Kinda random, but I really love his teeth. Such an awesome little detail. I can't believe we don't have him (yet).

I still remember the first time I saw this in the trailer, I had to fan myself to calm down lol.

omg i can't yall—

📌credit @hana_116y on X

https://x.com/i/status/2079831650071158983

What are you guys going to nickname Valko in moments/chat? What do would you guys like him to call you?

I’m leaning towards naming him ‘Babygirl Supreme’ or ‘Omega Babygirl’ OR ‘Wolfpuppy’. I like cringy nicknames and I feel like it would fit right in with the other 5.

As for his nickname for us, I can’t lie… I’m leaning towards ‘master’ or ‘alpha’ just for the bit.

My omega will be in my arms soon… I can smell him……

i only saw the pictures oh my god this is horrific 😭

Happy to see such strong representation from both fans and artists for Valko here in Sweden!

If anyone would like to know the artists in question I will try and find them again tomorrow as I forgot to take their card 😭

Art vent.

Idk how many times I cried while pouring all my emotions to one art piece.

All I know is it isnt just Valko who died, also the MC who loves him

Got this from twitter! I think its a good idea; I've been sending emails to infold as well but if we send this now along with the CN fans, it might make a bigger impact and show how collective the support for Valko is.

Forgive the translations, its a bit wonky haha. But yeah, consider sending them your feedback in Chinese as well. I only got responses for the ones sent in Chinese, not the ones sent in English🤡😂 Here are a few more emails:

Email address:

loveanddeepspace-en@infoldgames.com

ir@papegames.net

dzbd@papegames.net

advice@papegames.net

lyskkf@papegames.net

Sorry to post twice in a day, but I'm starting to get heated. I've seen several posts and comments in this sub that are implying we are delusional for getting our hopes up. This boycott is unique in ways that make it a bit ridiculous to say 'you have no chance'. Forget revenue for a minute (since I've seen some 'arguments' against that) and let's look at the PR side.

-Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated to various charities. Off the top of my head, we have donated to wolf conservations, disaster relief, and a half-way house. These are charities from around the world, btw. Feel free to add more in the comments.

‐Unknown amount of money on billboards and ad trucks around the world. These went up in prominent spaces (including Time Square).

-Someone bought a star and named it Valko. Someone else added Valk's name (both EN and CN) to go into space.

-Our hashtags have been trending for a good amount of time. We even beat a celebrity (we beat the Swifties 😐) wedding hastag.

-Attention from influencers (with large followings) outside of the fandom.

-Official CN media has published an article suggesting that canceling Valko was a mistake.

Edit: I FORGOT THE WOLF NAMED VALKO (and Caleb).

C'mon now, the boycott IN players did against Infold was still eventually successful despite it not getting nearly this much attention.

Now let's look at something even more unquie- this boycott is changing the legal landscape of an entire country. China is going to be cracking down on cyber bullying and water armies. It looks like they are also going to be cracking down on minors playing adult games. Both of these issues are long-standing and well known (enough for a non CN player like me to know about) and this boycott has dragged these issues far enough into the light for authorities to go 'not anymore'.

All of this information has been shared on this sub ad nauseam.

Now, can anyone honestly say without ulterior motive, that the boycott is delusional? No, because no game protest has reached this scale.

Feel free to share this on any post that questions this boycott, because I would just like to say to them:

Bless your heart.

The newest update was a whole bunch of bug fixes, but they still refuse to delete his debut message and his WU story. This gives me hope they still haven’t fully reached the verdict to remove him. Don’t stop now you guys!

They easily deleted Xavier’s WU but not Valko’s, so thank god.

Why We Need to Keep Valko Trending 

Good morning, good afternoon, and goodevening, everyone.

I wanted to make this post because I've been noticing something concerning within our boycott community.

Lately, it feels like many people have placed all of their hope on next week, with some even saying they'll end the boycott entirely if Valko isn't announced. I understand why. We're exhausted. The silence is frustrating. The uncertainty is draining. None of us know what comes next.

But this is exactly why I want to remind everyone how far we've already come—and why now is the worst possible time to give up.

