#i'll add tags as i think of them too

[tartrazeen]

Thinking about Fallout vaults in a mildly evil Vault-Tec mood, and thinking I would've liked a crawl mechanic in one of the games. What's cool is that I think this even fits within the very, very, very original Fallout 1 concept for these vaults, too.

That's because I'd like a vault where every single room was separated by a long hall.

When the vault dwellers are first sealed in, it's presented as a weirdly and almost wasteful design: what should be a quick walk down a corridor in any other place has been stretched out to be six times as long here. There's nothing added along the way - these are just unnecessarily long halls.

Even within living quarters, there isn't just a bathroom leading into a bedroom. It's another long hallway in-between. And another between the bedroom and the living room, and another between that and the kitchen.

Any distinguishable 'room' in this place is always, always connected by a long hall. And there's one room that each dweller must abide above all others:

Keep the halls clear.

And this rule is enforced.

Some residents try to capitalize on the 'extra space' by putting some furniture in there. Unfortunately for them, every night, an automated scan is made to check whether the halls are clear.

If even a single hall is obstructed - by anything from a couch to an errant sock - the emergency lights switch on, sirens blare, and the broadcast system screeches that an "obstruction in the [hall ID number] is detected". This goes out across the entirety of the vault and in every room, forcing residents awake and everyone into action until whatever hallway it is has been cleared.

The sirens do not stop until the Overseer manually initiates another check. If that hallway is clear, the sirens stop and the lights return to normal. If there's still an obstruction, everything continues. If there was actually more than one hallway obstructed, then even if the one that was originally identified is now clear, everything continues but now it IDs the next hall that it's found a problem with. It continues going one by one until every single hallway is clear.

This, obviously, is not fun to deal with, and the residents quickly recognize how important it'll be to keep all their shit out of the halls. Even the idiots who try to skirt past the rule by 'just' hanging a picture frame realize that yes, that counts too.

In the first month, this is all it is. Scan happens at midnight, sirens go off, hallway is cleared. Everyone learns to check every hall in their area, and thinks begin to loosely organize a larger division of the vault for teams to check. Since the hall IDs are called for everyone to hear, there's an easy way to know who's slacking off on checking and whose fault it is this time - especially if it's in somebody's living quarters. They get the most shit for not just keeping the damn halls clear.

Ultimately, everyone falls into the new pattern. With an apocalypse outside and this being the only price for safety, it's not that bad of a deal.

And then the second month rolls along.

At midnight, the entrance and exit to each hall - every single one in the vault - is sealed by a thick, metal wall. Massive rumblings occur over the next hour, vibrations shaking everything and a clear sense of movement overtakes the residents, trapped in whatever room they'd been in at that time. After probably twenty minutes of this (but a sheer eternity for people who just ran into this place to avoid having bombs dropped on their head), the rumbling stops and the hallways are unsealed.

The residents go to look inside.

There are no longer any neat, straight hallways. They've shifted into modulated levels. Some are now gigantic stairs, requiring people to climb more than step over. Some are broken into tall segments with ladders now protruding from the sides to get up. Some, most frustratingly, are simply steep inclines. There's nothing for residents to hold onto, and not everyone's hands and feet are grippy enough to get up and down.

This is, for all intents and purposes, total horseshit.

The residents storm the Overseer's office, demanding answers, but there aren't any for the Overseer to provide. The only information that Vault-Tec gave was a "Resident Assistance Mode" to use if the Overseer determined the residents were having too much trouble following the rule (i.e. keeping the halls clear). But that's for an emergency, and ultimately not the problem they're facing right now, which is that Little Timmy's too short to get up the massive steps to pee, and Granny's too frail to climb the ladders down to the kitchen.

People eventually come up with solutions. Batman-esque plungers are used for the steep slopes. Pulleys and ropes are used to help lower others up and down. Ladders are set up where their halls didn't produce them. Of course, all of this has to be removed before midnight or they'll set the sirens off. There are a surprising number of people who fail to do that, raising everyone's stress and anger throughout the vault when it happens. But they figure it out. Keeping the halls clear becomes everyone's top priority, and the first night where there are no alarms is like music to everyone's ears.

Month three.

It is 8 AM.

The lights switch over. The sirens go off. An obstruction has been detected in hall ID (whatever).

There's confusion, obviously, and even more after they take down the ladder in one family's 'front door' hall and the sirens go off to panic about another hall immediately after. It's a full scan. Every hall's being checked like it's midnight. It doesn't take long for everyone to realize this and put everything away until the scan's complete.

It takes all the way until 10:34 - surprisingly quick for the number of halls there are to deal with, but exhaustingly slow for a vault of people who've been doing so well at this for so long. It seems like when everyone's forced to start clearing things at the same time, rather than just whatever time they need to be ready before midnight, the obvious differences in how fast different families can move sinks in. There's more frustration, but they do it. The sirens are off.

It is 11 AM.

The lights switch over. The sirens go off. An obstruction has been detected in hall ID (whatever).

They all move much faster this time, since most people hadn't even put their ropes and ladders back up yet. They're done at 11:19.

It is 12 PM.

The Overseer has no answers for why scans are now happening hourly, but the reality is that they are, so at least they know what to do: keep the halls clear. It's not that bad, after all. It's a whole hour. How long does it take to cross one of these hallways?

The "Resident Assistance Mode" is not mentioned to any of them.

Eventually, everyone sort of... sucks it up. Every hour - okay, fine. At least they know now. Anything used to help anybody else now has to come with them out of the halls each time. It's a pain in the ass, especially for the people who need the help to get up and down, but they can manage for the most part. The grimly good news about running to the vault is that it self-selected for people who could make the trek, or specifically had somebody to help them.

Month four.

At midnight, the hallways seal. The residents had been partly expecting this, and many bets are won.

Once the halls open, residents are horrified to learn that the frustrating ladders and slopes have morphed into full-on obstacle courses. Forget Granny or Little Timmy getting through - Mommy and Daddy now have to balance across a beam over a deep pit, slide down and then climb back up a pole, and embrace what's essentially a bouldering wall just to take a piss in the middle of the night.

The only reason the Overseer's office isn't rushed this time is because of the monkey bars they have to get past. Good news: enough still manage to figure it out. Humanity's fuelled by the magic of wanting to kick someone's ass.

