#forgotten tech

[nestedneons]

By Mark Liang

[ohsnapitzmarvel]

An actual HAPPY ending???? In STAR WARS?????? Involving THE CLONES????? They got to be A FAMILY???? They grew OLD and GREY??? STOPPED fighting??? Omega joining the REBEL ALLIANCE????????

[vivaislenska]

Quick doodle of Tech reading the script for season three to make sure he's in it (and not just as a sepia-toned flashback 🙏🏼)

[xxplastic-cubexx]

ngl sometimes i feel like lord farquad when i just sit on the menu to stare at him

[faislittlewhiteraven]

Been having some ISaT tech level and timeline (as in 'when backstory things happened') thoughts and want to ramble a bit:

Tech

ISaT's setting is based on your classic sword and sorcery fantasy JRPG so its easy to assume that tech wise everything is 'fantasy medieval' and call it a day but consider:

Body Craft is at bare minimum is magic sex changing surgery (earliest known equivent in our world dating to 1930) that any old person can learn to do safely on themselves in only a few months, and more likely has many many broader applications like regular old surgery, the 'combat healing' Mira and Sif use, etc.

Cameras and photos are rare enough that Odile comments on it (namely she's happy the group get a photo in the House due to them being 'so rare') yet are also common enough that everyone in the party knows about them and doesn't question the existence of a camera beyond being surprised that the mirror was one. (In our world cameras date back to the 19th century, with the earliest manufacturing of them being in 1839). 

Printing presses and ways to make plenty of paper to feed those presses given absolutely everyone in this game can read, expects everyone else to know how to, and both mass produced book series and newspapers are a thing. (Note: Printing presses have existed since waaaay back but it's the mass paper manufacturing that makes newspapers and The Cursing of Chateu Castle possible that really has my eyebrows raised here, especially since neither Siffrin or Odile find either odd in any way, indicating such things are common everywhere, and while newspapers have been around since 1604 in our world, mass produced fantasy books didn't really take off until the start of the 20th century).

Food production and storage: despite being in the middle of a national disaster that almost certainly cut off trade networks and access to most suppliers for literal months now, Bonnie, a small child, is able to easily get their hands on fresh Pineapple, curry ingredients (for samosa), potatoes, plantains etc with no issues or anyone commenting on this being unusual or lucky. Oh and the only character who even brings up the concept of potential starvation is the Fishing One, and only in a sort of 'we're not at risk now but sooner or later...' kinda way due to noticing that the fish they fish up for fun are disappearing and likely being frozen. So yeah, that heavily implies Vaugarde has very good food storage tech/Craft (possibly better than ours), and likely also good food production and harvesting tech/skills also.

The Island's incredible knowledge of the stars: while the oldest known orrery in our world is dated from around 205 to 87 BC (ancient Greek, earth centric model), the fact Sif -who would've learnt this as a child/teen- is so very certain that stars are big balls of fire made up of gas is interesting as that's something our world couldn't prove the theory of until around the 1900s (note: it'd been theorized a LONG time but Sif talks like its complete facts to them . Additionally the earliest existing record of a telescope in our world dates to a 1608 patent and we see one of those in game.

Post posting EDIT: A wonderful user qds-place pointed out that Mirabelle has anti-anxiety medication in her room. This is in both ISaT and SAaP and though we're not sure what form the medication takes (pills? Valium? Megitech esc Craft boosters???) the fact they specifically have 'anti anxiety' medication at all (as opposed to idk dragging Mira off and drugging her through the gills) is kind of impressive and if it IS modern anti anxiety pills those could be as recent in creation as the 1950s! So um. Some high levels of tech implied in chemistry there <3

So... yeah. All this, plus the fact that the highest tech implied area, The Island, literally specialised in the study/Craft of turning wishes into reality (for a long enough time period that Wish Craft is culturally so ingrained in the King and Sif that they do it without thinking and it seems intertwined with their nation's religion) has been completely erased from memory to the point anything heavily associated with them has been forgotten, and also we only ever see Dormont aka a little village well away from the cities, it's not hard to conclude that you can basically justify giving the ISaT world any level of tech you want, so long as you lock any of the truly 'setting breaking' stuff like planes and rockets behind The Island's forgetting curse (I would've said trains too but thinking about it trains were invented in 1802 so it's honestly easy to imagine that they totally exist in the ISaT setting/Vaugarde but aren't ever on screen because rail is way too dangerous to consider using while the Curse is active and potentially time freezing things on the tracks).

