#Webby is only mildly better

[aaandbackstabbed]

Webby, intense fake laugh: don’t be late or I’ll slit your throats!

Louie: you don’t have to laugh we know you’re not joking

Webby: good.

[raspberrysmoon]

happily asking about brooke caitlyn trevor reese pj etc in ictd :3

YAYAYAYAY so. caitlyn and brooke have posts! im gonna link them cuz idk if i can do better than those n ! and i will instead replace them with irene :] anyway. trevor first

(this got LONGG so its all under a cut <3)

so. trevor is a silly little guy to me. his full name is trevor jackson, he's ofc a drama kid, hes a bit poor compared to most of the drama club/theatre kids, and he's got a bit extra gift. so, basically hes kind of an outcast within the outcasts.

aka hes a roller rama kid. one of 17 that im capping the roller rama at, actually. his gift is water based, coming from an alignment with pokey that also left him with mild vocal cord problems. he does a lot of speech therapy exercises to be able to keep his voice.

he's only close to a few people, namely irene and caitlyn, and he's mildly friendly with the other kids at the rink. he can't go back, after the otho scare. otho took months of his life. he can't risk that again.

now !! reese! i actually havent thought abt her before this, so this is cool!!

reese was.. semi close with richie. not like, friends friends, but friendly. his death, then ruths so soon after, really shook her. she ended up having to be transferred to online schooling permanently after the fourth major panic attack in the hallway. she can't go anywhere alone, anymore. she feels like somehow someone will get her, just like got ruth and richie.

but instead of focusing on fear and grief, she pours her life into paint. she sits in her familys sunroom with paint and a canvas for hours everyday. she paints stages, football games, performance. sometimes her friend stacy comes to visit and sit with her. they got closer, after the fall.

reese doesnt have a lord quite yet, though she'll probably go to pokey, blinky or webby, and i imagine shes a level three.

pj...... pj probably hasnt done much since the fall, honestly. she was only ever close to reese, and even then, she still sees reese. she spends most of her time with reese when shes not at school. she's fine.

other than the ticking. but she can ignore that! she can ignore the.. constant ticking. following her. everywhere. always. thats not that bad.

tinky. level five. unknown to her, she has a perfect internal clock that rivals petes. she is never late. even if she wants to be, she isn't. blessing or curse... who knows. she's fine.

so. ok so irene. yk angelas theatre kid character? thats irene. yeah i took her. not sorry. <3

irene conolley, a sophmore. she's RICH rich. like, rivals the lauters level rich. like, murray level rich. she lives, ofc course, in pinebrook, with her brothers. their parents have a house nearby. shes. my newest baby girl to fill a hole with brooke and caitlyn teehee

ofc she's nibbly aligned here (river street got her 😔), but her hunger lies a bit more like lindas- she wants to win. she wants to be the best. she's starving for it.

also. its not story important (not for ictd anyway) but she's hispanic-irish american. her dad is costa rican her mom is irish. <3 she is mostly fluent in spanish and can. a little bit understand irish.

yeah. uhm. there they are. i hope this was ok. they are minor so. yk 😭

[drummergirl231-2]

Don’t mind me, just putting together some new brotps.

Because that's what DuckTales is for me. It's the show of a thousand brotps.

So Dewey and Webby are well established as quite the dynamic duo. Between working together to solve the mystery of Della's disappearance and bonding over their shared love of danger, they definitely developed one of the closest and cutest friendships in the family.

But now that Webby is a kinda-sorta triplet, where does that leave May and June? Which boys would they bond with most?

Let's start with June because she's small and cute and I know they're all identical so they're all small and cute but this baby you guys!!! TT.TT

I mentioned in this other post how each of the clones had their own specific wants and goals. Almost all the lines about wanting to discover their purpose were given to May (with the exception of one line in the storage room scene), while all the lines about family were given to June (again, with one exception in the storage room).

With F.O.W.L. defeated and Donald as their new guardian, I think June will settle in... well, easier than May will. She longed for family, and closeness, and love, and now she has that.

She seems like such a little cuddle bug. She readily displays physical affection and instantly smiles when someone does the same with her. I can imagine her being the sort to curl up at Donald's side during family movie nights, or if she gets hurt, find hugs to be the most comforting thing.

And I imagine this baby bean will get (mildly) hurt a lot at first. I mean, this kid was just created. She doesn't know anything. She doesn't know waffle irons are hot. She doesn't know bees sting. She doesn't know hand sanitizer doubles as paper cut finder.

She's going to need someone to teach her how to be safe, and someone who can comfort her like Donald would when she gets hurt if Donald isn’t there.

Hmmm now who do we know who can...

Huey, you're hired. Welcome to my new brotp.

Huey and June are both very family-oriented, and I imagine their relationship will have some strong big-brother-little-sister vibes. He's got the heart of a caretaker just like his uncle Donald, and little June is going to need a lot of care.

She’s been abused and traumatized, and because she was artificially aged, she acts younger than Webby and the boys. And like I said, she knows next to nothing about the world, and could really use a Woodchuck's expertise in matters of safety. So Huey and June are a new brotp of mine.

