#The Donald Duck song unlocked this for me

[degenezijde]

There's this weird 'achievement unlocked' feeling you get when you hear something again you heard a lot as a child when you didn't understand the language it was said in but somehow absorbed word by word. And now you do know the language and finally you know what it means and it tickles your brain.

[lettheladylead]

avoid the unhappy ending (ch8)

ships/characters: Goldie, Fergus, Downy, Fethry, Gladstone, Scrooge/Goldie words (ch8): ~1600 summary: Goldie comes to town to see Scrooge. Instead, she somehow manages to run into literally everyone else. ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108943/

[1 & 2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Chapter 8 under the cut:

Sneaking over to Scrooge’s study wasn’t an issue. Goldie didn’t hear the sounds of Beakley or any kids moving around, didn’t see Duckworth’s ghost - finally she would just find Scrooge and talk to him for a bit and then leave.

Almost to the study door, Goldie frowned. Maybe she should hang around for a little longer than a bit after all the trouble she’d gone through to find him. But after spending so much time with the family already, just the idea of staying longer felt overwhelming. This was just supposed to be a quick visit, not some celebratory weekend vacation. There was no anniversary, no birthday, she just wanted to say hi.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, smiling brightly in preparation.

And...empty.

Goldie didn’t even bother to look around and check. This was just what she should’ve expected. She walked forward and sat in Scrooge’s desk chair, putting her feet up.

“Scroogey, Scroogey, Scroogey,” Goldie said in a sing-song tone. “Where could you be…”

She looked over the desk, checking out the headers of every paper. Eventually her eyes landed on a calendar, and Goldie excitedly sat up straight and grabbed it, using her pointer finger to find her way to the current date.

Nothing. It was blank. Looks like he had a free Saturday to do whatever he wanted. In this case: running around and avoiding his ex-everything. Or whatever he was calling her these days.

She sighed loudly and plopped her head down on the desk. Why was this so difficult? Was she having a bad day or was she just bad at this suddenly? She rotated her head so her cheek was shoved against the grain, beak tapping on the wood as she considered what to do next. There were so many rooms in this house, and knowing Scrooge...he probably didn’t waste any of them. He had reason to be in literally any room at any time. He could be looking for her by this point. Maybe she should listen to the hummingbird kid and just text him after all.

Goldie grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and turned on the screen, taking a moment to enjoy her background. It was an old photo of Scrooge she’d taken when he was asleep and he looked particularly cute. He didn’t know about it and probably wouldn’t like the angle, but she could practically hear him snoring when she looked at it long enough.

She had a missed call and two texts she didn’t feel like responding to. What was the point of being on an adventure if she had responsibilities somewhere else?

Just as her thumb slid over to click on her messages, a phone started to ring.

Goldie jumped, not expecting the sound, and quickly scanned the room for the source. Scrooge had a shelf lined with different phones, all labeled, and one of them was ringing loudly.

After the fourth ring with no one coming to answer it, Goldie bit the inside of her cheek and exhaled. She stood up and walked over to the phones, staring at the one that wouldn’t stop ringing.

“Dismal Downs…?” Goldie said softly, trying to remember where she’d heard that name before. It sounded Scottish, for sure. Was it somewhere in Glasgow?

Despite all the traveling she’d done over the years, Goldie had never been to Glasgow. Going there without Scrooge’s invitation felt...wrong. Unlike breaking into his American home, which felt very very right.

Hesitantly, Goldie picked up the phone and held it up to her ear.

“...hello?”

“What?” the voice at the other end said in a thick, barely understandable accent. “Who’s this? The maid?”

“Not even close. Who’s this?”

“This is Fergus McDuck! Where’s Scrooge? His mother’s been waitin’ for him to call and the phone hasnae rang once!”

Goldie smiled. Now she remembered the name Dismal Downs. That’s where Scrooge’s magic immortal castle was keeping his family alive.

“Scrooge isn’t here, but I’ll be sure to let him know his Dear Ol’ Daddy’s upset,” she said smugly, imitating his accent.

The voice on the other end paused. “You’ve got quite the mouth on ya. Who is this?”

She considered, briefly, hanging up and not saying anything. But this was kind of fun. “The name’s Goldie.”

“Ach? Goldie? From Goldieburg?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“I’m sorry - Goldieburg?”

“Aye, Scrooge mentioned a Goldie back when he came to fix up the castle. Is that you?”

She felt an odd flutter thinking that he talked to his parents about her. What was that about? Just complaining? Especially back then...their relationship was still very new. He couldn’t have had many good things to say.

“Probably. I don’t think he knows any other Goldie.”

“Downy!”

“Yes, Fergus?” Goldie could hear a woman’s voice in the distance, similarly accented.

“Scrooge’s wee burd is on the phone!”

“Our Scroogey’s? Does she sound nice?”

“No, not in the least. Probably a good match for our son, then.”

“Oh, Fergus! Don’t be such a grump!”

Goldie wasn’t sure how to react to what she was hearing. They had the wrong idea, but also kind of not the wrong idea. It’s not like she needed to explain the whole situation to them. It’d probably confuse the old folks, or give them a very bad impression of their son.

