regressor! kumada headcanons (cg! yaitabashi + mutsuko)
(TW for described past abuse and trauma, as well as mentions of self harm!) — do NOT read if you’re little
writer's note…admittedly this list isn’t very “formally” or well formatted at all..my bad! (it’s taken off a very scrappy non killing AU lore doc of mine..this is about 2.3k words can u tell i’m so ill over eri </3 /silly)
— but i hope you enjoy it regardless! and as previously mentioned, everything written here isn’t canon compliant at all! it’s in an alternate universe where the kg doesn’t take place, and if the trio lived together in the same house hehe
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her regression age range is usually 1-3! though it isn’t strictly within those bounds.
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she’s usually on the slightly older end of her regression age range, but if she had a crash out while regressed, her age would usually end up dropping to 1..tiny baby.
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her regression is mostly “impure” and trauma based! she regressed both voluntarily and involuntarily. her voluntary moments typically being used for coping, and is healthier. usually in such moments she tends to experience more “positive” aspects of her regression. her involuntary moments being triggered by trauma responses, where she feels trapped back in an older time of her life where she felt helpless, and is in belief that she’s still living under an unsafe situation.
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her caregivers are sou and mutsuko… (duh)
i think she’d totally use parental tittles on them if she’s regressed to a younger age..that’s her mama and dada /silly. it’s a strange platonic co-parenting experience for the both of them but why not. go my family dynamics!!! but if she’s on the older end of her regression she’d be too embarassed to do that, so she’d just use their nicknames instead (that she uses on them when she’s big)
i guess those 2 are rather boring, they just call her erina like 90% of the time..they really only save petnames for her extra vulnerable moments where she needs to be coddled…(she does like being called baby when she’s tinier but shh)
mutsuko is probably more experienced at handling erina, idk i just get the vibes + i like to think they’re a little closer. sou’s…got the spirit i guess /silly. i guess they usually care for her as a duo because it’s easier on the both of them, and they get to all bond together too. (shh it’s because sou is admittedly not very good at handling her solo but do NOT tell him that!!! /j)
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A BITER!!!! croncher!! chomper!!!! a nibbler at heart <3 she loves chewing up stuff because it keeps her either entertained, calmed…or sometimes it’s really just her way of playing. there are also moments where she’d bite as an attack, but that’s only if she’s genuinly crashing out or felt threathened
she bites literally anything..ranging from pacifiers, tethers, her plushies, blankets, shirts, her carers…you name it.
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tantrum thrower. it helps her regulate her negative pent up emotions she felt from when she’s big. sometimes it just all comes crashing down because her lil self can’t handle dealing with so much baggage. while she was big, she’s ever mentioned to her caretakers about how prone she is to crashing out…they let her have a safe outlet to release whatever she has to, but if she ever crossed a line they’d sit her down to talk about it when she’s big. (unfortunately on a lot of instances she doesn’t take it too well, despite trying her best to)
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besides frequent tantrums, usually a result from splitting, she also experiences ptsd flashbacks frequently while regressed. she would usually end up hiding in her closet (or sou/mutsuko’s, depending),grabbing one or more of her comfort items and sitting it out in there. she tends to keep the door shut, while sobbing silently, trying to avoid being found for as long as possible (it doesn’t work, their home is a finite space) and when they finally found her, she begs them to not be mad or inflict harm on her for hiding away from them.
it is a habit she picked up from her childhood, where she used to hide in her closet after being berated by either of her family members. or even if she was just upset, and didn’t want to anger them by expressing her vulnerable emotions where they could see.
initially, her antics really confused and worried the hell out of mutsuko and sou, being unsure of why she’s acting up this much. (they eventually learnt it through having a conversation with her when she’s big and determined it’s a trauma response). so whenever this happened, they would try and coax or bribe her out of the hiding spot with lots of words or with things that could draw her attention. this usually results in a very VERY clingy (also sleepy) erina when her fuss is over.
