Sundae Night

Namely I want to start off with Florian and "Orpheus" because oddly they kinda oppose each other in a way, almost like a foil to each other. If you read my post linked above, you can kinda get a feel for that in their essence trailers/backgrounds:

Fox was always good at showing a face others want to see, but he still hopes that someone will be able to resist the muddy waters of desire-- But perhaps this is just another desire, concealed under the name of morality. (From the essence backstory on the IDV fandom wiki)

“At this time, he was no longer the young man who knew nothing about the world, but the incarnation of everyone’s desires, the incarnation of the abyss of extreme evil.” (From "Nightmare's" Abyss design notes on the IDV fandom wiki)

Sounds like "Orpheus" is the core of the people's desire which makes sense main story-wise if it is to be believed he is the one behind all those invitations promising what the person most wants/desires. On the flip side, Florian can somehow see through the truth behind the facade of these desires and aims to stamp it out through conflagration (because of course fire is ALWAYS the solution).

But there is a particular thing Florian says in his essence video:

"Only through conflagration before the eyes of the masses

can we neutralize the wicked"

Combine that with what he said about "the truth once blinded by desire will be revealed" made me think of one particular line from the backstory of Oletus Manor which is posted on the IDV fandom wiki (because where else would it be?):

"Until an accident happened, about 10 years ago, the mystery of this manor was finally lifted. A fire broke out in an area of ​​the manor, which destroyed most of the area."

Even in ToR we only see the fire start to spread, not how it was caused. Yet, it's amazing that a fire so large didn't cause any deaths weirdly enough.

I always found the presence of such a fire breaking out at the manor during the final manor game odd because:

No one died because of the fire, though there were casualties.

The survivors were on the ground positioned as if they were holding a ceremony, a ritual if you will.

"...the cause of the fire was the explosion of the incinerator in the absence of supervision, not deliberate arson."

Okay, sure buddy, whatever you say. Besides how it just feels like it feels a little to coincidental that a fire broke out while a ritualistic ceremony was happening, it is to be noted that it is because how seemingly big this fire was that the mystery of the manor was lifted.

Considering Fin's recent birthday letter mentioning "a strange fire at a remote manor" and this image of Oletus burning from his trailer and ToR:

I wonder if Florian had the whole article? That would mean he may also know about the DeRoss' since the ToR article has a picture of them to the left of the burning image of the manor. Not sure what that would mean to Florian, however, but I can wager some guesses...

Not gonna lie, if Florian did have something to do with the fire at Oletus, that would mean he started TWO fires that screwed with "Orpheus" and Alice's lives if we count the White Sand Street Orphanage fire (refer to Alice's 3rd birthday letter).

Bro really loves to be at the scene of the crime breaking up "Orpheus" and Alice's relationship by indirectly keeping them apart.

After reading Alice's 3rd letter, this scene both pains me and unfortunately amuses me a little because this dude had no clue of the repercussions.

This GIF sums up my feelings pretty well tbh

By the way, speaking of ritual, Cryptic Notes mentions a kind of ritual occurring in its lore:

The largest room on the second floor was the gallery, better preserved than the others, because almost nothing here was easy to move.

On the long table lay a white funeral cloth. It was not folded neatly, but it had clearly been placed there on purpose. Beside it were several candles, wax frozen on the floor. There was also an open prayer book, another one.

I picked it up. The pages were yellowed and brittle, but the text was clear. It had stopped on the Book of Job.

“The Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

“The Lord gives, and the Lord takes,” Sage translated in a soft voice.

“These were left after the murder,” Warrior judged. “The cloth, the candles, the prayer book. someone came here after it happened. The one who handled the aftermath. Maybe a relative, maybe the parish priest. The obituary downstairs may have come from him, too.”

“He held some kind of rite for the dead.”

“Only briefly. Look at the candles. Less than an hour.”

Three lives. One hour.

This time, were their prayers heard?

Can't help but think of Fin's one and only sticker in the game currently titled "Pray." I've talked before about how religion may have affected Fin to be who he is today. Makes me wonder if there will ever be some more lore in that direction.

Another thing about "Orpheus" and Florian I find interesting is that they appear to have opposing yet similar views on memories. Now, that sounds paradoxical a bit but let me explain.

"Orpheus" clearly can't let go of the past, not in the way Alice has (who only appears to want to revisit the past i.e. the manor incident because she wants to find the truth). I don't have to get into that too much since we all should know the lengths he would go to not only restore his lost paradise but also string along the person he desires most to see and reconnect with.

On the other hand, Florian who held trauma of his own from his parents' deaths appears to have moved on. While it is clear he cherishes memories just as much as "Orpheus" (and Alice), he has moved on. Granted circumstances are different, but it feels as if he doesn't want to be held down by such terrible memories.

