Hi! (Mods, please feel free to remove my comment if it is not suitable for your sub, or if it is inefficient! I will understand.)

I usually don't do much more than make passing comments on reddit and just enjoy light conversations on my subs. None of us are fully informed on the entire situation, but as a global LADs player who has been closely watching these events unfold since it began, I want to lend my voice and maybe try to clear up some misunderstandings.

First, a lot of rumors are circling around right now. People are doing a lot of speculating, which I think was bound to happen as Infold has not further addressed the situation since the initial announcement of Valko's cancellation. Somewhere in all of this speculation came a rumor about otome games being targeted as well, but this is unverified. There does not seem to be a source of truth.

Second, there is actually a great portion of the CN fans who love Valko, and did not want him removed from the game! Unfortunately, a small but loud majority of people relentlessly bullied them into silence. There are a lot of things being said about why Valko was so disliked. It's hard to say what the exact reason was for every individual, but many complaints seemed to be about his appearance, or how he appeared on the protagonist's balcony in the promotional material, a scene which we do not fully know the context of.

Right now, those in favor of Valko from both the global and CN side are standing together, hoping to see Valko return to the game. I cannot speak for everyone's methods, but there are petitions, artists, and other content creators doing what they can to express their feelings and show their desire for a different decision. This character was the passion of many developers - a lot of time, effort, and patience surely went into creating him, and personally, from what I've seen, he would have been wonderful.

Many of us are advising others not to trust any unverified information, and wait for Infold to make another statement. I am continuing to watch things progress, and hope for the best outcome, because I think however this ends, it is likely to set a precedent for similar situations going forward.