https://preview.redd.it/cv34igi7cgth1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=9db87d64f2be6d1ad8b3103c7fed1776094516d1

Hello everyone ! Aaron here !

You may or may not have seen a few """leak""" videos of Valko on social medias, presenting his animations in the café, even a dance. It mostly comes from a controversial dataminer in the "community of dataminers".

Our word about it :

Well, it's not the first time that we see unconfirmed leaks that turn out to be wrong or just pulled out of whoever's ass is looking for clout. But there's a few hints that allow us to say it's fake :

• The animations look very stiff, with often little to no head movement.
• The formatting is very strange, with a very stretched-out look.
• This kind of data is heavily encrypted, to the point where very few dataminers have been able to properly extract the data.
• Encrypted data is the illegal part of datamining, meaning that LADS can very easily sue.

Now, do you remember the old leaks of Valko's towel model and the LIs models ? LADS' tweet about it went viral for it, as they threatened to sue whoever posted it. The leaks of Valko's butt were taken down very quickly.

What I mean by this is that they are copyrighted and protected assets. If they were true leaks, they would've been taken down very fast, especially knowing how viral they are.

Lastly, if you are not sure about the validity of something, don't hesitate to post about about while using the proper "Unverified rumor" tag. We have fact-checkers here ready to respond.

Just like with every post, feel free to add some context and additional info if you have a reliable source.

The mods don't know everything and some don't have access to CN media either.

Hello everyone. As you all know, we are suffering a big drought in terms of Valko content (wonder why...). Naturally (though I wish I could not say it), some people resort to AI-generation to fill this hole, due to how accessible it is.

I personally have been seeing a surge of this kind of content on this sub and everywhere else.

I (and by extention, the modteam), understand that AI is very hard to distinguish from actual footage sometimes. Or what you might think is human-made photoshop is actually AI (think of that uncanny smiling Valko for example).

But I want to reiterate something : our 0 AI policy isn't just personal preferences.

Not only is it against the game's TOS to feed the boys to AI, but as valkotters, one of our main values is defending artistic integrity and rights. AI steals from artists. It copies their talent, their voices, their imagination, and takes out all the "art" in artistry. It is also harmful for the entire planet, through polluting water sources and global warming. What you think may just be simple enhanced pictures, probably contains AI.

We would rather see Valko teal stick figures than AI generated content in any form (this includes "art", writing, sketches using AI voices of the characters....).

What is AI, and what isn't :

Thankfully and sadly, Valko's content being scarce, it is quite easy to identify AI generated content due to it simply being completely different from what was provided to us by PPG.

So here is a little guide (with examples) to help you identify AI-generated pictures. This will be the only time where I allow myself to post AI, and I bregrudgingly do so, in order to help you lilies :

https://preview.redd.it/03h6zqnjspmh1.png?width=1421&format=png&auto=webp&s=f04d43e7795ba817e8559c73f262d0679b5244a6

We've all seen this one, either as a "look at how sexy he is!" picture or as a pfp somewhere. Well, it's AI-"enhanced".

https://preview.redd.it/kwo3nxhpspmh1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9534e21b8424d8364092ba009d031aad8395d3a9

This one I saw in a thirst post as well, with a terrifying amount of likes and seemingly clueless comments.

https://preview.redd.it/f25hystuspmh1.png?width=1845&format=png&auto=webp&s=d68bbc44fd6b78395ee30860a2bd2f1e35eb63de

And lastly, that picture of Valko cutely laying in MC's bed, tightly hugging his plushie. It is AI photoshopped as well. Thankfully people seem to know that now and have stopped using it. I couldn't find it anywhere.

Keep in mind that some of his pictures, such as the strip of patchnotes and new content notices the devs always release, contain low quality pictures of Valko (such as his icon illustration in the LI menu - where you choose which LI to display/use - the one where he wears a red sweater and has his chin on his hand), and if you find high-quality ones, they are often AI-enhanced.
Kindled/bond/cafe images usually have the dialogue displayed at the bottom, look out for that too !

