Human Domestication Guide, as a collective project, began as a small community of a few writers engaging in collaborative worldbuilding, checking in with each other and ensuring that everyone's fics aligned to create a kind of metacontinuity where everything was interconnected or could interconnect with everything else. This is what created the "vibes" that ultimately make HDG what it is, and that are so crucial to the overall feel and tone of the setting.
But HDG has grown exponentially since those early days. It's no longer really possible to write in the mainline HDG universe and reasonably expect to be in active conversation with every other writer working in the setting. At the same time, a "fanfic standard" anything-goes approach would see HDG quickly lose that essential element that made it so unique and so attractive in the first place. Somewhere between strict canon and total chaos, we need to find a place of flexibility and adaptability, to ensure that HDG can continue to grow as a unified setting and community while still retaining the qualities that drew so many of us to it.
We understand this may confuse new arrivals: many fandoms are fully anarchic, in that transformative storytelling based on extant commercial properties is done ad hoc by fans without any kind of overarching structure or guiding principles beyond those that emerge organically from the community. This is fine, normal, and good. We love fanfiction. Fanfiction is great. More of it, please.
But we're trying to do something a little different here, because HDG began not as a commercial property but as a labor of love by first one, then a handful of sophonts. They've given the world something beautiful, and we very much want to preserve the essence of it. Put simply, if you've got a great idea that doesn't fit with HDG, don't try to cram it in where it doesn't fit — create your own amazing, wonderful thing and share that with us and with the world instead.
The following Axioms & Rules are intended to clarify the nature of what makes an HDG story, and what elements of those stories can be bent, changed, or omitted while still retaining the essential character of Human Domestication Guide. Keep the Axioms and follow the Rules, and you'll grok the HDG vibe in no time.
Be sure to also check out the Foundational Works page, as the stories on there we very much recommend you read if you want to write in the setting, as there is no replacement for getting a handle on the themes and feel of the setting than reading the stories themselves.
An axiom is a statement that is taken to be true as a foundation for further argument or logic. Here, we use “axiom” to refer to essential core traits of HDG. If you change these principles, the story that emerges is not going to fit with the general tenor, themes, and ideas of HDG. Consequently, if a story concept you're nurturing runs up against or even contradicts one of these axioms, we politely ask that you either adjust your story to fit or develop your own setting to write the story in.
The following are HDG axioms:
Once the Affini Compact becomes aware of a civilization, their domestication is inevitable. Generally speaking, while there are no civilizations more advanced than the Compact, even such precursor cultures would be unable to resist the Affini indefinitely. This is not to say that the affini don't have limits, or that nothing bad can ever happen. Affini, as individuals, are flawed and capable of making mistakes. Systemic mistakes, on the other hand, are vanishingly rare, and become even less common when they would result in fatalities, injuries, and injustice. The more affini eyes are on a situation, the less likely things are to go wrong. Even when mistakes occur, and even when they occur on the scale of a ship, a planet, or even a solar system, the Affini will stop at nothing to correct them, using every resource at their disposal to do so — and their resources are functionally limitless.
The Affini want to help you, and they will do everything in their power to do so. The Affini will gaslight you, drug you, mind-control you, violate your boundaries, ignore your consent, and do a bunch of things that are, in the context of a real-life human relationship, not generally desirable. They'll tell you it's for your own good.
If you give the Affini a surface-level examination, they look pretty awful, but when an abusive human says "it's for your own good," it's an excuse. It's a deflection. It's a way to justify what they're doing to you. When the Affini say it, it’s true. They make it true, sometimes through bizarre and even unethical means (by human standards), but you will be better off when they’re done. The Affini value other sophonts so highly that they have built their entire culture, an entire multiple-galaxy-spanning empire, not just around helping the ones they co-evolved with, but helping every sophont, everywhere. Affini will (and frequently do!) risk their lives to protect sophonts that are trying to kill them.
Not every affini will use methods like these. Some affini are, in fact, quite gentle. Some sophonts don't need (from the Affini perspective) such strong influence to bend them to their will. The degree to which affini do questionable things (from the human perspective) to their florets will vary from author to author (largely based on what they find hot/want to write about), but regardless of the affini's behavior, their ultimate goal is always, always, to help the sophont in question, to leave them in a better place than the affini found them, and to make them happy. While this means a floret can get a lot of mileage out of pleading in an adorable manner, it doesn’t mean that the affini will do literally anything a floret asks of them. Sometimes pets don’t know what’s good for them, after all.
What if you feel okay on your own? What if you don't want the Affini Compact running the show? What if you're already a communist society and are doing your level best to ensure everyone gets what they need?
