Searching for Xavier: A fictitious birthday is celebrated in real life

An empty function room at Auckland's Stardome gradually filled with flowers, balloons, photographs and plush dolls as people arrived to celebrate a birthday on 17 October.

On a large screen was Xavier, the birthday boy and one of five male leads in Love and Deepspace, a hit mobile romance game with more than 80 million users worldwide.

It was the fifth character birthday party organised this year by NZ LADs Fan Community, a local fan club founded by Ran Su in October 2025. The group now has about 120 members.

"On the surface, we're celebrating a fictional character's birthday," Su said.

"But at its heart, it's about bringing players who were scattered online together in person."

The gathering is part of a growing international trend of fan-organised celebrations bringing fictional characters into real-world settings.

Su, 26, a player herself, spent four months planning the event, searching for a venue that reflected Xavier's connection to astronomy, designing interactive games and importing custom merchandise from China.

However, she said, the highlight of the event was a chance to interact with a real-life cosplayer portraying Xavier.

Fans lined up for personalised interactions based on their wishes, exchanging hugs, receiving head pats and wearing bridal veils as they posed cheek-to-cheek for photographs.

Ban Yu, 29, was among them.

She has played the game for more than two years and has attended birthday celebrations for other characters in the past.

"Normally, we only see him on screen," Yu said.

"But here, it felt like meeting him in real life."

Wen Ye, 31, portrayed Xavier at the event.

A player herself, she admitted feeling the pressure to do the character justice.

"Getting the look right, from the hairstyle to the makeup, is the first step," said Ye, who spent nearly three hours preparing for the event.

However, understanding the character mattered even more.

Ye studied Xavier's personality and discussed different interpretations of the character with fellow cosplayers.

"You're there to give cosplayers the responses they hope to receive from him," she said.

"I want them to feel as though I really am Xavier, rather than just a cosplayer who looks the part."

From themed cafes to cosplay meet-ups, fans have organised similar gatherings across China, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and the United States.

These events echo South Korea's K-pop "birthday cafe" culture, where fans decorate venues and exchange handmade gifts to celebrate their favourite idols.

But Yuan Gong, a senior lecturer in media studies at Massey University, pointed to a key difference.

Real-life idols may acknowledge fan-organised celebrations online, Gong said, potentially strengthening the one-sided emotional bonds known as parasocial relationships.

Fictional characters, by contrast, cannot respond independently.

For Gong, these gatherings were as much about fans expressing their creativity and passion as celebrating the characters themselves.

"More broadly speaking, it becomes a site where they perform their identity," she said.

Ban Yu brought glass bottles filled with handmade origami stars, colour-coded to represent the game's five male leads, to exchange with fellow fans.

"They may not cost much, but we put time and effort into making them," Yu said. "It's about making friends and sharing joy."

For 28-year-old designer Lillia Xia, who had previously played mostly mobile games alone, the gatherings opened up friendships beyond the screen.

"Events like this give me a chance to meet new people, especially while living abroad," Xia said.

"We came together because of the game, but as we got to know each other, our conversations moved beyond it - to work, family and everyday life."

Xia said the enthusiasm of fellow players had deepened her affection for the game, while also encouraging her to rediscover the beauty of everyday life.

"After working for so long, you wake up, go to work, come home, have dinner, and suddenly the day's gone," she said.

"You don't always have time to appreciate the things around you, even nature. I think games can be a starting point for noticing those things again."

A 2025 study by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association and Bond University found that 48 percent of New Zealanders aged 18-34 surveyed had made connections through video games, while 32 percent had become involved in a community or social group.

Drawing on her research into other fan communities, Gong questioned whether the definition of friendship itself might be changing, with lasting relationships not necessarily what everyone seeks from fandom.

She said fan communities could offer a temporary escape from traditional social expectations.

"They want to distance themselves from these traditional relationships for a while," she said.

For Su, the fan club brought together people whose paths might otherwise never cross.

"It's like going to a concert," Su said.

"You might go first because you like the artist, but once you're there, you realise how many people share your passion. You realise you're not alone."

She hopes to broaden that sense of belonging next year through themed parties featuring all five characters, welcoming more local and English-speaking players regardless of age, occupation or background.

Gong said while fans created their own works and social connections, their enthusiasm and spending also supported the gaming industry - a paradox in which bringing fictional characters to life might further enhance their commercial appeal.

Su hoped something would outlast the game itself - the friendships formed between players, even if they one day stopped playing.