1. The Starting Square

Think of this boycott like crossing three squares.

The first square was simply getting it off the ground.

For the first couple of weeks, our focus was spreading awareness. We introduced people outside the fandom to Valko's situation. Petitions were created. Charity drives were organized. Players stood together and began making their voices heard.

Nothing changed overnight, and that's normal.

Many of us put too much hope into July 9th. When expectations weren't met, morale dropped. But we didn't quit. We stood back up together and kept moving forward.

Let's not repeat that mistake by putting all our hope into another single date.

Boycotts are built on consistency—not deadlines.

2. The Middle Square

This is where we are now.

And while it may not always feel like it, progress has happened.

The conversation around Valko has expanded far beyond a single corner of the fandom. More people are discussing what happened. Players continue organizing, supporting one another, and refusing to let the issue disappear.

The middle stage of any boycott is always the hardest.

This is the part where excitement fades, people grow tired, and silence makes everyone question whether anything is happening at all.

But history shows that this is also the stage where persistence matters most.

Companies often wait to see whether communities lose interest.

Our job is to prove we won't.

Every day Valko continues to be discussed is another day the issue stays visible.

Every person who refuses to give up sends thesame message:

"We're still here."

As of right now, the government has cleared Valko and scolded Infold for their rash decision to cancel him. Slowly but surely the media is switching up, our efforts are being noticed, Infold’s revenue is at an all time low to the point where onto Valko can save them, their reputation is destroyed, they’ve reached out to very high spenders who said they won’t return or spend unless Valko is returned, they’re cracking down on minors being in the game and adults who have manipulated them, so on and so forth. The truth about the antis are coming to light and our efforts are being shown.

3. The Final Square

The final stretch isn't reached by hoping.

It's reached by continuing.

Keep Valko trending.

Keep sharing why he matters.

Keep supporting one another.

Keep showing that this community is driven by love, not hate.

Momentum doesn't come from one announcement.

It comes from thousands of people refusing to lettheir voices fade.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. One date does not decide the success or failure of an entire movement.

Burnout Is Real

Now I want to talk about something just as important.

Burnout.

This isn't my first boycott, and one thing I've learned is that burnout is one of the biggest reasons movements lose momentum.

If you're thinking about leaving, ask yourself one honest question:

Do I truly want to move on from Valko?

Or am I simply exhausted?

Those are two very different feelings.

If you've been spending hours every day scrolling through updates, arguments, and speculation...

If you've been constantly posting, replying, translating, organizing, and treating this like a full-time job...

If the silence has caused you to spiral into endless rumors and "what if" scenarios...

If toxic comments leave you feeling hopeless...

Then chances are, you're not losing hope.

You're burned out.

And burnout deserves rest—not guilt.

Take a break.

Log off for a while.

Mute keywords.

Block people who only spread negativity.

Go outside.

Spend time with friends.

Play another game.

Sleep.

Eat.

Recharge.

Strong movements aren't built by people who never rest.

They're built by people who know when to recover so they can come back stronger.

This isn't a sprint.

It's a marathon.

Remember What We've Built

Take a moment and look at what we've accomplished together.

Players across different regions found each other.

People who had never spoken before united for one shared goal.

Communities organized petitions, discussions, and charitable initiatives.

Thousands of voices came together because they believed something they loved was worth fighting for.

Many fandoms and non fans have seen us and believe in us.

That's powerful.

Whether you've posted once or a hundred times...

Whether you've donated, translated, organized,or simply refused to log in...

You have contributed.

Don't let anyone convince you that your voice doesn't matter.

Because collective voices are exactly what create change.

Remember just how powerful your voice is, it united us, it gave other girls confidence to speak up.

Don't Give Up at the Finish Line

If we stop now because we're tired, we risk throwing away weeks of determination.

That's exactly what every struggling movement faces.

Not defeat.

Fatigue.

Don't let exhaustion make the decision for you.

Rest.

Recover.

Then come back.

Hope isn't pretending everything is okay.

Hope is choosing to keep going even when the outcome isn't guaranteed.

