TTRPG Manifesto 2: Letter Games With Your Headmates
For those who don’t know, I’m plural. I have dissociative identity disorder. I tend not to talk about it super openly; I just prefer to work on these things separately.
Many plural people (and some therapists, when it comes to DID) will tell you that the best way to live as a plural system is to learn to work with your alters - also called headmates by some.
Coexisting is hard. And getting to the place of coexisting is hard. Hell, I don’t think I’m even really there.
But an extremely unexpected way to build coexistence, I think, is to play epistolary (letter writing) TTRPGs with headmates.
The way this works is essentially that, when one headmate is fronting and has a moment to spare, they write their entry and put it in an envelope. Then it’s left in a place where the other participating headmate can find it. They, in turn, do their entry and leave it in the same spot. Continue until the game is finished or until you both feel done with the game.
The experience I’d expect is to learn new things about each other such as interests and quirks; learn to be able to communicate easier outside of the game world; and, most importantly, give headmates an outlet if they’re struggling with the difficult feelings that come with plurality.
In my other TTRPG manifesto, I talk about how Solo Journaling RPGs can be used to process grief, sadness, or other difficult emotions. Similarly, if you are working on intersystem communication (like I am), it may be a good endeavor!
That said, you shouldn’t force any headmate into trying this out. If you don’t have a headmate who wants to, there is nothing wrong with making up two characters and writing both of the letters yourself. This can also be for singlet people (people who aren’t plural) who want to do epistolary games but don’t have a friend who wants to play. I’ll never turn down an opportunity to play with dolls (AKA make my OCs interact in new and unique ways).
...Granted, I haven’t actually attempted this, but I intend to (and will report my results!)
(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ )
(PS: you may note this is labeled #2, but #1 isn't out yet... I'm working on it lol. I just got a burst of inspo for this one specifically.)