“Let me talk to her!”

The mother of her long-time rival-slash-love-interest wanted to talk to her?

She hung up, grimacing. That started out funny, but quickly dissolved into too much. They were probably going to make a thousand assumptions that Scrooge would grill her about later. On the plus side, she was definitely going to ask about what the hell Goldieburg meant.

The phone started to ring again and Goldie bolted out of the room. The kids were still nowhere to be seen, it sounded like Beakley was back in the kitchen, and she didn’t feel the presence of any magic or ghosts.

It was time to continue checking the rooms one-by-one, then.

Goldie passed through the foyer, making her way to the other side of the mansion, when the front doorknob started to turn. She eyed the door suspiciously and waited to see who was about to enter. The front hallway wasn’t an ideal spot to greet Scrooge, but she’d take whatever she could get at this point.

The door swung open - it wasn’t locked? - and Goldie raised an eyebrow as she took in the image of the two ducks in front of her.

“I told you it’d be unlocked, Buddy!”

“Boy, Gladstone, when you’re right, you’re right!”

They looked up and made eye contact with Goldie. She stared back, unblinking, trying to figure out who in the world she’d just witnessed breaking into Scrooge’s mansion without breaking a sweat - she was supposed to be the only one who could do that.

The duck in the back smiled and walked forward a few steps, clearly about to say something to Goldie when his eye caught something on the ground. “Hey! Twenty dollars!” He leaned down and grabbed it.

Goldie gaped. How the hell had she not noticed that money? And also… “Wait a second, are you...Gladstone?”

He looked up at her, looked her up and down, and then tapped his beak. “Last time I checked! And you... look vaguely familiar!”

The other duck came up behind him and looked over Goldie as well. “Gladstone...don’t you know who this is?”

“Not at all!” Gladstone said more enthusiastically than necessary.

“This is...Mrs. Beakley!”

“Ooohh -”

“No I am not. ” Goldie crossed her arms over her chest. “Goldie. O’Gilt? And you must be Fethry, then. You two have certainly grown. What are you doing here?”

“Goldie! That’s it!” Gladstone plopped a fist into his open hand for emphasis. “I remember you kidnapping me once!”

She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t a kidnapping. Just...kid-borrowing.”

“Oh, oh! I remember that, too!” Fethry clapped his hands together. “I remember crying very very much.”

“Yes, there was lots of annoying crying,” Goldie said. “But I needed some good luck that day.”

Gladstone shrugged again. “Well, no one else would be able to help with that! And I won so many free pizzas.”

“Donald was so mad he almost tore up my hat!” Fethry laughed for a few seconds, before suddenly stopping and staring out into nothing.

The other two stared at him, expecting him to say something else, but he stayed quiet.

“Right. So, speaking of Donald, where is he?” Gladstone pointed at Goldie. “We’re supposed to be meeting him for lunch!”

“Oh, really?” Goldie asked with a raised eyebrow. “Last time I saw him, he was gardening by the pool. Didn’t look like he had late lunch plans.” She looked up at a nearby clock. “Very late lunch plans.”

“I got lost!” Fethry said with a smile.

“And I didn’t really want to be here,” Gladstone added. “But we have a Della-related surprise to talk about, so!”

She sighed and pointed behind her towards the back of the house. “He’s that way. Just go.”

Gladstone frowned. “That’s a lot of walking.”

“I’ve got you, Gladdy!” Fethry reached over and picked up his cousin, slinging him over his shoulder. “To Donald!”

“To Donald!” Gladstone repeated, happily lounging.

Goldie watched them walk away and sighed. Alright. She was giving up. There was no one left to ask except one person who she knew was just a few steps away. So what was the point in putting it off any longer?

She slowly made her way to the kitchen.

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “The Most Dangerous Game...Night!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Francisco Angones

Storyboard by: Vince Aparo, Emmy Cicirega, Ben Holm

Directed by: Tanner Johnson

We’re back!

Season 1 ended with a war involving the full appearance of one of the most anticipated returning villains, and surprising revelations about a friend and the mother that just couldn’t be found. If you expected Season 2's opener to continue from that, you are mistaken. However, that's not a bad thing; we needed a break from the storm.

The episode starts off with Scrooge, the nephews, and Webby going into a temple with many traps. Right from the first minute, you can just tell by Louie’s expression that he’s not enjoying this as much as the rest of them. He accidentally walks into a cobweb, bumps into Scrooge which almost leads to him falling into a pit, and was too busy getting the webs out to help him out of it, unlike the other kids. This makes him the odd one out, starting a theme for this episode.

But, whoa, look at Dewey and Webby acting like a team to get past the aforementioned pit, harmonizing a song about how teamwork is the dreamwork. Dewey and Webby have teamed up quite a bit in Season 1, Webby being the only one in on Dewey's search for his mother, but they take it a lot further in this episode in their own subplot.

Huey gets to be involved as well, being the brains behind this operation. We learn that the best way to dodge arrow traps is to dodge and step in time with the opening of the DuckTales theme song. They even give it musical accompaniment the second time they do it, just in case you didn't get it the first time. They even end up facing backwards as soon as they're done with it, just like how they faced the camera in the original. A neat touch.

