Because I am constantly thinking about cogs in TTCC, I've decided to just start posting a few of my yap sessions to this Tumblr. Some will be long, and some quite short! I'm especially interested in how suits work both physically and within their society, so if you like that kind of thing, I've got a whole lot of it. Starting with something (relatively) short and simple today, though: serial numbers!
Basic Summary: In addition to personnel number for use within specific companies (such as those found on Cogs.Ink), all suits have a serial number that acts like a universal ID—essentially their equivalent of a social security number, birth certificate, and more, all wrapped up into one.
Every suit is given a serial number upon completion, as is legally required by the Suitopian government.
Serial numbers typically include information such as which company or independent entity built them, an identifier of the factory in which they were manufactured, the date they were manufactured, a model / design indicator, and a unique string of numbers at the end to serve as an individual identifier.
>> For example, a C.O.G.S. serial number for your average Flunky could be something along the lines of: COGS-01542-041025-FL001-05382
>> The above Flunky was manufactured by C.O.G.S. in Factory 1542, on 04/10/25. It is the most basic model of Flunky, specifically, and its individual identifier is 05382, differentiating that particular individual from other Flunkies of that model, built on the same day and in the same factory.
Serial numbers do not typically change over time, and are managed by the Suitopian government. On occasion, the version and model identifier may be updated upon submitting proof of extensive upgrades, but the rest is set in stone. This allows every single suit to be effectively traced back for a number of purposes, such as notifying individuals of recalls or manufacturing defects present in specific production batches. It isn’t, however, good news for suits who find themselves tied to companies or entities that they would rather not have any affiliation with.
There is a lot of bureaucracy involved with regard to serial numbers, as is the case with most things in suit society. Some are merely built by factories or companies that are deemed more unreliable or of lesser quality than others, which leaves them with the short end of the dipstick when it comes to getting jobs in highly competitive markets.
The usage of serial numbers to differentiate job candidates is considered very controversial as of late, and workers' rights groups in Suitopia are pushing towards forbidding employers from partaking in this kind of discrimination.
Haven’t posted Cog HCs in a while but here’s a companion piece to the “Toons’ vs. Cogs’ ideas of funny” post
Talking comedy now: Cogs would be like straightmen to the Toons’ funnyman. Toons would bounce jokes off of the Cogs and Cogs would in turn roll their eyes and make fun of the Toons’ idiocy; that would be the ideal comedic relationship. But Cogs can have differing personalities too.
Imagine... Cogs bouncing jokes off of a Cog who has an actual lack of humor. The strictest, most overbearing Boss(bot); the highestbrow Legal Eagle; the most disagreeable banker. These fellows have no room for subtle witty wordplay, no sense of sarcasm or irony like the ordinary businessbot.
Imagine Toons seeing Cogs as straightmen... but then in walks an impossibly straighter man, for the straight-men.
-Lower tier cogs live in shitty appartment dorms till they reach about 4th tier
-the nicer cog neighborhoods are cookie cutter drab and grey buildings.
-they actually arent really out to get toons, theyre just doing their job. Flippy only hijacked a few hundred to push his agenda
- the lower tier a cog the more likely theyll have "Sphaghetti syndrome" where their wires and insides will look like pasta due to fo how rapidly they are produced, however a higher tier cog will have more time put into them.
-there are actually several species variations of animal-like cogs and some cogs tend to very in appearence,
-Bloodsuckers are weak for sweets, which is why they pursue toon blood. AB+ is like ambrosia of the gods to them.
-All mr.hollywoods live in "the hollywood hills"
- The V.P is pretty chill, and actually laid back unless, you know, you betray him. Then he is the most vindictive evil lil Meow ya ever seen
-The Chief Justice can't stand the color yellow. He doesnt know why.
If you want more of my fancomic/rp based toontown world building just send me an ask on what kind of headcanons you wanna hear
Random Cog Headcanons: Outmoding, Decommissioning, & Death
Went for something a bit different today and decided to compile my headcanons on how cogs actually, y’know, die. Because I definitely think they can, especially in a world like TTCC where things tend to get a little more serious at times. Be aware that a couple of these can get a little messed up and morbid… But honestly, it’s no more morbid than Blue Sky's movie Robots if you think about it a little too hard. So, if you’ve seen that, you can probably handle it just fine.
