WHAT DO WE WANT?

It’s the thumb post y’all.

I’m opening ‘50 Shades of Grey’ to a random page and posting what I find. Part nine.

Christian Grey put his thumb in my mouth. And then the other one. And then two more. "Wider,“ he said as he put in one more. "I bet you’ve never had this many thumbs in your mouth.” I hadn’t.

What is switching technique? In your last post you said switches cannot be controlled but that some therapists might asked the client to switch to see how well their alters work together. I just wanted to understand this a bit more and know how have more controlled switching.

Hello, this is an excellent question!

The technique stems from the therapeutic idea that dissociation is a defensive mechanism. Mastering a defensive mechanism requires skill and practice to be effective, so dissociation between switches should be seen as a skill that needs understanding and control.

Another aim was to counter the misconception, held even by therapists, that switching between parts implies a problem or a regression in recovery, which is simply false. 

This therapy aims not to shut down switching between parts, but to open it up in a way that will be productive and useful to the lives of the system. The system can swap between parts, enabling a chosen process of switching to meet daily demands and reduce distress without a trauma trigger. 

I will use an example to explain when this technique might be useful.

If someone knows that doing a task, like taking a shower, will cause distress, they may feel anxious and dread the task beforehand. The first step would be for that part to acknowledge that the position they are currently in is not good for them but is also nontraumatic because the shower has yet to start.

A good understanding of the system is crucial, as the current fronter must know which part is most suitable for a task and have enough ability to handle it. You would not want to accidentally bring a part that is triggered by water, especially the thought of water, as then it turns this moment of anxiousness into a traumatic moment.

The key to making this technique work is having strong communication skills, allowing you to connect with the right part and for them to listen and respond actively. There also needs to be a willingness to collaborate, there needs to be productive communication,  as well as a boundary that it is okay to call on that part when needed. It may also be good to have an established time or task that, once completed, the original fronter will return.

However, it is recommended that trying to switch intentionally should be practiced in a calm and safe area. It should be practiced when it is not needed, which is why therapy is often suggested as ideally, it is a trusted space, if you try to practice this technique during the example I gave and it does not work it can cause more distress and will not help you learn quicker.

As a general thought, we say that systems do not have control over their switches because even if they have practiced the switching technique, in the process of learning you must accept that it might not work even if a lot of effort was put into it and that's okay and to not worry much about it. 

Learning to master a skill also allows more control to be given back to the system as switching can feel quite chaotic for people with DID. It can make switching less scary for an individual if there is more control over it but also it means there is more control to block switches if they are not useful.

Since you mentioned wanting more controlled switching, Increase communication and knowledge of the other parts of your system.

From our personal experience we find talking out loud to each other is an easier way for the other part to hear us and then respond internally, it creates this loop and a more natural back-and-forth conversation. However, external communication such as a diary is also good and can mean boundaries are clearly established. 

Suppose it is about the first building of relationships or establishing a more long-term communication for the first time. The technique we found the most successful was to ask in the case they did not have to do the role they have and if all the threats went away and they no longer needed to do what they have to right now, what would they like to do? Showing interest helps build trust and allows for a deeper connection through a task, even if the task is something like sitting out in the garden more.

Our sources helped us accurately answer this question along with our own knowledge:

When 'swapping' between parts in DID / OSDD can be helpful

Switching Between Parts - why this can be helpful in DID and OSDD

Link to Post talked about in the ask.

Since that’s just my Tuesday, I feel the exact same.

this book is so clearly designed for people who have not experienced a decade plus of high dosage uninterrupted tumblr poisoning because to me this whole section reads somewhat like “enjoyers of food and beverages may be surprised to hear about ‘bread’ and ‘water’”

Greetings, fellow explorers!

Welcome to Echoes of the Multiverse.

Here, you will embark on a journey of discovery through the intricate landscapes of the human brain and its functions. Our mission is to unravel the mysteries of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and elements of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), while also exploring a little of the depths of astrophysics and quantum mechanics as a way to show you all how we like to understand our conditions.  

What we aim to achieve:

Our goal is to inform others about these conditions, including their diagnosis, and treatment. And share tips for others living with these conditions and help empower our community. We will also share personal stories about our experiences with these conditions.

What kinds of posts will you make?

All posts will be labelled clearly with trigger warnings at the top and bottom of all posts and indicate their type (educational, personal etc..) It is important to note that our information on treatment and diagnosis will be based on the NHS system, as it is the most accurate and reliable source that we can research from. We will be using the ICD 11 because the ICD is the only assessment manual that officially applies in the NHS in England and is written by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Educational posts:

These articles will cover topics such as symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, therapy settings, and the latest research developments. These posts will be separate and we will provide links to the following pages on the same topic.

