Written for the Fluffy Farmer’s Union Local 552, 20XX
Yukkuri. You’ve likely heard the word mentioned in a Fluff-Mart or at a meeting of your Fluffy Farmer’s Union, or you may have seen a band of small doughy children hunting Fluffies, or a strange, ball-shaped creature behaving in ways remarkably similar to the biotoys we all know and loave.(Love/Loathe, a term developed to describe the average reaction to fluffies)
Yukkuri have always been with humanity. Stories of Fair Folk, Yokai, or Djinn owe much to these supernatural beings. But they have only really become common in the 20th century with the advent of modern mass media, as they, like Fluffies, are a product of humanity.(See “Touhou Boom” for more info) Unlike Fluffies, however, Yukkuri are a product of the human subconscious imagination invested in what occultists call “eikon” or “egregores.”
The first of a “Breed” of Yukkuri will manifest in a roughly spherical shaped object, much like any number of fantastical tales of objects coming to life. They will be based on a fictional/mythic character, a dead person, or occasionally, a “living meme.” The Yukkuri has it’s outer layer comprised of a dough-like substance, it’s “filling” - some sort of substance that fulfills the role of blood or organs that it can, in times of crisis, share with it’s fellows. Deep within the Yukkuri is a “core,” a denser element of filling.
No Yukkuri based on a Fluffy has ever been reliably reported, but claims of Fluffy-Yukkuri hibreds have been made by people connected to the Factory. (Remember that knowingly dealing with the Factory is a violation of FFU core ethics) Details are sketchy, but whether they are Yukkuri with a Fluffy core or Fluffies with a Yukkuri dough covering seems to be the hottest element of contention.
This “first yukkuri” will eventually try to find another yukkuri to do “rub rub” with. Yukkuri are hermaphroditic, and one parent will sprout a stalk supporting 2-5 koyukkuri, which will eventually gestate or “be born easy” as it detaches and lands. The process is usually not fatal. This way, a new lineage of yukkuri will either thrive or perish. (NOTE: After world war two, it was agreed by all the world powers that any Yukkuri based on a deceased Axis leader would be hunted to extinction. This has been variably enforced, but it is known that the last Hitler Yukkuri was frozen for study in 1976.) Usually, at least one Koyukkuri will survive to adulthood in a brood.
Yukkuri Legal status: Yukkuri are regarded by the laws to be anything from Pests to Resident Aliens(De Jure In Japan and De Facto in certain US cities, notably Philadelphia). The UN regards them as Stateless Persons, and the UN-OWEN (One World Eradicating Neoequines) program recruits Bodied Yukkuri primarily from Japan’s Y-COM initiative. (The Gritty Action Commitee is too politically charged for similar farm team treatment, though they are on good terms with our Union. They have shown up at Protests with exlax and defecated cheesesteak filling for our brothers on many occasion, and Philly Fanatic Yukkuri can similarly supply pretzel dough.) Armed with Air Rifles, mass-produced Wakazashi, and small tactical vests containing ammunition, tools, and a small bottle of orange juice, UN OWEN teams make impressive gains in their ability to disperse small megaherds without major property damage. Bodied Dosuyukkuri can reach heights of 4 feet, enough to look a small Jotan in the eye, and are armed with simple, small-caliber firearms. They even understand the practice of fluffy farming and will try to leave our farms unmolested.
Dealing with Yukkuri: The Majority of Yukkuri live in the wilderness, having been driven from settled areas by overwhelming Fluffy numbers in most cases. They both Hunt and are Hunted by Fluffies, subsisting at at best neolithic levels of technology. They can and do attempt to get their hands on “shinies” (metal tools/scrap) and can be bargained with for services. It must be remembered that any Yukkuri employed by FFU members needs to be inducted into our Junior Organization, the Fluffherders Union.
If Yukkuri attempt to Hunt-hunt your Fluffies you will need to explain that you look after them, feed them, and (this term is CRUCIAL) that you Can’t take it easy if they Hunt-hunt Fluffies in your easy place. Yukkuri will usually attempt to trade or barter, and you might be able to recruit them as farmhands.
This is becoming less and less common, but there exist Yukkuri that their fellows refer to as “Shitheads.” A Shithead will act much like a Smarty, but it will usually only be able to recruit other shitheads to it’s clan. Selection pressures from both massive fluffy herds and organized yukkuri tribes have pushed them to the brink. Any Yukkuri employees you have will “take care of” a Shithead if you bring one on.
Yukkuri often possess some sort of skill or supernatural ability, so be aware of the nature of whatever breed you’re dealing with.
Fluffies and Yukkuri: Yukkuri will often refer to Fluffies in general as “Shitheads.” They have yet to “master” Fluffy Domestication on their own, but they are making strides.
Fluffies call Yukkuri “poopie nummies,” as they excrete old filling which fluffies will eat if desperate. If one of your fluffies eats a Yukkuri alive, kill it immediately. It will become a Woughy(Roughy) Fweind, and if it continues in this vein, mature into a Jotan or even a Waird(Laird), and we don’t want another Fwubbah because someone decided they could deal with a telekinetic fluffy bigger than a Man and smart as a Specialist Yukkuri.