Things are fundamentally the same as it ever was. If they don't want to hear the sirens, deal with the obstacle course. Yes, it's awful, but what are they supposed to do? No one wants to hear, but there's nothing else to be said.

The workarounds are different this time. Now, the residents are looking at trade-offs between the halls. There are work- and ration-based incentives for families to switch living quarters with each other to give easier halls to those who can't manage the ones they've been stuck with. Significantly more coordination goes into 'entering' each room, with one resident trekking over to get whatever a whole group might need. New roles are developed based purely on their ability to do this too, with a schedule in place to say when they'll arrive to an area and fetch things for other people. It's a lot of waiting, but at least the option exists at all. It's especially helpful for when the injuries pile up.

For some, the idea of traversing halls dies forever. They can't do it. It isn't worth it. Either a room is 'closed off' because hey, they didn't really need a third classroom, or things are set up to be closer. Maybe they'll have to wait for a trek team before they can get any Vault-Tec milk from their fridge, but they can pull a table into their bedroom and keep non-perishables in there. It can be a tight fit sometimes, but they can do it to cut down on having to go to other rooms at all.

Those who truly can't get around decide to branch out from their quarters. That old classroom that no one can really get to? With enough determination, one family moves in there. They might be more or less trapped within this one room now, but Granny was trapped as soon as the scans became hourly, so at least this prison cell's more spacious.

Changes like that get made throughout the vault as much as possible, with certain families willing (and forced) to forgo certain amenities in favour of leaving their quarters for a newly repurposed room. But those are for the more permanent changes. For the people who simply slip and break a leg, it doesn't seem 'worth the effort' to move when they'll be back on their feet in a month. They can tough it out.

Month five.

It is 9:15 AM.

Once the sirens stop, everyone agrees to stay the fuck out of the hallways until they come up with a plan. If someone really can't move their ass to the other side in fifteen minutes without something else helping them, then don't move. Stay home. You're making it everybody else's problem.

Because the thing about these sirens isn't just that they're based on inanimate objects. They're based on people, too. Nobody realized this when the scans only happened once a night, when everyone was already out of the hallways anyway. More people caught on once it was hourly, but since most of those who needed more time than what was left in the hour to get across had been the ones trying to cross with some sort of equipment, the blame still fell onto that. But with scans now happening every fifteen minutes, and sirens going off when someone is casually crossing without holding anything else, it's finally clear: yes, they count too.

And this is untenable. The hardship trapping some people at home during hourly scans was something they could live with, but for the alarms to be tripped by people who are supposed to be able to cross? No way. They aren't dealing with that hassle anymore. Something must be done. This time, even the Overseer agrees.

The "Resident Assistance Mode" is activated.

As pissy as some folks are that it wasn't activated sooner, back when Granny needed it, they rest of them are just happy it's running now. There doesn't seem to be much change, especially since the halls were clear before they switched it on, but later that day, they finally hear it:

"Obstruction cleared in [Hall ID]."

And that's it.

No sirens, no lights, no nothing else. The relief goes out across the vault, and while there are bound to be conversations on whether this Overseer should stay the one in charge, they're happy to save it for later. It's over. Finally.

Right until one resident happens to ask, "Hey, what does it mean by 'cleared'?"

They check the hall that had been called out. It's sealed. Just that one. It doesn't open again for hours, and while they wait, there are two other obstructions cleared in two other halls. Both are sealed now as well.

The first fear they have is that the hall is lost to them forever. The thought of someone being trapped on the other side and left to rot, or some critical infrastructure room being permanently cut off, brings on a simmer of quiet panic. But eventually the halls re-open. That's good news. Great news.

The second fear they have is the hall itself. It hasn't physically changed - it's still a funhouse in there. But it is...

... warmer.

And clear.

Dots are quickly connected. "Resident Assistance Mode" was meant to help them keep the halls clear. It's doing exactly that - through a brand-new self-cleaning mode, just like they have on their standard-issue Vault-Tec ovens.

The panic reaches a fever pitch: they're trapped in a nightmare that'll cook them to charcoal if they run over the 15-minute timer to get across.

Is there a way to shut it off? To please, please shut it off?

Apparently that feature was still "Coming Soon!"

So no. There was no shutting it off.

Month six.

Residents were expecting more rumblings. There aren't any. The halls stay as complicated as they are, but don't get worse. Unbeknownst to them just yet, there are two changes made to the vault this time.

The first is the automated voice. Its update got an update. At 1:37 PM, the vault hears, "Obstruction cleared." No hall ID to go with it. No way to check which hall it was other than to manually check which one was sealed or at least warm, and even then, it'd be hard to know what obstruction was cleared until some equipment was missing - or until someone was conspicuously absent.

The second was on the Overseer's terminal. Part two of the experiment had begun.

More changes and adaptations were being made across the vault to deal with their new reality. The atrium - the largest single space between any of the halls - was converted to a mass shelter for the injured. There was only so much space to go around, so it was given to those who needed to recover from their injuries, and who weren't yet set-up to live by themselves. Beds were scarce, as it often took longer than 15 minutes to get one across particular halls. But having people stay in one more than one place meant asking the trek teams to go to more than one place, and going anywhere had become of a gamble than ever. If someone needed help, they were going to have to migrate to the group, or else barter to convince someone they were worth the gamble.

As fast as they could, people were organized by their ability to traverse the halls. Those who could were given their pick of the rooms. The assumption was that they would take the places with the most complicated halls.

This is not what unfolded.

Those who couldn't get through the halls too well couldn't really go anywhere on their own, could they? In that case, why waste the 'good' halls on them just for those who could get around to be stuck with the 'bad' ones? Since the fitter residents were expected to move around the most, it made sense for them to live where the halls were the easiest to get through. It'd cut down on injuries, and it'd save their energy and concentration for the complicated halls later.

After all, if the normal residents got hurt trying to climb everywhere just because they technically could, how were they supposed to help the - uh...

... the other residents?

Everyone who showed up to discuss this liked the idea very much.

It was decided, then. Those who could more easily move around were given the easier halls to match how often they needed to travel. Those who were slower were moved to live in groups by the moderately more difficult halls. Those who insisted on staying where they were had to prove they had friends or family willing to brave the dangers. But if they did have friends and family to help, clearly they didn't need such an easy hall, since they still wouldn't be the one going up down that obstable course. So they would be moved accordingly anyway. Where this ended up affecting their friends' and family's ability to help, well - didn't that just prove the point of needing to move them?

