An Important Lesson - Part One (by Jim Profit)

[jimprofit]

Nathan was a lonely guy who led a quiet, lonely life. He got along fine with all of his co-workers, and he had a handful of good friends. But everyone had their own lives, especially the couples. They were all in their thirties. Getting a group of people together to do anything social was hard as hell; everyone would say they wanted to go do something, but then a couple of days out people would start bailing for various reasons. Eventually every plan would fall apart, and Nathan would wind up bored at home. As a single man in his mid-thirties, surrounded by unreliable friends who were usually too drained from work to want to hang out, he found himself bored and isolated most nights. And most weekends, too.

So Nathan decided to get a fluffy. A few of his co-workers had fluffies and they recommended them highly.

“They’re not usually super high maintenance,” said Tiffany. “It’s kind of like having a cat and a dog all in one. They crap in a litterbox, they love playing with simple toys, and they want lots of affection. But they can talk, which is really cool. They can tell you how much they love you. It’s really nice.”

“Don’t they act like jerks sometimes?” Nathan asked.

“Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes they’ll crap outside the litterbox, but you just tell them they’re bad and sorry stick 'em a little bit, and they just cry and cry and apologize and they eventually learn, like cats. Maybe a little slower than cats. Look, they’re dumb, but they’re usually not malicious.”

“I’ve heard that some of them can be real assholes.”

She nodded. “Yeah, some can. But it’s not as common as the internet makes you think it is. I know, uh, let’s see…I know, yeah. Fourteen. Fourteen people with fluffies. Not a single one of them has ever told me theirs turned into a hellgremlin.”

“Not even one of them?”

“Nope. A few have needed some basic discipline, but don’t all kids? 'Cause it’s kinda like having a kid. A kid that’s also a pet. God, that sounds really weird. But that’s what it is, seriously. A cross between a kid and a pet. But they’re WAY cheaper than raising a kid.”

“Huh. I guess I’ll do some reading. Maybe I’ll get one.”

“You totally should.”

He did a lot of reading and found a lot of information about fluffies. Lots of stories from owners. He read tips and tricks from “hugboxing” owners about how to care for fluffies and keep them as happy as possible. He also found himself digging into the world of fluffy abuse, all sorts of things from inflicting pain without seriously injuring them to the really extreme stuff like pillowing, milkbags and litterpals.

While he couldn’t ever see himself actually abusing a fluffy, he kind of understood the appeal. You could hurt a fluffy and it would continue loving you, but you’d be able to see, feel and hear the pain and suffering you were causing in a real, tangible way that had pretty much zero repercussions. When someone was really angry and needed to burn it off somehow…yeah, Nathan guessed hurting a fluffy wasn’t the worst thing they could do. They weren’t even considered animals; they were “bio-toys.” Created by humans. Living, but property. And there weren’t any laws protecting them.

He read a lot about training and disciplining them. The hugboxers even admitted that sometimes “gentle” didn’t really work with fluffies because it didn’t create a negative enough memory to connect to their bad behavior. Since gentle didn’t always work, sometimes you had to borderline abuse them to bring them in line. Fluffies didn’t like being hurt - duh - which meant that hurting them would form a lasting memory that could be referenced whenever they threatened to misbehave. Hugboxers who didn’t want to “get their hands dirty” would sometimes hire someone to “train” their fluffy for them - in other words, beat the shit out of them until the lesson took. It gave Nathan some solid ideas, a way of trying to get ahead of any serious misbehavior.

Eventually he decided he was ready to actually get a fluffy. He set aside a spare bedroom as a safe room, then went to FluffMart and bought everything his co-workers suggested. A really big, comfy nest-bed full of soft blankets. A bowl for kibble and a weighted, fluffy-safe water bottle. A litterbox. A night light, because fluffies apparently couldn’t deal with total darkness without losing their minds. A sorry stick and a sorry box. And, of course, a few toys - blocks, a ball, a rabbit-shaped stuffy friend, and some assorted toddler-friendly toys that had been repackaged and sold for fluffies. He was definitely going to get a litter-trained fluffy, no doubt about it. But just in case he bought some interlocking tiles to entirely cover the carpet in the safe room. If the fluffy shit all over it, well, it’d still be a pain in the ass and he’d hate cleaning it up. But at least it wouldn’t ruin the carpet. It was more money than he was wanting to spend, but he figured protecting the carpet was totally worth the cost.