When you come across a picture that seems "uncanny" or unknown, there's a very high chance that it is AI. Not datamined, AI, as the XL files are well encrypted and it is illegal to straight up share pictures of the files. So do not share it, especially on this subreddit (rule 5).

If you want to share pictures of Valko, a link to a playlist of his PVs found on youtube is available in the subreddit wiki in the "Helpful Links" category. His content is still available on X as well.

We would rather see little scribbles, or fanart shared with the autorisation of the author, than AI-generated content.

- The ValkosLilies modteam

I want to start this post by saying its aim is to lay out the issues in front of the community in this recent situation. I, as the author of this post, will not tolerate any hate/harassment/bullying towards the main moderator or any other mod/ex-mod as well as users.
My goal, and that of the people supporting this post, is to point out the obvious issues this sub has been struggling with, and confront said main moderator about it one last time. There is a clear line between expressing dissatisfaction with someone's behavior/actions and bullying said person, and we will not cross it, or tolerate anyone else crossing it.
I understand that the main moderator is not responsible for everything that has happened to the sub (especially the heavy censorship). It is also important to note that the moderators are supportive of this post, believing it could help change the sub for the better.

I thank them greatly for providing me with their testimony and screenshots, which I will not show but tell you about to respect the privacy of the discord accounts of the parties involved.
The post is available as a google doc here.

Why we are doing this :

We want to reach out to the moderator one more time, as nothing else has worked so far. All of our cries have lasted for days, only to be met with the bare minimum. This is not a healthy way to manage a subreddit and its community. 2 moderators have already resigned. There are only 2 mods left, for 46k weekly visitors. The sub still breaks rules of reddit and the Mod Code of Conduct (rule 4). It is at risk of being flagged by Reddit itself. I have already openly talked about this issue, as well as the lack of moderation in my open letter towards the moderator. 4 days after this letter, the moderator launched the mod applications.

This sub is not properly maintained. It is also targeted by malicious reports, which clog the modqueue, and antis often lurk around (when reddit recommends you to go in another sub, it means that people of this sub look at your posts).

https://preview.redd.it/2zwy5hodsjlh1.png?width=739&format=png&auto=webp&s=c290d09d3c4d2f6c4477f09939f073cc23ced6bc

(this is one such example)

These reports wouldn’t be bothersome if the reddit modqueue filter had been put in place. It is depressing that it took a public exposition, despite many redditors kindly reaching out through modmail, in order to fix things. And today, most issues still have yet to be fixed.

This sub is where I met many people whom I consider as internet friends. It is a place where I felt welcome when I would see recommended posts of other LADS communities slandering Valko. I feel disheartened to see it in such a state.

Around a week ago a big drama involving the mods and Rafayel's myth boycott took place. Many posts and comments were deleted, some unfairly. However, amongst all the genuine criticism, what most did not see is that there was a significant amount of hate/harassment towards users and mods, who were accused of being antis. The mods, not having enough permissions, were overwhelmed. It is important to mention that they are unable to give reasons when removing posts due to said limited permissions. It is at this moment that ex-mod Bublykopiko resigned after being harassed and bullied. I wish to add that I do not support mass deleting posts and comments without proper justification and taking sub-wide actions without the community’s opinions. I also want to add that one of the disrupting factors of this situation was the unclear rule about Boycott shaming, which the mods were unable to rectify due to permissions.

This leads us to the main problem : the moderators do not have enough permissions to moderate properly.
This has caused many issues, summed up by ex-moderator DecayingMoths here.

They have been asking the main moderator to give it to them ever since their instatement as mods. Hovercraft has only first gotten into contact with them on 16/08, 5 days after their instatement. The moderator said they would not get permissions for a short period of time. This would be reasonable if she had actually given them all the permissions they have on her own accord, and not after a week of pressure and the modmail being clogged.