Things were falling neatly into place.

As the month came to a close, the Overseer (the same one) called for a vault meeting. Given the timing, it was important to be there. Everyone who was anyone made sure to show up - and on behalf of their families too, of course, if someone they knew couldn't attend.

The Overseer explained that there was a new option set up for them. The option was labelled "Scan Interval", which was broken out into three frequencies: 24 hours, 1 hour, and 15 minutes. Before more of this could be explained, the present residents screamed to have it set to 24 hours. But not so fast, the Overseer said, because it wasn't a choice of frequencies. It was an order.

Next month, they would be back to one scan every 24 hours. Two months later, it would be one scan every hour. Two months after that, it would be every 15 minutes, the same as it was now. They had a choice of making the intervals play out in a different order, and the Overseer barely got to say anything else before everyone clamoured for 24 hours again.

So it was decided. Months seven and eight would scan the hallways every 24 hours, months nine and ten would scan hourly, and months eleven and twelve would come back to every fifteen minutes. That would give them time to prepare. They could absolutely pull this off. Beds could be properly moved, residents could be reunited with their families, and those who needed support could be made more accessible to trek teams during the 15-minute intervals.

Month seven began with the hallways sealed.

The rumblings sent sheer terror through everybody. The screams and prayers faded quickly into overwhelmed and silent waiting. Eventually, the rumblings stopped and the rooms stilled, and the halls re-opened.

Staring at them all, in every one of them, were perfectly straight but oddly long corridors.

The celebration was louder than the sirens had ever been. They were free. Perhaps only for two months, but that was better than nothing. The joy kept them going throughout the weeks as they worked, reorganizing everyone's living situations, atrium-based shelters, rations and supplies for those they expected to be trapped again, and plenty of cardio and strength-training.

Some jobs, like those assigned to keep generators running, were moving refrigerators and beds into corners of those rooms. If - when - the halls shifted again, they weren't going to take the risk of being cut off from those machines. There were some risks of crowding in those places, but none compared to something breaking behind a hall that no one could get through.

Eventually, and just before the month was over, the work was finished. Assuming the hallways changed again, and changed into the same configuration as before, they would be ready. It was the most anyone could do given this environment.

Month eight, as was expected, sealed the halls. Once they'd re-opened, the residents saw the same, frustrating halls as last time. Not as bad as the ones in month four, since these are back to the month two halls with the too-large stairs and steep slopes, but the loss of the straight corridors is upsetting. Still, there aren't any pits to balance over, and they have a whole day to work. Knowing that the more complicated halls are likely to come back later on - which, by their calculations, should be month ten - helps them get a plan together for that too. They'll only have fifteen minutes to deal with those, and those are the hardest ones.

There's a focus on getting survival stations prepared. Everyone remembers which halls were abandoned last time; do they have better strategies this time, or do they just accept that those will be closed off too? What can they rearrange? What can they clear out into 'storage'? Priorities are changed and redefined now that they see how things will unfold.

Those who can't travel again have the supplies they need to hold out until help arrives. But there's a worry in the air about that. 'Until help arrives'. With the "Resident Assistance Mode" turned on, any trek team that falls behind won't just be dealing with angry noises. And their failure means others will be left behind. This is solved by giving them some extra supplies, but for those relying on others in vault, it feels like a band-aid stuck over the problem.

Month nine brings them back to hourly scans at last. The residents test this with some scrap; sure enough, and on the hour, that hallway seals and "Obstruction cleared" rings out. With everyone where they need to be, however, things go smoothly.

There are one or two close calls. Trek teams only enter a hall at the start of the hour to give themselves the full 60 minutes to pass through. It's considered excessive at first, since it's a five minute journey at best, but when someone goes alone, slips, and breaks a leg, they're endlessly grateful to have had fifty minutes to crawl to safety. Someone else was grateful to have had thirty minutes to call for help, and twenty to be evacuated.

The vault agrees that no one, not even those who were physically fit, should be going through the halls alone. A buddy system is put into place. Whistles are used to signal an 'all clear' as one reaches the other side. It's a good way to keep everybody calm. It doesn't quite stop the renewed understanding that if someone slips in months eleven or twelve, there won't be a point in blowing a whistle except to say goodbye.

Month ten.

The hallways seal.

Fortunately, the configurations are the same as last time.

This is also unfortunate, but beyond the residents' control.

With the funhouse style of hallways back in place, the vault pushes through as much of their daily lives as they can. Folks who are trapped stay hunkered down, with enough resources to last to the middle of a month. That many supplies is a good balance between how much a person or family needs, and how trek team can carry when they tick over to the 15-minute intervals next month. It isn't perfect, but it'll keep them going. Food has to be distributed evenly over the next twenty years that they're in here, so there's reluctance to give everyone who's confined to a room enough for a full month. They'll need to be resupplied anyway, and if things really are that dire, those residents should be moved into groups again.

'Moved into groups' shouldn't have sounded like a threat, but it seems efficient at ending the conversation.

Month eleven is what they had prepared for. Bad luck reared its head again, however. "Obstruction cleared" rings out for those trek teams they lost, and for the supplies that had to be sacrificed to clear the room. It's obvious that two weeks' worth of supplies is too much to carry. At the town hall, the residents present agree to reduce it to one week's worth. Yes, it'll mean more frequent trips, but the quality - the success rate - is what tips the focus away from the quantity.

It's a bit of surprise when fewer supplies are delivered. There's only so much that can be said, but it is said. Unfortunately it's up to the trek teams to carry that message back, and the message is either waved off as unavoidable or misattributed as whining, if not greed. So long as everyone does their part, they'll be fine. If those living are their own are so worried...

The complaints don't disappear, but they do get quiet.

Month. Twelve.

Last time, on month six, there'd been a change to the automated announcements. Residents weren't sure what it could be changed to this time. No announcements at all, perhaps? The ones they had weren't very good. Knowing an obstruction was cleared but not where left people wondering who they'd lost and if they were going to be able to eat.

They aren't sure if the announcements have changed, but at midnight, that ends up being their last concern.

Because the hallways are sealed.

And they are moving.

The rumbling takes well over an hour this time - the longest it's been. There's an unbearable dread looming over them. With it comes some delirious hope - maybe it's a good thing! Maybe the halls will be a regular size for once.

They aren't.