After Louie tries to do the same thing, but failing, we get to the practically obligatory Raiders of the Lost Ark reference. This comes complete with a golden idol to "borrow and then forget about". Specifically, the Idol of Cibola, which, legend has it, has some sort of legend that Louie doesn't even let Scrooge tell. He just wants to get the "whoa" over with.

He airs his laments on how all these adventures have been exactly the same. He even has a three step way of describing all of these adventures, and says that they've all been following this since the beginning. Not so coincidentally, this is a pretty good way to teach kids about three-act structures.

The setup - "Whoa! Some cool hidden city or treasure or whatever!"

The confrontation - "Wait, what? That cool thing is dangerous, cursed, or guarded by centaurs?!"

The resolution - "Ahhh! Louie almost dies, can we please move this along?"

Scrooge shrugs him off, saying that no two perilous scenarios are alike, and that they can be unpredictable. Of course, this is folllowed by Dewey taking the idol and the platform it was on lowering in an ominous way, even saying "whoa!" and "wait what?" at both of these. Louie even lifts his fingers up with each of these, though he doesn't get the chance to lift his third.

Instead, they're too busy running away from the boulder that closes out this cold open. Who could have seen that one coming, besides Louie? But see, it is a little less predictable: the boulder that chases after them happens to be wheel shaped. It's totally different from that other guy's perils with golden idols and boulders.

It's a new season, so I might as well talk about the opening theme song. Like Star Vs, it's mostly the same, with a few things changed for eagle-eyed viewers. The two that I can notice:

Gizmoduck is the one supplying the lasers this time.

More interestingly, Bouncer Beagle, who was kind of redundant since Ma Beagle is right next to him, is replaced with Magica De Spell. Maybe The Shadow War isn't the last we'll see of her? Well, it is not this episode.

While everyone else is excited about that adventure, Louie isn't, and he's especially not happy when he finds out that the Idol of Cibola only had a treasure map inside of it. Yay, more adventure. He's getting really tired of the "hunting" part of treasure hunting, he needs a break. Huey disagrees, and is absolutely excited.

The whole family is a perfect team, according to Huey. He's the brains, Webby is the fists, Dewey has the devil-may-care attitude, and Louie...is there too. Webby tends to be the brains and the one with the devil-may-care attitude occasionally, she has everything, but let's ignore that for now. Huey then starts to praise his own merits. Literally, he shows off his Junior Woodchuck merit badge sash. Louie sarcastically asks him if he's going to aim for getting his sewing badge. Huey says he already has it, but Louie points out a rip in the shirt.

Huey's Junior Woodchuck outfit happens to have a loose string, and he gets into a rut over it. He beats himself up over his "amateur hour" mistake. Another subplot, though one that shows up only occasionally, and anyone can guess where it will lead. Huey sees Louie's point and blames it on the constant adventuring; it must have torn this shirt apart! This gives Louie an idea.

Louie goes up to Scrooge and claims that all of this adventuring is tearing him and his brothers apart, bringing along the still stressed out Huey to point that out. Scrooge shrugs him off every step of the way. There's a callback to how Scrooge can't tell the nephews apart, which doesn't come up as much as one would think.

He says that they rarely have any quality, and suggests some things like Scrooge is walking out of the room. He suggests things like a Make Your Own Pizza Day, or a game night.

That make your own pizza day sure hit the spot for him, but as everyone knows, pizza always wins. Just kidding, it's the game night that piques his interest. How much does it pique his interest?

He's sure to let everyone know by joyfully exclaiming that it's game night to everyone. It's a side of Scrooge you don't see as often, though it definitely existed.

Everyone else isn't too happy, though. Mrs. Beakley explains that Scrooge really gets into this, everything becomes a war zone, and that, as Scrooge always bests his enemies by being smarter than the smarties, they are the enemies. Anyway, Scrooge tells everyone to team up. Scrooge gets Donald, Dewey gets his perfect partner and best friend Webby, and Mrs. Beakley gets Ghost Duckworth. It's a long story.

However, Ghost Duckworth pretends to notice that dark magic's afoot in the ethereal plane, making up an excuse to get out of this scene, and out of most of the episode. Instead, Mrs. Beakley has to make do with Launchpad. Louie tries to get Huey to join him, but...well...

...he has to relearn how to make that Krabby Patty after he messed up on those pickles. Again, much like Louie, I can see how this could end. Nothing can possibly ruin this game night and make this an adventure! ...now what "wait, what" is going to ruin this game night and make this an adventure?

Gyro shows up, with a new invention: a megaphone that listens in on microscopic things. Specifically, he calls it the a Micro Phone, and he's going to use it to find the so-tiny-they-can't-be-seen-by-even-the-viewer's-naked-eyes Gyropuddlians, a reference to the Lilliputians from Gulliver’s Travels, and become their God-King. How? It happens to have a shrink ray function, too. It seems like as long as a cartoon is on, an episode involving a ray that makes things bigger or smaller becomes more likely to happen.

