I have an idea for a horror story/movie type thing but I’m teetering on whether it’s a good idea or another problematic viewing of this type of character/mental illness.
Imagine an old school slow build up horror where the cast is restrained to a small area, and spend a good chunk of the movie just under stress and trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not. So far not very original I know.
But I want the main character to have DID. And not in the “their alter is the big bad all along!” shit you see all the time. I mean as in despite having at least four or five characters interacting with each other, there are only ever two ACTUAL PHYSICAL characters. the alters would interact via headspace and leaving each other communal notes, struggling with the fact that there is possibly a killer/monster among them but only certain alters know certain things, and either can’t front long enough to pass on that info or they manage to but they unknowingly pass it on in a way that can be influenced by the second physical character- the big bad.
Example: Alter 1 knows the identity of the killer. When they front they both try to escape and manoeuvre the host away from the danger and leave messages- like notes or on a kitchen whiteboard. Because they’re leaving these notes out where other physical people can interact with them, the big bad simply erases the whiteboard or throws away the notes, and by the time someone else fronts the evidence is gone.
And because alters often (?) have certain roles (like the little, or the protector) certain alters struggle with certain things. Like the little trusting the killer because they say they’re friends, and they claim they’re helping the little. Or the protector being the one trying to get the fuck outta there.
I imagine it as being like… only one character can ever be in the cameras view at a single time, only ever one on screen because they’re all head mates and they can’t all front at once. However that doesn’t mean that the killer can’t be on screen and joins others on camera and that’s like… a hint on who the killer is. Or in the case of writing it (which is what I’m currently doing) when in the perspective of certain characters others can’t be interacted with, at the very least physically.
So… yeah- like a classic slow burn slasher of “who would win, the entire cast of friends piloting one meat suit or one stabby boy”.
I’ve been writing this general idea for a hot minute since seeing people with DID being hurt by the last show I admittedly didn’t watch where the main bad was a patient with DID, but I don’t know too much about actual DID despite my research (which I’ve been doing a lot of) so I haven’t gotten too far and figured I’d ask tumblr.
I'm not sure this would entirely work? I mean, logistically. If they're trapped, why bother leaving notes? What is knowing who the killer is going to do for the host, really, why does the host specifically need to know if they're switching all the time anyway? At that point, why not look for a weapon instead and keep it for when the killer finally attacks? At that point it would be clear who the killer is and whoever's in front can defend themself.
Maybe if you work with threats and power plays... Like the killer going "I won't attack you guys if you hide the fact I'm the killer", because they don't want specific alters to know, and the threatened alter doing their best to secretly convey it and failing. That could work, I think. I'm not opposed to representation where DID isn't a Villain Thing.
