𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 — dead dove: do not eat. (in this chapter, there is) female reader. descriptions of death and violence. dating sim twisted wonderland but make everyone actually twisted. ( previous ▏present ▏next.)
OH, NO! YOU POOR, UNFORTUNATE SOUL! Well, to sum it up, you have been transmigrated, now you’re in a game. The Once-in-a-Lifetime Chance to Fall in Love with Charming Gentlemen at the Most Prestigious Magic Academy! Catchy, isn't it? Shame it's also a yandere dating simulator, and . . you are not the heroine. You have been banished into the horrible villainess’s body, where you’re forced to watch the brooding men lay destruction to the world just to call the protagonist theirs. It’s a game of death to you. Because every single time, every respawn point, even though you fight so, so hard: you are brutally killed by one of the yanderes. You are not in a game, you are in a time loop of misery where death is nothing if not your beloved acquaintance.
Don’t do it, please don’t kill me, please!
What does it mean to be a villainess?
To you it is simply nothing. It means nothing, it is nothing, and it never will be. It’s a misery you wouldn’t wish upon anyone else, because to watch your fate be guillotined by the hands of the more fortunate is a death sentence in itself. It almost amuses you, to think that you’d once been a normal human, a normal girl, with a normal life and equally, if not somewhat eccentric, friends. Now, your body is nothing but a tomb, a necropolis of ersatz scars and gashes as you’re forced to march forward with executioners waiting to get a taste of you.
You want to forget everything! For some, the thought is jarring, to be deprived of things they love and letting them plunge into a fog. No one wants to forget where their soul resides, where their life began, but for you — it's mercy. You remember every loop, your first, your second, your third and the calamitous demise always waiting for you to succumb, waiting with open arms, waiting, waiting, waiting. You don't know why you keep getting killed, murdered, forced to accept that you won't ever make it far. You've done everything, you gave it your all, and in one loop, you even managed to isolate yourself to the point you were certain no one had ever heard of you. And yet, that sliver of survival slipped through your fingers, mist-thin clouds of whatever facinorous hope you'd salvaged seeping into the hands of those who trailed after your footfalls like a dog.
You remember all of it.
Sometimes it was a runt, hyena-ears bristling, letting it be known to you it was just business. Full- rimmed glasses baking you a poisoned tart, then reveling in the way blue blossomed across your lips. A long, fastidious coat locking you in a contract then letting his carnivorous goons feast on your flesh for a “breach of terms.”
There is no joy in being a villainess. None to you.
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
As if on instinct, your hands shoot up to slake off-kilter strands of your hair.
It is then you turn and behold your Housewarden, who in all his glory, stands as beautiful as ever. The Beautiful Tyrant! (You’d earned that achievement when, in one loop, he’d poisoned you and you, subsequently, had his polish-laden heel shoved into your mouth. Yuck! Turns out, choosing to seek out Neige as a means of safety is not a solid choice when you’re one of Vil’s most trusted companions.) The sleeves of your uniform, presently, scrub the dip of your cheeks subconsciously, trying to look for tearful remnants. As ostensibly lax as he may seem with you, Vil has never set aside his keen eye. Even for you.
It pains you that you can’t look him in the eyes for more than a second. You can never get used to it. You can never get used to him.
“I was simply going out on a morning walk, Vil.” You choose your next words very carefully. There is a lot of time left for orientation. “I happened to indulge in one too many sweets yesterday evening, so I thought it best to compensate before orientation begins. Fresh air, a little exercise... it seems irresponsible to neglect either after such poor discipline.” Eyes climbing onto his face, your lips dwindle at his narrowed mien. It reminds you of so, so many things, but the pinpricks built of ice, dancing on your skin, are fruitless — because his expression is unmoving. He cannot see you past his own constructed, yes-man version of you.
“.. Unless, of course, you were looking for me?”
In every loop, one of the first things you’ve done is try to make amends with everyone, even if you lack a mean streak. Watering down certain words, assisting underclassmen with mundane tasks, it’s gotten so usual you’d think it was your forte, or that you were simply a suck-up. In actuality, that tactic never worked. Though it may help delay the inevitable, there’s never been substantial progress in being kind. You are the villainess after all, silly. It doesn’t matter what you do. The system will always have you do tasks and quests that besmirch whatever reputation you’ve built up, because by the natural logic, you are a horrible person. Even if you are not.
It’s also true you have no ability to set a respawn point, as people would put it. If you die, you die, and you wind up back in your bed with it being your default rebirth. You can die by anything. Though the majority of death-related participants are people, you once died because your swimming skill was at level zero. Cue the trauma for bystanders.
“Nothing of the sort.” He sighs, folding his arms, hands and nails polished. They’ve been on your neck multiple times, in multiple loops, in more ways than one. “You're rarely awake before sunrise unless circumstances demand it. Seeing you wandering the dormitory halls of your own accord is... unexpected.”
You rip your gaze away before it starts delving into more brutal memories. “..Is that your way of complimenting me?”
“No. It is my way of observing you." The response arrives without hesitation, there’s an infinitesimal curve to his lips now. He is quite fond of you, no mattter how you perceive it. “Whether you choose to interpret observation as praise is entirely your own affair.”
