Writing What Counts as Fluffy? Is it same as Wholesome?

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A story idea where there's wholesome parts, dreamy parts, fluffy parts...but at the end, they still have to depart (though not on tragic death or terms like that)...Would the story still count as fluffy or wholesome?

Edit: Nvm...I think I would just tag it as romance. I'll probably state somewhere in the synopsis if I do that to deter people thinking it will be hae for the couple. Don't want anyone to get sad that the story is fluffy through most of the way and turns up a bit rueful or slightly melancholy.

Question though: Would you count fluffy as wholesome or different?
I tried looking for a fluffy tag, but there's only a wholesome tag.
 
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BubbleC

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Mmm... I'm not too sure but I'll give my best take.

Fluffy is a bit different than wholesome, being a specific subset of wholesome. Fluffy is more fuwa fuwa, owo, uwu, pink sparkles, and sweet interactions. Wholesome is more general pure-hearted, humans being bros, :) kind of stuff.

I'd say the biggest distinction between the two is that fluffy typically refers to sweet, pure, romantic interactions, while wholesome is just something so pure-hearted and good that it makes you smile. Wholesome things aren't necessarily romantic. But the two are so similar that any difference between them is kind of negligible.
 
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MadmanRB

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Well is what is "fluff" to you?
Thing is the term fluff is very subjective as what one person sees as fluff is wholesome to another, this is always the issue I see in romance movies (as romance novels don't interest me at all but I do like a few Rom-com's)
And yes it is a very slippery slope as even some of my favorite Rom-com's have their fluff moments that I hate with a passion but still have moments I adore.
 

nosinkarma

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For me fluff is something that gives me that sweet ticklish happy sensation in stomach.
Happens when I read some romcom novel or some romcom k-drama
 
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Mmm... I'm not too sure but I'll give my best take.

Fluffy is a bit different than wholesome, being a specific subset of wholesome. Fluffy is more fuwa fuwa, owo, uwu, pink sparkles, and sweet interactions. Wholesome is more general pure-hearted, humans being bros, :) kind of stuff.

I'd say the biggest distinction between the two is that fluffy typically refers to sweet, pure, romantic interactions, while wholesome is just something so pure-hearted and good it just makes you smile. Wholesome things aren't necessarily romantic. But the two are so similar that any difference between them is kind of negligible.
I always thought Fluffy was Sweet light-hearted romance.
Unfortunately, I did not find Fluffy tag as an option to search for stories on SH.

That got me to wondering if I had conflated it with another trope/genre again as I have done so with modern/slice of life and dark/horror (before someone corrected me on those).

So it does seem like fluffy is what I initially thought what it was.
Ik wholesome could just be heart filling but not romantic sweetness like Fluffy. Wholesome could just be something that make one feel good whether good things happen or they helped someone out of kindness I guess.
 

skillet

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idk I think fluffy can be fluffy without the romance part :sweating_profusely: but maybe that's just me
 

witch_sorrowful

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When I think of fluffy, I imagine a feeling and atmosphere within a setting. Think of Alice in Wonderland and Cardcaptor Sakura. These are the only two that I can think of right now; really surprising that these are the only two popular media that I have consumed that give off this, for lack of a better word, vibe.

I can describe the sensation more thoroughly, but I can't find the words right now. Give me a mention, and I'll try to come up with something.
 

skillet

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Yeah! Like, K-On is fluffy and wholesome. I think fluffy might be explained by its lightness and its sweetness, like a marshmallow.

._. cliche comparison is cliche
 
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Requested Fluffy tag to be implemented since its different from wholesome. Wish there was already a fluffy tag. :/
 

someguysomeone

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Now i have a question. If you write a slice of life which occasionally gets super dark and morbid is it still fluffy.
Imagine you were watching a mixture of dr stone and K:ON everything is going well and suddenly senku starts telling his life philosophy and going if need be then he is perfectly willing to sacrfice Taiju Oki's life to increase chance of victory by 20% or even if it will do the work in 2 years instead of 50.

It's only one episode so does that still count as fluff
 

CadmarLegend

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A story idea where there's wholesome parts, dreamy parts, fluffy parts...but at the end, they still have to depart (though not on tragic death or terms like that)...Would the story still count as fluffy or wholesome?

Edit: Nvm...I think I would just tag it as romance. I'll probably state somewhere in the synopsis if I do that to deter people thinking it will be hae for the couple. Don't want anyone to get sad that the story is fluffy through most of the way and turns up a bit rueful or slightly melancholy.

Question though: Would you count fluffy as wholesome or different?
I tried looking for a fluffy tag, but there's only a wholesome tag.
In my experience, fluff is mostly always accompanied by the romance tag. Wholesome is just feel-good-ness.
 
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Deleted member 45782

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In my experience, fluff is mostly always accompanied by the romance tag. Wholesome is just feel-good-ness.
Agree. That's what I thought too.

Was wondering where the "Fluffy" tag is, but I guess on here like Alice said, the best bet to tag a fluffy story is a "Cute Story" and "Heartwarming" ....
 
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