The Affini response will be, "That's okay, petal, you've done enough. We'll take it from here."
Society-wide domestication (and the approach the Affini take to it) varies from sophont species to sophont species. Not all sophonts fought back, for example, like the Terran Accord did — the Spectrum Jellies embraced the Affini outright, the Xa'a-ackétøth were only too happy to be rescued from their war moons, and so on.
When a species accepts the Compact, they tend to have much more of a say in the running of their society afterward — but even these cultures will be altered by domestication, and the Compact will still be there with a firm hand on the wheel afterward, just in case. Species that resist domestication, like Terrans did, don't get much of a say in how things are run — a species that fights back needs much more correction, from the Affini perspective, than one that willingly joins the Compact.
This is the corollary to the above axioms. Because the Affini are the most advanced sophont species, and because their perceived benevolence is so ingrained in their cultural character, they cannot allow sophonts to govern their affairs independently as it would lead to suboptimal outcomes (It doesn't hurt, of course, that it puts them in a position to adopt new florets. This is, as far as they're concerned, a pretty nice bonus). The Affini shape the newly domesticated sophont species into a society that functions according to Compact principles, and then continue their expansion to find new sophonts who need the same oversight (which, in their eyes, is all of them!).
Basically, the Affini don't value consent nearly as much as they do a sophont or sophont culture's happiness — but it's a nice bonus, and they'll happily take it if it's offered. Keep in mind that HDG is a kink setting first and foremost, and this is included not because we think it’s right, but because we think it’s hot.
The Affini Compact is a post-scarcity kinky queer luxury space communist utopia. Capitalism does not come standard, nor is it an available option — capitalism is inherently exploitative and requires scarcity to function, neither of which are things the Affini will tolerate.
Sometimes, the question of, "but what if a character needs material accumulation to be happy?" is raised, and the short answer is "the Affini aren't going to let one sophont recreate systems of oppression, violence, and power over others no matter how happy it makes them."
The long answer is, well, longer. Most sophonts who claim that material accumulation is necessary to their well-being — and certainly every Terran who claims it — are going to have been raised in a culture that both exalts wealth and actively criminalizes poverty. This creates a very powerful motivation to both acquire and retain money — under capitalism, it's required to live! This rationale, however, no longer applies in the Affini Compact. Most sophonts will eventually realize this after a bit of interaction with their friendly household compiler, which will happily spit out virtually anything they ask it to.
Those rare sophonts who, even in a post-scarcity society, still obsess over and pursue material wealth for its own sake may require therapy and possibly a wardship, both of which the Affini will happily provide, until such a time as they're able to unclench from the trauma of having lived under capitalism. Sophonts upset that their former wealth and stature in society no longer affords them special privileges will likely end up in the same boat. Those who truly cannot adapt will be domesticated, and the problem will be solved to everyone's satisfaction — the Affini will make sure the new floret agrees wholeheartedly.
Games or simulated economies are, potentially, permissible under the Compact, but these will be strictly controlled, especially in the context of a culture, like Terrans, still recovering from capitalism. Essentially, any economy game the Affini tolerate will have about as much social meaning as your score in Cookie Clicker — just because the computer says you have fifteen quadrillion cookies does not mean you get fifteen quadrillion actual cookies.
Unlike narrative axioms, the HDG Rules exist for out of universe reasons. They're in place not because transgressing them would result in a story that doesn't mesh with the themes of HDG, but because transgressing them is unhealthy or even dangerous for the community. If you have a story concept or a lore question that runs up against the Rules, please reconsider what you're doing.
The HDG universe is unavoidably immersed in kink. Even if you write a story that's totally free from onscreen sex, there's no avoiding the inherent kink dynamic that the Affini bring to literally everything they do — it's baked into the structure of their society. It's for this reason that we disallow the discussion of reproduction, children in the context of affini, and topics related to these issues. This applies not only to human reproduction, but to xenosophont reproduction and even Affini reproduction.
Obviously, every character in HDG was once a child, and in the case of stories taking place well after 2554 CE, must have been children at some point while there were affini around. This is fine, provided that said childhood exists totally off-screen. Limited references are permissible so long as they don't imply interaction with affini, e.g., talking about playing a lot of a particular video game as a kid is okay, but talking about having an affini teacher in high school is not. All on-screen characters must be 18+ at the time of the story. No exceptions.
This is necessary for the safety of the community, both internally and externally.
