#jockeyworm

[tickfleato]

oops! new ocs! nem is the jockeyworm, and flake is the host. nem is primarily the one controlling the body out of necessity, as flake is still recovering from their very traumatic installation, but they have a lot of communication internally and the two are working together.

the reason nem’s installation was traumatic is because with unwilling hosts, the symbiont is used to completely suppress the host’s consciousness. this was not nem’s choice, and after escaping surveillance they attempted to bring flake’s mind back. 

some more info on the history of jockeys and their relationship with the myzo:

Sometimes referred to as Jockeyworms, these small, worm-like symbionts attach themselves to the brain and nervous system of sapient hosts. They are not, however, necessarily parasites - the relationship can easily be mutually beneficial and they prefer to communicate with the host and equally share body control. They were originally created by the Greys (and share a significant portion of their genome, like most Grey tech), but things did not go well - attempts at Grey hosts lead to an inextricable merging of mind and body with a badly damaged end result, and worse, alien hosts became less susceptible to Grey influence (almost exactly the opposite of the intended purpose). They were nearly wiped out, but a small subset managed to escape and survive.

Their initial relationship with the Myzo was equally fraught, and still is, just in different ways... Myzo turned out to be excellent hosts, and the worms tried to do the whole covert brain parasite invasion kind of thing with them (though they prefer a mutualistic approach, they were pretty desperate at the time). Once this was identified, however, resistance was aggressive. In the end an enterprising group of Myzo interfered before the Jockeys could be eradicated, recognizing a potentially VERY useful tool, and the worms now found themselves flourishing in population, but heavily restricted and controlled.

The official word on what Jockeys are used for is that they're given exclusively to willing hosts for therapeutic purposes, but as one might guess there's an extensive dark side to the arrangement, both in the treatment of the symbionts and use on unwilling hosts. Though the natural state of the relationship is balanced, where the host and symbiont are given mostly equal control and clear communication between eachother, there are ways to tip the balance including drugs, mental training, and hypnosis. In extreme examples it's possible to completely suppress the consciousness of the host, or greatly restrict the free will of the symbiont (if the whole indoctrination from hatching thing doesn't keep them in line).