i'm a singlet, but validating identidies of introjects is good. if someone says they are Jim Carry from an AU where he puppeter then you go "wow. the multiverse is real". and nothing else.
I read Kim nobles book it was written by the host of her system who doesn't remember any trauma apart from having a lot of babysitters and this one guy eating bread he dipped into beer this leaves so much to the imagination and I feel it's more effective than going into detail
Thank you so much for this!! After subscribing to your channel, DissociaDID, and Team Piñata for a while, and being frustrated by all the fanfiction in the Marvel fandom that portrays Bucky Barnes as having "DID" without much adherence to what DID experiences are like in real life (at least, as far as I can tell as someone who is not a system), I decided to write as realistic as possible a story about that character's experience as possible. In the story he doesn't have actual DID, since he doesn't have childhood trauma, but given all the supersoldier serum handwavy fantasy stuff, I have him diagnosed as having something very similar to DID and use DID as a model, while also trying to make it clear to readers that DID is specifically a result of childhood trauma. When I was writing it, one of the challenges is that I didn't feel comfortable reaching out to friends who are systems to beta read because some of the content is explicit and I don't really know who does and doesn't read explicit fanfic, but I tried my best to use what I've learned from activists' experiences to inform the character. These tips are super helpful and will inform writing I do in the future, including in the same "verse." Thanks for taking the time!!!
Perhaps if the story is a first person pov on the person with DID, you could write them in alternating chapters. Like how Rick Riordian write some of his books
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this video! I've been slowly fleshing out a system for a sci-fi story I'm writing, and videos like this and your channel are really great for education on the subject. I hope they'll be added to the list of positive representation whenever I finish!
My first experience in media seeing an 'inner world' was on YuGiOh of all places, when the friends went into Yugi's mind and saw one door with Yugi's (simple and childish) mind and the other door being Atem's (gigantic, and friggin booby-trapped) mind. I forget WHY they had entered his mind but I remember the scene vaguely
Thank you for this video! I found your first one extremely helpful and sent it to friends and people I write with. This second one is just as intelligent and accessible as the first, and I think everyone needs to hear that last tip :)
I think it's real important to write about systems that aren't like the ones often depicted! Like our system, we have no host, none at all, not even a group of main fronters. We all just share! But you don't ever really get to see that in media a lot, and it's kinda sad, cause I wanna see more people like the way we work. Representation's important, you know? -BB
As a fanfiction writer, one of the plot bunnies that had come up recently is a main character having did, but it was preceded by me wanting that same character to be a villain. The second the did came up as an idea, I knew that it wasn't going to work out, so I split the ideas into two stories, one where he became a villain with a traumatic backstory but no did and another where he becomes a hero with did. Fleshing them both out is fun, and although I have yet to really dig into the alters for the hero one, I've figured a lot out about reactions to things and people and how some arcs are going to go! On a side note this isn't just two stories. There is also a third where he is a hero but never experienced amnesiac walls as a kid, so no did, but he still is traumatized and boy oh boy does he get doted on while he has no idea what is going on, the bab.
I haven’t even gotten past the intro, but knowing you guys, this video is going to be so awesome and maturely educational, and hopefully it’ll be spread around to get the information out!!
The only thing I would tweak is that it is possible for a single member in a system to be better at something than the others. For example, we seem to have dumped a lot of our math skills as we grew up (I suspect it is tied to childhood stress and maybe trauma), but we recently discovered that one of us seems to have retained/has access to way more of those math skills. We also have noticed that a lot of the kids have more energy somehow? And one teen in particular is better at running and playing spots than the rest of us, and he's definitely way more into them xD Now, he doesn't run as fast or well in the body as he feels he should, but he can still access some deeper level of endurance and joy in the act than the rest of us. So it's not like a magic superpower or whatever, but it is possible to have noticable differences. Not like someone will have a skill that the body never encountered, but they may be the only one with that skill or just the best at it.
Oh for sure! I just meant that skills like that can’t happen spontaneously. If you’d never ever learned math for some reason, your math talented alter wouldn’t know it either. That’s what I was getting at :)
Thank you so much for this video! I've been wanting to make a character with DID but I get so worried about misrepresentation, I know it'll never be fully accurate cuz I don't have DID but at least one person saying that it being somewhat inaccurate isn't the end of the world gives me more confidence to make this character whether or not anyone reads the story. Love your channel by the way, I've only just come across it recently but I find what you all have to say interesting enjoyable to watch, keep up the great work!
Heyya! We've been diagnosed with DID since last year, if you have any questions, you can ask. Currently mostly active on instagram: dawn.system 💖💓❤💕❤💓❤💕💖
I would like both stories about overcoming trauma and living post-trauma. Having an overcoming trauma story these past couple of months would have been really nice. Also all those struggles you said at the end, it would be cool to see them addressed and processed/overcame in a story. Also, the thing you mentioned about feeling like you are your trauma. Seeing a protagonist overcome that in an empowering way would be awesome imo. But I would want all of those things I just said written by other systems, probably. It's just that none of them are very casual themes, ha.
This is so helpful, I'm a young aspiring author and I always wanted to write a book on different mental health issues including DID, I've watched channels such as DissociaDID to get a good take on it. I'll keep this in mind when I write.
hey! thank you so much for making this video. i put a lot of research and effort into one of my characters who has DID, and the reminder at the end that I’m not gonna get everything spot on was honestly really reassuring.
Might need a tw? Everything is spot on but sometimes still isn't enough. I have DID and am a writer so I thought to take on representation a few months ago, particularly in the thriller genre where DID misconceptions run rampant. It was wonderful idea focusing around three alters: a cop, a detective, and a vigilante. The cop and detective try to help a little boy out of a bad situation but the justice system works against them so the vigilante takes things into her own hands. The cop and detective are then put on the case to fins out who did it. I put it on the back burner because I was afraid readers would focus on the one alter killing (even though the victim was a really really really bad person) and ignore the stuff about living a relatively normal life, system responsibility, etc. I kept all my notes, outline, etc and probably will until I die but can't finish writing let alone publish it knowing people would zero in on that one part and use it as justification for their misconceptions. The sad thing is if the thriller wasn't about someone with did and just three different bodies, readers would probably root for the vigilante but because of stigma, the perseption suddenly changes
I am writing a story about a system with DID, but it's not the main focus on the story. Instead the plot is about a kidnapping that happens later in their life that they are trying to solve. Originally there are 3 alters, but the kidnapping leads to the creation of an introject of someone they know since this person was very motherly to them and after the kidnapping they kind of needed that. The main focus however is not their alters or their DID it's them trying to find their kidnapped friend. Before getting to that story though, I feel I need to write kind of a prequel about the character and how they're aware of their DID and why their system can communicate so well. That way I have something to reference when writing the other story and I feel it is a story that could help with representation. Especially representation of persecutors (There is a persecutor, but they're not a villain or the main conflict even in the prequel, they are mostly angry at the world since they're the one who holds most of the trauma) they are not a persecutor in the story (instead they're a protector now).I was wondering if this is okay? If there is anything here that I should be cautious of? Is there anything that I should add because you would like to see it? Anything I should exclude? (Little note I don't plan to go into detail about the trauma at all. I will give vague hints as to what happens until it paints a clear picture, but I would never want to trigger someone so I am being careful about including the trauma) This is open for anyone with or without DID to respond to :3
As a completely personal preference, most of us (within our system) feel wholly uncomfortable consuming DID content made by writers who don't have the experience. If they were to tackle it anyway, for whatever reason, this is a great place to start getting educated.
Two of my favorite series have characters with DID. Both series are really neurodivergence/disability positive, but I’ve always wondered how accurate the DID rep is. I know the character in the series written in the 90s is horrendously inaccurate, but even the more modern series seems like it might have been more taken from textbooks. I agree with you though that it’s more important that the representations are positive, and in both series happiness comes from the characters making peace with their other problems (because neither book is actually about their DID) and from coming to terms with their multiplicity (both character realize they have DID mid-series). I don’t have DID, but I developed chronic conditions recently mid-way through college, and the fact that these series are disability positive alone has gotten me through so much. Anyways, I hope that the DID rep in media will become more accurate, and honestly I would love to read some ownvoices rep for DID just because it is such a unique life perspective to be multiple.