His gaze drifts from your face to your shoes. Blonde-lilac, veil-akin lashes flutter at the haphazard cesspool that are the strings of your shoes, and a frown pulls at his face. You find it funny, how little of a concern it is and how big he makes it. “..Your laces are uneven. The right loop is smaller than the left by nearly an inch. I refuse to have one of Pomefiore's students representing this dorm looking as though they dressed themselves in complete darkness. Fix them immediately.”
A mental sigh it is that you heave. Imperceptibly, your molars grind in vexation, jaw clenched. “.. Yes, Housewarden.”
The villainess, as established, is one of Vil’s closest companions. By that nature alone, she is the protagonist’s most formidable foe, simply because of a thing so minute as her place in Night Raven. She is not just a placeholder, though. You've found she has plenty of friends and hobbies she seeks comfort in during her leisure — though most of them are NOT pleasurable for you at all. Seriously, sitting somewhere and watching birds all day? You guess, bro. When the time comes and someone’s not trying to strangle you every few minutes, you guess you can partake in those psychotic pastimes too. She’s also a pretty strong academic rival, and has solid grades, catering to her Housewarden’s immense pleasure.
She’s also in Film Research, which is why doom branches off and spills into the tapestry of your life.
After you’ve extricated yourself from a kneel and finally fixed those laces up, you stand, only for him to steel you with a thoughtful stare. He looks especially gorgeous in the morning, where sweet slivers limn the contours of his face and piece him together like an angel from above. Unfortunately, this is also the man that’s murdered you more than fifty times, so you need to water the praise down a little. Snapping your neck, poisoning you, the bar even reaches drugging.
“Now that you’ve mentioned it,” he raises a hand in that signature style, closing his eyes in rumination. You hum, an instinctual compliance rooted deep within you. “I expect the Film Research Club to receive a considerable number of applications following today's orientation. I have little desire to sort through crumpled forms submitted by overeager, uncooked potatoes after they've been sitting unattended for hours, so,”—
He unpeels them and sets you straight with a nullifying, all-encompassing lilac. “I would like you to receive prospective members in my stead should the orientation ceremony delay me.”
Quest Unlocked!
At exactly orientation's conclusion, you will make your way towards Film Research and look after any potential members.
A quest right off the bat? That’s a record if you’ve ever heard one.
“You are familiar with my standards.”
“...Yes.”
“I'll choose to interpret that as confidence rather than insolence.”
“..Probably for the best.”
“See that every application is filed alphabetically.”
“No folded corners.”
“Of course.”
“No ink stains.”
“Naturally.”
“No fingerprints.”
“..I'll try my hardest to keep my human condition from interfering.”
Vil deigns you a smile of satisfaction. It’s not the first time you’ve seen it, but it leaves you blind. From acrimony, from loathing, from instinctual admiration, who knows? “I knew I could rely on you. Move along now.”
You've heard those exact words in over three hundred loops, and sometimes they were the last kind thing he'd ever say to you.
You’ve learned to avoid certain places as the doomed die-er. One time, a gargoyle shattered and fell on your head — that place still leaves you imagining phantom blood. What you’ve not learned to avoid, though, is dreadful orientation, because no matter how many times you attempt to convince Vil you’ve a tummyache or the headmage that your family’s requesting you to return home, it’s all in vain.
It always starts at orientation, actually, with Grim wreaking havoc and Yuu stumbling into the hall. The first thing you can bring a change to is Grim, and that’s exactly why you’re in Mr. Sam’s shop. Maybe a little trap? A toy mouse he can get distracted by before you take him up into your arms and try to lessen the damage he causes? Fish Jerky? Catnip? You don't fight the current. You throw a stick into it and hope it changes where the ripples go. Especially since Trey Clover is already at the shop before you.
“My little imp!” Sam greets you with open arms. It results in, much to your chagrin, the plume of green turning around to regard you with full-rimmed glasses. Clover etched onto his cheek, he eyes you curiously. You’ve gotten that look before, and you return it, because how come the Vice Housewarden of Heartslabyul is here at whatever-o-clock-in-the-morning? “Back for a peculiar purchase, I assume.”
“Hi, Sam!” Momentarily, you drop the formal tone you adorn when with Vil. At least it earns a booming laugh from the shopkeeper. Looking at Trey, you dip your head. “Hello to you too, Clover.”
The vice housewarden returns the greeting just as easily, with his eyes trekking towards you. “Morning. Didn’t expect to see anyone shopping this early.”
“I could say the same to you.”
“You could.” An ephemeral smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he lifts a paper bag, crammed with flour, butter, sugar, the typical stuff. “I just needed to restock a few things before classes get hectic and Heartslabyul gets busy with the freshmen. And you?”
“Cat toy.”
Trey looks confused, justifiably. “For a cat?”
There's an all-encompassing urge to roll your eyes skyward and let out a long-suffering sigh, but in its stead you hum politely. “Well, certainly not for myself, Clover.”
