#episode: backwarder

[worldbuilder-brainrot]

(E)GG AU: Fu’s Story

[Part 1: Fu’s backstory]

One day, Wayzz sensed the Peacock cracking. He couldn’t tell exactly where it was (a precaution to protect against bad Guardians), just that it was in Paris. Fu transformed, intending to handle it himself, but quickly realized he was too old to wield the Miraculous.

(As kids lack maturity and the elderly have lived long enough to reach insanity, the Miraculous are designed so that holders outside of their “prime” can only use a power once per recharge (without the use of spells). Due to the effects of aging, elderly holders typically also experience loss of agility.)

Knowing he’d have to trust another holder again, he traveled to Paris to start seeking out new heroes.

(His experiences during The Great War influenced him to only release the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous, be adamant about not revealing their identities to anyone, and (partly influenced by his upbringing in the GO) seek out teen heroes: old enough to handle the power (though limited if he needed to relinquish it), but also too young to easily pack up and go (unlike the couple of adults who’d tried that). (Furthermore, though he had an understanding of modern revelations about youth, thus also being against teen marriage, it was still through an ancient lens. So, though he was aware of how stressful and demanding heroism and a double life would be, if they proved to be “mature”, he viewed placing the responsibility and high expectations on teens just the same as he would with a young adult.))

By the time the Butterfly was activated with nefarious intentions, he was prepared to give his top picks a final test just to double-check. (He’d admit he was more than a bit biased in picking Adrien, but how could he deny someone who only wished for freedom? Besides, as the boy was beloved by all, it would spare Plagg from having to once again deal with his power being used to tear down all his holder’s enemies. (Even still, the (subconscious) influence of The Great War made him hesitant to reveal his existence to the Cat holder (and the Ladybug holder by extension).))

Marinette and Adrien did even better than he expected, despite the first-time hiccup. He surely thought Marinette would quit after forgetting to purify the akuma, but she got back out there (which is far more than he could expect from himself) and exceeded all his expectations. He felt terrible for just throwing them into the fire, but he couldn’t risk connecting them to him. It wasn’t like he would be a good guide anyway, especially not above ancient beings.

But fate had other plans (yes, eventually meeting Adrien, but that would be later): Marinette brought the Grimoire to him, and gave him hope. Perhaps false, but hope nonetheless. The Grimoire had been left back at the temple, and if it survived, maybe some of the Guardians survived too. Much better suited for passing on the legacy than he was. Even still, Marinette certainly had the kwamis’ favor and the skill for it, maybe it was time to pass his knowledge on before time caught up with him. Passing on the Turtle (however temporary) must’ve been his first hint.

(He refers to his box as the “Tibetan Miracle Box” because it’s the last box from the Tibetan temple. With all the cross-culture influences, box trading, and even some Miraculous swaps between boxes, most of the boxes only represented awkward mash-ups of cultures.)

Getting sick was a stark reminder of his mortality. He wasn’t all that sick, he knew he wasn’t. He would recover just fine, probably in a few days and the medicine would quell his symptoms in the meantime. But… thinking about if he was that sick, the possibility of him later becoming that sick… It left him in the kind of mental anguish that hurt him physically. He was glad the doctor brushed it off as him being dramatic– he was! And neither she nor Marinette deserved to put up with his problems. But… still… He wanted to see Marianne again. He wanted to be with her again. And he completely understood if she didn’t want to after he left her behind for so long, but she deserved closure for why; that she did nothing wrong. And his anxiety pressured him to tell her now, so he asked Marinette to pass on his letter to her.

Marianne knew Fu’s letter was off. She knew reading to the end would clear everything up. It was just… all the talk of being “too late”… it sounded like the words of someone… No. No! It had to be something more bearable! It had to be… He didn’t love her anymore! Yes! Something she could get over. After all, they hadn’t seen each other in years. It would be pretty messed up that he sent Ladybug to deliver his message instead of coming in person to say so, but that’s a much better option than he physically couldn’t. Because he could! He’s fine! He’s alive! He’s not…! He’s not… He just doesn’t love her anymore because they haven’t seen each other in so long…

“Backwarder… You want to go back and make up for lost time.”