From what I have been told by the mods, Hovercraft exhibits a behavior that is unfit for moderating : the mods tell her about an issue with the sub, ask for more permissions to fix it since she is online once in a blue moon, Hovercraft says she is on it, only to not fix it after a week, and then moves on to something of low priority that the mods advise against changing.
We already have a case of this. The day Bublykopiko and DecayingMoths resigned, Hovercraft promised to look into adding automod to help. It was supposed to be added on Friday 21st. As of now, she only mentioned automod very recently, saying she doesn’t have the capacity to add it.
Then, after being warned before about removing flairs (which she wanted to do due to thinking that they could be used against the sub), went ahead and MANUALLY removed them from every user without the other mods agreeing to it (You can have up to 300 custom flairs). They have warned her about the wave of discontent that would occur, and she simply said she would tank it alone. As of now, she has not addressed a single comment about the flairs.

The moderators simply cannot work with someone who does not listen and does not know teamwork. She has consistently followed a pattern that we are now all too familiar with : say nothing for weeks, only approve a few posts to not come off as inactive (this is what she did before the new mods), come back when things go south, dip again, take measures on her own instead of consulting the people who spent way more time on the sub than her, and dip again.
For the part in bold characters, here is a proof that the mods have kindly provided to us : 

https://preview.redd.it/0owta44nsjlh1.png?width=1178&format=png&auto=webp&s=505befcb9018d50722e64e8e665c2caae7cfebda

The sole fact that the bots have more permissions than the mods is very telling. You do not have to give “everything” as permissions for moderation to be easier, but Hovercraft always refused to go further than “Posts, flairs and comments”. It is important to note that mods with the “everything” permission can unmod others.

Hovercraft, despite us offering our help, does not seem to trust us at all. After losing Decayingmoths due to the lack of cooperativeness the main mod showcased, she went ahead and posted this in r/needamod. This post honestly makes us come off as animals and rebellious teens, and she also “forgot” to mention that the lack of moderation was because of her absence. She has reached out to moderators outside of LADS communities, but these moderators had experience in what looks like snark subs or very negative ones dedicated to hating on a public personality. The requirements in the post are also telling that she does not see why there are so many problems. She only believes it is because we were unmoderated before that we caused “an outroar” during the Raf Myth’s incident.

Only now has she started to answer weeks old modmails. From what people have told me, only unclear answers were given. I was told that my application had not been rejected, but that she wanted to settle some things before choosing new mods. I still do not know what this means. The mods have highlighted to me that the most probable reason she has started to answer modmails about people volunteering is due to her needamod post being unsuccessful.

We had to beg to get new mods, the mods had to beg to get more permissions, had to beg to get better rules, had to beg to finally have the sub labelled as unofficial. We had to beg as well for better permissions for the mods, only to be described as animals outside of the sub and for her to finally increase the permissions because she couldn’t handle the modmails alone anymore. Had the personal flairs requests not happened, the mods would probably still be stuck without access to the modmails. Note that the mods were only given permission to access the modmails AFTER Hovercraft was done deleting the flairs.

What disappoints us the most however, is the behavior of the main moderator after the fiasco that was the flair removals.

https://preview.redd.it/h3j700lvsjlh1.png?width=731&format=png&auto=webp&s=6367a882c6690c3d53633bda797ec962a848f662

https://preview.redd.it/xsos258zsjlh1.png?width=826&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e53a4e4ce22219d6cba5658949979649d2d1091

But we must also talk about this as well. As highlighted by the comments under that one, Hovercraft has pretty much flexed… Not doing her job ? We were threatened by antis while she was gone, and only after new mods arrived did we get a response as to why she did not count as inactive despite having no presence on the sub : she was simply approving posts the whole time. She did not protect the sub.

Lastly, I wish to communicate a message sent by Hovercraft to the mods shortly after the influx of posts pointing out her poor behavior : “We’re supposed to be putting out fires not starting them. Please stop complaining to the sub that you’re missing permissions. This is what the modteam discord is for.”.
I would like, per as what the mods told us, to highlight that it is what the mods have been doing (to the point where the reason Decayingmoths resigned was because she gave Hovercraft an ultimatum : more permissions or she’ll unmod and take her material with her) ever since they got into contact with Hovercraft. Messaging in the discord has been useless so far, as the new permissions were given due to the clogged modmail, not because they asked one more time.