Side note: We know absolutely nothing about Vaugarde's transport system but as a fan of fantasy RPGs it is honestly a travesty I have yet to see a fic that has flying dragons/wyverns or other fantasy mounts in setting. Like, ok yes, the party would probably have wanted to use those but maybe they don't like the Curse and fled? Maybe the King's Curse targeted them first? Maybe all their handlers dropped the heroes off in Dormont and said 'Well Saviors it's been fun, but well me and Scales here are off to Poteria until things wrap up so best of luck to you' before buggering off?

This isn't really a serious complaint just. Me reminding myself/potentially other fanwork writers out there that there's a lot about the setting we just don't know about and limiting all travel to walking, horse drawn carriage and boat is not actually required. (Also please mix up travelling to the Island. Boats are a wonderful classic and have great thematic vibes for Sif's original leaving of the Island but like. Imagine the sheer in-universe wtf of the memories of The Island suddenly coming back and people on the north coast suddenly realising there's a massive bridge, subway or underwater tunnel leading there that everyone just forgot about - potentially filled with all kinds of Sadnesses that need taking down. Or Warp Panels in a House of Change, idk XD).

Timeline

Canon notes first:

Bonnie is a preteen (8 to 12), Mira and Isa are in their early to mid 20s (with Isa slightly older), Sif is late 20s to 30, and Odile is 40+ Nille is stated to be around 18 to 20.

Siffrin ran away from home when they were a teenager (13 to 17? 18?) and this is heavily implied to be when the Island was Forgotten.

Bonnie (in ISaT specifically*) says that Nille told them that when it happened all the adults were talking about it, hence why they think The Island is close to their village. *In Start Again a Prologue, Bonnie says that they themself remember the adults talking about the Island disappearing, which er. Is a bit impossible given they likely weren't even born yet when that happened but that can be explained away by AU differences, InsertDisc5 still finalising details between SAaP and ISaT, and/or OG Siffrin having been in the loops so long they weren't actually listening when Bonnie was talking and just 'scripted' in their head something 'close enough' to what Bonnie was saying to get the idea (note: mentioned that idea before in my post here on the differences between the House and King in Start Again vs In Stars and Time for anyone curious so er please feel free to give that a read if you haven't already).

Odile mentions remembering 'when it happened' as well and has been 'travelling for years'.

The King 'appeared out of nowhere' sometime in his adulthood, and lived in the city of Corbeaux for a few years before he became the King.

The King became the King as was freezing people in time long enough before his attack on the House of Dormont that everyone inside knew he was coming, there were a wall's worth of newspaper articles about him, and everyone was expecting Euphrasie to defeat him.

Mirabelle's quest began 'almost a year ago' and Sif lost their eye 'recently'.

Thoughts on the above:

Calculating when The Island was forgotten:

Sif being mid 20s to 30 and having run away from home as a teen means that The Island has to have been forgotten somewhere between 9 to 17 years ago with nine only possible if he ran away at age 17 and is only age 26 now, and seventeen being the far opposite if he ran at age 13 and is currently 30.

To narrow down the timeline: Given Sif ran away from home because he 'didn't want to eat his veggies' and 'just wanted to scare [his] parents a little bit' it's probably safe to assume Siffrin was likely on the younger end of the teen spectrum (teens run off all the time sure but with loving parents and over veggies? That screams 'kid who has not yet learned that freaking out the parents will get their ass grounded and/or yelled at a LOT and is therefore best saved for doing fun forbidden stuff that ideally the parents will never find out about' XD) Additionally given Siffrin can't remember his age/birthday etc but Isabeau outright says near the beginning of the game "But you're older than most of the people here?" meaning Sif must be visibly older than Isa or Mira, so he's probably closer to 30 than not.

Those alone would imply the Island likely disappeared closer to the '17 years ago' side of things BUT Nille (tops 20 years old) told Bonnie that "[the Island's disappearance] was all the adults would talk about for ages" and kids usually can't remember anything prior to 4 years of age so with that in mind...

I'd say The Island most likely disappeared between 13 to 16 years ago.

Nille stuff:

This is more a general mention but. Nille is tops 20 years old. Bonnie is between 8 and 12 and doesn't remember their parents at all.

This means Nille ran away with Bonnie and gained emancipation and custody of Bonnie (if Vaugarde has formalised that kind of legal stuff) while she was at most 12 years old herself and could have in theory been as young as 6..!