Oh, how she did. Maybe… Maybe they would’ve had more time before… before… Just become akumatized and you won’t have to think about it.

…

Why did she act so rashly? Now she and Fu were going to lose even more time together because she couldn’t just read to the end… That’s okay. He’s okay. That’s what’s important to her. She missed Fu, but if Ladybug was with him, that means he’s not alone. And she has Mr. Ramier, so she isn’t either. They’re okay.

It hurt Fu to lose Marianne again, but he should’ve known he was asking too much. He was supposed to be focused on helping Marinette become a Guardian, not his late-life romance. Though it was nice to know Marianne was okay.

[In this version of the Butterfly, Hawkmoth’s empathy is so bad, he constantly misreads feelings/doesn’t bother to look deeper into buried feelings (often just makes stuff up when he can’t tell at all). (There are many akuma I apply this idea to, but that’s a discussion for another post.)]

When he heard of the new exhibit from Tibet, he was curious about what was dug up in his first home, and decided to tune in to the news broadcast. He never knew whether or not that had been a good thing.

He couldn’t leave her to fix his mistakes again. Not this one. He knew Marinette. He knew she would do everything she could to stop it. But she couldn’t. And she would die trying. After Adrien sacrificed himself first. No. He would handle this himself. He’d take their Miraculous to keep them out of danger and lead that beast away from everyone. He’d lead it all the way back to Tibet and drown with it in a volcano if he had to. He would not– could not– let it destroy innocent people all over again. Perhaps Hawkmoth and Mayura would leave Paris to avoid getting their Miraculous eaten, or simply because he took the Ladybug and Cat with him. Maybe he could take them down with that beast. If he couldn’t, maybe the other heroes Marinette and Adrien met could. He just had to get that beast away from Paris. Away from Marinette and Adrien and Marianne. He had to.

…

He really shouldn’t have underestimated Marinette. She was an incredible Ladybug, and once again, she proved she’d earned her spot among the legendary heroes. He hoped he wasn’t too insulting in his doubt. The restoration of the temple, the Guardians, Su-Han, the news brought him to tears. But he knew he had to remain in Paris. Hawkmoth and Mayura were his responsibility. Besides, he was surely exiled now that Su-Han was back to explain what Fu had done. Someone would certainly come for the box, and he would give it up, but he would still stay to deal with the consequences of the attacking akumatized victims and sentimonsters.

(He even got his magic compass, and other assorted treats, back from the staff. His staff which was now at the Louvre. He allowed Ladybug to give it to them, as it was beautiful and well-designed and a piece of his history that should be shared with the world. Though he had mixed feelings about giving it to the same people who literally dug up his trauma.)

He never wanted to make Marinette the Guardian like this. If she didn’t need the magic he was passing onto her, he wouldn’t have put the burden on her at all. She didn’t need the stress. She was going through so much already. But someone would come for the box, and they could help her. He just hoped she’d be okay in the meantime.

…

It was strange not having memory. He didn’t even have enough to miss it. A courtesy of fate, he supposed. He felt bad not recognizing the people who apparently knew him, but they were so kind, he could hardly be upset by the idea of getting to know them again. Especially Marianne. He didn’t know why, but he felt so safe with her, like he could tell her anything. Maybe he used to.

Marianne thought she would’ve been more upset seeing Fu without his memories, but he looked so… relaxed. It was the first time she saw him without the weight of the world in his eyes. It was in an admittedly tragic way, but he was at peace. And she found herself just happy to be with him again. That they could be in peace.

