#raau notes: technology

[hybbart]

How's the radio crew doing?

They're doing good, doing their job. They're so high up there's no zombies for them to worry about, thankfully for Zloy's sake. After getting contacted by Wels and delivering the news that the ranchers are okay to everyone, they're looking to get some relay stations back up to extent their reach to the coast. Without manufacturing it's going to take a lot of time and scavenging, though.

[hybbart]

Do you have any close ups of Tangos arm prothesis? 👀 Love all your designs so much

I presume you mean the one he has in raau. It's based off his steampunk skin. The design isn't, like, super jotted down to the fine details but these are their general designs. His second one is made of much more reflective material so its colours change with the environment more. It's definitely the most fantastical piece of medical equipment in the au, but I wanted to have some fun with it.

The first one couldn't really be worn without an undershirt, and though the second one really shouldn't be it's not as bad if he has to go without. They also had less say int he materials they got to work with for the second.

[hybbart]

What's the recap crew up to? Still managing the radio/communications?

Yep! They don't have to worry about resources since everyone donates to them since their service is so important in keeping the groups in their range connected and thriving. They spend most od their time on fortifications to keep zloy alive. Despite living on top of a mountain there's always at least one zombie lurking around some tree waiting to chomp on him.

They're a well-oiled machine at this point. Zloy is the one that puts everything together btw, while Pixl runs the actual radio and communications, and Lyarrah records everything physically and digitally. Recently, she's been getting into paper making and been in contact with both Cleo and Pearl...

[hybbart]

Heya! I was wondering how medication and medical devices work in the ranchers au. Most devices need replacing quite often and after five years, many medications would be out of date and useless or even dangerous.

I definitely get if it's just a case of, they don't go off, since medicine is confusing but I was curious since it could lead to plot.

I should say that I specifically don't get into this stuff much just because I don't know much about it and I would rather keep things vague than accidentally impart incorrect information. As well as the fact that it is ultimately a biopunk setting with differences to our world. That said, have more rambles than I expected.

Right you are, there's in fact not a lot of medication left. People hoard anything they find but most is long expired. The hospital is lucky to have two doctors and Scar who know a bit more about medicine than the average person, but a lot of whats kept is just praying it still works.

Cleo thanks to being a gorgon is also in the drug development business, though she specialized in developing antivenom, but she not only knows but can help develop certain medicines. She and Scott have made quite a thing of their inn and I kinda wanna touch on it in the future.

Shubble, Katherine, Gem, Impulse, and Pearl know home remidies for a lot of things and have specifically been growing and creating them. These aren't going to replace complex modern drugs for specific conditions obviously, but they work and its easy to pass it around with the help of the radio station.

Overall, on bad days, Tango generally has to grin and bear it with homemade pain killers at most. It's rough and it contributed to the second wave of population decline after the first wave of zombie deaths. It's Scar's goal to specifically help survivors with this sort of thing, though.

As for medical equipment, it's a bit grim but since there's such a small population now and the hospitals were the first to go there was a lot of spare equipment from storage and patients left behind. In part because of Scar's own medical needs and in part for their desire to help others, Scar and Cub, and later Grian, collected what they could from abandoned hospitals and care homes.

It's obviously not going to cover everything, materials break down and as far as replacing them or things that need customization there isn't a factory just down the road that makes it all in house.

This is where I take the most artistic liberties, but Tango, with Doc and Zed, is the one to maintain Jimmy and Scar's equipment as well as his arm. Whether that's patching the existing, altering replacement, or crafting new parts. He knew a good bit from his job and hobbies but he's spent the past 5 years learning specifically how to diy for Jimmy and himself. It's not perfect but it's the best they have.

This is still a bit of a soft biopunk setting at the end of the day with mutliple species and genetic modification, I imagine it might be a little bit easier to get hold of certain things than it would be in real life. I also think they live in a very different economy, and its probably easier to find sturdier and custom made items due to the variety of their society making mass production more difficult. This leaves the problem of certain species not responding to certain medicines though and needing more specialized treatment.