We understand that, given the overwhelmingly transfem nature of our community, some feel excluded on the basis of being unable to live out pregnancy fantasies through a self-insert character. Trust us: some of the sophonts responsible for this very statement have those same feelings, but it doesn't change the fact that this rule (often referred to as Rule 11, based on the HDG Discord's rules) is part of what keeps us safe and allows us to operate as a community.
Do not break this rule. Do not test its boundaries. Do not tiptoe up to it and insist you aren't touching it. It exists for a reason, and it will not be removed, watered down, or otherwise reduced in scope.
(Note that this rule does not rule out forms of kink like oviposition, etc, as long as no actual reproduction takes place, nor does it rule out forms of kink like CG/L).
HDG touches on some very sensitive topics, and writers are frequently exploring personal experiences through the lens of fiction (this is not unusual; a lot of fiction is writers airing their dirty laundry in print in one way or another). For this reason, we ask members of the community to be considerate when interacting with stories, lore, and especially writers, and to not use those stories as a vehicle for grudges, a roundabout way of winning an argument, etc. We especially ask that you not write stories specifically targeting other stories; 'fixfic' is a common occurrence in other fandoms, but those fandoms are very unlikely to find the author of the source material in question reading said 'fixfics.' We want to ensure HDG remains a healthy, vibrant, and safe creative community.
Part of what made the original HDG setting what it is in the first place is that we looked to each others' works for inspiration. It was a "yes, and" kind of dynamic, where we tried to fit our ideas together to make everything work better. When there were ideas that clashed, we engaged with each others' feelings in an open dialogue and used the benefits of a wide universe and semi-flexible canon to make sure those ideas could coexist. A lot of fanfics, especially fixfics, start from taking a world and cutting away the pieces that the writer doesn't like.
But HDG isn't some franchised IP owned by a megacorp or notorious bigot. It all started from a group of friends trying to make something together, elevating each others' ideas and bouncing ideas back and forth. Writing out from an antagonistic position towards another author's ideas and hard work creates a much more hostile and inconsiderate community, compared to the spirit of mutual understanding, compassion and earnest enthusiasm which led to most of the foundational works and influential concepts.
This rule does not include satire, though if you’re going to rope a specific fic or characters into that satire, it’s best to check with the author first to make sure what you’re writing won’t be hurtful or cause any problems — this is generally a good practice if you plan to tie your story into someone else’s, satire or otherwise.
Lore is all the little details about the setting; if the Axioms are what makes HDG what it is, Lore is what makes the Terran Pacification Campaign of 2550 what it is. In short, it's all the recognizable signposts that a story is working within the shared core setting of Human Domestication Guide.
Back when the setting was a small group of authors collaborating, they established the canon lore of HDG together, and other authors have added to it since. Not every story written since then has fit neatly or at all into the collaborative shared setting, but a great many authors have taken the time to read through HDG stories and the wiki to share in this collaborative worldbuilding project.
As it is now, the community (and the number of stories being written; there's over a thousand!) has gotten too big for everyone to be in active conversation with each other at once. Historically, the staff hasn’t gone into depth about the Lore and what makes something in-line with it vs. lorebreaking, because we were a small enough community that we could get away with that. The larger we get, the more having something at least approaching an enumerated list becomes a necessity. Unfortunately, it's impossible for us to cite every little thing that's part of the Lore here - this would require over the top solutions like textbook-sized surveys. While that would be very cool, it'd also be a huge pain in the ass to read and not a very useful reference for folks just getting into the setting and community (who are, ultimately, the ones who would need a lore primer the most).The best way to learn the Lore is still to read the stories.
We encourage authors to write stories in the core HDG setting, though out of respect for those who have contributed so much to the setting already, we do have a few more small-r rules around it. To help give some guidance and structure to future stories written with the canon setting in mind, we've created three levels of Lore: Hard, Firm, and Soft. Each category has a different degree of flexibility associated with it, because in some parts of the Lore you can get away with more changes than in others while still staying roughly in line in the wider community. In addition to these, there's also Local Lore, a special category which we'll discuss afterwards.
To emphasize: none of these lists are intended to be an exhaustive or full treatment, and there are absolutely things that don’t appear in the examples given below that you may run into! Lore categories serve first and foremost as a shorthand for us to help explain why some ideas work in Lore and others don't. If you’re uncertain what category an aspect of Lore fits into, ask a Loret on the HDG Discord!
Hard Lore are those things about the setting that are set in stone, because changing them upsets continuity across the shared setting so badly that it's functionally kicking over everyone else's sand castle to make your own. Hard Lore isn't quite an Axiom, but it's the next best thing - if you want to fiddle around with something in Hard Lore, you should consider an Alternate Universe, or AU, that completely changes the setup and premise of the setting. (See below for details on AUs in HDG.)