When the hallways re-open, they offer a new wave of fresh fucking hell.

Some halls have had their ceilings lowered to just over a foot high. Some twist like vent shafts, at sharp 90° and even 120° angles. Some are just a smooth, spiral slide up. Some have ladders, and the rungs are barbed.

And there are 15 minutes between each scan.

They're trapped. They're all trapped. There's a point where they start disposing of corpses in the hall; they have kids to feed. Some families try to avoid the topic from the start by rolling the dice on the hallways anyway. If they make it through, they'll return with supplies. If they don't, at least there's one less mouth to manage.

An obstruction is cleared almost every day. The delirious hope helps those who stay behind pretend it's for someone else. There's always that chance. They'll know once the month is over.

More survive than they expected.

But it doesn't really say that much.

It doesn't occur to them that the new year's rumblings is supposed to be good news. The hallways seal at the start of month thirteen, and the hallways restraighten into straightforward corridors.

There's no celebration this time. What unfolds is a dark march from room to room to see who didn't make it. They're able to confirm that the intervals are back to 24 hours by piling the corpses into the halls and waiting. The obstructions are cleared at midnight, per the vault's Resident Assistance Mode.

Everyone keeps the halls clear after that, 24 hours or not.

A few days pass before the Overseer is seen, looking surprisingly health for someone who'd been trapped like they'd been. The Overseer explains this as having been able to get through the nearby halls and finding supplies. Unfortunately the other halls were too difficult to travese. This answer's accepted, begrudgingly.

The attention sombrely moves to preparing for the next round of hallways and scans intervals. The Overseer has more bad news: they've missed their chance to change the order of the intervals. It needed to happen during month twelve, and the Overseer's office was too far to get to.

Fortunately, it seems they've been given an option to pick the order of the hallways. Knowing that scans will be in order of 24 hours, hourly, and every 15 minutes should help in deciding when the halls should be in first, second, third or fourth position; in other words, one month of straight corridors, two months with big slopes and stairs, two months as funhouse-style, and one month of the hell that's left them all so devastated.

They're committed to this month being their one month of straight corridors. Changing that would've had to happened in month twelve, too. But they can still change the order of the other ones. There's more flexibility with the halls than with the order of the intervals. Maybe one month of hell would be easier to endure if they'd had a full day to get through.

It's something for everyone to consider.

In fact, there are many combinations to consider.

With so many dangers outside - radiation, rubble, disasters both natural and manmade - there was plenty to learn from a group made to choose the best combination for their society's needs. Especially as more vault dwellers were injured, where would the decisions be led? What solutions would they create? Which areas would be abandoned? Which people?

The experiment would continue for years, perhaps. Living spaces would logically shrink for those who couldn't make it through certain halls, and order was often established not just by detaining someone, but by giving them an undesirable hall. What that implies to those who were purposely assigned those halls from the outset is left unsaid among the residents, but actively noted for Vault-Tec.

Communications are limited in many ways, as the vault's walls couldn't be drilled through and new wires couldn't be strung up, but lights, instruments, banging, and good old fashioned yells helped during the worst of the halls and most disconnected of families and friends. The problem of how to survive when a person had no families and friends was left to solve itself.

Eventually, an optimal combination is found. The trek teams know the routes, supplies are adequately stocked, residents are sufficiently relocated. Two complete cycles pass without any obstructions.

The halls are decidedly kept clear.

So part three of the experiment begins.

The first month of this next cycle is a restocking and training month. Straight corridors, fifteen minutes, in and out to resupply everyone and train the new trek teams on their routes. The long, straight halls are excellent practice for speed and basic hand-off coordination. This will be followed by one month of hell, where everyone returns to hiding - to 'get it over with' - where no one will bother venturing out into different rooms. After that is two months of hourly scans of second-position halls, and then two months of third-position halls with daily scans. Having just completed a cycle with that very combination, the residents are excited for a moderately fresh breath of air.

Imagine their suprise when the month begins with daily scans at the hellish fourth-position halls. An hour isn't enough to traverse many of the gauntlets they're facing.

Their screaming has to wait until the next month, whereupon the halls move to their third position - another bad choice for hourly scans when they so badly need to resupply. The Overseer's office is rushed, and the news is delivered:

The system has rejected a third iteration of the same cycle, and in lieu of more appropriate input, has randomized the newly remaining choices. The cycle pattern they've been relying on will no longer be accepted.

The Overseer is sorry.

And, let it be known, healthy.

It isn't just the fact that the Overseer appears to be fed. That was answered long ago: that area has traversable halls. Of course no one else is camping in the area to confirm it, but there have been some brave souls to make it through during a period of fourth-position halls during hourly scans. Fifteen minutes, albeit a lofty goal, isn't an impossible one when fuelled by such desperate adrenaline.

But even the best of trek teams have...

... wounds.

Scratches. Scrapes. Bumps from the suddenly tight turns. Red eyes from dust. Strain from training.

Fear.

The Overseer seems healthy in a way that none of the trek teams can understand. It's a conversation for later, but one they intend on coming back to.

They need to survive.

But buried in the plan that gets them through this is a plot to learn what exactly the Overseer knows.

The next round has the vault dwellers meeting the fourth-cycle with new purpose: not to escape the terror of being shut in, but the confidence in knowing they've shut the Overseer out. They do camp in the Overseer's office, and they enjoy one month of unfettered access to the central terminal. There's little information on the halls other than reports on which configurations they've previously picked, but there are other options listed that the Overseer apparently hadn't seen fit to reveal.

More bets were made, with the team that had volunteered expecting to find something like a series of tunnels. They're correct in a small sense, as there is a passage hidden under the desk, but the guesses fall short of what's truly underneath.

Dials.

In one row of three, and one row of four.

Each dial is the top row of three is labelled with "1440," "60," and "15" as options. The bottom row of four dials has "1," "2," "3," and "4". Currently, the top three are turned to "60," "1440," and "15" respectively. The bottom four are set to "4," "3," "1," and "2."

The handful of volunteers review these and realize that this is where the configurations were actually made. The terminal upstairs was a log of the choices, but these were the true inputs.

There's another terminal in this secret room that lists instructions intended for the Overseer's eyes. They explain how the vault will be sealed for the next forty years. There are timelines strewn across various files, but after piecing it together, it's clear what they've been brought here to do:

The first ten years will be spent letting residents freely choose a combination of scan intervals and hallway positions. Every year after this will impose new restrictions. They've been introduced to one of them already: a combination can only be repeated once. But there are more to come, and they're chosen at random from a pre-made list of Vault-Tec options.

