cringe but not free

she/her | 23 | making silly little drawings... and silly little texts... sometimes... | idk how to english :( | multifandom

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my beautiful lovely gorgeous queen and... uh idk some lame loser toothpick boy

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tfo jazz and his pretty little wings <333

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miss them and their chaotic dynamic... riots, why did you separate them? they’re literally twins

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when your circle (autobot high command) small but y’all crazy

poor elita is disappointed in her boss and in the path the autobots are following and is trying to do something about it, but her most loyal (and only) follower is an idiot in every aspect except war crimes

...and all her other besties think she's lost her mind :(

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can you see the anger sparkling in my eyes?

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this time i will take more than just your eye, sasha

ugh, i really hope that soon we will get more information on their story, because 7 in-game lines and 10 seconds of shared screentime over almost 6 years is ridiculous (while this exact story should be the main narrative of the character)

anyway. my favorite part of their conflict is that despite the fact that alpha sova is the instigator and the aggressor, it is impossible to tell from the way he talks about his 'brother': "it was you or me", "a fine death", "i must kill my reflection, it's the only way forward"... fella, you wiped out his entire squad and poked out his eye, wtf is this attitude. either we don't know a very important detail about that day (obviously) or he has a really distorted perception of what happened between them. in any case, there's something wrong with both of them. and i adore this

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random cute/funny/interesting sova details

1. both sova and iso seem to enjoy photography! and for both of them their relationship with their grandmother is an important part of their life. i think that's very sweet <3 the boys have common topics to chat about, haha (neon can be added to them on the grandma theme, a trio of beloved grandchildren!!)

2. it's funny for me to think that harbor has some kind of a friendly beef with sova because of his choice of combat weapon, sjjajajja

like this moment from harbor's presentation video, where my guy is like "oh, what a cool team with a bunch of cool dudes with cool guns i have" and sova be like "trickshot, any angle, scanning ahead"

3. skye heard sova calling their team a "pack" and she seemed to like it! my skyesova friendship crumbs <3

with a fact that skye is an actual leader of an actual pack, i think they both should have some cringe obsession with animal metaphors :DD furry besti- AHEM

4. probably everyone knows that all agents have meaningful names. byrne (brimstone's surname) means "descendant of the raven", in the theme of "ragged ravens", his former team, adeyemi (phoenix's surname) means "the crown suits/befits me", the crown is a prominent symbol of his design, and so on, and so on

i really like the meaning of sova's name:

aleksandr means "defender of men", "protector of mankind", "warrior" - what is the most important for sova? protecting his people and his earth, of course

novikov most likely comes from "newcomer" or "new man", buuut i found another very interesting meaning. in old russian the word "novik" meant "new recruit" or "young warrior who had recently entered service" or even specifically "young nobleman who has been enlisted in military service for the first time" - sova is one of the few agents in the protocol who actually has a military background

a promising young warrior, defender of his people. that describes him perfectly. such a beautiful and fitting name!

btw, here's another fact. actually, we don't know his full name! i don't know if this was intentional or if the developers just messed up, but sova must have a patronymic. if he doesn't have one, we have two options: again either the developers fucked up and forgot about it (although, for example, gekko and neon seem to have full names in the tradition of their peoples... why sova doesn't??) or sova has issues with his father and he officially rejected his patronymic (a rare thing to happen). the second option is very unlikely, but it sounds like an interesting headcanon

...or for some reason he's just being a little secretive shit and doesn't tell his co-workers his full name. WHICH IS WEIRD

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unmasked cypher headcanon

tbh, i actually think he's bald, but i just really didn't want to draw it. shame on me, actually, shame on me

thooo!! it would be hella funny if cypher would be like finn from adventure time with his hair, ajajajajjaja

best hair in the protocol, period! sova, breach?? nahhh

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this guy is getting wilder and wilder with every update and i'm here for it. come on, show us your teeth!!

i really enjoy the direction in which he is developing. growing tension and rising stakes in their battles don't force him to change, but reveal a side of him that we've only glimpsed before, a side he kept hidden, not wanting to lose his composure and self-control, traits he's definitely proud of. with every fight, every kill and every loss he allows his grief and anger to take over him, and, surprisingly, it benefits him, turning him into a braver, more steadfast, more reliable soldier, a fierce and formidable opponent. it seems that he works much better when he is driven by emotions, especially negative ones, hm?

by the way, it's funny that both of his call signs (sova and filin) are related to owls. on one hand, it seems to me that with the current development of his character, these creatures are becoming less and less suitable for him. yes, owls are excellent hunters, cold-blooded and deadly, but they are also associated with intelligence, wisdom and insight, and lately this guy has been doing nothing but losing his temper, allowing rage to envelop him and cloud his judgement. he proudly celebrates his bloodthirstiness and lethality, anticipating the punishment of his enemies, their defeat and pain, in the smallest details, moreover. we see him from different angles, a loyal follower, a team leader, a smart, brutal fighter, but all this doesn't really fit with what owls symbolise in most cultures

although, on the other hand, in slavic beliefs, owls are associated not only with wisdom, but also with darkness, grief, loneliness, misfortune, bad news and bad omens, signs of imminent death. these are not the main-main themes, but it seems that all of this resonates with him as a character much more than 'symbol of wisdom', lol. at least with omega sova

thooo, i bet this guy probably didn't think too much about his call sign "man, i don't care what owls are supposed to mean, i just think they're NEAT, i don't give a shit about symbolism"

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quick little legola-- uh, i mean rapunz-- ahem, barbi-- SOVA study

had to overcome myself and try to paint him in a normal colour palette :D

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i like my babushka <3 i like my friends <3 i like photographing <3 vs i will kill you and your entire family and won't even flinch