Louie, exasperated by how they can't escape adventure even when they're staying at home, decides to do the sensible thing...

…aim the Micro Phone at Gyro and shoot! He doesn’t even have a single qualm that he just doomed one of Scrooge’s most important employees in a nightmarish terror of being among giants that nobody can see with the naked eye. Huey is noticeably upset, but Louie tries to calm him down in an also sensible way.

Louie: And we can't tell anybody! Because if you do tell anybody, things will only get worse, until you'll never be able to sew a merit badge onto a sash ever again, OK?!

Huey: (looks at his Junior Woodchuck shirt, mumbling with stress)

Also, he believes Gyro's too smart to be killed, and the "ahhh" part will end with him almost getting killed, but learning a lesson in the end. In fact, he even uses the Micro Phone to reveal that his "whoa" actually happened: he did become the God-King.

Meanwhile, we get to one of the Game Night portions of the episode, starting with a game of charades. Pick something out of the hat, act like it, and hope your teammate can guess it. Mrs. Beakley ends up being the timekeeper, as much as everyone would want to see how Launchpad would play charades. Donald is really good at Charades, since not wing understood verbally, non-verbal is easy for him. Nobody has to worry that they didn’t get that; this is all explained by Webby.

Next, it's the perfect team ever's turn. That is, Dewey and Webby, continuing the subplot. We essentially get the scene we would have gotten with Mrs. Beakley and Launchpad. Webby gets a really easy one: Scrooge McDuck. But, wait what? Dewey doesn't get the answer no matter what Webby does? They're sure it's just a fluke.

Eventually, it’s Huey and Louie’s turn, but they’re interrupted by Gyro, God of the Gyrolites, using the Micro Phone to announce his glory. The boys immediately. The others don’t seem to mind. In fact, they're unaware of Huey and Louie’s adventure throughout the entire episode.

They take the Micro Phone to the kitchen, where Gyro tells them what's been going on. Louie was slightly wrong on his initial guess: the tiny people are actually going to go to war against the giants. Why? Because the giants keep destroying their villages!

One notable example? The floating island of Toiletopolis. I mean, we had to go to toilet humor eventually, complete with Louie's disgusted reaction on realizing what that could possibly mean. Soon, a few ants show up, and Gyro the God-King tries his best to shrink them. He ends up accidentally shrinking a few other things, such as a refrigerator, a sink...

...and Launchpad, who happened to be walking in the door. Yeah, that last one’s a big deal. While Launchpad doesn't have the Micro Phone with him, he does have his cellphone to tell him what kind of horrors he's facing, like the giant spider that's slowly walking across Huey and Louie's feet. Wow, Scrooge's manor has a pest problem!

Mrs. Beakley shows up and wonders where her game partner is. Nothing really comes of that other than taking Mrs. Beakley out of the plot. I kind of forgot she was even there, to be honest. We almost didn’t need Duckworth, either, but it did lead to a funny line earlier, so that's okay.

The next game is the Generic Block Pushing Game. No, they don’t actually call it that, in fact, they don't call it anything. Well, someone else has a name for it, but it's clearly not it. Donald and Scrooge take a block out flawlessly, but Dewey and Webby have a harder time, especially when one of the pieces seems to be moving on its own. They, of course, blame each other over it.

Launchpad calls them and says they're just at the Infinity Tower, trying to conquer it by making it topple down. Huey and Louie take a moment to realize what exactly could be called an infinity tower by really tiny beings, as one of the blocks in that tower appears to be moving on its own. Dewey blames his teammate over it, continuing the Dewey and Webby plot.

We then see the toppling of the so-called "Infinity Tower". This is shown completely in slow motion until it zooms out to an unimpressive tumbling, a subtle way to show off the difference between their perspectives. Suddenly, the call goes out, and we get a commercial break.

Huey and Louie are now crying over how everyone was crushed, to everyone else's confusion. After a few seconds of this, they do get a phone call from Launchpad saying that he's okay, because the tiny people happen to be really fast. It's like a Goosebumps chapter break. "Suddenly, the tower collapses, and their friend isn't answering their calls! BUM BUM BUM! Nope, he's okay!"

We get this emotional moment that reveals that Louie is acting like this for more reasons than just "lovable laziness". We know it's emotional because they subtly play piano music over it. This is quickly shrugged off, but it does raise some good points.

The final challenge: Scroogeopoly, a game about money. All the pieces are top hats, and the oldest player goes first. Yeah, that’s not going to be rigged in favor of the duck that's on the box, and pretty much everyone knows it. Scrooge just shrugs them all off, and, of course, dominates the entire game. I sure say something like that a lot in this review; it's just what he does constantly in this episode.

However, a move that nobody expected: the Micro Phone happened to be aimed at them, because the mini people trained flies to be able to lift it. They get shrunken down. Louie shows up, and gets out his monocular that he just happened to have to see what he has done. It was interesting to not be able to see what these Gyropuddlians look like, but it looks like there's no choice but to end that gag.