I've started writing a fanfic about Harry Potter having DID and I was looking for tips! Haven't watched the video yet but I'm definitely saving it. I didn't want to post my fanfic because I don't want to get anything wrong or contribute to any stigma. So whatever's in the video thanks ahead of time.
@Clementine Beagley I actually decided to post the first chapter. It's on Archive of Our Own, under the username RosettaRoseburn, I think the title was "Year One~Harry and the Potter System of Multiplicity" I actually feel asleep & haven't even watched this video yet but I will & hopefully improve my story even more. I've only written the 1st chapter but I have 5yrs planned out.
i started writing this story before finding your channel, one of the characters is named Kit. what a cool coincidence!! edit: the story was originally about the system fighting (legally not physically lol) against someone who is discriminating against them for being a system, but i didnt know enough about the legal system. so im now making the story about them finding out theyre a system
For us it would be amazing to see the inner world, system dynamics, and switching can be used in a non-overt way (like an easily overlooked side story) to help a character(s) navigate a situation/life. Yes, trauma can play a big role in character/system development but it is how a system: comes together, works on their dynamic, overcome issues, and grow/change, that makes them who they are as a character. Truth be told there are similar narrative about overcoming or using disabilities to your advantage (like Toph from ATLA).
Thank you for these awesome writing tips about D.I.D. I hope there will be a part three. I am not all too familiar with the disorder, but one of my goals is to create a comic that portrays the right representation of D.I.D. I hope to make it light and funny, accurate as possible.
As much as I love representation of DID, I actually don't like how many of them show up as "superheroes" Like, I get that it's one of the easiest ways of developing a character: you have a person, they have a 'magic' ability and then they fight a bunch of monsters and villains with it. DID isn't magic or some superhuman ability. It's fine if you want to go this route but make their story about something other than their DID. Wonderful video, Wyn! I hope you all are doing okay right now. Much love
Thank you for doing this video! I'm a german writer and I don't have personal experience with DID. Recently I did a lot of research for a short story and I would love to write more about it. I watched your videos, followed other channels, talked to people with DID from germany and got great feedback. I didn't do well in the beginning, it's been a lot of work. While talking to different systems I learned that all of them had an other perspective on my story. It was very inspiring and so is this video. About your last point: I don't feel well writing something that is not quite correct, even if it is positive. Maybe that's just my inner perfectionist, but I want my characters to be as real as possible. For my short story I searched for proof readers with DID and they did a great job in teaching me, what I still misunderstood. Sometimes even positive representation can be misleading and create some kind of cliché. I know that I can't write a story that everyone can identify with. But I'm doing my best to show it as good as possible. And thanks to videos like yours, I am not afraid of trying :).
Thank you for the last point!! After finding your channel and a few others in the DID community, I really wanted to write a story about someone with social anxiety meeting a DID system. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if someone constantly anxious of meeting new people suddenly found themselves wanting to befriend a system and get to know the different alters... Idk why, but that idea fascinated me, but I was really scared that I'll get it all wrong. Not only am I not part of a system, but I've never experienced real trauma and it's a difficult and important topic that I don't want to mess up. But now, I feel as though I could perhaps give it a try! So thank you!
Thank you it is really helpful! Thank you for saying it is okay to get things wrong because I stopped writing the story i'm working on because i'm scared i'll get it wrong and it was stressing me out during quarantine too much so i had to stop. After watching video i might get back to it some day.
Thank you so much for doing this video! I have a system set of OCs that do ghosthunting for a living and the story is narrated through the notes of all the alters. They function just fine through this concept of writing to each other tiny chunks of the investigation - the persecutor sometimes makes this work harder by talking down on them or trying to destroy the notebook where they write it, the gatekeeper is trying to keep him on track though, but other than that the taking notes work just fine. It's just a bunch of shortstories about the system going to haunted places and trying to figure what's wrong with it! They develop and change throughout the story - the gatekeeper reaches his breaking point for a couple of days, for example, he's very stressed - but I want to make the main focus to be the ghosts, demons or whatever they are searching. They live in Brazil during 1886 so they don't really get a diagnosis in the story, but I hope I can show it in a way where it's very obvious what's going on :") Thanks for the tips, because they help flashing them out!!
This and the last video regarding DID in fiction are very helpful! My ideas for the plot of my story may change in the future but I plan on writing about a detective with DID whose alters all help with solving crime cases. The comment by The Elysian System has inspired me to also include a persecutor alter who also helps the system solve crimes. (It was also a pleasant surprise to see a comment about a system solving an escape room xD That is super neat! Just thought it was a cool coincidence since my story involves solving mysteries too). But again, thank you for explaining this all so well! 💖
Thankyou this is very very helpful. Ive learned alot from you guys and looking forward to putting these tips into my story. Also i dont know who it was but one of the systems on youtube once said Persecutors are just misguided protectors. And i like that because it suggests that Persecutors are not inherintly evil. It kind if suggests that they need help. Which they do.
I'm planning on writing a love story where the protagonist learns more about DID and how to live with his DID partner... Pure fluffs and I'm enjoying it XD
We are writing a book series about the experiences of our inner world and alters within it, but we love this video! We hope to have a positive representation with our book series. We are also writing a script for a independent tv series that we plan to act in, direct and film starting this year. We will portray a "blind" character who has DID and hope to show it all as a positive rep.
I think this was actually quite helpful, because when I write I try to include groups of people that are discriminated against or commonly misrepresented. I am not part of a system, and while I have done a fair amount of research there's still things I'm unsure on writing about. This was helpful because I didn't want to write it if I couldn't do it justice, but I did want to provide some form of representation.
heyo! osdd-1b system here. i really loved watching this video and pondering relevant aspects of my own oc system- you bring up some interesting points, definitely with valuable nuance! the system i write about live in a fantasy setting, loosely based off of some d&d settings, so there is a liiiittle bit of handwaving for some things due to magic- like, they have an enchanted mirror they can use to basically video chat, so the person fronting can speak directly with someone inside if either of them have trouble with thought-sending. i made these characters a few years ago, before i knew quite as much about how vastly different systems can be, and i definitely want to update them. i also find it really valuable to talk with others about persecutors and their experiences, as there are a few persecutor-protectors in this fictional system who have made trouble in the past, before they and the rest of the system were really able to pick apart where their anger (even occasional defensive violence) comes from, and how it could be redirected into protection in a healthier way. this comment's sort of getting away from me due to switchiness but tl;dr is i'm super glad you've brought up these points, i love to think about the ways i could frame my story to make the system sympathetic/relatable/etc.!
We are a system. And writing about a character that has did. It felt kind of wierd being told we couldn't understand did. Just a little jarring. All of us are going to help write the book.
I like to explain how each alter is equally valid and important with another common writing advice tip that goes like this; In any story, the protagonist is usually the focused upon character with additional side characters. Many readers pet peeves is when side characters are 2d or just there for the plot. The standard writing advice is to give all characters goals and 3 dimensions, no matter if they are protagonist,antagonist, or in between. When people think of alters they think of a main alter (like a protagonist) and other alters (like minor characters) BUT the reality is that every character in any story has their own goals and lives outside of the protagonist that the reader is following and similarly alters have their own goals and lives too.
Great video as always! I actually do have a rather specific question for visual based media, which is basically how do you feel about media where a system’s alters are represented by multiple actors? (to be clear, this hypothetical is in a story where it’s not a “twist” that the multiple actors/characters are alters in a system) Are there instances where that works but others where it could maybe be harmful representation? Is there a general consensus within the community on this practice or do different systems disagree on the issue? If you have any thoughts on this, I’d appreciate hearing them! Thank you for the great content as always, I really appreciate learning more about DID!
