#system ref

[rangerhippolord]

Servitors that "go rogue" are preventable

I groan every time I hear another story about a servitor that has "gone rogue" and ended up turning into a cobud instead. Given what I know about a servitor's limitations, as well as the unconscious biases and motivations for creating a servitor, I'll explain why this happens and how to prevent some awkward conversations both in and out of system.

Servitors "going rogue" can sound scary, but you need to look closer at the servitor's purpose and what mindsets their cocreator has about it. If the servitor is seen as an entity that carries out a task like shuffling cards and nothing more, that's unlikely to cause problems. However, one that's supposed to mimic being a headmate probably will. While servitors are inherently human because they are part of the human brain, a creator's underlying expectations and desires can lead to cobud creation instead.

Servitor limitations

Servitors aren't designed to solely handle personality-dependent tasks. They are designed to handle basic tasks or serve as a support for these tasks. But they will fall short when expected more of.

A prime example of this is the "body OS", or "body operating system". This is a basic servitor that most people likely have; it seems to come prepackaged with having a brain. Its purpose seems to be making it easier to think and go about your day-to-day activities.

While the body OS can engage in conversations, it's not designed to handle an entire conversation by itself. The body OS echos general opinions and basic conversation behaviors, but that's because it's designed to help you by offloading conscious effort in day-to-day conversations. (I may share my interesting experience with our body OS in a future post.) However, once you do need to make decisions based on your values or do thinking that requires a lot of conscious thought, the body OS falls short. I assume this because we have heard multiple stories about headmates abandoning the front, only for new ones to spawn after it's been too long. Thus, I concluded a headmate being in control must be required and the body OS isn't enough on its own.

A long time ago, I found another system's experience that supported the idea a servitor shouldn't be left alone in the front. They had a dish-washing servitor, but I may have misremembered and it was just their body OS. They have their servitor do the dishes so they can focus on each other in wonderland. However, if someone interrupts them, a headmate will be summoned to address the situation.

Summoning a headmate also happens with different servitor-like thoughtforms we have. We struggle with emotional self-awareness, so we ask these entities if we really feel a certain way or not on certain things. In response, they will spit out a short answer. However, when it comes to explaining why, they will eventually summon the part of us with those feelings instead. If they didn't, that would imply they were just part of us, and not really a separate servitor who's just passing along a message.

Overall, servitors don't seem like they can carry out personality-dependent tasks on their own. Knowing that, it makes sense why a servitor expected to do those tasks likely becomes a cobud instead.

When things go wrong

I assume there are a few underlying expectations that can lead to servitors "going rogue" and becoming disobedient. However, most of them fall under the general unconscious assumption certain "servitors" are actually separate people. There are a few stories I can think of and some of my speculations about escapism that may explain what inspires these mindsets.

One possible mindset could be the self-fulfilling prophecy that servitors could go rogue in the first place. I have heard of multiple reports of servitors going rogue, reports that it happens easily, and fears of servitors going rogue. This seems very similar to the fears authors and role players have for creating cobuds out of story characters. However, it's possible to have story characters and cobuds (like we do). Likewise, there are examples of servitors not going rogue, usually HUD-like servitors. However, fear is one of the easier expectations to identify.

I believe the main expectation for servitors going rogue is unconsciously expecting a servitor to be a person. You can create a cobud starting with a story character, so I feel basing your cobud off of a servitor isn't too different.

I'm not the first to come to this conclusion either. In response to an older system who reported their servitors having gone rogue, another paromancer suspected the servitor creator had a deep desire for a person instead of a mindless robot. A similar response was given by several paromancers to another incident I'm more familiar with.

A long time ago, I was fortunate enough to meet a system with a "servitor going rogue" situation in a public Discord server. They had a fascinating approach to servitor creation- they "programmed" them by having them follow state machine logic: "if this happens, do xyz." However, their servitors were expected to be servants while also having person-like qualities. The servitor creator explained they would scrap servitors that were deemed "too sentient" and created revisions to try and find that line between person and "machine". However, to me as well as others, it seemed pretty obvious the underlying desire for a cobud was still present.

While a lot more complicated, my host, Gray, created a "servitor" but desired a headmate instead. We saw Gray wanting to create more cobud-like thoughtforms as a problem (due to large-system stigma), and this time he wanted to make a "servitor" to serve as our "subconscious representative". Upon closer inspection, we eventually realized it wasn't a servitor- it was Stars, our headmate who went dormant and Gray brought back. (Stars is kind of servitor-like in nature though, which is part of why it's complicated.) We then realized the underlying motivation for creating some of our more recent turned-out-to-be cobud headmates was Gray wanting Stars back, but failing to do so before. We didn't create any other cobuds since, but we kept the cobuds Gray created.

