Fluffy Genre Categories

Although fluffy pony fans may all love fluffy ponies, they have different ways of approaching them. Artists, authors, and community members are often placed into the category of abuser, hugboxer, or somewhere in between the two.

Abusers
[|Abuse]rs, as one might guess, are those who enjoy seeing fluffy ponies in mental, physical, and emotional pain, be it justified or not. They find enjoyment in seeing them suffer, be it through the actions of a third party, such as a human or animal, or simply by their own stupidity.

The reasoning behind why abusers find fluffy ponies suffering funny and gratifying is a complex one, as these individuals are often staunch opponents of animal abuse. It can be connected to finding satisfaction in fluffy ponies receiving their comeuppance for their selfish behavior, thoughtlessness, libido, obnoxiousness, or any other combination of their undesirable traits. Their general uselessness and status as bio-toys rather than animals can often cover their abuse as not being animal abuse, and in most abuse [|headcanon] fluffy abuse is not a crime punishable by law.

Hugboxers
Preferring to focus on the innocence and helplessness of fluffy ponies, [|hugboxers] are more interested in treating fluffy ponies as real animals. They often use stories to tackle the psychological issues that plague abused fluffies, or simply portray them doing cute things for entertainment.

Despite their focusing on the better aspects of fluffy ponies, such as their unconditional love and gentleness, hugboxers do still abide by the common idea that fluffy ponies are not very intelligent. They can be reprimanded, usually with more tame methods such as [Sorry Stick|Sorry Sticks] or [Sorry box|Sorry Boxes], but the owner of the fluffy pony finds no enjoyment in this, despite finding it a necessary action.

Neutrals
Neutrals are users who don't lean on one side of the fandom or the other and prefer to have a bit of both hugboxing and abuse in their content. They often use stories about fluffies surviving in real world situations and depict what may happen when surviving in the city or wilderness, having a less ideal living situation at home, or simply trying to scrounge up some food to survive the night. Neutrals may also just like to write both genres and focus on hugbox or abuse on separate stories or images. Also common are authors who write more grounded versions of scenarios from other genres, such as a fluffy being raised as a pet without the cutesy overtones or pampering that often feature in hugbox, or another being mistreated in a similar way to a real abused child or pet (although many of these stories would often be considered sadbox).

While abuse and hugbox stories usually stay true to their roots and end the same way, a neutral story can start light hearted, and end horribly or vice versa. If the story is long enough, it can even roller coaster up and down between the situation the characters are currently in. You never quite know how a neutral story will end until you read it.

Weirdboxers
Weirdboxers are users that like delve into the weird, bizarre and often nonsensical side of the fluffy fandom, sometimes coming off on both sides of the spectrum. Other times no one is quite sure which side they are on, as their work is just too strange to categorize.

Sadbox
Sadbox, as its name suggests, refers to literature or artwork of a sad or depressing nature. Most sadbox falls somewhere between neutral to neutral-leaning abuse. In sadbox, the role of the villain is often minimized or non-existent, or the "villain" is just doing his job, rather than delighting in the misery that he inflicts. Fluffies vs nature stories in which nature wins are typically sadbox.

Ragebox
Ragebox is a type of story that is purposely written to cause a negative reaction from readers or specific users. Common themes feature unlikable villains coming out ahead, in which It is an inversion of the typical formula of the "good guy" always wins. Another form of ragebox is when the author makes shit edit/shit posting stories about other user's character(s) or the user themselves, in order to create drama in the comment section.

Variations
As with any group, extremes occur within both sub-groups. Extreme abusers treat fluffy ponies as stupid, selfish creatures who deserve neither sympathy nor happiness. They often create stories about their brutal demise and torment with poor justification or reasoning. They also often attempt to edit hugbox images or write their own endings for hugbox stories to appeal better to their tastes. To extreme abusers, hugboxers are viewed as having some sort of perverse sexual attraction to fluffy ponies.

Extreme hugboxers can also do the same things, usually by creating fluffy ponies that are unnaturally intelligent, strong, or perfect. They insult abusers, and in some rare cases, write stories where abusers are killed, beaten, or arrested for their crimes by a Mary Sue character. They often value the life of a fluffy over that of a human being. To them, fluffy ponies are perfect beings who can do no wrong and deserve the highest treatment.

Extremists are usually rare, and more often than not, fans will fall somewhere between the two subgroups, often crossing over. One usual case is in that of rape, where hugboxers may torture or kill the rapist (usually a [fluffy|smarty friend] abusing a foal), and abusers may take in the rape victim and care for him/her.

Notable Hugboxers

 * [|Coalheart] (Artist)
 * FluffyShep47 (Artist)
 * HugBoxFag (Author, Artist)
 * KMEB (Artist)
 * [|LordAnubis] (Author)
 * MarcusMaximus (Artist, Creator of various Fluffy-related games)
 * Russian_Hugobxer (Artist, Russian)
 * Soraen (Creator of Fluffypedia, Author)
 * Squeakyfriend (Artist)
 * Waggytail (Artist)

Notable Abusers

 * Artist-kun (Artist, Russian)
 * [|Abuse-Sir] (Artist, no longer on Fluffybooru)
 * Big_Baybeh (Artist, Russian)
 * Blitzkrieg Bob (Artist)
 * CarniviousDuck (Artist)
 * DeathProofPony (Moderator, Author and Artist)
 * DerFluffeWaffe (Artist)
 * EgorAlexeev (Artist/Flash animator, Russian)
 * [Fig|Ginger Fig] (Author and Artist)
 * Harbinger (Author and Artist)
 * Jein1234 (Artist, El Salvadorian)
 * McGonagall (Author and Artist, Scottish)
 * Mwike (Artist, Russian)
 * PAINt (Artist, Norwegian)
 * PENT (Artist)
 * Quickhorn (Artist, Russian, no longer on Fluffybooru)
 * Spoosh (Artist)
 * [|Supervert] (Author)
 * [Sparks|Wolfram Sparks] (Artist, British)

Notable Neutrals

 * [|Aichi] (Artist, Scottish)
 * Bad Fic Writer (Author)
 * Buwwito (Artist)
 * Carpdime (Artist)
 * Fatalsirenz (Author, American)
 * Fillialcacophony (Author and Artist)
 * Fluffsplosion (Artist)
 * Fluffy_Commissions (Artist)
 * Fwuffee (Artist, Canadian, native Mandarin Chinese speaker)
 * JustMichael (Author)
 * Kibbles_n_Tits (Artist)
 * Giant_Neckbeard (Author)
 * Mutagen (Arist)
 * RQ (Artist)
 * [|Ryunnosuke] (Author and Artist)
 * Santanon (Artist)
 * ShadySmarty (Artist)
 * Swindle (Author, American)
 * ZK (Artist, Polish)