hi! i really loved your oneshot for steven/marc named "loss" and i was wondering if you could perhaps, write something that's also hurt/comfort of steven grant x reader? the reader could use she/her pronouns, i don't mind.
basically the reader suffers from self-loathe due to emotionally abusive parents, often seeks validation through achievement, frequently compares themselves, immense guilt & shame for past mistakes and they just feel, undeserving or unworthy. and someday they just fall into this spiral of self hatred and steven or marc sort of reassures them.
it's alright if you don't vibe with this request, just let me know! thanks luv hope you're doing well :)
request/synopsis: the reader suffers from self-loathe due to emotionally abusive parents, often seeks validation through achievement, frequently compares themselves, immense guilt & shame for past mistakes and they just feel, undeserving or unworthy. and someday they just fall into this spiral of self hatred and steven or marc sort of reassures them. i'd like the reader to be in a romantic relationship with steven (and only steven).
pairing: steven grant x gn!reader (romantic), marc spector x gn!reader (platonic/acquaintanceship)
warnings: child abuse (mentioned/implied), emotional abuse (mentioned/implied), hurt/comfort, panic attack, y/n not in a great mental mindset, unhealthy coping mechanisms, reader gets triggered
moonknight taglist: @laufeyamp
author’s notes: don’t push yourself to read anything that may be triggering to you, take care of yourself before anything else <3 i hit 350 while on my hiatus thank you everyone so much :) i hope you like this!!!
likes, rbs and comments are always appreciated <3
y/n was certainly not a stranger to overworking themself and that much was obvious to those that were close to them. hell, even those that weren’t - like marc.
recently y/n had been working themself to the bone at their job during the day and at home during the night. it was starting to worry steven, he obviously knew that y/n suffered with their mental health sometimes, it was a topic he often avoided speaking about with y/n. every time he would bring it up, they’d shut down emotionally and mentally checked out of the conversation. but he was getting really worried about about them.
“y/n, love…” steven nervously fidgeted with his hands, looking at the back of y/n’s head. they were hunched over slightly, typing away at their computer, “could we talk?”
y/n tried to play his words off, but their fingers froze on the keyboard, the phrase ‘could we talk?’ shot a spear of insecurity right through their chest, but they tried to get right back to work.
“what’s up, steven? we can talk, i’m just finishing this report for someone at work,” y/n mumbled back to him, “and i have that report to do for mike after, but i could do it tomorrow? no, i’d rather do it tonight and get it done.”
at this point, y/n wasn’t even talking to steven, more to themself if anything.
“okay.. i just, i dunno, gosh how do i do this,” steven gulped taking a deep breath, oblivious to y/n’s hands that had started to shake. is he going to break up with me. was all that y/n could think in that moment, the words on their screen blurring.
“y/n, i think you need a break.. from work i mean,” steven added quickly, not wanting to accidentally break up with his partner, “you’ve been working so hard recently, and i just thought.. maybe you’d like to go for a walk, or maybe watch some telly?”
“a break?” y/n’s eyebrows furrowed together and they turned to look at steven, “from what? i’ve been barely doing anything?”
at this point their demeanour had switched from anxious to confused and angry, not steven, but at themself.
“what?” steven was shocked, “barely doing anything? have you lost your bloody mind? sorry, sorry, i didn’t mean that like that, you’ve just.. you’ve been so busy, you need a break, just come sit with me?”
“i can’t, i have to get this work done, jim, harry, kerri and lisa all expect this done by tomorrow, i can’t let them down, i’m not even working as much as i should, steven!” y/n huffed, frustrated at themself and the fact they weren’t doing as much as they thought they should.
“love, would you just listen? please, just relax for a sec-“ before steven could utter another word, y/n’s head snapped in his direction and they felt something inside them snap.
“relax?!” y/n raised their voice, “i can’t relax, steven! i have to get this work done, i have to keep working, i have to keep taking people’s work to do, i have to keep doing favours for people, i have to keep working! if i don’t, i’ll lose my job, people won’t like me, they would’ve been right all along and i can’t give them the satisfaction!!”
y/n didn’t wait for a reply, before they went back to the chair and sat down, getting right back to work.
“y’know, if people don’t like you if you’re not doing favours for ‘em, they probably aren’t good people,” marc leaned against the doorframe, staring at the back of y/n’s head.
