#cs powercut

[cstveamaryllis]

the boss and his annoying ass assistant

[yjdrabbles123]

What are your thoughts on when Mari first started to regress around the others. Like did she start doing it slowly and the others just started to pick up on it. Or was she too ashamed and embarrassed by being seen as weird for regressing (even though she’s taken care of some of the other littles before this so she knows that’s not true) and one of the others found her one day regressed alone in her room.

So my personal headcanon for all of them is that elements of regression stuff have been part of them all along- like maybe they've had periods where theyve pushed down more firmly the urge to linger looking at the shelf of toys in the grocery store or where theyve told themselves they really DO want to go and get smashed after a bad day and not just cry in a corner or where theyve genuinly made themselves think that they honestly definitely dont enjoy this or that cartoon or where they convince themselves that while they might have cried easily in the past, they're matured past that now- but its been kind of under the surface.

I feel like tendencies to act younger, respond younger and enjoy younger things just rise to the surface more when things are hard: in the crash universe, obviously the crash means that things hard pretty much all the time post rescue bc theyre traumatised so theyre regressing more but even in a non crash universe, when things are hard, they find themseves reacting younger and allowing themselves to act younger helps them cope.

All that to say, in Maris case, I feel like she was someone who, say, kept her barbies for longer than her peers did and hated forcing herself to get rid of them, bc even having them felt too embarassing; she never really liked the dark (but she could deal with it), she made herself stop sucking her thumb ever once she got to an age where it was definitely not a thing no one else did, she cried more easily than she'd like when things got scary or stressful so she learnt to deflect into anger bc that was more acceptable.

And the others sort of picked up on stuff, like even if Mar SAYS shes not scared of the dark, shes holding Akilahs hand really tight during the powercut, for example. Or like yeah shes having a fight with Shauna and calling her a bitch but she's also going to go cry under her duvet later.

And everyone sort of gradually had their own little things that become more pronounced: like Nat smokes and bites her nails and that becomes chewing her hoodie sleeves and that becomes having her fingers or thumb in her mouth a lot; Jackie has a cute pink bedroom aesthetic and that becomes having stuffed animals and that becomes getting really upset if one of them is lost; Tai sleepwalks and hates it and that becomes fighting sleep even when shes tired and that becomes sobbing hysterically and calling for Van when she wakes up in the hallway; Shauna can be a little combative which becomes being a LOT combative which becomes starting fights but also crying in Tai's lap afterwards.

And for Mari, shes kind of hiding stuff the way she always did but the way she hides it becomes MORE childlike. Like an adult sleeping with the light on is not exactly usual but if you mentioned it, their reaction would be '....Yeah? So what Im sleeping with a light on- its my room and my house?' or even just 'Yeah.'

Because when you're ACTUALLY indesputably an adult, you can just do whatever, like CS Lewis talking about how in adulthood, he put away childish things 'including the fear of being seen as childish' (or like how when you're a kid, you might refuse to do x or y bc its for babies even if you think its fun but as an adult its like 'I will go to work like an adult and then use my paycheck to go to the circus or to see a disney movie or buy a stuffed animal!) But when Shauna points out shes sleeping with a light, Mari isn;t all 'Yeah im sleeping with a light, i dont like it being totally dark', it's a flat denial that she doesnt need a light, shes not a baby!!! Or an adult chewing on their thumb might be weird but the more normal reaction is like 'Yeah its a weird stim' whereas Mari is like 'Nooo I'm not sucking my thumb, I'm not a baby!!'

And adults dont whine or cry when stuff like that is pointed out bc its ALSO not very adult to draw attention to stuff like that. Like the MOST childish thing you can possibly do is make fun of someone for being childish (which is also why Mari herself makes fun of Mel for being a baby).

TLDR: Anyway, all that to say, it's gradual for Mari.

[cstveamaryllis]

okay i love her too much to keep her away from yall so here's one of the ocs for CSV!! She has an EXTREMELY important role in the story