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Ch: Sage - Blog Posts
What to do when you are bored at 3 in the morning with your gf on a Saturday? You go bother your other gf while she is working ofc
Reygebean yipppeee
"Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys vs. "Do I Wanna Know?" covered by Hozier perfectly encapsulates the difference in Viper and Sage's personalities and how they convey love. Note that, though the song itself is technically the same, the difference in the composition and vocals make it feel like an entirely different song, mirroring the dissonance between how Viper and Sage handle relationships on a surface level. In this essay I will
Reygebean Relationship Headcannons Bc I Wanna :)
They’re my little squishies and I wanna let them hold hands and kiss and stuff :)
Viper
Viper's the most reserved when it comes to physical affection. She barely lets Sage or Reyna give her so much as a peck on the cheek in public. In private she’s more open, even gives silent encouragement by leaning into their touches- but even then she isn’t often one to initiate that kind of touch with them very often.
Not to say she isn't very... Passionate- but on that later in this post hehe.
What Viper does in replacement of the lack of physical affection though are acts of service.
She has their schedules memorized. How they drink their tea/coffee. What mug they always use. How they organize their things and their typical load out for missions.
Reyna and Sage will wake up every morning to their drink of choice on the bedside table, along with outfits already laid out for them so they don’t have to put much thought into getting ready for the day.
There’s also a note by their drinks as to where they can find her and that they have breakfast in the fridge.
There are very specific moments when Viper’s most affectionate. When Viper’s 3/4’s asleep- and then the moments where she’s the only one awake(she thinks)/the only one paying attention(she thinks again).
When she’s groggy and mostly asleep, she’s like a clingy puppy.
It barely ever happens- but when it does, Reyna and Sage genuinely cannot deny her of anything because dammit she’s to damn cute.
It’ll be early morning, and it’s one of the few calm moments in the protocol when Reyna wakes up. She tries to get out of bed only to feel an arm tighten around her waist and pull her right back into the blankets. Then she feels a face burry itself in her hair and the raspy groggy voice of Viper telling her not to leave. How is she supposed to say no to that?
Sage finds herself dragging an exhausted Viper who’s been working for god knows how long(nearly two days straight) to bed.
She had gotten Viper into bed already and was about to join her to relax until Brimstone texts her because he wants to discuss something or whatever with her.
Sage begrudgingly gets back up and ready to go until she feels Viper grab her wrist. When she turns around, Viper's looking away but she's- oh my god is that a pout-
Viper says something along the lines of "Are you not staying?" but before she can even finish the sentence, Sage is already halfway under the covers.
How can you say no to her? Like, truly?
The other moments that Viper truly shows any physical affection to them is when she thinks neither of them notice. I's like- her own little secret.
She tends to be the first to wake up in the morning, keeping a routine. Before she goes off to make their morning drinks and get ready for the day, she'll read and enjoy the quiet. More often than not, one of the two will end up with their head on Viper's lap and she'll run her fingers through their hair.
The action actually helps calm her trembling hands. She always has a small, soft smile whenever this happens- book forgotten in favor of admiring the two women lying with her.
Sage and Reyna know she does this. They've known for a while. They love the feeling of Viper's fingers gently massaging their scalps. They never say anything though, letting Viper keep this.
Reyna
Reyna is without a doubt the most affectionate of the three. She doesn't care who is around to see her press a kiss to Sage's cheek, or when she leans up to kiss Viper's forehead. She never oversteps any boundaries, but she takes her chance whenever she gets it.
You'd be able to find Reyna with her arms around Sage's waist as she cooks in the kitchen, or pressed up against Viper's side as she works on papers in her lab. Honestly there's barely a moment where you don't see her touching one of her partners in some fashion.
Along with being the most affectionate she's... Kinda insatiable sometimes. And very hard to say no to(I mean have you seen her?)
She likes to tease. Viper especially- pushing her buttons and striking the right chords to both work up and annoy the ever living shit out of the woman. It'll get to the point where some agents may see a flushed and angry Viper dragging Reyna to the living quarters, and Reyna looking all too satisfied with herself.
She loves teasing Sage with feather light touches and searing kisses that just don't last long enough. It makes Sage go red in the face, hiding in the crook of Reyna's neck. Once again, Reyna's all too satisfied for herself.
In the privacy of one of their rooms, Reyna's much softer.
She enjoys peppering little kisses on their faces and simply cupping their faces to take in every little detail she can.
It makes them both flush from embarrassment but god does that make Reyna's heart swell.
Now. She loves holding her girlfirends, resting her chip on top of their heads, but she loves being a little spoon too.
No she won't ever admit it audibly.
Reyna likes the feeling of secure arms around her waist, holding her close. She loves it when she feels Sage or Viper nuzzle into the crook of her neck- to feel their heartbeat against her back. It's grounding.
She enjoys using pet names- and most often uses cariño, amor and querida.
Getting more specific, she calls Sage "mi alma" (my soul) and Viper "mi serpiente" (My snake/serpent)
With Viper though, it tends to have a more teasing edge to it
Sage
She's kind of the in-between if Viper and Reyna are the two ends of the spectrum.
She doesn't often initiate physical touch while in public, but she doesn't shy away from it when given.
She likes the more miniscule actions. Holding hands, sitting close to lean against someone.
In the privacy of their rooms though she's an absolute cuddle bug.
She tends to use pet names in a more private setting as well. Like most people i hc that she calls Viper 'Beans' along with using Chinese terms of endearment for both women.
Sage tends to Viper and Reyna's physical needs because god knows taking care of themselves might not always be the first thing that comes to their minds.
She'll show up to Viper's lab while the woman is working and just wordlessly massage Viper's shoulders and nape, working out the knots gently.
Viper all but melts into the touch with an appreciative sigh. Sage gives her a little peck on the head before getting back to it.
Viper has the smallest of smiles. but you heard nothing. nope.
She does the same for Reyna. the woman sometimes overdoes it in the range when she's trying to relieve stress. It builds up a lot in her arms, so Sage makes it a point to sit her girlfriend down whenever she can to work the soreness out of Reyna's arms.
She gets so focused on the task at hand that she doesn't notice the adoring smile on Reyna's face. The soft eyes that ooze appreciation.
Some general stuff
Along with the trembling hands, I hc that Viper has scars on said hands from when she was in a more self destructive point in her life, uncaring about the safety of working with her toxins.
It's a point in her life that she isn't proud of, and often wears gloves as she honestly hates how her hands look.
Sage and Reyna have slowly worked Viper up to taking off her gloves when they're all in private, and will often hold and caress her hands. Pressing little kisses to each of the scars. Both Sage and Reyna have their own little routines of which scar they kiss first.
Reyna especially likes to just- fiddle with Viper's fingers idly while they do their own things. Reyna watching something while Viper reads with her free hand. It once again calms the tremors and occasionally Viper will feel Reyna press soft kisses to the pads of her fingers.
Sage always likes the feeling of Viper's hand cupping her cheek.
Whenever Viper's having a rougher day- when the doubt settles in and Viper can't see herself as anything but a monster- Sage will take off the gloves and have Viper cup her face gently and go on about how a monster wouldn't cradle her as gently as she does.
Something about how Viper says in a voicemail to Brim that if the VP were perfect then only Sova and Sage would be on the payroll. Something about Viper admitting that Sage is perfect, even despite their past. Something about Viper seeing Sage as perfect in the first place—
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 :(
Page of Val agents, tried to study more characters than just fade, had a lot of fun to do that. Thanks to people that requested me. I tried to catch the characters vibes as much as I know them