Hello! We're the Ironwood Collective. You can call us Talon; that's our collective name. If you're reading this, you've stumbled across our Tumblr. This is a sort of journal for the whole system. We consist of over a dozen active sysmates across the main system and two subsystems.
Important things to know:
You can find our BYF (and our hoard of userboxes) at the bottom of this post.
No DNI list, as they're useless. Our only DNI is if we're on your DNI. (Don't break your own DNI to interact with us.)
We are bodily an adult and most of the sysmates are adults. Those who are not are unlikely to post often.
We are a medically recognized CDD system.
We're queer. Very. We exude rainbows. Collectively, we identify as genderfluid and abrosexual, as our individual identities are all over the place.
We are a spoonie. The body has issues. We suffer from chronic pain. We're probably going to end up talking about it, as low spoon days affect us all.
Please do feel free to interact with us! The sysmates like a chance to be social.
Please use the terms headmates, alters, or sysmates to refer to us. We are not comfortable with parts language.
If you want to get to know the individual sysmates better, most of us have sideblogs we only share with one or two other sysmates.
We use several terms we've created to refer to our sysmates, their roles, and their origins. If you want to see terms we've coined**, check out our tag #the-coining-clearing.
**As a note: All of our terms are and have always been inclusive of all who are more than one.
We tend to tag scroll and may comment on or reply to posts from people we aren't following. Usually we check to make sure we aren't on your DNI, but not always. That's especially true if we're scrolling inclusive tags such as #pluralgang.
We try to tag consistently, but not all of us are very good at it.
We will identify who's writing each post, if applicable, using the emojis in the introductions below. Our individual emojis might be followed by the system's emoji and/or a subsystem emoji (if applicable).
We made intro userboxes for each of us, but due to image limits we couldn't add them to this post without deleting things. You can find those here.
Our new year's resolution was to read more books this year. We're keeping a list of what we've finished here.
We're a quiogenic adaptive system. Our system is named after a type of tree and also our innerworld. We are collectively genderfluid, depending upon who is fronting, and colectively use they/them pronouns.
This is the system's blog, but our collective alterhuman blog - as all of our members are in some way alterhuman - can be found here.
š„ Firewood - Subsystem:
Firewood is a fascinagenic subsystem whose current host is šŖ. This subsystem originally formed due to its original host (š - a now dormant alter) being the system's hyperfixation holder. Their collective pronouns are he/him. **At this time, šŖ is the only non-dormant member of this subsystem, essentially making him an empty system.
Firewood's sideblog can be found here.
š Hell's Belles - Subsystem:
Hell's Belles is a precurgenic subsystem. The subsystem consists of two fictives and an estoritive all from the same series. Unlike Firewood, in which one sysmate developed a subsystem after taking on a role within the greater system, Hell's Belles formed initially as a subsystem with all current members already present. We did not catch this until several weeks later. Hell's Belles' collective pronouns are she/her.
Hell's Belles does not yet have a subsystem blog, but their sysmates are on other sideblogs.
Sysmates:
šµ - the Host:
šµ is an entomate and the host of the system. Xe is... complicated and has several different appearances in headspace. Xe is also genderqueer and uses xe/xir pronouns.
Xir sideblog can be found here.
š„- the Guardian:
š„ is a fictish and is the guardian of the system. She is physically human but otherwise a wolf. She also uses she/her pronouns. š„ and šŗ are dualimates and siblings.
Her sideblog is not ready.
šŗ - the Caretaker:
šŗ is a fictish who handles the system's physical and emotional needs. He is a Royal wolf. He also uses he/him pronouns. šŗ and š„ are dualimates and siblings.
His sideblog is not ready.
š - the Gatekeeper:
š is a fictive and juggles many roles within the system, including being the second host. He is a spider demon, genderfluid, and uses he/she/they pronouns.
His sideblog can be found here.
šŖ - the Showman:
šŖ is a fictive and host of the Firewood subsystem*. He tends to be the comedian of the subsystem and the one who reminds us all to just live in the moment. He is a deer demon, a cisgender man, and uses he/him pronouns. (*The rest of this subsystem is dormant, making šŖ more or less an empty system.)
His sideblog can be found here.
āļø - the Limit Breaker:
āļø is a fictive and handles things that would induce a panic attack if any of the others did them. Ey is human(ish). Ey is also enby and uses ey/em or she/he/they pronouns.
Eir sideblog can be found here.
š - the Migraine Fronter:
š is an entomate who handles migraines and other forms of chronic pain. He is a harpy and uses he/him pronouns, but won't get upset if you use other pronouns for him in a non-malicious way. š is āļø's adopted father.
His sideblog can be found here.
š§· - the Archivist:
š§· is an entomate who acts as an anxiety holder and archivist. He is an anthropomorphic fox, demiboy, and uses he/they pronouns.