Except this is wrong. Florian is similar to "Orpheus" because his memories of the past still manifest in slightly more subtle ways. I wrote a post some months comparing Florian and Alice's experiences at the orphanage with the former being hailed as a "miracle" while the latter was condemned as a "curse."

I concluded that while Florian is the "miracle," he is actually more of a "curse" than Alice because he is still chained to his parents' deaths and seeks some of that missing warmth/comfort through the very flames that caused their demise. He ends up becoming an arsonist because of that.

📝 Both men stay hooked to their past and yet, while one confronts it with a thirst for revenge, the other hypocritically acts as if he's free from it. Both remain ensnared at its mercy, however.

📝 Other little things about them I find just trivially interesting is the fact that I like how "Orpheus" birthday is April 2nd, exactly a month before Florian's which is May 2nd.

📝 Both have done some...rather immoral stuff due to their past.

📝 Both have done their best to look after Alice ("Orpheus" in main story lore specifically in CoY and Florian in COA IX specifically in the end when her amulet broke and only he could help her).

📝 They also both have a particular interest in her (I mean, this is OBVIOUS with "Orpheus" but with Florian that only appears to be the case in COA IX unless we want to count his interest into the manor from his trailer and the possibility he learned about her rather it be in the papers or at the orphanage but given it's still speculation, I'm not sure if I can count that.)

I'll never get over this image. "Orpheus" allowed this creature (as someone from my streams called him) to get this close to Alice.

Mind you, I also like Richard and Edgar's dynamic here too. Seems like everyone was grouped in twos in this COA. Evelyn is the odd one out but I group her with Alice and Florian (or really the former) since Evelyn is seen to be particularly caring of Alice as well.

I still think about this scene from the daily Rooftop Rendezvous login stuff. The way he initially framed this felt weirdly ominous to me like he was putting pressure on Alice for...something. Now I realize, he was probably just desperately hopeful he would be able to share his lonely world with someone else who could see what he could see.

📝 Both appear harmless and relatively pleasant people at first but they both can be dangerous in their own right.

📝 Both have "parental custody" of "Memory" (okay, hear me out. After Alice's 3rd birthday letter, Florian's fire was the catalyst that created "Memory" in Orpheus' mind, so...yeah...that's how my own mind works...)

Anyways, moving on from comparing those two troublesome men, I can't help but talk just a "little" about Fin and Alice, too.

I as a Alice and Fin main and as someone who likes them a lot, naturally think about them a lot in terms of the story and find it interesting how there are some parallels between them especially since at first I thought they were completely different and had nothing to do with each other.

But I do love the fact that both are investigators in their own right. Makes sense since Florian's title little is "Fire Investigator" and not "Firefighter" like...well, like I would've thought he would be called, but this man definitely is NOT just investigating the root cause of fires in his area.

(Left) Articles about Oletus, one of it being "For Sale" while the other is it burning (presumably "the strange fire" mentioned in his 2nd letter).

(Right) An Article on The Arms Factory (it gets cut off/is blurry but trust me, guys) with a pinned "Reconstruction" message on it (at least I THINK that's what it says).

There's another article but it's unreadable and the image is so blurred who knows what it is but I always envisioned a person...

From the Ashes of Memory Concept video. Alice has the same "For Sale" article that Florian does along with one on Arms Factory but naturally her line of work along with her personal interests have her investigating...everything really.

Another thing that I thought was interesting that is non-canonical but may be hint at some sort of main lore parallel is COA IX in general. At the end of this year's COA story, only Florian and Alice are able to see the "true face" of this so-called paradise.

It's not clarified in the PV, but I do believe according to the lore that only Florian and Alice can see the actual reality of the Holy City.

Florian also writes this in the team notebook (or whatever you want to call it) on this scene suggesting that only they can see "reality."

This is reflected a bit in the music video as well:

While Edgar and Evelyn get splashed with colors of blue (which weren't there before) and Richard appears to be experiencing some sort of corruption (spillage? lol?) around his neck, Alice and Florian remain untouched:

Have no idea why Florian is out here acting like he's celebrating all of this though. This has always bothered me about this scene since Alice clearly senses they're running out of time before the cycle restarts, but Florian is acting like it's all chill~ (While we know he isn't a traitor of any kind like some thought, he still has a lot to explain and I do believe he still knows more than he let on.)

Again, Alice's expression looking back at Florian not only makes sense but it kills me (cause she's like "Oh, he was a mistake to bring along.")

Ugh, if only we got just a little more lore on COA IX, I still have so many questions...

Yet, I think this is a sign of both knowing the truth of the Holy City which is basically a stand-in for Oletus Manor, I believe.

I mean, Richard receiving a letter in the first 2 seconds of the trailer which is identical to the invitational letter the manor sends out isn't the most tall tell sign I don't know what to tell you.

