#difficult topic

Could anyone, please, provide resources? Because every time I search, I find stuff from years ago. (And yes, I'm a chicken not to DM people directly).

Link to said post:

EDIT: Still very upset (as in, crying and struggling to come back to creating after everything), but it seems I found a better article to explain everything:

I don't even feel like doing 'gander anymore...😭 Didn't even manage to do anything of use here, what can I do...

I have lots of imaginary friends since age 4, they are all coming to visit and help me out through tough times. If it weren't for them I don't know how I would live with people actually not listening to me at all.

Most folks are from cartoons and I try to imitate their voices when they come to visit. My most beloved are Junior Draco (Zmey Gorynych from "Three Heroes") and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Recently, the Voices from "Slay the Princess" started visiting me, too. I taught them how to hitch-hike and it proved real helpful just yesterday when I was going crazy during a pair in a stuffy room (Skeptic took control of my hand and wrote off the script he heard from my brain, because I was about to lose it due to lack of oxygen).

I personally also help my friends out when they get upset about something. Draco and I are together because of shared trauma and MBTI correlations. We helped each other while I was in surgery for my shunt to be replaced (hydrocephalus) and while his central head was battling his PTSD triggers in second year of uni (more on that later).

They are part of my world, sure. But they're not me. I'm their friend. Am I a system?

Ever since I had logged in on Tumblr, I got flooded with information on how Long Quiet and The Shifting Mound are plural systems. I researched the matter, thinking this was a new LGBTQ term. Got assaulted (literally, to the point of a sensory overload!) with claims of different systems' profiles. It all seemed so... uncomfortable and somewhat disturbing, as if some corporation was leading one account at a time. The more I saw, the more I panicked.

To understand things, I researched how to talk to plural systems. Here's what I apparently already do:

Respect each member individually

Treat each switch like a normal occurence, like a friend came to visit.

Refer to the person in plural, since all of them are plural.

What I refuse to do just yet, because it's deeply uncomfortable:

Acknowledge they're plural unless called such

Actually use the related terminology

Speaking of terminology, my second part of exposure therapy was looking up the related terms on different types of systems and headmates on fandom.wikia and... this went down the hellhole, because HOLY SHIT THE NUMBERS!

Why are there so many of you???😭

I don't know. I just don't know what to do. It's the term "system" that causes negative connotations and lots of fear to me. Personally. I'd prefer to acknowledge each member individually or as a team ("you guys"), not "system".

What do I do about this? I don't want to hurt anyone. If you are a system, all of you are valid. I just can't use the term just yet without panicking. I may have actually started off wrong, so might need some help.

As for LQ and Shifty... it's almost like referring to genderfluid as a brand of nonbinary. You may refer to it. You may not refer to it. Absolutely your choice. And I've made mine:

LQ and Shifty: gods with multiple representations (median or endo to you)) not to me) Teams of friends, lovers and roommates.

Draco: traumagenic plural dude))

The Book Thief ~ Markus Zusak

Reading Challenge: Book About a Difficult Topic (Length of time in my fishbowl: ~3 years)

DNF at 24%.

I was genuinely excited to read this book. I had heard a lot of good things about it and it has been on my TBR list longer than it’s been in my fishbowl. But after my third or fourth time forgetting to bring it me to work (I sometimes have a lot of downtime), I realized that I didn’t really miss…