All our information for these posts will come from research papers and official medical websites. These sources will be linked on the blog itself and or mentioned where others can find it.  

We do not want endogenic systems or supporters to interact with our page because this is a scientific blog and we do not believe in endogenic DID.

Personal Stories and Experiences: 

Our personal stories will serve as a reminder that those with these conditions are not alone and provide insight into the daily struggles and overlooked aspects of living with them. We may also incorporate physics concepts into our posts, as it has been a helpful tool for us in accepting our conditions. We encourage our readers to find their own interests and use them as a means of coping and understanding. 

When it comes to POTS, we will only be sharing personal experience from confirmed elements of the condition as we are still in the process of being diagnosed so we will not share experiences as being of POTS specifically but of orthostatic intolerances and tachycardia.

Answering questions: 

These posts can be either personal stories or educational posts. These posts will aim to answer questions we have received on our blog, asked in real life or have seen asked on the internet, and we would like to give our response to them. We hope this will help in raising awareness but also advocate for greater understanding, support or inspire others to research and maybe even contribute to the field themselves too.

Tips and Strategies: 

These posts can be either personal or educational. We will aim to provide useful advice that could potentially help others struggling with these conditions cope with life better. We will also advise those seeking how to help someone close to them with this. However, it is important to note that our advice is general and it is always best to directly ask the person what would help them. Using our advice might be a good starting place in suggestions for those conversations. 

Spotlights for others:

We want this space to also be open for others to share their personal experiences. These can be written to us in asks. 

 We ask that these submissions include trigger warnings and specify which category they would fit into, and we will do our best to keep everything organised and easily accessible on our page. If it does not fit into a specific category that is okay we will do our best to organise it. This means anonymous pages are open.

Thank you for joining us on this journey. Your presence here brings a new voice and unique experience to our page, and we welcome you to be a part of our community as we strive towards understanding, acceptance and growth in our healing on the way to thriving.

We hope you enjoy your journey around the multiverse here. Whether you are here to just listen out to the echoes and learn more or are here to explore echoes of your own you are a cherished explorer here. 

Me with literally anything.

omg… paaleeaassse

(emphasis on the please)

continue the story about superhero kidnapping hero i loved it

(I’m so sorry to the anon who requested the original and then the continuation I accidentally deleted your ask when I tried to answer it just now ksjdkdjfkd)

I’m going to be honest, I had no motivation to continue this until chocolate was involved heh

Prev.

Cw: kidnapping, drugging, restraints, starvation, refusal to eat, mentioned needles, blood, bruises, uhh idk what else to put here I feel like I’m missing stuff

Hot tears pricked the corners of Hero’s eyes as they squirmed and shrank back in their seat. The shackles around their wrists clanked loudly, each little twist causing the metal links to pinch against their skin.

Across the table from them, Superhero let out a long sigh. Dark circles were prominent under their bloodshot eyes, their hair uncombed and clothes wrinkled. The plate that sat in front of them was barely picked at, only a few peas missing from the small mountain which they had served themself. It was clear that they were tired, deeply exhausted as they tried to manage both their heroic duties and the defiance of their captive.

“Would you cut that out?!” Superhero finally snapped, slamming their fist down against the table and causing all the silverware to rattle.

Hero’s breath caught, their eyes going wide before narrowing with spite. They glared right back into Superhero’s eyes, their jaw clenching as they gave another violent tug against the chains.

With a grunt of anger, Superhero shoved back from the table, their chair toppling in their haste to rise. Hero barely had time to panic before Superhero was before them, their strong grip wrapping around Hero’s jaw and wrenching their head up to meet their eyes.

“I’m sick of your little antics,” They growled, nails biting into hero’s skin as they leaned in close. “I have been nothing but kind to you. I’ve given you a home, I have given you food and a place safe from this goddamned city.”

Hero couldn’t help but whimper as Superhero shoved their face next to theirs, so close Hero could feel the heat of their breath against their cheek as they tried to turn away.

“I have made sure nothing and no one will ever hurt you again, and this is how you repay me?!” Superhero spat. “I have tried everything, Hero. I gave you space. I gave you choices. But no, that’s not good enough for stuck up little Hero.”

They flinched back, squeezing their eyes shut as Superhero’s other hand wrapped around their wrist, biting back a cry as the shackles began to cut into their skin.

“I don’t know what to do anymore, I don’t fucking know!” Superhero yelled, an unfamiliar emotion glistening behind their eyes as they dragged Hero up out of their seat. “I never wanted to hurt you, Hero! I could never hurt you! But shit, you-”

Superhero cut themself off, drawing in a slow breath through their nose.

