Structure terminology

While our system tries not to get bogged down in terminology and labels, we function in a way such that it helps to describe certain groupings of alters according to certain terminology, and there are also terms that describe system's functions overall.

This page contains explanations of what my system means when we use certain words for our system's structure, as well as descriptions of what our structure is like.

Our system is best described as a polymultiple polyplex.

"Polymultiple" is similar to "polyfragmented" in that it describes a system that is complex but does not have many or any fragments. It is similar to "polyfragmented", but minus the implication of having many fragments. In the case of our system, we consider ourselves polymultiple because of our complex structures, our high member count, our frequent splitting, and our group-based fronting patterns.

A polyplex is a system that is made of multiple sidesystems (and potentially subsystems). While our system used to be a main system with a few sidesystems and a subsystem, the mainsystem split into multiple sidesystems and the subsystem into its own sidesystem in March 2025. Since then, previous iterations of the system have been recovered and have their own sidesystems. We are also undercovering "superclusters", which are structures of sidesystems associated with different patterns of amnesia.

Our system tends to have two main headmates (very occasionally one or two more than that) controlling the body at all times, with others being able to interact and communicate from a little further in front. This is especially true for text communications, where the main fronters can proxy co-fronters' messages for them without having to give them full control over the body.

Our fronting space is very large - an entire space station - and would be described as a layered front, in that there are different groupings of headmates who control different things all at once.

We would also be considered cluster-oriented, as, in addition to the two main fronters, there are always a good handful of headmates also in front giving input or supervising.

When one headmate is in main front, their whole sidesystem and/or layer finds it much easier to access front and give input. This contributes to the cluster-based nature of our front groups.

In our system, a sidesystem is largely defined by 1. its association with a specific area of the headspace that no other portion of the system inhabits and 2. its members perception of each other as members of the same unit that the rest of the system are not part of.

However, sidesystems often have the following features in common: having groups of members who all split around the same time, having similar functions, having the same or similar sources, holding memories from the same time, having similar identities or interests.

Our system has fairly good communication between headmates, such that the existence of sidesystems is not a major barrier to communication. That is, a member of Silent Hedges does not typically have any difficulty to speak of in communicating with a member of Crystal Cobwebs. However, a member of Silent Hedges will usually find it even easier to communicate with a member of Silent Hedges than a member of Crystal Cobwebs.

Some members of our system can communicate telepathically with each other, including by accident. It is more likely for accidental thought-sharing to occur between members of the same sidesystem. Members of different sidesystems will usually need to communicate with each other either verbally (not necessarily externally, but thinking sentences and saying them in headspace) or will need to thought-share intentionally (which is easier if the headmates have a pre-established emotional bond).

Most of the sidesystems can be said to have some kind of theme - e.g. same species, same disorders, same source, same interests, etc. However, many of them are also defined by being a previous iteration of the system.

While few of them all have the exact same identities, interests, or opinions, there are often predominant traits such that many of the sidesystems consider themselves to have a collective identity/opinion/etc. in a way that may not match other segments of the system. However, the same is also sometimes true of layers within a sidesystem.

Layers are a feature that exist within sidesystems. Not all of our sidesystems have them, and they can be natural as well as intentionally-created. However, if they are intentionally created, they usually have to follow some kind of theme in order to properly form.

In some cases, layers are based on amnesia. For example, in sidesystems that consist of previous iterations of the system, some layers are defined by the fact that the headmates of other layers were unaware of the existence of headmates in those layers.

Layers are usually defined by particular areas of their sidesystem's headspace. They are sometimes arranged vertically, but not always. Members of a layer are not required to stay only in their area of their headspace, but there's usually a section of that headspace that is associated with them (e.g. they have their own room).

While we are in the process of figuring this out, it is believed that subsystems' headspaces can be accessed via portals in the layer that the subsystems' host is from.

Subsystems are like layers in that they are groupings within a sidesystem, but they are directly tied to a particular member of that sidesystem who is considered the host. They also have a headspace that is not part of the sidesystem's headspace but that may be accessible through portals that exist in their sidesystem's headspace.

Subsystems can exist for different reasons across headmates, but one reason is to help with identity issues. Some headmates have identity disturbances or otherwise compartmentalize their identity in a way where it's easier for them to think of themselves as multiple people, unrelated to other members of the system.

Another reason is trauma. In the past, there were situations where one headmate fronted during a traumatic situation to protect the rest of the system, but they ended up developing amnesia of the trauma to protect them. The amnesia is accounted for by a subsystem member, who was in charge of the subsystem during the trauma instead of the host.

It is unknown if the hosts of subsystems can front at the same time as the members of their subsystems. It currently seems to be that, if the other members of the subsystem are active, the host is not, but this may not be absolute.

In addition to a configuration of sidesystems that seem to be based around a central "original" self (Blixa), we have also become aware of two other such configurations centered around two other "original" selves, or versions of the self who believed themselves to be the "original" and formed very very early in our life. These configurations are called superclusters and are heavily based in amnesia.

One of them, Blue, is the non-human side of us, as well as the childlike side of us (as we got older). They originally took the form of a dog, most likely a fictive of Blue from Blue's Clues (and, if not a fictive, then heavily related to the character very early on). Blue's Supercluster's headspace is very based on stories and narratives, with large groups of headmates (and possibly NPCs) inhabiting entire versions of fictional worlds that we introjected, including Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia) and the Pridelands (The Lion King). Blue's Supercluster are aware of most or all non-traumatic events from our childhood, and some of them are aware of traumatic events from childhood that Blixa's Supercluster does not remember. The inner worlds of Blue's Supercluster often have narratives that mirror things that happened to us in the outerworld, but in some cases, all we know is the innerworld equivalent of what happened.

One of them, Bryan, is a version of us who is certain things that we considered it physically impossible for us to be, including a boy and a gay man. Bryan's Supercluster has the most amnesia out of all of them, and they used that amnesia to do things (especially online) that most of the system would not have wanted to do. Bryan's Supercluster represents things we compartmentalized about ourselves, and many members of it are aware of events from the outerworld. They also have an innerworld that is based on outerworld events, but moreso ones from the internet than offline.

We are undergoing a process that we call the "unification" of the superclusters, whereby we reduce amnesia and help Bryan's and Blue's Superclusters adjust to life as we live it now and give them things to do in the innerworld and/or outerworld (whichever they want). This process also involves us recovering the memories that both superclusters hold about our life and our past.