On a slightly different note, I also speculate wanting someone or something else to live your life will also lead to a failure in creating a servitor. I vaguely remember some people wanting to create a servitor to do things like chores, but they never produced results. On the other hand, the system I mentioned earlier with the dish-washing servitor wasn't stressed about doing dishes, they were just bored. I feel those different mindsets going into servitor creation are significant.

However, it's possible this situation is more rare and less understood than I initially thought. Hosts who abandon the front, an already rare situation in of itself, don't usually need a servitor to take their place. Plus, my feelings of wanting cobuds to be treated like people unless told otherwise is probably making this situation seem more common to me than it really is. I will be very surprised if a system can successfully pull off creating a servitor that does stressful tasks for them. But I don't recommend it either because it would ultimately be a band-aid solution to a deeper problem.

Preventing "rogue" servitors

Ultimately, I feel the underlying biases and desires into servitorship are the driving force that lead to servitors going rogue or not. Since servitors aren't designed to handle deep conscious thinking and decision making on personal values, asking a servitor to do that is ultimately asking for a cobud instead. Being mindful of potential mental health related motuvations, accepting the possibility of more cobuds, blah blahhh

First, if you like the idea of having a servitor doing chores or act as a servant for you, think about what it would be like to have a servitor and consider the possibility you want another cobud and/or are trying to escape responsibility. Do you want to zone out and be distracted while a servitor is doing simple tasks, or do you want to avoid the task all together? If you want a "yes" person who always says yes to you, are you sure this isn't a trauma response from bad past experiences with people, and you just want someone who would genuinely want to say "yes" to you? Addressing any underlying trauma will lead to a happier experience a servitor can't offer you.

Keep in mind it's not normal to have a trauma response or a panic attack for things like cleaning and doing homework. You shouldn't have to suffer trying to force yourself to do these things. If possible, please seek professional help and/or look into self-help resources.

Second, if you want to create more than one cobud, do it. Discouraging cocreators from creating large systems doesn't usually work and creates stigma and shame. It also leads to cases like ours where systems will create "servitors", unconsciously hoping to find a loophole. There's no point in adding unnecessary restraints. Instead, it's more effective to understand why you want to create more cobuds instead and go from there.

Third, there's also no need to humanize servitors either. You can still respect a servitor that isn't intended to be a person. The servitor may need times to recharge, just like how focusing on anything for too long can be exhausting, you shouldn't lash out at a servitor doing what it was expected to do, etc. It's like respecting the body- understand the servitor's limits and don't push far beyond them.

So hopefully, next time you want to dive into servitorship, you have a clear understanding of what you want and your intentions. No one wants their cobud sharing the "So my host thought I was a lifeless robot!" story!

[mielplante]

my king i think there's tianlang jun in these bushes,,,

[rangerhippolord]

I feel like it depends on the hivemind. I know Sophie explained different levels, but I think it's up to the hivemind to decide if they're plural or not, regardless of how much of an individual each member appears to be.

My headmate Stars is arguably "a hivemind". He's a collective of androids, each one being specialized to represent and carry out different unconscious tasks. His parts identify as median members of the same headmate. His parts unconsciously share feelings and beliefs, and it's normal for them to blend a bit. He can also combine into one entity, and lately, his combined self has stood by his other parts or even directly speak to them.

He uses "me" and "I" to refer to both himself as a part or himself as the collective. Usually one of his parts will also use "us" and "we". If he said that while combined, I don't remember.

Stars is not a cobud, but this set-up is interesting to think about from a cocreation standpoint.

Cobuds often regularly use "I, me, us, and we" as well, but you don't usually see a cobud say "I" to refer to their entire system. However, it can happen by accident or intentionally through masking as a non-plural. Obviously, this is different if the system identifies as median.

However, this can apply to a non-median cosystem of individuals if they decide to try merging for fun. One time my host and I merged, but it was sloppy so we ended up speaking to our merged self... oops. (We did split successfully, and our merged self dissolved. We did not create a separate person.)

This also reminds me of why some people say cocreation is splitting instead of creating. This perspective assumes the "brain hivemind?" exists first, rather than a cocreator building a new person from scratch. I prefer to teach the latter because I feel the former comes with different implications, such as a cobud taking away a part of their host's identity.

Median systems and sub-systems in general really showcase how fluid identity and one's sense of self is. As a cocreator, I'm fascinated by this. I like studying these systems to better understand identity separation and development for both cobud creation and in general.

Would hiveminds count?

Should they?

The relationship between hiveminds and multiplicity is complicated to say the least.