The degredation of materials is something I do try to take into account, which is the reason gas power is nearly nonexistent, but it's hard to take everything into account and sometimes I would rather not, simply because it allows more stories to be told if something is available but difficult to get rather than impossible. I'm not great with drawing or knowing technology so it's easier to just say something is jerryrigged than it is to actively illustrate how they did it. If it seems it might be possible I allow it.

The important thing to me is to consider the types of people who would think about these things first and if anyone might be that person. You know, someone with asthma is going to think of medication and figure out how to get it, a truck driver might know where to go for storages of specific supplies instead of raiding malls, and a historical reenactor might think of how to get and create sustainable materials. Everyone leads a life that puts certain things at the forefront of their mind that other people probably wouldn't think of at all. Especially going from a modern specialist society collapsing into a society that requires generalized knowledge. And the saved knowledge of these things didn't turn to dust the second the apocalypse hit.

Life's not as rough as it might be in other apocalypse media, just because I guess I generally don't really care for the unrralistically cynical outlook a lot of american apocalypse stories are made in for drama's sake. This is a story about people caring about and helping one another, and developing a new life for themselves. If they don't have access to something, people work together to make due with what they have.

[hybbart]

I know im probably the only person in this crowd that cares but do you have a floor plan for the rancher house? Im absolutely in love with the nest room artwork

This isn't correct scale at all but this is? roughly? How the house works? There's like three different layouts my brain keeps switching between tbh so I don't have a super strong grasp of it, but this is the layout that's been shown in days.

The entire right side is the addition. Nestrooms must be on at least a second floor and it was easier to simply build an entire addition, since the original house is a very simple single floor layout. Because of that they technically have two new rooms. They'll probably add more in the coming years but obviously supplies and weather are the main issues.

BTW The difference between a second floor bedroom and a nestroom, besides there being a nest instead of a traditional bed, is that it is heavily insulated and have tall shuttered windows or a balcony. Glass also doesn't get used, which is fine since the ranchers would have to carefully steal glass from an existing window. It should be possible to make the room pitch dark.

[hybbart]

I love ur ranchers apocalypse au and think its amazing and usually see on twitter, since I lurk more there, and theres so much info of them here but im still slightly confused and been wondering this for a while

How come Jimmy has the tube/gas mask? I am aware its because the man has breathing problems but its just slightly confused me 😅

Thank you! I'll try to clarify things as best I can? I avoided specifics because it's not something I want to get wrong and accidentally spread wrong info about, but I'll do my best to go through it as thoroughly as it's thought out in my head. Hopefully this clears up any confusion? Sorry if it doesn't.

The tl;dr is they're attached to machines that help him breathe so he doesn't suffer further damage to his body.

When Tango first finds Jimmy he's been trapped in a cave. He'd been breathing in fumes for who knows how long and was outright unconscious by the time he's found. (Like actual birds he's more easily affected by such things, though for avians it's more about their lungs and heart and not so much their size obviously) Tango gives him his gas mask to help rescue him so they can get out of the cave.

They don't know he's developed lung damage from the incident until they're travelling and he still has trouble breathing, but they don't know what it is exactly. He spends a lot of time in the gas mask since they think it might be he's just sensitive (the apocalypse only recently happened at this point so they have little info about what's going on) but it gets worse.

They end up collecting basically any and all breathing aids they come across, but they neither know which will work or how to work them. Jimmy has a vague idea of what it is but not specifics enough to know what to do, and Tango only really knows the safety precautions to prevent it in the first place.

They end up hearing about a children's hospital being resettled by Scar and Cub and those two are thankfully able to help them by giving them info and helping Tango repair/adjust the machines they have.

The ranchers end up leaving with not-perfect equipment, but good enough cobbled together ones that Jimmy is relatively okay if they keep on top of things. It does mean they need to carry/locate more energy sources, but Tango being Tango would seek those sorts of things out regardless.

