#sorry my brain isn't working rn this post is such shit its embarrassing

[swiftfootedachilles]

pls can you talk more about age regression mickey? i need it😭😭😭😭

anon i promised myself i would never talk about this subject on tumblr yet here we are

ok i have to preface this by saying a couple things for clarifications

i DO NOT fuck with sexualizing age regression or ageplay!!!!

that being said, somebody can age regress sometimes and still be a grown adult with dick and balls who has sex! but they are entirely separate from one another!

i dont really, like.... fully understand age regression, i guess? i dont understand the difference between age regression, age play, and just enjoying kid stuff(age dreaming?). like is it a specific headspace? is it a form of dissociation? how do you know if you're regressing or just pretending, or are those the same thing? my ignorance may show in my headcanons so sorry

my headcanons for mickey are based on my own experiences. so although i don't know anything about what i just listed above, i do know that personally i really like a lot of kid stuff and it definitely is because of my childhood trauma and my (assumed) autism. and obviously mickey has a lot of childhood trauma, and hes autistic imo. so that's really the only scope of reference i have for this 😭

autistic people are not inherently childish or lack certain skills just because they consume a lot of child media. anybody who enjoys kid stuff or age regresses is automatically doing that 24/7 and unable to exist in adult spaces. and even if they are like that, that's nobody's business but theirs. but obviously mickey doesn't do this 24/7, and i don't think he would enjoy doing it all the time anyway. autistic people like children's media because its usually created to have an easily understandable premise, visually stimulating, have very concise pacing, understandable character motivations, and conflicts are resolved efficiently. it's something straightforward to watch, read, or play when the world doesn't make any sense and overwhelms us

i do not view age regression/ageplay/age dreaming in this context as mickey having did/a little alter. most of the content ive seen about agereg seems to view it as a form of dissociation, and while it can be that, i think writers are doing this accidentally because they don't really understand how dissociation works. and again, this is just based on my experience and understanding, and i don't dissociate at all when i consume children's media. i just enjoy it that's really only how deep it goes i just like it lol

ive mentioned both of these many many times before but mickey has fidget toys and plushies. he especially uses chewelry/teethers, bike chain fidgets, mechanical fidgets, tangles, spinner rings, weighted blankets and plushies, and jellycat/squishables/aurora/douglas/plushie dreadful. he also has a color changing lamp with multiple brightness settings that he likes to sit by/stare at

he likes to draw and color. he doesn't read because he struggles with it and it's not relaxing at all to read. he eats "boring" tasting food for the texture, like freeze dried yogurt and puffed rice. ian has to watch him and redirect him when he eats otherwise he'll just keep eating and eating just to chew on something. he likes chewing gum but it hurts his jaw if he does it too much.

he rewatches a lot of shows from his childhood. ghostwriter, zoboomafoo, magic school bus, bill nye. he also saw a lot of older shows and movies because they were recorded on vhs tapes in their house, or they were reruns on their free-to-run tv. electric company, zoom, little audrey, romper room, felix the cat, speed racer, space ghost. he really likes to watch old westerns and gangster movies. it really just depends on how "small" hes feeling. he also likes bluey, avatar the last airbender, and a lot of the classic cartoon network shows. hes watched a lot of peppa pig but thats only because franny is obsessed and watches it every day. he shows freddie speed racer because he has a racecar/hotwheels obsession

when hes regressed, ian will not do couple-y thing with him. he won't kiss his mouth, talk about adult topics with him, touch him inappropriately, none of it. he doesnt want his role as a romantic and sexual partner to be equated to his role as caregiver

mickey doesnt need help using the bathroom or bathing beyond being reminded when to do it. he usually becomes nonverbal though. communicating doesn't really happen beyond a few words when he has to respond to ian. he also stims a lot more and generally is unmasked in this state. ian doesn't want to disturb him, but he also wants to use the chance to get mickey to do some new things while he's relaxed. he gets mickey to help him prepare dinner, pick out colors for house decor, takes him in public with his headphones (mickey usually hates wearing them in public because he thinks he looks stupid + he can't hear much around him). ian would take him more places like the zoo and museums, but it's usually too crowded and he knows it would sour the experience for mickey

mickey is overall much more.... soft and pliant in this state. he can definitely have a meltdown, but he's usually pretty chill as long as he's at home and doesn't have any errands to worry about