For the first time in the episode, we get to see these tiny creatures, because these naked eyes are on ducks only slightly smaller than them now. They look like bears, possibly water bears. Anthropomorphic bears, too, not like the like-real-life bear that appeared in that Goldie episode. I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the bottom of that, alongside all of those regular birds that appear occasionally. Including in this episode during the “GAME NIIIGHT” scene.

But, whoa, this Micro Phone does have an unshrink function! Wait, what, it works on the tiny water bears, too, as we accidentally aimed at them instead of the ducks? Ahhh! He’s giant, even though nobody else ends up being giant in this episode during the necessarily predictable conclusion of this plot. Maybe he held the button for too long?

Louie, now all alone, has to figure out how to get out of this situation. Louie’s whole plot in this episode is essentially him trying to figure out how he could fit into this plot, and he’s not fitting into the “lovably lazy schemer” part that he usually fits into. Suddenly, he figures it out: he has to be a schemer in a different way.

We get the fight scene, with all of them fighting the Gyropuddlians in their own way, all under the guidance of the giant-to-them Louie. But, ahhh, Dewey and Webby aren't follow along because they seemingly can't trust each other! This suddenly ends with Scrooge telling them that they don't have to get along as him and Donald don't. This references the charades scene from earlier. They're not friends, they're family. That apparently was all they needed to get over it, subplot over.

Even Huey gets over his fear of failing to sew, in a move that is a little expected. This is all due to Louie's new planning skills! Will they manage to get out of...yes. The answer is yes. I don't even need to finish that question. How did they do it? They do it in an entertaining way. This is a review, not a summary.

Since they obviously get out of this situation, we get to the also obvious "I'm sorry" scene with a not-so-obvious conclusion. He comes into the room, with 15 different apologies, and Scrooge has this angry look on his face. Turns out, it ends up very well for Louie.

So well, we suddenly end on this shot of Louie getting his own room and even his own LLC. Will this be the start of a story arc focused on Louie, since Dewey managed to have all the "fun" in Season 1? Only time will tell.

How does it stack up?

This episode is a great opener, even if it's not as epic as the first episode of the whole series. I mean, did anyone expect that? Sure, the subplots can be a bit forced, mostly to force that three-act-structure gag, but it's still enjoyable.

Next, the animated debut of Donald Duck’s screwy cousin from the comics, Fethry Duck!

← The Shadow War! 🦆 The Depths of Cousin Fethry! →

[aion-rsa]

DuckTales Season 3 Episode 16 Review: The First Adventure!

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This DUCKTALES review contains spoilers.

Kid Donald and Della are the best. The absolute freaking best. Donald’s grumpy grunge boy attitude, Della’s infectious adventuring spirit, they’re both wonderful contrasts to each other that make this episode a blast. Now normally I’m not a big fan of “what if character but they are kid/baby.” Oh sure it’s a license to print money for most franchises but it often lacks a soul. Not here though. DuckTales is too good for that.

This isn’t just a MORE kid-fied version of the DuckTales you know, it’s a chance to see your favorite characters experience a huge moment in their lives; their first adventure. This is a moment that defines them and lays the groundwork for the future. 

For Donald it’s a moment of clarity. While the whole grunge rocker thing never seems to lead anywhere (he can never write a full song or come up with a band name) he does unlock a key part of who he is. His anger. That sounds bad but remember, in this show Donald’s anger isn’t always a negative. It’s played for laughs but it comes out when it involves someone he cares about.

And what does Donald care more about than his sister?

Donald gets angry (at least in that over the top Donald way) for seemingly the first time because he thought his sister died. It showed him what matters most in the world to him. Not the music or sticking it to the man (though he was right that we should eat the rich) but those closest to him. He has his own odd way of showing it but it’s only because of this adventure that it become clear to him. He’ll do anything to keep his family safe.

For Della this is obviously confirmation that she wants to go on adventures for the rest of her life. More importantly though she won’t let anything stand in her way. Scrooge tries to keep her and Donald out of his way but she won’t back down. Nothing can stop Della Duck! 

With this though comes the risk taking. There’s a moment when, faced with a giant chasm between them and their goal, Della leaps forward without thinking. It’s only with quick action by Scrooge that she’s saved. Della doesn’t give it much thought afterwards but we can see that Della lets the adventuring get to her head. She doesn’t think about how it’ll affect others. That’ll come back to haunt her but right now she’s getting to try it out in a big way for the first time!

These two made the episode for me. Another highlight was the formation of F.O.W.L. and all the ways Bradford justifies to himself he isn’t evil. What he’s doing is awful but he dresses it up in fancy words, letting himself off the hook with threadbare justifications. Not too far off from how real world evil people work, honestly.

The rest of the episode was solid but nothing much else really stood out. The adventure was good but not up to DuckTales’ high standards. The weak link in all of it was Scrooge. His interactions with Della and Donald were fantastic but the “Scrooge accepts his family” emotional beat has already been covered by the show. It’s fine here but I wish they’d found a new way of approaching it instead of a simple retread.

Still, the character work with Della and Donald did a lot to make up for the so-so plot. As with so many other parts of this show, I need more of them! Let’s see Donald and Della go on more adventures both as adults and kids. I can’t believe I want more of kid versions of adult characters but that’s the power of DuckTales. It always makes you want more of characters you never thought you needed.