The new sub :

As you’ve probably seen by now, I and a group of trusted users are organising a new sub along with the mods of this one. We understand that many people are reluctant to move due to the memories, the affection we have for this sub. I feel this way too. This group of trusted users that I consider as friends was met here. This place is where I first saw a LADS community that was not hostile towards Valko. We all have close bonds, as valko’s bodyparts, 7th LI mains, or simply non-wolf mains who support a complete and fair game and condemn the CDG/YTMs behavior.

Let it be known that a new sub is our last resort. The mods have made it clear that they no longer want to moderate under these conditions, despite how much they love the community, and I believe we can all understand why. Hovercraft spent multiple hours manually removing every single flair that the mods put up as a way to bond with the community and repair this “relationship” after the Raf Myth Incident, despite their warnings.

We value transparency, honest communication, and respect. Sadly, ever since the post promising to improve this sub more than 20 days ago, the moderator has yet to do so properly and durably. We know that moderating is something done in one's spare time, not an actual job. But it still demands responsibility and availability. We know that irl stuff can often come into conflict with one’s ability to moderate. But when that happens, the most responsible thing one can do is clearly state that they are unable to moderate and leave adequate tools to the other mods.
From what I was told, Hovercraft once asked the mods after a heated argument why they joined the team since they are not satisfied with their permissions. She said that it was to be expected, and that they should simply trust her. She also added that she had brought them in to “do whatever they could with the tools available to them”. These tools have always been deemed insufficient by the mods.

We have decided that if things don’t change or if the demands of this post aren’t responded to in a timely manner, u/atelierkenzie will launch a new subreddit dedicated to Valko and the boycott, with Iwouldntthough and me as moderators. Our goal with it would be to finally have a properly organised sub, with more precise rules, that abides to the reddit ones and the MCOC, and proper moderation that does not resort to mass deletion without proper justification, as well as a team of mods that cooperate and are active. This sub, prior to the flairs incident, would have only been a temporary measure. But now, things have become unclear. We are open to name suggestions.

Why not take over this one ?

It is indeed possible to take a sub over if the main moderator disrupts. However, that only counts if the main moderator is straight up inactive or dabbles into dangerous rule-breaking behavior such as illegal acts.
A mod ticket on average takes multiple months to be answered. The one I made after receiving no answer to my open-letter (that contributed to triggering the modcall 4 days later), still hasn’t been addressed. When I contacted modsupport/redditrequest to explain about the permissions problem, I was met with a bot message that told me as long as she wasn’t inactive, she was not removable. Nothing since then.
Taking over this sub is practically impossible. It was attempted before back when she was the only mod and had been unseen for a month. However, she did not count as inactive despite her only activity being approving posts.

An Ultimatum :

We have decided to offer one last chance for Hovercraft to set things right. She is not in tune with the community at all and seems hell-bent on having things her way. So, on the behalf of the community,

we demand that Hovercraft hand over the sub to our current mods and remove herself from the moderators, or we will go through with making a new sub.

We love this place, and losing it due to petty squabbles would hurt many. So, we demand that it is placed in much better hands that will know how to care for it. This demand is to be taken seriously. The moderators themselves have grown tired by this situation, which the entire community has been enduring ever since its creation.
We will not keep on begging for a properly maintained sub, only to be met with the absolute, bottom of the bottle, bare minimum that screams powertripping.
All of these problems could have been avoided if Hovercraft had been here to take care of what the mods did not have access to.

In case the post is deleted, the google doc version can be found here.
I want to highlight one more time that I do not support bullying people because of their actions. As mentioned earlier, there is a clear line between expressing dissatisfaction and harassment. This goes for all parties involved : the moderators and the redditors. I express my sincerest sympathies for the people who suffered because of the situation, including the ex-mods, but I will always stand by the fact that mass-deleting posts and not consulting the community before making decisions is not how you manage a community.

u/HovercraftDeep9964 is the mod of this subreddit. I have sent a modmail to her beforehand, today, before learning that many have sent their own modmails, which have remained unanswered. I am making this post on the behalf of many, and have taken the liberty to deem this situationas dire. You have also promised to be more present starting monday.... 8 days ago.

The situation is pressing. First, we have found ourselves multiple times in a situation where we were forced to do the mod's job, by calming the doomposting down ourselves, and pointing out antis that came here to ragebait.