The channel Multiplicity and Me actually hires actors to play their alters in educational videos! It’s a really clever way to help the audience understand how “real” each alter is.
how can it be harmful? lots of times alters don't know they are, untill therapy works with "ok team, let's move, ok team meeting. let's work on our communication skills, open to chapter 3 of this text book"
Make as many parts to this series as you want to! I think it's especially valuable how the parts of your system connect with media in general and how that further applies to how you analyze how DID can be conveyed through it.
As someone who is writing about my own situation (OSDD) as a means of therapy, one of my themes is how I honestly feel about having a mental illness. I personally (and my opinion doesn't mean that it's right or trying to undo the job CZcamsrs educating) feel that in my situation, at least, I believe there is a stigma attached to mental illness for a reason. I was ....and many others were probably hurt by ppl with a mental illness and so I have a really hard time with the quote, getting rid of the stigma around....fill in the blank. If anything, my goal is to show that you can walk away from the stigmas with help (therapy) and doing your part to be a healthy human being who does not continue the cycle of ab%use. It stops with me should be the mantra, because I know too well that I don't believe stigmas should be rid of. Even though my persecutor was protecting me, she was not a healthy individual towards people, and pushed people away--some I loved and needed. Having to repair the damage and stop the cycle of harm/self-harm is an every day chore. And yes, I do feel a stigma applied to me before I entered therapy.
i'm the host of my system and really wanna see more characters that canonically have did that arent portrayed as a tragedy or as unstable or scary )): my favorite thing growing up was seeing superhero characters with alter-egos and re-writing it as though those characters were systems!! (i especially did this with captain underpants and darkwing duck when i was really young) in the fantasy webcomic im working on, we have a side character that's a system!! the host is a really quiet and shy and studious character, and the main other alter that we show is a fictive of a well known superhero, and she eventually ends up actually becoming a real superhero with the same name!! (they've got ice magic! their name is Frostbite!) (the running gag we have right now is that the main character, who's a supervillain, is really close friends with the superhero alter but cannot STAND the host because the host beat her by 2 points for best in class at their magic school.)
Thanks for this video. I think I'd like to write about DID at some point and I know a lot of facts and about a lot of experiences but I still wouldn't feel confident writing about it. If I ever do, I'll make sure to do proper research and find more people with DID to talk to, so I have many different points of view. As somebody who has OCD (which is also so often misrepresented), I'm very careful when I'm writing about mental health.
This is SO HELPFUL TO ME RIGHT NOW! I’m currently working on a story whose main character has DID, the “drama” is something that I’ve watched a lot of systems go through, the lack of positive representation in media causing uneducated people to think systems are “evil” - while the system is a superhero. The system’s current long term host (Alice) is put in a very difficult position when a group of supervillains discover that she has a DID diagnosis after hunting through her medical records, and uses the information to attempt to blackmail her into switching sides.
The Entropy System - a system I follow on Twitter even gave me the idea to use some of the co-morbid conditions are some of her superpowers! Its going to be a really fun story, but I want to make sure I’ve done heaps of research and planning for it!
I had a story idea I made back when I was a freshman in high school and I’m wondering if I can get thoughts on it. I didn’t have access to the internet for a long time and I was really worried I would depict it inaccurately or accidentally be offensive. Basically a guy named Grey in college befriends Sarah, Daniel, and Vera. A system with Sarah as the host. They didn’t have any other friends because people at the college saw Sarah and the system as being strange. They decide to go on a camping trip for the summer and while there they’re assaulted by a drunk man but when Grey finds them he sees Vera (the trauma holder) accidentally killed the man in self defense. Grey is confused why Daniel (the protector) isn’t there to protect Vera and Sarah and she tells him they’re gone though she’s very disoriented at the time. Grey thinks that because of harmful stereotypes they may be taken somewhere for being “dangerous.” Panicking he hides the body and passes out from exhaustion. When he awakes he finds out that Sarah’s body has completely changed. It’s Vera. For reasons unknown Vera, Sarah, and Daniel split and manifested into their own bodies and Vera thinks they went back to where they came into being or back home. Thinking this they drive across the country back to the places Sarah had lived as a child, worried what will happen to Sarah without her system to protect her. Unbeknownst to them they’re being trailed by a secret organization. Vera had gone to this organization, headed by a man with DID who claims he can separate systems into their own bodies through science, not telling the others. Vera had fallen in love with Grey and wanted to be with him and thinking they had a good life now that Sarah didn’t need her or the trauma she carried, deciding to become her own self to be with Grey. The man running the organization himself is Asian and had super strict parents. He was a very smart person but his parents pushed him to be the smartest person in his class. Using mental and borderline physical abuse to make him the best student because it was all that mattered. He eventually developed his first alter who had savant like intelligence. In fact his alter who had helped him in the beginning felt himself superior and wanted to have his own body to himself so he developed the science to Split systems. I really wanted to make a story where the DID wasn’t the problem but the organization that wanted to use them as experiments? Idk it was a really rough idea
Media: let's look at this poor system of fluffy and adorable alters that unfortunately has one alter who's *inhales* eeeevilll! Dun dun dun! Our system consisting mainly of dozens of mischief makers and less than 5 of us that have the patience & personality of an old & calm tree: ..wot 👀?
Omg, it’s like you read my mind. 🥺💖 Thank you for this. I’m planning on writing a story with a team of characters who unite through hardships and become good friends. I want them all to be very different, with one of them having a system. I’m not going to make it all about trauma or pain, I want it to be positive and about connecting with people through hard times.
Thanks so much for these tips! I personally don't have DID, but your channel (amongst others) has brought to light for me how misrepresented DID often is in the media, and it has inspired me to at some point write a story featuring a character who has DID. I'll make sure to take these tips, and the ones from your previous video on this topic, into account when I get down to writing that story!
our system solved an escape room together
Nice!
That’s awesome!
I'm so scared to write about ANY character that goes through ANYTHING I can't relate to because I'm so terrified of getting things wrong. Thank you for doing this and educating us!
I don't want you to be sad. But sometimes things that happened to you maybe already happened to someone else also.
You can refer to a book that the character there have the same experience and feelings you have.
you can ask someone that went through the thing, or has the thing, to review it for you. there are people that do that for work, or as a side job. contact them and they will let you know their rates. :)
I find analogies are a good place to start. They tend to bridge the gap in understanding through similar/relatable experiences. I could describe something to you but unless you have an analogous reference it will be hard to comprehend.
You have to start somewhere, but writing what you know is the best place to start. Life will be hard and give you more experience, so you will improve that way by just living. You can also interview people to see what their point of view is if they can relate and you can't. Often, there's more similar between experiences than dissimilar.
Never be afraid to write. If you write something with a conscious goal to truly understand and portray the idea you're talking about, no one should be upset with you for getting something wrong. I have never been in a relationship, but I still find joy in writing them. If you take the time to research, talk to people who suffer from things, then don't allow someone to scare you away from writing what your heart calls you to write.
I have helped so many people on the topic of suicide and depression. There is someone out there willing to help you!
I would love to see accurate representation of Persecutor Protectors. Seeing how they are actually protectors with so much trauma that they are misguided. A positive representation of this would have definitely helped our old persecutors feel a lot less alone.
-Kai
The Elysian System
Hi! I’m currently working on a story where the main character has DID, any tips you can give me on writing persecutor protectors would be really helpful!!
If you have Twitter you can contact me there was well (seeing as CZcams’s notifications are not always working) I’m @3ambird !
The movie Frankie and Alice has pretty great persecutor representation in my opinion :)
@@TheEntropySystem We'll definately check it out! Thank you!
@@Thinking-OutLoud What would be really cool about a persecuters struggle to work through her/ his trauma and to work together with his/her system. Persecutor protectors need to be validated and understood.
I'm actually in the process of writing a character with DID. Gonna give a little context before asking my question.
