I hate most game merch, but apparently I must buy all the plushies

Little fluffy stuffed friends exert a strange and unknowable power over me. These days we only occasionally get offered free stuff as part of our jobs, because we are not YouTubers or Twitch streamers. When I first started websites would get sent a lot of stuff - you know, statuettes and toys and doodads. I don't like these things, and I always wished PRs sent me cake instead. Neither thing would make me like the game more, but at least I can eat cake, and the same cannot be said for a figurine of some kind of big-titted space samurai holding a sword.

I have, however, discovered that plushies of game characters I like are an exception to this.