Anyways, that is enough. I rambled like there was no tomorrow and to be honest, I did NOT get my thoughts out articulately. Writing like this again made me realize how tough it was cause I've sat here for...too long wondering how to word all this.

Whatever, it's not that important nor will many read this which is good cause truly...what am I on about? Still, I find it amusing the connection between Alice and "Orpheus" which felt so sacred and insular is being ruined...sabotaged (??) by, out of all people, Florian.

And mind you, I feel this way as a newgen player. From what I heard, some older gen players have difficulty still in completely separating Alice from "Orpheus" (as in not viewing her completely as her own person but as an extension of him thanks to associating her heavily with "Memory" and "Orpheus'" interpretations/warped memory of Alice as a child).

There's just something so wrong about that in a way but also very interesting. I really do wonder what it would be like if we put "Orpheus" and Florian in a room together.

And ngl, going back to the good ole days when I theorized a LOT about Norton, let's throw him in there as well for good measure. These three men all having different ideas on how to approach things about the manor and its truth, about Alice, and about the past/memories. Very tantalizing stuff to ruminate once again on when stuck in morning traffic (lol).

For Alice's part, I do wonder what her limit would be. Girl, just wants to find out the truth and is so tunnel vision on that and finding her lost childhood friend that I wonder if she'd even properly notice (she's a woman on a mission, I love her focus on that but golly, sometimes she's TOO focused).

For those that don’t know, Love and Deepspace is an 3D otome game developed by Papergames and published by Infold Games (also famous for their Infinity series like Infinity Nikki). Recently, they revealed a new love interest, Valko, is being added to the game making the love interest headcount reach 6. Keep in mind, most players believed the game would cap at just 5 love interests despite hints there would be a 6th. Valko apparently wasn't well teased in the story or most players didn't pay attention enough before he was revealed just a little over a week ago as well.

But his arrival seems to be the most visible cause of the backlash (though of course, there's more to the story) because soon after his reveal, LADS social media accounts have lost millions of followers along with a multitude of negative comments and plummeting ratings across app stores. While that is substantial in itself, it’s not too unusual for companies to face significant backlash over massive decisions that leave players upset and angry (we’ve been there and done…or doing that I guess).

But this is beyond all that as there are reports and pictures showing upset Chinese players at the company’s offices leaving white and yellow chrysanthemums (which are associated with funerals/mourning), glutinous rice and pomelo leaves (items used to ward off evil spirits), and…apparently also leaving cow dung inside the company’s delivery lockers.

Full tweet here. Apparently the posters of the boys seen above have been taken down as of right now.

All this because Chinese players especially are upset they are adding another love interest while the game still suffers from various issues related to the other love interests. Two of the love interests haven’t had main story updates in over a year while also missing, there’s been a lack of updates in combat, it’s becoming less F2P-friendly, etc. amongst other things. Though these concerns are also shared with their global audience.

What isn’t shared, however, is that apparently some Chinese players found Valko ugly and catering to the Western audience (some even said he looked too gay). Some also believe he is supposed to also attract male players in a space that was advertised to be dedicated to only women since, y'know, this is a women-oriented game (otome games are always meant to be that way). As someone who literally wrote her thesis on otome games, I totally understand where they are coming from in this regard BUT obviously, their fears do not justify their negative actions and behavior.

Regardless, yesterday it was announced that Valko’s release would be cancelled and there would be no further updates to his story nor would they add any more love interests. This basically erases him from the game and while he hadn’t been added yet, the main story implications would have been big from what I’ve read as it seems he would’ve helped further the main story and protagonist's development.

Now, I haven’t explained everything about the situation. Such as the fact that Valko’s story had the numbers “731” tied to it which many Chinese players took as a reference to Unit 731, a Japanese WWII experimental unit that in short committed gross atrocities against mostly Chinese citizens.

There is also the matter of Valko being a “wolf in the house” which is a phrase in China that means letting strangers especially dangerous ones into your house. The word wolf can also be used to describe a man who sexually assaults women. Made worse by the fact that Valko’s story is supposed to be a wolf and did barge into the protagonist's house (though he isn’t the first to do such actions).

And in addition, as if this all wasn't bad enough, it's possible a real life crime case where a man killed his wife may have also been referenced (I don't know much about it but the Chinese side is bringing this up).

Anyways, I’ve explained a lot and have no idea if anyone will read all this but it’s a very messy and convoluted situation right now with a lot being said and it's hard to shift out the lies/rumors from the truths. If interested, I would suggest doing your own research.

Personally, I think Valko just seems to be a scapegoat being used to cover the company’s issues which have unfortunately reached the media and even worse, the government is getting involved. The reference to Unit 731 alone has made this become a political issue which would catch the attention of the government or relevant parties.