This character is being portrayed from the eyes of another character who has never met anyone with DID and doesn't know much about it until that point. This character's disorder is not the point of the book, it's just an important part of the plot, which is why I don't intend to reveal it right away. Somewhere in the second half of the book, I'm intending to show the persecutor/protector of the system, just one time. I understand this alter very closely as the writer, and I see him as a hurting, traumatized, isolated, lonely character who has an awful yet critical job and ices most alters out, bullys the host and a few other alters, and puts up a cold, angry front to hide how hurt and scared he really is. The stuff he holds and has experienced are things that no adult should ever, ever have to see or experience, much less a four to ten year-old. Point being, I understand him for being the traumatized, misguided protector he is, but selling it from the eyes of an outsider is a completely different story.
Do you have any advice?
for the longest time we've wanted to make a videogame (theyre very important to us and where all our fictives come from haha) about a did system where talking to and learning about other alters is how you unlock new abilities and stuff. it's a weird concept but we've always wanted to see more representation in our favorite medium! -emil
That sounds so cool!!
That’s an awesome idea!
that's an awesome concept!
That would be so cool! I’m picturing a game that involves mysteries to be solved, and different alters have different pieces of the big puzzle that solves the mystery.
I have a book coming out next year about a character with DID. I did a LOT of research. Right now it's in the hands of a therapist who has DID being read for accuracy.
That's such a good idea, to have it proof read like that.
@@arseen33 Thanks! I've been writing for a long time, so it just kinda made sense to make sure I got the research right. I did the same for a book on human trafficking that I have coming out this year.
@@katesmith4787 I'd be eager to read such a book. Can you give us the title or a link to your site so that I can remind myself tou buy it? Thank you :)
@@janel4582 Oh, thanks! My website is wwwalterkate.com, but it needs to be updated. Info coming soon. Meanwhile, I'm on Twitter as @alterkates
@@katesmith4787 Congrats! I'm happy for you. Ummm since you succesed do you have any advice for someone who wants to start and give the best to success? I love tips that video gave me but hearing/ reading how it looks like in practice would be appreciated :)
Just a little note ... Me and my system when we were back in highschool we didnt speak English very well ( Greek being our mother language ). Although we were taking classes , we just didn't seem to get it . So our English were pretty horrible . Then at some point , which i don't personally remember something changed. I wasn't aware of our OSDD back then so I couldn't explain it , but now I believe it was due to some split. After that our English improved significantly to the point that it now is the default language for our inner communication .
So yes we didn't start speaking a foreign language out of the blue , but an alter was created fluent on English ( to the level that we were studying of course ) while the rest of the system straggled getting a foul sentence correctly.
I've had a story concept in mind for a while now and I would love some thoughts from those it would be representing.
The basic concept is that it's a post apocalyptic world. Each chapter is marked by a number and a character name. Initially the reader is left to think that these are a group of survivors who are working together to survive. One of them barters for goods. Another hunts /traps while yet another keeps track of how many supplies there are and what is needed (each one does more obv but this is the base idea.) They have conversations with each other, though one or two may forget things from these conversations at times. As the story progresses it files to light that the whole group are sharing a body, that they are a system and that they are surviving the crazy world by working together and depending on each other.
These are broad ideas and the story would have more to it than that. But I kinda wanted to run the idea by the community to see if it sounds decent or if it would be offensive.
I don't have DID but I think that's a great story idea!
@@trinityfranklin8356 I have basically this exact story idea post apocalypse and all, I'm on the 3rd draft and its based on my own inner world. Its sort of narrative of my own life and how I discovered I had the disorder. I guess I'm not original lol.
@@demonjaws6869 There are tons of the same story out there (not this one, stories in general). I'm sure yours will be different than the OriginalCommentor; maybe it's the characters/alters, maybe it's the plot or aim of the story, it could end differently, maybe the characters have different skills, you could have a different writing style. No matter what it is, the story will be different in some way & that will make it special.
@@demonjaws6869 I think it's cool that we have similar concepts. I'm sure that in the details our stories will be very different. I don't have a system, but I have other things that shape my personality and my writing.
I've wanted to write a story with a character in a post apocalyptic world too, but it's made clear that it's one body with a system (in fact it's mentioned early on to clarify). They've been seperated from their brother and are barely getting a hang of the fact that they're sharing a body while they have to find him and survive through struggles.
Great video. I think of DID as a 100 dollars, but instead of being a 100 dollar bill they are 5 twenties or maybe 10 tens or even 100 ones. It's all still money and equals the same amount just in different denominations. I really love your videos btw. You are so very helpful.
What a cool analogy!
I absolutely agree that for the most part, positive representation is more important than accurate representation, no matter what you're representing
Someone should write a mystery where the alters all solve the puzzle together!
maybe each alter has specific memories that are key to solving it
@@Beaumerang128 exactly! And different skills or problem solving approaches
Oooh this sounds good. Sounds like an interesting story
There is a book about a system who solve a crime, their own case out there! I don't know if it's been translated but it's called Stimmengewirr by Misha Bach
@Celeste zzstu Williamson Fun! I can't wait to read it :)
Number 3 resonated most with us. When we were first diagnosed I was terrified about having an “evil alter” because of the way media had portrayed D.I.D.. I was so worried that someone in “my” body could have done something terrible during the times I had memory gaps. My anxiety was awful and it all could have been prevented if there had been positive representation of the disorder. Thanks for another great video!
Tip #5 is true even for systems writing systems! Just because we all experience things so differently, like I experience the inner world differently than others. The basics may remain the same but the detail can vary so wildly that what is a perfect description of experience for one system may be untrue for another system. And that’s okay! Brains are complex little things.
and it is in no way like lucid dreaming?
These are so helpful. I've had an idea for a character for a while and now I'm a lot more equipped to make them accurate. As someone who is a POC and has unstable mental health, I like writing positive representation for underrepresented communities, DID being one of them. Thanks.
but with DID you don't need your own body to be a POC with physical and mental conditions. one is still legit, even if they share headspace with "the oppressor group"
@@kaiyodei I fully understand that, I was just talking from my own perspective (being POC and mentally ill) leading to my want to represent those communities that are underrepresented.
I watched DC Universe’s Doom Patrol. There’s a character that is named Jane, I think they did a pretty okayish job with being a character with DID. Of course, she’s a comic book character so there’s alters that have “metahuman” powers and there’s physical or sometimes subtle changes when she switches, but I think it’s to help the viewer recognize switches. But as a singlet, from what I’ve learned from Entropy System and others, basics are there. Plus, it’s a pretty fun show! 😝
I’ve heard great things about that character! Unfortunately I don’t have a DC Universe subscription so I haven’t been able to watch it myself. I really need to get that one of these days haha
The Entropy System I believe they finally put it on HBO if you have that already or would rather get that subscription! Just fair warning, theres some pretty triggering stuff in it so I’d watch with caution.
I think I have HBO through Amazon Prime. I'll check it out today!
We love Doom Patrol and their depiction of Jane and the Underground. There's a particular scene with them and Cliff that made us happy cry.
I'm an author and although I'm not writing a book about DID, this is a really useful video for anyone who is! In particular the first point about how centering the drama around the DID leaves you with only a few conflict options. I hadn't thought of that but it's such a key point.
Ahhhhhh yes yes yes! I haven’t even watched yet and I’m so excited because I need all the tips I can get. Thank you thank you thank you!
I was happily surprised to find out that Kaitlyn Snow from The Flash is depicting DID very accurate to what I've heard from you guys and other DID channels. I mean, she's still a fictional superhero, but that's a cool way to portray it.
Also, Sense8
Some of it is questionable, especially in the earlier season when they didn't know what to do with it, but CW show writing is a little bit all over the place anyways. It's developing in a great direction in the later seasons, if a little simplistic.
but the concept in Sense8 has nothing to do with DID...
