Not to be "that guy" but I fear I am going to be "that guy" regardless. I've been seeing a lot of TFC artwork, stickers, keychain and resin art going up online--mostly on tiktok, where people are trying to profit off of TFC merch. Wasn't Neko against that or has that changed? I kind of been out of the loop for this fandom.
If you can't answer this, just ignore it.
He is still against that kind of stuff, honestly. The purpose of his current fanmerch policy is to try and curb manufactured or mass-produced merchandise because there *IS* an issue with companies trying to make money off of his game and characters.
I can't speak in any specific legal capacity and I am NOT his legal representative, but I can say as a fellow creator it does hurt to see someone put a lot of effort into trying to communicate boundaries or otherwise hold an expectation that people will ask for permission before making (physical, non-handmade) merchandise to sell when he doesn't even have his own shop set up.
I like to assume most people don't mean anything malicious, it's just the culture of the internet and of fandoms nowadays, especially for smaller and indie creators. I will clarify that artwork, prints, stickers and stuff like that are totally alright, the issue is with things that are mass-produced or manufactured— acrylic charms, keychains, figurines, plushies, ect.
So if the artist made it with their own hands and in their own home for the most part? Then great! If not? Then no.
(I have actually seen some BEAUTIFUL handmade figures, sculptures, plushies and whatnot and I wish I had the link to some of them because they are genuinely so beautiful)
Of course, anyone curious should always review the FAQ on the official blog for TFC @freakcircusofhorrors since I am speaking on a personal level on my personal blog and I want people to reference the correct resource, but I do like clarifying and trying to help communicate things where I can!