The day after the last tile was locked into place, Nathan took another trip to FluffMart - this time to buy a fluffy. And there were so, so many to choose from. All of them wanted his attention. Grown fluffies, barely weaned fluffies, and everything in between. Even a few pregnant mares were waggling their stubby legs wildly, trying to get his attention and begging him to “be nyu daddeh fo soon-mummah an bestest tummeh babbehs.” One purple pegasus stared at him shyly, fluttered her wings, and muttered something he couldn’t understand. When he stepped closer and asked her what she’d said she peeped in alarm, ran away, and hid behind a teddy bear. A couple of smarties demanded that he “be nyu daddeh an gif aww da sketties ow dummeh hoomin get wowstest sowwy hoofsies an fowevah sweepies.” Fuck no, he sure as hell didn’t want a smarty. Then he’d definitely get into abuse, and fast.

Finally he noticed a light blue, black-maned earthie fluffy. It was slightly, but noticeably, bigger than the other foals in the pens; it had clearly been there longer than whatever length of time FluffMart considered to be the prime selling age. Honestly, it was probably more of a colt or a filly than a foal at this point. It was sitting quietly in a corner, sprawled out, its head resting between its forelegs. It didn’t care that humans were walking by. As every other fluffy screamed and pranced and danced and did everything it could to get the attention of potential human owners, this one just…sat and chilled. Maybe it had given up because nobody had bought it. Maybe it was just extra shy, and most people wanted a super outgoing fluffy. Whatever the reason, Nathan couldn’t stop staring at it.

“Hewwo, nice mistah!” shouted a little pink and blue unicorn.

“No thanks,” Nathan said.

“Buh babbeh am pwettiest babbeh, an can be dancie babbeh if nice mistah wan be nyu daddeh. Wan see babbeh dan…”

“Not interested,” he said, looking back at the blue earthie.

The unicorn followed his gaze and huffed, stamping its little hooves against the floor of the pen. “Why nice mistah am wookin at dat dummeh, nu-dancie fwuffy? Dat fwuffy am owd an dummeh and nu am pwetty an…”

“How’s about you just shut the fuck up?” Nathan asked, still watching the earthie.

“Bad wowdsies!” gasped the fluffy. “Mistah nu am nice mistah, am meanie!”

“Yeah, I’m the worst. Now fuck off before I make you fuck off.”

The little pink fluffy muttered to itself but did leave him alone, wandering away to shout at other passing customers. Eventually a FluffMart employee wandered over to the pen.

“You like the little blue earthie, huh?” the guy said. Nathan turned and looked at the kid’s name tag. Apparently he was talking to “Lucas.”

“I think so. What’s his deal?”

“Well, he’s pretty quiet, keeps to himself a lot. Some of the other fluffies were jerks to him when they were all little, so he became kind of a loner. Had a few friends, but they’ve been adopted out, so now he just…well, now he just kind of sits there and doesn’t bother anyone.”

“Litter-trained?”

“Of course! Very well-behaved, doesn’t yell and demand things like some of the other little shits around here. Says ‘thank you’ when you give him something. Most people want bright, cheery, super active fluffies, so they see him being quiet and they just…”

“I’ll take him.”

“Don’t you want to know how much he…”

“Don’t care. Nobody else is going to take him and you’re probably going to give me a good deal for taking him off your hands. I’ll take him.”

“Well, shit. Sure thing. You need any accessories?”

“Yeah, give me a couple of bags of decent kibble. Not the most expensive stuff, but not the bargain basement shit. I want it to be actual decent food. And a few cans of spaghetti. He’s never had spaghetti, has he?”

