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Hey! If you’re reading this, congratulations! Whether you’re currently waiting in a domestication center already, at the start of being courted by a lucky someplant, or already recovering from your implant, you are most likely never going to have to seriously worry about anything ever again! The destination will generally be the same, a blissful forever home, but let’s cover how you got here first!
Volunteering: So you saw the broadcasts, and you knew what you wanted. The great news is that this is the best last decision you’ll ever have to make! Every promise the Compact made is true! You’ll meet your perfect someone soon, probably before you even have time to finish this pamphlet!
Courtships: Us terrans have all kinds of complicated romantic rituals, and many Affini like to do trial runs of sorts to see if you’re a good fit for them. If you really like an Affini, my best advice is to let them take as much control over you as they like. Affini generally love physical affection, and while they don’t have desires for sex by default like most humans do, if you want to explore things with your special someplant you should always be honest. Asking to be put on a constant truth serum is a great way to make sure you get your perfect match!
Compulsory Domestication: I know this one can be scary. Whether you were rescued from a rebel ship, couldn’t handle a wardship, or an Affini just decided they really wanted you, the hard part is over. Struggling once you’ve been claimed really isn’t going to accomplish much, and you’re going to have a much better time with an optimistic outlook. Consider asking your Affini for extra anti-anxiety meds or to even just let you sleep until it’s time to be implanted. You’ll be glad you did!
Florethood often represents a huge change in lifestyle, almost universally involving your Affini moving you into their home. If you’ve been living in the Compact for a while, you should already know your way around a compiler, and the biggest adjustment will probably just be needing a stepstool to reach it. But if you got pulled off a rebel vessel you may be in for one heck of an adjustment!
Daily Routine
A floret’s day is filled with whatever makes them happiest. If that means running a shop, playing games, drawing, writing, napping in someone’s lap, there really isn’t just one way to be a floret!
Each Affini will have different expectations for their pets, but one thing is universal, which is that your Affini will want to make sure you are your happiest self, and take care of anything that doesn’t make you happy. Your affini will probably want to take control of certain tasks like feeding you, brushing your teeth, bathing you, and the like. With the help of xenodrugs, this will be one of the most pleasurable ways to bond with your owner or owners!
It may be a lot to adjust to at first, but after a time you'll be unable to even imagine remembering to do all those things all by yourself. The more obedient you are, the easier everything will be. There’s no need to think too hard about stuff that doesn’t bring joy anymore! Some humans benefit from having almost all agency taken away, some remain fairly self-managing, and most fall somewhere in the middle. If something like cooking or choosing your own clothes brings you joy, just tell your Affini and they will probably let you do it some or all of the time for enrichment.
Some things are going to be non-negotiable, of course. Collars are usually worn as a sign of ownership and care. Think of them as being like a wedding ring for your Person! Your clothes are likely going to be what they actually guide you by since being pulled by the neck isn’t very comfy. All the extra loops are really fun to fidget with!
You might have your own room to sleep in alone, but no Affini would ever say no if you want to sleep tucked against their core instead. Us humans have strong nest building instincts and aesthetic preferences, so your Affini is almost certainly going to let you decorate your own space with things you like. Expect to be picked up a lot, too! In an Affini’s world we are very small, and there’s no need for personal space with your owner. You’re never really going to be apart from them after all! Speaking of which…
Your Implant
The Haustoric Implant is the absolute pinnacle of affini biotechnology, a symbiotic medical device that will grow through and replace your entire peripheral nervous system. They have the ability to synthesize most xenodrugs internally, and provide your owner with a detailed biometric feed. The extra support usually halves the speed of aging, and acts as a platform for all kinds of other modifications if your owner wants them.
The surgery to get one is simpler than you might think. Just a small opening on the back of the neck and a seed that does all the work for you while you rest it off, less invasive than getting an appendix removed back in the Accord era!
But that’s all just the boring medical stuff. More than that, it’s a sense of purpose. Belonging. I used to have to ask questions about why I exist, what the meaning of life was, and now I know. Your implant will give you that certainty, tethering you to your Person forever. As a floret, you exist to make your Affini happy as they save the universe from entropy itself. There is no nobler calling in the universe, and once the recovery drugs wear off the only thing you’ll regret is that it didn’t happen sooner.
Just like the lifestyle of a floret isn’t a single thing but a whole range, the same is true of implants! There are more designs, features, add-ons, and configurations than any human could possibly hope to understand, and Affini love making their florets into projects. The implant also can act as a base for the kinds of body mods that the human brain alone could never handle, if you ever wanted something a bit more advanced than just puppy ears or a tail!
Xenodrugs
One of the best parts of being a floret is that, especially once you have your implant, your body can be perfectly balanced for the goal of happiness and being a good companion, rather than survival. There are more kinds of xenodrugs than any terran could ever learn. Affini have all kinds of complicated categorizations, but conveniently, they also created handy letters for us to remember.
These are the xenodrug classes you’re almost guaranteed to run into:
Class A: Us terrans are among many pet species with cuddle and social grooming instincts. Euphoriants like these will raise your spirits and make staying in contact with your owner and others feel so good! Almost all human florets have an implant that keeps them a little high on class A as a default, because we deserve to feel great!
Class B: Some experiences aren’t worth holding onto. Human society in the wild was miserable for almost everyone, and with memory alteration drugs, you can more easily forget the bad things in the past and more easily remember the good things in the present!
