Hello, my fellow

Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket

Hello, my fellow

Hello, my fellow cbers! I wanted to talk about AEs, aka Alter Egos. Trigger warning! Idk how this is triggering but it's kinda sensitive I guess, so if you're sensitive to talk about split personality stuff you might wanna skip this one.

Have you ever heard of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Probably. In the famous book a man takes a special potion (or something like that idk) which causes his personality to split in two: Good Dr Jekyll, evil Mr Hyde. But did you know this is actually a real thing?

People with DID or OSSD have this. I won't go fully into detail, but basically trauma before a person turns 7 causes their personality to split up into several called "alters". 

Some may be used to hold memories of trauma, or maybe they were made to do something else... I don't know much about it, but they can have many different roles. Some are even called "fragments", who have no real thought process and we're made to simply do one specific task, such as draw.

Not all alters are human. Some might be animals, animal-human hybrids, or something else all together! The body is simply used as a vessel to contain each alter.

Sometimes they argue, like family. Usually only one can "front" (control the body) at a time, but they all communicate to some level.

Anyways, what I wanted to say was that I noticed how the cb calls their multiple characters "Alter Egos". Perhaps the first person to use this term actually had DID or OSSD and we all just picked it up. Maybe some admin out there knows.

But that's just a theory. A-- Erm, I mean, uh... Yeah. Tell me your thoughts! :D

P.S. I just realized you might not use AEs anymore... You use AEs still right?

Right? 

submitted by Clovertoe, age 24 Moons, WindClan
(October 14, 2020 - 8:24 pm)

Wow, I didn't know that existed! It sounds...kind of horrible to have in real life, but yeah, that's basically the same thing as alter egos! And yes, we still have them.

Of course you still have us! You wouldn't forget us, right??

Shush. Never interrupt when someone's talking about you, you don't learn as much if you do.

Oh. ok, you never heard that!

Anyway, it could be, but we'll never know! Now it seems kinda...weird to have them, if that's true, but idk. You're an older CBer, right? Welcome back!

submitted by Azalea, age 13, Earth
(October 15, 2020 - 7:55 am)

I don't know too much abuot DID, so I don't feel the most educated to speak on the subject, but I do have some thoughts.

I don't think we should stop using AEs. Unless someone with DID specifically says that it's offensive, I don't really think it's doing any harm. 

submitted by Ella Starburst, Drinking a PSL
(October 15, 2020 - 7:56 am)
submitted by TOP!
(October 15, 2020 - 10:27 am)

As someone with D.I.D., I have three things to say:

• I'm so glad to find a person on here that knows what D.I.D. is! 

• I personally don't mind people using the term "AEs" on here. 

• Having D.I.D. (In my opinion) honestly isn't as terrible as some people make it out to be. I actually enjoy having most of my alters with me, as it makes me feel a lot less alone.

I was actually super nervous to spread awareness for D.I.D. on here... I might make a thread for it now...

Well, since my secret is out might as well sign my posts just in case....

- Freak | Host | M | 15 

submitted by Freak
(October 15, 2020 - 12:01 pm)

Oh my goodness, I wasn't expecting someone with DID(or OSSD) to reply to this! Good to know you don't mind, and uh idk what else to say lol... Ty! And I'm so glad to have helped you in any way if I did :> But yeah when people say they have DID or OSSD I am tempted to say it's cool, bc honestly it kinda is for me... BUt I don't want to be offensive of course 

submitted by Clovertoe, age 24 Moons, WindClan
(October 16, 2020 - 7:48 am)

I'm not sure about this, since I have not been here for that long, but I believe I've read about the origin of AEs in some old threads, so I'll do my best to say what I've pieced together.

So, one of the older CBers from a long time ago, Ruby, (TON) had schizophrenia. I'm not anywhere near an expert on this desease, so I won't go into it, but it causes. . . I'm not sure exactly, but something sort of like hallucinations of people/multiple personalities. Ruby posted as multiple people, I believe Red and Sukura, but these people were not Red, although they shared his body. Like I said, I don't know much about schizophrenia or Ruby himself, so anyone with better information is free to correct me.

From what I have read, Ruby, Red, and Sakura were the inspiration for Brookeira, the first CBer to have an AE, (MP, the Masked Piester.) After that, a lot of other CBers began getting AEs as well, and now they are super common.

Once again, I may be completely wrong here, but I believe this is a short and mostly correct summary of how AEs became a part of the CB. And Clovertoe, your hypothsis is actually really close to what I think the truth is. That's really cool how you figured that out.

submitted by PygmyOwl
(October 15, 2020 - 11:23 am)

Sorry! I just found out there was already another person named Freak on here. Call me Cody

submitted by Cody
(October 15, 2020 - 12:44 pm)

Thank you to people saying this is cool! Anyways Idk if we should stop using them... Normally I would say I don't think we COULD get all the people here to stop using them, but the cb is different from other kinds of social media. I don't know if it even counts as one!

Anyways maybe we should ask the admins! Admins, do you think it's disrespectful we keep using the term AE now that we've covered this? Ooo maybe we could even do a vote! That would be fun...

No no naughty Clovertoe, that's not the point! But yeah admins do you think we should stop? We could just call them something else, maybe like OCs, just so it isn't offensiv.

I've been with Chatterbox since it started, and I remember Ruby, but I don't remember the use of AEs having anything specific to do with him. AE stands for alter ego (Latin for other I), and I've always just considered them fantasy characters created by anyone who wants to show a different personality from their own. I think it's fine to continue using the term.

Admin

submitted by Clovertoe, age 24 Moons, WindClan
(October 15, 2020 - 2:00 pm)

I don't think it's offensive. When you said that was your hypothesis I was pretty skeptical and then I read PygmyOwl's post so it could be more likely, but the two things could be unrelated. I don't have an AE and don't fully understand them but I think of them more like characters you make up in your head who aren't you, you just pretend to talk with, and even if it weren't like that I don't see why it would be offensive. Of couse, if somebody says that they find it offensive we should stop but I think for now it's fine.

I agree. 

Admin

submitted by Feline Fantasy
(October 16, 2020 - 7:48 pm)

Ok then :)

submitted by CloverTOP, age Top Moons, TopClan
(October 17, 2020 - 6:37 pm)