#mcmau

[hayaomiyazaki]

Wasteman (2025) dir. Cal McMau

[milfstalin]

cog gender headcanons

- cogs are Arbitrarily assigned a Gender to Promote Diversity In The Workplace, artificially creating a cis/trans divide. the chairman wanted to have that thin veneer of Progressivism to make themselves more relatable and palatable to the toons, who dont have any amount of antiqueer bigotry or related Diseases.

- all cog serials/cog lights are linked to minglermail accounts. cogs can specify monikers, gender and pronouns or leave it blank. the kicker is that the Only Gender Options are male, female, and Transgender, and the only pronoun options are he or she. if you want anything outside of that you need to file paperwork with the lawbots and it’s a bureaucratic nightmare. even cog bosses have to go up the chain of command (except for the cj who can approve their own changes instantly because something something legal power and the chairman also has admin access)

- genders are completely arbitrary to presentation considering that cogs are only sexually dimorphic based on department and tier and shells can be modified/swapped for desired gendered traits. if a cog wants bandsaws for arms they might have a hard time with the dress code though.

- cogs default to ‘they’ for toons until corrected (or not). obviously if it’s a famous toon like surlee or slappy or toon resistance they know the proper pronouns to use with them from other toons.

- cogs will do a quick serial scan and pronoun check in casual conversations with other cogs. if it’s a cog they can’t scan (missing serial/disabled cog light/deactivated minglermail account) they will straight up just ask bluntly. most cogs will use whatever pronouns for others they’re asked to use regardless if it’s registered on minglermail or not, with a few hardasses who don’t care about decency and Only Go By The Documents (this includes the chairman).

- shallow girlboss liberal feminist culture. why does it exist? because the chairman is a male feminist.

cog bosses specific:

- vp registered as a he/she/they menace to the gender binary. the vp also invented Gender as a Scam to sell more bathrooms. literally.

- cfo suspects that Gender is a Scam to sell more bathrooms but has no proof of this. cogs dont even use bathrooms because of being gas/electric engines that exhale carbon dioxide and other exhaust gases.

- cj wants to make it so that cogs can decide their own gender and pronoun markers without having to pester the lawbots about it. the chairman says that they need to have it because what if cogs start using neopronouns en masse huh??? language will become meaningless!!! etc. etc. the cj can only completely ignore the chairman and continue to plan out the reform. once he stops getting vetoed by the chairman he will make it Real.

- the ceo is registered as a he/him. the ceo would like to be labeled a he/they but really does not want to go through the entire fucking process and just. lives like this :)

[milfstalin]

the art of puppetry.

[milfstalin]

cog headcanons/fanon

so, cogs, huh???

- cogs do have a measure of individuality, as in each cog has a different perception of reality and they have individual serial numbers and memory collections.

- cogs transferring departments are rare, but not unheard of and usually permitted within reason.

- cogs are generated with a randomized personality, but most personalities tend to stay within a certain mild range and depending on their personal experiences may change.

- cog personality types are not an exact science and there’s a lot of overlap and shifting and development.

- the cog bosses operate as more of a hivemind, in that there exists a series of backups and redundancies of memory copies of the four bosses and when cogs are promoted to a cog boss position their individual personhood and memories are assimilated. this ego death is highly coveted in cog society and considered the only alternate fate to being destroyed and becoming nonexistent. retirement does not exist in cog society.

- the general/average/docile type makes up ~80% of cog personality types. these types are essentially average joes, with a middling performance and tendency to peer pressure everyone around them into the same conformity. they have no particular affinity towards any department.

- ~5% of cogs are detective/curious/nosy types. these cogs act more spontaneously and want to analyze and dissect anything deemed “abnormal” by cog society. these types tend to be lawbots and are very good at it.

- ~5% of cogs are risky/charming types. they desire the cog equivalent of adrenaline rushes. some tend to decline promotions to stay as street roamers and face toons head-on. they have a particular affinity towards cog-to-cog interactions and tend to be excellent sellbots.

- ~10% of cogs are organized/anal-retentive/manager types. they are very good at repetitive and bureaucratic tasks, and tend to have an affinity towards the bossbot and cashbot departments. they prefer to stay inside buildings, or in the HQs.