“hi, marc.” y/n ignored his statement and continued to type.
“who’s ‘them’, you said ‘they would’ve been right all along’.” marc questioned, knowing steven probably would’ve ignored their outburst and left them to work themself to death, since steven wasn’t the most confrontational guy.
“the people at work,” y/n scoffed.
“yeah, no, we both know that’s bullshit, so are you gonna be honest with me, or are you gonna keep yelling at steven.” marc crossed his arms over his chest, his back against a wall now.
“hey, listen, i really appreciate it if you want to help, or whatever this is supposed to be, but i have work to do, i don’t care if you think what i said was bullshit, but i am sorry for yelling at steven, i shouldn’t have done that.” y/n sighed, turning around on the chair to look at marc.
“working yourself to death won’t get rid of your problems.”
“yeah? well, it’s been doing a pretty damn good job, thanks.” y/n mirrored his body language, crossing their arms.
“who’s ‘them’?” he asked again, his tone more stern than before.
“i already told you-“
“don’t give me that bullshit, who’s ‘them’.”
“i already told you, marc!” y/n yelled, not liking how easily that the man could see through them, despite only speaking to him very rarely.
“who’s. them.” he repeated slowly, but just as sternly as before. y/n froze and their eyes darted around the room quickly, almost as if checking they were still in the same place as they had been the whole evening, “y/n, you gotta tell me, who’s th-“
“stop!! stop asking! stop asking questions! stop! i can’t tell you! i can’t tell you! they can’t win! they can’t be right!” y/n yelled, their hands wrapping around their body tightly, almost too tightly. they stared at the ground, their breath getting quicker.
“nothing’s ever good enough! i’m not good enough! i’m nothing! i’ll always be nothing! i don’t deserve to have a break! i don’t deserve anything!” y/n yelled, their voice cracking as tears threatened to spill from their eyes.
“hey, hey, you’re safe, you’re okay,” marc rushed over to y/n and sat in front of them on the ground, “they can’t hurt you, you’re safe.”
“i know they are watching me! just laughing at how much of a pathetic disgrace i am to them!” y/n’s hands went up to their face to cover their eyes with the palms of their hands, “everyone else is always lying to me! they are the only ones that have told me the truth!”
“you are not a pathetic disgrace, not one bit, i want to help you, steven wants to help you, but we can’t help you, if you don’t talk to us, okay?” marc had his hands on y/n’s knees, not getting too close that they would freak out, but not too far that y/n would feel alone. he already had a slight idea about who ‘they’ were, but he needed to hear it.
“i- no- i can’t, please- just, please just leave and let me work, i’ve already lost so much time, please.” y/n begged.
“y/n, calm down, okay? i’m sorry, but working is the last thing you need right now.”
“you don’t.. you don’t understand, i need to work,” y/n sobbed.
“explain why then, just tell me why you need to work and i’ll leave you alone, i just want a real reason, no lies.” marc put his hands up to show he was being truthful. y/n’s arms dropped to their lap
“my.. no, i’m sorry- i’m not doing this.”
“take your time, can’t give me a real reason if you don’t think about it first, right?” he raised an eyebrow at them and they sighed.
“my parents, they.. they um, i have- fuck!” y/n leaned their head back to look at the ceiling contemplating whether to open up, or just continue to stare at the ceiling. it took a few minutes for y/n to speak again, but marc understood, “my parents … they um..were never good parents.”
marc hummed, trying to get them to continue.
“they weren’t even good people, i wouldn’t say they abused me, because they didn’t? i mean, they never hurt me… no.. they did, but not like.. it was- y’know.. i deserved it,” y/n paused taking a shaky breath, unsure of what they were saying, “they would just.. always bully me. tell me how awful i am, which fuck, i don’t need someone to tell me that i already know it, i already knew it as a child! i’d be berated about every grade i got, every piece of clothing i wore, every word i fucking said! everything! everything was never good enough for them!”
“y/n..” marc spoke in a low, but calm, tone, not wanting to panic them, or stress them out more than he did already. y/n looked down from the ceiling and looked into his eyes, “i need you to listen to me, okay?”
“.. okay.”
“your parents…” he sighed, “everything that they did, everything they said, that was abuse.”
marc’s words hit them right in the chest.