In fact, the next cycle's restriction has already been identified: any obstructions found in one hall will trigger a full flush of all halls. The condition for this was having activated the Resident Assistance Mode. There are other restrictions with their own conditions; the Overseer is meant to update the terminal with other choices the residents make to grow the pool of new possible disasters.

It's why the Overseer looked so well-fed and healthy. It wasn't anything to do with traversing the halls. The perk of the job was just knowing when it was time to stock up on supplies.

Supplies that, they remember, are meant to last for twenty years.

Assuming everybody shares, of course.

Assuming everybody survives.

When the month ends and the Overseer's supplies are reclaimed, and the Overseer is cleared from the hall, there's a new tension within the vault that follows them like an endless hum. It's the sound of decisions and priorities, of reorganization and reallocation, and of hard truths and deaf ears.

Centuries later, a small group finds and opens the vault to explore. While it's odd that every room is hidden behind claustrophobic and twisting hallways, it's odder how clean each hall is - compared to the frail corpses they find alone in beds, or the great Xs marked at the other end of halls that would have led to them.

If part of this group hadn't been burned to a crisp after taking too long to get through - just 15 minutes, only because someone's buckle was caught on a barbed ladder rung - they would've been able to explore the rest.

They would've found an armed group seemingly trapped at the farthest end of the vault, blasted with holes and ripped to pieces, as if some had been turned into food for the others by force. One would have been tied up and left in a corner, as if in punishment, and as if it had died first. As if it died before the others in that room realized they still needed to eat.

They would've also found the Overseer's office with three bodies huddled together, with enough supplies to have kept them alive for weeks.

Last, they would have found the hidden room with its two rows of dials. The dials themselves would appear to have been snapped off, and the claw marks and smears around them would have suggested that this had not been the plan. According to the terminal, the final options selected were all either "15" or "4". It was as if someone hadn't known which dials corresponded to each option, and realized too late that the answer couldn't be changed midway through.

They wouldn't have known if there had only ever been three bodies in that office, or if others had tried to make their own journey.

Instead of exploring, instead of finding any of this, the remaining group of wasteland explorers retreat and set up a sign saying the halls are deadly. "You have 15 minutes," the signs might say.

After that, it'd be up to whoever still thought it was worth the effort to venture inside.

[qrevo]

Emotional Support Polar Bear 🐻‍❄️✨

(Whenever you're feeling sad he will cheer you up with bear puns - he just can't BEAR to see you down!!)

[localceilingdevil]

ancients!!!! chasm and fronds :] been really enjoying thinking about ancient lore recently!!!

this is chasm. he's addicted to mushrooms and karma flowers and was the first ancient to get contacted by the Voidworm. kickstarted the whole void revolution [artfight]

and this is fronds! she was approached by the other ancients who wanted to build an iterator capable of mass-producing masks. she was entrusted with hope's construction as she is a monk and takes her religion very seriously :p [artfight]

[arkiwii]

very sad still see the saria/silence divorce headcanon still going around

have you ever tried to consider that they never dated before lone trail because it would be unrealistic with the timeline and the events and also because it would be overshadowing the actual truth of why they couldn't get along

[vickyvicarious]

You know, Villefort is really introduced as a very intentional contrast to Edmond, isn't he?

They are both relatively young, stepping into the role of a superior (the former captain who died, and the crown prosecutor who is away)

They are both about to be married, and in fact both are celebrating their betrothals when Dantes is arrested

They are both facing some disapproval from their fiancee's family

They both have a relationship with their father that dictates a lot of their actions

But of course, despite all these similarities their personalities and the specific circumstances of each are almost opposite:

Edmond's acting captainship was driven largely by duty, which is what gets him involved in the letter business to begin with. While his time spent captaining the ship went well, the actions outside of the typical duties he took (stopping at Elba, getting the letter) were for other people's request without much thought of how it looked for him. He was more focused on this being his duty as an honorable person. On the other hand, during his interview with Dantes, Villefort was looking for ways to please others initially (his fiancée asked for mercy and he wanted to get on her good side) but it was still self-serving motivation in the end (he wanted her pleased for what it got him, not just to make her happy). He also abandoned that plan, and the idea of justice altogether, as soon as he realized the letter Dantes carried could injure him. His motivations were selfish throughout.

Edmond is engaged to a poor woman with almost no family who he loves deeply and sincerely. Villefort is engaged to a rich woman with an important family who he loves 'sensibly' for what he will get out of the marriage in the long run. He doesn't hate her but he isn't in love with her romantically, really. When Villefort realizes the coincidental timing of this arrest pulling them each away, his reaction is brief sympathy quickly superseded by him planning out how to make this a witty story impressive to his guests on his return. He doesn't tell Edmond the similarity between their situations.

Fernand dislikes Dantes because he wants to marry Mercedes instead; a deeply personal motive. Edmond dismisses any suspicions suggested about the man and chooses to see him as a friend, trusting Mercedes. Villefort faces some reluctantance from his fiancee's mother, but it's due to his father's political reputation and how that might look, more than anything. Villefort plays along really well and deliberately, greatly emphasizing his political zeal in order to better ascend higher in society. When he talks about his harshness as a judge he is doing so in front of a group of people with a mind to their opinions, giving a speech calculated to impress.

Edmond loves his father very much and the two are very close. He acts to protect his father's pride, and works to bring in money to support him. At his wedding, his father was a major presence, the most excited person there other than the bride and groom themselves. Villefort has denounced his father publicly, given himself a new name to completely separate them in the world's eyes. He wasn't at the betrothal feast except as a name talked badly of, and Villefort only acts to protect him (by burning the letter and arresting Dantes) because the bad publicity/shame would rebound onto himself.

All in all, Edmond is very focused on personal matters. Personal honor, true emotions... even his enemies are driven by feelings of jealousy and envy and hatred. He's emotion-driven and while he works hard and has ambitions, they come second to his love, his honor, his pride. When political considerations intrude on his life it is due to the actions of others (the former captain) and even the way politics is used against him by Danglars and Fernand is motivated by their feelings for him, not their own beliefs.