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did i already mentioned. eepy erina. very fussy when eepy. and needs lots of attention/affection. she’s also much sweeter and ‘soft’ when tired, being much more cooperative hehe
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alternatively, if erina had hurt herself (whether intentionally or purposefully) while in her headspace, or if it sent her into being regressed. it would also trigger this very same response of her hiding away. usually in fear that sou and mutsuko would get mad at her for not watching over herself enough, or she just didn’t want to see their worried disappointed faces.
which, usually ends up in her needing to be held while her wounds get fixed up, followed with even more physical affection and gentle words of reassurance..oough
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she usually experiences emotional amnesia whenever it came to ptsd induced episodes, barely remembering how intense it felt while she was experiencing her crashouts. but as for the general aspect of her regression, she already experienced a certain degree of amnesia, not being able to remember nearly half the time of what happened while she was little
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erina is very self conscious about her regression, but it manifests more strongly when she’s big. there were multiple instances she would be avoidant with mutsuko and sou if she got embarassed or grossed out by the way she acted around them while she was little. this would also occur if she was being promoted about questions regarding her regression, easily growing defensive over her dignity.
she struggles to accept her regression because it is “impure”, because she’s more prone to showing a more raw and uglier side to her when she’s mentally younger, having lesser control of what she does or says. and as for the more positive aspects? she just thinks it’s “gross and cringe” to let her guard down this low or act in this certain manner. shes just very uptight about being vulnerable around others, even if it’s okay to do so, even if she knows they wouldn’t hurt her while she’s like this.
there was oh, more than a countable amount of times she pushes her regression back when she feels that foggy feeling clouding her head, or an impending amount of stress that could trigger a drop. her caretakers would try to coax her into regressing when they notice she might need to slip, but it would usually end up in a riff between them, as she would deny them in frustration…though..that definitely fails anyways. she ends up slipping more often than not anytime she argues with someone, so…mutsusou ends up with a very tiny eri who clings while constantly apologising…..sigh
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(okay enough with the angstslop)
erina loves LOOOVES uppies!! she likes being carried around…it makes her feel very,,tiny. considering her physically smaller size it’s a plus point for her whenever she regresses, making the experience a little more “realistic”. on rarer occasions, being small enough to be picked up is considered one of her regression triggers…!! (if there are baby carriers big enough to fit her..mutsuko would so put her in one of those)
usually it’s mutsuko who gives the uppies because she’s strong… (sighs dreamily). i supposed yaitabashi could pick her up too but with his limited vision and not being as strong, he tends to not to do so just for safety precaution. it’s okay cuddles can compensate for it /silly
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trio cuddle piles…yes. they’d all cuddle together. on one bed. well there’s more beds in the house but they tend to huddle up on the same one together because it’s cozy like that.
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her comfort items are her blanket and cat stuffie…she likes lugging those things around the house whenever she’s little…..or just stuffing them in her mouth.
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she enjoys drawing and/or painting as an activity when regressed!! her cgs end up putting some of her works in the kitchen, or storing it away in a file. they treasure the masterpieces that their little baby makes…sometimes she makes art with them too (usually sou) and those moments are greatly treasured
when erina is big she’d get SO embarassed seeing her tiny art being displayed full blast on the fridge and kitchen walls. (it’s usually sou’s doing) “wow those look like fucking shit you should take them down or something” /lh (he does NOT take it down ever)
bonus points if she was amnesia-blasted while regressed and did not recall creating any of those artworks, or even remotely knowing it belonged to her, just thought they were not display worthy in the home….
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she loves stealing mutsuko’s clothes to wear, especially her shirts, since they’d be oversized on her and waow..she immediately slips into full on baby mode realising how tiny she is /v silly!!!!! alternatively she also likes to steal her shirts to nibble on like a chew toy…smh how many things must you chew on girl!!! mutsuko just sighs when she walks in on erina doing that but lets it happen anyways, stuff can be washed.