Class C: Falling in love feels so good. With this xenodrug class, which generally act as bonding accelerants, you never have to stop falling in love! It's important for terran pets to properly bond with their owners, so your Affini may decide to keep you on these permanently to help you be sweet and affectionate! Some drugs in this class also have applications for minimizing the effects Affini have on us, but you won’t need those.
Class D: Sometimes saying what you really mean is hard. This class of xenodrugs will help turn off the brain’s pesky tendency to lie to itself and others, helping you communicate your needs most effectively!
Class E: Nothing is worse for us pets than the anxious instincts that evolution shaped in the wild. These xenodrugs will help keep the unhappy brain chemistry away, ensuring you don't feel scared! Some owners may choose to use your implant to completely eliminate certain stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline! They do make you a bit more clumsy, but Affini think that’s adorable!
Class F: So many of us Terrans struggle with worrying that the Affini Compact is some kind of nefarious evil empire after the trauma of the Accord. Thanks to this xenodrug class, which can filter out or interact with intrusive thoughts, you don’t have to worry about your new owner being anything less than your perfect caretaker.
Class G: These drugs can turn you into just about any shape you'd want within normal human ranges without even needing surgery. Some owners use them to weaken muscle tone and soften skin so that we can be our best, cuddliest selves.
Class L: These xenodrugs act as powerful dissociatives that just about all florets use to get through initial implantation. After that they may have recreational uses!
Class Z: These ones interact with sleep and circadian rhythms! No more tossing and turning late into the night, one breath of that sweet Z and you’ll be out in your owner’s vines like a light.
There are lots more classes, of course, but these are the ones that almost everyone will run into at some point. These are a few less common ones.
Class H: Hallucinogens and hypnotics! These drugs really do tend to just be used for recreation, they make stuff like VR super convincing!
Class J: These are like super-As! They tend to last a while and hinder your capacity for sapient thought to a significant degree. They’re great!
Class M: This xenodrug class helps with muscle control! Sometimes that means making you all floppy, but nothing helps you relax like a complete inability to move even your pinky toe.
Class N: Not to be too crude, but humans have a very strong reward system tied to sexuality. This class interacts with that a lot, helping alter our libido to suit our owner’s preferences. It may be for our best interests to just get fixed, of course!
Class O: This class is a feralist myth as far as I know. They’re supposed to be like Ls but they last forever, which is very silly. How would a single xenodrug last forever?
Class P: Yes, we’ve all heard the jokes about the drugs that make you urinate. This class can do that, but they also allow for all kinds of more complicated puppetry. Though if you’re on them you probably are going to be a little past your owner actually telling you what xenodrugs are being used.
Class S: Human senses can be faulty, and these drugs help us see, feel, smell, taste, and hear exactly as much or as little as our Affini think is best! There are many recreational applications for these as well, and your owner or owners will almost certainly love to play with them if you ask.
Class W: These xenodrugs interact with the language center. Sometimes a little quiet time in your own head is exactly what a floret needs!
Class Y: This is a class of xenodrugs that regresses you! Some Owners use them for therapeutic reasons, or just to heighten neuroplasticity to pick up stuff like new languages faster.
So, we’ve talked about the implant and the drugs. What about that Affini then?
Your Affini and You
Becoming a pet is many things. It’s a promise of care, it’s the best decision you’ll ever make or have made for you, it’s the true reason to exist. But it’s also a relationship with one or more Affini who you will be bound to forever. The Affini might seem scary at first, I know I used to be terrified of them a long time ago. Aliens from another galaxy that steamrollered the entire Accord in just a few years is a lot to adjust to!
While on average, only about a third of a species will be domesticated, us humans are the hot new craze of the Compact, and we have a lot of things that makes us attractive pets! Affini aren’t generally drawn to the same things humans are, and it can take a bit of getting used to. Most will happily tell you exactly why terrans appeal to them, of course.
Getting to know your owner and what they like will be a lifetime’s journey for you, and one filled with joy. They may be a clerk, a gardener, an artist, a veterinarian, or just another of the many affini doing miscellaneous roles within the great work of the Compact! Affini are so much better than us at everything that it would almost be depressing if we were actually trying to be people like they are!
All relationships are a two-way street, and just because you have biotech grown through your entire body that can change your mind at a whim doesn’t mean you are powerless. Most Affini are completely unable to resist begging, so if you want something try being as cute and affectionate as possible! Affini love human behaviors like singing, dancing, cuddling, playing, and making art. For example, I sing a special pizza song whenever I want my owner to give me pizza, even if I’ve already had it yesterday. It always works!
Humans tend to operate best in pairs or more, so the odds are good you’ll have a connivent or pinnate eventually. Thanks to bonding accelerants, you’ll come to adore them pretty fast! Remember, if you ever see someone you like, just tell your Affini! Even if they don’t seem interested in you, your owner can just fix that. Good florets spread the joy!
Conclusion
No matter your path getting here, it’s all over now. This is going to be your life, one way or another. So take a deep breath, and think about what you want to be, what you would be if you only had to be accountable to one being, whom you could never hurt, never truly make angry at you, who will never get bored of you, and whom will never let you fall out of love with them. Be your best, most lovingly loyal and docile self, and you'll be nothing but rewarded for it for the rest of your life.
It’s paradise, pure and simple, and the best part is you don’t even realize how good it really is. Now get a smile on that face, dream of your implantation, and get started on all the wonderful things ahead of you!