āļø is a fictive member of the Hell's Belles subsystem. She's an owl demon and has not yet figured out if she has a defined role, although we're now theorizing that her role is to handle our job. She is a cis woman and uses she/her pronouns. āļø is š's adopted daughter.
Her sideblog can be found here.
š¾ - [not shared]
We aren't sharing š¾'s role per its request. It is an entomate and one of the oldest alters in the system. It is our only sysmate who is completely nonverbal, including in headspace. It doesn't really care about human gender and does not identify as human. It uses it/its pronouns.
It has not expressed any interest in a sideblog.
ā ļø - the Depression Holder
ā ļø is a fictive who functions as a depression holder. He is a winged cat demon. He is a cis man and uses he/him pronouns.
He does not yet have a sideblog.
š - the Cultural Identity Holder
š is an introject with multiple sources that are more or less the same source. He's a folktive from one of the traditions we grew up with. He is a Trickster and helps with forming a coherent sense of collective identity. While he isn't necessarily a man, he does use he/him pronouns most of the time.
He does not have a sideblog at this time.
š§æ - the Hopeful
š§æ is a fictive whose role is to remain hopeful no matter the circumstances, even if he has to be bitter about it. His purpose is to keep the system hopeful. He is a (mostly) human cisgender man and uses he/him pronouns.
He does not have a sideblog at this time.
š° - the Emotional Dampener
š° is a fictive whose role is similar to a limit breaker and protector. He acts to protect the system by doing things that are necessary for the system's immediate well-being, but that are difficult for any of the other sysmates to do. He protects the system by blocking out emotion altogether. He is a(n augemented) human cisgender man and uses he/him pronouns.
He does not have a sideblog at this time.
š£ - [unknown]
is a fictive whose role is not yet known. She is a cis woman cyclopse demon and uses she/her pronouns, although she's experimenting with neos.
š¬ - [unknown]
š¦āš„ - [unknown]
*Note: Sysmates are listed in order of arrival/discovery, regardless of whether they are part of the main system or a subsystem.
We are a traumabased quiogenic DID system and are pro-endogenic/non-traumagenic systems. We are pretty much all queer in some way and a lot of us aren't cisgender. We don't really care about contradictory labels - you do you. Nearly all of us are alterhuman beyond just systemhood and we support any good-faith alterhuman identity. We follow the old internet rule of "don't like, don't read" (and don't harass). We do block very liberally as part of curating our own online environment. Our stances on most things are pretty much as follows:
No one's existence or subjective internal experience is up for debate. Not nonbinary people, not willogenic systems, not factkin, nobody. People's identities are not for others to decide.
We don't tolerate homophobia, transphobia, or queer gatekeeping. If you're here to learn, fine. But disrespect will get you blocked.
We do not tolerate anti-alterhumans, including KFF. As with the above, if you're here to learn, that's fine. But we won't tolerate harassment or disrespect.
If you have endogenic/non-traumagenic systems and systems who support ALL systems in your DNI, please follow your own DNI.
Our coined terms are inclusive of ALL those who are in any way "more than one." Do not "recoin" them for the purpose of excluding members of the plural community.
We are pro-Palestine and are anti-colonialism and anti-Zionism. However, we also will not tolerate antisemitism.
We support BLM and are anti-cop/blue lives matter/all lives matter.
We are pro-immigrant, pro-Indigenous rights, and support Land Back initiatives.
We support the recovery of those who are non-contact for harmful and non-consensual paraphilias and do not want to hurt anyone. As long as you're non-contact for anything harmful/non-consensual, you are welcome on our blog.
We are anti-censorship and anti-harassment. Thought crimes aren't real, just leave people alone. We're very uncomfortable with this whole "call out culture," as well, as it leads to witch hunts.
Basically repeating the previous point, but we are pro-ship and pro-fic as in we follow the old fandom rules of "ship and let ship" and "don't like, don't read[, don't harass]." (Pro means "for," not "problematic.") The push to sterilize fandom spaces IS censorship and supports a right-wing agenda to push queer people out of any and all public spaces. (If you don't understand how that impacts queer people specifically, ask us [politely] and we'll gladly explain.)
If it's framed as "But think of the children!" and involves anything other than working to ensure food security, improving and expanding access to healthcare, education, and safe housing, and ending violence (of ALL kinds) that impacts the lives of children, it's likely a fascist talking point and should be examined with a great deal of scrutiny.
We are anti-r*dqueer and all affiliated labels, due to that community's stance regarding non-consensual paraphilias and their treatment of various disorders, but support people trying to leave the r*dqueer community.
Notes on the previous point: Transspecies is not a r*dqueer term, it's been in use since at least the '90s and comes from the therian community. Transracial is also not a r*dqueer term, it's older than the r*dqueer ideology and belongs to transracial adoptees - those adopted into families of a race other than their own. We support these terms in their ORIGINAL usage only.
