painsandconfusion:

justplainwhump:

So you want to be a BBU writer…

Congratulations, you are one. The idea of the shared BBU multiverse is, that all takes at the core concepts are valid; there is no canon, and the same time, everything can be canon for your story!

Is there something everyone agrees on?

Probably not; but here are some things I consider widely accepted/canon:

– The setting is dystopian, somewhere between present and near future; in a society similar to ours but with (even) more power in the hands of corporations.

– In several countries, there is a “pet industry”, a legalised concept of serfdom/ slavery that allows to own other humans as so called pets, (usually) in a household

– The law states that these people have signed up voluntarily and have been compensated for it. Sometimes though, rich people or corporations go against the law.

– The whole process, from signing up to marketing and sales is in the hands of influential corporations

– Biggest of these, usually, is WRU; there is no canon on what the letters stand for. (It was a tumblr inside joke that makes absolutely no sense in-universe, but the acronym stuck).

– Pets are classified according to ‘designations’; at the core there are Domestics (household chores), Platonics (companionship, nannies, caretakers…) and Romantics (different sort of companionship, including… bedroom chores), plus combinations. Guard Dog (protection) has made it into many stories as a fourth designation. This isn’t the limit, though; there are also writers with Object designations, more involved ‘service’ concepts, ‘Chewtoys’ and several more.

– Pets are identified by number codes, usually six digits, every writer has a different system behind them. As an abbreviation, handlers tend to use the last three digits. This number is also tattooed on them as a bar code, often on the wrist.

– Somewhere during the training process, trainees are made to forget their entire past and also certain skill sets that pets aren’t meant to have. Owners can specify certain things they want to be erased or remembered. Usually, this is handwaved by writers; there’s advanced drugs and neurological stimulation involved. The process and the drug administered for the memory loss is often referred to as “The Drip”.

– Often, Pets are made illiterate to make them more dependent on their owners

– Often, Pets are made to wear collars and consider them “safe”

– There are standardised sets of numbered positions the trainees are taught; extra positions can be added on request

– There are also a lot of memorised rules and phrases from training the pets are made to repeat and will sometimes in their everyday life

– Training involves all sort of torture, mostly psychological, drugs, isolation, shock collars and shock batons and serious gaslighting

– Often, training facilities are described as uniform and white and designed like mazes; trainees at facilities wear a ‘uniform’ of a white shirt and black shorts

– Pets are usually terrified of the memories of their training; including especially “white rooms”

– The term “Respect” spoken by a person with authority will make the pet fall to their knees instantly and await further reactions

– Pets are shipped in a box, which is the idea that spawned the whole universe; usually in a human sized crate with some accessories added.

– Unwanted or stubborn pets are sent back to WRU for “refurb”, trained again and sold with big discounts; it’s used as a threat and most pets are horribly afraid of this

– In the outside world, there are movements to help runaway pets or even fight the system overall; usually called “pet lib”

– Pet lib runs safehouses where they take in runaways and work on deconditioning

There are more posts like this out these, some more extensive, some very similar; a very good one here. This is the set of things I consider most basic for my own writing, at least.

I’ve reblogged some more posts and discussions on @bbu-on-the-side as well, so feel free to look around, use whatever you like, and discard the rest.

Also, new (and old) BBU writers always feel free to tag @bbu-on-the-side should you ever do an intro. I’ll share them there.

fantastic breakdown thank you!!

super helpful for the readers like me too