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suddenly had a few thoughts about omega cypher. we all know that the valorant legion on their earth, in contrast to alpha, is not a secret organisation. obviously, the public knows practically nothing about their work or identities, but the fact remains: they are open and known. stories are written about them, comics are created, they are discussed in the media, they are surrounded by attention, admiration and affection

wouldn't that mean that the whole damn world knows about cypher? the whole world! of course, he only revealed one of his many masks to them, but isn't that already a huge sacrifice on his part? a man who always hides in the shadows, who keeps his secrets like the apple of his eye, at the cost of his comfort and his very life, whose greatest fear is to expose himself, has given up his anonymity, all for the sake of saving his earth

it's... such a brave and noble thing for him to do, isn't it? even if everything that is known about cypher is a lie, even if amir el amari himself is still safely buried under layers of deception and trickery, even if he hates what he had to do with all his soul, he still allowed this to happen. when the legion became public knowledge, he surely had a chance to leave to protect his secrets, but he didn't

although saving the earth is hardly the only reason for this act and certainly not the most important one. each cypher had their own reasons for joining valorant, primarily related to their personal interests, but it warms my heart to think that helping his dying home played a part in him overcoming his fears and stepping out into the light

by the way, speaking about how they are viewed from the outside, it's such a curious concept: they are heroes for their world, so cypher is not a criminal and a killer, but a symbol of hope. knowing that their heroic acts partially consist of attacking and robbing someone else's home, i would like to say that this fits interestingly with his character, but that's not entirely true. cypher never had a habit of pretending to be someone he wasn't. he hides behind lies rather than creates a new, pure image for himself. and he has never been ashamed of the dark deeds he does (but in the case of a couple of other agents, the irony of this situation is truly mesmerising)

i wonder what cypher means to morocco, to rabat. imagine children growing up seeing him as their icon. i also wonder what all those people whose lives he once ruined think about this, haha. overall, it’s a very curious topic to ponder, especially when it comes to agents such as cypher, omen, reyna, fade or yoru

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the spectacular optimus prime's support squad! <333

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there is one little detail about sova in the in-game dialogues that i find quite curious: he's the only character who openly says that he's not afraid of blood on his hands and the only character who is referred to as a person with bloody hands. i wonder if that's an intentional decision...

obviously, a lot of the valorant agents are killers, murderers and in general people with questionable backgrounds, many of whom are completely unbothered by the dark deeds they once committed and are still committing. cypher, reyna, omen, chamber, iso, viper, etc, etc. even those who were ordinary citizens in their past lives don't really appear to be concerned about the obligations of their new duty. none of the protocol's participants are innocent, but still this specific phrase is only used in relation to sova and for some reason my brain just clings to that every time :D

i also like that it's reyna who notes this. she admires his work, she respects him as a hunter, she does not see him as her equal, of course, but his approach to their responsibilities definitely impresses her. any compliment from this woman, especially when you're not a radiant, is something to be truly proud of (or, depending on your life views, tense)

it is very exciting to spot such parallels in the game dialogues and cinematics, helps you a lot with understanding what kind of people our beloved agents actually are

sova is a professional, killing people is his job. he takes lives and it doesn't affect him in the slightest. their mirrors, kingdom's or hourglass' staff, anyone who dares to declare themselves his enemy. he has no sympathy for those who couldn't escape him. it's just a part of his life. he's not proud of it, but he doesn't hide it either. there's nothing to hide. such is his fate. such is his choice. he lives with it and never regrets what he does

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when i first saw the scene with the graves of the 332nd company, i found myself wondering about one thing - what are the chances that the ghost crew too could hold a similar funeral for ahsoka after the events of "twilight of the apprentice", when everyone thought she was gone? they should have honoured her in some way, right?

just imagine if her grave was somewhere on the chopper base all this time. i think both rex and ezra would have visited it often, seeking peace or forgiveness

how did they feel when they had to flee from there after thrawn's attack? when their last memory of her was lost forever? when nothing remained of her but a name?

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remembered that a couple of wips were waiting for me, scrolled through my files, saw these two pictures next to each other and screamed

well, there are two ways of showing affection for your favorite character

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so. "why we fight back" storyboard... OMG, can we talk about how much the emotional part of the sova's story changed during the production?

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

i can't stop thinking about the reasons behind this decision. and, yes, i said drastically, because these images give us two very different directions for understanding both sova's story and character

here? anger and rage have been replaced by detachment, acceptance and readiness for action. in the final version sova sees his friend's victim, remembers his past and his loss and prepares for the fight. in the concept art he is motivated straight by the fury that boils inside him all the time. he seems to allow himself to feel pain and allows others to see it

AND HERE?? ohhh, lord. of course, i like the final version - sova is the only one who feels sorry for brimstone, his close friend and commander. he's saddened and uncertain, but he understands that it's necessary. in the draft? he is as wounded as viper and the others. he is disappointed. he is mad. he feels rage. he is done with this man, his mistakes and his path

by the way, i also wanted to note how much more explicit the stabbing was in the storyboard. like. oh. wow

i also like the emphasis on the number of corpses in this scene. the cinematic's shot is very beautiful, but this? so cruel and brutal...

and there's another question that's been on my mind for a long time: why do both sovas have the same scar? yes, someone could have given a!sova this scar, buuut he stabbed his double, he didn't cut him. where did that cross come from then? oh, riots, riots... i hope, one day you will stop confusing everything in the world that relates to this guy's eyes :'D