We're sorry for the recent lack of communication. We apologize for not keeping you updated!
We've been also anxious about this, feeling overwhelmed -which made us withdraw a bit socially. We do not mean to shift blame, but rather to offer insight into the situation.
We're also going through a tough time for a very long period now, and we're already working hard to handle everything the best we can both for this campaign and for other aspects of our work.
Many of the questions we've received, revolve around what happens if certain items, especially the pocket plushies, are not unlocked by the end of the campaign.
As stated on the main campaign page (and as is common in crowdfunding), if an item isn't unlocked, it can't be produced or received as a backer reward.
In the past, we've eventually covered these costs ourselves when something wasn't unlocked, out of our own pocket. But unfortunately, we can't do that this time. Those who follow us, know well that we've faced significant health issues and related-expenses in our family this year -including ourselves. We are truly sorry that we won't be able to produce the other (still locked) items. We were excited about them, as we really wanted to make them (and our previous proposal with the poll is a proof of that).
>Therefore, everyone is always encouraged to keep an eye on the campaign while it's live and adjust your pledge accordingly before it ends (reminder e-mails are also sent before the very end of the campaign for this as well). The great thing about crowdfunding campaigns like this one, is that you can easily adjust your pledged amount (increase, decrease, or even cancel) until the end. We thought it might be helpful to mention this again, as many have asked about it.
In summary, if on the last day of the campaign some items you're interested in haven't been unlocked, you can simply decrease or cancel your pledge.
Otherwise, the full amount will be automatically charged, and can be used it in the survey to get the unlocked items (choosing duplicates), for any extra post-campaign add-ons available (sometimes we include items from our past campaigns/shop), or for covering shipping costs! As stated earlier, please note that refunds are not possible once the campaign has concluded and payments have been processed. This is because all funds are allocated towards fees, taxes, and production expenses. We do not have the ability to charge a different amount than what was originally pledged by the backer. The decision to change the pledged amount rests solely with the backer.
This also applies to those who took advantage of the early bird discounts: as mentioned before, if you cancel your pledge or switch tiers after the early bird period has ended, unfortunately, you will lose your reserved spot and the associated benefits. We regret any inconvenience this may cause. We're sorry... Regrettably, this is a measure that we are unable to change in any way.
>If you want to keep the early bird benefits, you can stay in the selected tier and change the pledge level later in the survey -using the remaining extra charged amount for shipping costs or other purposes (because you will still be charged in full).
If you are an early bird and would like to change tiers during the campaign ongoing , feel free to contact us privately, and we will do our best to assist you directly~
Now, hoping we've addressed all your questions and everything is crystal clear, we are excited to share with you the Marigold sample (the first character to come to life as a sample among the others). We are currently collaborating with our manufacturer to make the needed adjustments and on the other samples. There are still a few minor changes to add, but it looks promising!
Wow, yesterday we had our best day of the campaign, smashing all the way through our goal and hitting around $1750. This was unexpected, but super exciting! Thank you all so much, we did it!
I sent the designs to Galaxy Design Squad last night so we can streamline the process of getting the pins made. In the meantime, time to start talking about some stretch goals!
At $2000, everyone gets a free sticker (to be determined by backer poll attached below)
At $2500, we'll send a free digital copy of our comic Frankenstein the Unconquered #1 to all our backers
At $3000, we'll send everyone a new sticker based on the original "Tummy Ache Survivor" design (originally the eel was a lot cuter and less of a menace)
Any more than that and I will be absolutely blown away and have to come up with some new designs to make pins out of.
We've got 8 days left and anything is possible, so let's shoot for the moon!
First of all, let me tell you about the individual stories...
❄️ Spider and Silk: ❄️
Fae aren’t even supposed to exist; so why is Lena suddenly the slave of a unbearably gorgeous, cold and unyielding creature who can’t possibly be human? Betrayed and tossed aside, she has a choice between risking her fortune with the rest of the humans picked to become the king’s servant, or let this thing who wants her on her knees take her.
Well, better the devil you sort of know…
When his father demanded they march south to claim their tithe of five hundred humans, Dryan believed the old man had finally lost his mind. Why would they need to go to war for mere mortal slaves when they’re easily plucked from unsuspecting villages? But now he has a princess sleeping on his rug with his dogs, and he can admit he sees the appeal.
But claiming a mortal comes with many dangers. To her, and to his sanity.
🥀 Ashes and Wine: 🥀
Knowing they were coming didn’t do Lilianth a whole lot of good, given that no one else would believe her. And why should they? Fae weren’t even supposed to exist anymore, and she was just the odd village orphan, raised by an old witch.
But Raysa did believe her, enough to venture into the woods with her on the eve of the attack. Now frozen, starved, and on the brink of death, they’re both sorely regretting their choices, when they appear.
Two men, so gorgeous they can only be one thing. Monsters.
And the village girls can either make a deal with the devils, or die.
👑 Blood and Candies: 👑
They all think they know what the rules of the games are. They’re all wrong.
The king has called a tithe, and after five hundred years, mortals south of the border have to relinquish their sons and daughters to the fae they don’t even believe in anymore. Or die.
The king’s sons, his advisors, his enemies and lovers all believe they know his reasons.
They’re all wrong.
South of the border, buried in the body of a mortal, hides a little minx who believes she’s escaped her fate.
Cute, naive little prey. The Alderking knows his mate is alive again, and this time, nothing will stop him from claiming her.
I didn't announce this one anywhere before launching-it's so my contemporary lovers have something as fun as my fantasy lovers this summer! If you haven't had a chance to check out the individual stories yet, here they are...