On top of that, with Caleb's banner ending soon, we might find ourselves in a minefield with Raf's myth and 9m9's shenanigans, as well as our dear lilies' rightful concerns. You've seen what happened during Caleb's announcement. This sub will become a mess without proper moderation.

VERY IMPORTANT :

This sub also breaks multiple points of the Reddit Moderator Code of Conduct :

Rule 2 : Set appropriate expectations :

• Creating rules that explicitly outline your expectations for members of your community.

There is only two rules, no spam and be civil. It is not enough. Technically speaking, talking about a tree's ability to grow would not break the rules of this sub.

• Clearly denoting that your community is “unofficial” if your community topic concerns a brand or organization, and the company isn’t officially affiliated.

It is not written on the description of the sub.

Rule 4 : Be active and engaged

• You have enough Mods to effectively and consistently manage your community. This involves regularly monitoring and addressing content in ModQueue and ModMail and, if possible, actively engaging with your community via posts, comments, and voting.

None of the points in this rule have been answered. There is not enough mods, modmails take a long time to be answered, and there is little engagement with the community.

_________

As I've said in my modmail, I understand that perhaps, u/HovercraftDeep9964 might be busy. Or even struggling with issues in real life. If that is the case (even though I hope not), my heart goes out to her. But I believe that we also deserve to have a properly maintained, not rule-breaking safe space, as many have described this sub. Especially in these tough times. The state this sub is in is not normal.

If she is truly not capable of taking care of this sub, due to external factors or anything else even, then I trust that she will understand that, and put this place in trustworthy hands.

Lastly, I wanted to say that I am probably not the only one who applied through Modmail to become a moderator. I invite u/HovercraftDeep9964 to take a look at the people who applied.

_________

I have to admit as well, as mean and uncalled for as it sounds, with this sub breaking multiple points in the Mod Code of Conduct, if our moderator does not answer this open letter or the modmails sent to her, I will be obligated to submit a request for a Modcall. We have already traversed many trials and tribulations, but we must be prepared for the worst. Which we are not.

thank you for reading.

Hey, just wanted to offer my pov as someone wanting to main both LIs and why, despite Valko's announcement being at the wrong time, I was still super excited for him.

To start, I first met Caleb in the MS 4, before his release. Funnily enough, I thought he was our biological brother due to his similar appearance to the default MC and how "brotherly" he felt. That actually saddened me because, well, to put it simply, Careless Whispers started playing the second he stepped into grandma's living room. He looked so different from the other 3 (Sylus came out 3 days later lol), I loved his appearance, his casual wear (I wish I could find that jacket for sale), and his voice ! It was so unique !

Then, I quickly understood that it wasn't the case and already imagined him as the 5th LI. He was exactly what I liked. Boy-next-door, the "marry your best friend" kind of vibes... To make it short, he gave a very laid-back and not-too-serious but caring vibe that I loved. (Plus I smelled the nerd from a mile away, and wasn't disappointed).

5 minutes later, boom, followed by a wide-eyed, silent grieving. But I was hopeful immediately after being told by the story that no bodies were found.

For the entire year, I saved diamonds, preparing to go from Zayne girlie to Caleb girlie. I argued with the people convinced that Caleb was dead, braved the endless stream of Caleb-less patches, almost felt like that crazy widow in movies that's persuaded her husband is still alive XD, until the apple livestream announcement.

Seeing the trailers... some kind of disappointment followed, I hated not being as excited for him anymore (I still was very excited though). The cause : the sad mood and yandere penchant sort of.. turned me off. The following take gave me quite a lot of downvotes but : I don't like the yandere trope. I like my MC free, not overprotected, with it often leading to babying. I had this feeling, seeing his upcoming cards, that the sunny Caleb that got me grieving was gone.