“Of course not.”

“Perfect. Has he already been fixed?”

“Actually, yeah. He got in a fight with a smarty and wound up with crushed nuts. We had to take 'em out.”

“Double perfect. Can you grab the food for me while I let him know what’s going on?”

Lucas nodded and disappered down one of the aisles. Nathan walked around the pen and stood over the blue earthie, who still hadn’t noticed his presence. Finally, as Nathan’s shadow fell over him, the fluffy looked up. He didn’t look hopeful or desperate or anything other than…tired, maybe.

“Hey, little guy,” Nathan said.

“Hewwo nice mistah,” the fluffy said. “Mistah gon take one dem pwetty fwuffies tu new homesie?”

“I’m definitely going to adopt a fluffy today,” he said. “I think I know which one, too.”

“Mebbe dat dancie fwuffy,” he said, nodding at the pink unicorn who was dancing in front of two unimpressed people. “Dat fiwwy haf pwetty cowows an am vewy gud at dancies.”

“Nah, I’m not interested in that one.”

“Wut fwuffy nice mistah gon take, den?”

“You.”

The fluffy looked back up at him again, surprised. “Nice mistah nu mean dat.”

“I sure do mean that. I don’t want a fluffy that’s yelling at me all the time, dancing around and demanding constant attention. I want a reasonable fluffy, one that can be quiet and chill. And that’s you, little guy.”

“Nice…nice mistah wan be nyu daddeh? Fo fwuffy?” He was almost whispering, daring not believe that it might be true.

“Absolutely. I’m going to be your new daddy, and I’ve got a nice safe room set up for you at home. Big warm nestie-bed, all kinds of toys. What do you say? You want to be my fluffy?”

The fluffy shot to his hooves and assumed the “upsies” pose against the glass surrounding the pen. “YUS! PWEASE YUS! FWUFFY WAN WAWM HOUSIE AN NESTIE AND TOYSIES AN NYU DADDEH! FWUFFY WIWW BE BESTEST FWUFFY EVAH FO NYU DADDEH! WIWW GIF AWW DA HUGGIES AN WUV!”

Nathan lifted the colt out of the pen and held the little fluffy against his chest. The fluffy made a happy cooing noise and tried his best to give Nathan a hug. It was more adorable than Nathan had expected it to be, and as the colt mumbled about huggies and love he marveled at just how soft the fluffy’s fluff was. He couldn’t remember having ever felt anything softer. It was incredibly comforting.

“Hey, little guy. You need a name. How do you feel about…Jerry?”

“Jewwy? Fwuffy namesie am Jewwy?”

“Yeah, if you like it.”

“Fwuffy wuv nyu namesie! Jewwy! Jewwy wuv nyu namesie, an wuv nyu daddeh!” Jerry’s grin was huge and sincere. As Lucas came back over with the cart full of food, he couldn’t help but notice.

“Damn, man. I’ve never seen that one looking so happy. What did you do?”

“Gave him a name,” Nathan said. “Said I’d be his new daddy.”

“Jewwy wuv nyu daddeh!” he cried out, starting to shake with excitement. “Dis am bestest day evah fo Jewwy!”

“Yep, that’ll do it,” Lucas said. “I think this is everything you wanted. Got you some good stuff, got some cans of you know what.”

Nathan looked it over and nodded. “Looks good to me. Well, let’s get this show on the road, then.”

Lucas nodded and rolled the cart to the checkout stand while Nathan carried Jerry, petting his mane and whispering encouraging things to him. The colt’s excitement and joy were contagious, and Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever made anyone even half as happy as he’d made the colt. This felt good. It felt like he was making the right decision. And as long as the little colt followed the rules and behaved himself, everything was going to work out just fine.

===

“Dis am su nice housie,” Jerry marveled as he was carried through the living room, down the hallway, and into his safe room.

“I’m glad you like it,” Nathan said. “I think you’ll like the safe room, too.”