Regardless, it's very likely the original home situation was that bad, Nille deserves a ton of credit for raising Bonnie as well as she has and I'd say it's very VERY likely she had a lot of help from villagers in Bambosche and/or the local House of Change in doing so. ...But also Bonnie is very adamantly 'my sister and village' and not 'my sister and [specific names who live with us]' so there's clearly by the time Bonnie was 4 or so they were living in their own place so... Yeah. Lotta drive for independence there too it seems (so the party might have more trouble adopting Nille into their group post ISaT than Bonnie might expect).

King stuff:

Already an adult 13 to 16 years ago so at bare minimum 33. Given his vibe probably much older though.

Newspapers get printed pretty quick though for there to be so much speculation and research done into his background so quick, either Vaugarde has some form of fast messaging system (something like a Chappe telegraph on top of the Houses of Change? Odile I think does mention that they'll have a message sent to let Nille know they'll be returning Bonnie...) or the King was freezing stuff for IDK around a month or two before reaching Dormont? Alas can't find out how long it takes to walk across all of France out very easily (I'm sure the numbers are out there but my brain is pudding rn) but if we had those numbers we could probably make some guesstimates based off the rough sketched map of Vaugarde InsertDisk5 did... Which I would link but apparently the tumblr post I had it linked on has been deleted???? 'wails at this very unhappy development'

Mira's journey and Sif's eye:

We really don't know a lot but almost a year ago gives us somewhere around 9 to 11 months to spread the journey out along and after eye removal surgery the patient can out and about as soon as 2 to 6 weeks after, maybe sooner with magic healing (though full recovery/growing used to the changed spacial awareness -which Sif clearly does not have- probably can't be sped up and takes around 3 to 6 months) so um. I'd guestimate Sif's eye injury is really recent; like two months ago tops recent. ...Which sorta explains a lot of why Bonnie is not dealing with it right now and also why the others might be trying to avoid bringing it up (since Sif clearly loves avoiding the issue but they haven't yet realised that maybe they really should bring it up even if it annoys them anyway?)

Odile with some Ka Bue speculation:

When it comes to The Island, how did Odile, presumably living in Ka Bue at the time, remember 'when it happened'? Was the Island well known enough even on the other side of the world that it's disappearance made waves? Or was Odile herself or someone she's close to paying attention to the region? (Like maybe her dad or a friend is/was into politics or trade, keeping up with overseas news and got concerned it could happen to Ka Bue? I'd say 'I remember when it happened' line implies it was more immediate knowledge than being informed by a messenger much later though...)

As for Odile's 'years of travel' I have to wonder, what's left behind for her in Ka Bue? She brings up going back there quite a bit, might just miss home and possibly her father if he's still alive, but given it took her years to get here for something so personal rather than idk 'materially rewarding' I think Odile might have some kinda family estate or something back in Ka Bue... Something she wasn't worried about potentially losing while far away, but solid enough to want to return to, beyond her father who she'd definitely want to see again if he's still around. (...But given how open she is to chilling about Vaugarde a few more months with the others, I really don't think he is alive, since well, given their respective ages and travel between Vaugarde and Ka Bue apparently taking years, there'd definitely an uncomfortably high chance of him passing away while she's gone and that seems like the thing that'd stress Odile out so... Yeah. Probably got an estate in Ka Bue she'd like to take the Family to visit/possibly sell off if she decides she'd like to live with them in Vaugarde so... Just my off the cuff headcanoning here and hoping that gives others ideas or something).

---

Anyway that's all the ramble I've got in me so... yeah! Hope this was interesting and useful for those needing a bit of a 'possible tech'/timeline calcs breakdown for the Island + a few more vague things and um. Probably will post a long winding ramble about my attempt at a ISaT Selkie AU fic I've been working on next <3 (Not to be confused with looped-140-and-counting's already existing and quite wonderful Selkie Siffrin AU which already has a completed oneshot fic, a snippet of sequel, two snippets of prequel/Sif flashbacking and I believe a comic too, all of which I highly recommend <3)

[annomalysstuff]

psst. reference spam has no bay donnie. a tragedy tbh /j /pos

Dude, I totally forgot

There you go, now it’s fixed

Also, I made this, to make up for it

Originally it was going to be some scketches, but I got too onboard with it :]👍

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

Tech had died to give them a chance to live. ALL of them.

She wouldn't waste his sacrifice.

And so, she didn't.

Tech had taught her more about technology and the galaxy in general, never letting her shirk on her studies (unless giant crabs were attacking, of course).

Tech had taught her how to be a pilot.