“i can’t breathe.” y/n spoke abruptly and shakily, their eyes wide with fear and begging for some kind of help.
“hey, you’re okay, you’re with me, look at me, you’re fine,” marc was knelt in front of y/n, his hands on their knees gently, not wanting to suffocate them, “okay we’re going to take some deep breaths together, i’m right here okay, you’re safe, nothing is going to happen to you.”
“okay- okay, okay i can breathe- i can-“ y/n’s speech coming out a lot quicker than they would have liked. every breath they took wasn’t enough. it felt as if the oxygen in the room had decreased and they were suffocating.
“okay, good now breathe with me, okay? in… one two three four, hold one two three four and breathe out, one two three four, that was good, you’re doing good, let’s do it again, in.. one two three four, hold one two three four and breathe out one two three four… okay, isn’t that better and now keep doing that, but i’m going to ask you some questions and you can take as long as you want answering them, is that okay?” marc spoke firmly, yet as gently as he could. there was an unspoken sense of understanding between the two. marc had been in y/n’s one too many times to not know how to deal with a panic attack.
“that’s.. that’s okay..” y/n’s voice had become hoarse and scratchy, but their breathing more even and controlled.
“can you name five things that you can see in the apartment right now?”
y/n chewed on their cheek, a nervous habit, but did their best to look around the flat they shared with steven, “you.. uhm… steven’s poetry books, uh.. the paperweight he stole from work by accident.. uhm..”
“it’s okay, take your time.”
“gus and.. the lights? is that five?”
“good job, you did good,” marc smiled to affirm his words were genuine, “do you need to talk?”
“probably… i don’t want to just.. dump stuff on you like that though, i’ve really ruined your evening, huh?” y/n gave a weak laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
they’re wrong, you’re perfectly capable of ruining the evening by yourself, marc.
“thanks steven.”
“what’d he say?” y/n’s lips twitched into a smile, or at least an attempt to smile at the mention of their boyfriend.
“he said you haven’t ruined anything and that i’m capable of ruining an evening by myself.” marc scoffed lightheartedly, knowing it would put a smile on their face.
“steven… c’mon..” y/n attempted to defend marc, but their laughter overpowered their ability to speak. marc was very easy to spot when he was fronting, a glass of whisky always nearby him and an unamused expression across his face, opposed to steven’s meek smile.
“oh wow, both of you?” marc shook his head, but knew it was all in good nature.
“sorry, sorry,” y/n wiped their eyes and nose, “thank you, both of you.. i really can’t say how grateful i am for your help.”
“you might not be ready to talk about it, that’s fine, but steven and i are always here to listen, no matter how much i ruin evenings.” marc joked, knowing that what y/n needed was for things to be as normal as they could. well, marc making jokes was already a foreign experience, but y/n nevertheless appreciated his effort, seeing as marc wasn’t very present in y/n’s day to day life. y/n laughed again, knowing there was truth behind what he had said.
“steven wants to front now, is that okay?” marc asked softly.
the guilt of yelling at steven rose in y/n’s chest, but they nodded, wanting to apologise to their boyfriend. y/n stayed quiet and still, allowing marc and steven to switch.
“y/n!” steven instantly wrapped his arm’s around y/n’s waist holding them as tightly as he could. well, obviously not too tight.
“steven… i’m so so so sorry for yelling at you, i’m so sorry,” y/n leaned down, pressing kisses against his curls.
“darling, you don’t have to apologise for anything, promise! i’m okay, see!” he leaned away , grinning widely at them, “nothing old steven here can’t handle!”
“i’m still so sorry, i promise i’ll never take my anger out on you again, that was unfair for me to do and i promise i’ll try to not work so much.” y/n started to tear up again.
“love, i promise i’m fine, you did nothing wrong, everyone has their moments, hell if i worked as hard as you did, i’d probably be a full blown nutter by now!” steven laughed, reaching up to wipe away the tears from y/n’s cheeks, “i truly admire you like the stars in the sky, you work so hard and i really admire that about you! but you need to give yourself a break sometimes, yeah?”
“i know, i’ll try, i promise.”
“i know you will,” steven smiled, looking at y/n as if they had hung the stars in the sky and painted the moon across the canvass of indigo, “how about.. i get you some water and you go get changed into some jammies, yeah? that sound good?”