Jerry did. He loved the safe room. He ran around and excitedly announced what every single thing was, from the toys to his blanket-filled nest. Every single one of them was declared to be “the bestest.” He was giggling and rolling around on the floor and thanking his new daddy for everything. Nathan kept trying to get him to pay attention, but the colt was too excited to listen. Finally Nathan reached out and grabbed the fluffy, lifting him off the ground and holding him at arm’s length.

“Nuuuuu, daddeh! Bad upsies!” The colt whimpered, tears forming in his eyes. “Why daddeh gif bad upsies?”

“Because you’re not listening to me, Jerry. I need you to listen to me, because I’m about to tell you some very important things.”

“Sowwy, daddeh. Jewwy wiww wisten.”

“Good.” Nathan didn’t put him down. If the fluffy was uncomfortable and not distracted by shiny new things then he’d be more inclined to listen, right? “Now, you have to follow some very basic rules. Very simple rules. I’ll tell you each rule, and I want you to tell me what each rule means to you, okay?”

“Otay daddeh. Can Jewwy gu back on fwoow? Jewwy nu wan bad upsies, jus wan huggies ow…”

“No. This is so you’ll listen to me. This is very important, okay?”

The colt sniffled, wiggled in Nathan’s hands, then whimpered again. He looked miserable and a little scared, but he nodded slightly. “Otay, daddeh. Jewwy wiww wisten.”

“Good. The first rule is that you can only make poopies and peepees in the litterbox.” Nathan had been given an extended course in fluffspeak by his co-workers. They’d stressed the importance of speaking in terms that fluffies understood. He couldn’t say “take a shit.” The fluffy probably wouldn’t understand, and on top of that he’d probably be upset by the use of profanity. “Any poopies and peepees outside the litterbox are bad poopies or peepees, and that will make you a bad fluffy.”

“Jewwy nu am bad fwuffy,” the colt whined miserably.

“That’s good to hear. Now, tell me what that rule means to you.”

“Wuwe am dat Jewwy onwy make gud poopies an peepees in da wittahbox. Onwy dewe, in wittahbox. Odah poopies ow peepees am bad poopies ow peepees, an dat make Jewwy bad fwuffy.”

“That’s good. Now…”

“Daddeh,” the colt whined, wriggling in Nathan’s hands. “Jewwy nu wan be bad fwuffy! Wan be gud fwuffy! Jewwy wan…”

“Interrupting your daddy while he’s talking is a bad thing,” Nathan said sternly. “I know you can be a good fluffy, but you’re not being very good right now.”

Jerry looked horrified, then slumped in Nathan’s grip, defeated. “Sowwy, daddeh,” he whispered, his gaze dropping and focusing on the floor.

“Okay. Rule number two is that you always listen to what I tell you. No interrupting me, no making demands, and no means no. Whatever I tell you to do, no question. If you argue with me, yell at me, or have a tantrum because you can’t have what you want, you’re a bad fluffy. Now tell me what that means to you.”

“Jewwy awways du wha daddeh say. Nevah tawk when daddeh am tawkin. Nevah yeww at daddeh.”

“Close enough. That’s it. That’s all the rules.”

The colt looked surprised. “Dat am aww da wuwes?”

“That’s it.”

The fluffy’s face cheered up considerably. “Dat am su easy wuwes! Jewwy can du aww dat!”

“That’s good to hear. Now I have to tell you what happens when you break the rules.”

“Wha?” Jerry look confused. “Jewwy nu be bad fwuffy, nu bweak wuwes.”

“Uh huh. I hope that’s true. Just in case, though, I have to tell you what happens if you break the rules.” Nathan’s voice was stern, serious. “Are you still listening?”

“Yus, daddeh.”

“Good. I know you can’t be perfect. I know there might be a learning curve, because I know fluffies sometimes have trouble with the whole learning thing. Can you count to three?”

“Yus, daddeh. One, two, thwee. Jewwy haf fouw weggies, thwee am awmost aww dem weggies.”

