This is a mini rant for the current events happening within the last 24 hours. So if you want to completely skip, I understand.
Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one and they stink.
2026 has just decided to be the worst year. Mostly personally for me, but Infold announcing the Valko cancelation has me all sorts of upset.
If you haven't heard yet, check the LADS X & discord. Its a hot mess right now.
1. Very specifically the CN fan base is the most toxic I've ever seen. I've been in A LOT of fandoms. There's always toxicity, but the lack of decorum is just SAD. There is always good, bad, & ugly in everything, but the CN behavior has just been appalling. For someone who is from the US who gets to constantly see & hear through all forms of media how much every other country hates the US because of our lack of understanding, respect, or empathy to cultural traditions & significances to other countries, seeing the deplorable behavior of the CN fanbase over a fictional character is just sad.
2. I've been playing since 2024 and knowing that there was supposed to be six love interests has always just given me something to look forward to. The way Valko was presented was great, intriguing, and really made me look forward to the expansion of the game and continuation of the story. All the potential stories, fan fics, mc, lore, everything that I've enjoyed about the game so far has just been snatched away. Not to mention all the the silly Twilight memes & jokes I wanted to make for Sylus & Valko...
3. I am one of the many players that had requested a darker skinned LI because while have a few fair toned guys is fun, it gets boring. Valko was tan, like LIGHTLY TOASTED, not even that dark, apparently was too western in appearance, and he had red hair and gold eyes WHICH IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE COMBOS IN FICTIONAL MEN. HE WAS GOING TO BASICALLY COMPLETE THE FINAL FANTASY THEORIES I HAVE. T^T
If the CN fans don't want him, at least make Valko a global exclusive. :/
4. I was rough drafting Valko's MC. She was mostly going to be based on Elara's general face mold, but she was coming together. All she was basically missing was a name.
5. Losing Rafayel's opposite. (Xavier/Sylus; Zayne/Caleb) I was so looking forward to why he was Rafayel's opposite, the banter, & the physical differences. The OG 3 are softer & smaller in appearance, then the next 3 were more masculine & taller/bigger by comparison. I get the anxiety of 'oh no, one more LI', but since the beginning it was always supposed to be 6, and now the game is going to forever feel off/unbalanced.
6. Loss of creativity. Them canceling Valko is a massive slap to the face to the voice actors, artists, and overall Infold team and their hard work. Creating these types of games is far from easy, especially with the quality that we've been given over the last few years.
7. Thinking of saying goodbye to this game. I have thoroughly enjoyed LADS for the last 2 years, but INFOLD's decision has made me want to stop playing the game entirely. It is crazy how we went from last year with the bay bonnet incident (people were saying it was making the LADS too feminine) and doing it anyways to people and their one sided opinions completely ruining the game & company because now the new LI was too masculine.
INFOLD has already announced they plan to cancel Valko, however there's still the tiniest chance they will let holim stay. If you really wanted Valko, please voice it where you can. There's still time to change things, and hopefully we can win.
If INFOLD truly does cancel Valko, I will probably stop playing. I HATE saying that. I've dedicated time, money, energy, and so much more to this game that it will feel like a waste, but this is the third China based gaming company that has just let me down. I'm honestly on the fence about quitting because of the ungodly amount of money I've spent on this game, but I don't see much point in continuing to play this game if they're going to take away the complexity and originality for the characters to appease one specific demographic.