Examples of Hard Lore include, but are not limited to:
Firm Lore consists of those things that are general rules that ought to be followed in most cases, but might be shiftable with a good excuse or a clever premise. Things in this category can still cause widespread issues, so tread carefully and ask the lorets before plunging in (and please, listen to the lorets’ suggestions on how you can shift things to work!). We strongly recommend reading the Foundational Works at a minimum, and ideally having already written a fic or two, before trying to change things up or push the boundaries of Lore. In the list below, we include examples for how one might bend Firm Lore without breaking it in the service of a story as a way to illustrate what we mean.
Examples of Firm Lore include, but are not limited to:
Soft Lore represents setting detail that is established but not firmly set, and can therefore be played around with a bit more - as always, writers should be careful not to make hard and fast pronouncements that make sweeping alterations to the setting. Rather, Soft Lore represents gray areas or places where space is intentionally left for writers to add their own little bit to the setting.
Examples of Soft Lore include, but are not limited to:
Along with the three levels of Lore discussed above, there's a fourth, special category of Local Lore. This is Lore tied to a specific place in the setting (a planet, a ship, etc) and usually to a specific story - for example, the history of Solstice (No Gods, No Masters) or Kevera (Courtship). While Local Lore is subordinate to the other levels of Lore, in that those take precedence (Local Lore doesn’t let you, for example, make a planet in the core setting where magic is real), Local Lore is otherwise precisely as Hard, Firm, or Soft as the original creator says it is. If you want to write something that touches on or even takes place in a defined part of the setting, please get in touch with the author who created that part of the setting and ask them if what you'd like to do aligns with Local Lore before you commit to anything in your story!
While most authors have focused on the core HDG setting, many have added their own unique takes on HDG that depart from the shared story universe. Examples include the Bioimmortal AU, (one of the earliest AUs to develop), in which the haustoric implant makes florets immortal to remove the possibility of floret death entirely from narrative consideration; the HDG72 AU, in which (as you might have guessed from the name) the Affini arrive around Earth in 1972 rather than 2554; and the Fantasy AU, where the Affini are extraplanar fey-like entities bent on, well, much the same as their sci-fi counterparts.
Basically, if you have an idea that's still very HDG in terms of vibes but relies on some fundamentally different lore assumptions, that's okay! You can have your weird space medievalism AU if you want to lean into the Dune vibes, or you can have a setting where mental powers like telepathy are commonplace. This is the perfect use for an AU - transposing the HDG narrative into a new setting or context, and having fun with it there.
What AUs are not is a ticket to write something that's functionally part of the core HDG setting but without respecting Lore. AUs should be large, core changes to basic setting assumptions, things that apply to the whole setting; the right to create AUs is not intended to create carveouts when Lore is inconvenient for a particular character or planet, which is just another way of kicking over someone else’s sandcastles to make your own.
An AU that creates a good separation between itself and the core setting might, for example, increase the overall Terran Accord tech level to make humans a bit more of a challenge for the Affini. There's no question of it taking place in the same setting, and even if it ultimately ends the same way (with the Affini winning) it's different enough that it's obvious it's doing its own thing.
The kind of AU you should avoid, using the same theme as an example, might create a single planet with superior technology to the rest of the Accord that single-handedly holds off the Affini for years and years on end, while the rest of the Accord is either reliant on them to stay independent or is steamrolled without putting up much of a fight. As you can guess, this raises questions like How did this planet get so advanced? and Why didn't the rest of the Accord steal or otherwise duplicate their tech? and so on. This muddies the boundaries of Lore and makes it easier for setting drift to occur; if this AU is someone's first HDG story (and any story might be someone's first!) it's going to leave them very, very confused when they try to read other stories. An AU isn’t supposed to be playing in the exact same sandbox anymore; if it feels too close, consider working with a Loret to see if your story could fit in HDG proper!
The good news is, as long as you create a sufficient separation between your AU and the core setting, and as long as you stick to the Axioms and Rules, you can write your own Lore for your own AU without causing anyone any grief. It's easier for you, it's easier for the Lorets, and it's easier for your readers. If you have any questions, concerns, or confusion around what a sufficient separation is, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the Lorets and ask!
If our stance on AUs is too restrictive for you, or if you feel you can’t adjust your concept to fit into the core setting or even an AU based on it, we suggest you try to write your concept as a standalone piece of fiction, unrelated to HDG. The wonderful thing about being a community of writers is that we love to read all kinds of stories, not just ones about communist space plants making pets of humanity, and there’s a thriving non-HDG-fiction scene on our Discord!