It was a horrible idea for them to make Frost a psycho murderer, but they did a really good job of fixing that
I've been trying to write a DID character for awhile and really struggling with it. I had so many ideas while I was watching. Thank you! 🖤🧡🤍
tumblr good place
I don’t have DID but trying to write a ‘fix it fic’ fan fiction for a character with DID that was horribly misrepresented in the cannon of the series. I’m trying to make it less of a *convenient serial killer disease* and shed light on the other aspects of it as well as having her develop a better understanding of it and a better way of coping with it. (For those wondering the character is Toko Fukawa from Danganronpa) . I would just like to ask what would the best way for someone to greet an alter who has just switched into the front and for them to introduce themselves? (in your experience). I am wondering what it is like to switch to the front as in what questions would an alter have or how much knowledge do they typically have of the situation? Anyone who has DID that wants to answer that would be great thanks!
ok I'm intrigued and wondering if you'd drop the link
I like all of your writing advice, Wyn, but especially especially the idea of not having DID be the focus of the story. Over the years I've found the best help for destigmatizing something (whether autism, Down Syndrome, Williams, or any other aspect that potentially places someone in the marginalized category of "different" and "them") is to simply show it as just a part of the person, not the core of their identity, no matter how well-inteded that spotlight might be. Lionizing can many times be as harmful as demonizing.
I actually once posted something on a forum to ask DID systems about their life as a system, and also their views on what they wish were represented about DID in medias. I got a few answers back, but some other people actually warned me to avoid writing about DID if I didn't have it. Being very anxious about it I just deleted my post, but I understood their concern afterwards, which is perfectly legitimate. Writing struggles you never experienced may be hardly relatable for people who did go through them... But I do want to write about it, just to help. Maybe introducing it to a public who don't know much about the disorder and can have a more positive view on it as an introduction, maybe. Even though I'm sure I will screw up some parts, no matter how accurate I wish I could be.
You're the first channel about DID I discovered and I'm loving everything about you all. Your videos about writing DID also made me feel a little bit lighter about writing.
Thank you very much ♥
then write about non DID plurality.
@@kaiyodei What are these? My first thought is tulpas and the likes, is that it?
@@Akoizumi159 www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-mind-and-brain/201604/daring-hear-voices soulbonder.tumblr.com/ soulbondinghelp.tumblr.com/about headmatesfaq.tumblr.com/FAQ2
@@Akoizumi159 spicetea.weebly.com/omgsoulbonds.html community.tulpa.info/topic/162-hello-from-soulbonding/
@@Akoizumi159 plato.stanford.edu/entries/other-minds/
This is timely! A dear friend of mine, major support person, is an amazing writer and is doing a book where the main character is a detective with DID and her alter's points of view on the clues helps them find out what happened. We're helping her with accuracy but I really love how you put all these points. We sent it on to her already. Knowing our friend and the discussions we are having we're super excited about this project.
@Rach Follow Amanda M. Lyons on amazon. The project is still in planning stages so will be a couple years before fully out. If you follow me on twitter @radio_collectiv you'll see updates and things maybe even put in your two cents on it. Our experience of DID isn't the only experience and Amanda is great at seeing the vastness of people.
That sounds awesome! I HAVE to read that now 😂
I know that good representation is hard to come by and bad representation is more common and can be very damaging. Thank you for this video.
Thank you for this! Definitely given me a few 'I didn't think of that' moments whilst looking over what I've written so far. ❤️
I've had a concept for a stage play following a system for a while now but it's been completely on the back of my mind. The premise is that we're following two alters in a DID system and we see their progression as a system until eventually they integrate at the end of the play.
The 'twist' of the play is that the two actors represent both the alters in the system and the people that the system meets throughout the play. We see them flip flop between the inner world and their experiences in the body. Whilst one actor plays the alter who is out, the other will play another relative in that system's life, for example, a therapist, a friend, etc. This means that one actor plays many characters throughout the duration of the play. I plan on making use of physical theatre, experimental dance alongside poetic verse to give it a wistful, dream-like atmosphere during the inner world segments, then grounding more in traditional theatre during the irl segments.
The fact that the system has DID is unknown to the audience throughout also. This doesn't change the fact they do have DID and behave as if they are a DID system, but it's not explicitly mentioned until the end. I don't want to draw attention to the fact that they have DID; moreso that they are working together to reach that end goal which, for their system, is integration.
I am a writer with memory loss issues. The one thing I have consistent control of is my writing, since I can always look back at my notes and ideas and know I’m the one that came up with them. Because I put my own experiences into characters, a lot of them experience similar symptoms to DID, so I’ve recently debated creating a character with DID and using my experiences with memory loss to make it as accurate as I can. I’m still unsure, but this video was definitely encouraging
This is so useful to me! I've been planning out a superhero kind of story that included characters with more stigmatized disorders to at least create something a little more positive 😅 I already had a hero with my own disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and I had an idea for a hero who was part of a function DID system but I was really hesitant about it because I didn't really know how to go about it. This is super helpful to that end. Thanks for this video Wyn!
we need more good guys with ASPD and such
I'm a singlet writer with a few systems in my stories myself, and tips like these are very helpful! Thank you so much for making videos like these. I actually have a playlist full of videos from you and other systems to help me build and develop my system characters, but having specific advice and encouragement really helps. Thank you so much again!
Y’all really don’t understand how much we love your guy’s channel. I always recommend y’all to my fellow systems
1- I love writing tips, specially about different experiences, so thank you for help! ^^
2- I'M SEEING A CUTE FLUFFY TAIL BEHIND YOU, I LOVE CATS 😍
Yes! Thank you so much. I am currently in the process of writing a spin off and my main character I planned was to have DID. I have been so skeptical about doing this tho because I didn’t want to get anything wrong and make the stigma around DID worse. But this has really helped me thank you
Makes me feel better about doing a story involving 5 roommates (where one roommate, main character I think, has DID) and how the 5 interact during a 6 month period. Going to take a long time for me to actually get to writing and drawing it about. But thanks for this!!
As a writer, I've found your channel and others like you to be invaluable. I shared this video within my writing groups to give people some extra perspective. Thanks for trying to help us to not play into stereotypes and stigmatize you. I think most people genuinely want to write good stories, and are sometimes misguided in what's real and what's *movie magic.*
When I first learned of DID from a supernatural book as a teen(Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) I'd always considered a character with it. When Split came out I started researching more and educating myself. Most of the representation I've seen is usually supernatural based, completely inaccurate, or negative and I would love to be one of those that change that. I'm not sure if I'll ever actually write a character with DID but I've decided that if I do I want to handle them as respectfully and accurately as I possibly can.
Thanks so much for this! I'm currently writing and creating a D&D character with DID, and my DM and I are watching a lot of your videos to educate ourselves and portray this character the best way we can. I do not have DID, but I find it fascinating, in fact, I find it amazing how the brain can create so many different people to efficiently deal with trauma. I hope you are doing well, and have a nice day! :D
This is sooo good. I've been playing around with the idea of having a character with DID, but I keep hesitating because I'm not sure how well I'd be able to represent them. I'd love to see more of these videos. I personally have PTSD and watching your and others' videos have given me a better understanding of my own condition and I love watching your system work together to make life as good as it can be. Thanks for all you do!
Ohh my goodness, I clapped when you said "What If It Works"!!! We loveeeee that movie!!! ~The Chameleon System
The last one is so important. You have to have that grounding and that logic to think "I may be getting this wrong" just so you can get it right. It keeps your mind open to mistakes rather than you just going in, doing it all and not allowing anyone or yourself to doubt a scene or situation within the story. You can use that doubt as a tool to make your story more accurate
does it matter? I'm sure even people get their own DID wrong. from claiming not having a disorder to not displaying symptoms.
@@kaiyodei yes it does matter. Representation matters
these 'writing tips' videos are so helpful. it's really, really nice hearing directly from someone with DID (and many others via the comments) what they would want to see in media, and what sorts of things to avoid.
we are a super covered system and I sometimes wish there was a representation that shows how normal that can look and how often people miss it. I hate that people think that 'if they knew someone with DID they would KNOW they have DID'. the most telltale sign in us is that we are organized like crazy and always on time. when we are not on time we had an accident or something. the way we make sure never to forget anything is actually what makes us stand out, singletons mess up more often than we do.
bad idea. it's better to be so flamboiant, you make your DID character a shapeshifter.
