#Gladstone’s luck once again saves the day

[usertransducks]

sorry if someone has already posted it but here’s the silent comic Fethry and a Surprise for the Head

[INDUCKS]

Note: The original sign says “Slurpy Easter Eggs: In one in a million hides a diamond!” and the sign in Fethry’s imagination says “Slurpy Easter Eggs: In one in a million find poor Fethry’s hat.”

[inthedespell]

AU idea: Magica is the one that gets turned into a crow, Poe is the one that summons Lena and gets trapped in a penny.

For this Au, my first thought is that Poe allows Lena to call him big brother.

He is kind to her in his own way. He thinks of her as a replacement for his sister. He wonders if he could use her to hold his sister's spirit if he can't turn her back, but he hardly thinks of her as a true person.

Lena is annoyed at him. He tries to control what she wears and how she speaks. In many ways, she feel less than a shadow and more like a broken echo. He is kind to her because she calls him brother and she dresses like his sister. But that kindness only goes so far.

Once freed, Lena learns to dress for herself and speak her mind more. This upsets Poe. Not only has he lost, twice, but now to loose his sister again. It's almost too much. Plus, she's taken his powers. Luck has never been on his side. It feels like its turning when he meets Gladstone. The two become somewhat friends when they room together.

Poe explains about his sister one night while the two are drinking. "She had a nasty temper but loyal to a fault with me. I think she'd have been kinder had she known love from outside our home."

It is mostly wishful thinking. Magica had always been a bit cruel and mean, but who wouldn't have been with their parents and calling towards the dark craft. Gladstone says once he'd find himself lucky to meet her and Poe just snorts. It's a joke to him to hear such a thing. No one finds meeting the De Spell twins as lucky.

Gladstone moves out shortly after.

Lena does return a part of his magic months later. She says it's to heal herself. She doesn't want to carry it around with her. She doesn't want the guilt and the nightmares that she's the reason he can't save his sister. She says he's like Donald in a way. She says that Donald is in a lot of pain without his sister but at least he has the trio. Poe notes he has her while Lena shakes her head. "No, I refuse to be your sister. I refuse to be anything to you from this day forward. That's why I'm giving it back, at all, but some."

Poe thinks that's fair enough. She doesn't really owe him much anyhow and she's doing more for him than he'd ever do for her.

Donald and Poe get along well. His temper reminds Poe of his sister and they both understand what it's like to have a rash sibling that runs headlong into adventure without thinking. They laugh as they share stories. Poe thinks its nice to have someone he can relate to. McDucks win the day but Poe feels a bit like he's found a friend.

"I think I found your sister." Gladstone calls him one day. "Only she's not a bird and she's not as yelly as you made her seem. She mostly glares."

"I doubt you found her." Poe frowns as he hears shouting in the background.

"I guess you could be right." Gladstone agrees. "In any case, I'm staying in this charming hotel down south. I'll send you the address if you'd like to visit us."

Poe gets updates on where they are going. Gladstone says she doesn't want to see him until she's regained herself. Poe doesn't believe he's found his sister, but allows the goose to go on. Hope isn't a terrible thing to have, even if it's built on a lie.

Lena believes. She even sees Magica once, but isn't too sure. Donald tells her to let them be. It's not her family anymore. Besides, bring the twins together could hurt her real family. Of course, Donald changes his mind weeks later. He tells Poe during one of there late night meetings that his sister is back. "She was with Gladstone. What he's doing with her, I've no idea, but she's with him."

"And her powers?"

"None that I could see."

Gladstone calls two months later. Still no magic for Magica. She still won't see him powerless and he asks a question. "Do you really think she's unable to love? That she's all temper, cruel and evil?" Poe isn't sure how to answer. It is a strange question.

"I think my sister is not above a good trick." Poe finally says. "You've magic of your own. I'd have taken it for myself if I had the chance and you've been with that woman for... what? a year?"

"Nearly two." Gladstone sighs. "I'll keep you posted on how we're doing. Listen. She's well. Try to move on and do something. You stay in too much."

Poe takes his advice. He goes to spend time with what may be his only real friend. Donald Duck is shocked to see him. There's no reason for the visit. His uncle hasn't any new magical items.

"I think your cousin has feelings for my sister."

"Okay?"

"He thinks i should spend more time out."

"Okay?"

"Do friendship tasks and such."

"... like watch a movie?"

"I imagine that may be what he means."

"I'ma make popcorn." Donald declares opening his door wider. "It's slasher movie night. Lena will be over in a few." Lena is deeply uncomfortable sitting between the two men. She wonders if this is some sort of date for them or if it's nothing. She isn't sure she likes it but doesn't tell anyone. Tuesday becomes the threes movie night. Thursdays Donald and Poe go out to diner. Mostly they stay in but sometimes they go out. They talk a lot about their families and interests. Donald tells him more about Lena and Magica. Poe isn't sure why the duck thinks he wants to know, but he is grateful that both women are doing well. Magica still hasn't regained her magic, but Donald says she isn't as angry.

"I'm glad for her." He is, really he is. Donald holds his hand.

"You could go see her. I could come with. Ya don't have to talk to her, just see her." Poe allows the man to hold his hand a bit longer before pulling away. He'll think on it.

[toonqueen]

Day 28: Macabre Duck

My headcanon for Nega Magica and Nega Gladstone’s relationship is complicated. Ha. I have written about it before. My Nega Magica is a paladin/healie magic type. Though that seems like a good thing, her magic spells can also dip into memory manipulation and a little mind control when needed. I like the concept that Negaverse versions are not like just completely opposite of their prime versions. At first glance she seems like a goodie goodie compared to Prime Magica. Believing in balance and helping innocent parties. However she has some shady dealing and secrets. Those that don’t know the couple well would see the situation as a Beauty and the Beast type thing. Grimstone is moody and edgy seeming personality while Magica seems like an innocent soul just hopelessly in love with a monster and willing to stay with him. But oh boy she’s doing the manipulating let me tell you.

My Nega Gladstone goes by Grimstone. My prime-verse headcanon has the luck being something coming down from Grandma Duck’s side of the family, magnified by the Distelfink. So in the Negaverse the  bloodline from Grandma Duck has one family member each generation that is consumption cursed. Like how Paddywack feeds on fear, Grimstone feeds on luck. So you can see how that would pit him against his primeverse version at some point. Oh ho ho. While Gladstone is lazy and relies on his luck, Grimstone is a well studied warlock on top of his consumption cursed abilities. 

Grim and Magica stay at Grandma’s farm, which unfortunately Grandma duck isn’t alive anymore. She was a bit of a paranoid survivalist so the farm is pretty self sustaining and had power off the grid. They do work as a pair to fight super natural things and collect dangerous artifacts they keep safely locked up in the farmhouse basement. That part of their lives is a parody on the RL based couple in The Conjuring. Once again I like the idea of Negaversers not being black and white good and evil based on their prime counterparts. Though Grimstone has tried to each Gladstone’s luck a few time in the primeverse, in the negaverse he and Magica are doing things to help save the world sometimes. Yah know. (I do the same with Negaduck but that's a different story HA)

I’m giving a lot of links to old stories cuz I haven’t had time to do Duckvember this year but here is a great story touching on their relationship haaaa. 

What little short story I wanted to write for this prompt was actually Magica getting badly injured on one of their missions and Grimstone bringing her body back to the barn with the Distelfink. He can’t do any healing magic at all because of his whole consumption cursed thing. He does his best he can with no luck (ha.) 

The actually have three kids and there youngest an adopted canadian goose named Orin, witnesses this going on. Grimstone tells him momma is alright and to go in the house and get some things needed. I see him being around 7ish in this story. With Orin’s help he is able to get Magica’s major wound closed up and maybe she might have needed a little rezz to. She might have been a little bit more dead than alive. But luckily now stable her own healing tomes kick in and she though unconscious, gets healed enough that she is going to be okay. 

Grimstone reassures Orin that momma was okay all along she just need a little help. And also don’t tell momma what just happened she’ll be worried and we don’t wanna stress out momma. 

Of course the next day when Magica is feeling better but resting in bed, Grimstone brings her breakfast. She states she knows everything that happened. Because Orin is a little snitch and loves his momma more than his daddy so he told Magica EVERYTHING. Magica isn’t mad, is glad Grimstone was able to save her. But like, his healing job is horrible she’s gonna have a scar on her torso thats never gonna go away but GRIM DID HIS BEST OKAY. ;-;

[tcsauaskblog]

OH MAN I GUESS IT’S TIME NOW HUH???? THEN HERE WE GO KIDS

So Abner is one of the older cousins (about 7 years older than Fethry). He’s not much bigger or taller then other kids his age, but he’s built like a brick wall and stronger than he looks FOR SURE. He’s a rowdy kid, often getting into lighthearted trouble and roughhousing with other boys in the school yard, but all in all, he really is a good kid. 

He helps his dad out with the chores on his gran’s ranch without complaint, does the nitty gritty jobs so that his gran doesn’t have to, and isn't afraid to give his mom a hug and a kiss in front of the other school boys (even if they’ll make fun of him later for it, which he’ll then get into a tussle about, but more for the sake of principle than actually denying that he’s a momma’s boy and is embarrassed by her affection.) He really is, truly, a good kid. Just a bit rough around the edges is all.

He’s not good around kids though. He never really payed much attention to his younger cousins till they were old enough to actually hang around with. Donald was always a little too feisty and eager to prove himself, which Abner could respect, and he was fun to wrestle with once he was actually able to hold his own. Della talked a lot, but momma said that was just a girl thing, despite her being just as eager to wrestle and get down and dirty with the boys. Gladstone showed off too much, but sometimes his luck would get them free ice cream down at the shops on Sunday afternoons, so he wasn’t too annoying to hang out with. And it helped that Gus was around his age, and able to help him round up the little gang of hooligans when it got a little too much for Abner to deal with sometimes.

And then Fethry came around. 

And he was small. Smaller than the others had been, almost tiny in comparison, and Abner felt his heart flinch every time someone asked him to hold his baby brother. (Either for a family pic for granny or to help momma out sometimes when she was busy) 

It wasn’t like Abner didn’t like Fethry. He was a relatively easy baby. Hardly ever cried, compared to what Abner remembered of his cousins as babies, and usually was content just to be held and giggle. Abner just didn’t know what to DO with the kid. 

He was just. So. Little. little enough that one wrong move from Abner and his baby brother would break into a million pieces. Not to mention the kid was so adored by everyone around him and was the complete opposite of Abner in every way. Abner didn’t think he could stomach the idea of being the reason this little kid, who was all smiles and stars in his wide brown eyes, cried or got hurt.

So Abner did was any kid his age could do in his situation and just sort of,,, avoided Fethry. Not to be mean or difficult, but just to be safe. Just until Fethry was a little older, a little less breakable.

As the years went by though, it became harder and harder to break this avoiding game they were playing, despite Fethry’s BEST efforts. Because the kid LOVED his cool and distant older brother. He’d follow Abner everywhere he went, would try to copy some of Abner’s poorer choice habits (which horrified Abner to no end, thus furthering his efforts to keep away from Fethry so as not to taint the kid) And even though Fethry got older and wasn’t the baby he used to be, he somehow got even more fragile, even more precious before Abner’s eyes. The kid was as pure hearted as could be, while Abner, entering his early teen years, became more and more rambunctious with his shenanigans and got into a lot more trouble than he was probably worth. He became to hard to be near the kid, a shining beacon of everything good in the world, where Abner was bordering on the darker side of that shadow the beacon cast.

Abner didn’t really mean to get into as many arguments about his estrangement with his kid brother with his folks, mostly his dad. But it was hard to explain himself. Abner was a little too much like his father, where words were hard to come by and actions always did the job of conveying his thoughts anyway. His mother, a kind hearted and gentle spirit, was always able to see through his rough exterior and understand him perfectly, but even she was having difficultly understanding his hesitance to be around Fethry. Abner wished he could be a little bit more like Fethry, the spitting image of his mother’s kind soul, But alas, he was too much like Eider, and that made the two butt heads more often than not. 

It was Gladstone’s 7th birthday when the incident occurred. 

The party was being held at granny’s ranch, and it was a big family todo, (family events always were) and Abner was getting a little too smothered with all the constant chatter and loud music. He had only stepped away just to catch his breath, to be able to breathe a little easier without all the commotion. He had taken a walk down to the little pond at the bottom of the hill. 

He didn’t really like water all that much. He wasn’t a very good swimmer, and after the summer he broke into the movie theatre with some friends to see an R-rated horror film about a sea monster when he was 9, he’d never really been able to look at a body of water the same again. But he had half an egg sandwich he swiped from the buffet table in his hoodie jacket, and feeding the bluegills was always something that calmed him down, so standing on the little dock didn’t seem too scary.

Abner didn’t realize Fethry had followed him down to the pond. He should have. Of course he should have known the kid would. Fethry followed him everywhere, like a little duckling would. Abner should have realized Fethry would have trailed along right behind him.

But he didn’t. He was too stuck in his own head, trying to calm himself down from getting too overstimulated from the party. He didn’t realize Fethry was right behind him. 

He didn’t mean to jerk as hard as he did, when Fethry has reached out towards him, he really, honestly, didn’t. The kid had startled him, and Abner was acting on school yard protective reflexes faster than he could stop himself.

To this day he doesn’t really know if he actually pushed Fethry in or not. It hurts to think about. All he knows for sure is two things. 

That Fethry fell into the water.

And that Abner didn’t jump in to save him.

Someone did though, Donald a few seconds later. Where he had come from, Abner couldn’t bother to ponder about. Donald had always been a little too protective over Fethry, acting on those big brother instincts far better than Abner ever did. He must have followed after Fethry when he noticed the little 4 year old duckling toddle away from any adult eyes. He had jumped in the water immediately to save Fethry. 

Abner wasn’t even sure if the Donald could swim. It didn’t matter if he could though. That wasn’t the point. The point was that Abner didn’t jump in, regardless of whatever excuse he could come up with.

And he tried, for years. Abner spent countless hours trying to wrap his head around why he never jumped in. Why he couldn’t move. Why is heart felt like it broke the second Fethry’s signature, stupidly big hat, disappeared under the water. Why it didn’t feel better when both he and Donald broke the surface again, whole seconds later.

The coming days would be a blur after that. A hazy blur that Abner didn’t like thinking too hard about. 

The adults had come to the rescue a few minutes later, Gladstone and Della must have ran to get them after Donald had jumped into the water after Fethry. Fethry ended up ok, if not a little water logged and shaken, understandably. They had demanded to know what had happened.

And Abner couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even make eye contact. Just stared at his own feet, his hands clenching in his hoodie pockets hard enough to leave bruising as he willed the pain in his chest to go away. Donald had no such reservations, and told the story as he saw it. 

That Abner has pushed Fethry into the lake.

Abner couldn’t very well refute it, no matter how much he wanted to. He didn’t mean to push Fethry if he did, he didn’t mean to not jump in after him. He didn’t mean to hurt Fethry. He never did. Fethry was the last person on the earth that Abner wanted to hurt. But that didn’t change the fact that he did hurt Fethry, and that he didn’t do anything to change that.

He was sent away to a boarding school the following week. A school for lost and wayward boys. Boys who had caused so much havoc in their lives, that their parents didn’t know what to do with them or how to help them anymore. It was, for a lot of cases, a last ditch effort to save some reckless boys from causing any more damage to themselves and the people around them. Abner was one of those cases.

He didn’t want to go. Had begged and pleaded and fought tooth and nail not to go. Momma, the sweet soul that she was, didn’t seem like she wanted to send him away either. But Fethry had almost drowned, and neither of them could deny that Abner was the cause of it, and had said nothing to his defense against it. But Pa’s word was final, and Abner couldn’t do anything about it.

The school was strict, but it had never met a challenger quite like Abner Duck. Stubbornness was something tangible, flowing in his veins like the rest of the spitfire Duck traits he inherited, and Abner proved himself to be quite the problem child that everyone had always painted him out to be. 

It was about a year later, that Abner got the letter from his gran that his mother had fallen ill. She died the following spring. 

Abner felt out of sorts in his suit that didn’t fit him quite right as he stood in the spring rain at his mother’s grave spot. It was under the little oak tree on the hill overlooking gran’s ranch. The pond Fethry had almost drowned in was just a little bit away, in viewing distance at the bottom of the hill. Fethry was on the other side of his father. Abner felt bile creep up in his throat whenever Fethry would peek over at Abner with wide brown eyes that reminded Abner too much of their mother, and try to give him a smile. Abner tried not to hate him in that moment. It wasn’t Fethry’s fault. He was only 5. He didn’t understand what was going on. Didn’t realize the weight of momma’s death. Still didn’t really understand why Abner hadn’t been around the past few months, but still. There was a pit of anger burning itself into Abner’s stomach that he didn’t know what to do with.

He hadn’t seen his mother in almost a year, and now he’ll never get to see her. Never get to hold her hands or give her hugs or eat her brown sugar cookies that was the only thing she could bake without burning. The last memory he has of her alive is when she hugged him goodbye before the boarding school bus took him away. Abner was too upset and angry that he didn’t hug her back. If he had known that was going to be his last moments of her, he would have turned around in his bus seat, to at least see her wave him off, with little Fethry, not understanding the situation at all, waving good bye too.

Abner was incredibly heartbroken, but more than that, he was furious. Furious that his father had sent him away in the first place. Away from his mother, the only person who really saw him for his worth. They had gotten into another fight that night, screaming at each other so loudly that they neighbors dogs, a whole acre away, could hear them and started barking in turn. Abner doesn’t remember a whole lot of the fight. Just that they were both raw from grief and heartbreak, and that Abner knew, that without his mom, he couldn’t stay in that house. Not with a dad who was a little too much like him, and a baby brother who couldn’t have been more different. Abner left for the school again the next morning. He hated being in the school, but it was the only place that was familiar enough to return to, without feeling like it was a home. 

Abner got the news that his father died half a year later. Abner didn’t bother going to the funeral, no matter how devastated he was about the news. The only person left from their broken little family, the only person who would, undoubtedly, be waiting for him, was Fethry. And Abner couldn’t see him. Not now. He didn’t know when, but certainly not now. Not after everything that had happened between them.

Abner decided it was best to keep the distance between himself and Fethry. Nothing good came from them being near each other, and this way, Abner knew that at the very least, Fethry would be safer without him around. Fethry had granny to take care of him, and Donald and Della and Gladstone to keep him company. He didn’t need Abner.

Fethry would be better off without him.

[fan-art-ic]

By Chance | DT Secret Santa 2020

A writing gift for @zestyquetzalcoatl who requested a fic with Gladstone and Donald getting along and use of Paperinik for the @ducktalessecretsanta2020 event! Despite how the rockiness of everything that’s happening, I hoped I conveyed that they care about each other. Even moreso, I hope you enjoy this!

Posted on archiveofourown here

Summer, 1999

Gladstone and Fethry’s parents wanted to go on a wine tour through Calisota, so the two of them were dumped on Scrooge McDuck, their barely related ‘uncle’. However, since Scrooge had taken in Della and Donald as his wards, the geezer had become a bit more approachable, a tad more indulgent of his young family. Part of that was giving in when Della asked her uncle to let her cousins stay with them for a couple of weeks during the summer.

Gladstone considers Fethry more brother than cousin given how often their parents had the other family over. Fethry is a good kid, silly but reliable. Della is whip-sharp with all the subtlety of a rocket, but she’s the only one who can prank Gladstone without his luck saving him. It’s unfortunate for his wardrobe, but it makes seeing her so much fun. Donald…

He’s easy to rile up, is all Gladstone can really say. Or is it? That certainly hadn’t been the case earlier.

Scrooge was stuck in meetings the whole afternoon of their first day in Duckburg, so Della and Donald showed their cousins around town. While walking around, they passed an electronics store with a window filled with televisions tuned to the same channel. On the screens was a Kiwi, the name Angus Fergus - Channel 00 visible on the subtitle banner. The breaking news headline was DUCK AVENGER: ENEMY OR FOE?

Gladstone laughed. “Enemy or foe? What kind of question is that?” He watched briefly as a news clip of a dark duck-shaped figure jumped a fence. His cousins stopped so he wouldn’t be left behind and turned to face him.

Donald frowned, saying, “It’s not a question.”

Della jumped in at that point. “That’s the top reporter on the Duck Avenger,” and as she said the name, she moved her voice up and down and wiggled her fingers. Gladstone and Fethry laughed at her antics, and Donald’s shoulders hitched up.

“Top reporter?” Donald scoffed. “The Duck Avenger is only a menace to those who need menacing, and that reporter is a joke. He can’t even write a byline.”

“Do you even know what a byline is?” Gladstone joked and Donald started to grow red. Della jeered at her brother and Fethry mimicked her. Donald’s face darkened.

“Yeah, didn’t you fail that English test, Don?” Della brought Donald in for a noogie, but he escaped it easily. He nearly swung at her, but stopped mid-way, grimacing.

“You okay, Donald?” Fethry asked.

Gladstone watched as Donald looked at the groups of people walking past them on the sidewalk before blowing his emo-long bangs out of his eyes with faked nonchalance. The duck rolled his shoulder and all he said was, “I got clipped by some ninny on a unicycle earlier. Don’t worry about it.”

“A unicycle?” Gladstone and Fethry questioned at once, but were steamrolled by Della’s reply.

“Wow, Don, if a unicycle can take you out you better let me take point on the next adventure,” Della laughed. She then tacked on, “Do you wanna put an ice pack on it back at home?”

“Nah, let’s just keep walking. That new arcade Funzo’s is a few blocks away,” Donald brushed Della off.

While going to Funzo’s had been awesome, especially because Gladstone tried the Big Bass wheel and won the 10,000 tickets (and he played the claw machine, successfully grabbing a toy each time), Gladstone feels...

There’s this niggling emotion in his chest, and as Gladstone tosses and turns in his bed, he can’t help but wonder if there is something wrong with Donald.