Cheeks morphed pink, he lets you go. You turn your attention to Sam as he question you of your next odd purchase.
People have really forgotten that yandere is literally a horror trope. No I don't want a "green flag yandere" I want an endless pit of dread in my stomach and also a sense of arousal that shouldn't be there
Hello, Iverelle here and I'd like to take everyone's time for a moment.
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported Backstage Infatuation. Your encouragement, feedback, and interest in the project mean a great deal to me.
However, I would also like to address something that has been weighing heavily on me. Recently, my work has repeatedly been dismissed as "AI slop," and I have even been asked whether I use AI to write the game.
To be clear: I do not use AI to write my story.
Writing has never been my strongest skill, but creating this game has always been a passion project. I wanted to share my original characters, their stories, and a world that I genuinely care about. While I understand that my writing may not appeal to everyone, it is still work that I have dedicated a significant amount of time, effort, and care into.
The constant accusations and dismissive comments have taken a toll on my confidence and motivation. There have been moments where I have questioned whether my work is even worth continuing because of the negativity surrounding it.
I fully respect that not everyone will enjoy my writing, and constructive criticism is always welcome. What I do not appreciate is having my work reduced to insults or being repeatedly accused of something that is simply untrue.
When I first began this project, I was writing everything on my own before later bringing on proofreaders and team members to help improve the experience. Like many creators, I have learned and grown throughout the development process, and I have always done my best with the skills and resources available to me.
I would also like to respectfully ask everyone to use the ask box for QUESTIONS only, me and my social media team will not entertain anything besides questions and asks.
Moving forward, I ask that discussions surrounding the game remain respectful. I will not hesitate to mute or block individuals who continue to harass me or spread false accusations.
To everyone who has taken the time to read, support, and enjoy Backstage Infatuation, thank you. Your support is what motivates me to keep creating despite the challenges.
AI has stolen a lot of creativity styles from humans. The usage of it will never be welcomed in my game and in future projects as I am strongly against it. Please take note of that.
Hi everyone. I'm Pinkoko and I have to talk about something a bit unpleasant. This week, we learned that on a social media platform, someone was accusing the artwork for How To Break Up With Your Yandere Boyfriend of being AI-generated.
Unfortunately, accusations of AI-generated art are becoming a common way to attack indie artists and developers. Since the claims were weak and the person making them was hostile toward anyone who disagreed, we didn't take the accusation seriously as a team.
However, when our artist Darklime, who creates all of HTBUWYYBF's sprites and CGs, learned about the accusation, they were understandably very upset.
They personally suggested recording the creation process of a new CG and sharing it publicly. They even wanted the video to be recorded in a stream-like format outside of the drawing application so that anyone interested could clearly see the brushes, tools, and workflow being used. They dealt with serious storage limitations and took on extra work just to defend both their art and the game.
I honestly don't know how to thank them enough for that 😭 Without them, our team wouldn't have come this far 😭
For recording, we tried to choose a CG that wouldn't contain major spoilers and wasn't +18. We hope you'll enjoy it.
And if you're an amateur artist like Darklime, they have a little note for you: you don't need to be perfect for people to appreciate and enjoy what you create. Just keep making the things you love 💕
As an amateur team, that's exactly what we're going to keep doing. We may slow down from time to time, but we won't stop. We've only made it this far because of your love and support, and we want you to know how grateful we are to all of you.
Thank you, as always, for your kindness, patience, and support💕
"I spy with my little red eye something blonde and definitely a worthy opponent to cripple under my heel… It's the Honorary Knight! Hey, what brings you here? Oh, just a little stroll? Cool, cool. Hmm? What are these flowers I'm holding? Hahaha, it's Qingxin! I had it delivered all the way to Liyue, just to surpriiiiseee a special someone. And who might that be? Well, take a guess. They're someone I'm willing to rip this world apart for if someone else dared to even lay a strand of hair on their head. Someone that I'm willing to be used by in any way they see fit. They can collar me, punish me, or even abandon me, and I would still crawl back to them on my hands and knees like a happy, wagging dog eager for their affection. As long as they're happy, I'm happy. Sooo, any guesses? Why the frightened expression, dude?"
II. CHAT: SADISTIC TENDENCIES
"Hmm, I wonder what other toys I can use to make them squirm… Something that could bring tears of pleasure and pain at the same time. Maybe some hot wax or a flogger with sharp edges. Hehehehe…"
III. CHAT: PAPERWORK
"Can this stupid paperwork disappear any faster? That damn Varka knows I have a date with them tonight, and I can't be stuck here all fucking day. I swear, I'm thiiisss close to setting the headquarters on fire just to get out of here."
IV. ABOUT THE OTHERS
"Hmm? How did the others react to my relationship with them? Bahahaha! Oh, they didn't believe me at first; they thought I manipulated them or something. Yeah, the other knights made up these bizarre rumors about us, like when I probably threatened them with a dagger to their neck to make them date me. Can you believe that? I'm crazy, but I'm not that crazy... probably. Anyway, eventually they saw how happy we were together and accepted it. Some of them even apologized for doubting us. Whatever, it's one thing to doubt, but it's another thing to spread false rumors. It's all water under the bridge now, though. But I regret not teaching those fools a very thorough, valuable lesson because I would rather not anger my lover."
