@candyforthebrain left some questions in the tags on this reblog, which I really wanted to answer if that’s alright!
#ok but now that i think about it it must be pretty insane to be born with memories from other people
Yep, probably. I can’t remember the full extent to which Kingdom Hearts already explored this with Xion and Roxas (and maybe also Sora), but it definitely is quite the concept when you think about it a lot. Admittedly, it helps alleviate the fact that Techne comes into existence at age fifteen ‑ I like to think that, as well as the specific memories, they also “inherited” all the instincts required to come across as if they had lived through those years. Makes it much easier that way!
#how does techne feel about those memories? do they feel “empty” / like they're missing something because they can't meet aria and clio?
Overall, it varies depending on the context (or lack thereof). The clearest/most vivid one they have is arguably the one that confuses or unsettles them most, because it’s the finale of KHUX. In general, though, most of the memories are at least somewhat positive, which helps them be more comfortable with them even if it is also still slightly disconnected. To try and use a weird simile, I imagine it’s a bit like knowing about a celebrity’s relationship from social media, but then all of a sudden that couple is now in your class or something, so you start seeing things about them that they don’t post. You feel like you know them better than you should, almost, and that’s sort of the vibe Techne gets about us both.
They definitely do want to get more answers about what they “know”, and would take any opportunity that presented itself to find out more or potentially meet us both (especially to meet us both).. but, they don’t really know how to find opportunities like that, which makes it difficult to actively pursue that goal on their own without something happening first.
It’s, if you’ll allow this, a missing link. =P
#or do they feel alien to the memories/experiences because they actually belonged to other people?
For some of them, they definitely do, especially those that are more clear (and so more clearly not theirs) - but it isn’t always easy for them to actually tell that the memories aren’t theirs, because they aren’t always in perfect detail. The way it works is that they have Aria’s memories of Clio, and Clio’s memories of Aria.. but many of them are vague enough that Techne isn’t 100% confident about that fact themself yet. For those that are more vague or fleeting, it’s easier for them to sort of.. absorb or transpose the knowledge in their own right; it’s like the difference between remembering someone told you a fact and remembering you yourself read the fact, which is not a distinction I imagine many people keep clear about everything they learn; you just remember the fact itself and forget the context.
For example, when their friend Nimda commented on not liking alcohol because it smells bad to her, Techne nodded and said: “Fair enough, honestly. I’ve heard that one before. At least, I think I have..”. Was it them who heard that? No. Aria said it once, around Clio, which is why they “inherited” that memory of hearing it said. So that’s an example of how they aren’t always sure, because in this case their first instinct was to assume they’d heard it.
#do they think about their memories a lot or do they live more in the present?
They think about them more than they let on to others, certainly - particularly because they don’t exactly talk about these memories to others much (Nimda has no idea about them yet, for example, and she’s currently the person they’re closest with post-canon). From the ones they’ve thought about most, it’s clear that they aren’t taking place in Scala ad Caelum, so they don’t think that those around them in that world in canon would be of much help in figuring out the answers. But they are also generally someone who very much lives for the now, as well as the future; these are just one of the few things that could hold them back or distract them from that.
Thank you very kindly for these questions, friend ‑ I was excited to write out answers for them! I hope they’re alright ^-^
