#CX TECH

[eclec-tech]

At this point, I'd take either. But yes PLEASE to both!

Is it greedy to want both?

[m00ntunaart]

CX-2/Tech AU comic! Where CX-2 is Tech, but Tch isn't the only recognizable CX trooper!

*Cody enters stage*

I don't know what it is about Starwars comics but omg this looks like shit, but I'm blaming that on finals fatigue.

Anyways, I will do a separate post and reblog of this post with the lore of this AU! So look for that if you want to read more on this AU!

And if you don't care, then thanks for checking out my comic and I hope you have a great day!

[ghostymarni]

so will you wait me out-

-or will you drown me out?

[adh-d2]

I keep trying to tell myself that the writers didn't intentionally bait us. Then I remember things like 'domicile' and babes, I'm holding onto the benefit of the doubt by my fucking fingernails over here.

[stellarbit]

Found this on Pinterest and it made me almost huck my phone across the room

Credit: swninetynine Pinterest

[miss-musings]

How badly was Tech's Death handled in The Bad Batch S3?

I'm planning to do a full season review for The Bad Batch Season 3, and while prepping, I started thinking back about how Tech's death was handled.

I wonder if The Bad Batch never really mourned Tech on-screen because they all blamed themselves for his death:

Hunter bc he's the leader (even Hemlock noted this)

Wrecker bc he was trying to hold the rail car

Crosshair bc they were trying to save him from Tantiss

And Omega had never really lost anyone before, so she probably didn't know how to cope.

The time jump didn't help either.

Arguably it'd be in-character that their "mourning" style is just avoiding the topic. They hardly brought up Crosshair in S1 after he was mind-controlled.

Hunter shuts down the group's conversation about Crosshair in 1.03 partly bc he feels guilty about leaving Crosshair behind (even tho they didn't really have a choice). Consequently, the group doesn't really mention Crosshair except in passing after 1.03.

Look, I ultimately think the writers *should* have let the characters mourn Tech in a meaningful way. It'd allow them and us to have some closure. But they didn't, and that's partly why so many people expected him to come back (namely as CX-2).

Tech also just had such a suspicious "death":

No body on screen

He fell with all or most of his gear on him, and Hunter survived a 500+ foot fall on Daro without much issue

Hemlock as an unreliable death certificate

A character running around in S3 who was conditioned by Hemlock (who supposedly found Tech's body) and who moves & talks like Tech, and has significant interactions w/ Crosshair and Omega plus a weird scene w/ Phee

It didn't help that CX-2 survived *everything* - multiple explosions, falls, etc. Plus, we never saw him without his mask, unlike CX-0 in S2 and CX-1 in 3.06.

If the TBB creators wanted to avoid any theorizing that CX-2 was Tech or anyone else we knew, all they had to do was show him without his helmet at the end of 3.07. Boom, problem solved!

I really expected a CX-Tech reveal up until 3.14 "Flash Strike." But by then, we'd run out of time to bring him back properly. It really feels like the writers baited us, or something was changed last-minute during S3 production.

Even if we'd gotten a scene in, let's say, 3.05 "The Return" where the Bad Batch finally and properly mourned Tech once they were all together, I'm sure people still would've theorized CX-2 was Tech. But, I do think there would've been fewer.

As it stands, neither the characters nor the audience ever had a proper send-off for such a prominent character.

And CX-2 had all that screentime & build-up to justify cutting off Crosshair's hand???

TBB S3 was great in many respects, but how it handled Tech's death was a major flaw.

But, I just wanted to play Devil's Advocate for a bit. Maybe it wasn't as bad as we thought, and arguably was in-character for Tech's brothers to hardly ever mention him.

He's mentioned 7 times in S3:

Wrecker has an indirect mention in 3.02

Omega in 3.03

Echo in 3.05

Phee in 3.08

Crosshair in 3.09

Phee in 3.12

Crosshair in 3.15

And we know that last one is the most heartbreaking one of them all.

Phee and Echo seemingly have made some peace with losing Tech after 5-6 months. But it's clear Hunter & co still haven't. They all compartmentalized his death and never addressed it. Crosshair's little "Plan 99" speech in 3.15 proves that, I think.

Anyway, just throwing this out there. I'm planning to do a S3 review soon and go over the three best and three worst things about the season. SPOILERS: Tech's death and the CX-2 baiting was definitely one of the worst!

[vimse]

Fanon modern au Tech outfits:

dark academia, buttoned-up shirts, dress pants, oxford shoes

Canon sw Tech outfits:

jeggins, crop top vest, space uggs, and quite possibly…cycling hot pants

[talesfrommedinastation]

OC Sunday means I should probably talk about homeboy right here.

We never got to see CX-2's face in the finale. There is some concept art of him, confirming that he was another regular clone.

But fandom do as fandom do. We got creative. I wasn't immune.

So, without further ado, meet CT-9949, aka 'Roak', later renamed CX-2 by Dr. Hemlock.

He and his squad were another 'bad batch', designed to be the exact same as Clone Force 99, the first round. But he's the only one that turned out kind of decent. Kind of.