Villefort is very focused on public perception. He wants a good reputation, he wants more power, he is climbing that social ladder and politics is his way to get up while distancing himself from his father. He is very calculating, and while he does have emotional moments (affection for his fiancée, sympathy for Edmond) they come in second every time to his ambition and self-interest. His life is built largely around politics and reputation, and his personal feelings of sympathy for Edmond are brief and easily overshadowed by his worries about the connection to his father's politics getting out and harming him. Not to mention his ambition when he realizes he can use this to further his career.

Where Dantes trusts those around him and says he has no enemies, Villefort worries deeply about the consequences of the letter getting out. He assumes the people around him will shun him easily if his name is dirtied by this affair. (He's probably right, but it's a very different view of people than Edmond.) He is willing to send Edmond to prison rather than trust him to never mention the letter to anyone, placing his suspicious and self-serving nature above any sense of honor.

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

Figured i'd start actually. slowly reintroducing the new monster au turned oc project by first posting the new character names!

Mark -> Markus Adrianne Addams (Mark/Chris) Cesar -> Martin Garcia Sarah -> Amber Addams (Ace) Thatcher -> Jackson Hyde (Jack) Ruth -> Mabel Palmer Dave -> Barney Holmes Evelin -> Olivia Davis (Liv) Jonah -> Aaron Jones (AJ)

Another thing I wanted to introduce, this universe from now on will be referred to as Whispers of Willows!

[iniziare]

Tag drop: Aventurine.

[scoliosisgoblin]

Eddie and Peter doodles feat. Benny from @bennydunbar

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Can't send asks from my sideblog, but this is @chewing-the-drywall

I feel like much of s2 fell into Frenchie's "we put it in the box and then lock it and don't open it again" in the sense that it set up A LOT that I was intrigued about how they would address it, but it either never was mentioned again or was handled poorly.

Examples range from light, like how I wish we saw more of the crew interacting with each other in ways that built on their characters from S1, where in S2 they didn't feel any more developed, or even regressed. (Example, Fang used the word Fingies 2-3 times through S2, and it felt like they were using it almost as a shorthand for his character, rather than making him feel more real and multidimensional as a character.)

100% @chewing-the-drywall. When I first heard that line I had I was so excited for the story to prove Frenchie wrong. Or show how important it can be to put aside problems to stay alive in the moment. But in the end, this one line summarized how the season handled everyone, besides Stede and Ed. Below, is an in depth discussion on where this season decided to spend it's limited amount of time. Instead of focusing on the characters and plotlines they'd already established.

This season had so MANY ideas it wanted to touch on.

Izzy trying to deal with his unrequited love and opening up to a new way of living. The traumatized 'Revenge' crew trying to adapt to a softer way of life again. The abandoned crew learning how to help their traumatized friends. Introducing new characters like Zheng, Auntie, and Archie into our main group. Setting up a conflict to resolve in season three. Along the way, referencing Pirates of history like Ned Low, Mary Reed, and Anne Bonny.

Notice, I've said all this and we're not even at our romantic leads.

Which is fine. Stories are fluid things. As long as the story knows how to flow from our leads to our side characters. Which leads us to how I feel this show took a lot of time away from establishing our central crew-

[Warning- this will be a controversial opinion- I want to know what y'all think about this] Zheng/Oluwande. This seasons habit of retreading old plotlines and referencing scenes from S1.

What S1 did so well was paralleling the side stories with what was going on with Ed/Stede. Usually, highlighting how well Stede/Ed worked by showing how much Ed/Izzy DIDN'T work. Or general hijinks that tied into the plot (Oluwande and Frenchie on the French ship).

Season 2 chose to parallel our main story with what was going on between Zheng/Oluwande as a budding romance and Izzy's slow recovery. The reason Zheng/Oluwande scenes felt like a waste for me in that the story was JUST a retelling the story we watched from S1.

A frustrated first mate(Auntie), and a legendary captain(Zheng) fighting over the captain falling in love with an idiot(Olu). In season 2, much like every callback for me, it felt like it slowed down the plot by pulling us out of the story. Like...yeah, you did the thing again, do you want me to applaud you for it?

I LIKE Zheng and Oluwande as a couple! I like that Oluwande was debating leaving Stede and taking Jim and Archie with him. But at the same time, I didn't care about Zheng until episode 7 when she beat up Stede, showing that yes. She's not just some all powerful woman taken down by a mix of love(the crew in ep3) and thinking that she was above it all (ep 7). She's fast on her feet, smart, and willing to stab someone who gets in her way. She's her own person. But.

Every other scene that established her was about her romance, felt like we could have put Rhys and Taika in there. It didn't feel...unique. It's as if the show only knows 1 way to write a romance between a badass and a bumbling idiot. Again. Oluwande in season 1 wasn't dumb in the same way everyone else was. He was protective of Jim, a bit nervous overall, but he was the person the crew chose to lead them. The season just dumbed everyone down a bit and called it a day.

This comes to the larger issue. When we only have eight episodes I don't want to rewatch the exact same plot beats with different characters. Time spent here ends up taking away from other stories we could have told about trauma and growing as a family and other forms of growing as a family. We didn't need another romance plot line. Imagine taking this time instead to show Lucius reaching out to Pete AND the crew for help. Or Frenchie finally feeling safe enough to play his lute. Or Roach helping Fang get over his thing with cakes-you get my point.

The fact we took all the found family stuff from season one, and pushed it onto only Izzy in S2 means when he dies, all the found family shit falls away. His death makes us realize we've been ignoring the central family we were supposed to care about. Because in so many words, their trauma was ignored.

[I even theorize if Izzy was alive and sailed away with them. Showing how he was taken in and loved by his crew, the ending wouldn't feel so hollow. This crew doesn't feel like a caring family. The person who protected them for months died, wasn't mourned, and then they threw a wedding the same day. Not even a full day to mourn. The 'New Revenge' feels like a heartless crew of characters we barely recognize because they aren't a family like they were at the end of S1. More like coworkers who sometimes fall in love with eachother.]

Trauma, Timelines, and Tonal issues when jumping from Episodes 1-3 to Episodes 4-5.

When the crews meet up, the story chooses to focus on the fun plot. Ed and Stede recovering their relationship, only dipping back into that serious tone when Izzy or Lucius come on screen to 'make things sad' again. I don't think the transition from 'serious' to 'comedy' was handled well.

I don't have an official timeline of the events of season two. But from what I remember, everything happens within 2 weeks.