This probably goes without saying at this point in the list, but we don't tolerate discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or religion. That shit gets you blocked.
That said, we will block any blog that is in-your-face Christian and may occasionally post things that are highly critical of Christianity. We do have trauma resultant from Christian bigotry. Anything we post related to Christianity will be trigger tagged.
Proselytizing will get you blocked. Just don't. We aren't interested in joining your religion.
We will block blogs that center on self-harm or eating disorders for the sake of our mental health, but would appreciate if these blogs not interact in the first place.
Minors, please don't follow or DM. You're fine to reblog, comment, like, and send asks, but if your blog description or pinned post does not list that you are 18+, we would prefer to keep direct contact to a minimum for our own comfort. We are bodily an adult and do sometimes post things that are not appropriate for minors.
**About our terms:
As stated above, all of our terms are inclusive of all those who are more than one. Any person who is more than one can use them, regardless of system origin or syscourse stance. If, however, you find those who gatekeep "recoining" or "reclaiming" them, please let us know. "Reclaim," as it is used in this context, is defined as "to regain possession of" or "to demand or obtain the return of." It is frequently used in reference to words that have historically been used as slurs, such as "queer." One cannot "reclaim" something that never belonged to them and was never used against them.
This is a short post covering an update on our endogenic research document
Medical & Non-Medical (Endogenic) System Sources By Guardians System, a diagnosed traumagenic DID system with PTSD and CPTSD Youāre welcome
"This is a notice: This document was made and written without the use of anything related to generative AI. We are an artist and an anarchist. We donāt support the use of generative AI, nor do we consent to our document being fed to any AI model. This includes being re-uploaded to AI-heavy websites such as Scribd. This document and the posts on our linked accounts are the only official versions of this list. Weāre aware Google, including Google Documents, trains their AI models on content uploaded to their servers. Weāre searching for an alternative host to this document. Unfortunately, most free available alternatives are regarded as inherently fake or falsified."
(^the wording may be subject to change because our system can't agree on anything, but you get the idea /lh )
We've been working on a few similar things, e.g. something covering the "debunk" claim that keeps going around about our document, and other stuff more interesting than that, lol. We are however dealing with some IRL medical issues :) So everything's going to be a bit slow!
As always, if someone has recommendations or suggestions or questions about our document, feel free to let us know through DMs, anon asks, etc.
You are responsible for curating your own online experience.
If something upsets you, makes you angry or queasy or triggers you, stop reading/looking at it. Avoid things that might make you feel that way.
Learn to use the Sort and Filter function on AO3, especially the Exclude tools.
On social media, block and mute accounts / tags / words when necessary.
If you hated something, you donāt need to tell that to the creator or start pointing fingers at them publicly.
The Back button is free. Use it.
Addendum:
Yes, for this to work, creators need to tag their works accordingly, so that people know what sort of content they are about to engage with and can nope out if necessary.
I will probably make another PSA about the importance of proper tagging later.
Ship And Let Ship
or SALS
You are allowed to ship whatever you want.
Everyone else is also allowed to ship whatever they want.
You are entitled to dislike or even hate a ship. If you want to do this online, in public, donāt use the ship tags for hate posts.
If you see someone posting about a ship they like and you donāt, there is no need for you to start arguing with them in their replies / comments / QRTs / reblogs. Donāt throw your hate in their face.
Do not harass fan creators or fans for shipping something you disapprove.
All of this also applies to liking / disliking an individual character.
Addendum:
āI agree with this, except whenā¦ā
No, then you are NOT agreeing with this.
Let me make this VERY clear. There are NO exceptions. None.
You donāt EVER harass real people over pixels.
If you disagree with this, kindly block and move on.
Your Kink Is Not My Kink
orĀ YKINMK / YKINMKATO
The longer version is āYour Kink Is Not My Kink And Thatās Okayā.
People have different tastes. Not everything is for everybody.
Even if you donāt like a specific kink, other people are still allowed to use it in their creations.
You are entitled to dislike kinky content and think that itās āweirdā.
Donāt kink shame or judge people based on their kinks.
This goes both ways: your kink is not someone elseās kink, so donāt push it onto those who are not into it.
Be Kind
or Donāt Be An Asshole
Focus on the things you like instead of the things you hate.
Create and unite instead of destroying and dividing.
Donāt harass real people over fictional things.
Stop stirring up petty drama just to get some attention on social media.
Stop trying to āwinā. Fandom is not a competition.
Remember that your own experiences arenāt universally shared. Your perception of things can differ from someone elseās, but that doesnāt mean either of you is necessarily wrong.
Small reminder that DID is often a covert disorder and overt DID is actually pretty rare. A person could go their whole life without knowing they have DID because that's the point. You do not need to know who you are all the time or who's fronting or need to feel like you're a faker because you act the same pretty much all the time. You do not need to act drastically different between your headmates to be valid.