So when Dr. Hemlock comes a-knockin' and asks his raggedy, sad self if he'd like to join the CX troopers, of course Roak raises his hand first and begs to join. He wants to be recognized as special and perfect, dang it! HE DESERVES IT!

Yeah, that doesn't quite work out now, does it.

--------------------------

What makes Tech unique amongst 'smart' characters, is that, for all intents and purposes, he should be cold and mean due to his logic-oriented noggin'.

But he's not. DBB himself called Tech 'breezy', pointing out that few things rattle him due to his confidence, his logic, and his focus. That makes him secure and self-assured.

Now, let's take away that security. That self-assurance. Let's say Tech has no brothers, no individual bunk/gear, no Marauder shuttle, no knowledge that he's good at what he does. Just stress and anxiety and no outlet. No family.

Anxious people, especially if they're alone, mentally ill, and brilliant, are some of the scariest individuals to come across. They want the world to feel the pain they feel, and they know exactly how to inflict that pain.

That shit is scary. And that makes an awesome villain.

Whether or not someone like Omega, or Emerie, or, heck, TECH, can help poor Roak I can't tell you just yet.

The chapters I've written with him are the first to genuinely make me uneasy as a writer. I've read enough Stephen King to know that this is probably a decent narrative path to be on.

I hope you'll join me, too.

[tech-aficionado]

I need everyone to stop what they are doing and join me in my latest fixation.

I’m seriously considering a AO3 book club and making a discord server dedicated to reading and sharing fic. I’m already on a few TBB servers (and I know there are many amazing ones out there too!), so maybe one more would be overkill? Idk.

Anyway, @niobiumao3 has crafted something ASTONISHING and yall need to come with me into this CX-2 Tech rabbit hole because my gods it’s incredible.

[mroddmod]

i’m still hoping for a CX-2/tech reveal, if for nothing else than to see this scene play out

[adh-d2]

He got his own poster 😭 What was the thought process here?

So the writers gave him all the attention and ... for what?

[raevulsix]

“Tech is gone. I am what remains.”

WIP version

Come join our discord community. ✨

[ghostymarni]

thank you for all the love for cx-tech-

[adh-d2]

It's not so much that I needed Tech to be alive.

I wanted Tech to live, but I grieved his character when he died.

Then the hints started coming. The narrative focus shifted to this mysterious new character and signaled that he was important somehow. The theories started spreading. Week after week the 'camera' lingered on long, slow shots of a helmet that wouldn't come off.

So yeah, I stopped grieving. The longer it went on the more convinced I became that this must be Tech, because clearly it was someone important. Otherwise it would just be poor writing. This show isn't written poorly.

Case-in-point, what a beautiful finale. My heart was in my throat the entire time. I cried. I loved it. Taken on its own, I'd go so far as to say it was perfect.

-

Except for the fact that the CX plotline came to nothing. Seriously. We've followed it all season, and it came to nothing? I'm not even clear on what happened. There were more of them. They were kind of an anti-Bad-Batch? Except not really? There was a big one that pulled Wrecker's signature move. There was one with knives. They were regs? I think? One lost its helmet in a background shot so I guess we can conclude they were all regs. With different builds. And different accents. I suppose it doesn't matter, since they all died after a few minutes of screentime having meant nothing to the protagonists. They were a boss fight. The plot marches on.

-

It's entirely possible I got too caught up in the speculation. Maybe when I look back on all the posts I wrote and liked and reblogged it will be obvious that we were reaching. But right now from here in the thick of it, I swear there's so much to see! Do you mean to tell me they really didn't notice it in the writers room? That it was all a complete coincidence?

Would it have been better if someone on the creative team had just come out and confirmed that Tech wasn't coming back? I don't know. I don't think they were obligated to. But when a good 50% of the discourse about your show ending is speculation on this particular CX character, and the answer isn't even a different plot twist, but that the character means nothing at all...well, you can see how the team could have avoided some disappointment.

Maybe this is a bad take. I don't know how I feel. I wish I could have enjoyed the finale without having to grieve again for a character we'd already lost.

For now I'll end by saying that I loved this show and I can't wait to rewatch it someday on its own merit, without the spectre of 'is-it-could-it-be-no-please-let-it-be' clouding my judgement.

[adh-d2]

This! This is why the finale felt like such a punch in the gut.

It's not just that he's gone. It's that he's been gone the whole time.

While we were shitposting and making fanart and joking about how obvious it was that he's under there.

While they were sharing cryptic memes and giving coy interviews about Tech's 'sacrifice', his 'decision', his 'anything-other-than-death'. While they were making Valentines posts out of his death scene ("I fell for you").

He's been gone the whole time.

It feels cruel.

The bad batch finale spoilers:

(In the form of a sad rant)

I thought I prepared for the worst, I was ready for if they brought Tech back just to kill him.

But this was worse.

All the parallels to Tech in this season and

He's gone.

He was always gone.

I was not prepared for the emptiness.

I have a Tech shaped hole in my heart.

[local-cryptid]

i actually started this a couple weeks ago but with the latest episodes i felt the need to finish it