Cysova

"Between you and me, Sova? There's nowhere they can hide! Hmhmhm, how fun!"

- Cypher

Cysova is the slash ship between Sova and Cypher from the VALORANT fandom.

Canon
The two are some of the earliest agents recruited into the VALORANT protocol, and some of the first scouts the team got to work with. Despite their shared role of info-gathering however, Sova seems to bear a heavy dislike for Cypher's methods despite their effectiveness while working together. This is primarily due to Sova being a honest and direct person who detests those who sneak and cower using underhanded tactics. Cypher, being the easy-going and sly rat he is, appears to have no issue with Sova despite the latter's obvious hostility towards him.

"Goodbye, Cypher. You will not be missed."

- Sova killing Cypher

"Ah, Sova. My measured friend, that was amazing!"

- Cypher commends Sova

The two appear together on the same team in Fade's Agent Trailer. In it, their darkest fears are revealed by the blackmailer, and Sova's fear is becoming blind.

This ties darkly into Cypher's voice line about the enemy Sova when barriers come down.

"Let's blind their scout."

Sova's hostility towards Cypher stems from distrust and perhaps even fear of the spy. Cypher implied that he knows how Sova actually lost his eye... a story that likely only the higher ups in the protocol would know. Cypher knows too much, and the unconfirmed theory is that Sova himself has secrets that he doesn't want to come to light. Which, makes their dynamic all the more interesting. Both seem heavily hypocritical to judge each other.

There is also an official player card (only obtainable through the E2:A2 BP) that features the two's rivalry. The visual of Sova's cybernetic eye in the background with Cypher in the foreground is reminiscent of Sova's desire to uncover Cypher's secrets; and Cypher knows the origins of that eye.

Fanon
Their rivalry is usually the focal point of most fan works. Since Cypher is implied to be heavily depressed or even suicidal in the canon, fans like to make Sova more understanding and friendly towards the spy; an eye-opening moment for the hunter to realize that the "rat" he hated so much was a broken man who believes that hiding himself from the world is the only method to protect himself and his "revenge". Cypher's grief for his dead wife and child is also often brought up for more angst.

Some other prevalent head canons in fanworks is Cypher's appearance; since the man is of Moroccan descent, he is often depicted as an olive-skinned, dark brown-haired, dark eyed man with a scar across his nose. This design was likely popularized by an artist by the name of JUN on Twitter for this twitter thread featuring their multi-ship Cowboy AU.

Their ship name originated from Cypher's cybernetic abilities and theme, combined with Sova's name which translates to "snowy owl" in most Slavic languages.

Cysova is the most written ship for Sova, and the second most written for Cypher on AO3.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

FAN ART

TWITTER