Okay so, I'm starting off my Swatchling headcanons here!
Very inspired by @/gatorbeast's amazing Addison headcanons, and somewhat inspired by Irkens/Invader Zim!! (And kinda my hcs for that too, but it doesn't matter)
(If you know Invader Zim you'll probably see some similarities with PAKs and what I'm going to talk about)
Also, this is very messy. Please excuse that. I don't wanna be whiny in the middle of this so I'm adding it here, but the longer I went on the harder this got to write. Expect more posts from me soon that make it easier for me!!!
So, what many people headcanon as masks - which I initially did too - actually aren't masks at all, they're their faces. They are born without them and are attached shortly after birth, but some aren't given one for a few reasons. I'll get into that later because this requires another detail from my headcanons to be introduced first.
It's called a mask though, but Swatchlings don't actually like it being called a mask after it's been attached. It's just their face. If you call it a mask to their face when it is not a mask, it's considered very rude. God forbid you ask them to take it off.
But!! There are Swatchlings without "masks" as I've mentioned earlier. They're called "maskless" sometimes even "faceless" by some who really don't like calling it a mask, but maskless is the most commonly used term to describe a Swatchling who has grown up without being given one.
The mask is actually a kind of horn that grows on a parent's nose that detaches itself around the time a Swatchling is hatched and has grown up enough to be given the mask. (Which is only a few days as they grow up quite fast. Around their 3-7 days of being alive they should be able to be given the mask, but of course there's rare exceptions who have gotten their mask a few days after this, but it is very risky to do. This I will also explain as to why later.
The small horn that grows on an parent's nose is actually curved and shaped perfectly to fit on top of a chick Swatchling's face.
Anyways, maskless Swatchlings! They were never given the mask.
These contain important information (genetic info, code, all that stuff) (They have some genetic info even without this, by the way. But it's the same as a Swatchling's parent's code if they were cloned to being a result of a single parent.)
They're basically data packs that need to be installed. Like drawings or art tools/programs which they represent, they can be molded to become anything. The mold being the code. They've got so many possibilities! Art programs can also install brushes and brush sets, so, this works out too.
This code and masks have been utilized in a way, however, and there's specific job/type data pack masks being made. They mostly code a Swatchling's physical body and their abilities, and what things they excel at and sometimes also parts of their personality. For example - All the butler Swatchlings in Queen's Mansion have been given the same data packs. Physically, they're all clones in that case. They've all got different stories growing up and different parents so there may be SLIGHT differences between them which help with telling each other apart, otherwise they're the same in terms of their basic mask code.
For example there might be a type of Swatchling who's a guard, so there's some baby Swatchlings who are given this same guard datapack mask after being born. It provides a lot of the energy/"nutrients" needed and gives them basic info about their tasks and obedience to obey someone who's an higher up giving out said tasks. (Like a boss at work for example.) It downloads all of it int their mind/body/core, however you might want to call it.
These are called datapack Swatchlings. Each datapack Swatchling type is different, but they all have a few things in common. Though they do EXTREMELY well with their main purpose, it is harder for them to learn new skills that are very different from what they're already set to do. (Which regular Swatchlings are KNOWN for - their adaptability and love to learn and having many odd skills at once.) Like a butler Swatchling is going to have a hard time learning how to do more artistic things or how to bake or fixing cars. But they do very well with cleaning, communicating, setting things in order and all sorts of management. This is kind of why for many of them it is annoying when Queen makes them do crazy stuff for her entertainment, but they're going to listen to the commands anyway. It makes them feel fulfilled and they have like an instinct to do it. If they don't like it they're free to quit, that is an option. They'll just take a bit longer learning something new, but they can do it, Swatchlings are very adaptable.
They can still think for themselves, of course. They're still their own people. Even between the same type of datapack Swatchling you can find very unique individuals. They just look the same and usually have the same exact job. It's hard to tell some apart if they have very specific uniforms they can't customize (Which Swatchlings LOVE doing. They're all naturally artistic. Also I feel like I am explaining this wrong, but let's not dwell on that. Please do ask if you want a clearer answer/definition where I can focus on explaining one thing instead of knowing I have to worry writing about the rest.)
