A Few Words from the Creator

Before anything else, I want to say a few words about why this project exists in the first place.

Valko is such a wonderful game character who never even got the chance to see the world. He was pulled before his official release, and yet there are already so many fans around the world who simply refuse to accept that this is where his story ends. Valko has connected people. He has spread love. I still can't quite wrap my head around how much we were able to learn about him from so few promotional details. I haven't counted, but I'm honestly pretty sure there is more fanart and content about Valko by now than about all the Love Interests combined, or at least, that's what it feels like.

He has created beautiful moments. He has helped people through dark times and given some of them something to hold onto.

As someone whose mains are Caleb and Rafayel, one of the things I love most about Valko is his goofiness, but also how openly he expresses his feelings. He doesn't hide them. He shows them.

Valko himself once says:

"I don't like having weaknesses. But I don't mind having them."

That has always been one of his strongest lines to me. I never would have imagined that the idea of a Paw Wall could grow this much or be received so warmly. And at the same time, I'm endlessly happy that it has reached so many people. For me,

Love and Deepspace is 6. It feels as if Valko has always been here. As if he has always been part of the game and was never truly gone. Over the last two months, I've met so many wonderful new people. I've watched so many projects come to life, and I've seen so much love… not only from fans toward Valko, but from fans toward each other. And I can say this with my whole heart: Valko is not a bad character. Quite the opposite. He has made life a little brighter for so many people.

To the people who hate him, I only wish that you would put a hand on your heart for a moment and ask yourself whether it is really necessary to exclude a character this strongly when you have never even had the chance to meet him. I have tried more than enough times to put myself in the position of people who feel this way. I have tried to understand it.

But I don't.

And with that, I want to sincerely invite anyone who carries that kind of hatred toward Valko to reconsider it. I don't despise anyone for having felt that way, and I would never shame or expose someone for realizing that their hatred was unproductive. You don't have to suddenly love Valko overnight, no one is expecting that. But even if someone moves from “I hate him” to “I don't like him, but I can tolerate him,” that alone would make me incredibly happy.

And with that comes an appeal to every Valko fan, too:

I hope that one day, everyone who currently feels negatively about Valko will at least be able to tolerate him.
And for the rest of us — for the people who already love him — I hope that our love will bring Valko back.

I'm sure he will come back.

The Pack is still here.

(I got so teary while writing this, oh my god. There is much going on in my private life that is slowly easing, and seeing the efforts in doing people to the paw wall makes me even more emotional.)

🐾