TW for general discussion of death and dying, obviously.
Other posts of mine that may help you understand this one even better in context:
⚙️ The Personality Matrix
⚙️ Suit Memories
Summary: Despite their ability to be fixed when damaged, suits unfortunately do not live forever. After being outmoded, it’s only a matter of time before natural degradation—or even the company that built them—leads to the end of their lifespan. Though not every form of being shut down is necessarily permanent, there are many cases in which it’s blatantly unfair, and a point of no return can come about in a multitude of ways. The manner in which family members may cope with the loss of a loved one varies from person to person, though not every suit gets the courtesy of a ceremonious sendoff.
Becoming an Outmode
All suits have a given period of time that their model is still being actively supported, similar to how most operating systems and physical technology have a period of time that they are continuously updated and easy to repair.
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>> Though not all suits are built by the same companies or independent entities, suits from each ‘generation’ of sorts tend to have similar components and run on the same few operating systems. Think of it like generations of phones or computers.
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Suits can extend the period that their model is supported by keeping up with important upgrades and ensuring their systems are always up-to-date with the latest software and/or hardware. However, there inevitably comes a time where a suit’s systems are no longer compatible with the latest technology, at which point they will inevitably face being outmoded once service for their model and/or operating system is discontinued.
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Models that have been outmoded no longer have first-party components produced for them, which makes getting ahold of quality parts and maintaining themselves exponentially more difficult.
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>> Though discontinued parts tend to be somewhat plentiful immediately after discontinuation, over time they become more and more difficult to find, and by extension more and more expensive.
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>> Repairs also tend to become far pricier, as fewer mechanics are willing to work on older models that could be considered a hassle or liability to deal with. Suits that have been outmoded for an extended period of time are often forced to turn to specialists.
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So long as a suit has the resources to continue upkeep on their systems, they can survive long after being outmoded. Unfortunately, not every suit has the resources to do so, especially if they happen to be very low on the totem pole overall with subpar pay.
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As per usual, “grunt” or “stock” cogs get the short end of the stick here, since they technically count as company property and can have the rug pulled out from underneath them with very little warning.
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Suits that cannot keep up with repairs, but would be otherwise functional if they could, often end up decommissioned.
Decommissioning
Decommissioning typically occurs when a suit’s body ceases to function due to a lack of upkeep (as in, they can no longer afford to live), or when a company decides to outmode and terminate the employment of a series of stock cogs en masse regardless of their current functioning—often to save money on upkeep or recycle their resources.
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>> The latter cannot occur to non-stock suits or stock suits that have been legally emancipated from the company that built them.
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>> A great deal of policy surrounding suit rights have come under fire recently, as there is a distinct lack of fairness when it comes to the rights of stock suits in particular, leading to more hoop-jumping than is reasonable or necessary to get the same considerations and opportunities as others.
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Suits that have been decommissioned are not truly ‘dead’, per se, but rather have just been shut down and taken out of service. Should one have the time and resources, it is sometimes possible to recommission a decommissioned suit and effectively bring them back to life.
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Despite not being a ‘true’ death, decommissioning is often treated as such. Decommissioned suits continue to degrade even when they are no longer active—especially if they are stored in subpar conditions, as is the case with many decommissioned grunts—and the cost of fully restoring them is often not considered to be worth the time investment as obscure components become ever more scarce.
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Due to Suitopia’s current political climate, stock suits decommissioned while in perfect working order are often stored away somewhere to avoid public backlash and quietly disposed of at a later date. Yes, it is as cruel as it sounds, but megacorporations easily get away with it, as they can claim inability to function after a period of time stored where they’ll obviously degrade.
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Suits with the time, money, and connections to maintain both their independence and health often never end up decommissioned, and instead are subject to a natural process of degradation that results in a ‘true’, or irreversible, death.
Degradation & True Death
Though physical age and degradation is correlated with the ultimate lifespan of a suit, cogs don’t necessarily ‘die’ when their physical bodies break down; rather, it occurs when some core part of them becomes unrecoverable. In such instances, restoring the physical body would not be sufficient to bring a person back, resulting in what could be considered a ‘true’ death.