V. LOHEN'S TROUBLES
"Ugh… Being a big target for so many bastards across Teyvat is such a pain in the ass. The Fatui, Abyss scum, rival knights, and even some of the nobles in Mondstadt probably want me dead. I could deal with all that shit easily. But what really pisses me off is knowing they might try to use them to get to me. One wrong move and some coward thinks they can grab them just to make me vulnerable… Hah. The mere thought makes my blood boil. If anyone even dares to lay a finger on them as leverage against me, I’ll turn their entire bloodline into a cautionary tale. I’ll slaughter anything that tries to use them… but damn, it’s annoying that they even have the option."
VI. COMBAT: LOW HP
"Heh… is this all you’ve got? Pathetic. I can’t die yet—Fuck! I still need to go home to them. Don’t you dare make me break my promise to them…!"
VII. JEALOUSY
"Saaayyy, Honorary Knight. Are my eyes deceiving me, or are you pretty cozy with my lover recently… They're awfully adorable, hmm? Bet you want to hug them, hold their hand, maybe even steal them away from me? Ahahaha! …If you ever try it, I'll carve out those wandering eyes of yours and make you watch as I string your guts into a pretty little necklace for them. Okay? Hehehe... Just kidding! Or am I? You'll understand, right, Honorary Knight?"
VIII. DEMANDING RESPECT
"I thought it'd be a fun exercise to teach my fellow knights some basic respect and manners, especially when around my lover. Whatever my lover wants, they get. Anyone whining their asses off about it can take it up with me personally. I'll give them something to cry about, that's for sure."
IX. OBEDIENCE
"What is that look on your face? You want me to deliver this paperwork to Varka? Pshhh, do it yourself… Wait, my lover actually asked you to relay the message to me? Well, in that case, hand over the documents. Ah, ah, ah! I really insist."
X. ENCOURAGING VIOLENCE
"You'd be surprised that my lover encourages me to do whatever I want. It's probably because they know that I'll do it anyway, but the fact that they actually tell me to go wild as long as I come home safe? Hahaha! Fuck, that’s hot. They really are perfect for me. Because of their encouragement, I’ll slaughter entire camps of hilichurls, paint the snow red in Dragonspine, or carve my way through a Fatui ambush, whatever feels good. Honestly, their blessing makes the violence feel like foreplay, just saying."
Hi everyone. I'm Pinkoko and I have to talk about something a bit unpleasant. This week, we learned that on a social media platform, someone was accusing the artwork for How To Break Up With Your Yandere Boyfriend of being AI-generated.
Unfortunately, accusations of AI-generated art are becoming a common way to attack indie artists and developers. Since the claims were weak and the person making them was hostile toward anyone who disagreed, we didn't take the accusation seriously as a team.
However, when our artist Darklime, who creates all of HTBUWYYBF's sprites and CGs, learned about the accusation, they were understandably very upset.
They personally suggested recording the creation process of a new CG and sharing it publicly. They even wanted the video to be recorded in a stream-like format outside of the drawing application so that anyone interested could clearly see the brushes, tools, and workflow being used. They dealt with serious storage limitations and took on extra work just to defend both their art and the game.
I honestly don't know how to thank them enough for that 😭 Without them, our team wouldn't have come this far 😭
For recording, we tried to choose a CG that wouldn't contain major spoilers and wasn't +18. We hope you'll enjoy it.
And if you're an amateur artist like Darklime, they have a little note for you: you don't need to be perfect for people to appreciate and enjoy what you create. Just keep making the things you love 💕
As an amateur team, that's exactly what we're going to keep doing. We may slow down from time to time, but we won't stop. We've only made it this far because of your love and support, and we want you to know how grateful we are to all of you.
Thank you, as always, for your kindness, patience, and support💕
Development Log #1: CG Redraws, Character Customization, Writing Updates, and Ko-fi Goal
Hello, Luminas!
Welcome to the very first official development log for Backstage Infatuation!
In this post, we'll be sharing some of the progress that's been happening behind the scenes over the past month. We've divided everything into four sections so you can easily follow along with the latest updates.
Part 1: Prologue CG Redraws (and Sprite Improvements!)
It's officially been a year since the game's release, and our main artist, Iverelle, has grown a lot since then. Because of this, we're currently redrawing the original prologue CGs to better match the game's updated art style and overall visual quality.
We're also giving all of the character sprites a major overhaul!
Fun fact: when the original sprites were created, Iverelle wasn't familiar with layered image systems yet. Instead of using a modular sprite setup, we ended up with countless individual variations of the same character. While it worked at the time, it definitely wasn't the most efficient approach!
The new sprite system will help reduce file size, improve organization, and open the door for more customization options in future updates. New outfits? Alternate hairstyles? Additional expressions? The possibilities are much more flexible now.
We'd also like to give a huge thank you to our team member, Luna, for assisting with the line art for the updated sprites that will be featured in an upcoming update. Your help has been invaluable!