Fu was different, of course. Sort of in the way that she felt like she was making a new friend (which she believed was only fair, as Fu was experiencing the same but to an even higher degree). Yet, he wasn’t as much of a “blank slate” as she had initially worried, and still retained many of his old habits and sense of morals. Just more relaxed, and less nervous. She supposed that made sense; the memories weren’t gone, even if he couldn’t access them. It would take some getting used to, he really wasn’t her old friend anymore, but she had no complaints, she liked her new friend too.

[Continued (kind of) in the AU’s version of “Furious Fu”.]

#miraculous #episode: origins #episode: syren #episode: volpina #episode: anansi #episode: backwarder #episode: feast #movie: New York #episode: miracle queen #my fanfics #(E)GG AU

[trek-tracks]

Star Trek, "The Mark of Gideon."

Airdate: January 17, 1969.

Sigh.

#star trek #star trek tos #jim kirk #the mark of gideon #hodin #captain kirk #image source: trekcore #transcript source: chakoteya #i can't believe the us is going fucking backwards on this #i'm okay in canada but as a us citizen it's killing me #star trek has always been political #between the episode about antimaskers and this one the third season should not be this goddamn painfully relevant #anyone who wants to clown on this post: just don't #you will be instantly blocked

[skitskatdacat63]

okay.

#i have *many* thoughts #the hands in the hair i am very normal about this wdym???? #and the little bit of being moved backward and forwards...im uh...I remain silent..... #tho tbh this rly wasnt the most obscene thing to happen in this ep #(i.e. the part where hes getting a foot massage which is basically filmed as a crotch shot-) #these basically have the same vibes as those ones where hes lying on his back on the football pitch #honestly lots of massages this episode....was the director particularly into it..? #fernando alonso #fa14 #f1 #formula 1 #formula one #we do a little bit of f1 #fernando s1e4 #fernando(show)

[bunnieswithknives]

Can’t find the ask right now but someone asked about the Two of us characters meeting the cannon cast

#dhmis #don't hug me i'm scared #two of us AU #two of us!david #two of us!Roy #two of us!Lesley #yellow guy #red guy #dhmis duck #dhmis lesley #dhmis roy #art #digital art #doodles #david thinks Yellow is absolutely ADORABLE #'gone backwards' is referencing the Family episode when the twins talks about grandma getting shorter #sorry again for not posting anything in the past few days #hopefully this can make up for it at least a little bit

[g0gglez-eyeballz]

Murder Drones One Layer Challenge!

I might do this more often :3

#art #digital art #uzi doorman #murder drones #:3 #sillyposting #EPISODE 7 WAS TOO SILLY #null :3 #YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEE #we all gonna talk about nori- #is backwards for iron? #silly Liam Vickers #murder drones fanart

[meganechan05]

Addressing the Topic

People need to stop bending over backwards trying to justify why they would call Rita a woman or only using she/her pronouns when there are plenty of reliable sources that states they are canonically gender neutral.

The Producer, aka the one who pitched the premise, The Writer, the one in charge of the story and characters, and The Actor, the one who plays the character. Three people who have outright said that Rita is Gender Neutral or their gender is undisclosed.

An entire episode explaining that you should never make assumptions about Rita other than what they tell the audience via through their interactions with other characters. (Idol Rita isn't even Rita at all, btw. Being an idol was just a dream they had as a kid and moved on from and it was an undercover mission). Heck, if you have some kind of understand of the Japanese language, it's extremely obvious that Rita is never referred to with gendered terms until Episode 38 by Minongan aka the Jesters' Idiot who Rita only spoke 2.5 lines to and fooled by working undercover.

And don't use the "but Rita uses 私 (watashi) when referring to themself" on me. Kaguragi and Racles use it and both identify as male. It's a neutral term and also a formal one compared to the 俺 (ore) that Red, White, and Royal Blue uses.

As for the pronoun thing, you can use whatever pronoun you want for Rita. He/Him, She/Her, They/Them, Xe/Xer. Whatever. BUT it would be safer to use They/Them as that is the most neutral of the options and Rita's neutral. We don't know what English pronouns Rita prefers so play it safe with They/Them. Not that hard. They don't care what you call them, but it's safer to use the most neutral of the terms.