Gladstone huffs and drags his luxurious pillow down his face. “This is stupid,” he tells the dark of his temporary room. He flops onto his side and pulls the down comforter over his head. Underneath the blanket, it is pitch black and with each exhale it becomes stuffier and hotter and more unbearable.

He bursts out and pushes the comforter away. Gladstone grimaces and closes his eyes. He opens them and then sits up, grabbing his pillow and pummelling it a few times. He lays it and then himself back down. Sighing, he closes his eyes again.

“Argh!” Gladstone gripes out loud and he beats his fist into the mattress. Why couldn’t he go to sleep? “This sucks.”

This is fine, though. He’ll just drink some water and then fall right asleep like a baby. That’s it, right, his luck won’t let him go to sleep because he’s dehydrated, no problemo-

He turns to the nightstand, where no matter Gladstone stays there is always a glass of water, there’s no glass of water.

“Seriously?” Gladstone squawks at his luck. “Seriously?”

He sighs heavily and glances at the door. “I guess I’ll just go get my own water.” Luckily, by the door are a pair of shamrock green slippers. Gladstone shrugs his bathrobe over his pajamas and finds the slippers to be exceedingly soft when he slides them on.

The door opens quietly on oiled hinges, and Gladstone slowly makes his way out of the guest wing of the mansion to the main steps. He’s certain there are closer stairs that would take him to the kitchen, but he’s yet to learn them. He could probably ask Della or Donald about it tomorrow. He passes by a suit of knight’s armor and the moonlight pouring in from the windows glints off the poleaxe menacingly.

Gladstone shivers and shuffles faster. He can’t imagine living in such a creepy place with creepy things all year. Would make him bananas. All these magical artifacts and mystic doodads must be at least half responsible for Scrooge’s weird habits, Gladstone thinks and then laughs at his own thoughts.

“I’m hilarious,” he says out loud and definitely doesn’t startle when a hushed wailing emanates from a collection of strangely-shaped clay. He shivers again, “Eugh.” Soon he’s at the main stairs and not a single step groans as Gladstone walks down.

A sharp creak snaps through the still air.

He freezes on the stair landing and he looks toward the sound. Towards the steps on the other side of the landing that lead to the west wing of the house, where he was told Scrooge, Della, and Donald’s bedrooms are somewhere located. Gladstone grimaces. On one hand, it’s probably nothing, just some treasure acting up a bit how that pottery had. On the other hand…

Gladstone can’t help but imagine his cousins and their uncle in trouble and somehow unable to yell for help, that creak being the sole sound to alert anyone, and Gladstone had just happened to be nearby to hear it. His hands fiddle with the bathrobe tie, and his head swings to look back-and-forth between the ground floor, just down the steps, and the other side of the mansion, up the steps.

“That didn’t happen, I didn’t hear anything,” Gladstone murmurs to himself.

Thud.

Gladstone glares incredulously. That sound was so soft and distant, but he undeniably heard something thud in the house. Right after he said...nope, no more tempting fate, Gladstone decides. He turns to walk down the stairs, but as soon as his foot touches the first step, he hears another creak. Gladstone huffs and the moment his other foot touches the next step, there is...

Nothing. He didn’t hear anything. That’s good, right?

Gladstone makes it halfway across the foyer before he whips around and races up the stairs. He speed-walks down the hall of the opposite wing, feeling silly as he cups his hands to his ears. He hopes he hears something. He hopes he hears nothing.

There! A muffled yelp pierced the still air and was cut off not even a second later, but Gladstone had heard it. He stops in his tracks, and as luck would have it, he’s in front of a branching off hallway. Gladstone sees a few doors down it, but the main one that draws his attention is wrapped all around in bright yellow CAUTION tape. As he reluctantly walks closer, Gladstone spots a tiny boat sticker on the door jamb.

He nearly sweat drops. Gladstone loves his cousin, but he knows it’d be tempting fate to knock on the temperamental teenager’s door in the middle of the night. And what would Gladstone have to say for himself, that he was worried? That there were some weird sounds that scared him? He’d be very lucky if the only thing that happens is Donald waking up, telling him he heard some spooky artefact, and closing the door in his face.

Oh wait, it slowly dawns on the teenager. He is that lucky! He’s incredibly lucky every single day, why would this be any different? All he needs to do is knock, lay his fears to rest, go to bed, and lay himself to rest. Everything will be fine. He'll go back to sleep and the sun will rise and everything will be fine. Gladstone sucks in a deep breath and exhales in a whoosh. He knocks four times, just enough force to catch attention if Donald is awake, but not raucous enough to wake him. A muffled curse filters through the door. Gladstone frowns and folds his arms awkwardly. The door opens a few inches to reveal the sleep-squinting eyes of his cousin.

“Gladstone?”

He laughs weakly. “Ah! Donald, just the duck I wanted to see…” Gladstone means to say more, but is distracted by the dark shadows under Donald’s eyes. Or, more, around the eyes…?

“Did you need something?” asks Donald. His eyes are looking away from Gladstone’s, and his fingertips around the door are flecked darkly.

Gladstone blue screens for a second before finding some words to say, “I was wondering if you knew anything about the pottery near my room! Such fascinating pieces of, uh, artwork.”

The door shuts without answer and the goose scrambles. “Wait! No, I uh, I actually was, I’m worried,” he stammers out, and the door opens back up, a little more than before. Success. If only it wasn’t at the sacrifice of his dignity. “You see, they’re really freaky, and were making some weird moaning wailing noises? And I just couldn’t get to sleep!” Gladstone grins bashfully. The door opens fully, and there stands Donald, rumpled and grumbly but definitely awake.

“Move to a different room tonight. Tell Uncle Scrooge in the morning about it, he’ll give them a lecture,” Donald advises him, actually more helpful than Gladstone thought he would be. “Go back to sleep, Glad.”

“Well, uh, sounds good,” Gladstone says. The door begins to shut and Gladstone blurts out, “Why are you wearing boots in the middle of the night?” He had barely noticed them at first, but now it’s striking him as super weird.

Donald squawks. His eyes flick down and then back up to meet Gladstone’s. His cousin goes to slam shut his bedroom door, but before it closes Gladstone shoves his hand in between and blocks it. He hisses loudly in pain and Donald’s eyes go wide. The door reopens and Donald starts to reach out to Gladstone, who’s withdrawn the injured hand and stuffed it in his mouth to muffle his yelps, but then the duck aborts the gesture. When Gladstone finally lets go of his bruised hand, Donald flicks the side of his beak.

“Idiot,” he rasps. “Don’t put your stupid hand in the door.”

Gladstone declines to respond because with the door open more, he has a better view of his cousin. Donald’s feathers are badly ruffled, his tee-shirt oddly bulky on him like he’s wearing something big underneath, his black boots dirty and scuffed. Now, Gladstone can tell that his eyes aren’t swollen with only a lack of sleep but also with bruising.

He whistles lowly. “That’s a hell of a shiner, Don.” His cousin’s shoulders jump to his ears and he snarls at Gladstone.

“Shut up! You didn’t see any of this!” Donald stands taller and moves to block Gladstone’s view of the room, but Gladstone uses that to push him out of the way and walk in. As he walks by, he spies a thick piece of blue fabric spilling out the back of Donald’s shirt. He quickly reaches out and grabs it, pulling it closer to inspect. It has more weight to it than Gladstone expected and the underside is a deep coal black.

“Is this a cape?”

Donald whirls around to face him, and man, oh man has Gladstone messed up. If looks could kill Gladstone would be worm food. The duck’s shoulders start to shake and Gladstone can practically see steam whistling out his ears. Oh man.

“Get out of my room! You didn’t see anything! GET OUT-” Donald’s volume exponentially rises and Gladstone rushes to clamp the duck’s bill shut before he grows loud enough to wake up everyone else. Donald shakes in his grasp for a few seconds but regains his calm quickly enough that Gladstone feels somewhat certain he won’t start yelling again. Donald breathes heavily and with a dark look at Gladstone, he turns his back on him and stalks over to his bed. “Get out of my room,” his cousin orders, pulling his blanket over his head. As if that would be enough to dissuade a curious (not scared!) gander. Gladstone eyes the haphazard mess around the room. Piles of clothes, overflowing trash, an open window letting in an unusually cold summer draft. He shivers. Then he looks closer at the window.

Dark, two-toned smudges litter the windowsill. The floor below the window is oddly clear of any mess in a rough circle. Gladstone knows for a fact that there is a climbable trellis right outside Donald’s window. Della had pointed it out during his and Fethry’s first tour of the manor grounds, bemoaning the fact that lame straight-lace Donald got a sneak-out-able window and she didn’t.

Gladstone had laughed then, but now he was severely doubting the idea that Donald never snuck out.

“Donald? Is this…” Gladstone walks closer to the window and bends over. He picks up something small and black, rough in texture and sort of sticky. Spread out in his hands, he can see it’s a domino mask like the ones comic book superheroes wear. His trailing off must have been telling because after a few seconds Donald forcefully tumbles out of bed and snatches the mask from Gladstone’s hands.

“It’s for a school play,” Donald says harshly before shoving him towards the door. “Get out of my room.”

“Is this blood?” Gladstone asks as he stares at the reddish residue on his fingertips. “Donald, I want an explanation.”

“Yeah, well I want a thousand dollars, and you don’t see me getting it,” the duck says brusquely.

“Do you want a thousand dollars? I can give you it.” It wouldn’t even make a dent in his savings with how his parents make him deposit all the twenty-dollar bills he finds and cash prizes from sweepstakes he unwittingly wins.

Donald’s feathers fluff out a bit, and Gladstone realizes that was the wrong thing to say. “I, uh, well I mean, are you okay?”

His cousin gives him a disbelieving look and pauses in his attempts to push Gladstone out. The goose notices a small patch of darkened feathers on the side of Donald’s head. He reaches out to poke it. “You’re hurt?”

Donald bats his hand aside. “Just leave, Gladstone. Forget all this and I’ll let you get away with as many jokes as you want tomorrow.”

Tempting. Very tempting, in fact. For a second, Gladstone wavers. He and Fethry are in the works planning a prank on the Duck twins for the next day, and it’s a doozy of one that definitely would result in getting chased up a tree. His tree climbing skills are lacking…

“Nope!” Gladstone replies. “C’mon cuz! What’s the big secret? Some adventure you don’t want your sis getting in on?” His response gets him a tired look. Gladstone frowns. He’s just getting nowhere tonight. How untypical. This calls for drastic measures.

“Look, Donald,” he says seriously, and steps aside and away from the door. He levels a look at his cousin and is returned with an exhausted, stony stare. “I don’t want in on…” Gladstone gestures around the room, “whatever this is. I was worried earlier, but, eugh, this pains me to say, but I was worried about you.”

His cousin’s stunned expression is enough to make Gladstone continue. “You seemed off earlier, and this is like, REALLY wildly weird, whatever you’re up to, and, I don’t know, are you actually okay?” Donald stares at him, his face closed off and blank. Gladstone fidgets a bit awkwardly; bald-faced honesty is not his usual policy and the longer this silence drags out the heavier the sinking feeling in his stomach gets.

Finally, his cousin sighs harshly and looks him in the eyes before glancing around his owm room. Donald sighs again, but reaches out and closes the door with a click. Gladstone backs up to give him space and sits down in the desk chair to the left of the bed.

“You can’t tell anyone about this,” Donald begins quietly. “Not Fethry, not Della, not Scrooge, not your folks, you tell anyone and not even your luck will save you.” Teenage bravado or not, a shiver runs down Gladstone’s spine.

“Okay.”

“You promise?” Donald marches up to him and sticks a pinky finger in his face. Gladstone curls his own pinky around it and swallows roughly.

“Promise, Don.”

Donald breathes in and it’s like all the tension in him had been cut in two. With a deep sigh, his shoulders sag and the duck stumbles a few steps backward to sit heavily on the bed. He awkwardly draws up one leg and encircles his arms around it, and scratches at his elbow. In the soft moonlight pouring in, Gladstone can just make out a bandage clip peeking out of feathers. What craziness is Gladstone stepping into this time?

Donald mumbles...something into his elbows and knee, his face too buried for Gladstone to hear. “What?”

Donald mumbles again.

“What?”

Donald’s fingers clench. Unclench. He lifts his head to glare at the goose. Reluctantly, as if the very words pain him, Donald says, “I’m the Duck Avenger.”

Gladstone’s eyes bug out.

“WHA-” Donald moves lightning-quick, lunging forward and clamping a hand around Gladstone’s beak. He lets go after a second. Gladstone continues, volume adjusted, “-what do you mean you’re the freaking Duck Avenger? You’re saying you’re a vigilante? Did you hit your head?”

“Yes,” says Donald. “At least several times.” Gladstone has no response to that.

His cousin...is a vigilante. What did Gladstone know about the Duck Avenger? Not well-liked by news reporters, not well-liked by police, not well-liked by criminals. Criminals. His cousin regularly goes out and sneaks around at the dead of night getting...who had Gladstone heard about? The mayor?

“What was the deal with the mayor?” Gladstone asks. Donald frowns and seems a little caught off-guard.

“He was embezzling funds from Duckburg taxes,” explains Donald. “Using people’s money for his own fancy, schmancy pool at his big fancy, schmancy mansion, instead of fixing potholes or funding something worthwhile!”

“You live in a fancy, schmancy mansion with a pool,” Gladstone points out. Donald glares at him.

“It’s not the same!”

“Okay, okay!” Gladstone raises his hands in surrender, and he changes the topic. “So, like, you go out and expose politicians and punch robbers and stuff? Like Superdog or Wonder Warble?”

Donald scratches the back of his neck. “There’s a bit more to it than that, but uh, yeah.” The duck sits taller. “I avenge. I avenge on those taking advantage of those not in power. Or is it I avenge those not in power…” the teenager trails off.

“Neat!” Gladstone interjects as he can empathize with being brain fuzzy late at night; this is all so confusing without thinking about grammar of all things. Ugh, grammar.

“Wait, so how’s being a mysterious vigilante going to work when summer is over and school starts?” asks Gladstone. He starts to spin himself in the desk chair. “Are you going to just ‘avenge’ on weekends and holidays or…?”

Donald shakes his head and then yawns so big Gladstone hears a joint pop. He shivers. Eugh, gross. Whoa, he’s dizzy. He stops spinning the chair and realizes he’s missed half of what Donald has said. “Wait, back up, can you repeat that?”

His cousin rolls his eyes but obliges. “I was saying that I’m gonna go out whenever I can. If I’m not unconscious from the latest adventure or I don’t have a huge exam the next day, I want to be out there,” Donald turns his head to look out the window, “making a difference.”

Gladstone is seeing all sorts of hidden depths to his cousin tonight. Yikes, what to say to that kind of statement, jeez. “We got plenty of time to make a difference, Don, we’re not even out of high school,” Gladstone reasons. “Right now, we’re just learning the ropes and being crazy kids, no need to really stress about it that much. Making a difference is for adults.”

Donald shoots him a sharp glare that settles into a deep scowl. “Of course you’d say that.”

“Of course I’d say what?”

“That we should let the adults handle it. That we should wait to become adults to handle it. Some of us-” Donald visibly bites off the end of his sentence. Gladstone frowns. The duck continues, wrestling with his words. “I,” he stresses, “I am not waiting to do something. That’s not...It’s not something I can do.”

Gladstone stands up from the desk chair and starts pacing. One, two, three, four steps, turn around, walk back. One, two, three, four steps, turn around, walk back. One, two, three, four-

“Glad?”

The goose stops pacing and stands still for a moment. Gladstone ignores his cousin for a second to inspect his hands, where they’d held the mask earlier. He rubs his fingers together and some of the light brown, dried blood crumbles off his white feathers. He turns to look at Donald.

“Donald.” Gladstone hesitates before repeating himself from earlier, “Are you okay?” He hopes his cousin sees it for the out it is. Let Gladstone win once tonight. His cousin frowns and scratches at his elbow. The bandages shift around the arm. Gladstone looks away.  

“Am I…are you okay?” Donald deflects instead.

“I’m peachy keen,” Gladstone replies with pronounced cheer. He rocks back on his heels. “So, you are okay? You’ll live to the morning?”

Donald catches on, frowning at first before finally saying, “Yep, all good. You can go back to bed now.” Gladstone laughs weakly.

“Good to hear! Good to hear…” Jeez, now the duck almost looks downcast because Gladstone wants out of this frankly strange conversation. His stomach churns uneasily and Gladstone really just wants to dart out the door and chalk this all up to a weird dream. He turns and begins to walk toward the door, but before he crosses the threshold, Gladstone spins around and rushes up to the duck.

“Gladstone?” Donald says and then groans, “Mind the ribs!” as Gladstone quickly, tightly wraps his arms around his older cousin. He holds the hug for four seconds before letting go and stepping away immediately.

“Well, goodnight, Don,” Gladstone says. Donald looks back at him.

“Goodnight, Glad.”

The goose nods and then makes his way out of the room. Just before he closes the door, he hears Donald’s tired voice ask, “You won’t tell anyone ‘bout me?”

Gladstone swallows roughly and it takes him a moment to respond. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“ ‘Kay...goodnight…”

“Goodnight, Don,” repeats Gladstone and he closes the door with care. He walks back to the stairs and goes down to the kitchen. He remembers that reporter, asking if the Duck Avenger is the enemy. The shadowy silhouette of the Duck Avenger jumping a fence. Gladstone pulls a glass out of the cabinet and pours water into it from the pitcher. He sets the pitcher down and there’s a slight brownish tint on the white plastic that hadn’t been there before. Gladstone wipes it away and drinks from his glass. A mayor embezzling funds, that would require breaking and entering to figure out, getting into secured files or going onto the mayor’s, well, ex-mayor’s property, trespassing. That’s just one thing Gladstone knows about, and who knows how long Donald will keep superheroing? If he ever gets caught…

Gladstone finishes off his water and rinses the glass, setting it to dry on the mat beside the sink. He walks back to his room and slips under the covers. He stares up at the ceiling. His cousin the vigilante. Out there, trying to make a mark and fixing injustices. Although Gladstone isn't quite sure his cousin is really old enough, when he thinks about it he can find it pretty cool of Donald. Hopefully, he won’t have to think about it all. Tomorrow, he’ll have to talk to Fethry about changing their prank plans. Maybe something with not quite as many roller skates.

Gladstone closes his eyes and waits for a new day to begin.

[archester-creations]

Donald pulled Uno down by the lapels of his suit jacket. "You could've saved her!" He yelled at the white lighter as tears made long, dark tracks down his feathers.

"I couldn’t" Uno looked down at him sadly. "There was nothing I could do."

"You could've," Donald said quieter and his knees gave out. Just like that he crumpled, still holding onto Uno. Had it not been for the white lighter Donald would've hit the floor. Even so, Uno had barely caught him before he was roughly pushed away. "No. Go."

"What?" Uno almost couldn't hear the words. Donald spoke them so quietly, face pointed to the floor. When his gaze snapped back up the tears had somehow gotten worse.

"Go!" Donald snapped at him. "I don't want- I never wanna see you again!"

Uno hesitated, but Donald had already looked away. His eyes were intent on his hands. But his gaze was far away, somewhere else. There was nothing Uno could do. Nothing except what Donald had told him to. With a lingering look at Donald, Uno orbed out.

A minute after Uno left, Donald picked himself up and rushed, stumbling, to the attic.

For a long time after Donald cried. He cried, and he barely slept, and he scried. He scried and he spoke the 'to call a lost witch' spell until his throat got scratchy and sore. Neither worked. It never worked. For weeks and weeks and weeks. Until finally... he stopped.

He had to.

Della's eggs were due to hatch any day. And her triplets needed someone. Someone he couldn’t be. Not while he still mourned his sister. Not while he searched through the Book of Shadows for any answer. While he barely slept and only ate and drank to stay alive. They needed something better than that when they hatched. Someone who gave the time to watch them. Who could protect them from what ever evil may pop up. Though it’d been surprisingly low these past few months.

So Donald forcefully pulled himself together. He took a shower. Washing what felt like years of grime and tears from his feathers. He preened and had himself an actual meal. Proper sleep, though, would have to wait. There was more to be done. The attic had to be cleaned. And locked. It wasn’t a place he’d ever want the triplets to be in. Names had to be picked. Actual names. Donald loved Della, but he wouldn’t stick her kids with the awful names she’d picked. He had to prepare himself for them actually hatching. Had to make a warm nest for their first night. Get baby food.

... and he couldn't do it alone. ---- "I'm sorry," Donald croaked into the phone. "I know it’s a lot to ask.”

"You better be!" Gladstone said on the other side of the line. "I've just gotten established as a hairdresser here, Don."

"Only now?" Donald asked wryly. “I thought your luck would've helped out."

Donald could practically hear the eyeroll over the phone and the familiarity of it had him smiling, just slightly. It felt good after so long. "Yes," Gladstone said. "Believe it or not but it takes more than just fabulously good looks and incredible luck to get something like this going."

There wasn't a response Donald could think of. It wasn't right for him to ask Gladstone to just abandon the only non-magical thing he'd likely ever worked on in his life. "You don't ha-" But Gladstone cut him off before he could finish.

"If you didn't sound like such shit I'd make you beg. You better be grateful I won't," Gladstone said.

"What?"

"I expect my room to be just as I left it when I get back."

Now Donald laughed. Raw and painful. "Of course." ---- "I'm sorry," Donald croaked, once again, into the phone.

"Don't be!" Fethry said back. "It had to hit you hardest."

Donald flinched at the reminder. Not of his sister, though that still hurt. But the reminder that he hadn't been the only one who had to deal with the loss. She may've been his twin, but she was their cousin as well. It hadn't been the 'power of two'. It was always the 'power of four'. Four cousins, up against the world. They may have been the closest, but Della was always close to Gladstone and Fethry too. And Donald had shut them both out for months.