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While suits can have the vast majority of their bodies repaired or replaced in the event of damage, there are certain components that define their personhood, and thus stay with them for their entire lifetime. Because these components, such as the personality matrix and memory chip, cannot be effectively replaced or refurbished throughout time (lest you risk irreversible damage, a ship of Theseus situation, or violation of privacy laws), they are subject to inevitable deterioration that effectively gives every suit a finite lifespan.
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>> The irreplaceable nature of such components also makes them very vulnerable to physical damage. As such, it’s possible to suffer a ‘true’ death from physical trauma as well. See: Atticus Wing from Break The Law. (Yes, yes, I know that isn’t technically canon anymore, but I still think it’s neat.)
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Common ways that suits may experience a ‘true’ death include, but are not limited to: Failure of the personality matrix, causing loss of identity; failure of the memory chip, resulting in either immediate or continual loss of personal memories; and gradual corruption of the operating system, which can be considered equivalent to a terminal disease or progressive condition.
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It is usually considered more respectful (at least in terms of suits with actual rights and perceived value) to not go through with repairs if a suit's "self" is truly not recoverable. After all, it would be a bit grotesque to rebuild a suit that looks and sounds like a deceased loved one, and maybe even acts like them in some ways if they have a default personality loaded, but who is simply not the person you knew.
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>> In the same vein, it isn’t uncommon for immediate family members to choose to shut down a declining relative that is no longer lucid or acting themselves, rather than wait for some sort of inevitable deterioration that results in a complete loss of functionality. This is especially true in cases where personality data or memory data are lost, as while such conditions may come near the end of one’s physical life span, they do not in and of themselves cause the body to stop functioning (unlike corruption of the operating system, which eventually bricks all of a suit’s functions).
Cultural Practices
For suits with families or those who are considered to be important, there are cultural practices that tend to take place when a suit is permanently decommissioned or deemed unrecoverable.
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The most common practice is taking a small piece of the deceased as a memento, occasionally having it crafted into something wearable such as jewelry. This is viewed as roughly equivalent to the practice of keeping ashes.
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If the memory chip is still intact, some may choose to preserve it, as any unconsolidated memories can be pulled and played back as mementos in themselves; however, this can be considered a violation of the deceased’s privacy in some contexts, so it’s a matter of personal preference. Consolidated memories can only be unencrypted and recovered by specialists, and necessitate having legally obtained permission prior to a loved one’s death in order to access them due to privacy laws.
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Funerals are not uncommon, though rather than burying or cremating the body, it may be melted down or otherwise recycled into something else, such as a headstone, memorial, or whatever else feels appropriate to the next of kin.
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If no next of kin cares enough to claim the body in the first place, chances are that it will just be sold, scrapped, and reused for industrial purposes. It’s morbid, but efficient—and good news for anyone who might be in the market for an outmode’s spare parts.
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Unfortunately, stock suits often don’t get any sort of heartfelt sendoff, as they are generally considered unimportant and entirely replaceable. Disposing of them is, for the most part, unceremonious and flippant, as they’re frequently destroyed in workplace accidents on a massive scale.
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>> There are exceptions to every rule, however, as is the case with stock suits that somehow manage to rise significantly above their station. Models that would otherwise be considered grunts, such as Jennifer, for example, appear to be treated well in a position of relative power and are unlikely to be handled as carelessly.
Today, I bring you some headcanons inspired by the different kinds of suits described by the TTCC team! More specifically, it’s inspired by what was said in a post on the TTCC website here:
I find the concept of different kinds of suits having different programming and processors to be incredibly interesting, so I just had to explore it! While they’re called personality processors by the team, I prefer the term ‘personality matrix’. You can assume they’re basically the same thing when I discuss them here. I won’t be getting into the different levels of self-preservation here, because that might deserve its own post, but there’s still plenty of stuff for me to yap about. We’re on that longposting grind for sure.
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As a head's up, I typically call cogs from TTCC suits! So you'll see me using that language a lot on this blog. The two terms are 100% interchangeable!
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Summary: All suits have within them a personality chip that contains what is known as a personality matrix—that is, the part of a suit that ensures actions are in line with emotions, thoughts, and internal dispositions. There are three kinds of personality matrix featured in suits: Static, Semi-Adaptive, and Adaptive.