A special shout out goes to Cristina Valenzuela for her excellent work as the young Donald. If I hadn’t looked at the credits I would have assumed this was one of Russi Taylor’s last roles before she passed away. Valenzuela’s ability to perfectly mimic that voice is absolutely exceptional and she brings a lot of charm to the character as well. I hope we hear more of her in the future!

DuckTales Quotes To Make Your Life Better

-“These days I’ve left all that behind to focus on a new kind of conquest. Corporate conquest.”

-“Nothing can stop Della Duck! Except the ground!”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

-“They’re my family!” “Gross.”

The post DuckTales Season 3 Episode 16 Review: The First Adventure! appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[matesinspace]

The Cheese Lover vs. The Brooding Soldier

"Relax, I think you're gonna like him! You both have a military background.”

"Why do I have to meet another one of your exes?"  

"Because he's gonna be staying over at our ship for a while. We need him to get through to the Andromedan Galaxy. He's a bounty hunter, too."

A vein bulged in the man’s forehead. "We already have one of your gamer nerd boyfriends here."

"Maxie, they're both doing us a favor! Please." Firebird held his large hands in hers, comforting him. "They'll be gone before you know it."

He relaxed a bit, eyebrows furrowing. "All right, Rosie." A smirk.

She rolled her eyes at him as she walked away.

"I love you, Maxie boy! Don't forget that." Turning on her heels, she looked him in the eye. "Even if all my exes conveniently show up at the same time, you're the only one for me."

"Pfft." Maximus caught the kiss in the air and placed it on his chest.

The doorbell rang again, reminding them of the visitor's presence. "Doorbell!" Nick's voice rang from one of the rooms, irritating the soldier.

"I'm in the middle of a stream here, could one of you go get it?"

"On it!" Firebird chirped. Unlocking the complex series of locks, she was greeted by a giant of a man. Muscular and stocky, with an eyepatch over his right eye, he looked every bit the pirate.

"Rosetta!" His deep voice bellowed, sounding something like Thor in the Avengers.

"Mike!" The man went in for a hug but she ducked quickly out of the way.

"This is my boyfriend, Captain Maximus of the Diagons."

The man's expression hardened. He turned to Max and held out his hand. "The name's Mike."

Maximus took one looked at Mike’s downturned hand and kept his arms crossed. Merely acknowledging the other man’s presence, he put an arm around Firebird and started walking.

Mike glowered at him, grinning passive-aggressively. “Not a talker, bud?”

“Yeah, he’s the silent type!” Firebird explained sheepishly. “By the way, we’ll be showing you to your room now!”

They showed him to the second guest room, right beside Nick’s, where his commentary and video game music could be heard.

“Nice of you folks to let me stay here while I lend my services.” Sticking his fingers into his belt loops, he smirked at his red-haired host. “Can I come over to your room and visit you when you’re lonely, Rosetta?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Maximus cut in, intervening.

“Lighten up, will ya?” Mike chuckled. “Can’t you take a joke?”

“You’re still not allowed in our room.” His voice was a frigid deadpan as he sized up the other male.

“I’ll have you know Firebird and I are in the same line of work. You’ll never understand her the way I do… you’ll also never know her the way I do.” The suggestive smile on Mike’s face made Maximus want to scrape it off with a cheese grater. Or a chainsaw.

Raising his hand to give Max a patronizing slap on the back, Mike was shocked when the soldier responded with a firm grip.

“C-calm down!” Firebird began, but in a second, they were at each other’s throats, attacking each other with various forms of laser weaponry. The aggression from earlier’s interactions got too pent up and could only be sated with violence.

“FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, WILL YOU GET ALONG OR BOTH OF YOU ARE OUT OF MY LIFE!”

Grunting, the two men stopped trying to kill each other.

“I’m trying to make this work. Okay? I know both of you hate each other right now, but it will be over soon. You’ll never see each other again.”

She turned to Maximus. “We need to talk.”

As they strode up to the ship roofdeck, Mike shot Maximus a proud “You’re in trouble!” smirk then disappeared into his room to make love to his favorite food in the world.

Nick’s head popped out into the doorway. “Can you guys keep it down? I’m trying to stream and the laser sounds are wreaking havoc on my audio.”

SHIP ROOFDECK

"I can see why you broke up with him. What an asshole.”

“He’s … that type of alpha male. The weird kind? Just think of him as Donald Trump and try not to take him too seriously.” Firebird sighed. “This is for you and your sanity, remember? We need him to-”

“Yeah, the lost Andromedan Galaxy.” He put a hand behind Firebird’s head and pulled her onto his chest. “Thanks a lot, FB. I’ll try not to blow him up while he’s here.”

Face buried on his chest, she replied cheekily. “Thanks, that would be great. Also, can you not use me as a stress ball?”

He let go of her after one last squeeze, then watched her walk to the end of the room. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

Ala "To All The Boys I've Loved Before," the redhead approached a cabinet of boxes full of names (raising questions for Max, of course). They were gifts from her exes, too valuable to throw away and too expensive to sell until she found the right buyer.