Nevertheless, he quickly became my main, even though I was very... put off by the Farspace colonel myth + main story stuff. I still found him very well written, and his qualities largely compensated for his flaws lol (the yearning maaannn). I pulled every card (even Catch-22, which was quite an experience lol)

But as the banners went by, I felt less and less inclined to pull, I started to skip cards and gravitate back towards Zayne. There was just this constant awkward overprotectiveness, this lack of what he used to be. MC's behavior did not help either. Each MC is different, and Caleb's MC.... Wasn't really to my tastes lol. I skipped Throne of Eros, 2026 birthday, and a few more. There was just nothing keeping me hooked to the game. I loved Caleb, but his content just didn't center on the things I liked about him. The home feature was too heavy for my phone.

I knew there would be a 6 LI due to the teasers in-game, I was very curious. But when I stepped away from Caleb, I was even more excited. I loved everything about the game, but none of the characters kept me hooked (kinda sad for an otome game). I wanted to find a reason to keep playing. I went from convincing "Caleb is dead" believers to convincing "There is no 6th LI" believers. I was told to uninstall since I "didn't like the game" (by just saying Caleb wasn't doing it for me anymore), even though I love the combat, the claw machine...Etc. I saw the string of downvotes on every post talking about a 6th LI. "We don't need a new LI, we don't have enough resources !", then why not ask for more resources ? I thought.

Then, Valko appeared. I saw his first teaser, was kinda excited, but expected the typical, cringy Alpha wolf kind of character... I was sad that we wouldn't get a nerdy character (nerdier than the others lol). Then, the stream happened, and it was like that Lego tuxedo bruce wayne gif. Not only was he a nerd, but he was also laid back, funny, teasy, clingy, BUT MC WAS ALSO A BADASS ??? Sign me in ! New story, new room, new orbit... Finally some resources ! And as an f2p, the yellow myth pulled me in. I immediately considered breaking that status for him. I saved 6k diamonds in a week after installing LADS on my PC, and revived my love for Caleb through the home system (even if my water bill is through the roof with him XD).

I also felt that he was the missing piece of the puzzle. The last pillar that would allow PPG to build on top a more frequent story update, and just fuller, more progressive updates in general ! His announcement felt like the devs wanted to get him off their shoulders so they could work on other things. I was in my "Finally, something is happening !" heaven.

Now, I desperately want him back, because the game just isn't complete without him.

I love Xavier's double-edged personality, Zayne's endearing seriousness, Rafayel's dramatic yet caring attitude, Sylus' unseriousness, Caleb's brotherly vibe. But it doesn't feel complete without Valko now. And I often think about what kind of story we could've had, what kind of Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel, Sylus and Caleb we could've had with Valko in the story now. They may not meet on-screen, but the LIs are all intricately linked. The same goes for MC. I used to be "dual LI" with Zayne and Caleb, and wanted to add Valko to the roster.

I played the game for the game of course, but also because of how wholesome this community is.

Sorry for the very long post, I hope I wrote it in a digestible way. I just wanted to voice my thoughts, and perhaps find people who feel the same way, and have interesting discussions with the community.

Long post ahead, TLDR below

The game has made it pretty clear : There is no Emil without Ada. They released together, their skins are released together and share the same theme, their accessories are released together... Heck, even in events they're always a couple even when it's not Ada and Emil !

And while it doesn't bother me that much (for reasons I will explain later*****), what I disliked was how consistently unhealthy it seemed in their interactions, without ever being addressed.

Was it done on purpose ? Maybe, but hear me out :

In the lore, it's stated that Ada was employed by the Asylum and always had a wish to help people and become a "recognised" hypnotherapist (all her experiments had failed so far). She meets Emil, a patient in what would be considered as in a vegetative state due to all the drugs he is forcefully given. Emil came from an illegal dog-fighting ring, and went mad because of his traumatic experience both living in complete poverty and the abuse at the ring, and later at the asylum.

Ada immediatly feels a bond (motherly or not, up to interpretation) with Emil and starts lowering his drug dosage, promising him the pain is worth it, and plans their escape. She is the very first person who shows actual kindness towards Emil. This predictably leads to Emil feeling a great deal of affection for her, growing into what he thinks is love.