Now as for May...

Her whole thing was about finding out why she was created, and when she did find out why, her dream became a nightmare.

Her whole life - short as it's been - has been about striving to earn Heron and Bradford's praise, and in the end, she realized she could never get it, because to them, she was only a means to an end. She was disposable in their eyes. And Gyro certainly didn't help with his comment about how replaceable clones are.

She had no goal at this point - no more purpose - what a miserable thing to feel at such a young age. But like most young people who feel useless, her journey didn't end there.

But I think May is going to have a harder time letting people love her than June. Finding out why she was created could leave her feeling cynical. She might wonder a lot about what her purpose is now, and struggle to find out what she's good at and how she fits into this family.

And we all know who's struggled with those things in the past.

(I was going to use a more relevant gif but this floof is too important.)

Anyway, Louie went from feeling like he wasn't good at any aspects of adventuring, to finding out he was good at something and then believing he was only good at that one thing, to realizing he has a few talents that he can use for the benefit of his family. He's definitely struggled in the past with feeling like he didn't fit in, and he's wondered how he could possibly be an asset. 

I can't think of anyone better to help May discover how she fits in, especially since one of Louie's uncovered talents is motivational speaking.

Let's just hope he doesn't teach her to lie, steal, and manipulate like he taught Webby. lol XD

Angle-spotting Louie will be able to find out May’s strengths and weaknesses, and use those discoveries for her benefit. I wish we could get a Season 4 to explore what her strengths are, but alas, these will forever be speculations. 

OOH unless they make a movie or something! That would be fantastic. *fingers crossed*

[stargaze-reblogs]

Alright, so... I added more to that catboy louie fic that I wrote ajsdkak

Ao3 Link    Original Post

.

His family takes it in stride, because at some point that’s all you can do, really. Especially when it comes to his family in particular.

Scrooge reacted awkwardly, and Webby reacted very enthusiastically, with a squeal and bright, happy eyes. Uncle Donald fussed over him a bit, promising that they’d look for a solution, and Della had patted him on the head – avoiding the ears – and told him that things would be just fine. He’s not sure if he believes her, but oh well.

Louie takes it in stride, too.

Not much really changes, aside from the little, frustrating things. His tail was constantly knocking things over, because he had absolutely no frame of reference for just how long it is, or how it even works, yet. He’ sat on it often, over and over, to the point where he eventually just started laying on his stomach. He’d lay on his back, sometimes, but for some reason that felt like a more vulnerable position. It only happened when he was comfortable with the environment and the people around him.

His ears were less of a spatial problem, and more of a practical one. His hearing was better, now, and it took a few days to realize that not everyone was shouting at him – as if turning halfway into a cat had damaged his hearing – but rather, it was just him; just a new thing to get used to. Webby could hardly sneak up on him anymore, and he could hear people coming down the hall whole seconds before his brothers did. He was even beginning to be able to tell who it was just based on footsteps.

On the other hand, though, he wasn’t used to things being so loud. And it was because of this issue that Louie discovered yet another odd trait he’d developed.

He and Huey and Webby had been sitting innocently on the couch, catching up on Ottoman Empire, since it was a rare day when nothing much was happening. Louie was laying on his back, head in Huey’s lap, feeling at blissfully at ease.

And then Dewey entered the room.

“Hey guys! Look what I found!” Dewey exclaimed, and that in itself was startling enough, but then he pressed the button on the air horn in his hand, and Louie’s new ears felt like they wanted to rip themselves from his body.

And apparently, the rest of his feathers agreed with that sentiment, because they all came to life and stood straight up, each and every one of them puffing out instantaneously as Louie sat up and slammed his hands – his very fluffy hands – over his ringing, sensitive ears.

The air horn cut off as Huey slapped the device out of Dewey’s hands, scowling at him, but Louie could still hear an echo of it banging around in his brain. He closed his eyes and shook his head violently, as if that would help, and when he opened them, everyone was staring at him.

Webby had her hands covering her beak, eyes sparkling and lightly vibrating like she was barely holding herself back. Huey was just staring at him in mild shock, and Dewey was standing next to him, grinning and looking absolutely ecstatic, like Christmas had come early. Louie hesitantly uncovered his ears, which popped back up into place. Webby squealed quietly next to him.

“What?” Louie asked, a frown tugging at his beak. He had already been scared half to death, and now they were just being rude. “What are you looking at?”

Dewey snorted like he was trying to keep from laughing hysterically, and Huey just sighed, a small smile playing on his face as he gestured widely at Louie’s whole person.

“Look down, Lou,” Huey said, amusement coloring his voice, and Louie furrowed his brow and followed his advice.

He looked down, wondering what on earth was happening, and all he saw was feathers. Feathers, puffing up and away from his body, sticking out from underneath his hoodie, and making his tail grow to nearly twice its usual size. He suddenly understood why the air felt colder than normal. He reached up on autopilot to feel his face, and found much of the same embarrassing situation. His face was fluffy. His whole self was fluffy. Super fluffy. No wonder everyone looked like they were about to have a breakdown.