And to address the topic: no, we do not know if Rita being gender neutral is actually tied to their job as Supreme Justice. I vote No simply because of Karras and Morfonia. Morfonia identifies as female as far as we know and the same probably applies to Karras. How Rita identified as a child was undetermined, but considering no one is shown to know what their bio gender is (not even Morf or Karras), I'd say they're gender neutral regardless of their job. Probably poor wording on the production team's part, but who knows?

TL;DR Rita's Gender Neutral and that's that.

Deal with it.

#c'mon. 50 episodes and people still bend over backwards in the name of transphobia. holy fck #is it possible it's bc they refuse to simp over a non-female character played by a female actress? probably #but imma still cave their empty heads in with a metal bat #no the girls talk interview does not count. it applies to the actors not the characters. the title is just fun #kyoryu fight doesn't count either bc they fcking paired Jeramie with Souji when it 100% could've been Rita and Souji #no idea if Sakamoto got the memo tho #bc i sure as hell know the concept designer for Gokkan didnt #kingohger #king ohger #ohsama sentai kingohger #rita kaniska #rita kanisuka #kingoh doodles #comic doodle #Rita Kaniska is Gender Neutral #deal with it

[tango-but-everywhere]

happy third anniversary third life!

I’m rewatching it from scar’s pov for the occasion :]

[ID: a minecraft screenshot from 3rd life, taken at night near a small river in the birch forest. It’s raining. Tango is standing on the opposite bank to the viewer, scar, and etho is in the water, looking slightly down. they’re both in full iron minus helmets, and holding shields. tango’s holding an iron sword and etho a torch. End ID]

#tango tek #tango but everywhere #tangotek #trafficblr #third life smp #3lsmp #ethoslab #etho #etho’s lab #goodtimeswithscar #gtws #3rd life #third life #oh btw the caption is a . lie. it wasnt supposed to be a lie but i got halfway through his first episode and then remembered the wii u has #backwards compatibility and i would actually be able to replay my beloved childhood game lego batman 2: dc super heroes

[giftplane]

some transcriptions of things that were on screen in TWF4. may not include everything (and may have misread some things), sorry. under the cut. There aren't any timestamps, sorry, i didn't write them when i sent them over discord

"Charles Brook: 10.10.1970 Hi, just got hired officially as the computer supervisor for "Unnamed Bunny Smiles Restaurant" (though I've been coming up with a few names myself) I've known these guys for a while, they're family! I've done some work for them along with Susan for years now, even before Cyberfun Tech! Getting to meet the Waltens and the Krankens has been super fun! So excited to get to work! The future is bright. [P. 27:12] C.B."

---

"Mr. Kranken This is Norman, I'm sending you this letter on behalf of our deal between Bunny Smiles and Cyberfun Tech and most importantly, the well-being of our Cyberfun staff. We've been getting a lot of complaints about a member of our staff team going missing who was highly associated with you and your team. Susan Woodings has been missing for a week now and here in Cyberfun Tech we are working as hard as we can to try and manage to get in contact with her. Is there perhaps any detail you could hand us to help locate our missing employee? I'm going to be entirely honest with you, Mr. Kranken, and tell you I have a ton of questions and suspicions about whatever is going on with your company. Whatever it is, it's making both your company and mine look bad to public light so, again, if there's anything that could help us find Susan, write us back immediately. Thank you. I'll see you Monday."

---

"Employee Notes #404 BSI Notes [???]

THE BSI CONSOLE The Bunny Smiles incorporated console allows the robots of bon's burger's (to) feel a lot more lifelike and allow for a more fun and impressing experience I think this is an ambitious and innovating concept i would've never expected to make in my life. Susan did not disappoint at all. Absolutely stunning and delicate work. Jack was fascinated, never seen anything like it! Felix was both amazed and scared, he doesn't understand anything about how it works!"

