#actual.

I'm going to be doing this in little sections. I'd like to begin by saying that I believe the Desk Jockeys and Brianbots are very different from each other, despite the fact that the Brianbots are just reprogrammed from the Desk Jockeys.

The main points of difference I feel are: design, personalities, and certain equipment. I'll go into the last 2 more, but as a funfact. Did you all know that the Brianbots and Desk Jockeys in the tutorial have different clothes.

(Desk Jockey vs. Brianbot)

I think it's a fun little touch that the Desk Jockeys get brighter attire, whereas Brian changed the Brianbots to more dull colors. Something something cog #society.

Ok I'm breaking the two into groups now. lalala

Desk Jockeys

Desk Jockeys are created by Professor Pete. As we all know they're just simple training dummies, and I believe that is the entirety of their existence.

They are built out of cheaper, more flimsy material, due to the lack of resources that toons can get ahold of. Luckily, this cheaper material makes them much easier to rebuild after each destruction.

I also believe this cheaper material is obvious when it comes to their voiceboxes. Higher-quality voiceboxes are usually only obtainable through companies like COGS inc (or general cog society. that's like an entire topic that can be dwelled on that I haven't given as much thought as I'd like), so the Desk Jockeys are given a more makeshift-"homemade" voice box, made by Professor Pete. As a result, their voices are usually lower and much more monotone/robotic. They also frequently have pitch shifts and will change after being rebuilt because, well, trying to rebuild something exactly is hard.

Ironically, despite their designs being brighter than the Brianbots, they don't have much of a personality. Being training dummies, they don't develop ones because a.) cheaper materials, like processing functions = no ability to retain "memories" and develop/advance and b.) idk I feel like having them with personalities would lead for some crazy self-purpose issues.

This also is a reflection of COG society and how cogs can't take jokes/are supposed to be super serious. It gives a little insight into new recruits about what cogs are supposedly like (even if it's not 100% true).

In summary: A lot of words for "they're just training dummies and lack the higher quality material to form any amount of sentience". Although this isn't inherently a bad thing.

Brianbots

Reprogrammed/hijacked by Brian. There are four of them (3 normals and an executive). While they still maintain the same attacks as the Desk Jockeys, their purpose is not to be dummies... well in the training dummy sense.

They're basically Brian's henchmen and his only cog-related company for a majority of the time.

Although their outer shells are still the same recycled, flimsy material, their internal workings have been given a bit of an upgrade. Given better processing powers, they're now able to hold memories and are able to analyze/solve situations... to an extent.

In reality, what often happens is that they hear what's being said to them, respond, and then only process about half of what's being said. Despite the updates, their processing power still can only hold so much. Out of all of them, the executive has a higher processing power and is usually given the most responsibility (much to their disappointment).

In addition to this, they did get updated voiceboxes! One's that Brian 'borrowed' from the company (because I think it's funny. And 4 missing voiceboxes can't cause that much harm... right?). They all now share the same voicebox, making it hard to tell which one is actually talking. Unless if you spend a majority of your time with them.

In terms of personality, it takes some time*. They eventually do gain more sentience/personality, however due to their limited processing power, it's not very divided. To describe them simply: They try their best. They're very curious on things, but they never can retain all the answer, leading to repetitive questions. What they do retain, they make sure to share. Unfortunately, if you're trying to keep a secret or super evil plans to overtake Toontown Central, this means they may accidentally share it (not maliciously). They're also very clumsy.

*If you know SW: think about how some droids start off very strict to their programming when they are first created, and then as the years pass and they're surrounded by more influences, they eventually develop a personality.

Basically, they're the exact opposite of a super serious businesscog. Much to the dismay of Brian's various efforts of reprogramming.

Part of this is due to their creator. Professor Pete is a toon and as a result, the Desk Jockeys/Brianbots all have a bit of toony influence. No amount of programming can remove that from them.

Despite this, they still are capable. In battles, they can follow orders well (callback to the training dummy origin) and they do listen to lectures, or at least act like they are.

In summary: They're capable of much higher functions and processes compared to the Desk Jockeys, due to better equipment. In terms of personality, they're the complete opposite of what they were reprogrammed for.

