More Viper :] Wip

idk if it’s just the side of tiktok i’m on but shalom harlow has been trending, mainly her old runway clips and an interview clip where she goes “my name is shalom harlow. i’m a model, a muse.” and im just taking this as a reason to share the fact that shalom harlow is my main reference when i draw viper :D

i actually have a small twitter thread explaining my references for whenever i draw viper if anyone is interested :3

i just realized i have 21 followers here! thanks for the love on my artwork friends! :D

TALIA AL GHULLLLL!!!! I LOVE YOUUUU

i love women

Sage and the pressure she's under

Y'know, something interesting I noticed while scouring agent voicelines—as I do—is the way the other agents talk to and about Sage. What really got me thinking about this was Waylay's voiceline about her: "Their Sage is good, but she is so stiff! I just wanna go over there and shake some fun into that girl."

One could argue that this is in reference to Omega Earth's Sage, who seems to be more ruthless than Alpha Earth's, but I feel like that doesn't hold up considering this could be said by Waylay regardless of whether she's attacking or defending. Technicalities aside, though, I got curious, and noticed that the other agents seem to (intentionally or not) place Sage on a pedestal.

I've mentioned in a past post that Sage has a very noticeable tendency to take on more responsibility than she should, which is very evident in the way she talks to the other agents and about herself. A few examples:

"I will defend you all with my power and with my life." "I wasn't strong enough before. But now, now I am strong enough for us all." "I will do anything for you all. I will subvert the flow, I will hold back the tides." "I will hold up the sky." "Trust in my healing."

Now, a lot of her voicelines are very team-oriented; encouraging other agents, boosting morale, highlighting teamwork, rallying cries, etc. I suppose these lines I quoted could be her attempt at reassuring her team and reaffirming trust, right? It's still a bit concerning, but maybe it's nothing all that deep.

And then I looked at what the other agents say to her. Most of the time, agents will get a wide range of voicelines about them, anything from wariness, to playful and impressed compliments, to talking about plans for off-field activities. Sage should be no different...except that she is.

One glaring common thread that nearly all of the ally voicelines toward her share is expectation.

Astra is quite literally the only one who doesn't have a single line putting pressure of some sort on Sage. Other than her, every agent talks about/to Sage almost like she isn't human, or like she's above them somehow. Most often, when agents compliment or commend her, there's either a sense of awe or lack of surprise. It's not like they're saying, "Woah, that was cool, good job!" It's more like, "Wow, how are you real?" or "You were incredible—just as I knew you would be."

Here are some examples to hopefully make my point a bit clearer:

"Sage, you're working miracles." "So, Sage. You can bring people back from the dead? Anyone? No constraints? Interesting." "Sage, you are truly limitless." "Glad you're here Sage. With you we can't lose!" "Everyone just learnt what I already knew; you're wild Sage!" "Damn, Sage, you do everything. Why are the rest of us even here?" "Sage, "healer," what an understatement."

Even when they AREN'T commending her, there's this strange trend of the other agents still placing responsibility on her, whether that means literally ordering her to help them or reminding her that she is meant to be a powerful leader. Again, some examples:

"Sage, if I die out there, you're in charge. Someone has to look after these knuckleheads." "Sage. Keep me alive. I still have things to do." "Stay sharp, you don't get a second chance in combat, unless Sage is involved." "Lead the way, Sage." "Keep those heals comin'!" "It is strange, Sage. Where I'm from, you're no medic, only a weapon." "Yo, doc! Keep us topped up!" "Sage, let's keep everyone alive." "Sage, protect the others." "Sage, you're the only one who can keep us alive. Don't fail us now like you failed me then." "Show me what you got, Sage." "Stand strong, Sage."

To be clear, I'm sure some of these are meant to be playful and innocuous! But even with that in mind, it doesn't change the fact that almost every single agent treats her as "other." More often than not, she's reduced to her radiant abilities, and even when she isn't, she's shoved into the role of "strong, reliable leader." They don't treat her like just any agent, they treat her like she's a symbol, or something akin to it.

She's there to heal them, to support them, to lead them. It's not about who Sage is or what she wants, it's about what she can do, it's about the role she plays in the Protocol. It's almost worse that so many of these voicelines are thoughtless, because that means that this is such a deeply ingrained opinion that the other agents don't even consciously think about it. It's just a fact in their subconscious.

When everyone talks to and about her that way, it's easy to see how the others are likely reinforcing her savior complex. Even her voicemails to Brimstone (there are only two) are about OTHER PEOPLE. In the first she talks about approaching Deadlock with an offer to heal her arm, and in the second she talks about empathizing with Omen and wanting to help him. She even explicitly says, "If I know his pain, maybe I can heal it."

Every single thing she does is for the sake of others. Her worst fear is not being enough for them, and that's just...painful. Hell, even in the Die For You music video her worst fear is implied to be losing the ability to heal and therefore being useless to her teammates. And then what does she do? Heal Brimstone and run straight into enemy fire.

Going back to Waylay's voiceline about her, though, it somewhat surprised me that someone is acknowledging/noticing how stressed Sage is all the time. It's not the first time someone has, as Astra has a voiceline saying, "Mad love, Sage. Come on, girl. That win's gotta be worth a smile!" and Skye also tells the others to bother her instead of Sage, but still.

Anyway, this is just my interpretation and analysis of things, of course, but I thought I would share my findings. Justice for Sage :(

i wna draw more f1 au stuff but school is holding me hostage 😞 FREE ME!!!!!!

i said it was unlikely that reyna would be involved romantically in this au and then i proceeded to scrawl this out at 4am…this wasn’t meant to be gay but if you ask me it feels kinda gay!

no one asked but here’s a brief explanation of my val f1 au….everything here is subject to change but i think this is the basic premise im sticking w….

this is a sagebean au in my head! though maybe i’ll throw reyna in the mix who knows (it is unlikely….but possible!)

commission from mufasa

woah i just realized i have 33 followers on here!!! i didn’t even notice i hit 30!!! thanks a lot folks :DDD

ibis sketches + writing