In episode 4, Stede ignored the vote of his crew- to let the man who was torturing half his 'FAMILY' for at least 80 days- back aboard. This rubbed me the wrong way, as it showed Stede being a selfish prick in a way that could seriously harm his crew. That's when I started to see how not adding a *single* time-skip mid-season would hurt S2.

Imagine if we had a one-week off-screen time skip between episodes 4 and 5.

Maybe it's implied that they stay in that town for a bit. Izzy would a bit more time to learn to move on his new leg and start to open up to those he already trusts. Include a scene of Izzy WITH the crew, maybe laughing about something with the old traumatized crew, even if it's just a 30-second opener. Imply that the traumatized crew would have more time to settle in with the family they miss. Show that yeah, the traumatized crew needs more time to heal. Imply at the start of the 'Ed apology' that Ed and Stede have had more time to talk their issues out.

THEN have Ed apologize. You can even keep the bullshit corporate to show that Ed still has to work for this.

Healing takes time. Setting a series over the span of two weeks after half your cast was tortured by your lead love interest? After five of your main crew thought they would sail off into a storm and die after months of stress and life threatening battles? Why did that shit get shoved to the side so quickly?

Framing episode 5 as the START of Ed making amends with the crew, only to drop the plot by episode 7? Not a smart move. Because let's be honest, 'poison into positivity' in episode 6, referring to the fact that they sold all of Ed's loot to pay for the party, ignores the sacrifices the crew made to live that long. (The death of Ivan, and intense trauma they all need to work through). In a way, Ed throwing this party was him asking the crew to start putting everything away in that imaginary box.

It's Ed retroactively letting himself say 'hey, that time I spent torturing my captives was worth it because we got something good out of it' while still ignoring his own guilt. Ed needed to take accountability for his actions. No more 'I took 'a' mans leg' bullshit. The reason his arc feels so unsatisfying is that the plot easily forgives him. Fuck. I hate what they did for Ed's arc, but that's not the point.

Overall.

My issue with this season is not that it chose to do these topics, it's that it didn't think about the implications of what they were bringing up. It didn't dare to think 'maybe it's fucked if we quickly brush off a trauma like this'. Again. I know we have to blame MAX for cutting off two episodes. But I don't think 2 additional episodes would fix a tone problem seen going from episodes 3-4.

Fucking hell. Each member of the revenge had the potential for their own arc, so it's baffling to see them all reduced to 'well meaning idiot' when they all felt so fleshed out in S1.

When izzy gives his speech about belonging, there's a reason the only image in the show of the crew all together was from S1.

At the end of the day, Season 2 didn't let our surviving side characters grow. This is a mean spirited bit on how I feel the writers see the their own characters.

Stede and Ed are our leads. They won't die, not in this genera. Their shitty actions will be forgiven because it's a comedy, and as long as it's joked about, it holds no weight. They won't die. They won't get fatally hurt. Their trauma will be taken seriously, but it's a 50/50 on if they'll talk about it before breaking up again. They will eventually get a happy ending, their trauma looked at head on, because duh.

Jim, Olu, Lucius, Pete? Characters who used to have defined personalities in S1, but haven't been defined much beyond their relationships with their partners? Whose trauma might be mentioned, but will quickly be 'resolved' in one scene? Shame. Seems like they're only useful as set dressing, But we might make you useful as interchangeable side characters to riff against. Oh, and you're in love! Isn't that cool!

Izzy? I'll just quote Jenkins here. "To have him become a father figure to Blackbeard, and on some level to the rest of the crew, and to see him become the heart of why we’re giving pirates the chance to stand for being able to live how you choose. In reality, they’re thieves and criminals, but what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy." So...Is Izzy a pirate and accepted into the Revenge family? Or is he still an outsider? Jenkins gave us a romcom but still defines Izzy's character as that of one stuck in a drama/tragedy. Point and laugh, because tonally these two things clash HARD and will make an audience lose trust in it's writers unless well established. Leading us to the entire issue we've pointed out of not letting your characters actions hold in dramatic weight in your story.

Frenchie, Wee John, Roach, and Fang- Ah. No love interests again...shit. Well. Background actors it is... for now. We'll see. But we need 2 more scenes of the couple breaking up, so MAYBE you'll get some backstory hinted at in dialogue. You all have 1 thing your good at, so that's easy enough to put you where you belong.

Buttons and Swede? Well. They're still alive!! Don't be sad, fans :) The actors just couldn't show up anymore. We don't want our silly happy queer pirate rom com to not end on a happy ending! (Closes the lid of the trash can where they're keep Con O'Neill a bit tighter, thanking God Con was silenced by a strike this entire season from social media)

Do you agree, or disagree? Leave any lingering thoughts down below!

I'd love to chat down below.

[whumpshaped]

i realised i never rly said anything abt going on a Real Break lol sorry- but yea im not on tumblr for rn if i dont respond to anything thats why !

[mattodore]

The BOLD THE FACTS tag with Theo (requested)

tagged for theo by @wldestluv-rs and @earthmoonz <3

The Rules are simple! Tag people and name a character you want to know more about! If you want to let the person you tagged decide who to showcase, then don’t name a character and they can pick somebody. Easy! The person who is tagged will then bold the remarks below which apply to their character &, if they want to, include a picture with their reply!

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty / other (theo is financially dependent on his wealthy parents and technically has no money of his own) ✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly (he overworks himself, gets very little sleep, smokes frequently, and abuses drugs… he’s not doing so hot) / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable ✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other ✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other ✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but hasn't been caught (theo uses illegal drugs) / yes, but charges were dismissed

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children ◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased ◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parents / not applicable / other (while technically living with his parents and being raised by them as a teen, theo was raised more closely by his au pair when he was younger)

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted / in between ♦ disorganized / organized / in between ♦ close minded /open-minded / in between ♦ calm / anxious / in between ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between ♦ cautious / reckless / in between ♦ patient / impatient / in between ♦ outspoken / reserved / in between (he can lash out but generally theo keeps a lot of his thoughts to himself) ♦ leader / follower (theo doesn’t like the spotlight) / in between ♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between ♦ traditional / modern / in between ♦ hard-working / lazy / in between ♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown (theo hasn't had enough people in his corner to answer this one with any amount of certainty) ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown (similar to the above, theo hasn't dated enough to give a general answer for this)

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious❀ Philosophical: yes / no

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual ❥ Sex: sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless / other (theo has sex regularly but that doesn't necessarily mean he's favorable... this isn't to say that he never wants or enjoys sex, but that he has a tendency to use sex in unhealthy ways. it's complicated.)♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naïve and clueless / romance suspicious (doesn’t trust people not to hurt him)❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naïve / inexperienced / curious ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / Alcoholic ☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker ✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed (headache meds regularly and sleeping pills a few months out of the year) / frequently / to excess ☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater $ Splurge Spending: never/ sometimes / frequently / shopaholic ♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gambler

tagging @wldestluv-rs for faye (i've got you nene ☝️), @veone for nick, @stinkrascal for vlad and also maybe amarie if you wanna, @omgkayplays for malaika, and @lucidicer for pogo and vincent whenever you come back from your break ♥

[yakny]

Knight Bobo, wearing some of the patterns I drew :D!