Static Personality Matrices
Static is the most basic, rudimentary form of personality matrix, and by extension the cheapest. Suits with a static personality matrix are, in essence, entirely unable to experience any form of personality development or change, regardless of their experiences. Because of their many limitations, this form of personality matrix has only limited use cases in the modern day. Static personalities are usually found in various kinds of basic “grunt” or “stock” suits, who are often created to serve simple functions, such as filing paperwork or roaming the streets. Typically, there are a set number of static personality presets, which means that a great many stock suits often come to have the same personality programming, though there are exceptions to every rule.
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If a suit with a static personality matrix is factory reset due to catastrophic damage—that is, if their memories and personal experiences are entirely wiped—virtually nothing will change about the way that they behave or identify in a general sense. They will, however, cease to recognize people, places, learned skills, or experiences that they were previously familiar with. In essence, they would still be the same exact person—just without any personal memories.
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That being said, limited adaptability does not mean a lack of sentience, nor an inability to learn. It is only the personality itself that is unable to change over time. For example, if a static suit is primarily positive and bubbly in personality, negative experiences will not change that fact. Due to this, they are very emotionally resilient. Some view such resilience as quite a preferable trait in a lackey, for better or for worse.
Semi-Adaptive Personality Matrices
Semi-adaptive is the most common form of personality matrix. Suits with a semi-adaptive personality matrix are pre-programmed with a particular temperament, personality, or disposition that is algorithmically adjusted over the course of their lifespan according to experience and changing circumstances. Suits with a semi-adaptive personality are favored due to their effective balance of predictable outcome and flexibility; one can all but guarantee that a particular suit will display the desired temperament, such as being driven and diligent, while maintaining an ability to pivot or change their approach if necessary. Over time, semi-adaptive suits are capable not only of changing their behavior according to external demands, but altering their self-concept through personal exploration as well. Regardless, a significant portion of the original “base” personality is maintained irrespective of circumstance; semi-adaptive suits are not known to deviate so significantly that they no longer resemble their “base” personality type, which could be considered a potential constraint. It’s a good thing, then, that there are many more variants of semi-adaptive “base” personalities than is the case with static personalities. You can even get one custom made!
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If a suit with a semi-adaptive personality matrix is factory reset, the suit will revert back to their original “base” personality and self-concept. They will lose not only knowledge of people, places, learned skills, and experiences, but the culmination of all adaptive personality data gained over the years. Upon being wiped, semi-adaptive suits cease to be the same person—and, due to the complexity of the personality matrix itself, adapting their way back to their original selves is all but impossible. Their previous self would effectively cease to be, even if the facets it was built upon remain, though it would not prevent them from functioning entirely.
Adaptive Personality Matrices
Adaptive personality matrices are one of the most complex and expensive forms of personality matrix. For this reason, they are incredibly uncommon, and primarily seen in the children of wealthy suits who, in turn, have the time, resources, and confidence to raise them. Suits with an adaptive personality matrix start out with no “base” personality, constructing their self-concept and natural dispositions from scratch through use of a powerful algorithm that processes and translates experiential data. They are not beholden to the limitations of a prefabricated personality, and thus may possess eccentricities, quirks, or interests that would not otherwise be present in a standard personality type. Whether such quirks are beneficial or detrimental is highly variable, of course, as is the case with most aspects of this kind of personality matrix.
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Despite requiring quite a bit of additional time investment, an adaptive personality matrix can result in significant advantages if the suit in question is reared and educated properly. The personality matrices of adaptive suits take longer to calibrate, but end up exceedingly responsive and fine-tuned as a result, creating strong yet flexible self-concepts that do not accept or reject information according to a predefined set of internal characteristics.
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Rather than consulting a “base” mental framework when making decisions and tweaking as needed, adaptive personality matrices feature a complicated system that continuously weighs and organizes experiential data to determine the desired course of action. In other words, personal experiences and potential responses are weighed against themselves, rather than being compared to modified presets, with the most heavily weighted data forming the “core” identity over time. This results in thorough thought processes and complex value systems that allow adaptive suits to more easily thrive in unstable environments where others seem to struggle—though, in exchange, it also requires a lot of processing power, which is partly responsible for the hefty cost. Even so, a number of pioneers in various industries possess adaptive personality matrices, responding more readily to change and seeing possibilities where others do not.