---

"BSI Employee Notes

WALKAROUND TEST (WEEK 1-2) WEEK 1: Banny knocked over the table! Rework room reorganizing feature! Bon test went well, recognized Sophie right away! Sha is next

Boozoo's magic trick bit went well, little rusty but he'll do better next time.

WEEK 2: Banny fixed, test went as planned. Mask broke (d)own from last incident Bon walkaround test went well, better than expected (Notes on side: "Mask broke down, get new one made by Friday!" "There should be a spare one in")"

#the walten files #twf spoilers #twf4 #there's also some backwards audio but i cannot understand it even when reversed. #good episode . cant believe we're getting more this month.

[blujaymi]

so...it seems like ruby wants to ascend to be like summer.

but given that it's been said that the tree and ascension are about "acceptance", i don't think ruby is really going to ascend in the traditional sense.

ruby's goal for herself and her identity has always been to "be like the heroes in the books".

and now we've seen how jaune has handled that mindset (hint: it wasn't a great way of thinking. ouch).

part of that identity has been centered around summer. she inherited her emblem. she inherited her silver eyes. she's always being compared to her, and she's been living in her mother's shadow—"super mom", the perfect hero.

Qrow: You're special the same way your mom was.

rather, that's the version of summer that ruby has held onto. she's trying to live up to an expectation that was never really set in the first place, because summer wasn't perfect.

Yang: Mom took a risk the day she left. And I don't think it went the way she wanted it to, but she's still my hero.

which—side tangent—i feel like is part of the reason yang didn't seem to notice just how far ruby was falling, so to speak.

yang doesn't see summer as such complete perfection, but she's still her hero.

Yang: It's not like we were asking her to be perfect.

and of course, she (and everyone but ruby herself, really) doesn't expect perfection from ruby either.

and don't get me wrong, yang still definitely idolizes summer—just in a different way from ruby. ruby's idolization of summer is much more...unhealthy. she feels like ruby rose is not enough, but that summer rose is.

Ruby: And it never, ever goes away. The feeling of not being...enough. The Blacksmith: And how would you measure...enough?

that being said, i'm getting the feeling that we may be getting some insight into summer, whether that be through some flashbacks of her failures, or maybe even how she died (i can only dream).

through that, i think ruby might be able to finally accept herself, because summer wasn't perfect either. ruby is not her, she's her own person.

and she's enough.

#yeah im so emo about this episode how could you tell? #also i feel like the idea of ruby ascending causing her to change into someone else in any way is kind of...backwards #especially with the suicidal implications of the tea drinking #i don't think it would sit well to me if her way of moving on from that was to 'become enough' as a different person through ascension #rather she needs to accept that she is already enough #maybe she'll get a cool new outfit though #possibly get a unique emblem reflecting her growth #or just get the old one back with a healthier mindset #im down for that #rwby #rwby9 #rwby spoilers #ruby rose #yang xiao long #summer rose

[guardian-angle22]

Appreciation Post for TK Strand in that softball outfit

#911 lone star #tk strand #there are... so many gifs in this but I just had to be THOROUGH with this one #jock!tk is so canon and it's fuckin hotttt #thats one lucky piece of gum #also petition to have tk in more backwards caps and sunglasses #dont even care the reason - I just need it #my gifs #episode: s03e07 red vs blue

[episodes-without-incident]

Alas, my perfect record has a streak on it now. Thanks to everyone who called it out!

#admittedly sometimes i zone out and don't backward; up until now that hasn't been too much of an issue-- #but i knew it would come back to bite me eventually #i got lazy after people started sending me asks about cats references lmao #not an episode count #asks

[octoagentmiles]

GUYS I NOTICED SOMETHING-

THEY DO ALMOST THE SAME KNEEL....

They learned this in the Polar Scouts, 100%. It's a technique meant to reassure smaller creatures, and/or make them feel less intimidated. Prove me wrong (you can't).