“sounds like a plan.” y/n pressed a kiss against his forehead.
oh and for the hurt/comfort related to self-loathe request i sent earlier, i'd like the reader to be in a romantic relationship with steven (and only steven LMAO)
thanks!!
i loved your req!!! i’ll be writing it :D and i’ll reply to the anon with the link :) have a good day!! <3
synopsis: y/n was always late home, not because of work, but because she would visit her father at a care home every day without fail, it was admirable… but y/n gets bad news.
pairing: steven grant x fem!reader, marc spector x fem!reader (previously established relationship with steven)
warnings: death of a parent, mentions of bad relationship with parent, steven is in a relationship with y/n - marc is not, potentially hinting at abuse in the past (nothing explicitly stated), grief, hurt/comfort
author’s note: this won’t be following the storyline of the show, but minor spoilers about marc’s life w/ his mother ! this will be sort of sad, but it’s mainly a comfort fic :)
reblogs, hearts + comments r always appreciated <3
with an exhausted huff, marc entered his, well steven’s, apartment. it wasn’t often that marc fronted during the day, steven loved his job as much as donna was a bit of a twat to him, he adored being surrounded by egyptian history, marc.. not so much. he’s stated something about the museum being a constant reminder of the god he’d had the misfortune of meeting.
marc walked past y/n’s frozen figure not paying any mind to her, grabbing something to drink from the fridge, “would it kill you to lighten up a bit?” marc muttered, looking at y/n briefly as she sat at the small kitchen table she had bought for her and steven.
“oh, sorry, i’ll … i’ll um put some music on,” y/n stood up, her body visibly stiff as she walked over to the bluetooth speaker sitting by the sink.
“are you alright?” marc furrowed his brows, confused at her odd behaviour. usually she’d quip back at him, saying something like ‘as if you’re a joy to be around’, or ‘when you give me something to smile about, i’ll lighten up’, but this time there was nothing.
“yeah, music, let me put some.. some music on,” y/n nodded to herself, barely speaking at an audible volume.
“y/n, what’s wrong?” marc spoke softly, or as softly as he could. he wasn’t really a soft person, but he tried knowing how much y/n meant to steven. she was important to steven.
“food? you want some food? i can get something cooked up, yeah i’ll only be a few minutes.. music, need some music,” y/n muttered, moving around the kitchen and opening a drawer or two, only to head back to the sink to fiddle with the bluetooth speaker.
“y/n.” he spoke up a bit louder, moving closer to her.
she’s home early?
steven’s concerned voice spoke up and marc looked towards the cabinets, he stared at steven in the reflection of the glass for a few moments and then looked back at y/n who was muttering to herself.
“y/n..” marc stood next to her, looking behind him at the table that had an empty wine bottle and next to it an empty glass, “did something happen?”
y/n looked at marc and it was like she had only just noticed him, despite talking to him only seconds before.
“um..” y/n swallowed the limp in her throat and closed her eyes, “i.. um, my.. my dad.”
marc’s face softened and he realised what had happened. why steven was so confused about her being home early. at this time, y/n would have been at the care home with her father.
“my dad, he um, he passed.” she nodded, blinking away her tears.
“here, c’mon sit down, i’ll get you some water.” he put his hand on her lower back and guided her to the chair she had just been sat on.
“thanks, yeah.. some water, thank you..” y/n muttered to herself as she sat down.
“do you.. want steven?” marc asked, placing a glass of water in front of y/n and dragging the other chair closer to her.
“i..” y/n paused, looking at the glass of water, “i don’t know what i want...”
“alright.. just let me know if you want him, he’s here,” marc nodded awkwardly, unsure of how he was supposed to go about comforting the girlfriend of the man in his head.
“thanks.. ‘ppreciate it.” y/n took the glass of water and took a few sips.
“how did you find out?” marc asked.
“i was there… and, he just fell asleep, it was normal, he usually falls asleep - i guess alzheimer’s really takes it out of you, dunno, but… he just stopped .. breathing.” y/n explained solemnly.
“i’m sorry for your loss,” marc put his hand over her’s and squeezed it.