So, at this point, they have the gas mask (generally useful), a portable oxygen concentrator and nasal cannula (for daytime), and a machine made for sleep apnea with a full mask (for night time). They're one of the first things they consider when deciding what to do or where to go, it's on par with food for importance, but it's early enough in the apocalypse that food isn't a huge problem yet.

I went with these partly because they would be easier and more interesting to depict in single still images, partly because those are the tools I know from experience with my grandma, and partly because character-wise I think it would be the options the ranchers would seek out.

Jimmy takes a bit to get used to using them, too. He doesn't like them at first, but eventually he settles into using them almost constantly. He also can't fly for very long or very high because of his condition, not that he was the type to do so to begin with.

[hybbart]

What would happen if the power went out when they where asleep?

Revy is trained to get Tango if Jimmy is having trouble/stops breathing, so if it went out and that happened Tango can get him hooked up to his portable machine and get him to the hospital. Obviously there's a lot of things that can go wrong along that line, which is one of the reasons the ranchers are so scared. Of course, Jimmy's still okay enough most days that it wouldn't be a huge concern if he went without his machines for a few hours as long as he took it easy, it's only on bad days that it's super dangerous.

[hybbart]

Very sorry to nitpick but Tango seems to have spontaneously regrown his arm

Ah, no, he has a prosthetic arm still. His usual outfit just sorta covers it up cause of the gloves and coveralls. When he's wearing short sleeves I make sure to show it, and I try to avoid showing him doing too complex a movement with it (pretty easy since it's not his dominant hand) but except at night after they go to bed and when doing repairs he's always wearing it.

I decided that Etho and False didn't take it away from him due to how I drew the scenario and also for other reasons related to future events...

[hybbart]

hey did tango take off his arm (and if so, how is it doing)? it was there in the "jimmy goes feral" post but isn't there in the most recent one

Tango takes it off every night to sleep, and doesn't always put it back on right away. Usually after he showers but sometimes later. (At the start he would try to wear it as long as possible, but he learned that was a bad idea real quick.)

Realistically if he was cooking and doing chores he probably woulda put it back on already, but I felt like drawing him without it. It felt right for the domesticity of the day... Same reason I put Jimmy in his jumper.

But yeah, he still has it, it's probably sitting on their bed with his vest. (Jimmy lays his stuff out for him on his side of the bed, since he gets up with the sun and Tango sleeps in.)

[hybbart]

Maybe you’ve been asked this before but with Jimmy’s portable oxygen concentrator where is the thing it’s connected to? Is it in like a backpack or a bag that Jimmy always has? I don’t know much about it but I think that it’s cool that you added it into the story

No problem, you can check out the FAQ section of the directory- of which I will probably add this as another link- for further info.

Please note I've only had second hand experience with these machines and this is fiction so things aren't gonna be accurate to real life and shouldn't be taken as a source of info. Especially in the realm of technology I keep things simplified and vague.

While in the house and sleeping, Jimmy uses a different machine meant for sleep apnea than his usual one, which sits in his bedside table and has a full mask. He can't go much further than the bedroom door with it.

Otherwise he uses a portable oxygen machine that he keeps in a large brown leather bag. Usually its slung onto his right shoulder underneath whatever coat hes wearing so that it can't accidentally fall off. (There's probably a few days where I just straight up forgot to draw it, though.) If you see Jimmy has one bag on him or something peaking out under his coat or his right side is lumpy, it's that.

For at home, the tube is long enough and house small enough that he can simply move around the whole house and leave it in the home station Tango made for it. (Since they don't have an at-home machine and it uses battery packs, Tango cobbled a station together with Doc's help.) So, indoors he simply has a very long tube following him that he has to keep an eye on. (Thankfully neither cat is fond of playing with wires, and they rearanged the furniture to have the centre of rooms clear.)