Erica
The only thing Chase Archer hates more than me is how much he wants me.
Day and night, he punishes me for crimes I didn’t commit, making me bear the weight of my mother’s sins.
Then he decides to change the rules of our twisted game. After what he put me through, he thinks he can claim me? I’ll never give in, even if I have to destroy my heart along with his.
Chase
So, I might have messed up. I didn’t have all the facts. If I’d known then what I know now, I would have claimed her the first time we met, and never let go.
Instead, I tried to break her.
Not that any of my mistakes matter. Erica will be mine, even if I have to destroy my heart along with hers.
Thousands of students, and the mandatory pen pal assigned to help me acclimate to this new college is the freaking worst. Thousands of roommates, and mine has a revolving door, welcoming guy after guy into our space—often more than one at a time. And then there’s him. Sebastian Keller. Hot, popular, rude, and determined to drive me insane. To say my escape from home isn’t off to a great start is an understatement. But I can’t return. I can’t be the person my mother is trying to turn me into, obey her every edict, marry the guy she picked, or else. Being in Thorn Falls with those depraved, twisted people so different from me is turning me into someone else. And what’s worse? I might just like it.
For weeks, he came to see me, his eyes following me as I worked the pole. Anyone would have noticed him. A man as gorgeous, obviously rich, and young doesn’t really belong in the kind of seedy joint where I take my clothes off to pay the bills.
Callum Noble. An actual, bona fide prince. Or royal psycho, as I call him.
I got a feeling he was there for me specifically, but I didn’t think he’d approach me with an offer like that.
I certainly didn’t think I’d accept.
Ivy
Alessandro Valmont. Rich. Gorgeous. Cruel.
I once made the mistake of believing he was mine. And then I paid the price.
I’ve done everything in my power to stay away, going as far as leaving the kingdom, never once returning.
But after four years, I agreed to visit my family’s new winter retreat.
We have our own chalet, so even if the royals are vacationing nearby, there’s no reason for me to see any of them—and especially not him.
Until a storm traps us in a house without heat or power.
My little sister and I flew in first, and our parents are stuck on the other side of the kingdom. Now we can freeze to death, or I have to let my royal enemy next door save us, although he and his friends made my teenage years a living nightmare.
I think I’d rather die in the snow, but with Bella in tow, what choice do I have?
Less
Ivy was always fun to play with, but after she escaped me, the rules of the games are going to change.
I have her right where I’ve always needed her, and this time? She can run all she wants.
We have 9 days left in the campaign and need less than $250 to hit our goal! We are so close to our goal, I'm tempted to just send the designs to the manufacturer now; however, I can't do that until we cross the line. All we need is around 10 more backers!
To help close this thing out, I'll make you a deal. If you have a friend or loved one that you think would like our pins and they support the campaign because you told them about it, let me know and I'll give you a little something extra for free. I've got a lot of stickers, pins, and prints from former campaigns and I'd love to give some stuff away!
I appreciate all of your support so far and I'm looking forward to holding these pins in my hand for the first time. Let's crush this goal!
Thanks to your incredible support, we have unlocked another stretch goal:
2x Additional Magic Items
That means we are adding not 1, not 2, but 3brand new magic items to the Primer, doubling the number of arcane artifacts from the Infinite Archives!
Magic items are our bread and butter at Mystic Quill. We love creating collections of all sorts—quills being my personal favourite, of course! So, what manner of arcana have you added to this campaign? I can’t wait to see!
Next stop is 1x Additional NPC
Spread the word in your favourite DnD Discord server or FB page and let’s add some extra character to this universe! Use the handy link below to share the joy with your friends:
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us! We really appreciate hearing from you. After carefully reviewing all the feedbacks and considering the situation, we made a decision. Despite the results of the poll, we've decided to stick with our original plan for the stretch goals.
We initially proposed that, simply because we wanted to do better, to make sure everyone was happy and had a variety of choices (with the current funds, at least 2 big plushies would have been unlocked anyway, and you would have been able to choose which ones to unlock!) Perhaps we could have even raised more funds in the end, unlocking something else. Many people still do not pledge unless their favorite items are unlocked.
That proposal also took into account those who have pledged for the bundle with a little bit of everything, including acrylic charms and pocket plushies. Which in the current situation (with things staying as they are) they could not receive other items but the big plushies (although extra credit can still be used in the survey for the shipping costs or for extra items to add later).
Just fyi, we couldn't make a change into the stretch goals order just after one day or a few days from launch. It's hard to predict how a campaign will progress (especially with the strong start this had), how much funding will come in next, and which things should be switched at start. These factors can only be evaluated after a good amount of time has passed.
>After seeing other creators make similar changes -switching goals- in their campaigns, we thought about doing it ourselves too, in this situation.
Also, turning this campaign into one focused only on big plushies and saving the other items for a future campaign, isn't something possible right now. Once a tier is pledged to, we can't remove it in any way... so those items have to stay available.
Strong words have been used towards us and we understand that our proposal may have stirred up strong emotions or anxiety for some of you (which was never our intention, especially in a campaign focused on providing emotional support).
As a result, we have decided to maintain everything as it is, and we will keep working to ensure that this campaign is the best it can be for all of you. Your support and understanding mean a lot to us in this situation!
We hope that you will still find joy in these goodies and that together we can overcome any challenges~
Thank you for being a part of this Cuddles&Snuggles journey so far. We appreciate your understanding, your valuable input and continued support!
Wish you a lovely Friday and weekend ahead in the meantime,