“it’s weird..” y/n sighed, “my whole life, i’ve just been waiting for this day, i’d pray every night as a child that he would just.. drop dead, but.. i guess i lost my real dad a while ago and .. he was different now, sick of course, but he wasn’t the same man he was and i guess that hurts even more.”
marc just stared into her eyes, letting her talk, knowing that it wouldn’t help for him to try comfort her and that she just needed to speak her mind.
“we never had a good relationship. he was always up my ass for one thing or another and he drove me up the fucking walls, he was a bully, he really and truly was a bully, that is all he ever was!” y/n let out a deep breath and scrunched up her face, “i really can’t believe he’s gone, this is the one thing i always wanted, so why.. does it hurt so fucking bad.”
marc looked down at her hands and thought about his mother, it wasn’t something he did a lot, but he knew exactly how y/n felt, “it hurts because you never got closure.”
y/n looked up and met his eyes.
“you never got closure for the stuff he did and said.. that’s what hurts, he was sick and you got to know a different man, you’re mourning for the sick man who could barely remember his own name, not your father.” marc gulped, licking his lips nervously, his lips suddenly feeling too dry for him to be comfortable.
y/n’s eyes widened a bit and her eyes started to tear up, “yeah..”
“i’m sorry about what he did and what he was like, you of all people don’t deserve that.” the sincerity in marc’s voice struck y/n right in the chest.
“thank you, that means a lot.. coming from you.” y/n smiled sadly, trying to blink the tears away.
“i mean it,” he smiled back, “you’re a good person, you’re good to steven, hell, you’re good to me even if i come back at eleven at night with bloody knuckles,” he laughed, trying to at least for a moment, lighten y/n’s mood, “you didn’t deserve anything that ever happened to you.”
y/n leaned forward and wrapped her arms around marc, his body tensing up for a moment out of shock, but his arms wrapped around her tightly letting her cry on his shoulder. he rubbed his hand up and down y/n’s back soothingly, occasionally reminding her to breathe, or giving her reassurance that she was going to be okay.
the two stayed like that for a while, not that marc minded. he liked it, it was comforting for him just as much as it was for her. marc, although he’d never admit it, was a touch starved man and it was nice to know that y/n trusted him enough to let him be there for her and hold her.
marc, please let me have the body
marc reluctantly pulled away from y/n and whispered, “steven wants the body now.”
“okay,” y/n sniffled, smiling at marc, “thank you, i owe you.”
“try not to get snot over my shirt next time you see me,” marc smirked at her and she laughed, wiping her nose with her sleeve.
“sorry about that.”
“it’s fine, just nice to see you smile again.”
“thank you, marc.” y/n smiled softly at him and picked up the glass of water and gulped down the rest, as steven fronted.
“y/n.. love, you alright?” steven put a hand on her shoulder.
y/n turned her head to face steven and she smiled, “i’m.. a bit better, yeah, thank you.”
“let’s get you to bed, yeah? all nice and cozied up, sound good?” steven smiled back at her.
“mhm,” y/n hummed as steven put an arm around her and guided her to bed.
“good thing you’re already in jammies, ey?” steven chuckled, helping y/n get onto the bed, “let me get changed and i’ll be just a sec.”
“okay,” y/n nodded, her voice slightly drained of any emotion, but steven didn’t take it personally, he knew she was probably still in shock and grieving about her dad. steven rushed over to his dresser and changed out of the clothes marc had dressed the body in that morning, settling for a nice comfortable pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt.
“so,” he started, getting into the bed next to y/n, grabbing one of her hands with both of his and holding it tightly, “do you need anything? i can do anything you want, love, really! you name it and i’ll do it.. although if you asked me to jump out a window i might hesitate a little bit.”
y/n laughed and shook her head, “steven, if i ever ask you to jump out a window, please don’t.”
“you can’t stop me! i’ll do it, i will!” he laughed with her, and then stopped and looked into her eyes with a softened expression on his face, “really love, what do you need? anything at all.”
y/n pulled him closer to her and wrapped her arms around his torso, putting her head against his chest, “you are enough, just want you.”
“i’m all yours darling.”
“how come you weren’t fronting today? donna say something to you? i swear when i see that cow in the streets no one will be able to stop me from teaching her a lesson.” y/n muttered into his t-shirt and steven chuckled.
