#sage bf5

[bf5-doodledump]

holy fuck im not patient enough for this ignore that im bad at comic strips

(1/2) but that took me forever and i hated it so idk when ill get to the rest of it.

also the big pillar is supposed to be the battle key holder thing but i a) didnt reference the actual background, b) forgot the fucking battle keys so just pretend

[dxrlingsofmine]

as someone who wants to do a couple cosplay with Vert and Sage, how tf am I supposed to cosplay her bruh 💀

[bf5-doodledump]

i love drwing on vc and then getting too distracted to finish

[bf5-doodledump]

Do u fw mlp? If yes what mlp is everyone

shut up. you hate me. you watched me suffer drawing ponies for ages. and now you choose to torture me again.

vert: pegasus zoom: pegasus agura: griffon sherman: earth pony aj: earth pony stanford: unicorn spinner: unicorn tezz: draconequus sage: alicorn

i drew the picture before i decided on what they actually were so ignore that agura is very obviously an earth pony in it lol

[bf5-doodledump]

you've mentioned age hcs before but how tall is everyone to you?

sherman: 6'5 tezz: 6'2 stanford: 5'11 vert: 5'10 sage: 5'9 aj: 5'8 agura: 5'6 zoom: 5'3 spinner: ??

ill reblog this with some doodles at some point since, as u can imagine, the height differences probably have some silly scenarios dgfghfgh

[bf5-doodledump]

Any hcs of C!Sage? I assume she's much more of a control freak compared to her original counterpart, maybe from the loss of Sherman which she just, can't compute so she compensates with extreme measures. Or she was always a bit more jaded since the beginning from a harsher experience. Whereas original Sage would help a civilization out of the kindness of her heart, like the time she helped create a battle key copy to Anti!Kalus even though his counterpart had chased her countless times. I don't think C!Sage would willingly do that without something in return. Her relationship with the BF5 are still very close knit, but she's maybe much more possessive? Or even dehumanizes them a bit just to ensure their safety and prolong their lives bcs she deems them to be the key to the stability of the multiverse when in reality, she just doesn't want to lose another one of her family and would do anything to keep them with her.

i mean both these asks got it pretty spot-on. sage isn't a super complicated character when it comes to her work ethic: the cause above most else.

she's altruistic and sees the value in other lifeforms across the multiverse, but this has never distracted her from from the primary goal of protecting the multiverse on a larger, more impersonal scale - and, hopefully, find a way to restore the blue sentient race (though this was a lower priority early on in the series, maybe because without a team she'd started losing hope that it was possible, etc.)

i think whether it's canon or au, sage ultimately saw the bf5 as tools first. charismatic, outgoing, and well-intentioned tools, but tools nonetheless. they fit attributes that suited each of the roles that needed filling; she put the shapes in the right slots and let the blue sentient chips work out the rest of the finer details. they were a necessary acquirement if she wanted to make any progress in her mission - it was just convenient that they were all such good people who were willing to devote their lives to the same mission granted, i do have thoughts on how easy that transition was for a lot of the bf5 members but that's for a different post.

sage has been alone for a long time by the start of the series. she froze the red sentients aeons ago (and we don't actually know how old she was for that, but she's 'only' 21 billion years old,) and has presumably been running from krytus since then, hunted by other people who saw her as a commodity to obtain. prized for her vast knowledge of both a 'map' of the multiverse and sentient technology, as well as her connection to the battle keys.

so even in canon, sage is wary and keeps cards close to her chest. i guess calling her a control freak would be accurate in that sense. it isn't her intention to grow attached to the bf5, given they seem to be one of her last resorts, and she's definitely not very familiar with that feeling either based on how sage is shown to lack the ability to express deep emotion (not that she can't experience it, just that it's not a language she's fluent in. can't push those emotions outward until she 'upgrades', which to me is just a metaphor to show her overcoming her fear of attachments to her team.)

but while the fear of losing them only strengthens her bonds with the team in canon, taking more care to make sure her team always come back intact - trying to be more conscientious of human fallibility, and in that regard not so different from herself - c!sage adopts an… interesting form of protectiveness.

because i don't hc that there's an emphasis on 'family' in sentient culture? i have hcs as a whole for how sentients work since the show refused to decide, but for the purposes of this post: i get the impression sage only really had her mentor, sol, and looked up to borealis who she was only in association with because of sol's involvement in the council of five. maybe she had a handful of friends, and of course there was a time where she and krytus got along (maybe ?), but being in such a prestgious position presumably being a mentee to sol meant she was meant to inherit his position on the council it sounds like she was quite isolated. a prodigy shaped to carry burden, and nothing else.

so, the bf5 are some of her first tastes in true companionship… maybe in her whole life. they look at her like a real person, they care about her opinion both on the battlefield and in everyday living, they share stories of their much shorter lives and try their best to connect with her when she shares stories of her own. they care if she survives, not just the knowledge she possesses. they care about her being happy.

