Reading the discussion feels odd. Seems like people are upset over the fact this subspecies aren’t as hellgremlin as fluffies can be, like the horse hamster abuse needs to be justified. I thought half of the point of the abuse is that largely it is completely unwarranted and a comical overreaction.
Basically who gives a shit is what I mean, you want to beat animals to death with a baseball bat why do you need to feel justified in doing so or can you only get off to it if they are also talking and acting like a baby. Man up and punt kick a more animal like fluffy in the face or admit youre not really an abuser just a glorified judge jury and executioner.
Fluffies are like the mind of a very naive children in the body of a teddy bear. They don’t have to be hellgremlins to be too dumb for their own good. They have cartoonish characteristics that make them explicitly fictional and funny to stick in hugbox, sadbox, weirdbox, or abuse situations.
In the end, if a beta fluffy has all these evolutionary advantages over a regular fluffy it ceases to be a fluffy and ends up more like a fluffy shaped stray dog. Something the community shouldn’t promote since it veers closer and closer to actual animal abuse.
Finally, directed at the actual content itself in the OP. The previous posts were mildly interesting and I was looking forward to seeing more content but once it gets to the point of “Here’s how [Insert Subspecies] is better than fluffies in every way” it gets boring. If any of these panels were about how those features backfired and contributed to their rare numbers it would be funny.
Instead we are left with the logical absurdity that Beta fluffies are better at surviving than normal fluffs but also rarer despite the fact that they would naturally outbreed normal fluffies. We throw realism out the window with regular fluffies because they are so absurd they can’t be realistic. Once you try to put realism back in, then you open yourself up criticism.
I know previously you stated that normal fluffies mistake them for runts and kill them but once you have 2 or more adults, that idea goes out the window too since it appears even in this comic, they form Beta herds.
I don’t want to sound like I’m coming off harsh. Your art is good and I know you have the ideas there. You just need to explore them and make something creative and in line with the spirit of fluffies.
If you want to make the idea fun:
-Have them eat something poisonous or rotten that kills them since they aren’t picky eaters.
-Make their poor colors backfire since they are nonverbal they can easily get separated and then not be able to find each other.
-Make their “instant bonding” incredibly codependent and they get extreme anxiety when owners leave because they can’t keep themselves busy stacking blocks.
-make them end up as herd dummies because they can’t talk and end up with broken legs and used as the feral equivalent of a litterpal or enfiepal.
Still play on their normal fluffy qualities like fragility, small brains, and innocence. I’m sure you could think of even wierdbox and hugbox things to do with a Betafluff.
Fluffy abuse is already basically animal abuse, it doesn’t suddenly cease to be an animal because it asks for huggies and wub like a child. If anything abusing a fluffy is already arguably worse then a Beta since like you said for all intents and purposes it is just an aware enough child in a teddy bear body, you get the two for one deal of abusing an animal AND abusing a kid at the exact same time. I don’t get this lenses of separation you need to put over what you’re doing like you’re not doing what you’re doing, you don’t suddenly become morally justified because you cooked up a reason in your head to link a dog pissing on your carpet is deserving of having its legs cut off. if you even go the distance to make the abuse a Fluffy receives deserved. This mentality of justified fluffy abuse is just an ouroboros, just have fun being dicks to cartoon ponies and get off the high horse. I mean who is the justification for anyways, anyone outside of the community? Pretty sure anyone not on the bandwagon of fictional animal abuse is already off and disgusted with you, me, and everyone for being here. Hell fluffies as we currently know them have plenty of animalistic traits, theyre more animal then person as is. Unless you can tell me the logical difference between a newborn chirpy or foal (before learning to talk) and any other baby animal.
Christ I usually have to go to 4chan to see people wilfully misconstrue my points this hard (and I saw your reply to ezpete so I know I’m screaming into the void but fuck it Za said cook).
The issue is that Beta Fluffys are the usual Fluffy + type creation that many new creators fall into which is the idea that fluffys can and should be “improved” and that they should do it. What you misidentify as “Hellgremlin” behaviour can are many things Hugbox types love when put in a more positive context (not the poopy abuse don’t try some debate school bullshit).
What I mean by this is that the entire point of Fluffy Community fluffys is that they are man made creatures with the mental capacity of the children they were created to be companions for, who are supposed to live in very specific environments are now thrust into situations that are FAR beyond what they’re programed/taught to understand (or in situations they are expressly made for if you like Hugbox no shame). This means they come with very specific “quirks” that can express themselves as “hellgremlin” behavior with the lack of human intervention. They are made to eat things like kibble and spaghetti, they are made to like pretty, shiny colorful things and they are made to be companions for children so they prefer the same kinds of toys a kid would like.
This isn’t about justifying abuse or even abuse at all, it’s about basic conceptual integrity, the foundations of this community and the legacy artists and creators that came before.
@Battering_fluffs you’re a great artist and will hopefully become a wonderful contributor, I’m not trying to shit on your work. I am trying to warn your about the risk of going down a well trodden path to failure on this site though. Beta Fluffs may seem like a good idea but there is a reason that Fluffy +, despite being done many times before, never seems to stick.
That being said you might want to check out @FallenAngel007’s series of post apocalyptic fluffys
it shares a lot of mental DNA as Beta Fluffs while retaining the core a lot of the core mentality of the site. Keep up the good work and don’t be discouraged.
A good point. Most stories won’t work if feral fluffies are smart enough to realise they can go to a rural area and live off grass. Especially if they avoid humans while trying to get there.
Another beta fluffy flaw could be that they’re so worried about anything larger than them that they often leave good places to live for somewhere that is worse but has fewer animals.
Alternatively beta fluffies could be so successful at living in the wild that fluffies can’t compete with them. Thus normal fluffies are forced to live in cities where there is less competition.
i don’t think the concept works for reasons that were already stated but the art rules. your scenes are dynamic, the characters have great expressiveness, and the design is appealing.
Did I ever say they broke a rule?
You realize my mod status doesn’t mean I’m trying to delete or outlaw every post I dislike or find uninspired, right?
None of that is threatening. Snarky as fuck, yes, but none of that was even close to a threat. Also, the “these fucking suck” was on AI “art” so it’s not like I was insulting an actual person. If you feel intimidated by everything I say, that’s between you and your therapist.
EDIT: Post deleted by author. Man, I’ll give you credit. At least you’re cognizant enough to know when your argument is in bad faith and walk away from it.
I’m here to see content about fluffies. Not someone’s super unique take on fluffies that is so far removed, it could be its own creature entirely. Not a fluffy that acts nothing like a fluffy. Not a story that has fluffies on one or two lines and never again.
I am here for fluffies. It’s a simple concept, I find.