“nah… not donna, to be honest, was feelin’ a little lazy today..“ he spoke softly, tracing little shapes into y/n’s back, “marc told me if i didn’t get my ass out of bed, he’d kick my ass… let me just tell you, getting punched by your own fist, biggest betrayal.”
y/n laughed at him, relieved that nothing bad had happened to him and that marc was just helping steven out, “fed gus for you by the way.”
“oh my days, i completely forgot about that, you’re an absolute dream.” steven let out a breath of relief.
“no problem, just glad you’re okay..” y/n mumbled, exhaustion slowly taking over her body.
“let’s get some sleep now, yeah?” steven pressed his lips against her head and squeezed her tightly in his arms.
“yeah.. night night steven.. night marc.” y/n whispered, before finally allowing herself to fall asleep.
“night, love.” he smiled.
don’t go into work tomorrow.
“you must think i’m a bloody idiot if you think i’m going into work and not staying here with her.” steven whispered, trying not to wake up y/n, but not hesitating the shoot a glare at the mirror that marc was standing in, his arms crossed over his chest.
marc didn’t say anything, but he raised his eyebrows and looked to the side.
“you are pulling my leg right now. sod off, will ya, i’m trying to sleep here.” steven looked away from the mirror and pressed another kiss to y/n’s forehead.
Hiya! I’m planing on starting to write for Moon Knight and I was wondering if the word ‘alters’ would be okay to use when referring to Marc or Steven. I know they are two different people and the only thing they have in common is the body they share, but is there any other way that would be accurate to refer to them as?
(Thank you so much for your posts on DID by the way! They are really helping me grasp a concept of what it is, what it looks like and how it effects people who have it.) :)
yes the word alters is perfectly fine! some systems use the term headmates but i think alters would probably be more widely known to people so i would use that! :)
hi!! i’m currently adding your masterlist to my “to be read” list and i like to make a habit of sending asks to new blogs i start to follow, i was just wondering if you have a faq/about me/etc post you can link me too? just a question, no prob if not lol just wanted to make sure i check it out if you do💌
oh thank u sm!!! i actually don’t have a faq/about me yet but i’ll be sure to make one soon ^0^ thank u sm !!!
hello! i am diagnosed with DID and have noticed a little bit of a trend with some fanfic writers, so i wanted to address it just to help people that are not educated about the disorder.
* i do also have schizophrenia and thought i should mention that for the section about the green goblin.
why is ‘personality’ not okay to use when referring to steven, or marc?
the only thing people tend to know about DID is what it was previously known as (multiple personality disorder) this term has since been changed, due to the inaccuracy that the term ‘personality’ has in relation to the disorder. personality is the way that you act and present yourself, to say steven and marc are personalities, or even alter egos would be inaccurate, it is not one person changing the way that they act (or changing their personality), alters in a system are different people, separate from each other, but in the same body. the term personality implies that it is one person that is consciously changing the way they act, but DID is not like that at all. the different alters can have their own personality, but they themselves are not ‘a personality’.
what can i say instead of personality?
alters is the term commonly used for the different people in systems, although there are other terms, such as headmates that some systems prefer. i personally think people should use alters when referring to steven and marc, but never personality/alter ego.
i have seen some people compare norman osborn/green goblin to steven grant and wanted to speak about that too.
norman does not have DID, i’ve tried to research and all i have found that it’s said that norman suffers from a form of schizophrenia and that the formula he created worsened that schizophrenia and brought out the green goblin. i believe the green goblin in some sort of hallucination or delusion, but i couldn’t find any canon evidence, besides a fandom wiki suggesting norman suffers from schizophrenia. schizophrenia and DID do have a lot of overlapping symptoms, so i understand the confusion, however they are both very different and should not be grouped together/compared. DID is a disorder that comes from childhood trauma, to say norman and steven experience the same thing would be incorrect. in norman’s case, the green goblin wasn’t present during his childhood, instead came around later in life, whilst what steven experiences would have been right from childhood.
trigger warnings for DID
i have seen several people put warnings for DID and frankly i see this as unnecessary and ridiculous. i personally find it incredibly dehumanising, as this disorder already has such a bad reputation due to the representation in movies such as split. there is no warning in the show for ‘mentions of DID’, the only mention of DID the show has is in the description of the show. no one that is ‘triggered’ by DID (which they shouldn’t be) would be watching the show, let alone be reading fanfiction about the show. stop putting warnings for DID on your fanfictions. it’s unnecessary and hurtful.
some extra information to help your writing
in a system, alters can have different views on people, not every single alter is going to like the same people, so keep that in mind. if there are people shipping marc and steven (although i do not ship it myself), it is not selfcest or incest at all! alters in a system can have romantic, platonic or familial relationships and it is not selfcest/incest.
my dms are open to questions, along with the comments. feel free to ask any questions and i will try my best to answer them :)
No se quién seas, pero te agradezco por haberte tomado la molestia y tiempo de haber escrito esto...
