#my lads posts

Valko's cancellation is devastating on so many levels, but one way its blade has stabbed me is through the irony of it all.

i've said in another post (linked here) that Love and Deepspace has always been vocal about the importance of art. Xavier holds up second-hand bookstores and connects with his beloved over it. Rafayel is a literal painter in a world full of technology and is admired for the emotions his art evokes. Sylus finds solace in music. Zayne admires the stories artifacts in museums tell. Caleb likes diagrams of planes and finds happiness there.

art has and will always be one of the closest ways we can retain our humanity and keep ourselves happy.

but taking Valko away sends the message that his story, along with the works of so many creatives, are beneath the importance of profits and opinions of a select few. Infold is a multi-billion dollar company, so i never thought they would care about anything more than maintaining their profits, but the irony of it all isn't lost to me. i wish they would take their own message and learn from it.

it also baffles me how easily they let Valko go. as a creative person, i will defend my creations from baseless rumors if needed because i know my work better than anyone else does, and i will never abide by the words of a select few whose only interests are their own.

Infold/Papergames knows Valko better than anyone else does, and they know how much work was put into his character. why didn't they defend him more? why did they think his story and his future weren't worth defending? how do you let your creation go just like that?

also, in his interactions with MC, he doesn't ever overstep. after she falls asleep while admiring the stars, he takes her to her apartment and sleeps on the floor. after they watched a movie together and she falls asleep, he was about to leave and only stays when she asks him to. their friendship and romance are based on mutual respect, teasing, and understanding.

considering Valko's connections w/ EVER, i think he and Caleb have interacted a couple times. maybe Valko had a hand in Caleb's bionic arm too, which is interesting

i'm having a hard time pinpointing his relationship with Sylus. if Valko manages the use of Protocores for EVER, then he'll know about Onychinus and the way they modify Protocores for weapons. maybe they've interacted a couple times as well, but nothing too crazy though

(if you ask me, i like to think they're besties that have tea sometimes LMFAO)

because Rafayel is his foil, i bet Valko is on his hit list lol. they definitely know each other somehow, and considering how the other foiled pairs have some sort of animosity, these two will be working against each other in so many ways

IM HOWLING RN i completely forgot i set this reminder on my phone 😭😭😭 i just got the notification for it and it reminded me of what today was supposed to be.

today — and the week leading up to it — should've been exciting. we were going to get a new main story, a new love interest, and new conversations between all of us in regards to Valko and the other parts of the update. but instead, we are constantly left fighting for our voices to be heard.

i mourn for what this week could have been, but i fight for what the next few months (and potentially years) could be.

i want to see Valko. i want to see him in the café with his tail wagging and his towel tied on his back. i want to see his chibi dance in the annual Linkon New Year videos. i want to see his role in the game's overall story. i want to see how he loves, how he fights, how he lives. i want to see the creative team's hard work. i want to look back on these days with love and pride, knowing our hard work has given us our beloved wolf back.

i wish we could've seen all of this today, but i know there's a chance we'll see it in the future. until i am given no choice but to give up — or, in happier words, until our beloved Valko is back — i will continue to fight for our voices to be heard.

we deserve better, and we will get it.

in xavier's "perfect sunset" memoria, he takes over a second-hand bookstore when his friend had to do something. granted, the hours are odd and seldom do they make a sale (xav's words, not mine), but the fact that somebody in linkon was passionate enough to maintain a bookstore is so beautiful to me. i also love that the book MC finds is a tale that not only reminds her of her youth, but it also drives her blooming friendship with xavier. it displays the message that art & the different interpretations of it is a key catalyst to human connection.

had the second-hand bookstore shut down, the two wouldn't have discussed the book's contents and it wouldn't have led to xavier wanting to borrow it from her 🥹

rafayel's "ivory nightfall" memoria hones this message down perfectly. he refuses to fix a broken sculpture because he believes it's meant to be preserved that way, flaws and all. with this, he disregards how much the sculpture means to the villagers who worship the goddess. only when MC tells him about the meaning behind her broken watch does he realize that it's not about changing an artpiece's "flaws" to fit an ideal image for its admirers. it's about how material things/artpieces hold meanings — hopes, faith, memories — and the determination that people have in order to hold onto those things.

MC: You always say my scent is different. What do I smell like?

Valko: It's like the wilderness. Earth, open savannas, and the wind. Other times it's a stream, a mountain, a pretty moonrise.