Part 2: Character Customization Preview
This preview was previously shared on Tumblr, but we'd love to showcase it here as well!
For those who may not know, Backstage Infatuation will feature character customization, including selectable pronouns, along with the option to play as the default protagonist, Haesol.
So far, Iverelle has completed 10 outfit designs, each with their own color variations. That's already a lot of options to mix and match! Of course, this is only the beginning, and we plan to continue expanding the wardrobe with even more outfits in future updates to give players greater freedom when customizing their character.
Part 3: Writing Update
Writing development has been progressing steadily over the past month!
One of our current priorities is revising the Prologue. While the overall story remains the same, we're making significant improvements to the writing, pacing, dialogue, and presentation to create a stronger introduction to the world of Backstage Infatuation. These revisions will help establish the characters more effectively and provide a smoother experience for both new and returning players.
At the same time, work on Chapter 1 has been going very well. Writing progress has been steady, and we're excited with how the chapter is shaping up so far. Alongside the story itself, we're also implementing features such as character customization support and the Affection Point system, making Chapter 1 a much larger and more ambitious update than anything we've released before.
There's still plenty of work ahead, but we're happy with the progress being made and can't wait to share more previews as development continues!
Part 4: Ko-fi Goal for Backgrounds
Finally, we'd like to ask for your support!
As work on Chapter 1 continues, one of our biggest upcoming expenses is the creation of background assets for the game. To help cover these costs, we've opened a Ko-fi goal dedicated to background production.
At the moment, we're considering two possible approaches:
• Commissioning an architect/interior designer to create 3D-rendered environments
• Commissioning a background artist who specializes in illustrated scenery
Become a supporter of iverelle_1 today!
Every contribution, no matter the size, helps bring the next update closer to reality. Your support allows us to continue improving the game and creating the best experience possible for everyone.
Closing Remarks
Thank you for supporting Backstage Infatuation and for following this journey with us. Whether you've been here since the beginning or recently discovered the project, we're incredibly grateful to have you as part of the community.
We have plenty more content, improvements, and surprises planned for the future, and we can't wait to share them with you. As always, thank you for your patience, encouragement, and continued support.
Guyysss go check nio's game. The concept is similiar to scp foundation. There's two Love interest. One sub, one dom. So if you guys interested , give it a try and support nio. I'M FEELING HOWNY BECAUSE OF FINN GGGRRGGHHHHHHHHH
First of all, I wanted to start by saying this is my personal experience, so what happened to me might not reflect the experience of all gamedevs and content creators out there who collaborated with this company.
That said, my experience was bad enough that I really wanted to make a post to let people know about it; especially to those who might be reached out by Plush Wonderland in the future, so that they can make a more informed decision about what they wish to do. And, well, also to express my frustration and disappointment, because this really left me feeling defeated, peeved and crushed.
I am at least happy to say, though, that after several exchanged emails between me and this company, the people who bought an Oz plushie either for the first campaign, the second campaign, or both, have all been refunded by Plush Wonderland. So at least everyone has gotten their money back!
This post is also really long so, if you’re interested in reading it, be aware that it goes on for quite a while.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
HOW IT STARTED
Plush Wonderland first reached out to me on February 6th of 2026 to ask for a collaboration; mentioning how they wanted to make a doll/plushie for my brand. I actually didn’t see this first email (it probably got lost in spam, at first) and only realized once they sent their second email on March 9th, 2026.
As you can see from the 2nd screenshot, I was really excited to collaborate with them; especially after having seen, from their website, that they had worked with many known indie devs who have wonderful games. I thought this was like a dream come true, ‘cause I’ve wanted a plushie of my characters for a long time, and the fact that a company was offering to collaborate with me because they saw potential in my games made me extremely happy.
After asking for the process of how things worked, this was the email they sent me. Right away, I noticed 2 things: that the plushie would need to sell FIFTY orders, and that the percentage I would get from the sales would be 8% (there are other things I noticed later but we’ll get to them afterwards).
I’m not going to lie, if they hadn’t already collaborated with several other indie devs, at this point I would have let them know that I wasn’t interested anymore. I know they’re not a huge company, but they still collaborate with many people and sell a whole lot of plushies; so giving 8% of the sales to their collaborators is rather LOW. I was thinking 15, heck, even 10% at least would have been good. Also, having to sell 50 units seemed like it would be a huge challenge. Still, in spite of both of these things, l decided to agree because the possibility of having a plushie of—at least—one of my characters was really exciting and I was hopeful that my fans would be happy with the news as well.
Small Note: I confirmed with another dev that they also were told they’d get 8% so this is something they tell ALL of their collaborators, not just me.
Having sold merch of Where Winter Crows Go (keychains) previously, and seeing how it didn’t go so well at that time—plus the fact that Killer Trait is more popular and currently in development, so people are more hyped about it—I told them to start with Killer Trait instead, so they agreed and told me to send some references for Oz, so they could start with his plushie design.
DESIGNING THE PLUSHIE
Over the course of a few weeks, Plush Wonderland and I exchanged emails to check that Oz’s plushie design was going well. They gave me an initial design and, after just a few small corrections from the feedback I gave them, he was done.