Louie scowled, and Dewey finally burst into laughter; the image of a puffed-up, grumpy Louie was apparently too much to handle. Webby was cooing something about how adorable he was, talking rapid-fire and bouncing in place on the couch.

“Oh, for the love of—” Louie grumbled, frantically trying to smooth his feathers down. “Why? Just—just why?”

“I’ve read about this,” Huey said excitedly, walking quickly back to the couch and sitting back down. “When cats feel scared or threatened, their fur puffs up. Sometimes it’s to make themselves look bigger when faced with predators.”

Louie turned to glare at Dewey, who was leaning over the back of the couch and grinning at him.

And apparently, while the adults had been trying to figure out how to fix his little problem, Huey had been researching cats. Excellent.

Louie buried his (fluffy) face in his (fluffy) hands and groaned.

“This is the worst,” Louie said, mildly irritated and tired of surprises. “I’m going insane, why is this my life?”

Huey laid a calming hand on his shoulder, Dewey ruffled his hair from above, and Webby smiled at him warmly, fondness in her eyes. Louie suddenly felt a little better, and he could feel his feathers falling back into place.

“Whatever happens, whether we can fix this or not, you’ll be fine,” Huey said, full confidence and truth in his voice. “And you’re not alone in this, we’ve got your back. We’ll catch you if you fall.”

Louie sighed, feeling the last of the tension leave his body. Maybe things would be okay, as long as he had his family to back him up.

“Yeah,” said Dewey, a suspicious smile growing on his face. “But if we miss, that’s fine, too.”

Louie stared at him.

“I’m sure you’ll land on your feet,” Dewey finished, grinning madly, and Louie wondered if anyone would notice if Dewey mysteriously went missing.

After all, Webby could imitate Dewey pretty well.

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I hope that that turned out alright! :3

Special thanks to @nonbinaryboyd for giving me the idea for this!

[best-n-boy]

Scarlet Green

Part 4 - Fame pt. 2

As Louie woke up. Huey was waking him up tapping his cover.

Huey:" Wake up we need to hurry. Uncle Scrooge said he wants us to move quick."

Then Dewey jumped of the bunk and yelled.

Dewey:"WE'RE GOING TO THE MOST AMAZING ADVENTURE!!!!!"

Webby yelled as well in the distance. Dewey and Webby are pretty much Della in here younger age. Maybe Webby is actually Della's Daughter and me Louie is the screw up who interfered in such family bonding..

Maybe it was meant to be Huey, Dewey and Webby. It still rhymes then it must be true.

Louie just groan and told them.

Louie:"Yeah.. I'll be there in a minute."

Huey:"We'll wait for you bro."

Huey headed down as Dewey jumped everywhere he goes. Dewey followed Huey. And left Louie alone. Isolation has been his thing since no one understands him just like Gyro's invention but not wildly misunderstood just mildly misunderstood.

Louie saw his phone charged to 100% and with 4 messages from Aunt Goldie.

"Guess what this scheme is effortless.. I could feel like this is working wonderfully.."

"Louie, we need our mascot her we are making production videos.."

"Also we just created 3 albums with one sleepless night. And I feel alive, by the way Isabela is sleeping."

"We really need you in here Louie. Isabela wrote 95% of the albums.."

Louie was left with a choice.. To go to a dangerous family bonding adventure or to go to a safe bonding adventure that surely he would enjoy mostly. He felt surpressed with sadness lately so he told them that he won't come.

Scrooge:" Come on lad, I promise their is a treasure this time."

Dewey:"It's super awesome. Just traps that can kills us but us ducks dont back down right."

Della:"Your right about that. Turbo!"

Della approach Dewey with a fist bump and Dewey gladly bumped it and hugged her. They both giggled. Louie felt the aching much worst. He could let a tear out right now but he chose not to as for them doing other things.

Huey:" I'll be honest I don't wanna go to but its in Isabella Finch's journal so I must walk the legend's path.."

Louie: "I'm ok just being with Unvle Donald in the house I mean no wifi for 3 days thats a no for me."

Scrooge:"Well I cannae force you cannae lad? *chuckled*."

Louie:" *chuckled* You can't I'm lazy enough to talk their this whole conversation so wish you all the best luck."

Webby waved at Louie.

Webby:"Catch you later, Lou!"

Louie:"Alright laters in 3 days. Webbs!"

They walked out of the mansion packed for an epic adventure. While Louie and Ms. Beakley are alone in the manor. Louie asked permission to Beakley. While she is cleaning the dishes

Louie: "Can I?"

Beakley: *sigh* *turns to Louie" "You didn't wanna go with the other Mcducks just because you have a follow up 'meeting' again."

Louie: "It's true. I just had to go back. Please Misses Beakley." *eyes widening with cuteness*

Beakley: "Just be honest. You know how much everyone hate secrets... It led to misunderstanding events.."

Louie: *sigh* "I know.. I just kinda felt lonely with them.."

Beakley: "Even with Uncle Donald?"

Louie: "It's not a heavy secret and Uncle Donald isn't with them in the trip.."

Beakley:" Oh.. I guess he also has better things to do now huh.."