This is where the problems start :

You see, it's quite a well-known phenomenon that people suffering mentally and having an empty social life get attached to the people showing a slight hint of interest towards them. That is also how abusers keep their victims nearby, by impoverishing their social life to the point where the abuser becomes their "anchor"^(1).
But why am I talking about this ? Well, usually, the person becomes so attached to their anchor, that any sign of "defiance" may separate them from it. They, in a way, let go of their free will, out of fear that they'll lose the only person that gives them importance. If you come across a kind person, good. But a manipulative person will take advantage of that (throwback to ^(1)**).

Emil has obviously fallen into this : "Perfect obedience, dependence and the desire to protect Ada are for him a true 'proof of love' for her." (s: Weibo Character Introduction).

He only speaks to Ada, only trusts Ada, only talks about Ada, only likes Ada (s: Birthday event, likes and dislikes). You will probably say : "But OP, that's normal ! She's the only good person he knows !". And you're right. But I would dumb it down even more : she's the only person he knows.

From the survivor backstory and many other sources, it's obvious that since Ada ran away with a patient, they've pretty much been on the run, or completely isolated from everyone. The only character who seems to know about them both is Baron DeRoss/Orpheus (s: Patient deduction 9/Psychologist deduction 10). I might as well add this quote from Emil's Deduction 8 : "Ada Mesmer: Speak her name aloud, and follow her wherever she may go". Plus this one from Ada's 2023 letter : "his (Emil's) safety cannot be guaranteed now that his identity has been exposed".

While Emil's dependence to Ada is very unhealthy, you might think that it's okay, because Ada's feelings towards him are genuine. She wants him to get better.

Well... Not completely for both statements :

It's stated everywhere in her lore : Ada's whole career is in perpetual failure. Before her work at the asylum, she led mutliple hypnotherapy experiments, which all failed (s: Psychologist Deduction 6). She isn't even a real doctor, as highlighted by the quotation marks in her title "Psychologist". Despite all this, Ada still thinks hypnotherapy is full of potential, she simply hasn't met the right patient.

That changes when she meets Emil. "Emil: He was destined for me—my perfect test subject." (Psychologist Deduction 7). This is where the nature of her feelings changes. Indeed, after years of failure, she finally meets a patient who reacts positively to her hypnotherapy. Not only is the nature of a Patient-Doctor relationship quite messed-up, but Ada's very motives behind it change. She no longer loves Emil out of sheer affection for him. She also loves him because he gives purpose to her life's work : "Emil's condition is perfect for this treatment" (s: Herztier trailer).

In the end, Ada and Emil's relationship becomes even more perverted, due to Ada unconsciously using him to prove her own value, while trying to convince herself that her love for him is pure. This is why, when the experiments no longer work "The hypnosis experiments have yielded incredible results but now they are starting to stagnate." (s: survivor trailer), she decides to put them both in danger. For the sake of saving Emil's regressing mind and her merit as a doctor. She very rarely talks about "Emil's treatment", but about "her experiments".

At the manor, the new drug she got to experiment (see Herztier trailer & birthday letters) ended up backfiring, causing Emil to reveal their relationship. She decides to leave with Emil, giving up on the promised reward. Orpheus refuses her request, causing her to try to force her way out, resulting in Emil's death. In the end, Ada's overzealous and desperate nature got Emil killed.

Yes, she does love him and want him to get better. But her feelings are amplified by a savior complex "only she could save him" (s: Character Introduction/Relations' menu), coupled with her sense of purpose being tied to her success at curing Emil. "Ada treated him as a personal possession, to be taken wither her as she pleased." (s: Patient Character Relations' menu)

Conclusion :

Emil and Ada's feelings for each other are based on extremely unstable foundations, even unconsciously dishonest. While Ada's good nature makes her believe she genuinly loves Emil for who he is, she still uses him as a test subject, under the pretense of saving him. As for Emil, he said it himself : "There's no difference between me and a corpse?" (s: survivor trailer). He follows Ada around because she's the only thing in his life. He has no agency, and just happened to come across a better person than he is used to "Emil also accepts Ada's "treatment. After all, for Emil, Ada's treatment feels more like love and care than the pain he received in those fragmented memories." (s: Character Relations' menu).

Orpheus even calls it "the almost "blank" personality of 0-1-2" (s: 2024 Patient Birthday Letter).

