SNAKEBITE: A VIPER'S TALE

SNAKEBITE: A VIPER'S TALE

The SNAKEBITE:A VIPER'S TALE animation was released on February 12th, 2022, as a part of the VALORANT Agent Takeovers. It shows Agent 5, namely Viper, going through her daily routine.

## Synopsis

The Animation depicts Viper going through her daily life, giving us insights into her habits, routine and her home.

## Plot

### Opening

In the opening scene, a mouse is seen in a forest-like area. A snake creeps up on it, ready to eat it. As the mouse senses the snake and looks around, the snake looms over it. Just as the snake is about to devour it, toxic fumes fill the screen, transitioning to the title screen.

### Main Plot

Viper is shown lying awake in a large bed next to a glass wall, waiting for the alarm to ring. As the alarm rings at 5:00 a.m., she turns it off before getting out of bed, tightening her nightgown around her.

After displaying the words "The Snake's Den", the screen cuts to Viper wearing exercise wear and with her hair tied back, running on a treadmill in the corner of the same room, as she looks over the city skyline and watches the sun rise. We then see Viper enter a large dressing room, displaying another set of the exercise wear from earlier, a formal suit and a few jackets, three different pairs of boots along with other unidentifiable pieces of clothing. After donning some more formal clothes, she meticulously prepares a flask of coffee before leaving to go to her laboratory.

There, she sits before a chamber of what seems to be toxic fumes. As the scene pans upwards, we see that the ceiling of the laboratory is actually a forest-like canopy, letting sunlight in. On one of the branches, we can see the snake from the opening scene swallowing the mouse. She then enters an armory--lit by bright green neon lights--with its walls displaying a variety of guns, as well as her *Snakebite* vials and *Poison Cloud* smoke emitters. She takes her mask from the wall and puts it on, after which the screen fades to black.

## Lore

### Waking up

In the scene where Viper wakes up and in the treadmill scene, we can see that Viper's room is spacious, with at least 2 walls completely made out of glass, most likely on a high level of a building in a city, showing that she is wealthy enough to afford such a luxury. Even so, she still keeps a tight schedule, making sure she gets out of bed at 5 a.m. sharp instead of getting up earlier when she woke up beforehand. Throughout the animation, we see more of this rigid schedule and treatment towards everything around her, not allowing anything to be out of place and making sure everything is standard. This could also show that Viper has a hard time sleeping- even though she had to wake up at 5, which is already very early, as she seemed to be awake long before that.

### Coffee

In the scene where she makes coffee, we can see that she is drinking Kopi Luwak, a form of coffee that is made from partially digested coffee cherries which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. This type of coffee is very expensive, pricing anywhere between $220 and $1,100 USD per kilogram, again showing just how wealthy Viper is. It also shows a small stand holding test tubes containing what seems to be different coffee blends for every day of the week, showing just how particular and rigid Viper is regarding her routine and daily life.

Due to Kopi Luwak's uniquely challenging method of procurement, most suppliers resort to rather unethical means of producing the valuable coffee - such as forcing the civets into inhumane and cramped living environments, and force-feeding them food. The fact that Viper chooses to drink this specific type of coffee, while likely being aware of the means through which it is harvested, speaks a lot about her character.

### Laboratory

The laboratory itself consists of a large chamber filled with toxins, large screens, and different containers holding poison. The roof of the laboratory is open, covered with branches and leaves, and houses Viper's pet snake, which was seen in the earlier opening.

Judging from the large amount of vials and containers in the lab, it is probably the place where Viper manufactures the poison that she uses in combat. We see how its produced through some reaction of an unknown substance. The small amount of volatile, iridescent material converts to enough gas to fill the entire container. This could also explain how the tiny emitters that she uses in-game are capable of producing such large volumes of smoke.

### Armory

At the end of the video, Viper enters an armory. The walls of the armory are round and glow a bright neon green. Along the walls, various different weapons and pieces of equipment are seen - multiple guns (including the *Shorty*, *Frenzy*, *Sheriff*, *Spectre*, *Judge*, *Bulldog*, and *Odin*); some familiar items from her ability set (including many *Poison Cloud* emitters and *Snakebite* vials); and various knives.

Stored alongside the various guns is a unique weapon we've never seen before. From the various cables and tubes that link to it, it could be a custom-made chemical sprayer, perhaps an early version of the current ones on her gloves. Lastly, just under her signature mask, the *Snakebite Shorty* is also seen - confirming that the skinline is canon.

## Notes

* The apartment is likely located in Seattle, judging from the Space Needle visible in the distant skyline.
* While originally organized and well-ordered, Viper's hair regresses to a wild and unkempt state once she puts on her mask, with many loose strands. The shadows under her eyes also deepen somewhat.

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia's Page on Kopi Luwak Go
2. ↑ Wikipedia's article on Kopi Luwak and the ethical concerns for animal welfare it raises Go
3. ↑ The Space Needle visible from Viper's window Go

### Timestamps

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Viper's coffee, labled 'Kopi Luwak' and organized in test tubes Go
2. ↑ Viper's custom 'gun', visible in the top and bottom right corners of the screen Go
3. ↑  The *Snakebite Shorty* skin under Viper's Mask Go