Louie: "Aren't you agents with Uncle Scrooge before? What happened there?"

Beakley: "I'm afraid I cannot talk about it. And for that you can carry on. Just don't be late."

Louie:"I won't. Hopefully.."

Beakley: "Everyone has their own path Louie. Once you take it you cannot turn back the way it used to be. You can choose only one and once.."

Louie: "Ummm.. Ok.."

Beakley: "But I'm hoping your choosing things wisely.."

Louie: "Woah.. Woah.. Wait.. You think I do illegal things Misses Beakley? Of course not, I know what I'm doing with my life.. Atleast I think.."

Beakley: "Ohh what a relief.. Anyways careful out there.."

Louie: "Thanks Misses Beakley!"

Louie walked towards the front door of the manor with his beltpack and backpack with things he might need..

Beakley: "I feel like something important just happened.. My guts are getting old as well now I see.."

As Louie walked outside he just took the bus down the road to Goldie..

As hours past he watched Ottoman Empire Marathon for a little bit with headphones on for hours until he reach his destination.

As Louie stepped in to Goldie's Own Manor. He ring the bell inside. After a second the gate opened itself to him. It seems that Goldie embraced technology. Surprisingly for a boomer herself.

As walked inside Goldie was waiting. Louie opened the door, he saw a lot of dress and Isabela is in the Auditory. Goldie welcomed him as he entered.

Goldie: "Are you ready?"

Louie: "I guess.."

[theotherbloodfart]

Token Part 2

This is part 2 to the request made by @craftygoateeprincess

WARNING: VIOLENCE

27 years later

Ellie clutches the small wooden box tightly. She hasn’t opened it in years. Only opens it when she’s very stressed or needs to remind herself that magic is real. That miracles are possible. And things have been going well enough. But ever since she’d returned to her childhood town, Derry Maine, she’d felt the old stress returning.

The town itself is in turmoil. Children had started going missing in the past few months. Just like they had when she’d been small. It was all so like it had been. But her case had been different. She’d been saved.

She opens the box and gazes at it’s contents. A shriveled, desiccated piece of rubber. An old deflated balloon. Papery and nearly faded to pink from it’s old rich color of vibrant red.

Ellie can remember the one who'd given this balloon to her. Her guardian angel, tho he’d claimed he wasn’t. “Angel of the sewers.” He’d said. She smiles as she gently closes the box, and slides it into the pocket of an errant shirt in her closet. To keep it hidden. To keep it safe. Then she turns to gaze at herself in the full length mirror upon the inside of the closet door. Studies herself before heading out.

Derry is hosting a large carnival and she is looking forward to it. It’ll be nice distraction from her hectic life. She chooses to ride a bike and, as she pedals, she can’t help but think about why she is here. She would have never wanted to return to this place yet, that childhood memory of being saved by……. Whoever Pennywise is……… holds her here.

The carnival is a grand time. She wins a stuffed clown. Carries it with her as she munches on a corndog and enjoys the sights. She is completely unaware of the violence being enacted on a young man not far away. Has no idea what she’s heading into as she leaves the carnival and heads down a dark street, pushing her bike along, the clown plush tucked into the basket of her bike, enjoying the night air. Doesn’t realize she’s on an intercepting course with the aggressors of this brutal act.

She hears them before she sees them. Once brutal beasts, now reduced to frightened children, they are running, shoving each other out of the way. Not far from splitting up to hide from their own implication. It is dark, and they are moving so fast, she has no time to react before the largest of them, a run down brutish male, knocks flat into her, causing her to flail the ground, the bike clattering atop her as he falls atop the bike. His weight causes the cold steel of the bike frame to bite into her flesh. The clown plush sails away and lands softly in the gutter. The other aggressors, not seeing their comrade fall, continue off.

“Get…… OFF…….. of me.” She gasps, pushing and clawing at him.

“HEY! FUCK YOU! YOU WERE IN MY WAY!” Her vision shatters into bright stars as his fist connects with her temple.

……………………………………………..

It moans with pleasure as It slurps the blood from It’s fingertips. As always, the salty sweet of human terror leaves It sated. Not fully satisfied. Never fully satisfied. But it dulls the aching hunger for some time.

Turning It’s slender hands, It uses the cleaner portions of It’s silken gloves to slowly wipe the gore from It’s lips and cheeks. Crouching there, near the sewer pipe, cleaning It’s face with It’s hands, the glowing orbs of It’s eyes flashing about and occasionally disappearing as It’s eyes close, It looks feral and cat like. It doesn’t need to do this, could easily will Itself clean, but It relishes in the wildness of this action. Of both dirtying and cleaning Itself. Enjoys the mockery of the actions of living things that this represents.

It crouches lower, leaning It’s weight onto It’s finger tips upon the ground, tilting It’s head, then becomes motionless. It’s pupils wander in opposite directions. The yellow light from a nearby street light reflects off of a thin line of saliva running from It’s drooping lower lip. It is listening.

It can hear a struggle, smell animal like fear. An inhuman fanged smile splits It’s face.