these are all novel concepts to sage. and it's painful, because she loves them too - but the fate of the multiverse comes first. she can't covet the bf5, or put them on a shelf out of reach; she needs them to fight.

the bf5 are tools before they can be anything else. but where in canon, sage starts questioning whether she must view them that way in order to achieve her goals, if perhaps she can find strength in them as her friends, her family, and force herself to trust in their cohesion, unity, and ability to fight together and protect each other on the battlefield, corrupt sage… pun intended doubles down.

so basically… uhh! yes! all of the above: dehumanization, heightened possessiveness, overcompensation, secret background meddling… all of it. the whole shebang.

c!sage was already increasing certain measures prior to c!sherman's death, don't get it wrong. i take certain inspirations from 'better off red' (even if a lot of it was krytus' manipulation attempts,) like quietly working on vehicle adjustments, augmentations, and supportive additions in the background. contingencies for 'just in case' scenarios. starts forming protocols that she brings up to the team, anything that starts tightening constraints around how the team performs. sometimes contacts allies - formed the further they travel the multiverse - or takes over spinner's drones to surveil team members if they go off on their own. privacy starts becoming an illusion because she needs to know every variable.

it's definitely a significant change, but it's not all-encompassing yet. c!sage still gives leeway, or makes concessions when her team tell her something is out of line or brings discomfort - she's not a monster, and she loves them. the c!bf5 have already blurred a lot of lines themselves by the time the red sentients are in the picture, and so it's more like whatever starts developing is its own complicated web of dependencies, fixated interpersonal connections, and an increasing sense of 'us vs them' mentality - already existing for enemies, and therefore not such a big leap when they start thinking of non-hostiles that way too.

on the battlefield, the c!bf5 are c!sage's weapons. an extension of her own arm, her own will; they carry the banner of peace and unity, with core incentives to protect the stability of the multiverse at whatever cost. from an outside perspective, the deeper into c!au territory they become the more it may appear that the c!bf5 are just c!sage's lackeys - not to be treated like real people, just posterchildren for the mission, something that has become much larger than themselves. they're c!sage's tools: that doesn't mean they're disposable. on the inside, they are her most cherished people - they are hers, and anyone trying to claim likeness or worthiness to be involved in the inner circles is only insulting what c!sage has worked so hard to protect.

there's definitely a lot of language, derogatory or dismissive, that implies that the c!bf5 are just c!sage's playtoys. (ie; they're disposable, they'll get thrown away and she'll move on to something that fits the job better if something were to happen to them, etc.)the typical rhetoric that outsider factions might say to comfort themselves when faced with the absolute unit that c!bf5 are (very intimidating at some points.) and while c!sage may behave that way when when she's overseeing them on the battlefield - because it's necessary for the c!bf5 to act like a well-oiled machine to be as successful as they are - the way she treats them behind doors is much different. it's like c!sage develops a work mode and a standby mode; cold and calculating when they're in a fight, but downtime gives glimpses of what she used to be like at her most comfortable.

now this is the part where i ramble about how sherman should've had a blue parallel, like vert and krytus were supposed to have a red parallel. so bare with me while i shill the fact that sherman is probably sage's best friend, c!au and canon.

she's friends with the whole team, of course, and cares for each of them differently. they all have their own value on the team and connect with her in a way that's unique - she wouldn't trade any of them for the world. she can't replace any of them (and that's why i feel like there's more distance between her and tezz, or aj.)

but sherman and her have a lot in common, beyond him being the first to show interest in her culture and history outside of how the technology could help them.

they're both the 'brains' but differently enough that they can still learn from each other; i think there's a point to be made about the fact that, when the blue sentient homeworld was still thriving, sage was surrounded by a lot of like-minded people - she developed in a culture that prized both intelligence but also intellect, sophisticated cognitive processes, and demanded a certain amount of pose and rationale in an individual. all this to say i think it's one thing to then be opposed to the red sentients (body over mind), and another to be introduced to a group of humans. who are not just body or mind, who aren't all calm, level-headed people who think through every decision, who don't always make a thorough plan before charging into action.

in that way, sherman has a lot he can teach sage as well about learning to navigate a group of people who aren't bound by these constraints. and do so without becoming overwhelmed by it. because sherman is a quiet, ruminating type too, but he's good at improvising and handling the unpredictability of the people around him. while sage does learn to connect with the rest of the team on her own and isn't entirely helpless about socializing with others, i do think sherman is an important bridging force. because the only one sage really approached on her own was vert; he is a little reckless and impulsive, but she saw the attributes in him that'd make him a good leader - the parts that appeal to her: grounded, compassionate, knowing when to lock in and take things seriously.