With that out of the way...

Brianbots and Brian

One thing I've noticed is that when a lot of people talk about Brian and the Brianbots, they're described in a family situation (Brian being the parent, the Brianbots being the children). And for clarity, I want to say I have no issues with this interpretation. I think it's fun!! And I think that as long as the people doing it are having fun, then YAY!!!!

With that said, my interpretation of this is a bit different. I don't believe they consciously, or intentionally, would find themself in a family-like format (such as referring to each other by familial names or thinking of each other as such).*

The Brianbots and Brian, to me, are like a Saturday morning cartoon villain and his 4 little henchmen that just keep making things unintentionally worse. Minus all the belittling that those tropes often do.

Shortly after reprogramming them, Brian is incredibly disappointed to find out they are, well, silly. After all of his hard work and skilled genius, they turn out like this? Clearly it can't be an issue on his part, so he must keep trying! (<- imagine im saying the "After ... trying" part in a deep sarcastic tone)

However, even after more reprogramming, they still don't change. They're still silly, they still mess up, and they're still clumsy. They are not cog-material. And Brian is upset by this. He was finally in a leadership position, but his employers are these things.

In short: He wanted to try to reprogram them to be the model cog (serious, listens, follows orders to a T), but he doesn't get that. And he CAN'T get that because of their origins.

However, they are also the only cog company he has.

Brian's in the middle of a Toon Playground, in a basement, a toon's basement no less. He doesn't have the joys of having other employees join his battle, he doesn't get to work in the Sellbot HQ. The most he gets is Sellbot meetings and the "keep them separated" order with Buck. For all intents and purposes, Brian is alone. Except for the Brianbots.

Eventually, he gets used to them. Their antics provide for good lecturing sessions and on the rare occasion, they do prove to be adequately useful.

The Brianbots didn't have a strong opinion of Brian at first, especially when they were still developing personalities. However, as they progressed, they became rather fond of him. In their mind, it's just him and them. There's no outside cog hierarchy structure and even if you explained it, they wouldn't understand.

They often take his words with sincerity, even if he's completely lying. And they speak highly of him, seeing as he's the "most genius cog to ever live". They have no evidence to confirm or deny this claim. It's also debatable if some of this is sincerity or part of their programming.

In reality, it's a bit of both.

However this doesn't mean they don't have their moments. In the times they do catch him in a lie or an obviously-going-to-fail-scheme, they'll shoot each other silent glances. If they're in a real mischievous mood, they can easily catch him off guard by asking him a question that seems quite easy to answer (usually one that would force him to admit he's wrong). He either doesn't answer it or stammers for a few minutes before quickly changing the subject.

After particularly bad battles or major mess ups, Brian will end up scolding them. Although his belittlement and scorns aren't meant to be malicious (tough-love type situation), the Brianbots will still end up taking them to heart or their mechanical equivalent. Luckily, they don't hold grudges and also take apologies very easily (like toons).

The Brianbots can also be kind of overbearing/overwhelming, although it's all in good nature. Brian, a cog who would scurry away on all fours at the thought of anything more than a handshake, vs the 4 Brianbots who are happy to see him after a long day of watching the basement and are now speeding at him with arms wide open.

In the times the Brianbots do have a good idea, Brian will absolutely claim it as his own. This results in either a.) them all nodding in agreement in awe or b.) they shoot looks at each other.

*Going back up to what I said about consciously being in a family-type situation. Some of this may come off as a family-type situation and in some ways, yeah. Some of the henchmen-villain tropes are also like this. But I also think the idea of Brian tucking the Brianbots into their sleeping places, reading a calculus book to them, and then they all just never mention it again and act like it never happened is funny. They would be baffled at the idea if it was ever brought up.

In summary: The Brianbots balance off of Brian. They're the inept henchmen to his comically over-the-top plans. Although they are far from being standard cogs, it works out better for everyone anyways (because who else would go along with whatever Brian tries to do).

Ok that's all I can think of. Collect my 8 rambles.

As a gift for reading (or skimming) through all of this. You can get my Desk Jockey / Brianbot voiceclaims that has notes that are just reiterations of what's above.