Classification AU headspace suppression thoughts
CW: violence (not graphic)
Would love to see more Classification AUs where the consequences of suppressing/neglecting one's headspace are not just somatic or self-deprecating, but also potentially really harmful for the people around them. Like if a Little goes without regressing for too long, maybe they become incredibly irritable and prone to violent outbursts.
Maybe in the world they live in, Littles are heavily monitored due to the damage they can cause when they don't properly fall into headspace. Perhaps there's a physical component to it too --- I've seen a lot of works where Littles are physically smaller or weaker than their Caregiver/Neutral counterparts, but I think it would be interesting if, after neglecting their headspace for too long, their body was able to gain sudden bursts of crazy strength to match the violent outbursts. Biologically, the advantage of this would be that when the Little is in a high-stress situation for a long period of time (long enough to go without regressing for, say, six months or longer), they're able to fight off/protect themselves from adversaries (or whatever the body/mind perceives as such).
Assuming the Little hasn't been kidnapped or something, though, this feature isn't super helpful in the modern day. The stressors of the past (wild animals, wars, etc) don't generally apply, and so instead of fighting off attackers, they end up accidentally destroying a desk or their computer after they get another work email asking them to take on more work than they already have. This is very bad for shareholder value, so there are strict standards set by most governments to prevent Littles from neglecting their headspace (all Littles must have a guardian/caregiver, and they must regress for a total of twelve hours per month every month, or else they risk intervention).
Of course, this doesn't mean Littles aren't still a vulnerable population. After all, the ability to briefly possess crazy strength is only reached after a long period of headspace neglect (which comes with other issues like fatigue, headaches, depression, etc.) --- anybody with malicious intentions just has to ensure a Little reaches the minimum threshold of regression in order to avoid headspace neglect and thus also avoid the temporary "power-ups". Plus, short high-stress moments or sudden trauma could still trigger (involuntary) regression, so if someone were smart (and evil) enough, they could theoretically still get away with lots without pushback.
This AU in world where people already have superpowers would also lead to some crazy chaos -- violent outbursts could result in anything from destroyed furniture, a couple black eyes/broken bones to completely leveled buildings. Idk I love drama I feel like this would be so fun to read. Will def write more on this later :]