A moment later, they reopened their eyes and looked down at the terrified face of Hero, whom they still held in a tight grip.

“You know what, I think a night in the basement will do you well.”

Hero’s jaw fell slack as Superhero let go of their face, left to stumble along as they dragged them from the room by the wrist.

“Wait-” Hero gasped, their voice raw from disuse over the past couple weeks. “Wait Sup- Superhero don’t-”

But Superhero just ignored them as they pulled Hero up to a large steel door, digging around their pocket for a moment before producing a small metal key.

“There’s a mattress and a sink down there. You chose not to eat supper, so when you go hungry that’s on you.” Superhero’s voice was flat as they unlocked the deadbolt on the door and pulled it open.

Hero’s heart dropped as they were met with a steep, dark staircase that led into an abyss of shadows.

“Nono please-” They whimpered, eyes wide with terror as Superhero pushed them down to the first step. “Please don’t-”

“There’s a light switch down there somewhere. I’ll be back to get you in the morning.”

Without another word, Superhero slammed the door shut and clicked the lock back into place.

•••

Villain squinted as they watched Superhero slip through the door of a lavish house and draw their cape tighter around themself as the breeze pricks their skin. Through their binoculars, Villain could see the wrinkles on their uniform, smudges of dirt and reminants of the battle from the day before.

If Villain had doubts before, they were certainly sure now. Superhero never went out in a dirty uniform. Their entire personality was centered on being “neat” and “presentable”.

Villain shoved their binoculars back into their bag and stood up. They waited a few minutes for Superhero to take off into alleyways, double checking that the coast was clear before making their way down from the little perch which they spied.

It had been three weeks since Hero disappeared. As if into thin air, not a trace of their existence left behind. No media coverage, no reporters snooping and stalking.. it had been eerie. A disappearance like this would have been publishing gold. Even though Hero wasn’t the most well known, they were certainly up there. For them to not jump on the case- something was up.

At first, Villain suspected OtherVillain. The creep had always been obsessed with Hero, gushing for hours about how “beautiful their screams are” or “how gorgeous they looked covered in blood”. They were the obvious choice. But after a late night meeting in an abandoned factory, a little bit of bloodshed, and bruises that did not fade from Villain’s knuckles for weeks, Villain came to realize they were innocent.

Their next thought had been Supervillain. If anyone was able to control the publishings within the city, it was certainly them. When investigating, however, Villain had to be much more discreet than they had with OtherVillain. Supervillain had eyes and ears everywhere, and if Villain was caught snooping in their base…

They had made quick work of it. Sneaking in through a shipment of ammo, knocking out a henchman and…borrowing their uniform.

From there they just walked around for a while, pretending to be busy at work. Once they dared to ask another henchman about hero, but they had just shrugged.

“I thought Villain finished them off.”

Villain didn’t waste any more time there after that.

For almost two weeks, they spent every waking hour searching. Scanning the city from top to bottom for a mere hint at where their Hero could have gone. They found and fought every Villain to the next city over, desperate for a shred of information. There was always something missing, something they knew they were overlooking.

Until the news interview.

Superhero had had a talk show session planned out with the largest broadcasting company in the city. Thousands of eyes locked against their screens, ready for Superhero to make their appearance-

And they didn’t show.

At first Villain had thought it was stupid, stupid of them even to think that Superhero could have something to do with the disappearance. But the more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After a week of waiting, of spying from a distance, watching the change in Superhero’s appearance, they found themself finally breaking in.

The front door was surprisingly easy to kick down. A single deadbolt was all that guarded Superhero’s home, one flimsy lock between Villain and whatever was inside.

The house was clean—Not clean in a recently vacuumed and dusted way. It looked.. untouched. A fine layer of dust had settled over nearly everything, the room before them giving off a strange feeling, one that Villain couldn’t quite identify.

It almost felt like they were wandering the halls of some museum as they stepped out of the parlor and into what appeared to be the dining room. Like everything’s was preserved, tucked away from the prying eyes of the world.

The table was empty, the surface clear of all except two placemats, positioned at opposite heads of the table. On one side of the room, a large stone fireplace took up a good portion of the wall, filled with cinders and half-burned logs. On another, a window with the curtains drawn tight.

Villain stepped closer, their brows furrowing as they crouched down by one of the chair’s legs.

Scuff marks liked the floor, shallow scratches in the wood as if someone had been carelessly dragging the chair back and forth. On the armrests, odd little divots dotted the wood, speckled with-

Villain faltered, their mouth suddenly going dry.