As the Character introduction eloquently stated : "a perverted, but sincere love connects her with Emil" & "Their twisted but pure love tied them together.".

In the end, Adamil is pretty much a disaster couple that was doomed to end badly, not even because of Emil's unstable mind, but because of how brittle their relationship was.
*****And the fact that through their in-game content they seemed like a happy little couple saddened me, because of the lost potential. They could've done so much more with the lore implications. And to me, Herztier as a hunter switch made sense, because in that moment, Emil embraced all the torment created by both his past and Ada's experiments, and freed himself (though it is a very twisted freedom).
Meanwhile, Ada's merit as the good-natured doctor that wants to help and goes against common practices of that period becomes the very thing she opposed, through her experiments fueled by desperation at the manor (You can see Emil suffering during the Herztier's trailer while Ada is joyous, even though she is testing an unknown drug).

Their tragedy is finally getting the spotlight it deserves.

TLDR : unhealthy relationship bc Emil is dependent and Ada has ulterior motives (her career), tragedy of the characters not expanded upon for the sake of cute couple. Stops with Herztier's release.

Right now, we had 3 obstacles preventing us from getting Valko back :

• Infold themselves
• The antis
• The government

However, with the articles and statements published by the government or gov affiliated news outlets, they are now on our side. Their voice was very clear : "Infold, your global audience is too important to keep acting like a domestic market, focus on them more, and listen to their demands, Valko will open a new market".

The Antis are currently being taken care of. People found the person who started the 731 controversy, and many antis are getting reported and arrested. Not only will this deter the more "cowardly" antis, but it also helps in finding the minors that are currently committing identity theft in order to play the game, which is 18+ in CN. On top of that, with many of the minority that antis are being minors, it indicates low spending (even clumsily confirmed by some antis, affirming they only recharge 5$/year). They are erratically shooting themselves in the foot. This is wonderful news, as this means they believe we might actually get him back.

Lastly, Infold themselves have been no-contact for the past 2 weeks. Of course there's this gag order theory, but if it's not... Then that means Infold is afraid of us. Because, as seen today with the crossover announcement, Valko now haunts everything about the game. This will only ceize if they release him.
On top of that, the absence of banners in-game shows multiple things about Infold :

1. They know they will go through massive loss if they release any banner but valko's.
2. They are aware of our power.

This is extremely good, as it shows that they do not want, and cannot afford to move on without Valko. Now that the ball is in Infold's hands, we have to wait after them.

The ideal time to release Valko :

Now little disclaimer : this is pure speculation. The ideal time to release Valko would actually be... Now. Hear me out :

1. Their revenue will keep dropping, and releasing a new banner would be a direct death sentence for it.
2. Everyone eagerly awaits Valko. The more they wait, the less players will come back.
3. The game is currently bannerless, which cannot be sustainable for at least a month.
4. Valko is fully integrated in the game, despite the hotfixes. They just have to uncheck the "hide" button. (Besides, he already tries to break out - see Caleb's valko-fied nose and sylus sniffing things)
5. The Antis are more occupied avoiding the police.
6. The longer they wait, the less tax money the CCP makes. Plus their obvious support, which translates into pressure on Infold.
7. If they do release him now, he will be available in Pulse Hunter, as originally intended.

On top of that, let's talk budget. A LI is at least worth multiple millions in development only. Hundreds of people worked on him. He is also worth thousands of hours of (paid) work. Deleting him would completely destroy Infold, as it's pretty much throwing a small country's worth of money out the window. They themselves have shown how reluctant they are to deleting him, as he is still fully in the files as we are talking. Cards and all.
Talking about money, rescheduling and remaking literally the entire game will absolutely take its toll on the company. Bringing back everything as originally intended will spare the kind of spendings even a leviathan player cannot imagine.
Lastly, silently releasing Valko might actually be a good move. Now weakened, the antis won't have the time to react, while the most eager of us will literally (lovingly) tackle Valko, John Cena style.

Pure hopium overdose :
The last few days being without banner means PPG is currently working on a new 6.0 version, reintegrating valko as available in the game and patching the bugs caused by locking him and unlocking him later.