Why am I sharing these seemingly nothing-burger emails? At this point in time, I didn’t notice, but, throughout aaaaall of these email exchanges, Plush Wonderland hadn’t ONCE shared with me what would be the costs of production for the plushie nor told me that certain things about my character (in this case, Oz) would increase said cost of production and, thus, the final price for the plushie.
Of course, we could argue that I should have asked them about the costs of production at this time and you would be absolutely right: I should have.
However, this is also a collaboration. And Plush Wonderland is a company that SPECIALIZES in making plushies and other accessories. You’d think they could have mentioned it to me at some point in time themselves, and not just when and IF I happened to ask.
Anywho, once the design was done, they asked me to send them the logo for the game so they could make a promotional image (which I’d have to approve first) and they finally sent me the image that was made public when the campaign went live.
They said they would promote it on their social media (Twitter and Instagram are the only social media accounts they used for this, as far as I know; I don’t remember seeing others) and that they would appreciate it if I could repost the announcement as well.
I agreed and they followed up telling me I could post it on Itch as well, since people who followed me there and played Killer Trait would see that the game had merchandise. I agreed as well. They also confirmed, after I asked, that the campaign would last one month.
THE FIRST CAMPAIGN GOES LIVE
April 9th finally comes around and the 20 cm Oz plushie is shown to the world. At the time, I was also busy with preparations to move to Spain so I admit it slipped my mind a bit and I ended up making the announcement post a bit late, but still made it on all of my social media AND Itch. I even made a Tiktok where the VA was kind enough to lend me their voice for free because they also wanted this campaign to be a success.
A few days go by and the plushie is just… not selling well. I reposted the plushie posts a few times, sent it to several acquaintances and friends (even family members); but still no dice.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that not everyone can afford to buy merch; especially when there’s shipping involved (some countries in particular have shipping that’s INSANELY PRICEY). That’s a fact and, sometimes, selling merch is a bit of a gamble. It can go well, but it can also go badly. Not to mention the plushie was not cheap.
No matter the reason, though, I couldn’t just fake my feelings. With the addition of my stress from the upcoming move to Spain, and seeing how not many people seemed to be interested in getting the plushie or even comment on the posts themselves, I started to feel really sad about the whole thing.
But then, after speaking with my friend Mustache (the artist for Killer Trait) and lamenting how some people from Latin America wouldn’t be able to buy it because of the price of the plushie and the shipping combined… I decided to check the price for Oz’s plushie again and compare it to Plush Wonderland’s other plushies.
That’s when I noticed the difference. Oz’s 20 cm plushie was worth $46 (no skeleton)/$50 (with skeleton) compared to other plushies of the same size that were cheaper. Some weren’t that much cheaper, but others were at least 10 to 12 dollars cheaper. It may not seem like much to some, but a few dollars can really make the difference; especially when there’s shipping and ESPECIALLY in certain countries, like the ones from Latin America (believe me, I’m from Argentina, I KNOW).
That’s when I decided to send Plush Wonderland another email… and when my gloominess started to turn into annoyance.
Small Note: Something I noticed when I checked the live campaign was that the goal for making the plushie was now selling THIRTY units instead of fifty. I thought it was odd at the time but, since it ultimately ended up benefitting me, I didn’t think much of it. However, a dev I talked to that also made a collaboration with them told me the opposite happened to them; Plush Wonderland first said they needed to sell 30 units and when the campaign went live it ended up being 50.
WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?
On April 15th, I sent Plush Wonderland an email to ask about the difference in price between Oz plushie and other 20 cm dolls. This was their reply:
Remember when I previously talked about them not telling me anything regarding the costs of production for their plushies? THIS was the first time I was made aware of them. Not once in all of their previous emails did they tell me about the costs of production nor how much would the plushie cost.
Again, yes, this is something that I admittedly SHOULD have asked them about, but I also want to cut myself some slack in that regard because this was the first time I ever did something like this, but it was NOT the first time for them.
Heck, they could have even told me how adding white streaks to Oz’s hair and his burn scar would make the plushie more expensive DURING the process of his plushie design! But they never said anything.
And wait, things get worse.
As you can see in the email above, I told them how I commissioned a few mini comics to try and promote the plushie as best as I could. Then I proceeded to make said comics into short videos; again, with the help of the very kind VAs who provided their voices (for free!) because they wanted to help me make this plushie become a reality.
But that’s when they replied… that, since the price of the 20 cm plushie seemed too high, I could make a poll for my fans to see if they’d prefer a 10 cm plushie instead; which would be much cheaper. They also told me we could do other things as well, like stickers or acrylic products.
Do you see the problem with this? First of all, why didn’t they tell me about these things right at the beginning? And what would the point of a poll like this even have been when the 20 cm plushie campaign was already live?
We could argue that I could have asked them to make a 10 cm plushie (or another product) from the start, but when they came to me for a collaboration they SPECIFICALLY talked about making a plushie and they NEVER specified what the size of that plushie would be. They went on ahead and made the 20 cm plushie design without ever telling me I could choose between 2 sizes. What choice could I have made if I didn’t know my options from the start?