"Of course I'll help, Don," Fethry said. It was so sincere it made his heart hurt. Much like the earlier laugh tore at his throat. Fethry's sincerity felt like it tore strips into his chest. He'd forgot how much he'd missed him.

"Thank you," Donald said, teary eyed. After he'd shed so many, he didn't think it possible to shed any more.

"Of course," Fethry repeated. "I've missed you guys."

"I've missed you too."

"I'll see you in a few hours," Fethry said and Donald hung up for the second time.

In just a few hours his family would be back together. Mostly whole. There was still the largest hole in his heart. In his life. But having his cousins with him to help him raise the triplets would also help heal that hole, just a little. It would be nice to have the house not be so quiet anymore

[booknerdzstuff]

Book Recommendations/Reviews

E: So… I was thinking we start off this post with something a little different.

S: BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS!!!!!!

E: Sure...Three for each of us would be good.

S: Oh boy do I have some good ones! A few of these are LGBTQ by the way.

E: Also, please don’t mind the obsession with protagonists who are criminals.

S: Okay, I’ll start

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

By Benjamin Alire Saenz

Rating: 4.5/5

The novel follows the two main characters, Aristotle (Ari) and Dante. They seem to be polar opposites- Ari can’t swim, Dante can, Dante is very open and verbal with his thoughts while Ari spends more time in his mind- yet they instantly form a close bond. This relationship changes both their lives as they face the challenges of life together and discover who they want to be. 

I absolutely loved this book! The characters are so well rounded, and the development of their relationship felt very natural. The author’s beautiful style had me unable to put the book down! This was a very character driven novel, and so there wasn’t much in the way of plotline, but I found myself indifferent because the characters were so vibrant. I did deduct a half point, though, because I wish there had been a bit more resolution. All problems were solved, but it still felt like I was left hanging and missing something more. 

This is How We Lose the Time War

By Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Rating: 3.5/5

This book, the epitome of gay yearning, was written in the form of letters between two time-traveling agents on opposite sides of a war. The letters were so well written, and each writing style varied depending on who was writing the letter. Both characters were their own, developed people with a history. Unfortunately, the book can be very difficult to follow and understand. There isn’t much information given regarding the world, the reader is just sort of placed there and wished best of luck. This is one of my favorite books, if only for the letters. They truly pulled on my heartstrings, and I fell in love with both characters as the story progressed. I am very gay for both of them.

They Both Die at the End

By Adam Silvera

Rating: 4/5

 You’re not gonna BELIEVE what happens at the end! (Hint: they die). The two main characters, Mateo and Rufus, receive a call from Death Cast to inform them they are going to die today. Both download the Last Friend App, and meet each other through it, determined not to be alone on their Last Day. The book only covers one day, but so much development happens! I loved both characters and how different they were. I was very disappointed by the fact that they both die, however, because I was emotionally attached to both! I knocked off a point for the end simply because I felt that the reader is left hanging in the development of their relationship. There were also quite a few irrelevant characters who I found bogged the story down a bit.

E: My turn !!

Dance of Thieves

By Mary E. Pearson

Rating: 4/5 

While the book had quite a few cliches the personalities and interactions of the two main characters what was actually really initially drew me in. Dance of Thieves is set in a medieval world that has its own culture, gods, geography etc. The legendary former thief Kazi is sent into a foreign territory on a mission from the Queen to ironically quell thieves. Through a series of unfortunate events Kazi ends up stuck together with the leader of the foreign land, Jase (E: He’s great, I love him) who had been committing crimes in the area. 

Rook

Sharon Cameron

Rating: 4.5/5 

I loved the representation of a strong female protagonist in this novel and how resourceful and competent everyone was. There was no such thing as a damsel in distress in the book which was really nice. The book Rook is about an infamous rebel called Rook who is rescuing innocent people from the prison cells of the  government in what was once Paris. Meanwhile, the Lady Sophia Bellamy has become engaged to Rene Hasard as a last ditch attempt at saving her family from ruin but her fiance is not as he seems, but then again, neither is she.

Cinder

By Marrisa Meyer

Rating: 3.8/5 

...I actually really liked this book but it was, admittedly, a little elementary for me. The characters were interesting and garnered genuine sympathy from me, and the plot line was very well thought out. Cinder follows a gifted mechanic and secretly, a cyborg named Cinder in a futuristic world where there are people living on the moon and hover boards are quite real. Cinder struggles daily to make ends meet by fixing electronics, hiding her status as a cyborg in order not to be treated like a second-class citizen, and on top of that worries about her sister who has recently gotten sick with a deadly disease. Things become quite interesting when Cinder runs into the charming Prince Kai who just might have some secrets of his own. It is also an adaptation of Cinderella...

[duckylucky]

Gladstone Gander: Lady Luck.

Lady Luck, this was how Gladstone Gander called the fate that followed him from birth.

That strange force that always surrounded him, that gave him anything expensive without the need to lift a finger.

Lady Luck was always there to give him anything and take care of him, even when he caught the attention of a madman who locked him upin a Casino, he trusts that she would keep him safe and avoid any harm, which would even bring him a way out of that place.

Shortly after Donald arrived and the rest was history but she complied, she drew her exit ticket directly into her hands. He trusted Lady Luck with his eyes closed for anything, especially for them to turn out well and get what he wanted.

But once, his luck did not save him.

It all started on a calm day, with the sky clear and the sun shining brightly. Gladstone had received her second car of the day when she saw them, her unfortunate cousin Donald, along with her Uncle Scrooge, the triplets and that little girl that always walked with them.

He don't hesitate to approach with a big smile, waving. He received in response a sigh from the eldest, with curious glances from the minors and a lot of "pretty" screams from his cousin.

He end up sneaking into the great adventure from them, claiming that their great luck would help them and ignoring Donald's denials, accompanying them anyway.

They arrived at what appeared to be a great temple. According to Scrooge, it was full of traps that protected a great treasure in the center of everything.

They entered and walked down some corridors, avoiding darts, arrows and rocks falling from the ceiling but at some point, a trap was activated. No one knew who it was because everyone's attention was on the shaking floor and starting to break, falling into the void below.

They all ran to escape but Gladstone, being a bit of a coward and trusting his luck, remained stiff and trembling, closing his eyes in fear.

-"Be careful!"- was what he hear, feeling some hands on his back and pushing him aside abruptly. Gladstone sat up quickly, staring wide-eyed at the lack of flooring, and the lack of someone else.

-¡Donald!- and then they could hear it, a cry full of pain coming from the big hole and echoing all over the place, freezing the hearts of everyone present.

It was all very wrong.

It had all been a blur, Gladstone could only remember seeing her cousin being lifted on a stretcher and put in the car. His mind was off, in shock, only to restart and find himself in the hospital, sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room.

Beside him, asleep and looking very tired, was Scrooge. The boys were in front of him, sitting against the wall and with the little girl in the middle with them huddled around him, all sleeping.

Hours had passed, he really did not know, but they still did not receive any news ... and that did not leave their minds calm.

-Excuse me ...- a nurse with a white jacket and a table with documents in her hands approached. -... Donald Duck's family?-

-It's us!- He nodded as he stood up, pointing to himself and his sleeping relatives. -"Is he ...?"- He doubt, not wanting to know the answer if it was bad.

-"He's stable,"- she smiled at him slightly. -"He has a lot of wounds and broken bones that will take time to heal but luckily, there was no permanent damage."-

Gladstone let out a sigh of relief that he didn't notice he was holding.

-"You can come see him if you want ..."- She looked at the sleeping ducks, smiling fondly. -"Then you can wake them up so they can see it too"-

-"I want to see him, thanks,"- he agreed, following her as she started to stop at a door and slightly opened it.

The duck entered slowly, hearing the door close softly behind him. He couldn't help but grimace, the white room and the hospital smell he didn't like in the least.

He ran his eyes over the place, until he saw him: laying on a bed with white bed sheets was his cousin, with something connected to one of his arms and a bandage around one of his wrists, surely with many more on his body covered with bed sheets.

-"Oh cousin ..."- he approached him, sitting in the chair left there and taking a moment to see the face of others.

He looked calm, breathing slowly and letting out light sighs. Gladstone hesitated for a moment but reached out to grab her cousin's, stroking her absently. -"... you are a fool"-

-"Y... You... a... are the ... f.. fool"- he looked up suddenly, finding Donald looking at him with narrowed eyes and very tired, showing a weak but funny smile.

Gladstone stared at him in surprise, his expression slowly relaxing and allowing himself to show a smile, feeling a weak grip coming from the fingers of the injured duck.

-"A... are you alright?"- he look at him with something like concern.

-"Me?"- Donald pointed to himself, surprised.

-"I don't know if you forget but I am not the silly duck that is lying in a hospital bed,"- Gladstone huffed, receiving a slight laugh in response.

-"I'm ... fine,"- he let out a slow sigh. -"My nephews ... the uncle ..."- he muttered, apparently remembering his family.

-"They ...?"- Gladstone look at him with concern. -"They're fine, sleeping in the hallway,"- he shrugged, his fingers clinging to someone else's hand and stroking the back of it with his thumb.

-"You gave them ..."- He shook his head. -...you gave us a good scare cousin-

-I... I'm sorry ...- the duck mumble, letting out a sigh and grimacing, his body ached much more than expected.

He looked up at the ceiling, blinking and opening his eyes suddenly as he felt himself falling asleep, weariness beginning to flood him.

-"Sleeps cousin"- speak Gladstone when noticing the fatigue of his cousin. -"When you wake up, they will be here"- he smile slightly.

-"Are you ... going?"- It must be the medication they gave him, but Donald looked sad at the thought that he was leaving.

-"Nha, I have time"- I smile, squeezing his hand lightly. -"I will stay here~"- he watched with amusement as his cousin yawned, closing his eyes and going back to sleep, relaxing completely.

Gladstone looked down at their clasped hands, letting out a sigh.

It was the first time that Lady Luck had failed him but he had failed Donald's whole life.

He made up his mind, he would take care of his foolish cousin with the help of his luck, hoping that he could protect them both or at least prevent Donald from suffering so much damage again.

It had failed him many years, he would no longer do it.

THE END.

[bolddeducktionneverfails]

The Depths of "Gander": What's Going On Here?!

Whenever I’m asked what my favorite DuckTales episode is, I always immediately want to say “House of the Lucky Gander!”. Not just because it was a fun episode to watch, but it premiered during such a great time.

Disney XD was airing the first season out of order and that disrupted the flow between globe-trotting episodes and the Duckburg episodes. It also affected the amount of screen-time certain characters were given. Some viewers were convinced the show was beginning to focus too much on Webby and expressed their disappointment over the lack of Scrooge and Donald. In addition to this, there were also complaints about Launchpad's character being too dumbed down after “Terror of The Terra-firmians!” aired.

But when “Gander” premiered, it attended to these problems: This was a globe-trotting episode; something we haven’t seen since “Woo-oo!”. Both Scrooge and Donald were present, we got to see a Duck Family relative and we were suddenly let in a little on Launchpad's past! It was wonderful! Perhaps Disney Channel realized that the viewers were upset, because “The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!” was originally set to air on that date. There was a change in scheduling five days prior and because of this, Disney XD Canada, who’s schedule is supposed to mimic the U.S. version of the channel, ended up showing “Internship” anyway. The networks later flip-flopped the airings for the two episodes the following week. Heh, that was interesting.

...But, yeah! I was so shocked by Launchpad's side-quest! It left me with so many questions! Like “what was that all about?!” and “why didn't we get to see what happened?”. The more I thought about it, I began to wonder about the significance of Gladstone’s side of the story as well. I was hoping that we would get to see LP go on another side-quest some episodes later and get to see the action we missed out on! But the season ended without returning to this aspect.

Then about a year later, “The Depths of Cousin Fethry!” aired, and much to my delight, we got to see Launchpad go off on another secret adventure! Along with other similar elements to “Gander”! But, yet again, we didn't get to see what that adventure looked like. Everyone was so confused about this. Why did he go on another adventure we weren't allowed to see? What was the point of bringing this idea up a second time if it isn't going anywhere?

After comparing the two episodes and looking back at my theories, I think I know what the show-runners could be trying to do with these stories:

I think they're indirectly giving us information on Della's situation and how her return might play out.

⁽ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ, ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ, ᴳᶦᵖʰʸ ʷᵃˢⁿ'ᵗ ᶜᵒⁿᵛᵉʳᵗᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉˢ, ᴵ ʰᵃᵈ ᵗᵒ ᶠᶦⁿᵈ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵉˡˢᵉ. ᴹᵃʸᵇᵉ ᴵ'ˡˡ ᶜʰᵃⁿᵍᵉ 'ᵉᵐ ˡᵃᵗᵉʳ.⁾

Both “Gander” and “Depths” follow the same formula:

The family goes on an adventure to see a Duck relative (more specifically, a Duck Cousin)

The featured relative is compared to one of the kids

Dewey wants to name something after himself

Launchpad goes on his own adventure involving someone he previously dated

We can use this as a base to help us determine what could happen in the future.

The Family Goes On An Adventure to See A Duck Relative

“Gander” opens up with the Sunchaser flying though a starry, night sky accompanied by a large, full moon. The family has just arrived to the distant land of Macaw to answer Gladstone’s call for help. Originally, they were on their way to go to the Temple of The Golden Cricket, the home of a legendary insect that emerges every fifty years, but it was decided to attend to this family matter along the way.

When they find Gladstone in the hotel, he appears to be fine and claims that he just wants to hang out with his family. This is a cover for bigger reasons because he knows the owner of the hotel, Toad Liu Hai, and his staff are lurking around; keeping Gladstone in check. Since the beginning of the episode, Scrooge looked down at Macaw because he believed it was full of empty distractions. He constantly tries to mosey the kids over to the hotel exit so they can get back to the main adventure, but Toad Liu Hai keeps obscuring their path and reeling them back in with food and entertainment.

Later on, it turns out that Toad Liu Hai is an immortal being who has trapped Gladstone within his domain solely for the purpose of feeding off of his good luck. Donald fusses at his cousin after this reveal: “We came out here to help you and you put the family in danger!” The two of them are forced to participate in a challenge where the winner is freed and the loser has to stay trapped forever. Gladstone, of course, strolls through the course with no problems while Donald struggles to keep up. Just before Donald can give up on winning, he finds a new found strength in Louie’s words of encouragement that helps him to plow through all the obstacles and past the finish line; all while Gladstone gets distracted by a twenty dollar bill like in the montage from earlier in the episode.

Toad Liu Hai is about to reclaim Gladstone as his prisoner, but Scrooge thinks quickly and deceives the vampire into thinking Donald was the luckier one for winning. Louie is very upset with Scrooge’s decision; someone he admired and trusted, just carelessly handed his uncle over to someone evil! But Louie soon saw that this was all according to plan; Donald’s luck was so awful, that Toad Liu Hai and his entire tourist trap disintegrated! Both of the Duck Cousins are saved! The family get back in the Sunchaser to visit the temple like they originally intended and Gladstone sails away on a yacht.

“Depths” opens up with Huey doing something seemingly trivial and nerdy. He’s determining the age of a tree trunk in Scrooge's office by observing its rings. Dewey, who was interrupted from his bath to watch his brother do this, is bothered. He was hoping to see something exciting; something worth dragging him out of the tub for. Soon after, the office receives a call from Cousin Fethry, who’s been living in Scrooge's underwater lab for the past four and a half years. It's an invitation to meet him in the deep, dark and distant waters of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. He's made an exciting discovery and wants to share it with his family. Scrooge and Donald encourage the boys to disregard Fethry's call because he has the tendency to exaggerate the urgency of his findings. Every time they visit him, the discovery ends up being something silly that wasn't worth the dangerous adventure. The boys aren't convinced and answer the call anyway.

They trick Launchpad into stealing the submarine by claiming Scrooge wants them to “test the equipment” and head over to the lab’s lighthouse where Fethry is waiting for them. When Huey and Dewey reach the top floor, they’re not met with their cousin, but a crudely put together decoy of him. Before they can worry about what happened, Fethry appears in front of them from the ceiling; totally fine. He greets the “Little Donalds” and descends the aquavator so they can begin their expedition. While they wait to reach the laboratory, Fethry gives them a tour of it though a miniature display of the lab’s multiple pods. One of which, includes “The Dream Room! Great for naps! Relaxation! Embracing the unending darkness... becoming one with the abyssssss…”

The trio stop by the Tully Observatory, where they’re suddenly attacked by mutated sea worms! Once they’re able to calm the creatures down by showing them affection, Fethry introduces the boys to his team of glowing krill. These tiny crustaceans will assist them in getting to his exciting discovery. Fethry and the boys head back to the aquavator, but not long after, something cuts the cord attached to it! The only way for them to get to the discovery now is for them to swim out to it. Fethry and his krill lead the kids through the hydrothermal vents that surround the laboratory pods. Little do they know, something, or someone, rather, is lurking…

The group make it safely to the Dream Room and Fethry gets ready to finally show Huey and Dewey the amazing thing he found. He hesitates a bit a first by offering them them food; to make his family feel at home and get comfortable, but the kids don’t care about any of those things, they want to see his discovery NOW! It turns out, Fethry called them all the way over from Duckburg...and took them all the way to the bottom of the ocean...just to see a bunch of rainbow krill. This reveal doesn't sit well with the boys at all, especially Huey: “We trusted you! Came all the way down here! We got attacked by a squid! I kissed a worm!” It was all a big waste of time, just like their uncles had warned them...Dewey orders his cousin to take them back to the lighthouse, when suddenly, a giant glowing monster appears in front of the pod window!  

The trio desperately swim out and make their way to the aquavator as the vents destroy the laboratory around them. Once they make it, Huey fusses at his older relative again, “You lured us down here to get devoured by a monster. Thanks!” Fethry is saddened by this accusation; that wasn't his intention at all. While the brothers devise a plan to ward off the monster, Fethry begins to notice something very familiar about the creature...it’s not a monster, it’s Mitzi! A long-lost member of his team! She was mutated by the hydrothermal vents! Fethry notices that she's trying to help them get to safety, but Dewey isn’t buying it and continues to blind her with the aquavator’s spotlight. The two cousins fight over the device and Huey is left wondering who to trust. Fethry is able to win him over by reminding him about a rule in the Junior Woodchucks Guidebook involving how you must be open to the unknown to discover the truth. To test Fethry’s claim about Mitzi, Huey switches on the speaker and begins to sing to her like he had seen his older relative do earlier with his team. Mitzi becomes still and glows in response. Fethry was telling the truth! Something that seemed extremely trivial at first, ended up helping them in the end. The giant krill safely brings the boys back to the lighthouse and swims away into the distance with her old friend.

So...how could all of this relate to Della’s situation?

The environments in both episodes were vast, dark and distant, much like the moon in space. The moon and a starry sky were the first things we were presented with in “Gander”. In “Depths”, Launchpad referred to the ocean as "the underwater sky" and Fethry later described it as “liquid space”.

Interestingly enough, in “Woo-oo!”, Donald says “This is the Spear of Selene all over again!” when they’re stuck in an underwater chamber. 

Gladstone needed the help of his family to escape the place he was confined to. Della’s stuck on the moon somehow and might need her family to help her. Fethry was secluded far away without interaction with his family and acts strangely because of his isolation. Della will likely act in a similar manner when she comes back.

One relative calls for help while the other relative calls to share a discovery. Scrooge looks down at something about the upcoming adventure for seemingly being a waste of time; Macaw was full of distractions and visiting Fethry always ends up being a “fool's errand wrapped up in a needlessly, dangerous adventure”. He was originally in the process of trying to do something else he thinks is worth his time, like heading to the Temple of the Golden Cricket or organizing his office.

Could Della try to contact Earth asking for help but her call is ignored at first? The mission control center hasn't received a message in years, (Where exactly is it? Was it part of The Money Bin?) he may not be quick to believe any transmission is coming through. What if he doesn’t heed her call because he’s too busy saving money in order to beat Flintheart in the bet they made at the end of “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!” so he can keep his company?

Will she be unable to relaunch the Spear after she repairs it because of an opposing force? Similarly to Donald’s situation with his houseboat?

Is Selene, another moon deity or creature keeping Della trapped on the moon for some reason? If it’s Selene, is this part of a cruel prank? “The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!” highlighted how Della loves to pull pranks and how Selene enjoyed them. The fact that the triplets discover Della’s blueprints for the Spear in the same episode could be implying part of Della’s situation may be Selene’s doing. It doesn’t make sense for Selene to have never seen Della in years when she’s been within her domain this whole time. Was the way she acted when Dewey and Webby entered her garden all an act?

There’s been a number of other situations involving possession and being imprisoned somewhere:

Scrooge imprisoned Magica in his Number One Dime, Magica created and possessed Lena to set herself free.

Doofus temporarily claimed Louie as his “friend present” and wouldn’t allow him to leave his mansion. (This situation seemed very similar to “Gander”; Louie even wears the suit he wore in that episode.)

Zeus trapped the family on Ithaquack and forced them to participate in a contest. He later gets a siren to possess Storkules and attack the McDuck Family.

The Ghost of Christmas Past traps Scrooge in the past because he was fed up over being neglected every year in favor of Scrooge spending Christmas with his family.

Could any of these cases help give us a better idea for why Della could be trapped?

The relative is thought to be in serious danger in the beginning of the episode but it turns out they're fine or at least they appear that way. Gladstone was just getting an intense massage and Fethry set up a decoy to ward off pirates.

Could Della have to pretend not to be in trouble so she won’t get caught trying to leave?

In “Depths”, Huey and Dewey say something similar to Donald’s statement in “Gander” about the relative getting them in danger.

Could Della’s rescue put them all in a greater danger?

Fethry just wanted to show his family his discovery about the multicolored krill, he didn’t mean for things to go wrong.