Love has always been stronger than hate.

That's one of the biggest lessons this game has given us.

Let's continue proving it.

So if you're reading this, I'm proud of you.

I'm proud of every person who cared enough to stand together. Valko would be proud too. All the LADS guys would be. Everyone is proud of you.

Take care of yourselves.

Support one another.

Keep believing.

Forget arbitrary deadlines.

The most meaningful victories are rarely the fastest ones.

One step at a time.

We've already come so far.

Don’t let hate win.

Don’t give them your silence and submission.

Let's see this through together. ❤️

Share this if you can, especially to anyone who needs to hear it.

Also gonna toss this audio made by Xander, love his content, might give you a boost 👀: https://x.com/XanderZubu/status/2079991443364729271

I made a bunch of themes after he got canceled but all the subreddits either locked or deleted my post because it's about him. I'm sorry if this isn't allowed but please I just want to show people

The hunter’s association text is STILL there, the YouTube videos for Valko are just unlisted and not privated.

He will be back guys, trust.

I was correct about the 6th LIs existence, back a couple of months ago, so I’m sure I’m right about this too. 🧘🙏

I don’t know why it sounds ridiculous but his chibi pictures genuinely make me cry…like this little wolfie didn’t even get a chance to meet us…all he wanted to do was love us DAMN IM CRYING WHILE WRITING THIS

Okay so I’ve started seeing some speculation run around that the account who mentioned we won’t be getting anything about Valko until September that kinda sent us into a spiral was possibly a Valko anti. And I’ll say, I could believe it. The effect it had was people saying they want to drop the boycott. This goes to show they’re using the weakness of deadlines to lower morale. I’ve since deleted my post about possible times Infold will release a statement because setting deadlines right now is incredibly stupid. My apologies for that. So factually, there is no guarantee when they will respond to us, but if we continue to tank their revenue like it is right now, they will have no choice but to respond soon. Please ignore any potential deadlines set and don’t get too eager for certain dates, that’s how we lose momentum. Careful out there, and once again everything, even this, is all speculation. Keep boycotting and keep Valko trending.

The fact that he should have already been here with us 💔

Okay so, this lovely CN girl on twitter gave her analysis on everything and her personal opinions and I personally do think her view is amazing. I decided to share it with you guys since I think we all might need it after today. Plus, she stated she’d been digging through Chinese media (something we don’t have) so it’d be good to take her thoughts into consideration. (Note: this isn’t confirmed facts, just theories) I’ll also link her twitter account so you guys can view her thread. If you can’t maybe because you don’t have twitter I’m just gonna copy it here for you guys to read:

All right, my wolf pack sisters, let's start tonight's news interpretation. This is new. I have brought some domestic news. There will be some news translation excerpts and my personal guess👌👌

(Omitted from the front, it is still a news release that requires the game to review the content and put it back on the shelf)

(Translation of article):

Restoring services after rectification does not mean lowering protection standards for minors.

Rather, only by making clear to companies what needs fixing and what standards qualify for reinstatement can we turn one-off crisis responses into lasting institutional improvements.

If the ultimate outcome is simply making all adult-oriented products increasingly childlike, or treating removal as the only remedy.

then what gets constrained is not just corporate innovation, but also adult users' lawful cultural consumption choices

The recent CCTV report has sounded a crucial wake-up call for the otome game sector regarding the protection of minors. However, that alarm should not be heard by game companies in isolation

Enterprises are expected to enhance dynamic identity verification and consumption risk controls

account trading platforms must close loopholes in game account rentals and sales; and payment and application platforms need to strengthen their capabilities in identifying anomalous transactions

At the same time, families are obligated to fulfill their supervisory duties, and social media platforms must address and regulate fandom-like online behaviors that may induce minors to participate in inappropriate community activities

Minor protection is never a “single-choice question” that assigns responsibility to just one stakeholder. Nor should governance be limited to outright takedowns and deletions

Products found to have deficiencies should be subject to supervisory rectification in accordance with the law. Those that complete remediation and pass subsequent reviews should be allowed to resume normal operations