…………………………………………………

Ellie is still conscious, but almost wishes she isn’t. She registers the tickling warm sensation of liquid running from her nose. Blood. The vision of the male above her swims. The blurry figure pulls back his elbow, as if he intends to punch her again. She struggles to lift her face, her vision clearing, yet the weight of both man and bike crush the air from her lungs.

And suddenly, the weight is gone. The bike is still there, but the man is no longer upon it. His face is also no longer in her vision. She struggles up to support herself on one elbow.

When she sees where he’s gone, her entire body reacts. Freezes. Her eyes widen. Her mouth dries. It’s him! Her sewer angel!

The clown seems bigger than she remembers. And dirtier. The ruff around his neck is blood stained, as is the front of his suit and the orange poofs are sodden and limp from it. His chin and cheeks also have several obvious smears of blood upon them as well.

He’s holding the male by his neck by one hand, his glove appearing brown from dried blood. His fingers grasp so tightly that she can see the male’s flesh puckering around his fingers. He’s flailing and kicking, clawing uselessly at the silver clad arm. His actions make the strings of tiny bells here shimmer and tinkle. His face is turning purple, his tongue lolls out of his slack mouth. The whites of his eyes are visible as he gazes upon his aggressor in utter terror.

“Hello Webby.” The voice is just as she remembers as well, only he isn’t talking in the same sing song way. He’s gleefully snarling his words. Hungry.

“Whatcha runnin from?” The clown purses his lips playfully, his brows raising. He looks like an inquisitive painted child for the barest of moments before speaking again. “You afraid of a lil gay boy, Webby?” The clown makes a loud wet kissie face at the male before he throws his head back to roar laughter at the night sky.

Webby, or so Ellie now believes the male is called, chokes out, and reaches out a desperate hand to try to strike the face of the clown, but his arm doesn’t reach. The clown now stares at him mildly, before opening his mouth. Wide, wider. Webby makes bubbling noises, trying to scream, as the clown’s teeth lengthen and sharpen. His gums push past his lips, more teeth blossoming from the red flesh with wet popping sounds. He leans forward with comical slowness. He looks as if he’s about to bite directly onto the face of the man.

Ellie is in awe of him. He appears as some alien bipedal lion. She should be afraid. She SHOULD be. But she’s not. This Webby had HURT her. Had intended to hurt her even more. Yet here was her friend, rescuing her again. He was a lot dirtier and far more fearsome than she remembered. Vicious and terrifying and brutal. He is beautiful.

“Pennywise.” This is barely more than a whisper. She hasn’t even realized that she’s murmured it. But the clown freezes, his mouth splayed wide around Webby's face, a few of the longer teeth already puncturing his skin.

He slowly pulls his face away from the man’s, his gaping maw slowly retracting, before slinging it around to finally look at her. His lips are set in an irritated sneer, the rows of scalpel teeth still quite visible, his buck teeth apparent in the display, though longer and sharper. The dried blood on his chin is wet again from the deluge of saliva, which drizzles down onto his stained neck ruff. His eyes are a bloody red that she’s never seen before, and they glow like dirty neon.

Webby is still flailing miserably, still moving the clown’s bells in a desperate rhythm. Yet Pennywise doesn’t seem the least bit taxed from holding him suspended in one hand.

“You know ole Pennywise?” The tone of his voice is wicked and raspy and dark. His irises twitch and one drifts back to gaze at Webby as the other remains focused on Ellie. His nostrils flare and his head jerks. His mouth hangs slack and he’s making animal snuffing noises as he takes in her scent on the light breeze. Reads her thoughts.

Then his lips spread again, revealing impossible rows of teeth as he grins at her.

“Elliiiiiieeeeee.” It’s a low, drawn out hiss. Without moving the rest of his body, the clown tosses Webby carelessly away, both eyes now focused on her own eyes.

Webby splutters and struggles to stand.

“Better leave that light on in the hallway, Webby.” The clown’s eyes remain fixed on Ellie as he speaks. “I most certainly WILL be in your linen closet next time.” A low hiccuping growl leaks from his mouth. The most evil and quiet laughter ever imaginable. Webby’s face recoils in horror as he turns and runs soundlessly away.

Ellie is now completely alone with Pennywise for the first time in 27 years.

[iamthehousethatfloats]

I smushed together Family and Holidays... SCROLDIE WEEK

This is set in my Hearts of Gold universe, and so as per usual it is FLUFF and ANGST galore. Della and Donald are both here, just accept it. It’s Christmas. And Scroldie week.

💖🎄🥂😭

Dickie and Goldie arrived at McDuck Manor on Christmas Eve. Goldie had been hesitant about coming so early, it was a little too close to ‘normal’ for her liking, but Scrooge had pulled out his trump card and she’d stood no chance.

‘When was the last time Dickie woke up on Christmas morning, surrounded by her family?’ Scrooge had asked, knowing exactly what he was doing, the sly bastard. ‘She’ll miss half the fun if you only get here at lunchtime.’

And so, as he knew she would, Goldie caved. Of course, the side benefit to this was that Scrooge got to wake up on Christmas morning with Goldie curled around him, mildly hungover from last night’s egg nog contest. He kissed her awake and she snuggled close to him, and their lazy lovemaking that morning was serenaded by a chorus of laughter and squeals of delight echoing from downstairs.