Did the krill represent Della wanting to show her boys the stars and ignoring how dangerous the journey was? Both just wanted to spend time with their family; Fethry stalled before he uncovered the pod window. He’s usually very alone and more than likely wanted company in the process. His adventures were how he bonded with his family, like Della in “Last Christmas!”. Looking for Santa seemed trivial to Donald but she just wanted to spend time with her brother by going on an adventure with him. Something similar could probably be said for her purpose of creating the Spear of Selene.

Could the hydrothermal vents represent the cosmic storm in some way? Did going through it give Della any abnormalities? Is that why she’s able to breath in space? I've seen comments here and there comparing her situation to The Fantastic Four. 

If not Della, did someone else experience a mutation? If Fethry, Huey and Dewey were swimming around these vents, could they have been affected in some way?

Someone’s trust in another person gets tested and words of encouragement are given. Louie gave a speech to Donald and felt betrayed by Scrooge giving his uncle up. Huey had to deal with Fethry’s claim about Mitzi. This is also similar to Donald having to trust Dewey with the death trap in the pilot.

Will the family have to trust Della about something working out? Or the other way around?

A big reveal takes place: Toad is an immortal being, Mitzi is a long-lost friend.

Could the reveal be an explanation to why she could never be found before? A bigger reason why she took the Spear?

Does Della reunite with an unexpected friend from her past?

Elements from the earlier half of the episode come back into play in the latter. Gladstone getting distracted by a twenty dollar bill and Fethry singing to the krill.

Something that was previously believed as trivial will have significance in saving the day? (This sounds reminiscent of Launchpad starting the burrito-based uprising in “The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!”)

Huey, Dewey and Launchpad stole the sub like Della took the the Spear.

Will a spacecraft be stolen in order to save Della? And could it be done behind Scrooge and/or Donald's back?

Whenever Launchpad is part of the main action of a story, Donald tends to get pushed back. When Donald's part of the main action of a story, Launchpad tends to get pushed back. (This also occurs when a Duck Cousin is in focus and whenever Storkules is present.) If Donald was involved in the main action of “Woo-oo!”'s Atlantis-half and if parts of that situation were meant to mirror what could happen with Della's rescue, can we expect a flip where Launchpad is in focus during the space adventure while Donald gets pushed back somehow? Is that what his absence from the news report in the Season 1 finale was alluding to?

Tʜɪs ɪs sᴏ ᴏᴅᴅ...ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ's ᴀ ᴇᴍᴘᴛʏ sᴘᴀᴄᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɢᴏɴᴇ. Aɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ʜᴇᴀᴠɪʟʏ ɪɴᴠᴏʟᴠᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ʜᴀʟғ ᴏғ "Sʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ Wᴀʀ". Wʜʏ ᴅɪᴅ ʜᴇ ɢᴇᴛ ʟᴇғᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ?

At the end of the episode, one relative rides away on a yacht while the other rides away on a giant krill. 

The family rides back home reunited in a spacecraft? 

“The House of the Lucky Gander!” (home is on land), “The Depths of Cousin Fethry!” (deep in the sea)

Can we expect a title along the lines of “The Heights of Della Duck!”? (high in the sky?)

Since both “Gander” and “Depths” premiered in October, could we expect another episode that follows the formula to be aired in that month as well? Or did the Disney Channel move affect when “Depths” aired?

The Featured Relative is Compared to One of The Kids

When Louie begins to hang out with Gladstone in “Gander”, he remarks “I love this kid! He's like me, but shorter, with a cheaper haircut.” Both characters also wear green, are easy-going, savvy and lazy. In “Depths”, Dewey points out that both Fethry and Huey are eccentric nerds who follow the Junior Woodchuck guidebook and wear red caps that they never take off.

When thinking about which child could end up being compared to Della, I originally thought of Webby. While she isn't a blood relative, she's still treated as family and shares similar personality traits and interests with Della. If Webby took off her bow, she would even look similar to what Della used to look like when she was younger. I've been theorizing that Della will be pretty withdrawn after being isolated for so long. When she gets back, it could be like Webby's situation but sorta in reverse: Della doesn't want to explore anymore, she wants to stay in the mansion. She'll also feel out of place like Webby: her brother is more of a parent than she is and so much has changed since she left. I think the whole family will try to help her readjust, but Webby might be able to relate best to what she's feeling.

In spite of this, I'm starting to believe the next child to be featured in a “Gander” styled episode will be Dewey. There have already been comparisons between him and his mother. Scrooge, Donald and Selene are all reminded of Della's feisty demeanor and recklessness through Dewey's behavior. He was the one to discover the ripped painting in the garage and got the Della Mystery started. If a space trip is planned in the future, he would very likely be the main kid in focus.

I wanted to avoid suggesting him because according to the formula, the kid that gets compared to the relative ends up having the next season's main arc dedicated to them and Dewey already had that in the first season...but who's to say there won't be another episode to follow the formula next season with Webby? Both kids are like Della, so could there be two similarly structured episodes highlighting this?

Dewey Wants to Name Something After Himself

In “Gander”, Toad Liu Hai offers Dewey a jade tiger. Once Scrooge allows him to keep it, he names it Dewey Jr. In “Depths”, Dewey desperately wants to name a new species of sea-life after himself and constantly comes up with variations of his name like “Dewfish” and “The Dewnificent Krilldabeast”. If the family goes to space, maybe he'll want to name a star, some sort of alien creature or the vessel they're traveling in.

If the formula decides to stray a bit from this element, could we possibly expect something else involving his name? The kids were given nicknames in both episodes: Gladstone referred to Louie as “Lou” and Fethry collectively referred to Huey and Dewey as “Little Donalds”. Maybe Della jokingly refers to Dewey as “Bluey” because of his time travel adventure in “Last Christmas!”.

Launchpad Goes on His Own Adventure Involving Someone He Previously Dated

In “Gander”, Launchpad makes a rough, water landing with the Sunchaser, but he doesn't crash like he usually does. When the family disembark from the plane, LP reveals that he wasn't planning on entering the hotel with them. He motions towards a starry patch in the sky over the city and tries to explain to Scrooge that he has an old girlfriend, named Ziyi, who lives in the area. He wants to go check on her due to the problems she's been having with the local crime family. Scrooge ignores all of this and simply reminds Launchpad to be ready to resume the trip in one hour.

When the family comes back from the area where the hotel used to stand, Launchpad is seen holding the plane's plug door open, wearing Chinese armor. He's covered in several arrows with an eye patch over his right eye and a baby panda on his back. He had clearly come from some sort of scuffle while they were gone. While everyone doesn't seem to care and board the plane without a word, Dewey becomes concerned and asks him what happened. Instead of going into details, LP brushes it off as “tourist stuff”. When Dewey goes into the Sunchaser, Launchpad turns around to the city behind him and says “Goodbye...Ziyi. Wherever you are…” This more than likely implies that he wasn’t able to find her. There's a high chance she went missing due to the crime family.

In “Depths” Launchpad doesn't crash, but he lightly bumps Scrooge's submarine into the lighthouse. He hooks the sub to the railing and gets ready to join Huey and Dewey on the adventure, when all of a sudden, a familiar voice calls out to him: It's Oceanika! One of his many previous lovers. She is seen out in the open sea, on top of a rock; far away, but much closer than Ziyi.

When Launchpad returns to the lighthouse after yet another mysterious adventure, he crawls out of the water and on to the platform, wearing an Aquaman-esque get-up. He holds a trident in his left hand, a couple strands of seaweed are draped over his shoulders, a conch shell is hanging from his neck and three color-coded sea creatures are attached to him; a green eel, a red octopus and a blue starfish. While reuniting with Oceanika, he may have gotten caught up in a fight of some sort. He turns around to face the rock he had found her on earlier and begins to bid her farewell, until Dewey interrupts him: “Launchpad, what happened to you?” LP tenses up and claims that he “ran into an old friend...snorkeled around” and “saw some...sea stuff”. A longer explanation than last time, but still rather skimpy on the details.

What could this information possibly be suggesting about the future?

Launchpad doesn't crash. He makes a rough landing with the plane and a minor bump with sub.

Could Launchpad make an even softer landing with a spaceship? Maybe even a perfect landing?

Many comparisons have been made between submariners and astronauts. NASA Astronauts use the sea to help prepare themselves for space missions and the training required for managing a submarine is similar to that of a spacecraft. There are also situations in which test pilots become astronauts and depending on how far the show runners or willing to go with Launchpad's history, he may have already held that aviation position in the military. 

Since discovering the space-sea connection, I pondered a little about the possibility that Launchpad has already been through space before or at least went through some amount of training required for it, because seriously...how is he going to be this amazing at piloting a submarine, without prior experience? He can navigate it while sleeping and while being blindfolded, but he never crashes like he does with everything else he operates...

Launchpad doesn't join the first relative adventure, but he almost joins in the second one.

Will he join the main adventure the third time?

In his first adventure, LP wanted to check in on Ziyi because she might be in trouble. In the second adventure, Oceanika isn't in trouble they just want to see each other, but trouble might have arose in the process.

Will his third previous lover end up in trouble? Are they already in trouble?

LP returns from his adventures showing signs of being in a battle. The first time, he was shot at with arrows and wore an eye patch. The second time, he’s holding a trident and not as worn out by battle.

On his third adventure, will he have little to no damage at all?

LP returns from his adventures with a smaller creature or creatures attached to him. In the first adventure, the baby panda was in a basket on his back. In the second, the octopus and starfish were on his back and the eel was wrapped around his arm.

Will he have another group of smaller creatures with him in the third adventure? Will he carry Huey, Dewey and Louie back home with him? The colors and personalities of the triplets match the sea creatures: Eels are slippery, octopi are smart, a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶f̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶a̶i̶n̶s̶. Ha, just kidding about that last one. Not about the fact that starfish are brainless, but Dewey is impulsive; he doesn't think before he acts. Other possible connections between him and the starfish are how it could represent his desires to be an astronaut-president as he claimed in “Internship”, how he wants to stand out from his brothers and how he resembles Della in personality the most. The starfish is even a shade of teal, like Della’s scarf.

Something else that could support the idea of the sea creatures representing HDL is that there's a pattern suggested with the colors too. Louie is missing where green should go. 

Tʜᴇ ᴘᴀᴛᴛᴇʀɴ ɪs ᴀʟsᴏ ɪɴ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴋɪᴅs ғᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇᴅ ɪɴ “Gᴀɴᴅᴇʀ” sᴛʏʟᴇᴅ ᴇᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇs: Lᴏᴜɪᴇ ᴡᴀs ғɪʀsᴛ, Hᴜᴇʏ ᴡᴀs sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ, Dᴇᴡᴇʏ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴡᴇʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴛʜɪʀᴅ. Tʜᴇ ғᴀᴄᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ LP ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴏsᴇsᴛ ᴛᴏ Dᴇᴡᴇʏ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇ ɪᴍᴘʟʏɪɴɢ ʜᴏᴡ ʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠɪʟʏ ɪɴᴠᴏʟᴠᴇᴅ ɪɴ Dᴇᴡᴇʏ’s ᴇᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ.

Could Louie have been represented by the baby panda? He’s the “baby” of the trio and his voice actor plays Panda on We Bare Bears. DuckTales was still in development when that show premiered.

When Dewey asked LP what happened, he is given a description that mirrors what occurred on the relative adventure. At first, a short explanation was given. The second time it's a little longer.

Will we get a more detailed explanation the third time? Or will the situation speak for itself?

Going out to help Ziyi mirrored Gladstone’s call for help. Getting beat up at the end of his adventure mirrored Donald getting worn out by the obstacle course.

Was Ziyi possibly being held captive by the crime family like Gladstone was with Toad?

In “Gander”, Dewey, a child, took care of an adult animal, the jade tiger, while LP, an adult, took care of a child, the panda.

When Launchpad rose out of the water with a serious expression at the end of “Depths”, it kinda mirrors how Dewey looked when he was upset over Huey disrupting his bath in the beginning of the episode. Dewey was expressing how he wanted to see something exciting happen and Launchpad ends up coming from something exciting. (Kinda like how Huey licked the tree stump in the beginning of the episode and Fethry later licked the rust in the aquavator...ew.)

Going off to see someone special from his past mirrors Fethry reuniting with Mitzi. Fethry’s comment about sharing a rib-eye with Mitzi sounded reminiscent of a date too.

If Huey kissed a sea worm during the second main adventure (oof) while Launchpad’s adventures continue to be romantic based, could there be another kiss on the third adventure?

We don't see Ziyi because she's far away, we see Oceanika, but she's shown at a distance.

Will we see the third lover up close?

The intensity of LP’s adventures seem to increase while the intensity of the relative adventures seem to decrease:

LP’s adventure in “Gander” had less visible characters involved. LP didn’t participate with the family, Ziyi was missing and a short description is said. Then in “Depths”, he’s close to participating, we see his lover from afar, he gives a longer description to the kids and he comes back with more than one creature.

“Gander” had a more serious threat with more characters involved. “Depths” involved a lesser amount of characters with a lesser threat.

With each episode, the environments become even more space-like.

These three major elements seem to be leaning into each other and could eventually reach a point where they intersect and even out: 

Launchpad goes on a space adventure regarding a Duck Family relative he’s previously dated...?

Ha, if you’ve been following my blog long enough, you know this isn’t new from me, maybe you already sensed it while you were reading through, but seriously...first it was land... then there was sea...and with Della becoming a more prominent character this season, space will be soon. Launchpad’s adventures only occur when a Duck Cousin shows up and the basics always end up being similar to their situation. Ziyi (and Gladstone) could be reflecting Della’s past while Oceanika is reflecting her future; she was lost, but now she’s found.

Something that may be an indicator of these plot lines meeting in the future, is an upcoming Issue for IDW’s DuckTales comic series:

“It's a special 20-page story as we present "Money-Grubbing Hooligans from the Deep!" A tsunami is about to hit Duckburg, but a mysterious submarine may be the reason behind this unexpected occurrence. Find out how the occupant of the submarine is connected to Launchpad McQuack and if Uncle Scrooge's Money Bin will survive the watery onslaught!”

(Sᴏᴜʀᴄᴇ 1) (Sᴏᴜʀᴄᴇ 2)

While the comics are not necessarily set as canon, they will sometimes loosely parallel certain events from the show.  Like how the first two issues revolved around Donald looking for a job and how that element was present in the pilot episode. “Happy Happy Valley!”  seems to be inspired by “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!”. The plot for “The Incredible Shrinking Webby!” sounds similar to “The Most Dangerous Game...Night!” where Gyro's shrink ray got out of hand.

I think Issue 18 could be borrowing certain elements from Della's return with some bits from "Depths" as well. 

Let's take a closer look at Cover B:

Hᴇʜ, Wᴇʙʙʏ's ᴀʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ "Wʜᴏ ɪs ᴛʜɪs?" ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ʟᴏᴏᴋs ʟɪᴋᴇ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ's ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅs ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ. Pғғғғ.

We're presented with a night sky full of stars and the moon peeking behind a cloud. The submarine and its mysterious owner (who I'm very tempted to call “Subina”), are placed below the moon on the right hand side.

This new character seems to have combined traits from Oceanika and Della. While she’s from underwater, there's a bit of a space-ish vibe about her looks. She wears a teal dress that consists of a lighter shade and a darker shade like LP's hat, so like Della, she too shares his colors. Also, being the helmswoman of submarine technically makes her a pilot...a pilot who has something to do with Launchpad...in a story that gets released a day before Valentine's Day...

And like I've noted earlier, there’s a connection between the sea and outer-space. I believe that a sea theme was used to throw us off but indirectly give us information at the same time. (Like “Woo-oo!” And “Depths”.)

Aside from the mysterious submariner somewhat resembling Della, there's also mentions of her being the cause of a tsunami hitting Duckburg and the possibility of The Money Bin taking a beating from it. This could very well be in reference to the bet Scrooge agreed to with Glomgold. If Della needs to be saved during a time where Scrooge is trying his best to save money, he's going to have to make a choice between his family or his fortune. If he chooses family, he'll end up spending too much money and loose. The natural disaster could also be paralleling some other sort disaster about to happen in relation to the moon.

Before I close this out (Yes! You're reaching the end!), I wanted to mention something that might not support my claim, but I still wanted to discuss it:

At the end of “Last Christmas!”, we find out that Della brought her copy of the family photo from “Last Crash” with her. On the back of the photo are drawings of what look like baby ducks.

I noticed the doodle on the right looks an awful lot like a baby version of Gladstone. Because I mean, c'mon...just look at those thick eyebrows. The curly bang is very reminiscent of Gladstone's pre-reboot hairstyle too. The one on the left however, was very difficult to compare to an pre-existing character... I came across a comment about the possibility of it being a baby version of Fethry. (Maybe the cone shape on top isn't hair, but a pointed hat?) If this is intended to be Fethry and Gladstone, this might be further proof that their situations were meant to reflect Della's.

Another possible explanation for these drawings could be that Della drew Dewey and Louie from memory based on what she could retain from the news report. So maybe there's a sketch of what she remembered about Huey on the bottom half.

I believe it's going to be quite a while before we get a glimpse of what the third “Gander” styled episode will look like. The possible subject matter seems a lot more suited for a two-part finale and we're only six episodes in. Perhaps the beginning of the formula will span over some episodes prior to it, similarly to how “Castle” and “Last Crash” had elements that lead into “Shadow War”. Whether I'm truly on to something with my speculations or not, Della's return to Earth is an exciting subject, and I can't wait to see where it will go on the show.

That's a wrap, readers! Thank you for taking a dive with me on the S.S. Bold De-Ducktion!

TL;DR: We just might be in store for one heck of a family reunion.

[lorewytch]

Return to Shadows part 3

Authors Note:

YAY I decided to post it today because I edited it until my eyes hurt! WOOT.......ahaha yeah, well here’s the last of Lores adventures for a bit. I really need to work on some of the other fanfics I have going on. Especially the third story in the Consumed by Shadows series. ( I will be so happy when I can finally reveal the title...;_;) Thanks to those who like these adventures with Lore. I’ll eventually get back to them. And some I’m very excited to share. But I think you guys will enjoy the Ducktales fanfics much more ^^. I’ll do my best to keep my quality up on those, it just may take a bit longer than normal so please be patient. Also, fun fact! Mount Quaksta is actually Mount Shasta in the Duckburg world. Since it takes place in Northern Cali!

Anyways onto the story!

Floating above the world, Lore was high up in the air. The moon hung behind her as she gazed down upon Duckburg.

“Well, now what do I do?” she whispered nervously, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn’t mean to run away from Donald. But it felt like he was treading on dangerous ground and Lore didn’t want to reveal that much of herself to them. She had to keep smiling.

“Keep smiling Lore, You’ve brought so many smiles to other worlds. You can survive anything if you keep smiling..” she repeated those words she heard so long ago.

A buzzing noise from her bracelet caught her attention and once she brought it up the screen appeared before her eyes showing a distorted form of Clix.

“Lore! Can you hear me?!” Clix looked much more haggard than Lore could ever remember seeing the usually calm and cool tech expert.

“Yes, Clix what happened to you?” Lore asked, worried. “You look awful.”

Suddenly a tanned male with green hair, eyes and dressed head to toe with black and green clothes, straps crisscrossing his body and a sword stuck behind him entered the screen. His green hair was much fluffier than Clix’s choppy and angular short haircut. The only way to tell they were twins was their same face.

“That’s what I said.” The male joked with a bright grin.

“Styx…” Clix looked read to murder her brother, before turning back to Lore. “Look Lore. You have a BIG problem over there! Have you found the Wire?”

“The what now?” Lore frowned, tilting her head.

Clix sighed and brushed a hand through her hair. “The Wire. It’s a dangerous beast that is made completely of metal. It……………………wit………………….mag………………and tech……………….I……” Once more her signal was being lost and Lore shook her wrist frantically.

“Clix! Clix I’m losing you again!” Lore yelled, frantic.

The screen stabilized for a second. “Lore…If you can hear me…stop the Wire before it distorts all of that worlds magic and magnetic field. If you don’t….well lets just say that world will be the definition of Chaos. Good luck!” With that, her form sizzled out.

………………………….

“Don’t tell me that and not tell me what it looks like!!” Lore yelled to her wrist.

Lore did not sleep. She slapped herself to keep herself awake perched on top of a random sky scraper in the middle of town. Suppressing a yawn, she groaned.

Searching the entire night for a Wire was quickly becoming hazardous to her health and she briefly wondered if she should try casting a spell or something. But that idea quickly fled. She was hungry, low on sleep and overall rather lethargic. Yawning again, she slowly closed her eyes only to snap them open at the sound of screams nearby.

Blinking, she glanced around and noticed a Faire within the middle of town. Floating to the ground near it, she hummed. “Oh, right…Donald said something about a Faire…”

An idea popped in her head right as her bracelet made a noise. “Clix! Good timing! I have a couple questions!”

“About the Wire?”

“Nope! What do you know about……Psychics?”

Rushing quickly and out of breath, Lore made it to the fair before the kids. Smirking, she slid through the gates, rushing until she found an empty booth slot. “Hmmm.” She smirked and snapped her fingers. A puff of purple magic revealed a rather large purple tent with the word psychic on the top. “Perfect.” She grinned and walked inside. She conjured pillows and a table with a crystal ball and tarot cards upon it.

“Subtle.” Was Clix’s fractured comment from her wrist. Lore rolled her eyes.

“It’s best to stick with classics Clix!” she spun around, her costume slightly changing. The dress she wore seemed more befitting of a psychic and she wore a couple other necklaces including her own. Her pink hair was up in a pony tail.

“You really think this will work?” Clix asked.

Lore clenched her hands into a fist. “It should. If I can just get Webby to realize that Lena is alive, there might be a chance to save her.”

Clix paused. “You know Lore…this..is technically messing with this worlds path…You realize what you are risking?”