And that's the terrible part of it all. Once the attention of the government is involved, the situation becomes more than just the vocal minority complaining about a 3D man. It's escalated to the point that some players are legitimately worried that EOS (end of service) could happen. Mainly because Paperfold/Infold have possibly angered the wrong people who have power to actually do something.

Love and Deepspace is big. I remember when it was revealed how this was going to be the first 3D otome live service game, the otome girlies went kinda wild. It was pretty revolutionary in the otome space and at the time I wasn't sure how I'd like it and while I didn't play it at first for long, I went back to it early last year and became a regular player.

And now, it's possible otome games in general may be at risk over in China. It's a long story so I'll leave a tweet that better explains it more than I could here.

Granted, the last bit is more hearsay than anything so perhaps it isn't that dire but things look grim especially for Valko's future.

The Valko situation also being covered by the media is also really not a good look.

Still, I see that the community is trying their best to get Valko back and are rallying together to accomplish this. From multiple petitions to emailing the company and leaving messages on their socials to boycotting the game to just about anything you can think of, the LADS players across the globe are at work not only trying to save their man, but the game itself.

The Google Playstore rating as of right now. It was apparently about 4 stars before this all happened. Interestingly, Apple's App Store rating still sits at a pretty decent 3.7 but the 1 star reviews are pouring in.

This also includes many Chinese players since naturally not all are on board with what their fellow sisters (a term they endearingly are calling each other during this hard times) are doing.

Evidentially this is what some of the developers who worked to create Valko had to say (again not 100% it's really the devs but the sentiments conveyed are heart-breaking).

Honestly, even if it's not the devs who worked on Valko, it still makes me think of all the ones who poured so much into the character whether it be the artists, VAs (mind you LADS is dubbed in 4 different languages), motion capture actors, writers, programmers, etc. are once again feeling the brunt of terrible decisions on account of someone (or "someones" really) at the company being incompetent.

Granted, this situation is very complex and we can't know everything happening with Infold/Papergames but even if you don't play LADS or are interested in otome games, it is important to observe what happens in the coming days. This is gacha gaming history in the making.

I think it's also possible other Chinese gaming companies are watching the situation unfold especially given that the government is involved (the CCP doesn't play around when it comes to political and societal matters). Most of us should know by now how restrictive and watchful the Chinese government is towards media and entertainment, gaming companies are no exception no matter how big or small you are.

Whatever happens next could set a precedent and effect more than you realize in the Chinese gaming space.

While it hasn't been confirmed yet, I would like to go down the path Misha is Richard which if true is pretty neat we know his real name now (Misha is a rather cute name).

But I also thought about how the two of them have another link which is seeking out family. Valentina is very obvious. To put it simply, in her lore she actively works hard to find her siblings who were all eventually sold away by her father. Misha was the first and despite his words in her birthday letter this year, he was not the last.

On the other hand, Misha Richard actually doesn't seem to care for family with the way he treats his "parents," the Sterlings. Still, he appears to care enough for Sisterling to seek her out. Another lost sibling seeking a sibling...who isn't really his blood-related sister but is "family" nevertheless. The only family he has ever really known really.

We don't know what Richard's back story is yet, but if he is Misha, just imagine being abandoned by your father to some weirdos who then are the ones who either abandon him again to the Sterlings or unwittingly let Misha be taken from them as many believe Valentina did find Richard.

And then imagine just being given to the Sterlings and left alone to parents who seemingly don't care for you like that and seem to be unfit to be parents in their own right. That neglect just feels as if you've been abandoned again in plain sight this time. The only one who gives you the time of day is your dear "sister" who you spend most of your days with especially as you grow up and appears to be the link to helping you shape an identity that wasn't yours to begin with.

And THEN she decides she wants to abandon you too. A lifetime of being unwanted and passing hands after hands after hands to different people...no wonder Richard became what he is. Can't blame him for disliking everyone at this point.

And pushing his sister down the stairs is also taking on a new light cause I guess he really wanted to take matters into his own hands in keeping someone with him (even through heinous action).

Heck, even COA IX with one of its themes feeling like found family is making me think if they were alluding to all this since the survivors feel quite close to each other even Richard shows care towards the others even if he's not the best at expressing it at times.

Someone pointed at that this one line of Richard's in the Arbor Day event story from earlier this year may be a sign of him having abandonment issues. It's a simple line most would overlook but that notion stuck with me.

Some pointed out how similar these artworks are for each other. You be the judge.

Though this is all just me rambling my thoughts from after I read the letter. Just food for thought. Really looking forward to Richard's letter in September if it either helps add onto this theory or if it just gives us more background on his story.

Credit: V H "Memories of the Forest Story"