Itās so fucking embarrassing to answer the question āhow are you doing?ā As a chronically ill person.
Like, Iām doing Bad.
Do you want to hear about it or is this just pleasantries? Should I tell you the truth so you know what to expect or just pretend until itās a problem?
I feel like such an attention whore if I say Iām not doing okay when I can still technically function. I feel like other people are annoyed that it downs the vibe when Iām just being honest.
I hate repeating myself, too. Iām always repeating myself.
some people like to offer help with labels and frameworks - this is even core of some origin-based discourse arguments in particular , that anyone who label plurality as not based in trauma simply do not remember . of course there is truth behind idea that first label is not necessarily correct label , and sometimes might need pointers to grasp full range of possibilities . but , this can be incredibly easy to overstep and do more harm than good .
if member of friend's collective talk about personal memories of sourceworld / homeworld , unaware of possibility that this could reflect collective trauma , in some cases fair to bring this up . but if friend reject this idea , then any attempts to push as part of collective trauma will likely hurt immensely .Ā
in one outcome , might be right , and now force collective to confront something that did not have means to be ready for . in another outcome , might be completely wrong , and now everyone feel less safe to discuss personal lives and experiences . in yet another outcome , might lead to exploration of entirely false traumas , destabilise sense of reality , and throw even genuine memories into question . none of this is favour .Ā
this go in all directions . if member of friend's collective talk about homesickness for fictional place , then hard push towards spirit travel could result in genuine danger - whether through destabilise sense of reality , or attempts to explore metaphysicality without necessary precautions .Ā even if spirit travel would be viable and helpful tool , forceful introduction rightfully turn away .
know how to introduce possibilities for those who might need help to understand , but also take responsibility to step back and stop . even if absolutely and entirely right about change of framework , which is not always outcome , will often severely damage relationship - and even willingness to explore at all - if try to push exploration .Ā
leave openness to explore , to be wrong , and to adjust approach wherever necessary . do not treat other people as puzzle which need solve .
I completely agree with the collective trauma part. I think people tend to become so overly focused on knowing the "truth" and correcting others that they forget that sometimes it's a useless or even harmful endeavor.
Denial and metaphorical thinking (eg. in the way the memories of our fictives mirror real trauma our body experienced) can genuinely be useful tools for coping. And when people pry too much or say things like "Oh, you do this thing because of that other thing that happened to you in the past, I've figured you out" it gets really uncomfortable really quickly.
That's not to say that all denial all the time is good, but it bears acknowledging that nobody has the energy to have a breakdown every day. You need to work, eat and rest, which is very difficult if you're constantly anxious or triggered. Being pushy about someone else's denial or memory barriers is a very very bad thing to do.
The false memory thing is a very real concern, too. In our experience, our brain would just rather invent an equivalent trauma from whole cloth rather than face the real thing head-on.
If you're at all serious about the cat thing, we'd love to see one with a cat who looks prepared to be an unholy terror (you know, the look immediately preceding zoomies) and the text "The coffee was a bad idea." No pressure at all, and if you don't want to that's absolutely fine. It's not gonna disappoint or upset us at all. Y'all just said something about funny cat requests and this was the first thing that popped into our head. And we were amused, so we thought we'd send it in. Take care! š
Haha starting with the cat :]
I will always always take silly requests like this!
question, would someone who uses nonharmful transids and/or transid alternatives (and is not radqueer) and doesn't post about it be allowed to join the mixed origin CDD community?
I'd answer this privately, since it doesn't pertain to my blog, but it's anon. Short answer: yes. Long answer: transID alternatives are fine. The issue with transIDs is primarily their inextricable connectionwith the radqueer community, which condone real life abuse of actual children, animals, and other vulnerable groups. TransIDs themselves can obviously be harmful, but also many of them are unnecessary and serve more to tell you about the user's connection with the radqueer community than what the actual word is meant to mean. Alternatives don't have that connection. And if you don't post about it anyway, I don't really have any way of knowing.
your hobbies are worth doing, regardless of the skill of which you can execute them. if you are having fun, enjoying yourself, or whatever else, that is what matters. no one has to be technically skilled to be worthy of doing a hobby that they like, of any sort of passion that you have.
if a mobility aid is helpful for you to use, then you are absolutely deserving of being able to have it and use it. more demand means more supply, making it so that you getting your mobility aid will help to make mobility aids more accessible to those who also need it. your measurement of your disability in comparison to others your see will never negate the fact that if a mobility aid does help you, then you are inherently disabled enough to need it. please treat yourself with some dignity and get the help you need, if you can get it and want it. you are deserving to help, even if you don't think you have suffered enough to deserve help.
Systematically Dysfunctional @ironwoodcollective - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