#i noticed a while ago that Barnacles stands with his claws facing backwards- #and i theorized it was for the same reason 👆 #now u better BELIEVE I'm gonna be rewatching and eyeing Tracker's paws like a hawk to see if he does it too djdgsdhskks 👁️👁️🔍 #octonauts #captain barnacles #octonauts tracker #i need a polar scouts episode #we ALMOST had one with the beginning of the missing lake but no 😔 #i need an ep with JUST tracker and barnacles catching up and doing scout stuff i think that'd be awesome #also. completely unrelated lmao but i love how barnacles is fully on his knees but still taller than tweak in that one pic xD

[mumblesplash]

season 9 has been amazing but i’m kinda excited to be around for the beginning of a hermitcraft season, they were well into the empires crossover arc when i started watching double life (which was pretty much my introduction to mcyt in general) so this is gonna be my first time actually being around for the early game

#man i REALLY fell into this whole thing ass backwards #it literally all started bc of scar #my sister knew about him and i was like ok so i’ve just seen this man play minecraft #and it was somehow the most stressful thing i’ve experienced in my life #and she was like ‘would you like to see someone desperately try to keep him alive for approximately 6 episodes’ #i watched all the life series (at the time) in reverse order and then moved on to hc 8 #which i feel is worth mentioning bc this watching order caused me to have what seems to be a pretty unique series of realizations #it was like oh wow scar really is that stressful to keep alive -> oh shit there’s prequels to double life?? -> #oh shit the double life (and prequels) players are in OTHER minecraft series??? -> holy shit the double life guys can BUILD???? -> #(discovers the swagon was a ‘starter base’) HOLY SHIT the double life guys can BUILD -> MOON BIG??????? -> #NORMAL HERMITCRAFT SEASONS ARE *HOW* MANY EPISODES???????????? #-> */CROSSOVER EVENT??????????????/* #and that’s just the major story beats that shit was a JOURNEY #mumbling #there were some other notable shocks along the way #like the discovery that the popular fan interpretations of the life series involved any angst whatsoever threw me for a LOOP #bc they're all so clearly being silly goofy with their buddies #to be clear i'm so on board with taking it all extremely seriously for the sake of Lore #it's all very fun #but going in i was not expecting it at ALL

[3gremlins]

i just love that a show as big as doctor who came out with its whole chest and said FUCK YOU TERFS YOU ACTIVELY MAKE LIFE DANGEROUS FOR TRANS PEOPLE AND YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE

like tysm, russell t davies <3

(also finally justice for donna)

#i know rtd had some issues in the past but the new dr who ep was so good it was some growth #i wasn't sure about david tennant's return b/c as much as i love him it feels like a step backwards but this was good #i do think jodie whittaker deserved better tho #doctor who #doctor who spoilers #doctor who special #episode 1 was so cute and i also loved the meep #which i think was a puppet? i hope because it was good and looked puppety in the best way (also love a chaotic evil villain) #trans #i think my only note as a non binary person is it bugs me slightly when people try to explain non binary in fantasy/sci fi #like the “whole you're non binary because of x” trope but ill let it slide this once #it's just so big for something that big to come out and tell off the dangerous fascist bigots for once #doctor who special spoilers #sex education did it a bit too in s4 but that show's not as big as doctor who but i still appreciated it

[s-lycopersicum]

#unrestrained summer fun #also this episode is a microcosm of what i love about this series #the story is told backwards in time and from the perspectives of multiple characters each in their own self-contained story #durarara #sonohara anri #ryuugamine mikado #kida masaomi #gif #gifset

[lilcathsmith]

Greg in every episode of CSI (48/328)

#csi #greg sanders #nick stokes #sara sidle #gil grissom #warrick brown #catherine willows #csi s3 #csi 3x08 #weirdly impressed at how he wrote the backwards 9 so easily #I think my brain would break thinking about this #there he is! my favourite white boy! #own post #mine: every episode