“Perfect. You can break one rule three times. The first two times you break either rule you’ll get time out in the sorry box. The third time you break either rule I’m going to hurt you.” His voice was steady and serious, and Jerry was starting to look uncomfortable with what he was hearing. “I’m going to hurt you a lot. A whole lot. I know you’ve had a rough life and that you’ve had bad hurties before. But if you break either rule three times, you’re going to learn just how bad hurties can really be. I’m going to give you the worst hurties you’ve ever had in your life. You’ll hurt so bad you’ll probably think I’m a monster. Then you’ll go back in the sorry box for two whole da…uh, bright times.”

“Daddeh,” Jerry whispered, his eyes wide and full of fear. “Nuuuuuuuuu. Pwease, daddeh, nu. Nu huwt poow wittwe Jewwy.”

“If you behave and follow my rules then I’ll never hurt you. All you have to do is follow the rules. Do you understand.”

“Daddeh, pwease.”

“Do. You. Understand?”

The colt nodded, his eyes unblinking. “Yus. Jewwy wiww be gud fwuffy.”

Nathan smiled and lowered Jerry to the floor. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say. Great! Now you can run around and play with all your toys. Since it’s your first night here, we’re going to celebrate with spaghetti!”

Jerry perked up at the mention of spaghetti. “DADDEH AM GON GIF JEWWY BESTEST SKETTIES?”

“You bet, buddy! So go ahead and play and get used to all your stuff, okay? We’ll have sketties in a little bit!”

The colt ran over and hugged Nathan’s leg, giggling and babbling as if he hadn’t been terrified moments before. “Wuv nyu daddeh! Jewwy wuv daddeh su muchies! Fankoo, daddeh! Wuv daddeh!”

A couple of hours earlier the fluffy had been quiet, defeated, almost depressed. Resigned to his lot in life. Now he was happy and energetic and actually acting like a fluffy. Nathan knew that things would calm down a bit once Jerry got used to his new life. He was pretty sure that the fluffy would be pretty chill, especially if he had to be disciplined a couple of times. He headed to the kitchen to start cooking the spaghetti, and started planning on how to calm Jerry down and get him used to his new home. First, spaghetti. Then they’d sit on the couch and watch a movie together. Just kinda hang out.

Nathan was pretty sure he’d made the right decision.

A List of All the Dumb Fluffy-Related Shit I, Jim Profit, Have Written

[jimprofit]

I have to admit out of the gate that this story is inspired by something I read on the booru once upon a time. I don’t remember the author’s name, unfortunately. It was a very short story, and the human’s philosophy was that immediate and brutal violence would make a fluffy be on its best behavior for the rest of its life. I seem to remember that he even took a hammer to the poor little fucker with the fluffy having no idea what was happening or why. The lesson ended up basically being “this is what daddy can do to you without you even earning it, so don’t ever do anything to earn it.” I wish I could find the damn story.

Anyway, will the threat of violence make Jerry be on his best behavior? Hell, maybe. Who knows? I guess we’ll find out.

[Chikahiro]

I like Jerry so far! Nathan seems good! Will be interested to seeing how this goes!

[OtherCoraline]

@jimprofit

“How’s about you just shut the fuck up?” Nathan asked, still watching the earthie.

“Bad wowdsies!” gasped the fluffy. “Mistah nu am nice mistah, am meanie!”

“Yeah, I’m the worst. Now fuck off before I make you fuck off.”

K. Nathan has a scarily short fuse. If he doesn’t become an abuser, I’m calling bull.

@jimprofit

The third time you break either rule I’m going to hurt you.” His voice was steady and serious, and Jerry was starting to look uncomfortable with what he was hearing. “I’m going to hurt you a lot. A whole lot. I know you’ve had a rough life and that you’ve had bad hurties before. But if you break either rule three times, you’re going to learn just how bad hurties can really be. I’m going to give you the worst hurties you’ve ever had in your life.

If this is common for hugboxers in your headcanon (legit don’t know), this makes hugboxers more eff’d up in my mind. It’s one thing to beat the hell out of this little shits, it’s another to calmly say something like this to retarded pighorse then immediately do a 180 and claim it’s because you love them and it’s for their good.

shudders

Great stuff as always, Profit!!