Lore’s pained expression studied the cards upon the table. Brushing her fingers over them, she knew the other was right. “Yes, but the anomaly in this world has already taken Lena’s voice from this world. The Wire is partly to blame.”

Clix sighed. “There’s no changing your mind is there?”

“Nope! Besides all they need is a little push.”

Lore jerked her head as she heard excited voices near the tent flap. She smirked down at Clix, who sighed and vanished.

Lore sat down with a knowing smile, cards held tight in her hands.

Watching the Sunchaser take off from her vantage point from a nearby skyscraper she smiled softly. She had been searching for the Wire since she left the kids. Keeping tabs on how severe the electrical surges were quickly becoming constant. She still hadn’t seen Scrooge, but that was fine. Lore needed some time away from that family. She couldn’t mess anymore within their paths. “I hope you guys can save Lena.” She whispered to the red dot vanishing beyond the horizon. The past few days it had been hard to adjust, but now she had a job to do.

“Clix…what am I looking for?” She asked the girl in blue beyond the screen.

Clix sighed. “Descriptions of the monster are vague. But most state its made from some kind of tough metal and is rarely seen. Some say it looks like a serpent. Some say it looks like a big shiny wire.” She shrugged. “Not much to go on..”

“Great..” Lore hummed and looked around the city. It seemed peaceful enough right now.

Then the sounds of a crash, skidding tires and screams. Lore quickly flew over to a certain intersection and frowned. Making sure to keep herself high above the accident so they didn’t see her flying around. Floating there, Lore frowned. The lights in the intersection were out and several people were standing, yelling at each other.

Then Lore saw it, a spark….a electric discharge from one of the dead traffic lights. Her eyes widened. “The Wire! It must have short circuited the traffic lights! But why…”

Floating up higher where the clouds hung, she pondered this. Crossing her arms, she closed her eyes, thinking.

Bzzzzt.

Opening her eyes, she glanced to the side. Where was that noise coming from?

Suddenly a jolt careened through her body and she began to plummet to the earth. Yelping, terror stalled her attempts at trying to regain her flying. Finally though she stopped herself, hanging limply and panting for a few moments still up in the air.

A noise of breathing echoed behind her and her body stilled. Her breath caught and slowly she turned herself around.

There, no more than one foot behind her floated a silver Chinese dragon.

She gasped, eyeing the monster completely made of metal scales, its face and yellow eyes twisted in a cruel expression. Its long mustache feelers floated inches from her face and all she could do is stare at this beast ten times her size looming above her.

“So…ahaha are you an alloy or enemy?” She asked meekly.

It roared in her face.

“Right, not the time for jokes.” Her hands formed into fists.

The roaring beast shimmered in the sky, Lore grit his beak flying towards it. Landing one punch before its tail swept her up and slammed into her hard. Letting out a pain filled scream she was launched back to the earth at a rapid rate and slammed hard into the pavement of a busy street. The impact displaced several pieces of concrete and caused the traffic lights around the intersection to go on the fritz, blinking on and off instead of completely losing power as they had been. As she pulled herself from the crater she formed she realized several people were now looking at her, mouths wide open. Trying to ignore the growing pain, she pulled herself fully from the duck shaped hole.

Looking up, she saw the shimmer above her as the silver dragon was swaying closer to them.

This was bad, she pissed it off and now it was coming down to attack. She wasn’t sure if she had enough energy to fly and fight but still.

A loud roar from the monster directed the attention of the people towards the shining dragon bulldozing towards them.

The city erupted into chaos and Lore was preparing herself to launch back up into the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Blinking, she glanced back to see Gizmoduck with his hand on her shoulder.

“Allow us to lend you a hand.”

“Us?”

Gladstone Gander appeared on the other side, smirking. “I’m not much for fighting, but I have been known to be rather lucky.”

Lore grinned.

“Let’s stop this WIRE now.” Punching a hand into her palm, Lore braced her feet on the ground. “Gizmoduck! A lift please?”

“On it!” He grasped her gently and launched her into the sky, using her magic she flew the rest of the way.

Turning on his helmet copter Gizmoduck followed suit flying towards Lore and the metal beast.

Lore flew and punched the dragon, but winced as she pulled her hand back and shook it. Flying back, she dodged its tail this time and watched as Gizmoduck started to blast at it rapidly with everything he had in his suit.

“It’s made of some pretty tough metal!” Lore yelled over, dodging more tail attacks.

Launching a few missiles at the beast, Gizmoduck’s mouth dropped as the smoke cleared to reveal no damage.

Letting out a few yelps and noises, Gizmoduck also dodged the tail. “What is this thing?!”

“A WIRE!” Lore flew up and blasted magic into its eyes. It screamed, letting out a high frequency that caused Gizmoducks suit to malfunction.

“Uh oh…” he said as he began to fall.

Lore dove with arms extended, straining her magic she managed to catch Gizmoduck and set him safely to the ground.

“Maybe you should fight from down here..” Lore started, and suddenly the face of the dragon appeared behind her. Gizmoduck’s jaw dropped and Gladstone’s eyes widened.

“And….its right behind me isn’t it?” Lore deadpanned.

It launched itself at them, mouth wide open. Gizmoduck grabbed Lore and bolted down the street. Gladstone yelped and ran off too.

The dragon chased Lore and Gizmoduck through the street, tearing it up as it chased after them. Lore continued to throw whatever she could think of at it. But nothing was working and she groaned. “What do I do?!”

“Please don’t tell me this is what you wanted Scrooge to find for you.” The armor clad duck stated.

“Well……technically yes..but..wait…how do you know about that? I only told that to Fenton…and Donald..” She frowned and pulled off the helmet. “AH HA!”

“Oh great…another person knows my secret.” Fenton groaned. A sudden roar from behind them made him stumble and they glanced back as the silver beast was gaining speed.

“Fenton go faster!” Lore yelled. “It’s gonna…” It launched forward, chomping its large mouth at them.

Lore flung out her arm, and suddenly several pieces of random metal launched towards it, most pieces bouncing off, but a few got into its mouth. It choked briefly, coughing and stopping.

They slowed down a bit, both panting.

“Okay new strategy, what is that thing made of?” Gizmoduck asked.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve never heard of it. It’s the hardest material in the universe.” Lore frowned.

“Titungeelium.”

“I have never heard of that in my life….” He pressed a button on his chest. “Dr Gearloose! Have you got it yet?”

There was a pause and a sigh. “Yes obviously overpaid intern.” He stated. “I managed to gather the data on the creature in question. It seems to be comprised of several hard metals mixed together to form a new element. It’s rather fascinating really.”

“And?”

“Well, theres many metals mixed in, mostly Steel, silver, Titanium, Chromium, Tungsten and a few others I can’t identify.”

“Talk about a mixed basket.” Lore commented. Jumping off of Fenton’s suit and preparing herself. The dragon was growling and over his choking attack.

“Any ideas?” Fenton implored.

“Well, acid would be my first option.” Gyro commented dryly.

“Maybe something less lethal to the residents of Duckburg?” Fenton winced.

Gyro rolled his eyes. “Fine..”

The next thing Gyro said made both stop and stare at the suit.

“What?” Gryo sounded annoyed.

“That’s crazy!”

“But our only option. Is there one nearby?” Lore asked.

“Mount Quaksta.” Fenton pointed past Duckburg towards a large looking mountain.

Lore smirked. “Got it. Thanks boys!” She jumped into the air. “Let me take it from here. I’ll lead it over there.”

“Wait, but Lore..” Fenton waved his arms frantically.

Lore shook her head. “This is my job Fenton. I’ll be fine.” She winked.

“But your just a kid.” Gyro commented.

Lore made a puffed up face. “I’m sixteen thank you very much!” Huffing, she floated and turned to face the dragon, hands formed into fists.

“You want me smokey? Come and get me!” Lore flew towards it and kicked it hard in the nose.

Enraged, the beast’s eyes turned from yellow to red and it started to emit a strange electric charge.

All the buildings windows shattered.

Fenton yelped as his suit started to be affected, electrocuting itself from the inside. As it fried he scrambled out of it quickly, dodging and watching as Lore flew off with the angry dragon in tow.

Helpless, his gaze turned worried and he found Gladstone nearby. Completely unharmed even with the devastation around him.  

“Oh hey Gizmoduck!” Was Gladstone’s comment as Fenton grabbed his arm.

“How did yo…... No time for that now!” He dragged the lucky duck off towards the lab. They needed to catch up with Lore.

Lore strained her flying to the max as the beast tore after her. Every cloud it hit turned into a storm cloud, buzzing with energy and sending out lightning as it passed through.

As Lore finally made it towards the mountain she grinned and stopped, suspending herself, she spun to face the dragon who was sparking. Its face was erupting in anger and the sparks caused her to blink a few times from the bright bursts dilating her eyes.

“Now I know you don’t just want to float there!” She grinned, hands forming purple blasts of energy.

The Wire charged at her and she dodged a bit, flying around behind the beast and magic blasting into its back. Letting out an enraged roar, it spun around and tried to attack her again. But she kept dodging it, trying to lead it closer to the large mountain.

Diving a bit, she drew it closer. “I hope this works.”

Her heart sunk as she approached the mountain only to realize one thing.

It was dormant..

An earth shattering roar caused her to turn back with a horrified expression as the beast rampaged towards her. Her mind hit a wall and she froze.

Eyes wide she could do nothing as it collided with her. Together, the two slammed hard into the side of the mountainside.

Pain exploded everywhere and she let out an agonized gasp as she was pinned to the mountain by a claw. Struggling to stay conscious, she glared up at the beast who was almost smirking. Looking down upon its prey like a cat to a mouse.

Gritting her beak, Lore struggled to free herself. The claw tightened around her, making her give out a pained groan.

This was bad. Frantically kicking and struggling, Lore cursed and was tempted to bite the monsters arm. But she remembered biting would do nothing to the hard metal surrounding the beast.

“This…can’t be the end..” Lore felt a lump in her throat and it was so hard to not feel fear in that second.

The monster leaned towards her, opening its jaws to rip her apart.

Shaking, Lore tried not to cry but she knew no one could save her now. “No…”

“LORE!” Yelled a voice.

Instantly, the monster stopped and Lore’s tear stained gaze glanced up to see a helicopter with Scrooge’s face and a money sign on it. Inside she saw Fenton and Dr Gearloose, hanging off the side of the copter was Gladstone, holding something in his hand.

Grinning, Gladstone pulled his arm back. “Catch!” He launched the item towards her rapidly.

Jerking her head back and forth, she realized her arms were still trapped and before she could look back the object slammed into her head. “Ow!” it bounced off and she opened her beak to catch it firmly. Glancing at the object, she realized it was a grenade of sorts. She paled.

Fenton slapped his hand to his forehead and said a few choice words. “Gladstone! What were you thinking?!”

Getting back inside Gladstone blinked and nodded firmly. “Well we did get it to her didn’t we?” he smirked.

Both scientists gave him a unimpressed look.

“Pull the pin and throw it at the monster!” Fenton yelled outside the open window. Lore gave him a look of ‘And how should I do that?’

“Well I do believe its Gladstone’s time to shine.” Crackling his knuckles he pushed Gyro and Fenton aside and took control of the helicopters controls.

“You do know how to fly this I hope.” Gyro commented.

“Not really.” Instant fear consumed Fenton and Gyro at Gladstones comment.

“Come on guys, I’m the hero here! And lucky, well be fine!” Slamming the stick down, the helicopter plunged towards the monster. “Probably..”

Fenton and Gyro screamed, holding onto each other for dear life as Gladstone pulled up at the last minute, barely skimming the top of the Wire.

But it certainly got its attention. Lore took this chance while its head was turned to kick at the claw that held her. It snapped open and she quickly flew out, back still towards the mountainside as she yelled. “Hey heavy metal!”

It turned back towards her and growled.

“Come take a bite!” She taunted with a smirk. It lunged with mouth open. Pulling the pin, she threw the grenade into the monster and went to escape.

A claw slammed into the side of mountain, blocking her path. Yelping, she stopped and heard a explosion.

Eyes widened as she saw the dragon pause, then begin to melt away before her eyes. But despite it dying before her eyes, its head and upper body once more pinned her to the quickly deteriorating mountainscape.

“Nononono!” Shaking her head, panic to overtake her as the monsters head was so close she could feel its breath. Even as the metal was melting around its claws and arms, it still held her firm against the mountain. She screamed a bit and kicked and shot magic at it frantically.

Finally, it released her and she stumbled up the mountain. But she stumbled as the world seemed to shake. At first she thought it was from the Wire, but then she heard the rumbling from behind her.

Her beak opened in shock as she slowly turned around.

Above her was a inferno.

The volcano was waking up.

Three sets of eyes widened as the smoke plumed from the top of Quaksta.

“Oh this is bad..” Fenton commented and quickly took over the controls, flying closer to see if he could see Lore anywhere.

The Wire was almost completely fallen apart, the acidic remains littering the mountainside, bubbling and tearing through the rock.

Or was that the lava surfacing?

Suddenly with a boom, lava exploded around Lore, completely consuming the remains of the Wire and quickly she jumped up into the air before it reached her. Molten rock rapidly descended the mountain from the holes caused by the acid as well as from the top of the mountain as it fully began to awaken.

Suddenly the helicopter appeared next to Lore.

“We have to stop the volcano!” Fenton said in a rushed tone. “According to my calculations, which I just made this second. The lava is heading straight for Duckburg!”

“Of course it is..” Singed and cut up from the Wire, Lore sighed exhausted.

Looking around, Lore searched for a water source of any kind. Luckily, Duckburg was near the coast so she spotted the sea easily to her right.

“Right! We have to lead it towards the ocean!” Lore grinned.

“How?!” Fenton looked as if he was going to tear out all his feathers.

Lore closed her eyes. “Leave that to me. You guys head back and try to build a barrier just in case some spill over!”

Gyro nodded. “Got it!”

They flew off and Lore looked below her at the slowly moving yellow and red sludge.

“Lore!” was Clix’s yell from her wrist.

Holding up her arm, Lore smiled brightly. “Clix! Your back! Just as I need you! I need you to send me a few things…”

Gryo, Fenton and Gladstone reached the town and quickly disembarked from the helicopter. “What do we do?” Gladstone asked the others, arms stretched out wide. “How are we going to protect the entire city?”

Gyro frowned and sat his beak on his hand thoughtfully. “I suppose…I could use That”

“What?” Fenton and Gladstone chorused.

A wicked smirk split the older scientists face. “Come on! It’s time for the big guns!”

Fenton and Gladstone stared at each other.

“This doesn’t seem like it will end well..” Fenton commented before following the Doctor.

Lore grinned as she floated high above the flowing lava. On her back resembled part vacuum cleaner, part ghost busters weapon. She grasped onto the hose and closed one eye, tilting her head a bit to get a clear shot.

“Is this really necessary?” Clix asked from her wrist.

“Yup! I have to make sure none of the lava hits the town. This is the only way to do it without wasting all of my magic.” Lore commented and turned on the gadget.

“Alright, to adjust the beam you need to-“

Lore turned the tip of the hose sharply to the right and pressed the button on top.

A large ray of energy buzzed from the tip, blasting into the earth below and forming a crater where was once a mountain.

“-Not do that..” Clix stated flatly.

Lore blinked. “Wow this thing packs quite a punch!”

Clix smirked. “Of course it does, it’s made by yours truly. Are you sure you can handle this fire power witchy?” she asked, looking amused.

“No worries, I got this!” Lore grinned, pressing the button again and lowering the beams intensity.

Pointing it down on the ground she began to cut a canal of sorts for the lava to follow. Making it as wide as possible to fit all of the oozing substance, she quickly burned a pathway through the earth towards the sea.

It was delicate and highly stressful, more than once she had to accommodate a stray piece of lava escaping or overflowing canals.

Finally though, as the sun was beginning to set she saw the sea in sight. Increasing the intensity of the beam she frantically waved her arm, burning through the earth rapidly as the bubbling molten earth paraded behind her, increasing in speed just slightly as it was going downhill.

She glanced to her left and spotted Duckburg, surrounded by a clear dome….that sparkled?

Blinking, she tilted her head to the side. “What is that? Is that made of-“

“Diamonds?!” Fenton’s jaw dropped.

Gyro looked smug. “That’s right intern.” He typed in a few keys and presented a picture of the diamond dome on the screen. “I liquefied diamonds and mixed them with nanobots to produce this shield. Not only is diamond the hardest substance around and impossible to penetrate, but with the nanobots I can change the size, style and density of the shield whenever I wish!”

“That’s…” Gladstone started.

“Amazing!” Fenton seemed gleeful and looked at the charts, babbling non stop about the chemical composition and how Gyro melted diamonds among other things.

But Gladstone was staring at it cynically, something was bothering him about this.

He just wish he knew what it was.

Lore was almost to the sea, but suddenly the device began to malfunction, spurting out less and less energy and glancing at the gauge she realized something.

“It’s out of juice!” Lore yelped and looked to Clix who blinked.

“That’s impossible it runs off of……solar……….Oh..” the sun was almost gone from the horizon and darkness was cascading across the land.

Frantic, Lore looked around and saw the lava starting to divert towards Duckburg. “Not good.” Throwing the device away she quickly pulled out the next object, black fingerless gloves. Inside the palms were wires and a polished piece of quartz in the palm of each hand.

“Clix! These will do it right?” Lore confirmed and the blue clad girl nodded.

“Yes! Just don’t do anything stupid!” Clix warned.

“Me? Do something stupid?” Lore smirked.

Clix sighed. “Just don’t tear a hole through time and space and make it so toasters were never invented…” was her farewell as she vanished.

“That was one time!” Lore yelled at her friend that was no longer there.  

Lore dove towards the lava that was inching closer to the city. This was her last shot.

Quickly overtaking it, she held out her hands which buzzed to life. “I hope this works!”

Within the polished stones a glow began to overtake her hands and suddenly a beam of pure white energy blasted into the earth before her, decimating three feet of earth instantly. Blinking, Lore looked at the gloves and smirked. “I like these!”

Lore went back to work, blasting at the earth once more to form another canal and turn the lava away from Duckburg, heading back towards the ocean. She had to make quite a sharp turn at the west side of the forcefield, cutting this canal pretty close to the shield. She only hoped the lava would follow the deeper than usual canal and not spill onto the shield.

The raging liquid followed the canal and as it made that sharp turn, some of the rebellious liquid rock did indeed overflow and splatter onto the diamond shield.

There was a large electric discharge, buzzing and instantly the lava melted through the diamonds like glass.

“Oh, that’s the bad feeling I had.” Gladstone stated and Gyro screamed, “My Diamond shield!”

Guess Gyro forgot that even crystals and tech weren’t a match for molten rock.

Thankfully the damage was minimal and the rest of the lava flowed harmlessly into the bay.

Panting a bit, Lore floated to the ground. Feeling the earth underneath her she collapsed onto her back laughing a bit.

They did it…they saved the town. She put her hands on her face and half cried, half laughed. “I am never doing that again!”

The town was mostly unscathed, save a few fires from the random molten lava that had burned through the shield.

But Gyro was sure those people had insurance anyways..

Lore made it back to town and staggered a bit towards the manor where she saw the three standing outside.

Fenton brightened a bit when he saw her. “Lore your okay!” he ran up and hugged her which she winced at.

“Ah ow…well mostly..” she looked like she had been through a fight with a lawnmower. Her hair was scattered and messed up, she had burns and claw marks on her arms. But she still managed a exhausted smile. “But we did it! Thank you, all of you.”

“All in a days work!” Gladstone said proudly.

“You literally did nothing,” Gyro deadpanned.

“Right! And we survived didn’t we? We saved the town too! I consider that a Gladstone Gander win!” with that, he laughed and walked off as a random person approached him offering him a million dollars.

The three ducks left over watched this with varying expressions.

“That duck is…” Lore started.

“Strange.” Fenton supplied.

“Annoying.” Was Gyros biting response. Sighing he scratched his head. “Well back to the drawing board. Looks like the diamond shield needs more….testing..” without another word he left Fenton and Lore.

Leaning against the gate of the manor, Lore managed a smile towards the other duck who awkwardly looked to the side.

“So…uh…” Fenton coughed.

“So…Gizmoduck huh?” Lore smirked and Fenton groaned.

Pulling out a notebook, he wrote down her name along with Gladstones and sighed. “I guess I’m not too good at this superhero thing. Can’t even seem to keep my secret identity….well secret!”

Lore chuckled and shook her head. “ I don’t think there’s any really right way to be a super hero.” She shrugged. “Having a few people know isn’t so bad. Especially when they can help you out of a tight spot.” She pushed herself off the wall and held out her arm. “Thanks Fenton. You helped me out a lot. That anomaly would have kept causing chaos in this world.”

Fenton grinned and took her hand, shaking it. Then something clicked. “Wait..’this world?’”

Lore appeared like a deer caught in the headlights. “Um, Gotta go bye!” She jumped up and flew off.

“Wait! Lore!” Was Fenton’s loud yell. “Who is that girl?”

With everything else solved, Lore opted to make sure everyone else was okay. She had seen when the Sunchaser had returned with several exhausted ducks.

They arrived late in the night, not even noticing the damage done from the now dormant again Quaksta.

At first she checked up on the kids. All three boys were fast asleep. She peeked her eyes in the window of Webby’s room and saw her clutching a doll in her arms, sobbing a bit and Lore found her heart ache at this. She guessed what they tried didn’t work. Closing her eyes she pressed a hand on the window and firmly nodded. “You will get Lena back Webby, don’t lose hope yet.”

Her eyes drifted to the rippling shadow on the wall near the bed and she smiled softly. "Hang in there Lena.."

She then flew over to the boat where Donald was sleeping comfortably.

Lore floated around him and grinned. “Thanks Donald for your words of wisdom.” She smiled slightly.