- less than ~1% of cogs are artistic/eccentric types. they tend to collect odd things, engage in artistic and cultural endeavors, and/or philosophize. these cogs are often found and removed from the general population and sent to work in producing propaganda or manufacturing cog culture.

- less than ~1% of cogs are considered abnormal/defects. they have characteristics that for whatever reason hinder their ability to work, and because of their poor performance are often left jobless and surviving off of the mercy of other cogs. cogs that quit their jobs are blacklisted and put into this category as well, essentially making this section of the cog population alienated second-class citizens.

[milfstalin]

*draws scene from own fanfic*

[milfstalin]

cog culture hcs

- cog culture differs depending on department, or lack thereof.

- most cog culture is imposed from above, by the actions of the cog bosses.

- the renegade cog culture is a major exception to this, as it is an organic movement carried by outcasts of society (basically punk)

- propaganda and other art pieces are produced by unusually talented cogs at the behest of the cog bosses.

sellbots:

- feed the ego, starve the soul.

- coveted traits include: charisma, ambition, and individualism.

- detested traits include: dullness and contentment.

- sellbots engage in sales pitch competitions and other forms of friendly competition to hone their craft. they are encouraged to develop unique mannerisms in order to sell better and be more marketable, but not to be too unique as to upset the current social order. and when everyone is unique, it results in a net zero effect and everyone becomes the same again.

- for sellbots, appearance is everything. they prize beauty and fine clothing alongside personal charm as marks of virtue and goodness.

cashbots:

- your worth can only be measured in wealth.

- coveted traits include: diligence, acquisitiveness, and wealth.

- detested traits include: asceticism and poverty.

- cashbots often steal from each other, considering it “borrowing without prior approval.” this is mostly fine and expected when it’s between two cashbots, but tends to cause conflicts with cogs from other departments who aren’t too happy with this tradition.

- cashbots are encouraged to be vain (though not as vain as sellbots) and show off material possessions as a mark of status. collections of rare items also count as wealth, such as limited edition cards or beanie babies.

lawbots:

- no morality exists except for the law.

- coveted traits include: wit, patience, and curiosity.

- detested traits include: rules-bending and mercy.

- lawbots are considered the most well-read and knowledgeable of cogs, and they often engage in impromptu public debates on abstract topics and nuances of legality. these draw in large crowds due to the spectacle of it. sellbots can engage in the debates, but lose quickly due not knowing much about the law.

- lawbots are also very annoying to other bots as they are extreme law-sticklers, but are frequently hypocritical in the process and view themselves as somewhat exempt from the rules they preach.

bossbots:

- behave yourself, or his wrath will fall upon us all.

- coveted traits include: authority, discipline, and control.

- detested traits include: nonconformity and curiosity.

- bossbots live in fear, until the day that they can cause fear in their underlings. and even then, there’s always a bigger fish above them ready to ruin their life. bossbots are the most stressed of the departments, however, they are also the most prestigious and enjoy the most privileges and accommodations.

- the sacred sport of golf is the main mechanism of stress relief for bossbots. other departments also engage in golf, but the bossbots make it an integral part of their identity. often, physical fights can break out over golf.

renegade cogs:

- live and breathe and die together.

- the rebels of the cog world, whether by choice or otherwise. the dregs and leftovers of society, very cynical and yet, still hopeful.

- renegade cogs often pick up a variety of skills such as repairs that would be otherwise exclusive to maintenance skelecogs or confined to other departments.

- renegade cogs pick their own names and can develop extensively non-conforming personalities.

- body modding and the lack of a dress code allows for true individuality within the collective movement.

- as their financial assets are scarce or nonexistent, renegade cogs prize thrift and cleverness over all else, as well as engaging in mutual aid and other forms of community organization and collective action.

- if the entire structure of society is hell-bent on eradicating you, the only way to live is through solidarity with other alienated people.

[milfstalin]

bus station doodles part 2

[milfstalin]

kid!cog bosses based off of my hcs of cog bosses having a temporary child phase when first built in normal cog-sized shells