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alternatively, she also enjoys stealing sou’s flower crown to wear, sometimes they’d make flower crowns together as a little activity, or sou gives her one of his spares laying around…but who am i kidding. she’s so gonna hog over the one he plans on wearing. he’s NOT immune to the babyeri torments.
he does think it is adorable when she gets so fascinated wearing his flower crown (occasionally his dresses too) and admiring herself in the mirror and running around to show it off to him and mutsuko…he won’t admit it though. he just dramatically sighs and tells her to not fool around too much. SIGH!!!!
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she reads off to me as the kind of regressor who is somehow the clinger ever. not just to people, but also to objects. trying to wash her stuffie or blanket is like a boss fight trying to pry it out of her hands.
on some occasions it works with a distraction while her caretakers hurriedly grabbed her stuff and tossed it in the washer under a minute while she was locked in playing or drawing…before she knew it, she got FOOLED!!! pathetic baby. your touys are in the wash /j
if that didn’t work, they’d try bribing her with treats or something else..like getting to play with their hair or doing something fun with them they’d usually not let her..
but it’s okay the stuff is shortly ready out of the washer/dryer and it’s being tossed at her while warm and scented…so the moment she reunites with her blankie and stuffie, she’s just caught rolling around on the bed while intensely sniffing/nibbling on them. (while making random little incoherent noises of happiness from the enjoyment of the warm scent of dried laundry)
though it’d definitely be funny as hell if the bedsheets were also on changing day. sou is trying to put those damn new sheets but erina just rolls around on the bed while the sheets were still untucked, making it impossible for sou to do anything with them because it keeps getting crumpled. or when he manages to perfectly tuck in the new sheets, erina jumps onto the bed creating crumples right away…poor guy can NEVER get a break!!!
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besides being the clinger ever..she’s also the tugger. she likes tugging on her carers…tugging at their hair, accessories, or clothes……whenever she needs their attention. they like acting like they’re sick of her tugging but they actually think it’s cute deep down (won’t admit it /lhj)
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there isn’t really much activities she does while regressed tbh. it’s either art related stuff, if not she helps mutsuko/sou out with whatever stuff they’re doing (that’s a lie all she does is be useless and stare at them ominously!!! /j)…most of her time she ends up lazing around cuddling with either/both of them..she does play with toys sometimes too but it gets boring easily.
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she’s mostly a sassy (evil ominous) toddler /silly. the lil princess ever!!! she does swear while regressed. but there’s also moments when her regression age is younger and she’s just an absolute sweetie and talks less….
its honestly a gamble on which erina are mutsuko and sou getting depending on day or mood…sometimes they’d even get an angsty baby on their hands.. eventually with enough experience they’re just equipped with the skills to embrace any side of her regression they might face on a certain occasion.
they just learnt to be flexible with their caring style at this point. if she wants to be more independent, they’ll let her. if she needed to be coddled or handled more gently, they’ll be much softer/sensitive with her.
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whenever she’s regressed, it usually lasts for hours up to a day!! she tends to only slip out of headspace once awoken from her slumber..though if it was a weekend or free day where she gets to be indoors, she’d end up slipping in and out throughout anyways
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whenever she’s “big” again she’d feel a little awkward with the other two, but would sneak in a thank you (in a clearly flustered, embraced expression) every now and then to them for putting up with her lil antics…!! sometimes they’d give her a little time to unwind after being out of her headspace because her dissociation levels are clunkier in the first few hour or two and she also needed to process adjusting in between her mental ages.
she struggles to express her intentions directly but, she’s incredibly grateful towards mutsuko and sou for being very patient with her while she’s in a vulnerable headspace and being willing to care for her when she needs it.
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aaand.. that’s about it!! feel free to lemme know your thoughts on this..i had fun writing them tho they were mostly a lil more…self digestible/indulgent..ehe my bad