From the little I know about DID the novels Les Gestionaires de l'apocalypse (the Managers of the Apocalypse in English, my translation of the title) do a good job representing DID. The character with DID has a violent alter, but is from rage, not evil. That alter fronts when there is a trigger of recent trauma.
The doctor in the book said that alters are created for specific tasks, which means that in a way, people with DID are better adapted than other people.
Thank you for this, I’m wanting to write a character with D.I.D but I don’t want to it to be what the story is centered around about so this is super helpful!
I'm currently working on a 'self-help' book for DID. I have been diagnosed with DID, but I was wondering what you (& your system) would like to see in the non-fiction section aimed towards DID? I have never heard of that movie before, I am going to go find it. I love finding positive representations as well of this disorder. I don't know that I have any further insight or advice. You did such an amazing job, another great video. Thank you for all that you and yours do for this community!
Non-fiction is a whole different beast. I think a self help book written by a system for systems could be really useful :)
i'm a singlet, but validating identidies of introjects is good. if someone says they are Jim Carry from an AU where he puppeter then you go "wow. the multiverse is real". and nothing else.
@@TheEntropySystem it's ok if a endo, or non DID multiple gets some mention right?
How's it going with the self-help book?
I read Kim nobles book it was written by the host of her system who doesn't remember any trauma apart from having a lot of babysitters and this one guy eating bread he dipped into beer this leaves so much to the imagination and I feel it's more effective than going into detail
Thank you so much for this!! After subscribing to your channel, DissociaDID, and Team Piñata for a while, and being frustrated by all the fanfiction in the Marvel fandom that portrays Bucky Barnes as having "DID" without much adherence to what DID experiences are like in real life (at least, as far as I can tell as someone who is not a system), I decided to write as realistic as possible a story about that character's experience as possible. In the story he doesn't have actual DID, since he doesn't have childhood trauma, but given all the supersoldier serum handwavy fantasy stuff, I have him diagnosed as having something very similar to DID and use DID as a model, while also trying to make it clear to readers that DID is specifically a result of childhood trauma. When I was writing it, one of the challenges is that I didn't feel comfortable reaching out to friends who are systems to beta read because some of the content is explicit and I don't really know who does and doesn't read explicit fanfic, but I tried my best to use what I've learned from activists' experiences to inform the character. These tips are super helpful and will inform writing I do in the future, including in the same "verse." Thanks for taking the time!!!
Perhaps if the story is a first person pov on the person with DID, you could write them in alternating chapters. Like how Rick Riordian write some of his books
Perfect timing bc I'm playing a system in a dnd campaign! (Had lots of system friends help me out, but this is also very very helpful!)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this video! I've been slowly fleshing out a system for a sci-fi story I'm writing, and videos like this and your channel are really great for education on the subject. I hope they'll be added to the list of positive representation whenever I finish!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have a character who has DID, And I'm terrified of portraying it wrong because I'm a singlet.
My first experience in media seeing an 'inner world' was on YuGiOh of all places, when the friends went into Yugi's mind and saw one door with Yugi's (simple and childish) mind and the other door being Atem's (gigantic, and friggin booby-trapped) mind. I forget WHY they had entered his mind but I remember the scene vaguely
Thank you for this video! I found your first one extremely helpful and sent it to friends and people I write with. This second one is just as intelligent and accessible as the first, and I think everyone needs to hear that last tip :)
I think it's real important to write about systems that aren't like the ones often depicted! Like our system, we have no host, none at all, not even a group of main fronters. We all just share! But you don't ever really get to see that in media a lot, and it's kinda sad, cause I wanna see more people like the way we work. Representation's important, you know? -BB
As a fanfiction writer, one of the plot bunnies that had come up recently is a main character having did, but it was preceded by me wanting that same character to be a villain. The second the did came up as an idea, I knew that it wasn't going to work out, so I split the ideas into two stories, one where he became a villain with a traumatic backstory but no did and another where he becomes a hero with did. Fleshing them both out is fun, and although I have yet to really dig into the alters for the hero one, I've figured a lot out about reactions to things and people and how some arcs are going to go!
On a side note this isn't just two stories. There is also a third where he is a hero but never experienced amnesiac walls as a kid, so no did, but he still is traumatized and boy oh boy does he get doted on while he has no idea what is going on, the bab.
I haven’t even gotten past the intro, but knowing you guys, this video is going to be so awesome and maturely educational, and hopefully it’ll be spread around to get the information out!!
The only thing I would tweak is that it is possible for a single member in a system to be better at something than the others.
For example, we seem to have dumped a lot of our math skills as we grew up (I suspect it is tied to childhood stress and maybe trauma), but we recently discovered that one of us seems to have retained/has access to way more of those math skills.
We also have noticed that a lot of the kids have more energy somehow? And one teen in particular is better at running and playing spots than the rest of us, and he's definitely way more into them xD Now, he doesn't run as fast or well in the body as he feels he should, but he can still access some deeper level of endurance and joy in the act than the rest of us.
So it's not like a magic superpower or whatever, but it is possible to have noticable differences. Not like someone will have a skill that the body never encountered, but they may be the only one with that skill or just the best at it.
Oh for sure! I just meant that skills like that can’t happen spontaneously. If you’d never ever learned math for some reason, your math talented alter wouldn’t know it either. That’s what I was getting at :)
Thank you so much for this video! I've been wanting to make a character with DID but I get so worried about misrepresentation, I know it'll never be fully accurate cuz I don't have DID but at least one person saying that it being somewhat inaccurate isn't the end of the world gives me more confidence to make this character whether or not anyone reads the story. Love your channel by the way, I've only just come across it recently but I find what you all have to say interesting enjoyable to watch, keep up the great work!
Heyya! We've been diagnosed with DID since last year, if you have any questions, you can ask. Currently mostly active on instagram: dawn.system 💖💓❤💕❤💓❤💕💖
@@spottypie734 Thanks, that's really nice, if I have any questions I'll keep y'all in mind
I would like both stories about overcoming trauma and living post-trauma. Having an overcoming trauma story these past couple of months would have been really nice.
Also all those struggles you said at the end, it would be cool to see them addressed and processed/overcame in a story. Also, the thing you mentioned about feeling like you are your trauma. Seeing a protagonist overcome that in an empowering way would be awesome imo. But I would want all of those things I just said written by other systems, probably. It's just that none of them are very casual themes, ha.
This is so helpful, I'm a young aspiring author and I always wanted to write a book on different mental health issues including DID, I've watched channels such as DissociaDID to get a good take on it. I'll keep this in mind when I write.
Heck yeah, this is NEEDED.
I’m glad this video came out when it did. I’m currently planning on writing a novel that features a character with DID
*Pays close attention* As an aspiring author, I love this. I want to write about other characters to round out my body of work.
hey! thank you so much for making this video. i put a lot of research and effort into one of my characters who has DID, and the reminder at the end that I’m not gonna get everything spot on was honestly really reassuring.
Might need a tw?
Everything is spot on but sometimes still isn't enough. I have DID and am a writer so I thought to take on representation a few months ago, particularly in the thriller genre where DID misconceptions run rampant.
It was wonderful idea focusing around three alters: a cop, a detective, and a vigilante. The cop and detective try to help a little boy out of a bad situation but the justice system works against them so the vigilante takes things into her own hands. The cop and detective are then put on the case to fins out who did it. I put it on the back burner because I was afraid readers would focus on the one alter killing (even though the victim was a really really really bad person) and ignore the stuff about living a relatively normal life, system responsibility, etc. I kept all my notes, outline, etc and probably will until I die but can't finish writing let alone publish it knowing people would zero in on that one part and use it as justification for their misconceptions. The sad thing is if the thriller wasn't about someone with did and just three different bodies, readers would probably root for the vigilante but because of stigma, the perseption suddenly changes
I am writing a story about a system with DID, but it's not the main focus on the story. Instead the plot is about a kidnapping that happens later in their life that they are trying to solve. Originally there are 3 alters, but the kidnapping leads to the creation of an introject of someone they know since this person was very motherly to them and after the kidnapping they kind of needed that. The main focus however is not their alters or their DID it's them trying to find their kidnapped friend. Before getting to that story though, I feel I need to write kind of a prequel about the character and how they're aware of their DID and why their system can communicate so well. That way I have something to reference when writing the other story and I feel it is a story that could help with representation. Especially representation of persecutors (There is a persecutor, but they're not a villain or the main conflict even in the prequel, they are mostly angry at the world since they're the one who holds most of the trauma) they are not a persecutor in the story (instead they're a protector now).I was wondering if this is okay? If there is anything here that I should be cautious of? Is there anything that I should add because you would like to see it? Anything I should exclude? (Little note I don't plan to go into detail about the trauma at all. I will give vague hints as to what happens until it paints a clear picture, but I would never want to trigger someone so I am being careful about including the trauma) This is open for anyone with or without DID to respond to :3
As a completely personal preference, most of us (within our system) feel wholly uncomfortable consuming DID content made by writers who don't have the experience. If they were to tackle it anyway, for whatever reason, this is a great place to start getting educated.