Heartless? Sentimental? Neither! She was being smart.

She opened a box with Mike's name on it, and out came a cask of expensive-looking collector’s blue cheese with angel dust sprinkled on top. Firebird recalled it was grown with a rare mold as well as alien royal jelly, used to create queens of an exotic insect species on an faraway planet.

Interestingly, the cheese had a suspicious hole in the middle.

The memories came flooding back.

"Mike, I'm home!" Firebird called out in her usual A pair of jeans spread out over the couch caught her eye. Squinting suspiciously, she crossed over to the kitchen to find Nick's boxers on the floor... near the counter.

What was going on? A shirt (at least what was left of it) was strewn around the hallway as she made her way to the bedroom.

"Either he's getting murdered by a rapist alien who likes to remove clothing before eating its victims, or he's cheating on me." She narrowed her eyes. "It better not be the second one."

The telltale signs were there. Soon enough, the telltale sounds filled her ears.

Nick's uncontrollable moaning erupted from behind the door. "OH OH yes... my baby, you are so good to me! Ooooooohhhhhh! Oh! You want to feel daddy inside you again? Naughty little girl, I could just eat you up!"

...

She took one of her explosives (the one that beeped with a death rattle before going off) and left it on the floor, calmly getting into the only escape pod left in the ship. Selectively sucking in all her belongings (a useful feature for quick escapes), she pushed a button and was on her way to her best friend.

Before she left, she heard Nick scream out. "OH. I just wanna spread you all over me! Oh, let me taste you and lick you all over mmhm..."

?

Why did it seem like he was talking about condiments? Whatever. She didn’t need someone who didn’t understand how busy she was. She didn’t need someone who couldn’t wait for her. She didn’t need a cheater.

If you don't love someone anymore, just leave them. Don't break their heart that way.

MEL’S DINER

Firebird walked coldly into the diner, surprising even Nailah. “Uh, girl? … what happened?”

In seconds, she was a hot mess, tears and whimpering flooding nonstop from her petite frame. Nailah hugged her immediately. “Oh my God. You can tell me. Shhhh, your bestie’s here to-”

The girl pulled out a knife. “Kill whoever did this to you, my sweet smol child, don’t worry.”

“I don’t know why anyone would cheat on me! Is something wrong with me!? Am I ugly!? Am I too busy? This is the first time this has happened to me and I have no clue what to do or what to feel God it hurts so much and I just wanna cry and be depressed but I also want to stick a fork in his eyeball we were dating for quite a while now and I thought he was the one because he and I are in the same line of work and are supposed to understand each other-”

“Mike.” Nailah growled, under her breath. Leaving the knife on the table, she gave FB her Comfort-o-Matic stuff toy (saved for moments like this) and calmly went to order fries at the diner counter.

A jazz band was singing onstage.

Your cheatin' heart

Will pine some day

And crave the love

You threw away

The time will come

When you'll be blue

Your cheatin' heart

Will tell on you

“Not now! Something snappy!” Nailah snapped, throwing a bunch of bills into the request-a-song jar.

Why do you build me up Buttercup, baby

Just to let me down and mess me around

And then worst of all you never call, baby

When you say you will but I love you still-

“SOMETHING HAPPY.”

You're just too good to be true

I can't take my eyes off you

You'd be like heaven to touch

I wanna hold you so much

“Okay, that’s better!” Food in tow, she went to her scorned friend and picked up the knife.

“Be right back, darling!”

“N-no it’s okay, I blew up his ship… to think I’d ever live with a cheater.” She sobbed. “Would a guy cheat on someone he really loved? Or are men just fickle?”

If only there was a way to erase the trauma. Nailah thought hard. FB was a good girl, but she was naive. Maybe Nick wasn’t cheating. Maybe there was a misunderstanding. She hoped so.

No one would cheat on her Rosetta. She didn’t believe it.

“FB? Remember the security cams you asked me to set up in your room? Uh, to make sure no one would kill you in your sleep?”

Tapping into them, Nailah took one look at the footage and almost cried from laughing.

“Wh-why? Let me see that…” Firebird sighed, peeking at her friend’s tablet.

"Girl, you have to see this! Hoo boy!”

Security cam footage of Nick repeatedly ramming a block of cheese onto his sausage.

“Woah, I knew he loved cheese, but I didn’t know it was that bad…”

Suddenly, the death rattle goes off and he frantically gets up. “ROSIE? ROSETTA! THERE’S A BOMB, WE HAVE TO EVACUATE!”

He grabs his precious block of cheese, looks at it one last time, and slams it onto the device.

"... my death bomb can be foiled by cheese?"

"Uh, I'll have to look into why, but hey, at least he didn't get blown up for something he didn't do right?"

"Hm, true!" Firebird's playful smile returned, her cheeks regaining color.

So he was faithful after all. "Ohh hmm love you being all over me, baby... oh yeah..." Nick continued rubbing himself with cheese.

???

Nailah turned off the recording. "Ew. So, you uh goin' back?"

"Yeah. He probably won't notice I'm gone."

