Katako3x3

“You always had it in you, Hunter.”

To preface, I am not calling Sova problematic in a negative way. It’s more so a celebration because it means he is a complex character xD yaaay!! I love my morally messy blondes!

A lot of Sova’s “problematic” characterization I’m referring to is fanon characterizations/the sliver of information that is provided through voice lines towards Sova & especially the Fade Reveal Dossiers!

For example:

➡️"Sova, now here is a man of principle. But you have broken rules before, yes? Ah. Of course you have." —Chamber

➡️ "Sova, I accessed your background file. A good story, but that's not really how you lost your eye." — Cypher

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Based on these interactions, it is safe to assume that Sova is not the perfect, golden archer that he has built his entire identity to be. He has failed, and will fail again. While riot does not write him to be outwardly self-righteous…he pretty much is, given the weight of his identity and the desire to preserve it, is basically his greatest motivation and also the cause of his greatest fear.

Sova needs to be confident, he needs to be sure of himself and his beliefs, because if he isn’t, the identity he has meticulously built WILL come crashing down. Even a lot of agents, specifically Chamber, Fade, and Cypher, call him out for this dissonance in his character. For someone who holds himself on such a high moral ground, he sure does pack a lot of secrets and debatable actions that has made him the man that he is.

This is where the “problematic” comes in: Sova is a hypocrite. In his pursuit of perfection, he forgets, that he is still a broken man who has possibly done deplorable, questionable deeds to reach his idea of “perfection” before joining the protocol. Which is honestly what makes his character lovable. It humanizes Sova and adds depth to the shallow, yet model solider of VALORANT.

To back track, because of these high expectations, Sova cannot afford to fail. His identity IS the archer who has never missed. Thus, he burdens himself with any challenge, however big or small, because of the expectation he has to meet—the expectation that he has forced onto himself. This negative perception of himself then affects his personal relationships, and is specifically the reason as to why he even feuds with Cypher in the first place. Sova projects these overtly sanctimonious standards, that nobody even asked for LMFAO.

Sova’s internal turmoil with his identity is where all the fan headcanons mostly stem from. A lot of art and fics of Sova attempt to explore beyond the facade he has made: what was Sova’s greatest failure? How did he lose his eye? What is his true identity that is NOT the SOVA, Agent 06, that he has perfectly crafted for himself? Is the VALORANT protocol a way for him to escape his messy past?

Consequently, a lot of fan headcanons make Sova insecure, somewhat insane with perfectionism, and deathly honest to a fault.

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like Omen is already fascinating for a lot of different reasons, and his radiance(?) definitely is one of them with the way he's able to sense and see things that other people can't? and not just having heightened senses but vro can literally feel the balance of the world like dude....... is it not heavy???????? but it also means he has really fascinating things in General to say about other agents (i think about his comments on astra's radiance and what he's able to note of clove's immortality), and commenting on Sova's Rage Specifically... very important to me!!!!!

not to mention that Omen isn't even the only reliable source, like!! do we want to talk about every voiceline of his where he refuses to relent? he refuses to ease up? he refuses to do anything but win absolutely? let's look at his voicemails and emails, with a special emphasis on the blackmailer arc and his determination to Remove The Threat (and need i even mentioned the name of his ultimate, like, come onnnnnnnn ykyk???)

because he Has Rage. he doesn't extend it to his allies (mostly. we all know the exception) because these are his comrades! his siblings-in-arms! to them, he offers only kindness and amicability; they are his friends.

I know we can interpret Sova’s rage in many different ways, but every time I think about the voice line where Omen compliments Sova’s anger, I always think about the famous poem by Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night.

Specifically the line that goes:

“Rage, Rage, against the dying of the light.”

I think it’s beautiful that one of the main themes of this poem is defying the inevitability of death, by relentlessly raging for more time, highlighting that life is worth fighting for and should be cherished.

I believe Sova himself embodies the message of this poem. In essence, being a hunter is knowing how to survive. Finding food and shelter, against the unpredictability of nature; constantly aware that you are faced with your morality. Surviving, inherently is the desire to live even at the face of hardship. Cue the Sova line that goes, "I have survived more than they have ever seen."

Sova cherishes his life, and within his life, he cherishes the people that he loves, hence his desire to fight for them. Defying even his own health, his weakness as a mere human that is non-radiant, just so he can protect the ones that he loves. He wants to make sure the “pack survives”, that everyone is safe within the protocol.

of course, concept arts always differ from the final product, but i was deeply struck by the fact that in the cinematic they went with completely different emotions for sova in literally every possible moment. the mood and meaning of the most of his scenes had changed drastically, just look at this:

severity, coldness, sternness were replaced by pride and satisfaction

Old cysova comics I only posted on twitter os now I'm posting them on Tumblr

Bloom Into Me I've been itching to repaint Rose Knots a while now and this was a fun painting to keep me sane through all the boring video editing for my upcoming Star Projector Kickstarter.

The original Rose Knots looked quite different and at this point I'm not sure it's even meant to be a repaint anymore, hence the new title as well. This new one was painted in Procreate, while the old one was done in SAI. The different brushes and program settings always brings out a different style in how I paint. Does this happen to anyone else?

The original Rose Knots

Painting timelapse~