During this time, because of my upcoming overseas move and overall general stress, I wasn’t really thinking with a clear mind—I was even considering making the poll, despite not being sure if many people would vote—so, while I was frustrated, I still didn’t see all the issues and red flags that I saw afterwards.
Plush Wonderland offered to have the campaign for the 20 cm Oz plushie and the one for a 10 cm Oz plushie run simultaneously. Thinking back, a friend told me (after the whole ordeal) that having 2 campaigns run somewhat simultaneously, where it’s also visible that one of them is failing pretty badly, is not very good marketing… and I think she’s completely right.
I should have refused. I REALLY should have refused. But since the first campaign was already failing so badly, and I was still really enamoured with the idea of having an Oz plushie, I agreed.
In fact, at first I was feeling really guilty that they were drawing another design:
THE SECOND CAMPAIGN GOES LIVE
A few days go by and, when April 29th comes around, the second campaign goes live. Once again, I make posts EVERYWHERE and even start commissioning one last mini comic to make another Tiktok video for this plushie.
At this point, I was pretty desperate. I even made an Instagram to try to promote both plushies—I was already thinking of making a gamedev Instagram before, but thought this would be a good incentive.
I happened to see that their Instagram had a whole lot of followers, so I asked them if they could help me by posting there and adding me as a collaborator. That way, the post would be in both our accounts and, since they have so many followers, their post would reach more people than mine.
Their response… was that their social media schedule was very “tight” so it would be better for me to make the post instead. This could just be me, but the ‘dear’ that they added also felt very rude.
I ended up making the post myself and adding them as a collaborator instead. However, when I told them about this, Plush Wonderland was unfortunately on holiday, so they saw my email late and, when they accepted my collaboration post (only one of them, because I also added them as collaborators on the plushie videos and they ignored those) it was already too late… They had made several new posts and the one with 10 cm Oz plushie was buried under their most recent ones.
I don’t know just how much a merch company should help their collaborators with marketing, but this is another one of the many reasons why I feel like I had a bad experience. Doing the marketing for the Oz plushie was very hard, stressful and, most of all, lonely. Plush Wonderland didn’t really help me much and, if I’m being honest, I feel like they could have helped more (and this goes not only for me, but for all people who collaborate with them; I feel they should be helped more).
Instead of receiving help, it felt like Plush Wonderland was counting on my fan base being big enough for the merch to, somehow, sell magically well.
WHEN EVERYTHING WENT TO HELL
Several days go by and, ultimately, the campaign for Oz’s 20 cm plushie fails with 9 plushies sold out of 30. This was expected, so I was bummed but still hopeful that maybe, just maybe, the other campaign could succeed. In fact, Mustache told me that a couple of Brazilian fans had bought the 20 cm plushie and were waiting for their refund so they could try again with the 10 cm plushie.
A few days after the first campaign had failed, I got a message from Mustache letting me know that one of her friends who bought the plushie still hadn’t received a refund. I asked another friend of mine, Meiri, who bought one as well, to see if she ALSO hadn’t received a refund. She confirmed that she hadn’t AND that she had sent an email to Plush Wonderland days ago asking about it, but they never got back to her.
That’s when I decided to send a new email to the company to see what was going on. If the campaign had failed… shouldn’t everyone have been refunded?
Their reply was… confusing, to say the least. I showed it to a few of my friends and we were all pretty perplexed. What did this even mean?
So, yet again, I sent them another email. Trying to grasp whether this meant that everyone would receive their refunds by May 28th. The first campaign had ended on May 8th so, from then onwards, without counting the weekends, two weeks would be around May 28th… right?
I wanted to confirm this quickly too because there were only 11 days left for the second campaign to finish, and a couple of people who had bought the 20 cm plushie wanted their refund so they could buy the 10 cm plushie.
The email they sent me next made me go from confused and frustrated to angry and disappointed:
This reply made me beyond upset. Not only were they saying that the second campaign had over 20 days left (which was not true), they also, for some reason, talked to me like I was a buyer? Somehow, someway, there had been a huge misunderstanding on their part, and this really didn’t look professional at all.
Some could say that this is a matter of lost translation. That English is not their first language and, perhaps, they use Google Translate to communicate or something, so the meaning of the email was lost in the poor translation.
Well, English is not my first language either, and even taking that out of the way, you can’t be an international company who constantly offers merch collaborations to several people and have this level of English in email exchanges. The people who are in charge of contacting and engaging with the collaborators should have a level of English that’s high enough for these things to never happen.
What happened here was VERY unprofessional.
Yet again, I sent them another email where, firmly but politely, I expressed my frustration and that all I wanted was for the people who bought the 20 cm plushie to be refunded.
They replied apologetically but then, not even 5 minutes later, they followed with ANOTHER reply where they said they would extend the 10 cm plushie campaign by ONE MORE MONTH so that those who bought the 20 cm plushie could “wait patiently for their refund” and then buy the 10 cm plushie.
I told them to PLEASE not do this and that I would take a couple of days to process the whole thing before I sent a longer reply; because what they were doing was frankly making me uncomfortable.