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The potential rewards of an adaptive personality matrix may be high, but so are the risks. Unfortunately, adaptive personality matrices are viewed as unreliable with regard to mass-production on the whole. High cost and time investment aside, the personalities and dispositions of adaptive suits can go awry if they’re handled incorrectly; as is the case with human children, those with adaptive personalities who are mishandled may offer undesirable results or display defects of character. On top of this, adaptive suits are incredibly vulnerable in that core personality data can be easily lost due to damage. Suits with static or semi-adaptive personalities can have their ‘base’ personality re-loaded after repairs in the event of damage to their personality matrices, allowing them to continue working even if they’ve suffered significant losses. Not so for adaptive suits; in their case, what’s lost is lost.
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Given this fact, factory resetting a suit with an adaptive personality matrix is incredibly unwise and never recommended under any circumstances. If a suit with an adaptive personality matrix is reset, they are effectively rendered inert and unable to properly function. With the entirety of their personality and self-concept having been erased, unlucky adaptive suits who experience a factory reset effectively become a completely blank slate; they awaken with no idea as to who, where, or why they are, and often lose the vast majority of their necessary life skills in the process. For this reason, it is generally considered far more considerate (and far more cost-effective) to decommission an adaptive suit in need of a factory reset rather than to go about initiating the process.
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Man, that was a long one. There's some other things I want to go over in the future, such as factory resets and why they might happen, my headcanons for how cog/suit children work, etc. but this is probably it for today considering how long I spent writing it. Thanks for reading!
I'm back again with a slightly shorter yap than the last one, this time focusing on how suits process and store memories! Tried to go for the bullet point format again since my last post was pretty dense.
Summary: Suits have different kinds of memories, with the two main kinds being consolidated and unconsolidated. Both serve different purposes and function in different ways, allowing suits to balance the preservation of disk space with the preservation of detailed memories deemed to be the most important.
The memories of suits are all contained in memory chips connected to a memory processor that interprets, sorts, and consolidates memories.
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>> Damage to the former can result in loss of current memories, while damage to the latter can cause impairments forming new memories.
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Memories are immediately processed in a 1:1 visual form, but are quickly stripped down to the essentials and encrypted for the sake of both data security and saving valuable disk/memory space. This process is known as memory consolidation.
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Due to this process, cogs often cannot 'replay' moments in their minds, especially if they're mundane. They may intuitively know what happened, when it happened, how it happened, how it made them feel, etc., but it's not like they're mentally seeing it.
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That being said, if a moment is really important to a suit, they can consciously choose to record memories and keep them in their original form. It's a sacrifice of space, but if it's something they really want to remember and be able to play back with every present detail, it might be worth it. Real wholesome potential for that, honestly. Though there's painful potential there, too.
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>> For example, some may choose to save precious moments from their wedding day, while others can’t stop mulling over a nasty breakup, unable to decide if they should just consolidate those old memories for their own good. Video evidence of workplace misconduct always makes reports stronger, too, so there’s that.
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>> Given that any process can be subject to malfunction, it may be possible under some circumstances for a memory to be unable to be consolidated by no fault of the suit themselves. This could, in theory, result in PTSD-like flashbacks when the memory is triggered (though that doesn’t mean consolidated memories cannot also be traumatic).
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Memories that have not been encrypted and consolidated can be accessed and shared between suits if desired. Typically, they are just transferred to an external device and projected in a video format, as one would a normal file.
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Emotional data in unconsolidated memories is ignored when processed by normal machines, such as an office computer or projector, but can be experienced by another directly if two suits link up.
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The process of linking up is quite literal, being a wired or wireless connection established between two or more suits. Wired is most common, though some fancier suits may have some equivalent to Bluetooth.
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Because all memories start out as unconsolidated and unencrypted, it’s possible to feel another’s emotions or experiences in real time through linking up as well if that happens to be the goal.
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Linking up is considered to be very intimate, but typically non-sexual. It can occur among trusted friends or family in addition to partners.
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Linking up will not work if one or more parties does not want to participate. It is by definition two or more machines communicating with one another, with information requests going back and forth that can be easily denied at any time.
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Memory chips are physical, and are therefore subject to degradation and/or reorganization over time. Consolidated memories may lose some factual details or end up purged for space if deemed unimportant, while unconsolidated memories that are exceptionally old may begin to have a decrease in clarity or become a bit fuzzy, as if recorded on an old camera.