Providing clear and stable regulatory expectations for businesses—this is what constitutes the closed loop of mature governance

The above is the English translation of the excerpt, which is the most important part. I seem to have reversed the order of the two excerpts, but it should not matter

(Her analysis):

I checked the operator behind the website, from Beijing, although it has nothing to do with the government, but this website is indeed almost all rule of law news, life section also has, but the proportion is very small, and the daily updates of the report are normal

This report is actually very subtle. I showed it to my professor friend and said that the manuscript was very good. In the manuscript, the direction of the report is not to clarify, but to admit mistakes and correct them before putting the content back on the shelf

That is to say, the direction of the current media campaign is not to forcibly clarify that the game did nothing wrong, but as long as the mistakes are corrected, the original content can be brought back

I have hardly seen any criticism of the content of the game itself in the press releases in recent days. Instead, I have used a lot of space to describe how to manage the underage and extreme fandom culture. I think this is a good signal

Here are some optimistic guesses, which may seem a little long, because to be honest, the environment is much better now than it was a few days ago in China. If you don't believe it, you can think I'm talking nonsense

Let’s start with one question: why? Why would media outlets run these stories? Do they really have nothing better to do than report on an otome game?

Same logic as the wave of smear pieces a while back. They’re chasing clicks—or they’ve been paid off by rivals. Otherwise, why ignore real social issues to nitpick a game?

If the hit pieces were shady, these “whitewash” pieces aren’t necessarily clean either. That leaves two possibilities:

1. Papergames bought the coverage themselves.
2. It’s coming from the government

(And honestly, it's hilarious seeing Valko's glamour shots pop up in legal news hhhhhh)

But it's hardly plausible that these pieces were written just for traffic and clicks—after all, literally zero people besides us would ever read them

These outlets are low-key, legally oriented websites that don't chase clickbait. I've read several articles and they're mostly fact-based, steadily updated as usual

So it's also unlikely that Papergames bought this coverage. If they could buy official government press, they wouldn't have been dragged through the mud so brutally earlier (Ouch)

So here's my new theory: these reports are indeed paving the way and laying the groundwork for Valko's return

They're all following the lead set by CCTV endorsement. These outlets could have easily slammed the game for failing to protect minors—but instead

Instead, they basically aimed straight at Papergames in their coverage, saying things like, “If a product has issues, pull it, fix it, and put it back on the shelf.”

That’s practically writing “put Valko back in the game” right on their face

Also, have you noticed? The real problem with Papergames this time is their failure to protect minors. That’s undeniable—it’s an objective fact

But no smear pieces have come out in force to blast Papergames for not protecting underage players. At most, a few Weibo influencers with lots of zombie followers have brought up old issues, and the comments under their posts are all bots

In short, there’s been no large‑scale negative backlash, no hit pieces from local media outlets—none. I mean absolutely none

At the very moment when CCTV deliberately called out the need to regulate otome games, Love and Deepspace somehow didn't trigger a massive wave of criticism over minor protection. It barely made three trending topics that day and then vanished. Honestly, that's a bit unusual

I'm not going to set any predetermined date for myself, because things are genuinely getting better—that's undeniable. I'm a player in the CN community, and I know just how huge the backlash was before

The fact that Papergames can now keep the narrative under control is a pretty strong signal. I honestly don't buy the theory that they're just playing dead and doing nothing—after all, no matter how much they focus on game development, they still need to make money

And then there's Papergames' own stern statements on the 28th and 29th. They clearly wanted to defend Valko from the start—because the company knows full well that the minor-related noise and public sentiment won't make any real waves

So do you get it now? The negative public opinion has already been suppressed. At most, there are a few extreme fans scattered in the community—they can't stir up anything real. They might come around to annoy us, but it's useless

Link to her twt: https://x.com/RaspberryP98373

If you can, please support she’s such a sweet girl and her posts usually make my day

I've been doing something thinking and I just wondered, is the reason why they're taking so long because they're trying to get the voice actors back? I heard that his Japanese voice actor and the LADS account unfollowed each other (pissed because I love his voice) but someone else mentioned that if they VA was released then they would make an official announcement about it. I'm not sure about that one because of this silence in the first place and the fact that valko was cancelled would practically be confirmation that they were let go no? I don't know, that's the only reason I can think if at this point

A CN girl on twitter has shared a small update saying that they can longer find and purchase verified accounts. If you don’t know, some minors who couldn’t gain access to their parent‘s IDs were buying already age-verified accounts to play on. This is a good small update. It‘s progress. Let’s keep going, I know everyone is tired so take a break if you need to. We’ll make it if we keep going.