[barra-400]

June pt. 2

[ehlnofay]

NOT a sabre cat

[manofthepipis]

Here are my own Addison/Spamton headcannons to add on! :]

(buckle up cause I got a lot)

If Spamton tries to talk about personal memories that he tried very hard to bury, (like his puppitfication), he physically cant. If he talks about a memory that overwhelms him his body would spaz out in glitches and error signs. (kinda like a system crash)

I feel like if the Adds were to get the grasp of healing magic, the first one to perfect it would be Clicks. (bc he already makes tea that heals you!)

Sponsor owns a motorcycle! (because they thought it made them look cool) And regularly takes it out for a spin when he's done with work for the day.

Survey is a secret horror fan, and when having movie nights with the other adds, they would always recommend horror movies that they personally like.

I feel like Banner really focused on clothing after Spamton went missing, (he only really did this as a side hustle/hobby beforehand) as it was a good distraction and a way to cope, and he found out he was really good at it! And made it his primary business.

When an addison gives a gift with no underlying intention/price tag attached, it is seen as a sign of a genuine friendship, familial, or courtship relations, (like when they all gifted Spamton the new phone) as all addisons are selfish in nature

Clicks 1000000000% cried at the Barbie movie and has a poster of her in his room lololol

Sponsor absolutely LOVES those shitpost videos on TikTok, like that smurf-cat that's been trending recently? his feed is FULL of videos like that

Its hard for Spamton to open up for a variety of reasons, because he HATES it when people give him pity, he's been dealing with that his whole life, and knows that bigshot's don't get those looks.

Along with fashion, Banner is CRAZY good at makeup, and that's when he and Clicks have most of their gossip sessions when doing Clicks makeup when they're hanging out together

Survey has a soft spot for holiday seasons (not just because of shopping sales and spike and sales, cause all addisons are scrambling when october hits,) but also because it's a time they feel all warm and fuzy with their family :]

To add on to the motorcycle thing, Banner was very against Sponsor getting one, as he heard about horror stories on those "death traps" (his words)

to add on to the one above, Sponsor didn't wear a helmet once, (cause he only needed to go like, a street down to grab something,) and Banner gave him HELL. bro went on a whole rant about Bike saftey and Sponsor always wore a helmet after that incident (a mad banner is very scary! cause i hc that he always keeps his chill) (Banner is not beating mom friend allegations)

Jevil LOVES messing with Clicks the most, as he's the drama queen, and his reactions are hilarious cause he HATES the clown. Jevil will do things like change his wallpaper, take secret selfies, or just flat out jumpscare him because it never gets old...

Sponsor is a BEAST at Just Dance, like, bro is doing breakdancing for every single song, and he WILL make EVERYONE do the dances correctly, (as clicks likes to half-ass it by just moving the controller correctly)

Banner is the strongest physically out of all the addisons. Y'know like, that punching bag game in arcades where the harder you punch the bag the more points you get? Banner DEMOLISHED that, and has one of the highest scores still.

Clicks secretly plays dating sim games as a guilty pleasure

also have you seen eviction day yet? If not, I HIGHLY reccomend! I will add a warning for flashing lights and disturbing imagry though, https://youtu.be/fzzGtz4v3YU?si=6-AD5j8qrGARbdM3

but yea! here are my silly lil headcannons for the silly lil guys :]

i'm incredibly happy with the energy we've created in the studio today

also known as omg i love these headcanons like this is great food hfjdksjdjdks

the first one i also share! and it's a bit of why i headcanon swatch feels distant from spamton out of everybody he talks to. Like they were rlly close at one point and talked a lot, and swatch was his shoulder at high stress points in his job. However when the Horrors happened, he physically couldn't explain anything, leaving swatch to wonder what exactly happened to him and then build up resentment for keeping them in the dark. They even tried to help at first, but help turned to hate real fast when neo got involved.

i love the idea over clicks and spamton maybe bonding over some healing magic, like i had something similar in mind for a future chapter but this rlly has me smiling at the possibilities. spamton would maybe give him some tips- for a price. He IS thinking about trying to capitalize the whole healing gig after all since he's good at it.

banner going into clothing after spamton disappeared makes sense, especially with keeping busy trying to forget about him (it's awful hard to with the mannequins looking the way they do, but maybe that's a good thing in the long run) also i adore the mom friend vibe these headcanons have about him. i'd love to add on to the helmet thing, as I feel Clicks would join him on this (he's protective) but sponsor (and maybe even survey) claims it's fine if it was just once.

i completely agree with surv and the holidays. honestly i feel like they're the most ambitious with holiday sales and are unmatched, kind of peaking during seasonal sales in general (seeing how many survey ads are in place when customer shopping is at an all time high). spamton was indifferent to the holiday craze (cuz even when addisons were at their busiest, he wasn't) but liked when everything settled down after they weren't as busy to talk with him again. I have a picture in mind of survey chilling with spamton and realizing this, how happy he is when they're not busy (and feeling as if he was supposed to be), and being happy in return, if not sympathetic to him.

jevil pranking the adds and being a general nuisance is just so funny to me. gosh i can just imagine the absolute chaos he'd bring to a tea shop, mixing up the names and flavors, upon the other things (especially the wallpaper that has me cracking up with ideas). spamton, at the request (and payment) of clicks, gets jevil to stop (maybe. it's unclear if hes actually stopped completely or if there's smaller pranks here and there) but he secretly finds it hilarious.

overall these headcanons are great and i'm so happy to see them shared