Again, they initially replied in a way that seemed they were being understanding… But then not even 30 minutes later they replied with yet another suggestion where they asked ME to ask the people who bought the 20 cm plushie (and wanted the 10 cm plushie) to send THEM an email to “pre-register” so they could have the other plushie instead??
This is most probably another problem with the translation but I THINK they were trying to tell me that they would transfer the money of those who bought the 20 cm plushie (and wanted the 10 cm plushie) to the other campaign so they could get the 10 cm plushie before the campaign ended??
I don’t know… no matter, because, yet again, they were dancing around the fact that they weren’t refunding the buyers quickly and, yet again, making more suggestions of things that could “maybe” work but, honestly speaking, felt like rather poor suggestions.
I sincerely felt like I was talking to someone who had a tiny shop and was selling merch for the very first time.
Small Note: I think it’s important to mention as well that I was the only one telling people on social media that Plush Wonderland would refund them soon; the only one reassuring them. Meanwhile, they did nothing.
I feel like this and my repeated posts of the plushie themselves may have also potentially hurt trust from my fans in me, all the while Plush Wonderland continues on with their day.
THEIR “APOLOGY” AND THEIR ACTUAL APOLOGY
A couple of days later, after talking with a few friends and my Dad about this, I sent them a very long and detailed email where I politely expressed my disappointment and dissatisfaction with the collaboration and my overall bad experience with them. I listed 10 points, which are basically all of the things I mentioned in this large post in an even more detailed manner, so I won’t bore you with my actual email but I’ll share with you what I received as a reply.
So, from what I understood based on the 2nd email (which is exactly the same but only contains that extra phrase at the start), there was only one person I had been talking to throughout the whole ordeal.
No matter, the liaison is still part of Plush Wonderland and, honestly speaking, the apology I received here felt a bit half-baked and insincere. It felt like they went on the defensive in several parts and STILL insisted that I should give their company another chance. Not to mention, several things I had told them I was displeased about were not yet addressed at all.
Also, for some reason, the English in this email was a lot more understandable than the previous emails, so I’m not sure if this person reached out to someone else in the company for help, but it’s another thing to note.
The next reply, on the other hand, felt much MUCH more professional, like they had taken actual accountability, and the English level was completely different. Take a look:
Not long after receiving this email, my Dad and one of my friends told me Plush Wonderland had sent them an email apologizing for the trouble and they were refunded shortly after, as they had mentioned in the email above.
They did the same with the people who bought the 10 cm plushie and all people have been refunded now. So, credit where credit’s due, this was a good thing about them and I’m glad and relieved that they delivered on their promise in their last email.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to dissuade me from not making this post. I wanted to tell my whole experience, from start to finish, to let people know what I went through and for them to be careful and observant when approached with a deal/collaboration with similar characteristics to the one I was approached with. Whether you’re approached by Plush Wonderland or another company altogether.
Don’t be naive like me and trust a company just because they made collaborations/deals with several people you know or know of. Being trusting is not a bad thing, but it’s never bad to have some healthy skepticism and ask A LOT of questions. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t go through with it.
Listen to your gut, it’s there for a reason. I didn’t listen to it and I ended up going through a lot of stress because of it and even losing money to try and promote something that was destined to fail.
The silver lining I see in all of this is that, at least, I learned from this experience; and was also able to make this post to inform others about this matter.
Unfortunately, this experience has also greatly discouraged me from trying to make physical merch of my games for a long while. I’m not saying it won’t happen, just that I will be a whole lot more careful next time and, most probably, start with a pre-order system so that I’m not at a risk of losing money.
Thank you very much for reading until the end and I hope you have an excellent week!
-Pri
(Final) Small Note: You might have noticed that I deleted a lot, if not all, the posts in which I advertised the plushie. That's because I honestly don't want to be reminded of the bad experience, so I'd rather they be gone. I also deleted the videos of the cute mini comics; but those in particular I will upload again after the artist I commissioned changes the plushie in those comics for one they drew themselves, so it's not associated with Plush Wonderland in any way.
So I have always loved games like Pokemon, Dragon Quest Monsters, Monster Hunter Stories 2, FinalFantasy 13-2!!!!! .... games where you can build a party of monsters. And in case of a couple DQM and FF monsters..oh no they're hot (the humanoids you know me).
So I have been craving a game where I can custom build myself a party of hot monster boyfriends in my area.
Imagine: A monster-collector visual novel set in my spirit realm (ONIS HINTHINT). You play a Spirit Guide trainee investigating supernatural incidents, recruiting spirit companions to help you with more difficult cases.
You explore episodic missions from an oni village hub (you are there to train) and a spirit shrine system, bonding with your companions through small interactions, battles, and uh...maybe dressup. All while uncovering why the world’s nights are getting longer and spirits are growing in numbers.
Oh man, I'd spend hours getting my favorites to a fun set of skills and maxed out and into a cool outfit. THERES SO MANY POSSIBILITIES.
....
Not that I can build on it anytime soon but I definitely will try once My Monster Garden is fully released!