“I thought it was ye..” The voice she never thought she’d hear again echoed behind her. Eyes widening, spun around to see Scrooge standing at the door to the boat, staring at Lore with a stern expression.

Lowering herself to the ground, she stood before Scrooge and averted her eyes. Sighing, she closed them and reopened them, meeting his gaze head on. “Scrooge.”

“I didn’t believe the kids at first. But it seems I canna deny this now.” Slowly he closed his eyes and sighed, fingers tightening over his cane he held before him.

Lore grinned with her arms firmly tucked behind her. “It’s been a while..”

“And ye haven’t aged at all.” Was Scrooge’s comment full of emotion.

Lore smiled sadly. “Comes with the territory really.”

“Why are ye here?” Scrooge’s voice wasn’t suspicious, just curious.

Lore blinked and hummed. “I came back because there was another anomaly.” Seeing his worried expression she quickly held up her hands. “Oh don’t worry I already took care of it. Although…I’d suggest not going to Mount Quaksta right now..”

“I don’t wanna know..” Scrooge glared.

Laughing nervously, Lore spun around a bit. “I’m just checking on everyone before its time to go.”

“Ye canna stay?” Scrooge's voice sounded hopeful.

Lore’s surprised face flickered before her smile took over again. “Nope, sorry old man.” She grinned. “Lots of other places need me now.”

Scrooge’s eyebrow twitched. “Mind yer elders lass..”

Giggling a bit she took a couple steps closer to him and leaned near his ear. “So….is this future everything you wanted?”

Blinking, Scrooge smiled softly back at her. “Almost.”

“I’ll take it.” Lore pulled back and started to walk past him.

A thought struck him and spinning around, he grasped her arm. “Lore! Wait!”

She glanced back at him, surprised. “Yes?”

Reluctantly, he released her arm and sighed. “Ye see…we have a problem….there’s a poor child named Lena that needs help.”

Lore’s face fell and she wrapped her arms around herself. “I know…Lena is a shadow right? You need to bring her back…right?”

Scrooge looked desperate and Lore hated that expression.

“I’m…sorry.” She whispered. “I can’t help..”

“But..yer magic..”

“It won’t work.” Lore whispered and took a step back. She bit back another lie. “I can’t free Lena.”

Clenching his hands into fists, Scrooge resisted the urge to grab and shake her. He wanted to know why, why she couldn’t help when she had so much magic.

Lore looked away, taking a deep breath she sighed. “Are you telling me the Great Scrooge McDuck I’ve been hearing so much about can’t bring a teen from another realm single handedly? I guess the rumors I’ve heard are just fabrications. I didn’t think you’d resort to relying on magic to solve your problems!” She smirked. Watching his eyes instantly narrow.

“Whatever ye heard they were certainly not fabrications!” he growled. “I am Scrooge McDuck! I am smarter than the smarties! Tougher than the toughies and sharper than the sharpies!” he pointed at her. “I still hate magic and think it’s a shortcut!” he ranted and Lore crossed her arms across her chest, smiling as he ranted about how he had discovered El Dorado, Atlantis and the temple of Toth-ra.

“Scrooge.” He stopped and turned to her. “I believe if anyone can save Lena…its you and Webby.” She stated seriously. “Just…don’t overthink it too much. I’m sure you both will know what to do when the time is right.”

Suddenly behind her formed a portal of cosmic energy, swirling and glowing. It sent a bright light and Donald, who was already awake at that time and had heard everything quacked in alarm.

Looking behind her, Lore hummed. “I guess its time again.”

She took a step back.

“Wait!” This time it was Donald.

Looking back up, Donald approached her and sat his hands on her shoulder. “I know what its like to take the fate of worlds upon your shoulders. But remember this…” he looked a little saddened by this next comment. “You can’t save everyone.”

His words echoed within her soul, bringing fresh emotions welling up.

“And also this.” Donald stated. “You can always come here and we will welcome you…Lore Dimensional Witch.” The wind started to pick up around them, papers floating everywhere and spinning around the trio.

“Wait, Dimensional-“ Was Scrooge’s shocked exclamation as Lore’s tear stained smiling face vanished into the swirling portal.

And that’s that! And here’s the link to the AO3 chapter as well! I appreciate all my comments and likes and hope you all have a wonderful day!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703183/chapters/44920375

[waveypedia]

Midnight Spree

Gladstone doesn’t know if it was Donald’s bad luck, their luck canceling out, or his luck in a last-ditch attempt to save him that caused his cousin to discover him halfway down the stairs with a backpack over his shoulder, dressed to go out.

At first he chalks it up to Donnie’s bad luck. His cousin already wasn’t in the best mood, having heard Gladstone’s attempts at secrecy from his nearby room, and had woken up. He was already annoyed at being woken up, and seeing his cousin was going on an adventure without him - that no-good lucky goose doesn’t NEED more - his anger levels skyrocketed.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Donald snaps, waving his arms in the air. Sleepiness be damned. He still has bags under his eyes, but they were bright with frustration. “What on earth makes you feel the need to wake others up while you’re sneaking out? Why do you even need to sneak out?!”

Gladstone sighs heavily, running a hand through his already tousled hair. He had to give the indication that he planned on going to bed and staying there, and styled hair was no way to do that, much to his digress. “Look, Don, just go back to sleep and I’ll be out of your hair. I promise.”

Donald crosses his arms tightly across his chest and leans against the railing. “Oh yeah? And what about tomorrow, when you brag about your adventure and Uncle Scrooge just praises you? What about when whatever dumb little trinkets you bring back into the mansion make messes you never have to clean up? What about when whatever gang you win against and piss off comes running here and we have to fight them off while you hide in the house?! Huh?”

Gladstone toes the floor. He hadn’t planned to tell anyone what he was doing, but Donald always messes up his plans. He was a black streak of destruction in Gladstone’s perfect, neat world. “I’m not coming back,” he replied after a moment. “You’ll never have to deal with my messes again. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

His cousin stares at him, stunned, and Gladstone turns and hurries out of the house. He keeps a brisk pace, tethering on sprinting, but forces himself to walk slowly and calmly. He blinks back hot tears, but they kept pooling out.

As soon as he is out of McDuck Manor’s sight, he breaks into a swift run, tears streaming down his face and catching in the wind behind him.

He pauses and rubs at his face before approaching the bus stop.

Shut it, Gladstone. You have your luck to protect you. You’ll be fine. Scrooge, Donald, and Della will be happier without you. You will be free to do whatever you want.

This is what you want, isn’t it?

—

Gladstone makes it all the way past St. Canard, in a little fishing village, before tires screech, shattering the early morning peace, and a familiar black limousine pulls up beside him. The driving is reckless and fast, but Duckworth still takes the time to carefully parallel park like always.

Della’s torso is out of the window before the car is within two blocks of him, her hair whipping around her. Her usual pilot’s hat is gone, probably left behind in a rush to find him.

Gladstone can hardly believe there has been a rush to find him, or that anyone even came after him.

Della’s yelling something made incomprehensible by the wind and the screeching of the tires, despite her naturally loud voice. He catches the tail end of it “-but it was worth it!!” as the car skids to a stop and his cousin tumbles gracefully onto the pavement. Donald has opened the door from beside her before Duckworth has pulled into a complete stop.

Scrooge exits last, after Donald trips over Della, and makes his way to stand beside his nephew. He is the most polished out of the three of them, but his feathers are ruffled and his top hat is askew. “Laddie, what in Dismal Downs were ye thinking?! Ye nearly scared us all half tae death!!”

Before Gladstone can answer him (not that he wants to), Della is crushing him in a hug, and something wet is dripping onto his shoulder. The usually fast-talking adventurer is speechless for once, but the weight of her embrace says everything.

Last of all is Donald. His final cousin hesitates a bit, laying his hand warily on Gladstone’s shoulder. His voice is harder to understand, layered thick with emotion, but Gladstone can understand him just fine. “This is not what I want.”

Gladstone finally smiles for the first time that day and his own tears finally spill over. “Me too,” he replies softly, and he can see the moment his cousin’s heart breaks before he is crushed in another hug. Without a moment to spare Della crashes into them, and Scrooge is soon to follow.

They’re all clutching each other, sobbing for a loss that never came, in the wee hours of the morning in a tiny fishing village off the coast of St. Canard, but this thought only occurs vaguely to Gladstone. It’s quickly swallowed up by the warm, glowing bubble in his chest that threatens to become bigger than him and consume them all.

Gladstone lets it, lets his love for his family wrap around the sobbing quartet and warm them all.

~

All day today I was mourning how I don’t really have the time and energy to write much these days, and then this happened :P

It’s super random, I just felt like writing some Gladdy angst. You think Donald’s the only lonely, depressed Duck cousin with an inferiority complex? Think again. :P

Gladstone isn’t cured, but now he has his family around to help him, and he knows they would follow him to the ends of the earth. It helps.

By the way, Della’s complete line was “It’s 3 am and we’ve been driving for an hour stopping everywhere and I’m exhausted but it’s for you so it was worth it!!” <3

Sorry for posting this at almost midnight haha

[shewhowantsmouseears]

yandere magicstone/badstone AU

Well, the people demanded, so here it is. Went for a first person POV, as I felt it suited the piece best. Takes place in a fantasy AU like medieval england and such. It’s pretty dark, but I hope someone likes it.

All eyes turned toward me as I walked inside, and I resisted the urge to slam the door behind me to draw further attention. Of course everyone was looking at me, that was part of the luck. Their interest would spark, eager gossip would begin, and soon the favors would pile up. Usually I'd soak at all, but after what I'd just seen, after what I just witnessed, I wanted to be left alone.

But this was the only place in the village with decent ale.

I took a seat in the corner, hoping that the space I'd chosen would signal others to back off. I only had to wait three seconds before I heard a startled employee declare “We have to use how much by the end of the month?! That's insane! Just... start handing out free drinks, we'll figure it out later.” After that, I silently waved a man down, and only said, “Your strongest.”

It was difficult to ignore the talk all around me and all about me, and eventually I couldn't.

“My my, who's the handsome fellow all by himself?”

“You don't know? You must be new around these parts. Fellow's Gladstone Gander, luckiest man to have ever lived!”

“I'll say – I once saw him fetch a whole diamond out of the river when he was just looking for a pebble to skip!”

“They say he was born lucky. His entire village was destroyed by witches – and he was the sole survivor!”

“No! You're serious?”

“Wiped off the entire map, for sure. I hear he's part fae – explains all his good fortune.”

The fae part was new, and I snorted hard, considering the irony of what I knew. My drink came fast, and I downed the entire glass in one gulp before demanding another. Tasted like swill, compared to the stuff I've tasted in the liar of the witches. But I couldn't go back there. Not now. Not like this. I needed time to think.

“Oooh, Gladstone!” A melodic voice strolled up beside me, some woman whose name I've long since forgotten, they all blend together after a while. “I was just thinking about you. My husband is out of town, y'know, and I was thinking-”

“Leave me alone.” I was in no mood.

Girl was as dumb as she was pretty. “Awww, honey, what's the matter? Let me-”

As she tried to touch my shoulder, I grabbed her by the wrist, fingers digging in deep. “I said... leave me alone.” She looked like she saw death itself replace my features, and when I let go, she scrambled away as fast as she could. The chatter around me slammed to a halt, as none of them had ever seen me lose my temper before. After all, why should the world's luckiest man be angry about anything?

I looked down into my empty glass, seeing my blurry reflection look back at me. I wonder... if I knew back then what I would have endured, would I still have gone through with the deal that took my soul?

To start with, I was not born lucky. If anything, I was lucky to be born at all. The man who is by all technical means my father hit the road the second he realized he wasn't going to get a dime out of my great-uncle's fortune. What did he care that he'd leave an unwed mother to be ostracized by her peers? My mother, proud idiot of a woman, refused to take charity. Because of that, I was raised in a dingy little cabin with rags for clothing and nights without supper.

It's true, Scrooge McDuck was so rich beyond imagination that he even owned a castle atop a hill, with some of his closest relatives living with him. If my mother had simply taken me and moved, maybe the old man would've taken us in. But, no, this was our home, she'd say, with a smile on her face as she chopped firewood with tired, aching hands. “If you keep taking from people, you'll never learn how to give.” She'd tell me, tenderly running her fingers through my golden hair. “Chin up, my love, good luck is just around the corner.”

If it was around the corner, it never felt like coming over. The elders would glare at us as we passed, whispering words of shame and humiliation. Housewives would give us sympathy and offer their aide, but the moment our backs were turned, laughed at our poverty and were thankful they weren't in our shoes. One memory sticks out to me now – mother managing to save what little coin we had to buy me a small teddy bear. It was a hideous thing, but it was all I have, so I loved it to death, carrying it everywhere. It was my only friend.

I was playing near the lake, imagining a grand quest with knights and dragons, when I was shoved from behind into the water. When I got up, there stood a rabble of boys, the leader was the son of our village head. “Look, everyone, Gladdy's a mermaid!” They laughed.

I kept my mouth shut, knowing by now anything I said could be twisted into further embarrassment. I tried to stand up, clutching my bear to my chest, and that's when one boy said, “Look at that ugly teddy! It's Gladdy's twin brother!”

The leader squinted, then nodded in approval. “I want it. Give it here, Gladdy.”

Startled, I finally spoke. “What? No! This is mine! Mama bought it for me.”

“I said give it,” the boy demanded again. “I want it, so give it to me.”

“No!” I tried to make a run for it, but I slipped on the mud and fell face-first, making the small crowd howl with laughter. The leader wretched the toy from my fingers, despite my begging and pleading. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

He tilted his head, puzzled at such an inquiry. “Because I want it, stupid Gladdy.” It was a child's logic, but thinking on it now, it's one that many adults also carry. “It's your own fault for not giving it to me. You should just shut up and die.” He kicked me in the ribs, and with his prize, walked off with his friends. I laid there for a while, crying and hating him and myself and the whole world. When I finally got up and told my mother, she promised she'd get it back, and went to talk to the boy's mother.

It went about as well as can be expected.

“Are you calling my boy a thief?”

“I – I didn't say that, exactly, it's just, my son-”

“I don't know what kind of brat you're raising but my child knows better than to steal!”

“Please, if we could just have the teddy...”

“Get off my property! You ever say another thing about my baby, I'll have them toss you behind bars!”

One promise broken, one of many, and my mother held me close to her chest, saying once more, “Chin up, my love, good luck is just around the corner.”

Well, when was it getting here?! Many similar thefts occurred, every time I acquired something decent, such as a pair of nice shoes or an apple I plucked from the orchard. It was if the village believed we didn't deserve anything at all. The only time I knew peace were two occasions.

One was the visit from distant relatives – my cousins Donald and Della, and their parents. One look at them and you knew they were better off, with proper clothes and no bags under their eyes or thin ribs poking out. Once every few months, they'd come to say hello, drop off a few treats, tell us of Scrooge's latest acquisition. The twins and I would play in the meadow, with Della warning us to stay away from fairy rings and Donald using twigs as knightly swords. The entire village would put on fake smiles and treat us like royalty – no doubt terrified that if Scrooge knew the truth, he'd make them suffer for it. But mother wouldn't tell our family the truth, insisting things would work out, one way or another. But the moment they were gone, we were scorned once again, a fresh heap of mud thrown at my face.

The other place that gave me respite was the church. Not too many people believed in the gods those days, but even so, they were hesitant to give me trouble behind the stone walls. The father wasn't exactly kind, but he didn't give me any lip or condemn my existence, so he was better than most. It was said that within the church laid a sacred treasure, and one day, it was my birthday, one I shared with my mother, merely out of curiosity's sake, I asked the father what it was..

“It is our protection,” he said, closing the holy book after another sermon to no one. “Centuries ago, this land was a host for witches.” He paused here, seeing my look of disbelief. I was an older boy by then, eighteen, and the idea of fairies and witches was ludicrous, especially an adult believing in them. “Aye, it's true. For millennia, they have been at war with the mystic fae, and we mortals paid the price. But one of our ancestors managed to find one of the witches relics, and sealed it up locking away its power. Then we had the entire land blessed in water from the fae, and kept them out. To this day, that is why no witch can come to our land to take their revenge.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. But the day he told me that story was really when everything started to fall apart – or, come together, if you look at it another way. I opted to leave sooner than usual, not wanting to catch the father's insanity. As a result, I came home earlier than my mother expected. As I approached the front door, I hear the sound of something breaking, and paused. Mother was usually extremely careful with our possessions, given that we had so few of them to begin with.

“Who does he think he is?” My mother's voice no longer had that glint of hope and honey. Instead, it was slurred with drink. “Saddling me with this useless child! Gods above, I get no peace! Not even on my own day of birth, I have to be reminded of him! Whatever did I do to deserve this? I'd have been better off selling the babe! Wretched thing with his father's eyes. That boy is nothing but bad luck!”

I stood there for a long time, listening to my mother's true feelings, and for some reason I felt no surprise. Perhaps for some time I had sensed she was wearing a mask, using it to conceal her utter hatred at me and herself. Well then... what was the point of staying here any longer? If an entire village wanted me gone, then, so be it. I waited until the “usual” time I should've been home, and my mother greeted me with a false smile, asking how the church was. I said nothing, and she didn't press further.

That night I stole what was left our money and headed out. It was her own fault for having me. I headed to the very outskirts of the village, unsure where to go and what to do. Anywhere had to be better than here. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, but I suppose it wouldn't have mattered if I saw them coming – the next thing I knew I was being slammed against a tree, a hand to my throat. “Lovely night for a walk, eh?”

Just my luck to be accosted by three beagle-faced bandits. One kept his hold on me, a second picked my pockets, and the third was picking his teeth with a knife. “I don't believe this,” the second one, the shortest, grumbled. “This'll barely get us a drink at the pub!”

“Maybe we can chop off his hair and sell it.” The third, the tallest, offered.

“Maybe we can chop off his head and sell it.” The first one suggested, and it was difficult to tell if he was joking or not.

“Please,” I begged, legs kicking out, unsure to who I was pleading to. “Take my money, just let me go! I won't tell a soul, just let me go!”

“Sorry, you've already seen us,” The third one handed the knife to his brother. “Maybe in the next life, you won't have such rotten luck.”

The first beagle raised his knife, ready to end things, and for a brief moment, I almost welcomed it. But, at last, at long last, I had a spot of good fortune, in the most unusual of places.

“What in all blazes is that?” The short one suddenly said, pointing off into the distance.

All heads turned, mine included. It was difficult to see at first, but then the clouds parted, and bright moonlight shone down on the dark carriage making its way along the dirt road. Carriages weren't rare, but this one was black and red, curtains hung low to make sure no one could see inside, and even the horses were darkly colored, their eyes gleaming demonic colors. Alongside the carriage were two riders atop their steeds, covered in robes that hid their bodies, save for a featureless white mask on their faces. It was an odd sight, to be sure. The carriage didn't even have a driver! How were the horses to know where to go?

“Forget this lump,” the shortest one declared, “Whoever's in there has to be stinking rich! Hurry up!” I was dropped like a hot potato, and the three eagerly raced to the carriage, dropping my coins and scattering them on the ground.

I sat up dizzily, but instead of picking up my money, I watched in stupefied awe. The riders were thrown off their horses, but they didn't offer any resistance, nor make any sound. All the horses came to a silent stop, standing so rigidly they didn't even appear to be breathing. The short one was the leader, and he threw open the door. “All right, hand over everything you've got, and-”

That was all he got out before there was a crackle of lightning – but not from the sky. It came from within the carriage itself, stabbing the man in the chest, and sent him flying. When he landed, his chest was still smoking. The eldest brother cried out in horror, running to fetch the fallen. The cloaked riders now began to stand up, and held out their arms, murmuring in an tongue I couldn't understand. The earth shook, and the roots of the trees sprang up from the ground, entangling the beagles and muffling their screams.

I didn't know if they were dying. Can't say that I cared. All I knew was what I witnessed wasn't mortal, and whatever these people were, they were more powerful than anyone could fathom. They could only be one thing.

“Witches!” I breathed, before getting to my feet. “You're witches, aren't you?”

The masked ones glanced in my direction, but then ignored me, going back to their horses. The carriage door began to close, but I ran ahead, flailing my lanky arms and shouting as loudly as I could. “Wait, wait! I can help you! I can – I can – I can get you back your relic! The one inside the village, I'll give it to you!”

Looking back on it now, it's a little amazing how fast the idea how came to me. How little hesitance I had. But if I didn't act then, I'd lose the chance forever. The masked ones stayed silent, but then I heard movement within the carriage. The door swung open quietly, and the woman inside, the one who had cast the lightning, stepped out.

She was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. Even now, I don't think the right words have been invented to accurately describe her. Not that flowing raven hair with streaks of violet, the alluring yellow cat-like eyes, a body so sleek and slim it was almost hypnotic. At the time, she was a good head taller than I was, and only when I felt the wind on my tongue did I realize my jaw had dropped. I quickly shut my mouth, feeling my entire face redden. In one of her hands was a staff with a round orb atop, and she lightly strummed her fingers on it, studying me, analyzing me.

“And here I thought this was going to be a dull night,” she mused, a sensuous voice that felt like a snake slithering all around me. “What is your wish, boy?”

“My wish?” I repeated foolishly, still starstruck by the goddess in front of me, and having completely forgotten what I said in the first place.

“I sincerely doubt you're going to hand over your village's priceless treasure for nothing.” She raised an eyebrow. “So, tell me. What wish shall I grant in exchange for the relic? If it is within my power, I give you my word I will grant it... so long as I get what I desire.”

What I wanted? I tried to think. Money would be nice, but all money could be spent eventually. My bed to be warmed with beautiful women? A nice thought, but not something I could do all day. My mind raced, trying to think of a wish that wouldn't run out, a wish I could enjoy, a wish that would make life worth living – and then I remembered dear mother's words.

Chin up, my love, good luck is just around the corner.