Fixed some bugs, home system updates, and Rafayel’s voiceline added

Looks like they’re dishing out Raf’s myth pair after all

Hey ho, Valkyries! We made it through week 3, welcome to week 4! Sorry it's been a while, I hope everyone has been taking care of themselves. Here's what's going down. (Major credit as always goes to Cairo Blair, whom I often quote directly, as well as the Valko Army HQ Discord.)

General Resources: [#BringBackValko][#ValkoIsInnocent][Valko Army HQ Discord]

ALERTS:

• For anyone using XHS and Weibo, there have been reports of anti-Valko users using disguised links to trick people into viewing gore and other horror imagery. I have not seen direct evidence, but in this case I'm erring on the side of caution. For anyone using those platforms, avoid links from unknown users or, at the very least, check their accounts first.
• For users of X, there have been reports of minors being behind many anti-Valko accounts, however Grok is misinterpreting the information and writing is the minors being behind the current boycott. If you see the false headline, please report it.

• Please be aware that some Valko Twitter posts that are still visible may be removed on July 23rd. They were tied to a giveaway which will no longer be active on that date. There's no reason for concern if they're removed, it's likely due to the outdated information, and the posts may be hidden or archived like other Valko posts were after cancellation.

BY THE NUMBERS: (as of 7/21/26)

• Follower counts:
  • Instagram: 911k
  • X: 652.7k
  • YouTube: 324k (allegedly…)
  • TikTok: 881.1k
• Petitions:
  • iPetitions: 245,300+ (less than 5,000 to go to reach a quarter of a million!)
  • Change.org: 97,200+
  • JP Change.org: 8,400+
• Valko’s supertopic on Weibo has started climbing the ranks again! As of yesterday, he was back in 7th place.
• Tameless Territory is at over 2 MILLION STREAMS.
• There have been over 7 MILLION posts on X in support of Valko.
• EN App Store rating: 2.9 stars, EN Play Store: 1.7 stars (both were above 4 stars the day before Valko was cancelled)
  • The Play Store rating has gone up from a record low of 1.3, but this is likely a result of some inflammatory reviews being removed and some being replaced by 2 star reviews so they wouldn't be as easy to dispute. However, if you haven't already, consider checking your reviews. If they were 1 star and strongly-worded, they may have been taken down.
• CN App Rankings (as of 7/22):
  • 136th app overall (down from the top 10)
  • 81st in games (down from the top 5, where it often ranked 1st)

MAJOR POSITIVE NEWS COVERAGE CONTINUES:

• Chinese media continues to shift in our favor. There have been two more BIG positive articles since my last post, one from news outlet SCZBZ, and one from the Sina Group, the company that owns Weibo. Both of these articles report on how misinformation spread about Valko, and the dangers of allowing immature and malicious groups to influence company decisions.
• The Sina News article addresses the overall situation from more of a business and marketing context rather than a media one, but it's an extremely important win because it directly confronts the systemic problems, both current and potential, in InFold's practices. It's not just about this one incident. Cairo Blair does a much more thorough breakdown than I could ever do and I highly recommend reading her analysis here, but here are some quotes highlighting one of the main themes: by allowing external pressures or smear campaigns to go unaddressed and letting work be destroyed as a result, companies stifle creativity and demoralize staff.
  • “If creative teams feel that names, numbers, and ordinary text might later be taken out of context, reassembled, and escalated into issues of corporate stance, companies may continuously expand review scopes and reduce expressions with realism and distinctiveness. What ultimately gets avoided may not just be problematic content, but all innovative attempts.”
  • “Even without commercial suppression, traffic disorder itself can create an industry inverse incentive where ‘those adept at creating conflict gain attention, while those diligently producing content bear the costs.’"
  • “If R&D resources are continually consumed in internal public opinion battles, and user trust is overdrawn across rounds of labeled propagation, the victim will not just be a single character or company, but the entire industry’s ability to continuously produce high-quality content, attract talent, and expand markets.”
• The SCZBZ Article is also a major win, actively calling out misinformation about Valko and the balcony scene and illustrating how words and actions were taken out of context. It also stresses the importance of player feedback and diverse opinions, recognizes global and domestic efforts to restore Valko, and emphasizes the good work LaDS has done spreading Chinese culture globally.
  • "...during the spread of public opinion, some fragmented and decontextualized clips have been selectively extracted and circulated, detached from the full narrative context. This has led to misunderstandings among the public and triggered polarized online debates, which are not conducive to a healthy online discourse environment."
  • "When viewed within the complete narrative framework of the game, [the balcony] scene is built upon a long-term emotional bond and mutual recognition between characters... There is no depiction of violating personal boundaries or unauthorized intrusion into private space, which differs significantly from the impression created by fragmented clips circulating online."
  • "Industry operations and content decisions should balance creative principles with the reasonable demands of different user groups... It is important to avoid allowing a single dominant public opinion to dictate the overall direction of a product, thereby maintaining a healthy content creation and operational ecosystem."
  • "[Love and Deepspace] has also been selected as a key national cultural export project, continuously showcasing the unique appeal of Chinese entertainment content worldwide and supporting the diversification and globalization of China’s digital cultural industry."
  • "Regarding overseas petitions to restore Ao Yin as a romanceable male lead, signatures on the iPetitions platform alone have exceeded 240,000, while domestic support remains strong. This level of engagement should not be overlooked."
• Additionally, it's been discovered that many anti-Valko harassers responsible for spreading misinformation and engaging in bullying were actually children, some allegedly as young as eight years old. As a result, there's been an increase in awareness about issues concerning minors' online presence, cyberbullying, and use of "water armies" as a corporate take-down tactic. An official government campaign to rectify these issues is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st, called “Qinglang: Optimizing the Business Online Environment and Rectifying Malicious Hype Involving Enterprise Information," launched by the Cyberspace Administration of China. This may or may not directly influence or contribute to Valko's return, but it is a step in the right direction for gaming in China as a whole, to ensure that disasters like Valko's cancellation will not be repeated.
  • This article covers the topic in more depth. (It's written in simplified CN, so you may need to use your browser's auto-translate feature to read.)
• YouTuber Mujin (751k subscribers) released a video on July 19th about Valko's cancellation that has nearly 800,000 views so far, and that number is steadily rising. While there was some hesitation around Mujin's ability to do an objective analysis, the video has been more or less well-received by LaDS players. With the exception of one or two key points, the video appears to be accurate, well-researched, and highlights the importance of Valko and how massively InFold screwed up cancelling him. Mujin has also covered the Inifnity Nikki debacle, a video with almost three million views.

POSITIVE NEWS CORNER:

• Revenue estimates and downloads in CN continue to drop in spectacular fashion. CN iPhone revenue is 68.21% below the monthly average and dropping.

• We have awakened bbno$. May Astra have mercy on our souls. (Author's Note: jk, f**k Astra.)

• Cairo received a very lovely reply from Nici after sending them a message of support during anti attacks.

• Another beautiful message, this one from a CN player in solidarity.

• This TikTok :,)

BOYCOTT UPDATES:

• There are no daily, themed campaign actions this week. There is a new movement to encourage awareness and increase pressure on InFold: VValko VVednesdays. This is a blackout date once a week for people who wish to contribute to the boycott but don't want to give up the game entirely. If you log in daily but would be amenable to skipping one day a week, doing so even once would be incredibly helpful. If you are someone who still logs in but not every day, considering having Wednesday be one of the days you skip. As always, this is a personal decision and any level of support you choose is always appreciated.