Goldie hadn’t expected presents. From Scrooge, maybe, he was sentimental like that, and maybe something small from Della and Donald, but she hadn’t anticipated the kids would have a gift for her, all wrapped up under their enormous tree.

She unwrapped the golden grappling hook, with its remarkably unsubtle rope of blue, green, red and pink, and went very quiet. Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby piled on her in a candy fuelled group hug and she pretended to hate it as she tried not to cry.

Lena handed Scrooge and Beakley matching wrapped parcels, uncharacteristically shyly. Each contained a family photo, that Webby had insisted taking months before, and Lena had complained about at the time. There they all were, their strange, complicated little family. Scrooge and Goldie, Dickie and Lena, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby, Donald, Della, Launchpad and Mrs Beakley. Only Lena had photoshopped Goldie out of the one she gave Beakley, a fact which made both women laugh out loud.

Everyone gave Dickie a present. She could barely move for paper when she was done. A new lens for her camera, paint brushes and art supplies, boxes of hair dye, a new patchwork waistcoat, comic books and candy galore. Her grin was wide and her arms ached from the hugs she couldn’t help but dole out. Goldie watched it all with a soft smile on her face, and Scrooge threaded his fingers through hers and held her close.

-

As the morning went on, the kids few wilder still. All except Dickie. Once the rush of excitement had ebbed, her smile began to falter and she migrated to the sidelines while the younger kids played. Goldie noticed, of course, and when Dickie took a moment to slip out of the room, Goldie squeezed Scrooge’s arm and nodded in her direction, communicating silently before getting up to follow her.

She found her out in the hall, staring up at the framed painting of Scrooge, Donald and Della that hung in the place Goldie knew Dickie remembered another family portrait to be.

‘Dickie? You okay?’ Goldie asked, coming up behind her. The girl jumped, and wiped at her eyes. Goldie’s heart clenched just a little.

‘Oh sure Gigi, I’m fine.’ Dickie replied, her breezy tone sounding anything but. ‘I just got a little... emotional I guess. I never thought I’d see a holiday like this again, with family and everything. It’s just... almost too perfect. I mean I know it’s not... it’s different and that’s weird, but at the same time it’s sort of the same, you know?’

Goldie put her arm around her granddaughter.

‘Kiddo, if you’d told me a year ago that I’d be here in McDuck Manor on Christmas morning with you, and Scrooge and his ten thousand children, I’d have laughed you out of the room. I may not know exactly what you’re feeling right now, but the weird part? I’ve got that down.’

‘You know we don’t have to stay.’ Dickie said, immediately. ‘I don’t want you putting yourself through all this if it’s just for me. If it’s too weird for you we can go, we can just have a nice day, you and me.’

Goldie paused, weighing up the options. She didn’t believe Dickie wanted to leave, not really. She was having a wobble, and that was to be expected, but she was where she belonged, with her family at Christmas, and pretty soon her head would be turned again - but only if they stayed.

‘Oh sweetheart,’ Goldie sighed. ‘As much as I might like to deny it, I want to be here as much as you do. Honestly? Don’t tell your Grandpa, but this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.’

-

That afternoon, while Mrs Beakley prepared dinner and the other adults took a much needed break from the merriment, Goldie took Dickie and the kids abseiling down the side of the Money Bin. Della joined in while Donald stood at the bottom with his head in his hands, ready to break whatever child’s fall he needed to.

Miraculously, they all survived, and Dickie waited until they made it home to tell Donald about the last time Goldie arranged such an activity.

-

After eating their weight in Christmas dinner, and falling asleep in front of the TV while the credits of Christmas on Bear Mountain rolled, the kids all dragged themselves up to bed.

Dickie woke around 2am, to the sounds of a ruckus from downstairs. Panic struck her at first, but then she recognised her grandmother’s wild laughter and crept out of bed to investigate.

She arrived to find an absolute scene of chaos in the living room.

Scrooge and Della were hunched over the coffee table, going hard at a snap game. Goldie and Beakley were cheering them on, several empty bottles of champagne at their feet.

Donald looked to be the only vaguely responsible adult present, and even he was swaying tipsily.

‘DICKIEEEEE!’ Goldie cried, spotting her suddenly. ‘Get over here, you miraculous miracle child, you!’

Dickie laughed and shuffled over to where her exceptionally drunk grandmother sat, and found herself immediately pulled into a clumsy hug.

‘Granddaughters are the greatest, eh Bentina? That’s what we were just saying. You’re the greatest. You and Webby, the greatest.’

‘Absolutely.’ Mrs Beakley nodded, sloshing her class of champagne over the carpet and paying it no mind. ‘Here’s to being Grandmothers!’

‘Grandmothers of wild, amazing granddaughters!’ Goldie cheered, and the two women clinked glasses. Dickie snorted with laughter and wished she had picked up her phone before coming downstairs. This was the kind of quality blackmail content she could use the whole year round.