“Luck.” I said, my heart racing. “If I give you relic, I want you to make me lucky for the rest of my life. Ever since I was born, I've known nothing but misfortune and misery... so make it that I never know them again! Make it so I never have to work, never have to plead to anyone ever again!” With each word I said, my voice became angrier, my fists clenched, and I knew this was a wish I was entitled to.

The witch's eyes widened, and she rubbed her lips with her thumb, mulling. “What you ask is most bizarre... I've never heard of magic capable of such things.”

I swallowed. “Does that mean you can't do it?”

She chuckled, and then I felt her fingers under my chin, cold as ice and yet I didn't want it to stop. “Oh, I never said that. It will merely require some time, and a lot of creativity on my part. Give me your name, boy.”

“Gladstone.” And I kept it at that. If I didn't have a father, and I didn't want my mother, what good was a last name?

She accepted this. “Very well, servant. When the full moon once again touches the skies, I will return. You have until then to get the relic. If you free it, I will grant your wish.” Her fingers moved down, and a shock went through my nerves, before I found her thumb pressed to my throat. “However... if you dare try to trick or lie to me, I will find a way to make your every waking second sheer torture.”

I didn't think my life could get much worse than it already was, but at the same time I didn't doubt her ability. “I give you my word, my lady.”

She laughed at that, pulling her hand away. “Lady! That's a new one.” She then waved to the masks, who climbed atop their horses. She stepped back in the carriage – it was so dark inside I could only make out her captivating eyes. A part of me wanted to jump inside the carriage. “Don't disappoint me, servant.”

The door closed, and they were off. Once I could no longer see the carriage in the horizon, I slowly picked up the coins that had been dropped, and walked back into the village. As tempting as it was to think the whole thing was a dream, I'd been given an opportunity and I wasn't going to waste it. The full moon was one month away, and I needed to get to work.

I put my mother's money back where it belonged and she never suspected a thing. I then went to the church, and begged the father to work there, telling myself this would be the last time I ever begged to anyone. He conceded, and I started by sweeping the floors and cleaning the windows. I stayed in the church for as long as I was allowed, even eating my meals and sometimes sleeping there. I played the part of a loyal follower, and the father's wrinkled face became less pensive around me. My devotion to the gods touched some part of him, and there were days he came to me with a fresh loaf of bread, an appreciative pat on the back, even a rare smile.

“I'm glad you could find your serenity here,” he once said, when he bought me a new pair of shoes, noted how scuffed mine were. “The gods will reward your work... and if they're busy, I will.” He weaved me tales of battles between fae and witch, of their ruling queens and the differences of their magics. He offered to let me read a sermon to the suffering townsfolk, and slipped an extra coin in my pocket when I wasn't looking.

The night of the full moon, I asked to see the relic.

He hesitated initially, but relented easily enough, taking me down into the cellar past three locked doors. There it stood on an altar – a large white marble with black cracks formed around it. “This is our village's protection,” he said, allowing me to step forward to see it better. “I am getting old, Gladstone. Someday, it will need a new man to protect it. I believe you are that man.”

I looked at him, then I looked at the marble, and thought about my wish, and what it really meant, and what it would cost.

I grabbed it and bashed the old man's skull with it.

I then ran outside of the church, it had started raining. I didn't get very far before I slipped in the mud, and for a split second I was back in my childhood with the mocking children who stole my teddy, my most precious thing in the world, and here I was, doing the same. And I didn't care. I sat up, and saw that my landing space was next to some well-timed sharp rocks. I lifted the marble – apparently I didn't hit the old man as hard as I thought, as in the distance I could hear him calling my name – and I began to smash it over and over and over again.

It took five times before it finally split apart in two perfect halves. Inside was a tiny piece of silver, no bigger than a fingernail. The white marble began to dissolve, and the rain stopped. I looked up, and saw that the black clouds were suddenly swirling around together, faster than they should've been able to do, and then the darkness made its way toward the ground, turning into a flurry of bats and spiders, and with one loud, awful, cracking sound, the blackness exploded, and there stood the witch.

She wasn't alone – the masked ones were there as well, but so were old hags, gorgeous young women, deranged men, cackling children, witches and warlocks of all shapes and sizes. Villagers opened their doors and windows to see what all the noise was, and their gasps of surprise turned into screams of panic. The witch - my witch, my savior – calmly walked towards me, and picked up the piece of silver. “Good to have you back.” she said to it, then nodded once to her followers.

They suddenly began attacking the villagers, shoving them down into the dirt, restraining them, and injuring those who put up a fight. Houses were being burned, and stolen goods were being tossed together. I remembered who I was and what I was doing, and tried to get to my feet. “My wish!” I demanded, “I gave you what you wanted, now give me my wish!”

One of the elder witches smacked me upside the head with her wooden staff. “Show some respect, mortal! One your knees! You dare speak to the queen herself?”

I blinked once, blinked twice, blinked three times before I understood, and the queen chuckled, waving a dismissive hand. “Come now, how do you expect them to know?” She enjoyed my surprise, and made an overly-theatrical bow. “I am Magica De Spell, Queen of the Covenant. And worry not, I shall grant you your wish, a luck that will last your eternal life. However...” She held up a finger, delaying my joy. “This is a magic that will require much more than the relic. A lucky life lasts longer than an unlucky one... to ensure this lasts you all of your life, I must be able to keep watch over you always. You will give me your heart, your soul, your name, all of it in service to me. You will be my servant until your last breath is drawn. As for where this luck will come from...”

She then gestured all around her, to the fire and destruction and death she had brought forth. “You will take the luck that every single villager here has, and every bit of luck they would have had in the future. You will trade their lives for yours.” She then held out her hand, waiting for me. “Do we have a deal?”

I stared at her hand, and in what had to be the timing of bad luck, I heard the cries of my mother. There she was, captured by a pair of identical twins who were having fun with her hair. “Gladstone! Help me!” She screamed, trying to reach for me. “Please! I'm your mother, help me! HELP ME, DAMN YOU!”

I watched her, and smiled.

“Tough luck, mother.” I took Magica's hand. It was still cold, so unnaturally cold, and if it was up to me, I never would have let her go.

Her fingernails pierced my skin, and she closed her eyes, colors beginning to swirl all around us.

“I take thy name, I take thy soul,

By my hand you live, by my hand you grow old,

From lady's luck you shall always drink,

I case thee now – THE SIGN OF THE TRIPLE DISTELFINK!”

I thought I saw three birds of beautiful plumage arise from the smog around us, but they were snakes, and the plunged their sharp fangs into my skin, and I felt poison in my veins, so blazing hot I thought I would melt, but despite all the pain I felt, I kept my eyes open as long as I could so I could see Magica, Magica, my Magica.

But I blacked out.

When I woke up, the sun was out, and the village was gone. There wasn't even a single blade of grass to be found. It was as if nothing had ever existed here. I laid there for a moment or two, and then got up. Where was I supposed to start my new life? I still wore only rags, still had no money to my name. I frowned, and then walked, back to the outskirts where everything had started. When would my luck begin?

Turns out, it didn't take very long. I found myself back at the place where I had been robbed – and found two of the same robbers again, this time threatening an older man and a pretty red-head. The third wasn't there – perhaps dead, for all I knew. The girl was weeping, the father trying to protect her, and I felt an urge to sneeze.

The beagles looked up, and saw me – they recognized me, and apparently I was synonymous with that horrifying night, as one look was all it took for them to flee in fright. The victims were as surprised as I were, and the girl broke into relieved tears. “Oh, you saved us!”

“I did?” I asked, because it sure didn't seem that way to me.

“You have my gratitude, dear boy!” The man said, taking my had and shaking it vigorously.

“He must be rewarded, Papa!” The girl insisted.

“I couldn't agree more, Lulubelle. What do you want, grand hero of ours?”

Unused to such praise, I scratched my head. “Ah... well, I just wanted to get to the next village.”

The old man was surprised. “Why, we were just on our way there ourselves! What a fine coincidence. Come, you'll ride with us.” Their carriage wasn't too far away, plush and overly decorative. Once I was inside, they overwhelmed me with thanks again, Lulubelle snuggling up to my arm. I was so stunned I just let them keep talking, not saying much myself.

The next village over was a farming community, and as it turned out, the old man was wealthy, his daughter single, and the town generous. I was rewarded with a new wardrobe, and a place to stay in his lofty mansion. Rumors spread about my heroism, and is the way of passing words, became exaggerated into full-blown lies. I saw no reason to correct them. For the next few days, I enjoyed life more than the  years I ever had at home. Wherever I went, fortune followed. Finding money on the ground, shopkeepers finding themselves with extra wares, the weather perfect wherever I napped. I never lifted a finger, never broke a sweat. Lulubelle's father offered me a job sorting out his paperwork, and Lulubelle herself offered sweet kisses and tender embraces. Any ordinary man would have stayed here and lived comfortably for the rest of their natural existence.

But I wasn't ordinary, and I was soon reminded of that.

One week after I arrived, I was changing into my nightrobes and ready to settle into sleep, and I took a last glance at the mirror – only to see Magica's reflection instead. I nearly jumped out of my skin. “What the-?!”

“I have need of you, servant.” She said, ignoring my startled outburst.

“But... I gave you the relic,” I replied, looking around to make sure the door was closed. “Wasn't that our deal?”

“Did you already forget the fine print?” She asked, crossing her arms in annoyance. “The relic was for giving you good luck. Keeping it means you work for me.”

I slowly sat on the bed, recalling what it was she told me. “How do I do that, exactly?” I was torn – afraid of what she would ask of me, pleased that I was a part of her. I felt that if she asked me to carve out my own heart for her, I'd do it right away. “Is there another ancient witch tool you need to find?”

“Hardly anything so complicated. I just need you to kill the man of the house.”

I felt the very earth sink underneath me. I tried to parrot the question back to her, but found no voice. After a few attempts, I made a guess. “And... if I don't... my luck is gone.”

She snapped her fingers. “Just like that.” Her hand slid out of the mirror, and dropped a violet knife on the night table. I felt fear within my bones. The old man had never done me harm, and Lulubelle was pure as fresh silk. And now I was expected to ruin them both.  “Once the deed is done, fetch me proof of his dead. Then go to the forest, and mark a tree with this knife.” Is this how the rest of my life would be? Betraying anyone who showed me a drop of kindness? I almost denied her. “It will allow you to come to me whenever you wish.”

All my doubts and hesitation vanished with one sentence. “Whenever... I wish?” I felt a delirious grin come across my mouth. I could see her whenever I wanted? I could gaze upon her beauty when I needed it? Now that I was gifted to have whatever I wanted, it became an insatiable lust. All my wants had been granted – and I wanted her, wanted her, wanted her so badly I could scream. Every night I spent with Lulubelle I saw Magica instead, felt her cold skin mesh with me, and every dream had those cat-eyes gaze into me.

“It would do me no good if my servant couldn't reach me.” She replied. “You have your orders.” And she was gone.

I stood up, and picked up the knife, twisting it in my hand. It seemed ordinary, save for the odd color. I had never taken a life before, never even killed an animal. I had hit the priest, but it was to get him out of the way. Then again, I hadn't much cared whether he died or lived. Would it be the same to the man who was practically grooming me to be his future son-in-law?

In short, yes. Yes it was. How unlucky for him that he tripped down the stairs. How lucky for me that no one saw me push him.

Lulubelle was devastated, and took solace in my arms. She never saw the knife in my pocket, or the hair I had cut from the man's head. The next night as the town mourned, I headed into the woods, and stabbed the first tree I saw with the knife. The tree shook, and a black door appeared. I went inside without thinking, and found myself within the depths of an ancient castle teeming with witches and warlocks. They all glared at me, much like the villagers of my home did, but they did nothing to me. My feet found themselves walking forward to the throne room, and there sat Magica.

This time, I remembered to show reverence. I went down on one knee, took a fistful of her dress to kiss, and offered the hair. She chuckled, pleased. “Excellent work, servant. I think this deal will work out very nicely for the both of us.”

I moved onto the next village, and the next, and for years this was my life. Not every town had something Magica desired, but even so I never stayed for very long. Why chain myself down when there was an entire world to see? But I soon enough noticed a pattern whenever I left – the towns I left behind would fall to ruin, by plague, by weather, by thieves, by any stroke of bad fortune. Eventually I surmised that my luck was draining all the luck from everyone I met. In order for me to be happy, others would suffer. Fair enough.

I enjoyed testing my abilities. Not everyone liked my company, after all. One quaint fishing village had a surly chap who was envious of the ladies swooning around me, so he challenged me to a fight. I declined, and he continued to pester me. As I watched him rave and rant, I pondered what would happen if I wanted something bad to happen to him.

When he stepped outside, he slid on the icy street and broke his neck. I couldn't stop laughing.

I sold out loyal friends, I abandoned lovestruck maidens, I stole from poor old grandparents, all for the sake of my happiness and my Magica. Yet no matter what I gave her, she still called me servant. Only once did she ever say my name, and only then did I realize the hell I had trapped myself in.

On a brisk winter's day I came her castle to give her an update on a curse she'd given, and found her sitting with council, shouting at them before dismissing them. Several gave me the evil eye, and I gave them the good wink. Once she was alone, I strutted inside. “Tough day?��

“May all the fae have their wings fall off and rot for eternity.” She grumbled, flopping into a seat.

“So, yes.” I headed to her cabinet, pulling out drink and glasses. The wine of witches is powerful stuff, let me tell you.

“I was so close,” she rubbed her face, groaning. “So close to wiping out a good tenth of their generals... but they've allied themselves with mortals! And strong ones too. It'll take ages to take back the land they stole.”

“Which you stole first,” I playfully pointed out, handing her a full glass.

“Bah, details.” She drank. “It's been nothing but losses for days, I can barely think straight.” She rubbed her temples, and to me it seemed she hadn't slept in a while.

“You sound stressed.” He came up behind her, offering a kiss to the shoulder. “You ought to relax.”

“Easier said than done.” She moved the glass in her hand, watching the liquid slosh about. “Hmph... I suppose you might be right. If I don't find some way to ease myself, I'll go mad. I need a distraction.”

“Well, if I can help, say the word.” I shrugged one shoulder, taking a sip. I began to go into my report, noting that she didn't appear to be listening.

“Servant,” she cut in, “Come here.”

“Hm?” I leaned in, and then she kissed me. I was so stunned, I let my arm drop and the wine spilled onto the floor. I forgot how to breathe, how to think, unable to tell if this was reality or one of my many passionate dreams.

As the seconds ticked by and I understood this was real, I tossed the glass aside and pounced. If she wanted to relax, by the gods, I was more than happy to help her this way! How we eventually managed to get to her bed, I have no idea, as I was solely focused on showing her exactly how much I loved her. I worshiped every inch of her body, spoke of how she was in my every waking thought, and in my foolishness I thought she'd understand. As I heard her cry out my name, I believed she knew the depth of my devotion. She had to know that I'd do anything for her, she who gave me a reason to live. After this night, she had to know we were meant to be together. I refused to let her go, even when every last ounce of my strength was gone.

In the morning, I was so exhausted I could barely lift my head – witch stamina is rather amazing – but when I opened my eyes, she was already up and dressed. It took some effort, but I managed to sit up, smiling at her. “You never fail to impress, darling.”

She wasn't looking at me, instead having rolled out a map on her desk drawer. “I need to go this kingdom next, servant. They've got ores that could greatly improve my magical prowess.”

I stared so hard my eyes fell out of my sockets. I was back to servant. How? What about that night? I fumbled, trying to get on my legs. “M-Magica, you...” I grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at me. “What we have, you're just going to pretend it didn't happen?”

She looked at my hand as if it was a mere insect crawling along her dress, and flicked it off. “What of it? You did your duty, as you were supposed to.” As if things couldn't get worse, when she saw my eyes full of agony and heartbreak, she actually laughed. “Oh, my. What are you thinking, dear little fool?”

“I...” How could she not understand, when I held her so close and kissed her so deeply? “I love you, Magica, I've always loved you! Since the first day I met you, I've wanted to be with you!”

“Don't be ridiculous.” She tapped my lips with her finger, condescending and superior. “Creatures like you and I? We don't know what love is. Now, I've given you an assignment, so get to it.” With that, she was done, and walked out, leaving me alone.

That night was merely a servant obeying his mistress. It meant nothing to her, just a way to ease her stress. All I had done, all I had sacrificed, it was merely expected of me. And with growing horror I knew it wouldn't change. No matter how many towns I ruined or lives I took, I would only be her servant and nothing more. My luck would give me everything except the one who gave it to me.

I cleaned up, and left, my mind reeling in insanity. There had to be a way to make her understand. A lucky life was a long one, so she said, so surely there had to be some way to make her mine. I had to make her need me. I'd gotten everything else I wanted – so why couldn't I have her?! It wasn't fair! I was entitled to her! She belonged to me, and me alone!

I would make her love me, make her see that I was the only one worthy of her. I continued my work for her, erasing any last remains of my humanity. I'd prove myself, I'd show her I was more devoted than any witch and warlock under her reign. I began to seek out more witch artifacts on my own, delving into ancient scrolls and stories from elders. My luck would provide the exact text I needed, the right woman to fool to get past security, the exact moment a hurricane would crash down on the family of a witch hunter. All of it for her, all of it for me. I'd make her win the war against the fae, and enslave all of humanity, all so she could say my name.

And I could've lived with this. I believe I could've. If not for that. One. Last. Straw.

I was at the castle once more, ready to receive my next assignment, but when I entered the throne room, my heart stopped at who I saw. There stood cousin Donald, no longer a small boy with a happy face, but an adult man with faded blue eyes. Though it had been years since I'd seen him, I recognized him at once. “Donald?!” I shouted, running up to him, having buried all the memories of my family deep underground. “What in the world are you doing here?!” He didn't answer me – didn't seem to see me. I waved my hand in front of his face and got no reaction.

“Amazing spell, is it not?” Magica crooned on her throne, praising her own handiwork. “He sleeps now, an endless perfect dream, while I use his body for what I wish. Nothing can wake him now.”

I let out a small whistle, impressed. “That is something, all right.” I pinched his cheek, no reaction. Poke his face, no reaction. I was about to slap him when Magica gave me a look. “Sorry. Couldn't resist.” I teased. It didn't answer the question of why my cousin was here, but there was no love lost here. Let him and the entire family tree be a stepping stone for the witches, it didn't matter. “He'd make a great footstool.”

“I have much bigger things planned for all of us.” Magica smiled wickedly, and I heard the sounds of footsteps, as witches began to enter the throne room. “In these years past, your cousin became entangled with the fae, and even found himself a bride among them.”

I raised an eyebrow, glancing once at Donald before returning my attentions back. “You're saying he's married to a fairy?”

“Was,” She corrected, one finger up. “But, we played a most fanciful trick. I managed to seal off the fairy rings temporarily, and disguised myself as his woman.” Already I found my stomach starting to twist, but told myself it was nothing, merely her plan. “In the world of fae, giving your name holds power. Wearing the face of his beloved one, I had him give me his name – breaking the wedded vow. And breaking a fairy's promise is a dangerous thing. Once the fairy rings were unsealed, they launched war against the 'lying' mortals.” She cackled, and a few of her followers followed suit.

“Oh, the poor bride tried to plead, it wasn't his fault,” she continued to giggle, “But not a word was listened. The fae have lost themselves an ally, and for that, we grow stronger.”

“We mustn't waste time,” one elder witch warned, rising up. “We must launch our next attack soon. I say we strike to the north, while their Queen recovers.”

“A woman's work is never done,” Magica clicked her tongue, standing up. “Let us be off.” And then – and then – AND THEN – she kissed Donald.

It was a second long, a quick peck, but to me, this was a moment of eternity seared into my eyes. She took his hand, but before they could leave, I screamed, “What is this?!” She who would never call me by name would taste the lips of my cousin so freely?!

She scoffed at my anger, pulling Donald toward her, and he showed no resistance. “Well, while I played the part of his blushing bride, I got used to the taste.” She then chuckled, poking Donald's lips. “A man who can never argue with me, never raise a word... makes for a suitable husband, does he not?”

“Hus...” I couldn't even finish the word. I stood there, trembling in rage, as she walked hand-in-hand with him, the witches following soon after. When the door clicked shut, I lost the last bits of my sanity. I shoved the throne over, ripped the curtains, smashed the furniture, to hell with the consequences. She preferred a dreaming, dead Donald over me?! Over me?! OVER GLADSTONE GANDER?!

What had I done to deserve this final stroke of madness? Denying me her love was one thing, but to gladly go into the arms of my cousin?! How was I supposed to stand for this?! I'd given her more than he ever could, but he was the one she chose?! How was this lucky? This was a curse! Oh, he would pay, they would all pay, in blood and fire and the worst of luck I could summon! I would make Donald's world hell on earth, if that's what I took! I am Gladstone Gander, and I get whatever I want.

But first. I needed time to plan. And think. So here I am. In this old bar, drinking this pathetic swill, trying to steel my nerves. Trying to figure out where to direct my luck. Trying not to hear the gossip that hovers around me again. Yet...

I hear he's part fae – explains all his good fortune.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so it's been said. Perhaps – perhaps here is an answer. They're winning against the fae now, but things can change, especially if I will it so. One could say they only reason they were winning at all was because it was lucky for me. But what if I turned it around? If they lost, they would need to pick themselves back up again. If Donald could be returned to the fae, maybe they'd forgive the mortal realm and join forces again.

Oh, yes, this could work out very nicely, couldn't it? What if, the witches lost so many and so much that their numbers dwindled? Their powers decreased? They would need their servant to rise again. She would need me. If I wanted to, I could take it all away. Her followers, her castle, maybe even her powers, as long as it played in my favor. I could make her need me. I could make it so she couldn't live without me.

I could make her beg.