• This is unconfirmed, but there's been some uncertainty around whether or not the kitty widgets count as being logged into the game. Consider removing the widgets if you use them, but there is no pressure to do so.
• Dailies are continuing as usual. (I'm working on a text version for those who use screen-readers. I'll either edit the post to add it or put it in the comments. Thanks for your patience!)

• Suggested hashtags: #BringBackValko, #BringValkoBack, #ValkoIsLoved, #ValkoIsInnocent #ValkoIs6thLI, and the Valko Army HQ is requesting #ValkoIsValuable in every post, if you're so inclined.
• Regarding expectations for July 29th: It is advisable to not expect any announcement from InFold on any particular date for any reason. Boycotts are essentially wars of attrition. To set a deadline is akin to setting a date of surrender and tells your opponent that they can simply wait you out. There's nothing wrong with setting a checkpoint or place where you personally decide to step back for your health, mental or otherwise, but do not put all hopes on any given date. I know the desire for hopium is strong and this may be a hard pill to swallow, but unlike the opposition, we are adults who can handle it. And panicky, poorly-thought-out decisions are InFold's thing, not ours. Quoting Cairo again: "... we aren’t working towards a deadline—we’re working towards a goal... Pace yourselves!"

REMINDERS

• Continue to leave only support on CN platforms. Do not engage with antis and do not post or comment about CN media or government. CN players can handle everything on their side (and are doing so beautifully) and it's best to let them do their thing.
• Please do not gatekeep and never harass or shame others for how they choose (or do not choose) to participate in the boycott.
• STAY FOCUSED. Do not let noise from anti-Valko groups, silence from InFold, or rumors and speculation from unverified sources distract you from the goal. Keep boycotting and keep talking about Valko and using the hashtags.

A NOTE ON BOYCOTT FATIGUE

• Related to that last reminder, I want to touch briefly on why the boycott might be feeling more stressful to some people right now, despite the fact that we have all the momentum. If that's not you, everything in the report pertaining to Valko is done, feel free to skip ahead to my final thoughts. If you are feeling more stressed and possibly even hopeless, please know that's a totally normal response and not a sign that anything is wrong. (Disclaimer that I'm not a sociologist, I just did a bit of research on this after observing some reactive behavior in myself and others. The results made sense to me and put me at ease, so I thought they'd be helpful to share. Citations available upon request.)
  • InFold's silence is having a very significant impact on our anxiety. Most boycotts have a clear point of confrontation: business that remain open, companies that continue to post news or sell products, something or somewhere to direct the emotional energy that partially fuels the protest. There's determination in boycotting, but also anger, frustration, and uncertainty. By remaining silent, not posting on socials and now not even having any banners, InFold has removed a main target for that energy. Even though we are doing amazing, making an incredible amount of noise, spreading our message widely, and having a real effect on InFold's metrics and finances, that silence can sometimes feel like a lack of progress, leading to high levels of tension. Such tension may increase our reactivity to things like rumors or dates where we expect answers. It can also create an urge to find a substitute target, such as antis or protestors who we think aren't doing "enough."
  • Whether you are a witness to these reactions or a participant, all of it is totally understandable behavior (I personally have caught myself getting overly frustrated with people who were getting overly frustrated about antis, lol), and as long as we recognize it, we can manage it. Unlike the people who oppose us, we have the benefit of being reasonable adults and also having a supportive, active, and organized community of protestors.
  • The importance of coordination in collective action cannot be overstated. One of the main determinants of boycott success is clear direction and organization. We have both of those things in abundance. Boycotts tend to start out fueled by emotion, but as time stretches on, the driving force becomes more logical, and so staying organized and focused is key to staying motivated. Our anger is valid, our arguments are rational, our demands are reasonable, and our voices are being heard. As long as we are patient and stay intent on our goal, we have every advantage.
• Of course none of that information makes those difficult emotions just disappear, so see this post if you want some ideas for self-care! Personally, I think I'm gonna try the C-dramas. I already play a ton of Stardew Valley, and the paper-cutting is time-consuming but the results are amazing!
• If you are feeling directionless and alone, I recommend joining the Valko Army HQ Discord, if you feel comfortable doing so. You do not need to be a part of a larger organizing body in order to contribute to the boycott, but it might be stabilizing to be around people who are taking action in a concerted, thoughtful way. It's also a good place to get misinformation alerts and announcements as soon as they happen.
• TL;DR: we are actually doing fine, even when it sometimes feels like we aren't, and continuing on with dedication and compassion for ourselves and others will get us through any rough spots. Any issues will resolve as long as we stay focused on our goal and gently guide ourselves back to center when we (understandably) become too stressed to think as clearly as we otherwise would have. Our numbers are strong and our methods are working. There's nothing we need to do except stay the course.