Thaaaaank you! This helps me in my writing process. All the best from Germany!
Two of my favorite series have characters with DID. Both series are really neurodivergence/disability positive, but I’ve always wondered how accurate the DID rep is. I know the character in the series written in the 90s is horrendously inaccurate, but even the more modern series seems like it might have been more taken from textbooks. I agree with you though that it’s more important that the representations are positive, and in both series happiness comes from the characters making peace with their other problems (because neither book is actually about their DID) and from coming to terms with their multiplicity (both character realize they have DID mid-series). I don’t have DID, but I developed chronic conditions recently mid-way through college, and the fact that these series are disability positive alone has gotten me through so much. Anyways, I hope that the DID rep in media will become more accurate, and honestly I would love to read some ownvoices rep for DID just because it is such a unique life perspective to be multiple.
I have a DID system in a novel I’m looking to write someday, so this was really helpful and I’m glad you posted it!
I've started writing a fanfic about Harry Potter having DID and I was looking for tips! Haven't watched the video yet but I'm definitely saving it. I didn't want to post my fanfic because I don't want to get anything wrong or contribute to any stigma. So whatever's in the video thanks ahead of time.
@Clementine Beagley I actually decided to post the first chapter. It's on Archive of Our Own, under the username RosettaRoseburn, I think the title was "Year One~Harry and the Potter System of Multiplicity"
I actually feel asleep & haven't even watched this video yet but I will & hopefully improve my story even more. I've only written the 1st chapter but I have 5yrs planned out.
@Rach I only posted a short chapter, not sure bingeing is possible 😆 but thanks.
i started writing this story before finding your channel, one of the characters is named Kit. what a cool coincidence!!
edit: the story was originally about the system fighting (legally not physically lol) against someone who is discriminating against them for being a system, but i didnt know enough about the legal system. so im now making the story about them finding out theyre a system
For us it would be amazing to see the inner world, system dynamics, and switching can be used in a non-overt way (like an easily overlooked side story) to help a character(s) navigate a situation/life.
Yes, trauma can play a big role in character/system development but it is how a system: comes together, works on their dynamic, overcome issues, and grow/change, that makes them who they are as a character. Truth be told there are similar narrative about overcoming or using disabilities to your advantage (like Toph from ATLA).
This is all great, but that # 3... Wow. What an insightful way of explaining. Thanks! 🌻🌷
Thank you for these awesome writing tips about D.I.D. I hope there will be a part three. I am not all too familiar with the disorder, but one of my goals is to create a comic that portrays the right representation of D.I.D. I hope to make it light and funny, accurate as possible.
As much as I love representation of DID, I actually don't like how many of them show up as "superheroes" Like, I get that it's one of the easiest ways of developing a character: you have a person, they have a 'magic' ability and then they fight a bunch of monsters and villains with it. DID isn't magic or some superhuman ability. It's fine if you want to go this route but make their story about something other than their DID. Wonderful video, Wyn! I hope you all are doing okay right now. Much love
Thank you for doing this video! I'm a german writer and I don't have personal experience with DID. Recently I did a lot of research for a short story and I would love to write more about it. I watched your videos, followed other channels, talked to people with DID from germany and got great feedback. I didn't do well in the beginning, it's been a lot of work. While talking to different systems I learned that all of them had an other perspective on my story. It was very inspiring and so is this video. About your last point: I don't feel well writing something that is not quite correct, even if it is positive. Maybe that's just my inner perfectionist, but I want my characters to be as real as possible. For my short story I searched for proof readers with DID and they did a great job in teaching me, what I still misunderstood. Sometimes even positive representation can be misleading and create some kind of cliché. I know that I can't write a story that everyone can identify with. But I'm doing my best to show it as good as possible. And thanks to videos like yours, I am not afraid of trying :).
Thank you for the last point!! After finding your channel and a few others in the DID community, I really wanted to write a story about someone with social anxiety meeting a DID system. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if someone constantly anxious of meeting new people suddenly found themselves wanting to befriend a system and get to know the different alters... Idk why, but that idea fascinated me, but I was really scared that I'll get it all wrong. Not only am I not part of a system, but I've never experienced real trauma and it's a difficult and important topic that I don't want to mess up. But now, I feel as though I could perhaps give it a try! So thank you!
Thank you it is really helpful! Thank you for saying it is okay to get things wrong because I stopped writing the story i'm working on because i'm scared i'll get it wrong and it was stressing me out during quarantine too much so i had to stop. After watching video i might get back to it some day.
Thank you so much for doing this video! I have a system set of OCs that do ghosthunting for a living and the story is narrated through the notes of all the alters. They function just fine through this concept of writing to each other tiny chunks of the investigation - the persecutor sometimes makes this work harder by talking down on them or trying to destroy the notebook where they write it, the gatekeeper is trying to keep him on track though, but other than that the taking notes work just fine. It's just a bunch of shortstories about the system going to haunted places and trying to figure what's wrong with it! They develop and change throughout the story - the gatekeeper reaches his breaking point for a couple of days, for example, he's very stressed - but I want to make the main focus to be the ghosts, demons or whatever they are searching.
They live in Brazil during 1886 so they don't really get a diagnosis in the story, but I hope I can show it in a way where it's very obvious what's going on :")
Thanks for the tips, because they help flashing them out!!
This and the last video regarding DID in fiction are very helpful!
My ideas for the plot of my story may change in the future but I plan on writing about a detective with DID whose alters all help with solving crime cases. The comment by The Elysian System has inspired me to also include a persecutor alter who also helps the system solve crimes. (It was also a pleasant surprise to see a comment about a system solving an escape room xD That is super neat! Just thought it was a cool coincidence since my story involves solving mysteries too).
But again, thank you for explaining this all so well! 💖
Thankyou this is very very helpful. Ive learned alot from you guys and looking forward to putting these tips into my story.
Also i dont know who it was but one of the systems on youtube once said Persecutors are just misguided protectors. And i like that because it suggests that Persecutors are not inherintly evil. It kind if suggests that they need help. Which they do.
I'm planning on writing a love story where the protagonist learns more about DID and how to live with his DID partner... Pure fluffs and I'm enjoying it XD
We are writing a book series about the experiences of our inner world and alters within it, but we love this video! We hope to have a positive representation with our book series. We are also writing a script for a independent tv series that we plan to act in, direct and film starting this year. We will portray a "blind" character who has DID and hope to show it all as a positive rep.
I think this was actually quite helpful, because when I write I try to include groups of people that are discriminated against or commonly misrepresented. I am not part of a system, and while I have done a fair amount of research there's still things I'm unsure on writing about. This was helpful because I didn't want to write it if I couldn't do it justice, but I did want to provide some form of representation.
heyo! osdd-1b system here. i really loved watching this video and pondering relevant aspects of my own oc system- you bring up some interesting points, definitely with valuable nuance! the system i write about live in a fantasy setting, loosely based off of some d&d settings, so there is a liiiittle bit of handwaving for some things due to magic- like, they have an enchanted mirror they can use to basically video chat, so the person fronting can speak directly with someone inside if either of them have trouble with thought-sending. i made these characters a few years ago, before i knew quite as much about how vastly different systems can be, and i definitely want to update them. i also find it really valuable to talk with others about persecutors and their experiences, as there are a few persecutor-protectors in this fictional system who have made trouble in the past, before they and the rest of the system were really able to pick apart where their anger (even occasional defensive violence) comes from, and how it could be redirected into protection in a healthier way. this comment's sort of getting away from me due to switchiness but tl;dr is i'm super glad you've brought up these points, i love to think about the ways i could frame my story to make the system sympathetic/relatable/etc.!