My drink was refilled, and the young lady who'd done so hummed a bit. And in that moment I saw how much power I really had – this was a complete stranger, and I could either make her live like a princess without care in the world, or have her rotting in an alleyway with the rats, depending on my mood. And she'd never know she was in the presence of such a god. “Free ale all night”, she mused, “You must be one lucky man, my friend!”

I smiled. “You have no idea.”

[halloweennut]

okay here’s the character rough for Felicity that I wrote. i’m a little happier with this than I was yesterday. It is based on some ideas @raidenraccoon and @musekicker posed in regards to her competitive streak and involving Gladstone. I listened to 42nd Street and Thoroughly Modern Millie a lot during this lmao

Sheer dumb luck. It’s what it was.

Gladstone Gander had walked into the auditions on a whim and apparently had the look that none of the company apparently had and could manage to carry a tune well. And somehow manage part of one of the complicated tap numbers.

And of course, she finally landed the lead role and Gladstone Gander was her leading man. At first it started nicely enough. Gladstone was pleasant enough, if a bit pretentious. He had a habit of not coming to rehearsal, which made a portion of the cast miffed, of course. But, in an attempt to be positive, Felicity thought of it as a great way for the group numbers and solos to get practice in, as well as for his understudy to be able to learn the part. Besides, he stepped in for blocking and when she needed to run the songs that had the role in it.  Gladstone, on the days he did come, always had a charming effect on the director, producers and cast that made them forgive his transgressions, and for a while it worked on her as well. After all, he did have some...brand of charm and could perform the role well.

But he never stopped talking once he started. Suggestions that somehow always were beneficial and that everyone ate up. It did, however, start to wear on the cast. Of course, Felicity took it upon her shoulders to keep things going well to keep up morale. She showed up on time, supported her cast and crew and stayed her chipper self. Some of her friends in the company used her for a litmus test of annoyance - once she started to show being annoyed, they had reason to complain. Felicity had had years of practice and anger management, not to mention acting lessons that bolstered her ability to remain calm and collected. Even when it came to Gladstone.

Even when he started to “correct” her notes and dance steps. Even for numbers he wasn’t in. Even if he was correct and she actually was off by half a beat or step.

Even when he started to upstage her. Constantly. Even during the love duets they had to sing and convince the audience they had chemistry.

Eventually, however, the even when’s build up and tolerances break down.

“That’s it. I’m going to bite him,” Felicity muttered as she stretched dance rehearsal, staring down her beak at the goose in green as he chatted up one of the background dancers.

“Oh yes the show was great but the lead male had a smattering of black and blue bruises that clashed with his costuming,” she muttered, mocking a newspaper review in a nasal voice as she switched to a different stretch. “With his luck they’d call it charming and a real addition to the character.”

“Hey hey, Felicity, my leading lady!”

Whatever snide remark she had on her tongue died there as her co-star appeared behind her and she turned with a smile that she hoped didn’t look forced. “Gladstone! My leading fella! What’s up?”

“I have to leave early today, and I was hoping you could tell my understudy to fill in for me - the kid needs the practice anyway, not that he’ll need it!”

“You realize that the show is in less than three weeks, right? We’re kind of in crunch time right now. And rehearsal hasn’t even begun,” she replied, bordering on nervous while a snide “why don’t you go ask him yourself” ran through her head. Felicity tamped that down fast. He winced.

“Yeah, I know, I know but this thing came up and I really have to bounce,” he shrugged nearly apologetically, but rebounded with finger guns. “But I’m all yours tomorrow, Lissy!”

“Please don’t call me that,” she sighed. But he had already left. One of the stagehands bounded up to her to ask if she was ready to go on stage for vocal warm-ups. “I’ll be out in a minute. But can you let Mr. Gander’s understudy and the director he won’t be here?”

They nodded and left towards the stage, already speaking into their headset about the last minute change. Felicity waited until no one could see her, and left to the office spaces. They had just handed out mock-ups of the playbill, and they littered a few of the chairs. She grabbed one and stared at it. There she was in black, white and red under the name of the play.

Felicity Columbia had done it, and she let the moment calm her down and let herself take it in.  After so long, after years of training and practice, she was the lead in a musical for a successful company. On the cover of a playbill and posters, on top of the bill-

Except she wasn’t. Gladstone was listed above her name. It not only ignored alphabetical order, but also the fact she was the titular character. The fact that she had worked and trained and competed and fought for it had apparently escaped whoever put it together and her jaw clenched and the urge rose to track down the goose and -

She felt paper between her teeth. She had bitten the portion of the playbill that had his name and photograph, nearly tearing the papers. Felicity pulled it from her beak, and stared down at it.

“Felicity,” she murmured, “this is a mock-up. It’s not even finished. Half the cast is missing, not to mention the production crew. Gladstone isn’t going to steal this from you.”

She felt herself calm down and turned back to go to the stage for rehearsal. But, for good measure, she bit the playbill once more, and rather hard, before crumpling it and throwing it into a trash bin. Today was the day she absolutely nailed the group tap number in the second act, and the stage crew was going to fix that one lighting cue, not to mention that Gladstone’s understudy got to practice and be in the spotlight for another rehearsal.

It soon came to light though, another reason Gladstone had stayed in the production was in part due to the producers’ hopes of securing funding from Scrooge McDuck, not to mention the connection between the two would draw a crowd. Ultimately, Gander left the show for a more worthwhile opportunity, luckily with time for the playbills to be changed and the costumes readjusted. And luckily for him, a light fixture that had been giving the crew grief dropped mid-production, narrowly missing the new lead because he was on the suggested mark Gladstone insisted on.  Other than that, the show went without a hitch, the reviews were good and she was well received, and Gladstone himself had sent flowers - which he had won for free. But roses were roses of course.

In the long run in regards to Gladstone Gander, it was a nice test of strength for Felicity and it did save the life of her co-star. But she hoped she never had to be in a show with him again. Or have to audition alongside him. Or work for a charity effort with him. Between him being himself and his luck, it wouldn’t be a playbill being bitten. But only Felicity knew that.

[toonqueen]

Duckverse 2020

--HOME--

This takes place in my headcanon for an 87/Comic universe for Magicstone. Ahhhhhh. Thank you @cataradical for so much betaing omg.

------

Gladstone awoke to a tremendous throbbing headache. It could be compared to an extremely bad hangover, if he had ever had one of those. Even with the heavier drinking the few times he tagged around as a “fourth wheel” when Donald’s two bright-feathered friends were visiting. 

He let out a soft groan, not wanting to open his eyes until he remembered how exactly he got like this. There were just scattered, small memories he could recall. A fight with something. Magica was definitely there. Gladstone rubbed his forehead with his palm. Even with closed eyes, he could still tell there was a little beam of light coming into the room.

When the half-goose finally opened an eye, it was through the spread fingers of his hand still on his face. The light came from the window, peeking between a set of curtains Gladstone did not recognize. Not his, and not the ones in Magica’s little shack. 

Gladstone instantly sat up in the bed, and then immediately regretted moving so fast. It made his head swim. The dark room spun for a long minute. Gladstone felt if he laid back down the pain would get even worse. He noticed there were a pair of doors across the room: dark brown wood, very tall and wide; one was propped open by a star-shaped doorstop. He didn’t feel like he could get up safely right now. It was a very strange feeling, for Gladstone to be weak. His second panicked thought was he had lost his luck yet again. However, he did know this was a stranger’s house, and he needed to get out immediately. 

The half-goose cautiously sat up, legs hanging over the side of the bed. His head was still swimming. Once it steadied, Gladstone gave a closer look around the room. The walls were made up of the same dark wood as the doors; every three feet, tall, intricate pillars had been carved expertly into the walls. They resembled Greek Ionic columns with swirling capitals on top.

Gladstone spotted his coat and tie across the room, draped over a nearby Victorian cherry wood chair by a matching vanity. His hat sat atop the ornate mirror.

Groaning, Gladstone finally got up and walked over to the window. Just moving felt like too much effort. He pushed one curtain aside, enough to shine a little light on his face. With another grunt, his eyes adjusted to the brightness. Outside, he saw a nearby forest edging into what used to be a small vineyard. All overgrown. The wooden spikes and poles that held grape vines still stood. 

On dilapidated fencing sat two black crows. Two very familiar crows. 

Gladstone relaxed and sighed in relief. All the tension of waking up in a strange location disappeared; Magica was here. But where he was he still didn’t know. He remembered he went to Magica’s shack to visit her, but that was all he could recall for the moment.

He was already feeling much better as he explored the large bedroom. The dresser on the other side of the room had several framed photographs sitting on it. Like the rest of the room, the frames were wood, antique, gilded in gold leaf. He looked over the pictures before something caught his interest.

Gladstone picked up one photograph of two young children with their parents. He wouldn’t say what they were wearing more modern, but it definitely looked newer than all the other Victorian-esque pictures. All smiling, like your usual family portrait. Gladstone knew he had a few of him as a kid with his parents with the same warm, friendly look. 

It then dawned on him the two kids in the picture were Magica and her brother Poe. He chuckled softly and put it back down on the dresser. 

A familiar face appeared in the doorway, and Gladstone couldn’t help but give a smile. 

Magica had a pitcher of water in her hands and spoke as she walked in. “Of course you wake up when I leave the room. I hope you weren’t too worried.” She went to the bedside stand first, filling an empty glass sitting there. 

Gladstone’s body relaxed, most noticeably in his shoulders. He walked over to the bed to sit again. “Can you fill me in on what happened?” he whispered like they weren’t alone, needed to keep quiet. 

Magica handed Gladstone the glass. “Drink this first,” she said. There was fleeting concern in her tone, like she was trying to hide it but a little slipped through. 

Without hesitating, Gladstone did what he was told.  “Okay, what was that? Some potion to balance me out, or?” he asked as he handed back the glass. 

“Water; you’re probably dehydrated,” Magica scowled a little. As if he were a fool for not knowing what water tasted (or did not taste) like. 

“I think my luck is gone,” Gladstone muttered.

“I doubt that. With what happened last night, you were lucky to get out of there alive. You don’t remember anything?”

“I came to surprise you with an impromptu visit. You weren’t home. Poe let me in even though Ratface told him not to.. After that it's kinda fuzzy,” Gladstone explained. 

Magica put her hand on his forehead to feel if it was hot or not. He’d been warm earlier, but now seemed normal again. She sighed. “I was late for a meeting with my grand coven.They had...” She tried to think of a non-magic layman's term for it. “They had projected outside for the meeting. I assume they saw you and must have thought you were an intruder.”

“I do remember seeing three big ladies,” Gladstone said, paused a moment, “big as in projected. Like you said. Like a magical facetime call, hm?” 

“Some of us still have flip phones, Gladstone,” Magica ughed, “but yes, like facetime.” 

“So I ran into them and they zapped me with something? Do I still have my luck?” Gladstone sounded slightly panicked at the last question. A bit of cracking to his voice like a teen hitting puberty. 

Magica sat on the side of the bed facing him. “You really don’t remember anything? I think you still have your luck. Trust me. I think that's how you are still alive. I’m very rusty on my fake death spells. It had to be your luck.”

“Magica, give yourself some more credit. I’ve always seen you cast great magic. I mean, I don’t know what kind of form that stuff is graded on, but it always works for you!” There was a moment's pause as the gears turned in the half-goose’s head. “Wait, death spell?!” 

Magica gave a little wince at that, even though Gladstone hadn’t been very loud.

“When I got there, they were accusing you of spying on them. One had used a silence spell on you, so I didn’t know what you were trying to tell me,” Magica explained, wrinkling her beak, “they wanted to get rid of you. I lied and said that I needed you for your access to Scrooge and his dime for the Midus spell.”

If Magica had said such a thing early on in their relationship he would have been skeptical. But over time he learned she did keep him separate from her… magic business. She hadn’t used him to get to his uncle since long before they were “dating”.

“They wanted me to get rid of you STILL, even though I said I needed you for--you know--the mission they have me on. Pretty much sabotaging me if what I had said had been true. So... I made it seem like you were dead. By wand zap. Seemed to work. They believed it. At least, I think they did,” Magica explained. 

Gladstone felt like she was telling the truth, but she was holding something back. There was a pause to her inflection on words that left him thinking she was deciding carefully on how she said each sentence. 

His head was still too sore to press for more details on what actually happened. For now.

“Where are we?”

“Well, obviously I couldn’t have you at my house in case they-- ugh---” she paused to use the term Gladstone said, “facetime me again. This is an old estate; we’ll be fine and safe here. It would be best to stay a day or two to keep off my grand coven’s radar.”

Gladstone glanced around the room from where he sat in bed. It really felt like he’d stepped back into the past; the early 1800s, where everything was fancy, posh but lovingly ornate. Window curtains and sheets were a dark silver, the latter plush and silky. The floors were polished wood with several black Persian rugs. Though the place looked old, there were brass electric lamps on the walls, a vintage Baroque-style stained glass flush mount on the ceiling.

“I’ve only seen one room in this place and can already tell it's better than your other home. Why not stay here all the time?”

“I brought you here because it's safer. But there are safety spells cast all over this place that interfere with my own magic, so I could not ‘work’ here,” Magica answered shortly. “Did you need to call anyone? Being gone for more than a day, I don’t want your uncle to think I kidnapped you. Again.” 

“How long was I out?” Gladstone asked, now concerned because Magica wanted him to check in with his family. 

“Overnight. It’s already past noon,” Magica said as she put her hand on his cheek. She gave a light smile, like there was something more on her mind. “You should wash up. You must be hungry. I started making soup.”

Gladstone chuckled, taunting, “This ancient place has plumbing?”

Magica withdrew her hand to give him a playful push on the shoulder. “Of course it does. I’m not THAT old.”

“Ah, so this is your childhood home? Or something like that?” Gladstone’s curiosity was piqued.

“Yes, something like that,” Magica replied vaguely, “you really do need to wash up though.”

Gladstone gave a glance back over to his items on the vanity. With the light brighter in the room now, he saw the clothing was streaked with dirt. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his bill. “Oh, man… one of them threw me, huh? With a blast of magic?”

“You were pretty roughed up when I got there. So that is a possibility.” Magica put her free hand on his other cheek to move his head down a little. Gladstone received a light kiss to the forehead.

“Lucky for me you showed up to save the day.” Gladstone raised his head, wearing a cheesy grin. 

Magica shook her head in the stereotypical “oh, you!” fashion. 

Still smiling, Gladstone gave her a long kiss back. Properly, beak to beak. Magica leaned into it, her hands moving from his face down to his shoulders. He put an arm around her back and gave a gentle squeeze.

There was a low growl. Magica pulled back from the embrace. For one split second she was almost concerned a wild animal had snuck into the room.

“Sorry. That was me. I guess I am hungry.” Gladstone gave a sheepish shrug. 

Magica let him go to bap him on the arm. “Finish another glass of water and clean up. Bathroom is the door on the left.” She gave him a peck on the cheek before standing up to leave. “I’ll bring the soup up to you once it's done. Don’t expect anything fancy.” 

Gladstone hummed a moment. “You must have been pretty worried about me if you’re volunteering to provide me free room service.”

“Well, don’t get used to it!” Magica replied as she walked out of the room.

Once she left, Gladstone flopped down, laying crossways on the bed. He thought, for just a second, what it would be like to have a home with Magica. 

------

Lol I was gonna say Zoom call instead of Facetime but then realized this takes place slightly in the past. I looked up when IPhone came out which was 2007, which is still a tiny bit too much in the future for this but haha maybe Duckverse just have iphones sooner so screw logic. Haaaa. (Mind you time frame kinda mattered to me because I headcanon Gladstone’s mom was born 7.7.1957. Gladstone is 7.7.1977 and Gladstone and Magica’s kid should have been 7.7.2007 technically. (Except the kid landed on the 13th because SPOOKY OKAY.)

Also the house mentioned here is a headcanon I have for a De Spell Estate that's past through the family. No one is currently living there but I like the concept of using it as a safe house when crazy stuff goes down. >_>

[tcsauaskblog]

what do each of them do after a nightmare?

Donald does a walk around and checks in on everyone, just to make sure they’re all in their beds and safe in sound and not in any danger whatsoever at all. Granny’s still sleeping in her bed. He can hear Gus snoring down the hall. He tucks all of Della’s stray limbs back into the bed. He takes the book out from under Gladstone’s arms and takes Fethry’s hat off and pulls the covers over him again. And only once he’s sure that everyone is safe and sound, he’ll allow himself to go back to bed and forget about the nightmare where they weren’t.

Della does a breathing exercise. She’ll look over at Donald, and waits till she sees the fall and rise of his chest, and tries to copy him. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. She then flexes her toes, her feet, her ankles, slowly working up her body until she’s felt every part of her body, and presses herself in her bed as hard as she can. She’s not weightless. She’s not alone. She’s in her bed. At home. Donald is right next to her. He’s always right next to her. She’s not lost. She’ll pull open the curtains next to her bed, and lets a bright moonbeam spill onto her bed and pillow as she stares into the bright night sky, filled with a billion tiny stars that glow beside a shining full moon. She’s not all alone, lost in the dark. She’s ok. She’s safe. She’s safe.

It’s a 50/50 chance whether Gladstone’s nightmares wake up Fethry, since they share a bunk bed, and jerking movement or hushed whimper can jolt the kid awake. If he does wake up Fethry, Feth will usually try to talk him back to sleep, whispering quietly, “It’s ok Gladdy. Was it about the train again? Or the tall tower? Do you want me to come up there? Do you wanna talk about it? It’s ok if you don’t. Do you want me to talk instead? I can totally do that.” Cause Feth is the only person Gladstone can trust with his nightmares of falling. About his luck giving out on him and him falling and ending up with nothing. Ending up being nothing. Cause Feth can keep secrets like it’s a sworn duty, and even though he knows Donald or Della won’t make fun of him for it, there’s something comforting in only trusting a kind kid like Fethry with the insecure nightmares that haunt him when he’s awake too. But on the nights that Fethry doesn’t wake, Gladstone will sneak into the bathroom and lock himself in there, sometimes for hours and even until the sun comes up the next day, splashing water on his face, and trying to quiet the pounding ache in his chest as he sits on the cold tile floor and does his best to breathe through the worst of the anxiety attacks that set in and take hold of the most tender parts of his heart.

Fethry’s night terrors are loud and jolting and scary, and when he finally wakes up from them, tears streaming down his face and a cold sweat sticking to his shirt uncomfortably, it’s to the wide blue eyes of his big cousin Donald, who’s soothing the hair out of Fethry’s face and placing a gentle hand on Feth’s chest, trying to quell the hitched breathing that’s leaving Fethry in an awful state. Gladstone and Della are awake too, and they’re sitting on the end of his bunk, giving him tender and sleepy smiles, and whispering “No, it’s ok Feth, you didn’t wake us up, it’s ok. You’re safe. We’re gonna spend the night in here with you to prove it.” And Della curls up beside Fethry on the small bunk, while Gladstone camps out near his feet, his legs draped over Fethry’s like a comforting vice, and Donald is still sitting there beside Fethry. Illuminated only by the of Fethry’s nightlight as he continues to run a gentle hand through Fethry’s hair. And Fethry can’t remember what the nightmare was about. He can never remember. And he feels bad about not being able to find his voice and tell Donald as much, but Don never presses the issue. Just tells Fethry to go back to sleep. That it’s ok. That he’ll stay until Fethry falls asleep. And hums a melody Fethry can’t place that lull’s Fethry back into a quiet sleep and safe sleep. And on the few nights that Fethry’s night terrors wake him quietly, alone and scarred in the dark save for the quiet breathing of Gladstone above him and the nightlight beside him that doesn’t look so bright when you can barely see out of your eyes from the tears pooling there. And Fethry would feel bad about waking up Gladstone, so he quietly sneaks out, tiptoeing on soft bare feet across the hall until reaches Donald and Della’s room and opens the door. When Fethry climbs into Donald’s bed, he’s met by only a hushed grunt as the bed creaks when Donald shuffles over to make room for him like it’s second nature. And when he lifts his arm, Fethry is already there ready to fill in the empty space next to his side. And Donald doesn’t say a word. Fethry doesn’t either. But Donald’s bed is warm, and his breathing is solid and sturdy, and Fethry latches onto it like a security blanket, and lets the safeness of the company sned him back to sleep and dream a much better dream that he’ll remember in the morning.

[adamarinayu]

Hi once again. I just wanted to know what You Think of Gladstone.

Canonically almost everywhere, excluding DT87 and some of the non-DT comics, he’s a bit of an ass (please excuse the language).

However, I don’t think he’s a malicious ass in DT17. He is in a lot of the comics (though sometimes he’s shown to be as much a victim of his luck as anybody else), but in DT17 I think he just doesn’t realize how his actions and lackthereof affect those around him. At the House of the Lucky Gander, he brought his family in not with the intention of switching with them but of leaving with them, thinking Donald’s luck (or lack of, as it may be) would be enough to break Liu Hai’s spells. When Scrooge switched them out (though he knew Liu Hai could not survive off of Donald’s bad luck), even Gladstone was like “That’s messed up,” and wanted to help save him. (”The kid’s not wrong, Uncle McDunkle. What do we do?”)

So I think he’s unintentionally a bit of an ass, but he does love his family and didn’t want Donald to end up a prisoner in his place. I’d also say a bit selfish, but we don’t even know how long he was kept in the House of Lucky Fortune before finally calling his family as a last resort. He came close to having a realization about himself at the end, though it was wrecked by that golden boat.

That being said, I won’t solidly know how to feel about him until we see more of him, but overall I like him and his potential as a character. He’s a character that needs a “personal growth” story that I think Donald would be vital to (as he’s the victim of Gladstone’s luck, more often than not) before he can be considered a “good guy,” but he’s certainly not a bad guy.

And at the end of the day, I live for seeing him and Donald work together and prove that they’re family and therefore still love each other despite everything. Honestly, their relationship reminds me a lot of very competitive siblings rather than cousins, but if they grew up together from a young age that wouldn’t be surprising.