[jimprofit]

Nathan’s definitely not a hugboxer. Absolutely not a hugboxer. A hardcore abuser? Nah. But definitely not a hugboxer. Would he have actually hit the fluffy that was annoying him? Nah, he just wanted to scare it into leaving him alone because it was annoying the hell out of him. Would he hit Jerry for misbehaving repeatedly? Yeah, definitely.

Like most of the humans in my stories, he’s got some issues that he really ought to work through, and a fluffy’s going to get caught in the middle of all that shit. The only question is how long the storm will last, and what the aftermath will be.

[Chikahiro]

@jimprofit

and a fluffy’s going to get caught in the middle of all that shit.

Hasbio brand “Story Catalyst” Fluffies. Now available in Hugbox, Sadbox, Horrorbox, Abusebox, Moronbox, Weirdbox, and Gluten Free.

I will say seeing @OtherCoraline shudder is a bit worrisome! Oi! O_o

[jimprofit]

Considering the beautifully dark, wonderfully-written stuff I’ve seen @OtherCoraline create, I am absolutely taking the shudder as a compliment.

[Chikahiro]

Oh, there’s literally NO QUESTION about the quality of @othercaroline’s work. Certainly, when I make certain bits of content (hugbox/fluffy jobs) I actually try to keep them in mind. I feel if I can make OC happy with it then I did a good job and didn’t “cheat” or get lazy on the concept.

Its more, “yeah, they’re worried so I probably should be too.”

[Vanner]

Gluten free hugbox is mostly just glitter and binders. I’ll take the farm fresh weirdbox every day of the week.

Also, Nathan’s a bit scary. Jerry’s going to get hurt real bad by the end of this and I can’t wait.

[OtherCoraline]

@jimprofit

Would he have actually hit the fluffy that was annoying him? Nah, he just wanted to scare it into leaving him alone because it was annoying the hell out of him. Would he hit Jerry for misbehaving repeatedly? Yeah, definitely.

Glad to hear. I like it when humans have massive cognitive dissonance towards fluffies. Abuse? NEVER! Beat the ever living shit out of one for talking back or making bad poopies? Yeah, why do you ask?

[jimprofit]

Hey, maybe Nathan won’t hurt Jerry even a little bit, maybe he’ll just hug him and aaaahhhhhahahahaha nah you’re right Jerry’s probably kinda fucked

[OtherCoraline]

@Vanner

Nathan’s a bit scary

K. Glad I’m not the only one who thinks so. I was afraid I was being overly sensitive and reading into things that weren’t there

[Chikahiro]

@OtherCoraline

Abuse? NEVER! Beat the ever living shit out of one for talking back or making bad poopies? Yeah, why do you ask?

And all the folks who were raised in traditional/fundamentalist churches raise your hands or wince, whichever is more natural.

[jimprofit]

“I would never, ever consider abusing a fluffy. Abusers are monsters. Look, yeah, I’d beat one halfway into a coma if it wouldn’t stop shitting on my carpet or if it started breaking things. But ABUSE? Good god, I wouldn’t DARE!”

[jimmyhopkins]

man wait til you find out that there are people who beat their kids and dont think its abuse

[OtherCoraline]

Never said I enjoyed cognitive dissonance towards children

[Chikahiro]

Spare the rod, spoil the child.

My folks didn’t buy into that too much, thankfully. Admittedly, my dad never spanked us as kids because he was afraid of his temper getting out of control. I really appreciate that now as an adult.

[Chikahiro]

True! And fair! Sorry @othercaroline!

Sorry, it made my brain draw a parallel based on my upbringing.

[jimmyhopkins]

i was just saying that that thinking isnt far from reality sometimes

[OtherCoraline]

Don’t wanna get off topic but spousal and especially child abuse (physical/verbal/sexual) is a special kind of evil. I think we need prison reform to focus on rehabilitation, but those abusers? Lock em up and throw away the key