Tech had taught her to be observant, quick-thinking, cunning, and to hone her strategy skills.

Tech had taught her to use her knowledge to think outside the box.

Tech had taught her to be determined and tenacious, that no matter the difficulty, they could always think of a solution.

And so, she did.

She escaped Tantiss and saved her brother - the brother Tech had given his life for a chance to save. When she was captured again, it was on her own terms. She saved the other children. She saved the other clones. She saved her family.

And they lived.

They were alive because of him. SHE was alive because of him.

And so, she lived for him.

[raevulsix]

Coping

[the-daily-male]

Today's daily male is Paracelsus from Guilty Gear!

for @mossathenium-time

[connecting-the-stars]

Missed Opportunities:

While I did love a lot of the aspects of the finale, I walked away feeling a bit empty? Maybe confused is the right word.

I’m still not fully settled with the finally, maybe it’s the whiplash of seeing Omega all grown up, or Crosshair claiming that clone force 99 died with tech after so many episodes of his death never being acknowledged by him, or maybe the shock that CX-2’s identity really turned out be unimportant or needing to take a day and rewatch the episode again. But I do feel like either the pacing is what put me off or there were arcs we were following that end up being incomplete.

I’ve seen a few people bring up the missed opportunity that the writers had to really tear at our hearts with the lack of CX-2’s identity being revealed.

I just feel like it could’ve been a full circle if crosshair had been the one to change his mind and be determined to bring his family back together, to use the hope omega has shown him and given him, that he won’t leave his family. The show demonstrates his PTSD and his hesitancy to return to tantiss, and throughout the season it had Crosshair revealing more and more about the information he had about the tests and operations. We know that he was tortured and went through the painful process of reprograming that had failed on him, but it almost feels like the progression was leading to a bigger reveal, like he had this massive secret that he refused to share under any circumstance. That paired with the absence of any acknowledgment of tech’s death by Crosshair besides yelling that clone force 99 died with tech, when season 1 really pushed with the fault being on the empire, that crosshair’s loyalty to that authority being the reason the team was never the same again. He knows that he made his own bed and had to lie in it, the deep seated isolation looming over him throughout season 2 really hammered in how much of a mistake it was to refuse rejoining his brothers. The team was never complete without their brother, and you feel the weight when Tech pushes for Crosshair’s rescue. “He is our brother. We do not leave our own behind.”

Crosshair’s growth this season has been wonderful to see, and I feel like rampart singling him out to be “just like him” which he corrects just furthers this idea that he’s changed a lot, that his perspective has changed. Having Crosshair going through this journey of guilt and self forgiveness is so important, and I want that to be echoed to others. From “I deserve to be in here” to “none of us belong here.” Repeating omegas words. Wouldn’t it be so impactful to have Crosshair come face to face with his brother who had faith in him all along when he had been turned by the inhibitor chip and for Crosshair to be the one to hold out hope. For Crosshair being placed in Hunter’s position from season 1 being helpless to save his brother from the empire, forced to leave him behind, but this time they are not abandoning anyone, not again. From giving up ever rejoining his family, literally fighting to send a message that they should go into hiding vs. trying his best to bring his family back together. From tech always having faith, hope that his brother would join them once more, going on that horrid mission in the hope that they might gain info to rescue cross vs. it’s crosshair that has faith that tech will come back to them, standing in the face of death in order to bring his brother home. To not give up on each other, even when the empire has done everything to tear them apart.

The idea that tech’s sacrifice could be represented in his fractured mind, would hold weight to his fall. The clone that’s mutation is to have an accelerated brain functions and highly enhanced technology skills is now failing to remember keys details or who he even used to be. He has to rebuild himself, rediscovering who he was and who he wants to become. He’s not doing it alone, his family and Phee provide support every step of the way, helping him reconnect to memories that had been burned away. If cross still loses his hand, then both of them would be in a similar spot where they now have to become more than what they were originally programmed and created to be. Finding a new purpose, creating your own future.

I’m gonna give it a day, try to rewatch the finale without crying this time. The moment where Omega adjusts Tech’s goggles hit me like a plane crash, like damn.

(I really did love the epilogue showing hunter’s continued care and support for Omega, and her being so passionate about helping others. My heart really did want 4 seasons of this show, I just wanted more time with these characters. My heart was so proud of Omega, just like hunter was.)

[nestedneons]

By Mark Liang

[oh-three]

Listen. I know we're still all in denial about Tech, that we've been hoping for him to be revealed as CX-2 or otherwise alive, but....There's only one episode left. If they were going to do it, I think they would have by now, unless they're saving it for another show.