(I don't know who you are, but I thank you for taking the trouble and time to write this.../Não sei quem você é, mas agradeço por se dar ao trabalho e tempo para escrever isso...)
Hi, I just saw your post on DID and I wanted to say thanks for sharing that info, and wondered if you would mind answering another question. I see people who have DID or those who talk about DID use the word "system(s)". Do you mind explaining that concept/terminology? I have tried to look it up but I was hoping to understand why that word is used and what the context is for using that when talking about DID. Thanks!
ty for the question! the term system is just what people use to refer to the alters as a collective, like a DID/OSDD system just means the alters as a group. so when someone is saying “my system” they are just talking about their alters as a whole!
hello! i am diagnosed with DID and have noticed a little bit of a trend with some fanfic writers, so i wanted to address it just to help people that are not educated about the disorder.
* i do also have schizophrenia and thought i should mention that for the section about the green goblin.
why is ‘personality’ not okay to use when referring to steven, or marc?
the only thing people tend to know about DID is what it was previously known as (multiple personality disorder) this term has since been changed, due to the inaccuracy that the term ‘personality’ has in relation to the disorder. personality is the way that you act and present yourself, to say steven and marc are personalities, or even alter egos would be inaccurate, it is not one person changing the way that they act (or changing their personality), alters in a system are different people, separate from each other, but in the same body. the term personality implies that it is one person that is consciously changing the way they act, but DID is not like that at all. the different alters can have their own personality, but they themselves are not ‘a personality’.
what can i say instead of personality?
alters is the term commonly used for the different people in systems, although there are other terms, such as headmates that some systems prefer. i personally think people should use alters when referring to steven and marc, but never personality/alter ego.
i have seen some people compare norman osborn/green goblin to steven grant and wanted to speak about that too.
norman does not have DID, i’ve tried to research and all i have found that it’s said that norman suffers from a form of schizophrenia and that the formula he created worsened that schizophrenia and brought out the green goblin. i believe the green goblin in some sort of hallucination or delusion, but i couldn’t find any canon evidence, besides a fandom wiki suggesting norman suffers from schizophrenia. schizophrenia and DID do have a lot of overlapping symptoms, so i understand the confusion, however they are both very different and should not be grouped together/compared. DID is a disorder that comes from childhood trauma, to say norman and steven experience the same thing would be incorrect. in norman’s case, the green goblin wasn’t present during his childhood, instead came around later in life, whilst what steven experiences would have been right from childhood.
trigger warnings for DID
i have seen several people put warnings for DID and frankly i see this as unnecessary and ridiculous. i personally find it incredibly dehumanising, as this disorder already has such a bad reputation due to the representation in movies such as split. there is no warning in the show for ‘mentions of DID’, the only mention of DID the show has is in the description of the show. no one that is ‘triggered’ by DID (which they shouldn’t be) would be watching the show, let alone be reading fanfiction about the show. stop putting warnings for DID on your fanfictions. it’s unnecessary and hurtful.
some extra information to help your writing
in a system, alters can have different views on people, not every single alter is going to like the same people, so keep that in mind. if there are people shipping marc and steven (although i do not ship it myself), it is not selfcest or incest at all! alters in a system can have romantic, platonic or familial relationships and it is not selfcest/incest.
my dms are open to questions, along with the comments. feel free to ask any questions and i will try my best to answer them :)
As someone who also has DID I completely agree with this and I also want to add an important thing that I keep seeing pop up on my dashboard, timeline, and even in fanfics:
(I'm gonna ramble a little bit, so everything will be under the cut, but please read)
Separating the alters from the body is not the Smart move you think it is. While there are people with DID who might want themselves (the host) and their alters to have different bodies, this doesn't apply for everyone and if you don't have DID maybe it's better to not write it altogether. It can come off as offensive, can be interpreted that you feel like DID is not a valid enough disorder or it's too bothersome to write, research and talk about. It can feel invalidating to the trauma too. MK's alters are not gateways to different dimensions, they're not better off in a different body, their existence has a purpose and it is tied directly to the body.