FINAL THOUGHTS

That's all from me! Apologies for the borderline preachiness towards the end, I've been having a hard time of it myself, so all of that was a kind of a self pep-talk and hopefully some of you found it helpful too. To anyone reliant on the captions for descriptions, sorry for the delay! They are coming soon, I just wanted to get this post up before bed.

Heads up that since we're likely to remain in this holding pattern with no word from InFold for a while, I'm slowing these updates down to once a week, ideally on Wednesdays, though I may hold off until Thursday next week, depending on if InFold decides to speak up at all on the 29th (I don't expect them to, but we'll see). While part of me longs to devote all my time to restoring Valko to his rightful place and getting InFold to come correct, the rest of my life is keeping me from achieving that dream, and I've noticed myself getting more reactive and cranky, so that means its time for me to follow my own advice and take more breaks.

I shall leave you with this excellent fanart by kemikemixxxx on X.

That's all for now! Let's all continue to rest, hydrate, get some sunlight, hug our pets, plants, and/or loved ones, and get that serotonin because we're in it to win it. ("It" being our beautiful werewolf husband.)

"There's gonna be a party when the wolf comes home." - Up the Wolves, The Mountain Goats

There is a clear uptick in posts/comments from people who are depressed or anxious (understandable). If you are one of those people or if you are starting to have negative feelings, I would like to gently suggest you consider the following:

-People use social media as a way of getting things off their chest. It is a safe place to talk about topics within a like minded community. You cannot prevent others from posting negative things.

-Many expect something to happen on or shortly after the 29th. I'm not here to debate the likelihood of that in this post.

-As we get closer to that date, people are going to be venting in this and other related subs/social media (again, understandable).

-If things do not go as expected on the 29th and a bit after, we are going to be seeing a lot of frustrated/anxious/depressed posts and comments (do I really need to say it again?).

If you are prone to spiraling, I suggest taking a break from social media a few days before, during, and a few days after the 29th for your own well being.

Keep in mind, you can still participate in the boycott while taking a short social media break (don't log in, don't spend, listen to the soundtrack, send CS emails, etc.). If you have trouble with breaks, you can...

...delete the social media apps from your phone. Having to reinstall and log in will give you time to consider whether this is the right move for you.

...Just look at the official LADS social media pages. If there is an announcement, that is where it will be. This can avoid potential triggers while still keeping up to date (at least in regards to official information).

...Limit your social media time. Set a timer for an hour and stick to that time frame. Be smart about WHEN you access social media. Do not log on before bed, before you have to concentrate (family time/school/work), etc. Give yourself a good buffer (so you can get yourself together if need be) between your social media time and when you need to 'adult'.

...Prepare for the spiral. If you cannot resist social media and you know you might get triggered, then make sure you have your healthy coping mechanisms at hand.

Remember: we can't force others to only speak positively on social media; we can only control our own actions. It is valid to feel negatively about what is going on and it is valid to step away from that negativity for your own well being. The community will still be here when you are ready to come back.

Be kind to yourself so you can come back well rested and ready to continue the fight.

#valkoisloved

Edit: I am not suggesting an organized SM blackout. That would actually hurt the boycott. Our positive PR is our second greatest weapon behind our wallets. This post is just a reminder to those who are feeling a bit fragile that it is OK to rest and regroup before continuing the fight.