‘SNAP!’ Scrooge yelled suddenly, as Della groaned and dropped her head on the table in defeat. ‘HAHA!’

‘You didn’t play fair, Uncle Scrooge,’ Della complained. ‘Half the time you called snap when there weren’t even two cards there!’

‘Poppycock,’ Scrooge dismissed. ‘I see two cards, I get the points. And really it was two against one... because there are two of you right now! Look at that, all those years with no Della’s and now we’ve got two of ye!’

‘Okaaaaaaay, I think it’s time for bed, adults,’ Dickie laughed, reaching out to grab hold of Scrooge before he fell over. He looked mightily surprised to see her, and delighted too. ‘You’re all going to regret this so much in the morning, hangovers last forever when you’re old you know.’

‘The cheek!’ Scrooge sputtered, while Goldie collapsed into giggles at the sight of his indignation. Dickie managed to get her grandparents to their feet and Donald managed the same with his sister. Mrs Beakley waved them away from her spot on the sofa, declaring she would absolutely be fine and would go to bed any minute. Dickie had no doubt whatsoever that she would still be on that couch in the morning.

She managed to get Scrooge and Goldie up the stairs safely, and thought it best to leave them to their own devices from there. After this much alcohol, and at this close proximity to a bedroom, Dickie knew better than to stay within hearing range. She kissed them both goodnight and wished them a Merry Christmas, and left them to it.

-

Back in her bedroom, Dickie settled in her bed and reached under her pillow for her sketch book.

She’d been working on her drawing, she was getting pretty good at it. Goldie had gotten her a tablet for Christmas, despite not knowing what the heck it was, and she couldn’t wait to start turning her scribbling sketches into digital art - she was taking a course next semester.

Until then though, she contented herself with her sketch book. She sat in bed, illuminated by the bright full moon, and flipped through the pages. She’d gotten quite good at Scrooge, and Goldie of course was no hardship. But there was one face it had taken her a while to get right. It scared her at first, how much she found her mother’s face fading in her own memory, but she had finally gotten it right. She lingered on the drawing of Dawson McDuck, her feathery white blonde hair and her crinkle of her eyes, her multitude of beaded necklaces and the tiny dream catcher earrings she always wore.

Dickie hadn’t shown her to her grandparents yet. She wanted to... but she’d wanted to get it exactly right first. Finally, she had. She would show them tomorrow, she thought to herself, and in a way, Dawson would then exist in this world too, if only in mind.

Dickie ran her fingers along the line of her mother’s beak, to where it drew up in the corners with just a hint of a smile.

‘Merry Christmas, Mom,’ Dickie murmured, smiling back. ‘I miss you. I miss you all, so much. But I need you to know that I’m okay. I’m with Grandpa and Gigi, and... I’m okay.’

Dickie laid back down in her bed, the drawing propped up against the wall so she could see it from her pillow.

‘Goodnight Mommy,’ she whispered, as sleep claimed her at last.

[bunswriting]

of a feather (chapter 1)

Rated G 1634 Words coming out // trans female character // trans male character // trans girl huey // trans girl webby // trans boy dewey // chapter one

Huey liked cold hard facts above just about anything else in life. They were comfortable and familiar in a world that was often uncomfortable and strange. She hated metaphors, or at least she hated them when she wasn't the one using them.

"Huey? Why are you hiding in my closet?"

She managed to wait a month. A whole month of living in the manor, watching Webby skip around in a skirt or a dress every day. For thirty-one days, she had been content with just watching someone else wear a dress. She told herself that she didn't need to wear one, and that her problem would just go away. The thirty-second day, though, was officially too much.

That was how, a month into her stay at the manor, Huey found herself in Webby's closet. Webby had gone outside to play with Dewey, which meant they would both be gone for at least an hour. No one else would bother her in that time, since no one else would bother checking Webby's room for her. At least, that was the plan, and it seemed pretty solid.

Thankfully, despite the age gap between them, Webby wasn't that much bigger than Huey. That meant that almost all of Webby's skirts fit just right--or close enough that Huey could barely tell the difference. Admittedly she wasn't experienced in wearing skirts, which was part of the problem.

A month ago hadn't been when the feeling started, but it had been when it had gotten bigger. She knew girls at school of course. They had bows in their hair and they wore skirts and some of them had small amounts of makeup on. Her hands had always itched to touch those skirts. Her mind had always wondered what it would be like to wear one, to swing her hips back and forth and feel the material dance around her. She wanted bows, too--big bows that were soft and silky and teased her hair (which she also wanted).

Now, she stood face to face with a closet of skirts. They were folded neatly and put up, which made her wonder if someone would notice her take one. Well, she didn't mean to take one, that would technically be stealing, but she really wanted to. In the mean time, she tentatively slipped on a pink skirt and walked back into the room to look at herself in a mirror on the back of the door.

It looked... Nice. Obviously the pink and the red didn't quite match, but she was wearing a skirt. Maybe if she ruffled her feathers it would look like hair. Maybe if she found some eye liner her lashes would look fuller. Maybe--

But, all that meant it was more real. And she didn't know how to feel about that. She knew what being trans was. Dewey was trans. But Dewey had known he was trans since they were little, and Huey hadn't. She had thought she was a boy until... Recently. Only a few months ago. But then, as she stood in the mirror and adjusted where the skirt fell on her waist, she knew she had been wrong.