She smiled brightly at her best friend. “Thanks for always being there for me, Nailah!”

“For sure!” A sweet hug between the two girls. “Be careful out there, okay? Also, remember to not have sex or else you’ll get pregnant and die. If anyone tries to hurt or rape you-”

“I get it MOM!” Firebird says, teasing her.

“Hey! We’re batchmates!”

“You brought the designated mom friend role on yourself!”

“Whatever!”

After a few more laughs and eeeys, FB was gone. Nailah smiled nostalgically at one of their really bad college photos, which happened to be her phone wallpaper. “You’re still that kid, huh? Never change.”

A posh voice broke through the air. Emphatically, it declared “I HEARD MY PRECIOUS ROSETTA HAS BEEN CHEATED ON AND HAVE ARRIVED WITH ROSES, CHOCOLATES, TISSUES, AND ICE CREAM!”

“Oh, hey Elduin.”

Elduin gasped, ruffling his expensive fur robes. “Nailah? Where is FB?”

“Oh, she just left. You missed her.”

The sound of Firebird’s spacepod leaving made Elduin groan. “Oh, fuck me in my snowy white elf behind!”

Nailah:

Elduin:

Nailah:

Elduin: uh ok I’ll be going now bye

BACK AT THE SHIP

“WHERE WERE YOU? I thought you left me for good. I panicked when I saw all your stuff was missing and I was just about to leave!” He hugged her tightly in those strong, muscle-bound arms. Everything would have been perfect if he didn’t smell like a mixture of body fluids and cheese.

Running a gentle hand down a scar on his arm, she lay her head on his chest. “I’m glad you didn’t get blown up. I’m sorry I thought you were cheating on me!”

"Unbelievable. I would never." Mike assured her. “Hold on, I’ll take a shower then I’ll be right back. We can go on a date!”

Entering his 1-second-shower machine, he emerged squeaky clean and threw on some clothes. “Do  you wanna go hunting for forbidden treasures? I found an underground temple raining with diamonds! Or or-”

“Sounds great!” Firebird said, eyes sparkling. “But for tonight… I think I wanna just stay inside with you. We can watch earth movies!”

Nick’s expression softened. “You must be tired from crying. I’m sorry. I’d never do that, okay?”

Carrying her onto the sofa, he let her use him as a pillow while they watched her favorite earth movies known as “chick flicks.” He even gave her the magical cheese made from royal jelly that he won at a large auction because he knew Firebird loved (selling) collector’s items.

He gave her his cheese. That was how much he loved Rosetta.

Patting her head softly, he ran his large fingers through her long red hair. “I love you, baby girl.”

“I’m not that small!”

“Relatively, you are.”

GRRRRRRRRRRR

“Shh, you’re moody again. You know what, I’ll bring out the drinks.”

“You don’t have to-”

The man was off like a shot because the only thing he loved as much as cheese was alcohol.

“Maybe one sip!”

Mike nodded and poured Firebird one half of a shot, then downed the rest of the bottle. She lapped at it once and put on a sour expression.

“Come on. Drink it all.”

Reluctantly drinking ½ of a shot she was given, she held out her empty cup.

He poured her one whole shot this time and downed another bottle. “Why do you like this?” Firebird exclaimed.

BACK TO PRESENT TIME

Max was bemused at Firebird’s story. “So he’s a cheese-o-phile AND a drunk? What a messed up creep.”

“By the way, I also have to explain something!” She cried, turning red. “Mike… thinks we had sex. But we didn’t! We never did! He was just very very drunk!”

She continued her story.

THIRTY BOTTLES OF WINE LATER…

Mike’s face was flushed completely red, his body shivering with glee (and the high). “Hooo, that feels great!” He roared, an absent-minded arm around his girlfriend’s neck.

“You smell awful!” She teased.

“Not as awful as what I’m about to do to you, my baby girl…”

Placing her on his lap, he forcibly kissed her neck and restrained her by the waist. She had to admit he was a great kisser, and feeling his rough caresses and hungry kisses made her weak at the knees. However...

Nailah’s words echoed in her head: Also, never have sex or you will get pregnant and die…

Without hesitation, she took the royal cheese Nick gave her and opened it, releasing its pungent smell in the air. But Nick loved it.

“Oh, Rosetta, you’re tapping into my desires! I LOVE IT MMMHMM. Put it on me!”

He began to fumble with his pants, but at least he let her go! “Uhm, you have fun!”

She tiptoed away from him, but heard him kissing the cheese. “Oh, my Rosetta, you’re so beautiful… such a good kisser! Oh, let me go inside-”

She slammed the door to her room and tried to drift off to sleep.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

“Disgusting. I hope I never see that.” Max shuddered.

“Anyway!” Firebird began, brightly. “Give this to Nick! Apologize and become friends since he’s helping us! Go! Go!”

At Firebird’s coaxing, Max made his way to Mike’s room and knocked on the door.

“Come in!”

He was greeted by the “pleasant sound” of cheese slurching, melting, and spreading on Mike’s sausage. “Oh wait! Don’t come in! It’s a habit for me to say that! CLOSE THE DOOR!”