At first Jimmy prefered the mask cause it didn't go in his nose, but these days Jimmy prefers the tubes cause it lets him move around and do things easier. He has a pretty strict and well-maintained sleeping schedule (unlike Tango) and morning routine so he doesn't have to think about it all as much, and moves around the house in a very particular manner. Thankfully, as a cat lover and an avian, he's very good at developing habits.

[hybbart]

Fhdhfhf normally I just scream in the tags but I gotta be more direct-- I absolutely love the expressions in the most recent apocalypse drawing-- they are chef's kiss!!

Like,, Jimmy's face is just so soft and genuinely concerned without an ounce of judgement meanwhile we have a very unimpressed Scott overlooking from the background--

And of course, the cherry on top-- Tango himself-- you can SEE the STUBBORNNESS and STRUGGLE and IT IS CLEARLY GOOD-NATURED BUT ALSO BESTIE JUST ASK FOR HELP and I'm just AUGAHUFUHR /positive /affectionate /I'm chewing your art

Thank you!

And ye. It's something I thought a lot about cause I knew early on that at some point, between his create skin and whatever's up with his DM skin's hand, I would want to take Tango's left arm. I tried to quickly write my thoughts but like usual I wrote a novel instead.

tl;dr: Tango's an insecure little baby who thinks his insecurities are justified by their situation so he holds himself to impossible standards he would never dare hold anyone else to.

(Also thank you for using full word tones)

Between the ranchers Tango's used to being the dependable one - maybe even a bit prideful about it - and gets guilty and insecure whenever he fails. Specifically in a very defensive boomer-y sort of way. He doesn't much think about how "I need to be useful" is a pretty awful way to think about himself, and also a bit backhanded to Jimmy too, who similarly can't always be useful.

Probably not something this format is conducive to explore much, since it's a very internal struggle. But I think it's an interesting struggle to have in a rough survival setting. It's certainly a situation that can exacerbate and feel validating to those issues with self-worth and internalized ableism.

Well I took a bit more realistic route with my apocalypse, where people are still, you know, people, and don't all just turn into evil violent serial killers the second society collapses. So the ranchers can still find plenty of decent folk who aren't going to force someone who can't do something to just to earn their place, and would help someone who needs it because why wouldn't you.

But I think, especially when they're by themselves, Tango would struggle with those sorts of feelings even before losing an arm. It's probably something that exacerbates Jimmy's own insecurities in their worst moments. In their best they do the opposite, by thinking the world of each other and expressing it frequently. The ranchers' relationship is all about that feedback loop.

[hybbart]

How does Jimmy's breathing work in the apocalypse au? He's sometimes wearing a gas mask, sometimes a breathing tube, and sometimes an oxygen mask, and I'm a little confused about it haha

Yeah it's basically just what they could cobble together that seems to work and with some advice and assistance from Scar and Cub. I'm no expert on any of this stuff so the details are intentionally vague to try and avoid giving as little false info as possible. Plus it's an apocalypse so everything is a makeshift good-enough solution.

More info below.

During the day, before they lost it, Jimmy used a portable oxygen concentration, and at night he uses a breathing machine that was for sleep apnea. I go into most things in detail in this post, so I'll address something I didn't really bring up in that one, which is how they work.

Well, actually a LOT of the things they carry around need power to work, and Tango loves his tech. One of the first thing they plan for in their stops is hydro, and they have a couple generators as well as solar chargers.

They carry an even bigger generator with them now that they have a permanent vehicle, and they seek out places that would have generators (since they stick to the rural areas, that includes a lot of places, though, including private property, so it's not actually that huge of a concern to find as one might think. That's just based on my own experiences with a lot of family in snowy, rural locations.)

The sleep apnea machine is bulky and not very flexible, it's designed with the thought that the person's only using it while sleeping in bed obviously. Totally unusable while scavenging and driving basically. The oxygen machine is portable and more adjustable, but it's also not intended for 24 hour use and needs recharging. Thus they use both at the appropriate time for each.

The gas mask is used for gas mask-y things and was a temporary solution back when they didn't know what was wrong. It's also lost now, though, since it was one of the items they took on their trip to the city that got stolen.

