UPON WALKING AROUND the marketplace during ESGS 2023, fans may have encountered a Sage cosplayer and artist giving away free band-aids to random people.
True to her character, the Sage cosplayer was a beacon of hope as not only did she provide 'healing' through her band-aids but also with how she interacted with the con-goers and fellow artists.
Most of the artists were left frustrated by the treatment of the organizers, but Katharine "Illnova" Villano's presence would brighten up their day.
Throughout her entire life, Villano has been an artist, trained by the iconic, Macky Bongabong, and now here she is showcasing the fruits of her labor to the community.
Her artist name, Illnova, carries the family's last name which drives Villano to support them, especially her younger sister, a fashion school student, who is also an artist and cosplayer.
"Even though my sister is really young and still schooling back in Davao, I would like to do whatever I can to setup her future. For example I give her calling cards, stickers with her watermark on it, so at least her branding will have somewhere to be when she's older," revealed Illnova in an exclusive with SPIN.ph.
She further added: "This brand carries our last name so I'm carrying it for the both of us and I'd like that when she comes here hopefully in Manila, she can help me sell and people would be like, 'Oh these are yours,' and they'd end up buying them and a lot of people would appreciate them."
But like mosts artists, her sister is struggling with imposter syndrome. As the elder sister, Villano would do everything to keep her spirits high.
"She's been talking down herself saying, 'My art isn't good,' and I'm like, 'Are you blind?' Like I would die for an artstyle and she's amazing. I hope she knows that and a lot of people do buy," she reflected.
Illnova is a former volleyball player
While Illnova has been making art since the beginning, she also juggled with other activities in her life, most notably in sports which she acquired from her parents.
"My parents are athletes, my dad used to be a national team player in soccer. He was Davao-based but he made it as a striker, a national team coach, and team captain. My mom used to be a volleyball player for Ateneo de Davao and she was the tallest one there."
"I was never given a choice since I was involved in it, I interacted with sports all throughout my entire life. My dad took me to his training. Every holiday, we'd play badminton, we play basketball, and billiards, so it's integrated in my life," recounted Illnova.
Eventually she accomplished many feats in her athletic journey.
"My dad wanted me to have basic survival skills so he enrolled me in swimming, so I was a competitive swimmer for like 4-5 years, and I also did soccer as my first sport, and so many other sports," explained Illnova.
Then came her love for Krav Maga.
"I do love Krav Maga. I graduated B2, I have a passport, and a license, and stuffs. I do FMA, my coach there is the coach of Anne Curtis, yung sa BuyBust and so he taught me how to wield knives, how to wield arnis swords, and that's helpful to me because I'm a knife collector."
But if there's one sport that really struck her, it would be volleyball which she grinded for 10 years. Upon moving to Manila, her experience suddenly shifted.
"My experience in Ateneo de Davao as a volleyball player, I was the tallest one or like one of the tallest ones, and when I moved here (Manila), I was the shortest in the De La Salle team. It was nerve wracking."
Pursuing her passion
But being a star athlete wasn't the only path she pursued as Illnova likewise hoped to emulate her father who became a lawyer. So how did it pan out?
"I've also been teaching in Davao for three years, so I went to Fine Arts here in UP Diliman. I'm in my last semester. I was actually in La Salle for senior high, for two years. I studied HUMSS to be a lawyer like my dad but it didn't work out because it wasn't vibing with me," she started.
She elaborated: "I'm good at reading and speaking but absorbing everything was boring at some point. And the thing is, if it's not your passion would you spend your life for it?"
And so came her decision to follow where her heart belongs. She admitted that she never expected to end up to be where she is right now, a decision which was supported by her family.
"My dad made 'Illnova' back when I was in high school, he mixed up words and he made the logo and I stole it from him (laughs) and now I'm carrying on the legacy because my sister and I make art, I make paintings, and I make them into stickers and prints."
Fostering a healthy community
Now that she has fully embraced her passion, came the opportunity for Illnova to dig deep into the industry.
She slowly got herself into the weeb culture by watching sports animes like Haikyu!! and Blue Lock. Some of her artworks were based from these popular animes.
In addition she started running and gunning in VALORANT, playing as a Sage main. Her purpose in playing the game has reached a more wholesome approach.
"As soon as I came into the community, I actually play VALORANT, not for the ego, not for the wins, but for the friends. I love making friends. I have my own server now. I just met all of them through randoms. During solo ques, I would talk to people. It was really fun," she narrated.
"They've seen me since I was iron, when I still had a 2 FPS laptop and now that I have a setup, I can finally carry people now. It's so fun."
Like her main character in VALORANT, Illnova would try her best to remain optimistic about everything. But unfortunately, there will always be a handful of randos who would ruin the moment.
"As a girl it's hard because there's a lot of sexist people and there are people who you know disrespect me so when I do well, and when I give my all to be friendly, they don't do anything good, instant report. I give a really report, detailing timestamps," she reflected.
"I made sure that I report thoroughly because some people deserved to be banned. They think that just because they're behind an alias that they can say whatever they want. I don't believe in that."
But despite the negativity she encounters, Villano would still march on, as her 'duty isn't over.'
"I want to make it a positive environment. What's the point of playing 13 rounds with someone and they're just going to spout hateful comments. Good vibes only because why would you play a game just to trash people? Does it make you happy?"
A true support
And her duties aren't just limited to boosting the morale of her squad mates as it also extends to her playstyle.
As a support player in VALORANT, she oftentimes gets overlooked but this doesn't seem to bother her especially when she does her role.
"I pride myself in that (being an assist leader) because there's a lot of things you don't see in the scoreboard, you don't see how many times I healed someone when they were one HP or you bait an enemy."
She reiterated: "You can bait, you can whiff, you can jump, you don't have to kill anyone. Hide in corners, I more of a clutcher. I'm more known for running and gunning, and clutching."
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters was winning and the success doesn't sorely rely on having the spotlight under them. Sometimes it's the scrappy and unselfish plays that end up being the light at the end of the tunnel.
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