This was very helpful thanks!
Your videos are in general so well done and I am learning new things with every video!
We are a system. And writing about a character that has did. It felt kind of wierd being told we couldn't understand did. Just a little jarring. All of us are going to help write the book.
I like to explain how each alter is equally valid and important with another common writing advice tip that goes like this;
In any story, the protagonist is usually the focused upon character with additional side characters. Many readers pet peeves is when side characters are 2d or just there for the plot. The standard writing advice is to give all characters goals and 3 dimensions, no matter if they are protagonist,antagonist, or in between.
When people think of alters they think of a main alter (like a protagonist) and other alters (like minor characters) BUT the reality is that every character in any story has their own goals and lives outside of the protagonist that the reader is following and similarly alters have their own goals and lives too.
Great video as always! I actually do have a rather specific question for visual based media, which is basically how do you feel about media where a system’s alters are represented by multiple actors? (to be clear, this hypothetical is in a story where it’s not a “twist” that the multiple actors/characters are alters in a system) Are there instances where that works but others where it could maybe be harmful representation? Is there a general consensus within the community on this practice or do different systems disagree on the issue? If you have any thoughts on this, I’d appreciate hearing them! Thank you for the great content as always, I really appreciate learning more about DID!
The channel Multiplicity and Me actually hires actors to play their alters in educational videos! It’s a really clever way to help the audience understand how “real” each alter is.
how can it be harmful? lots of times alters don't know they are, untill therapy works with "ok team, let's move, ok team meeting. let's work on our communication skills, open to chapter 3 of this text book"
Make as many parts to this series as you want to! I think it's especially valuable how the parts of your system connect with media in general and how that further applies to how you analyze how DID can be conveyed through it.
As someone who is writing about my own situation (OSDD) as a means of therapy, one of my themes is how I honestly feel about having a mental illness. I personally (and my opinion doesn't mean that it's right or trying to undo the job CZcamsrs educating) feel that in my situation, at least, I believe there is a stigma attached to mental illness for a reason. I was ....and many others were probably hurt by ppl with a mental illness and so I have a really hard time with the quote, getting rid of the stigma around....fill in the blank. If anything, my goal is to show that you can walk away from the stigmas with help (therapy) and doing your part to be a healthy human being who does not continue the cycle of ab%use. It stops with me should be the mantra, because I know too well that I don't believe stigmas should be rid of. Even though my persecutor was protecting me, she was not a healthy individual towards people, and pushed people away--some I loved and needed. Having to repair the damage and stop the cycle of harm/self-harm is an every day chore. And yes, I do feel a stigma applied to me before I entered therapy.
i'm the host of my system and really wanna see more characters that canonically have did that arent portrayed as a tragedy or as unstable or scary )): my favorite thing growing up was seeing superhero characters with alter-egos and re-writing it as though those characters were systems!! (i especially did this with captain underpants and darkwing duck when i was really young)
in the fantasy webcomic im working on, we have a side character that's a system!! the host is a really quiet and shy and studious character, and the main other alter that we show is a fictive of a well known superhero, and she eventually ends up actually becoming a real superhero with the same name!! (they've got ice magic! their name is Frostbite!)
(the running gag we have right now is that the main character, who's a supervillain, is really close friends with the superhero alter but cannot STAND the host because the host beat her by 2 points for best in class at their magic school.)
see now, that is how it is done. and minus the superpowers. a healthy and positive and accurate portryal of a serious condition
Thanks for this video. I think I'd like to write about DID at some point and I know a lot of facts and about a lot of experiences but I still wouldn't feel confident writing about it. If I ever do, I'll make sure to do proper research and find more people with DID to talk to, so I have many different points of view. As somebody who has OCD (which is also so often misrepresented), I'm very careful when I'm writing about mental health.
This is SO HELPFUL TO ME RIGHT NOW!
I’m currently working on a story whose main character has DID, the “drama” is something that I’ve watched a lot of systems go through, the lack of positive representation in media causing uneducated people to think systems are “evil” - while the system is a superhero.
The system’s current long term host (Alice) is put in a very difficult position when a group of supervillains discover that she has a DID diagnosis after hunting through her medical records, and uses the information to attempt to blackmail her into switching sides.
A superhero with DID? I love it!
The Entropy System - a system I follow on Twitter even gave me the idea to use some of the co-morbid conditions are some of her superpowers! Its going to be a really fun story, but I want to make sure I’ve done heaps of research and planning for it!
I've been waiting for this!! Thank you!!
I had a story idea I made back when I was a freshman in high school and I’m wondering if I can get thoughts on it. I didn’t have access to the internet for a long time and I was really worried I would depict it inaccurately or accidentally be offensive.
Basically a guy named Grey in college befriends Sarah, Daniel, and Vera. A system with Sarah as the host. They didn’t have any other friends because people at the college saw Sarah and the system as being strange.
They decide to go on a camping trip for the summer and while there they’re assaulted by a drunk man but when Grey finds them he sees Vera (the trauma holder) accidentally killed the man in self defense. Grey is confused why Daniel (the protector) isn’t there to protect Vera and Sarah and she tells him they’re gone though she’s very disoriented at the time. Grey thinks that because of harmful stereotypes they may be taken somewhere for being “dangerous.” Panicking he hides the body and passes out from exhaustion. When he awakes he finds out that Sarah’s body has completely changed. It’s Vera. For reasons unknown Vera, Sarah, and Daniel split and manifested into their own bodies and Vera thinks they went back to where they came into being or back home.
Thinking this they drive across the country back to the places Sarah had lived as a child, worried what will happen to Sarah without her system to protect her. Unbeknownst to them they’re being trailed by a secret organization.
Vera had gone to this organization, headed by a man with DID who claims he can separate systems into their own bodies through science, not telling the others. Vera had fallen in love with Grey and wanted to be with him and thinking they had a good life now that Sarah didn’t need her or the trauma she carried, deciding to become her own self to be with Grey.
The man running the organization himself is Asian and had super strict parents. He was a very smart person but his parents pushed him to be the smartest person in his class. Using mental and borderline physical abuse to make him the best student because it was all that mattered. He eventually developed his first alter who had savant like intelligence. In fact his alter who had helped him in the beginning felt himself superior and wanted to have his own body to himself so he developed the science to Split systems.
I really wanted to make a story where the DID wasn’t the problem but the organization that wanted to use them as experiments? Idk it was a really rough idea
@@angelancientwolf2005 That sounds really cool! I think if it's done well that could be a really fun and interesting idea
Thanks for creating a better representation for DID. You really help people understand DID on a more accurate level.
Media: let's look at this poor system of fluffy and adorable alters that unfortunately has one alter who's *inhales* eeeevilll! Dun dun dun!
Our system consisting mainly of dozens of mischief makers and less than 5 of us that have the patience & personality of an old & calm tree: ..wot 👀?
always thankful for this channel! you guys rule
Omg, it’s like you read my mind. 🥺💖 Thank you for this. I’m planning on writing a story with a team of characters who unite through hardships and become good friends. I want them all to be very different, with one of them having a system. I’m not going to make it all about trauma or pain, I want it to be positive and about connecting with people through hard times.
Thanks so much for these tips! I personally don't have DID, but your channel (amongst others) has brought to light for me how misrepresented DID often is in the media, and it has inspired me to at some point write a story featuring a character who has DID. I'll make sure to take these tips, and the ones from your previous video on this topic, into account when I get down to writing that story!
A cat tail wishes to battle