everyone else needed a little convincing, and needed help adjusting to the new life they were building together. sherman's someone who softened that transition for all of them and didn't let sage fall behind or allow her differences from humanity to set her apart.

likewise, she taught him many things about streamlining his thought processes, not letting himself get caught up in the uncountable variables, and helped hone his cognitive skills into applicable skills, etc. and in doing so, they built a very good friendship with each other. they didn't let each other drift away or feel like they weren't part of the team. sage helped harden sherman into someone who wasn't afraid to assert his opinion or cut in when needed; sherman, unfortunately, helped sage soften and be open enough to love her team.

which is why c!sherman's death is devastating.

it's a betrayal, almost. how dare c!sherman show c!sage how to love and accept love in return? how dare he soften her up only to turn around and leave her gutted? how dare he teach her vulnerability only to remind her why she couldn't afford to be?

of course, that's grief talking. c!sherman's death wasn't planned, it wasn't this 'gotcha' moment he orchestrated out of spite - it was a mission doomed from the start, and his death was improvised to make the best use out of it. because war demands sacrifice and the c!bf5 have always been c!sage's tools first. and c!sherman believed that 'til the end.

his death is the trigger for c!sage to clamp down harder. as aforementioned; she'd already been slowly closing in around her team, trying to protect them from behind the scenes, using the blurred boundaries between all of them to her advantage. the grief makes c!sage mentally pull away from the team, force distance between herself and them if only to protect herself from ever being that open again - to try and lessen her personal involvement. seeing anyone get hurt or injured from missions after that makes c!sage seethe, but being so emotionally compromised would only endanger them more, and so taking steps back are necessary for the c!bf5's livelihood. she can't allow herself to be blinded by fear or grief or love.

it always hit sage when they got hurt on missions anyway (given, realistically, they were hurt way more than the show depicted,) but it was different back then/in canon. the stakes didn't feel so high, somehow. they were all so young and alive and a force of good in the world; c!au has marked them with irreplaceable loss and shown the c!bf5 much worse awaiting them.

as a result, c!sage tightens her grip. the inner circle is no longer 'c!bf5 and trusted allies' - it is now only the c!bf5. civilizations that reach out for aid are looked at from an angle of opportunity; what would the c!bf5 get out of a transaction, what could that planet or zone offer as compensation or else be contracted into offering in return for intervention? sometimes they might still receive help simply for the optics, for it to look good that the c!bf5 were so generous as to help out the little people. gone are the days where the bf5 helped solely because it's what they did, and what they believed in.

there's just too much danger in giving, without expecting anything in return. if there's nothing guaranteeing the team benefit from a mission, then c!sage is less likely to send them on it unless they find some reason to convince her (which often isn't the case, since they're all pretty aligned in this regard.)

c!sage doesn't stay embittered forever but she never returns to that level of groundedness she'd reached in the earlier years of their journey.

she's more controlling than she'd ever been, closing the net around the c!bf5 more overtly - almost a claim, because they're her team, her family, and as much as she can't retire them because of the importance of maintaining the multiverse's balance, c!sage no longer believes in subtlety or true freedoms. tells herself that freedom isn't real, it's only measured by the peoples' awareness of their enclosure and how they view it (whether that be a grazing pasture or a cage.) the optics matter. how a populace perceives them, what they offer in exchange for their 'freedoms' and 'aid', all comes down to how it looks because, to c!sage, it's all the same in the end.

she'd do anything to keep her team close and safe. if she's using the same tactics on them that she does the zones and planets they save, then there's nothing wrong with it if it works.

(i was also lowkey toying with the idea that c!sage and c!spinner wanted to work on a hologram c!sherman, or some AI built off years of his data and conscience, since i have some cybergore ideas for him c!au or canon… but i'm not sure i'm as bought on 'bringing c!sherman back' as much as i am just using it as a medium to explore more of the complicated stages of grief that c!spinner and c!sage might go through, and how that impacts the rest of the team's mourning process. ig maybe that could be a spin off, since i already have a spine off where c!sherman survived,, technically non-canon alternatives to c!au,, blah blah yap yap)

anyway hope that all makes sense i'm writing this right after waking up but yeah !! corrupt sage <3

[dxrlingsofmine]

me and fine shyt

[dxrlingsofmine]

random thoughts I have about the BF5/other

Spinner’s hair is defying gravity so how does it work? does he use some sort of hair gel?

I wish we got the return of the doppelgängers in Fused, especially with Tezz and AJ

Sage is honestly the sweetest when she doesn’t look/sound like she wants to kill someone, 10/10 would marry cause I love her

speaking of Sage… is it a bit odd that I kinda want Kira Tozer (Sage’s VA) to cosplay Sage?

why didn’t get books on half the characters like COME ON GIMME THAT LORE

that’s all I have, goodbye