When a specific alter is conscious and in control, we call that “fronting”. When that alter changes, we call that “switching”. For example, I, Tom am “fronting” right now! That means I’m the one physically typing this.
Sometimes, switching is obvious. Other times, it’s not. This is really good for day-to-day stuff– we’d rather people not call us out in the middle of class. But when people who are “in the loop” can’t tell, it can cause issues.
That sounds awfully dramatic, actually. Essentially, Andrew’s a big marshmallow, and no-one else is, so people kept thinking we were mad at them.
All of our roommates are “in the loop”. So, we decided on a solution: different bracelets to wear depending on who is “fronting”.
TOM
- Was fighting demons to get this done
- (Perfectionism)
- Ended up choosing an irregular pattern/mismatching letter beads to counteract this
- His eye still twitches a bit
ANDREW
- Random button
- Green, like scales!
- A bit looser than the others, because he hates tight jewelry.
CAS
- Shell he found on the beach
- Red (profile color)
- Blue (favorite color)
- One of the bits is his name in morse code
VALENTINE
- She made a bead keychain soon after she showed up (2023)
- We lost it and recently found it
- She ended up taking it apart and adding it to the bracelet
Being open about this was weird, at first. That, when our loved ones were given a tiny hint, our mask could fall off so quickly.
Now, it’s nice, to be honest. It’s cool to feel like an individual, even when you’re technically not1.
- In MY opinion, we are, in a way, individuals. And people. But also one individual and one person. Tom’s less nuanced in his rationale. ↩︎