#cabinsys techno

[thecabinsystem]

To writers or creative out there, great rule of thumb when writing (traumatized) systems

(Because I genuinely think a lot of people simply avoid writing protrayls of systems due to a fear of doing it wrong/stereotypical, without fulling getting what the issue is. I have a post explaining the "killer" stereotype if you are wondering what I mean. Also, plesse do not ask about endogenic systems, we do not discuss syscourse on this blog)

First off, keep in mind that in a system, every single alter is their own person/character. They need to be written as different characters, despite being in the same body.

Have at least 4-6 alters. Systems normally do not just consist of 2 people- but they can. This rule is mostly to avoid the "one good, one evil" trope- which can be done well if done properly.

Actually flush out what trauma caused the split in the first place. This trauma originally would be ages 4-9, but other trauma later could have caused more alters to split. The og trauma caused the disorder, later traumas are causing splits/the disorder to react to trauma.

Figure out possible reactions to this trauma (as people react differently to the same trauma, and alters do to)

Break up trauma experienced between them to account for memory differences. This is only if you're writing a system with memory/amnesia barriers, but most people who intend to write a system intend to include this. This means that the "host" very well may not remember the trauma that caused the disorder

if you want to make an alter violent make sure you have a genuine motive for what they are doing, see my post about the killer sterotype

Last but not least: do. actual. research.

Not reading people's statements on tiktok. Not reading people's statements on Tumbler. Actual clinical research. The former can both be helpful for getting the right feeling for what your making, but actual research is NEEDED if you yourself are not a system.

I do suggest (especially if this is a peice of writing that can be beta read) getting people who do have DID to read/give feedback on your work before publishing. This is even for fanfiction! I know it can feel like a pain, but if you are not willing to do research, talk to the community, and make sure you aren't spreading incredibly harmful misinformation: You should not be writing about DID or OSDD.

[thecabinsystem]

This is an odd opinion, but the serial killer stereotype is not problematic because a member of a system is willing to kill someone. It's problematic because like in most horror media discussing mental illnesses, their only violent because their dangerous and evil.

I say this because it's an important distinction.

Trauma doesn't make you soft, trauma doesn't make you kind, trauma doesn't make you trust easily, trauma doesn't make you easy to be around, trauma doesn't make you a better person, trauma doesn't help you.

You do these things for yourself, you help yourself because no one else will. One of the reasons I think the current comparison between csa survivors and war vets is disgusting, because can we not simply give being the fucking grace to tell them they've done a good job at living? That they lived? Because I'm telling rn neither of those groups will tell the other that their trauma was worse and to stfu, because they've gone through the shitshow to live through to the other end.

Trauma makes you angry, trauma makes you reactive, trauma makes you're walls go up, trauma makes you hard to be around, trauma makes you lash out, trauma causes you problems.

And people who have suffered know this, and most of them understand choosing not to work through this is just going to hurt others. People with severe trauma are not kind because of what they've been through, they are because they can empathize with other traumatized people and because of what they've overcome.

I have no issues with media depicting a system having an alter who is more then willing to cause other people extreme bodily harm. Far from it, because I am the living breathing example of an alter like this. Because traumatized children make alters who are willing to do anything to stay alive.

My issue is when people take everything I've said above and dumb it down to, "well theres a litte, the real person, and then the serial killer." That is problematic because it ignores what's happening and what's happened to this person, it's problematic because it removes all setting and connotation (I'm not going to go around stabbing people for no reason, that's insane), it's problematic because it dumbs down the mental impacts of extreme abuse.

I have no issues with having a portrayal of a system full of assholes who can be violent and kinda suck as people. That's how my system works, that how most people who are deeply traumatized work. That's not a dumbed down, rude version of system, that's just how shit happens when you don't work on yourself, when you don't try to get better.

I have issues with turning a traumatic disorder into a hyper characterized plot device. Where one alter suffers... not at all from any kind of trauma, one is just a child, and then the last is just evil and murder-y for no reason.

My issue isn't that someone is portraying an alter of a system as violent or morally bad, my issue is that the portrayal removes the needed context that they are doing this to avoid the severe trauma happening again. That what morals they are acting on were acted on for a reason, not simply for fun.

[thecabinsystem]

Headmate Differences

So, I felt like making I post about the differences between our headmates in body, because most of the discussions around the topic are people saying that they're completely different/factually incorrect information or that there's not difference at all.

(This is mostly because we are currently dealing with the wonderful world of endometriosis menstrual shit)

It's important when discussing physical/body differences between headmates to preface the fact that we all still share a body and brain. Meaning, nothing can physically/genetically change just because we've switched.

For example: We have chronic stomach issues. Those happen regardless of who's fronting.

We also have ADHD, and due to it being a mental disorder things get a bit more complicated. We all have ADHD, and have enough symptoms of the disorder each that we could be diagnosed if we were each a singlet. These symptoms are not consistent across the system though.

Sam has more of the afab leaning symptoms of ADHD, and Neil has the stereotypical cut and dry amab symptoms. Wilbur has the most severe rsd, and personality related symptoms. Scar barley experiences any sensitivity to rejection and self regulates really well.

These are not the only alters with these symptoms, but the symptoms do change based on whos fronting. We still all have ADHD, if just looks different for each of us. (Which is also really interesting and if anyone has any research papers they've found of the topic we would love to read them. It's hard been hard to find ones about the actual functions of DID/OSDD beyond the formation of alters, so it would be much appreciated)

This example of mental differences pretty much carries over for everything else. The body (as a human) can do every single thing we combined can do. That does not mean Wil can do what I can and vice versa. (i.e. Wil cannot draw, Neil can draw incredibly well)

This extends not only to basic muscle memory for things like drawing or doing math (which are highly memory based) or just to physical sensations like pain tolerance (which is mainly mental thought processes and is effected by dissociation) but also to just basic physical things. Hiking is a great example of this.

I am very good at hiking, I've fronted almost every time we've done it. Sam and Neil are also very good at it.

Wil sucks at hiking. He gets winded fast, gets tired quicker, and just generally almost falls down hills a lot more.

This is due to muscle memory and skill. Despite what people may say, exercising (in ways like hiking, running, lifting, swimming, etc) does require some amount of skill. This is why (among a lot of other stuff) people who used to do this type of exercise can come back to it extremely out of shape and do far better then someone starting at that same point. It's like drawing, just for your legs.

That's were most of our physical differences come in.

If you got me and Wil to both run for a minute, I would get far father and be less exhausted, because I know how to breath properly, the right form, and how fast to actually go not to just wear myself out. Wil doesn't. I also have a higher pain and discomfort tolerance, which likely helps.

In that same way, Wil could swim father then any of us and can hold his breath almost twice as long.

We are by no means by any stretch of the imagination an athlete in body. These are just regular person ability to do things. We aren't superhuman at, it's based around our abilities, which are tied to our memories.

Different alters have different capabilities, because different people have different ideas of whats important to learn and remember while in the flesh suit. That's why there are differences, but there no where near what some people like to claim they are.