People with DID experience tons of body dysmorphia, I know my alters and I struggle with it every single day, we sometimes even get into arguments over it, but to an extent we belong to each other. I need them, they need me, we're all so tightly connected, separating us feels... awful. All of us would love to look how we look like in our inner world, but this body is important to us, it's what we want to protect, in the many different ways that we protect it.
Separating a body from its alter is like saying this body is better off without it which doesn't sound nice, does it? Imagine someone looking you in the eye and saying that your body shouldn't belong to you, that you should belong somewhere else, or that you're just an interdimensional tool, or that one of your alters matters more than the rest. Maybe those aren't your intentions, but that's what it comes off as.
Do we wish to not have DID? Yeah, sometimes, I think all of us when we're really struggling with to not have our struggles, but that is in our power and our decision. Which is why I say if you don't have DID, maybe it's better if you avoid this.
If you do have DID, I mean go off! Process that trauma, vent your feelings, have fun with it because it's yours. You own yourself and your body and your mind and if that's what you want to write, go for it.
People with DID already deal with enough prejudice so if you don't have DID, don't add to it.
hello! i am diagnosed with DID and have noticed a little bit of a trend with some fanfic writers, so i wanted to address it just to help people that are not educated about the disorder.
* i do also have schizophrenia and thought i should mention that for the section about the green goblin.
why is ‘personality’ not okay to use when referring to steven, or marc?
the only thing people tend to know about DID is what it was previously known as (multiple personality disorder) this term has since been changed, due to the inaccuracy that the term ‘personality’ has in relation to the disorder. personality is the way that you act and present yourself, to say steven and marc are personalities, or even alter egos would be inaccurate, it is not one person changing the way that they act (or changing their personality), alters in a system are different people, separate from each other, but in the same body. the term personality implies that it is one person that is consciously changing the way they act, but DID is not like that at all. the different alters can have their own personality, but they themselves are not ‘a personality’.
what can i say instead of personality?
alters is the term commonly used for the different people in systems, although there are other terms, such as headmates that some systems prefer. i personally think people should use alters when referring to steven and marc, but never personality/alter ego.
i have seen some people compare norman osborn/green goblin to steven grant and wanted to speak about that too.
norman does not have DID, i’ve tried to research and all i have found that it’s said that norman suffers from a form of schizophrenia and that the formula he created worsened that schizophrenia and brought out the green goblin. i believe the green goblin in some sort of hallucination or delusion, but i couldn’t find any canon evidence, besides a fandom wiki suggesting norman suffers from schizophrenia. schizophrenia and DID do have a lot of overlapping symptoms, so i understand the confusion, however they are both very different and should not be grouped together/compared. DID is a disorder that comes from childhood trauma, to say norman and steven experience the same thing would be incorrect. in norman’s case, the green goblin wasn’t present during his childhood, instead came around later in life, whilst what steven experiences would have been right from childhood.
trigger warnings for DID
i have seen several people put warnings for DID and frankly i see this as unnecessary and ridiculous. i personally find it incredibly dehumanising, as this disorder already has such a bad reputation due to the representation in movies such as split. there is no warning in the show for ‘mentions of DID’, the only mention of DID the show has is in the description of the show. no one that is ‘triggered’ by DID (which they shouldn’t be) would be watching the show, let alone be reading fanfiction about the show. stop putting warnings for DID on your fanfictions. it’s unnecessary and hurtful.
some extra information to help your writing
in a system, alters can have different views on people, not every single alter is going to like the same people, so keep that in mind. if there are people shipping marc and steven (although i do not ship it myself), it is not selfcest or incest at all! alters in a system can have romantic, platonic or familial relationships and it is not selfcest/incest.
my dms are open to questions, along with the comments. feel free to ask any questions and i will try my best to answer them :)
nono that’s not a silly question!! ty for asking, some alters are more aware of the other alters than some, but it really does vary! alters can like and dislike other alters ofc ^_^ some of the alters in my system aren’t fond of each other so it’s more of a coexisting situation :’)