Let's talk about masked/regular Swatchlings, who have received a parent's/some other Swatchling's mask that does not have a specific datapack. They're basically tailored to learn VERY FAST on their own and find a thing they like doing! They're also often very successful and in charge of things! For example, Swatch, who is the head butler, is a regular Swatchling. (They're actually like, super popular and looked upon between Swatchlings as a whole. They're like this cyber world's. "main art program" representation. Again, this is stuff I'll detail more later.)
They're definitely more curious and like standing out more than datapack Swatchlings. They enjoy finding things to learn about and they're very VERY adaptable. Getting kind of tired of explaining this all in dumb detail, so I'll just... Try to keep it short from now on. Starting to have issues with how long this is any my motivation. Speed speed speed time!!
But yeah, they aren't coded to look a certain way and get even more genetics from their parents if they had two parents. It gives them some info their parents know already, so they can get a jump-start! They also can learn things faster as a whole. Good for them that they usually look visually more unique than most datapack Swatchlings because normal Swatchlings love individuality and standing out very often. Also, a datapack Swatchling can have kids, of course. Some of that they know gets passed down onto their kid if they receive their parent's mask - but they won't be a datapack Swatchling. They're just... Gonna be a regular Swatchling who naturally knows a lot about a certain thi
And then there's the maskless Swatchlings! Let me ramble about parents a little before I go back to maskless Swatchlings again. Some parents loose their horn too early, or it doesn't grow at all. Some even have more kids than they have masks since a Swatchling can grow ONLY one horn mask when they have kids. Some two pair Swatchlings even have just one kid, but they both grow a mask - so they donate them for other Swatchlings to take. To Swatchlings it does not matter that their kid is like them. As a whole havig a kid isn't too big of a deal, it's jsut a thing that happens. Not randomly, of course - but still it's seen as a normal thing that's done to keep Swatchlings going as s species and community, y'know. Also, when they have kids it is not in a sexual way, and many Swatchlings are not even romantically interested in their partner, which is normal. Some just have a kid, raise it during the time they need it and leave each other be. Unless they of course want to have kids because they are romantically interested in one another. This doesn't even take interspecies relationships into consideration quite yet.
Anyways, maskless Swatchlings! They were never given the mask. The second a chick Swatchling's eyes open withut their mask, they cannt be given the mask anymore and will grow up without it. They gro WAY slower than masked Swatchlings as they need more time to learn about the world and the things they can do. The mask installs some basic understanding of the world into a Swatchling, which these little guys don't get. So while they may be the same age as a masked Swatchling, they will look younger and still act somewhat younger.
They aren't provided exactly everything they need, so they won't grow to full size either. Swatchlings can have diverse body types even if masculine ones are the most common. (Though, they do not have genders like we do! If you call a Swatchling a man they might not know what you are talking about lmfao. Though, Swatchlings do use different prononouns and gender expressions if they want! :D)
So, if you see a very small Swatchling without a mask, chances are it's an adult maskless, and not a child. Between Swatchlings this is known and well respected, though some others might not know and think maskless are children.
They take way longer time to grow and a tiny bit longer learn, and are physically smaller, otherwise they're nearly the same as normal Swatchlings.
--- Divider because I do NOT know how to add what I wrote below in, lmao ---
When Swatchlings are grown up they're ready to go out and do things and they leave their parents behind to live their lives. Some donot have strong bonds with their parents, and some have strong ones and keep in touch. This all depends, really. It's not exactly like us humans, but they're not emotionless animals either.
MAKING NEW POSTS AFTER THIS WITH THE #SWATCHLING HCS BECAUSE I AM GETTING A BIT STRESSED ITH HOW LONG THIS IS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO INJECT MY OTHER INFORMATION IN THIS HERE.