There's a post here that classifies hiveminds in terms of multiplicity...

The basic idea with this theory is that there are certain hiveminds made up of multiple distinct individuals with their own independent thoughts.

If the definition of plurality is having multiple people in one body, it could be argued that each of these bodies contains "multiple people" in it. This could technically be plural.

But then there are the "true hiveminds" where there is only one singular self that simply operates multiple bodies. These ones feel pretty clearly like a singlet to me.

So what do we think?

[hinamie]

i fear i can never date a man bc none of them will ever be makoto tachibana

[candyheartedchy]

I’m gonna walk into the ocean now.

[wildflowercryptid]

i'm about to pass out at my desk, but have this stupid ass doodle i did before i go sleep.

[superbellsubways]

computer application yuri blast ☄️

[the-blanketfort-sys]

“ False Hearth ”

📝 – a False Hearth is an alter role that is best described as an alter who pretends to be nice and friendly towards people the system generally dislikes or have a strong feeling of resentment towards.

These alters tend to put up a facade of a “warm and caring” persona despite their strong feelings of hatred towards the person themselves, usually to keep up appearances, though this reason isn't required for alters to identify with this role !!

[solshii]

Hello! Are we allowed to draw your scumpony designs? :D i love them so much and i wanna draw fanart :)

If not, thats totally okay too! Have a nice day!

hello anon!!

of course you're allowed to draw them <333 my original intent was actually for their designs to be used by others hahaha it would make my day to see how my designs would be used

thank you so much for your love and interest, i cherish it all very much <33

here's background practice as a treat:)

[rangerhippolord]

Guided visualization: outside at the beach

Because almost everyone has a beach or had a beach skit while in their wonderland. I want to make this one more accessible to beginners, so the story is pretty simple and only focuses on describing a handful of things.

You are standing on a beach near the water, facing the ocean. It's a warm sunny day, with only a handful of small, streak-like clouds in the bright blue sky. There's a cool breeze that comes and goes, making a rushing sound as it moves and carrying the smell of salt along with it. The white, fine sand beneath you is warm, but it quickly starts to cool as your body and shadow block the sun's rays. The ocean is a vibrant blue-green that only sightly shimmers in the sunlight. The tides form slowly, grumbling and growing in height until suddenly, they gently spill over and dissipate. The extra water is then pulled back in, restarting the cycle.

You move forward, the sand effortlessly shifting about. The sand in front of you is hotter, but not hot enough to burn you. You take note to avoid the sparse twigs, leaves, and broken seashells along the way.

And now, you are close to the water's edge. The gray expanse is sprinkled with broken shells, plant matter, and grit from the sea. The wet sand is cool to the touch, and it feels like it dries a bit when your weight presses down on it. The wet sand is a bit sticky, which becomes more noticeable as it accumulates. As you move forward, the wet sand gets colder, heavier, and stickier.

By now, you have reached the ocean. You stand in a tiny pool of water, only for it to flee back into the sea. As you continue forwards, you get a slight chill each time the water touches a higher part of your body. The sand beneath you is loose and gritty, but it's hard to see when the foamy water from the tides block your view. As you go deeper, the gentle nudges and pulls from the tides grow stronger, to the point you have to reorient yourself after each tide.

And then, your view is blocked by a wall of water you were not-

Suddenly you hold your breath, and you shuffle about trying to either wade or swim back. Your head finally escapes the grip of the sea and you gasp for air. When you stand again, the water only comes halfway up your body. You grow cold as the breeze brushes by your wet head and upper body.

Looking forward, you can see the beach, and the gradient from blue to brown to white. The dry sand feels a little far away, but somehow, the whole beach feels small.

You turn and face the water. Another tide rolls in, with a soft grumble, until it spills over and dissipates. The spillover reaches your body, the white foam obscuring the wet sand underneath. Looking out, the vast sea stretches onwards, meeting the sky at the horizon.

It's still a really pretty day outside.

[archerdepartures116]

making a ref cause he looks so inconsistent when i draw him

[xxplastic-cubexx]

was talking to my brother the other day after i rewatched dark phoenix and he was like 'why is everyone so mean to charles in this movie?? were they always this mean to him ?? is it cause he's bald now- he lost his pretty privilege??' and i fear i havent recovered

[infomercial-daily]

Day 1.5/2

shitty whiteboard meme

[fribe-mimi]

Shen Jiu & Liu Qingge

[citruspoolsisstupid]

Wdym he took 15 years off of Moon? Look at him rn he’s just being silly-

[vash-o-vision]

i'm SURE someone has made this joke already but its tradition and the dude is literally named senshi what do you want from me

bonus