[hybbart]

Do the ranchers have a solar panel or run off a generator?

The ranchers have small portable solar batteries and chargers for their small devices, a large portable generator, and the house itself has a generator which is one of the reasons why they chose it over other properties. They don't have solar panels but its more because they haven't found any (yet) at an appropriate time. They also do gas runs for the vehicles, and the property has a fireplace and well.

Its easy to keep small devices like tablets, phones, flashlights, and so on charged, they just dont have access to services. Larger things are harder to maintain so they try to be conservative as conservative as a tech guy like tango can manage at least.

Jimmy's usually good and can go weeks without using anything besides the vehicles and his breathing machines. Access to electricity is a huge necessity for them because of that one thing, though, so its something they've kept on top of.

(I don't know how well it reflects reality but my personal experience is that most people in somewhat rural places, especially ones with bad weather, will have a generator of some kind if their house is at all modernized. I have extended family that all own farmland and them and all their neighbours seem to have them, at least.)

[hybbart]

I think this is only the second time (within reasonable recall) I've seen a character need an Oxymask (the other is one of the Baby Mewtwos in tumblr's mewtwo multiverse, there's so many I can't actually keep track of the outer orbits)

I tried to make something like the really old one my grandma had, I though it would be fun and interesting thematically and to draw for Jimmy!

It's a lot easier to draw than the tubes that's for sure, I have such a hard time making them look like they're A Thing and not just a sketch line I forgot to erase, so I ended up playing fast and loose with how they both work... It's the apocalypse, they're making do.

(Honestly when I was a kid I thought it was the coolest thing? Like my grandma was some sort of crazy scifi matrix person. Technology like that is so amazing.)

I did worry it would make him a bit too similar to Scar, but that's just the character designer part of my brain I think. Scar doesn't feature much in this AU and is a good knowledge source for Tango and Jimmy who would know little about breathing issues.

[hybbart]

Rancher Apocalypse AU Directory

Here is organizational tags and information for the Rancher Apocalypse AU. If there is any other information you would like linked or added feel free to ask.

Tags

rancher apocalypse au - Reverse chronological

rancher apocalypse au - Chronological (Desktop only)

raau ask

raau notes

raau notes: art - behind the scenes process

raau notes: setting - setting, timeline, and plagues

raau notes: technology - machines and equipment

raau notes: character - characters and their side stories

raau notes: ranchers - Tango, Jimmy, Revy, cats, chickens, and horses

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Ranchers

Nomadic

Ranchers: Tango, Jimmy, Norman, Bullseye, Pancake, Big Chicky

Power: Portable Generator, Portable Solar Chargers, Batteries

Transportation: bike trailer/coop

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Characters

Children’s Hospital (Sculk Infested) - Cub (Warden)

Gas Station - Keralis, xB, Hypno

Hunting Grounds - Katherine

Grove Park - Doc

Gem’s Cottage - Gem, Impulse, Pearl, Tilly

GGG’s Inn - Scott, Cleo

Scar’s Hospital - Scar, Grian, Zedaph, Oreo, Arrow, Pizza, Flick, Puddle, Dexter, Boop

Lizzie's Ranch - Lizzie, Joel, Sausage, Hermes, Tom, Mandy, Beandog, Bubbles, Adequate, Beatrice

Broadcast Station - Pixl, Lyarrah, Zloy

Downtown - Etho, False H.

Bdub’s Stables - Bdubs

Renchanting - Ren, Martyn, Bigb, Skizz

Avian City: Wels, False E., Hels

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FAQ

What caused the apocalypse?

The apocalypse was the result of a zombie disease and the sculk fungus which caused the death of approx. 80% of humanity. More Info

What is Jimmy wearing on his face?

Jimmy wears a portable oxygen concentrator during the day and a CPAP machine at night to help him breathe. More Info: 1, 2, 3

How do the ranchers power their devices?

The ranchers have accumulated various sources of power during their travels, including generators and solar chargers. More Info