I think it's time to say goodbye to our man 😭

[idiotcoward]

Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten

Suffocation is one of those bands that due to the nature of their genre will have very little cross over into mainstream appeal, but fuck do they have the skill and talent to be a top 100 artist if people were just a touuuch more willing to listen to death metal.

This album is filled with some of the heaviest and most impressive instrumentation in the metal genre. Every aspect of the performance from the way the guitars seem to fly all over the fret board to the insane drumming skills on display are some of the best the metal genre has to offer. Simply put, this is a fucking classic. One of the best of all time and absolutely an album you should check out if you haven’t already.

[bitterfishiesstuff]

Chapter 27 of Charon's Forgotten(aka Imperial AU)

Title: Ties that bind, part 1

Paring: Poly Crosstecker Crosshair/Tech/Wrecker

rating for this chapter: T (canon level violence, hurt/comfort, followed by pure fluff)

Reminder the whole fix is rated E for other chapters. Minors DNI for everyone's safety

Summary: A close call leads Crosshair and Wrecker to plan a day to spoil Tech. (Aka my most self indugent chapter, now two chapters)

[dangraccoon]

Still Remember

Day 8 ~ forgotten ~ (Alt. Prompt)

Crosshair

Word Count: 590 Content: torture, electric shock, injury, CX-Tech

Crosshair could feel that his eye was bruised and swollen as he groggily opened them. 

“You are awake,” the gruff voice of the clone assassin noted. “Perhaps you are more willing to answer my questions now, CT-9904.”

Crosshair glared at the CX-2. He spat at his feet. 

“How disappointing.”

Crosshair’s ribs pinched, his breathing heavy and ragged. He knew he was going to die here, but he would do so willingly if it meant Omega would be safe.

“It is quite interesting,” CX-2 said, igniting a shock stick. “You have formed such a strong attachment to a being for whom you could not care less only a year prior.”

The assassin turned sharply on his heel, the shock stick mere inches away from Crosshair’s chest. He didn’t flinch or struggle, choosing to stare into his enemy’s dark visor. 

The stick was pressed to his stomach, yet he didn’t scream as the waves of electricity rolled through him. His body shook and strained against the restraints.

“Though what I find more interesting is the loyalty you show to your old squad,” CX-2 continued after he removed the shock stick.

Crosshair fought to catch his breath as the restraints were all that held him upright. His waning weight pulled down against his wrists, lifted and restricted on either side of his head. Between the fatigue and his broken ankle, his legs were doing practically nothing to support him. 

“Even after they knew of the inhibitor chips’ ability to alter a clone’s mind, they still abandoned you on Kamino. CT-9994, you must be aware that during Omega’s time on Tantiss, she was never harmed. It is well known that she came to visit you quite often. You could easily tell me her location as revenge on your former sergeant.”

Crosshair glared, straining against the binders. 

“No one fought for you,” the assassin continued. “Except for… one.”

Crosshair failed at hiding his confusion. 

“One of them fought with the others to bring you back, to force you back onto the ship. The one person who had always been by your side, Crosshair.”

Crosshair’s eyes widened. Not once in the… three? Maybe four days he’d been imprisoned had the other man called him by anything but his number. CX-2 was setting the shock stick down, and had begun to remove his helmet. 

“Your twin,” he muttered. “The one brother who was always in your corner. The one who would give his own life for the chance of finding you. You have forgotten him, but I will ensure you remember.”

The helmet was set on the table and Crosshair realized he was face to face with a twisted reflection. 

The clone before him stood at his height. His face and build were so similar. His light hair had been buzzed down to the skin like Crosshair’s own had when he was with the Empire. Instead of seeing his own reticle tattoo, gnarly circles of scars ringed his eyes where his goggles should have been. 

“Tech?” was the first thing out of Crosshair’s mouth in the last few days, his voice hoarse and coming as barely a whisper. 

“No, I am CX-2,” he answered. His voice was almost the same as Crosshair remembered, but it was missing its melodic quality. “‘Tech’ died on Eriadu.”

“Y-you’re—”

“‘Tech’ died looking for you.”

“You’re still my brother,” Crosshair rasped, pleading with his twin. “I won’t leave you behind. Tech, I still remember you.”

“‘Tech’ is dead,” CX-2 asserted. “You will soon join him.”

The shock stick thrust into his chest.

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Thanks for reading! - River

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[liminalthe]

Walk Around This Space……..