They had enough experience im the business to know what dried blood looked like.

“Hero?” Villain called out as they stood up. The floorboards creaked under them as theirs fingers wrapped around the pistol hidden in their jacket. “Hero, are you here?”

All Villain was met with was the quiet echo of their own voice as it carried through the halls.

They let out a sigh, pushing down the unease that began to creep up their chest. Everything was fine. They had seen how Superhero and Hero interacted on the battlefield- they were friends! This was just villain being paranoid, Superhero would never do something like this to Hero…

Villain hurried out of the dining room, glancing both ways down the hallway they stepped into. They were sure Superhero had cameras, some sort of surveillance system in place to monitor their home. Even though they were on patrol, Villain wasn’t sure how long they had until Superhero got back. They had given up stealth, now all they had left to work with was speed.

“Hero, it’s me, Villain!” They yelled, choosing one direction and quickly walking, throwing open each door they passed before moving on. “I- I’m here to help you!”

Villain took a deep breath, trying to shake off their growing anxiety. Maybe Hero had run away on their own, by their own choice. Yeah- yeah that’s probably what it was. They were probably living a normal life somewhere in a little suburban town with low crime rates, happy and healthy and safe-

Villain’s heart nearly stopped as their eyes caught on a door.

The door itself was made of a strong metal, sealed shut with a padlock. They could feel a cold draft slip from the gaps near the hinges.

Oh fuck…

“Is anyone in there?!” Villain slammed their fist hard against the door, making the latch rattle. They let out a string of curses, bringing their hand up to tug at the padlock. It was much sturdier than the one that had been on the front door, undoubtedly impossible to remove without some sort of lock pick or a sledgehammer.

Villain glanced down at the pistol, still clutched tight in their left hand.

“If there’s someone in there, get away from the door,” They yelled, pulling the gun fully out of their jacket and flicking off the safety. “I’m coming in- brace yourself.”

For a moment, Villain hesitated. If the room was empty, they’d be wasting a good bullet and precious time. But who kept a door locked- sturdily locked without good reason? Even if Hero wasn’t inside, there had to be something important.

They adjusted their grip on the gun, aimed at the lock, and pulled the trigger.

•••

Villain shoved their gun back into their jacket, switching on the safety as they did so. The stench of gunpowder overtook their senses for a moment, making them cough as they ripped the broken padlock from the door and flung it aside. The handle was cold to the touch as Villain grabbed it and twisted, pushing it open.

They paused, every thought in their mind slowing to a halt as they stared down the poorly lit staircase into what seemed to be a basement below. A rush of cold air made their hair stand on end, goosebumps raising along their arms.

“Hero..?” Villain swallowed back the bile that began to creep up their throat, taking a cautious step through the doorway. Every alarm in their mind was going off, screaming at them to turn the other way. A tension filled the air, so thick Villain couldn’t breathe right as they slowly descended the stairs. They kept one hand against the pistol, ready to pull it free at any moment.

When Villain got to the bottom of the stairs, a wave of emotions crashed over them, their heart twisting. Part of them wished they had run, while another was glad they didn’t. Their minuscule reliefs was short lived, though, when they noticed the limp form strewn across the mattress wasn’t moving.

“Shit,” Villain cursed, their face going pale as they sprinted across the room and dropped to Hero’s side. Even with their back to them, Villain could recognize them anywhere. “Shit shit shit-”

Villain grabbed Hero by the shoulder, rolling them off their side and onto their back. Their heart was beating so hard they could feel it in the tips of their fingers as they looked to Hero’s face.

Villain nearly sobbed in relief as they watched Hero slowly blink open their eyes.

“Hey hero- hero it’s me,” They rushed out, stumbling over their words as they brought a hand up to cup Hero’s cheek. Their skin was cold and clammy to the touch, half-staved and sickly but they were alive. They were alive and they were here.

Villain’s joy quickly faded when they received no response. Hero’s eyes were glassy, their gaze distant as they stared ahead at the ceiling. The rise and fall of their chest was shallow, their body otherwise still.

“Hero?” Villain echoed, their chest tightening as they carefully gathered Hero in their arms. “Hero can you hear me?”

Villain waited, watching Hero’s face for so much as a twitch, but their expression remained blank. Blank and empty.

“Fuck,” Villain’s stomach twisted, disgust and hatred quickly swelling behind their eyes as they noticed the marks on the side of Hero’s neck. Dozens of needle marks and bruises littered their skin, all recent.

Villain forced the anger down, shaking their head to clear their mind as they stood up, cradling Hero’s limp form close.

“Oh Hero.. what did they do to you…”