She had been wrong for so long though. Sure, maybe to someone else ten years wasn't a long time, but it was all she had. Her whole life, almost, she had been wrong.

She knew that their family--Or at least Donald and Louie--had accepted Dewey without question. Scrooge probably knew, too, though she wasn't sure. As long as no one bothered Dewey about it, they never talked about it. He had always been Dewey, and he always would be. But would the same go for Huey, who in many ways was her brother's opposite?

She fiddled with the hem of the skirt, which was a pleasant feeling at least. There was also the matter of Beakley and Webby herself. She doubted they knew about Dewey, and that made her scared. Surely if anything her brothers would stand up for her if it came down to it, but she didn't want it to come to that. Not over her, at least. And if outing herself meant outing Dewey, then that was completely out of the question.

Still, the skirt felt nice. Maybe that would be enough, for now. Until she had a more solid idea of how things would go, if she were to--

She heard someone quickly climbing the ladder behind her, and she dove into the closet before she even had a chance to think about it.

"I know I left it in here somewhere--There you are!" She nearly jumped out of her skin when Webby's booming voice approached the cracked closet door. She heard Webby grab something off of her dresser and snicker in a way that made Huey mildly concerned. Her silence that followed, though, was much more concerning as Huey realized she had no idea of Webby had left.

After a solid minute of silence, surely more than Webby could realistically tolerate, Huey made her way to the door of the closet and tried to peer around it to see if Webby was still in the room. She was met with a battle cry and nerf darts to the face, and she shrieked and launched herself back into the clothes and safety.

"Huey?!" Webby's voice was immediately apologetic, "Omg, I thought you were Dewey trying to scare me, I'm so sorry!"

She appreciated that Webby didn't think she was trying to scare her, at least. She sat up, a bit dazed, and smiled. "That's okay, Webby, I--"

"Why are you hiding in my closet?" She pulled him into a standing position and assessed the damage (a few nerf darts, but nothing serious) and her gaze locked on the skirt Huey was wearing. Huey felt a prickle on the back of her neck that warned her of danger, but it was Webby. As dangerous as Webby was, she wasn't... She wasn't mean, was she?

"I--I, uh..." Lie? Truth? Lying was just delaying the truth, and it just meant she would have to lie more later to keep it up. She couldn't do that. She just... Couldn't. "I wanted to... Try on a skirt."

She prepared herself as best she could for any reaction, but she still found herself surprised when Webby grinned. "Oh! Okay! You're welcome to wear anything of mine. Just be sure to put it back, because Granny doesn't like it when I just through my clothes in the closet. Oh, are you going to wear any out, though? You can do that too! Are you going to buy a skirt? Granny probably would, or you could tell your Uncle Donald too--"

She smiled as Webby continued to talk. Yeah, she probably should have expected that reaction, but it was still nice to feel herself relax as Webby babbled on and on about how she could get a skirt of her own. She couldn't tell if Webby didn't know it was weird for her to wear a dress, or if Webby just assumed it was normal for her, or what, but she appreciated it and felt a surge of love for the older girl. So much so, in fact, that she actually reached out and hugged Webby mid-sentence.

"Is this your first time trying on a skirt?" Webby's voice was soft, which made Huey think she knew more than Huey had thought.

She nodded. "Yeah. I've-I've been thinking about it all month, honestly."

Webby nodded and tightened her arms around her. "I understand. It took me a long time to work up the courage to try on a skirt, too." Before Huey could ask what she meant, Webby pulled back and looked her in the eye, unusually serious. "I don't know why, and you don't have to tell me, but you're welcome to my closet, and anything else you need."

Huey frowned, uncertain of what she mean. She searched Webby's eyes and found them once again lit up with a smile. Realizing what Webby meant, Huey's eyes began to water. She wasn't alone.

"By the way, not to insult your taste or anything, but a tan color would probably look better on you." Webby giggled, and Huey remembered just how awful the pink skirt realistically looked.

"Oh, right! Do--Do you have one? That I could... Borrow?" That meant it was a bit more real, of course. It meant she could go downstairs in a skirt and take whatever came. But it also meant that she had Webby by her side, and Dewey, and Louie, and probably Beakley, and--there was hardly even anyone left by the time she thought it through. This could be real. This could happen.

Webby let go of her long enough to jump up and down and squeal. "I have the perfect one! You can have it!"

And sure enough, it was a perfect fit. It was a bit small on Webby, which meant it fit Huey just right. It looked natural, like she had gone to the store and picked it out herself. It was her first skirt.

She grinned. "I love it." She twirled in the mirror and Webby giggled by her side. Huey grabbed the hem of the dress before she looked up at Webby once again. "I... I want to go downstairs in it. Could--Would you... Go with me?"

Webby grabbed her hand gently and tugged her towards the ladder. "Of course. Do you know what you're going to say?"

Huey thought about it for a moment as they climbed down, but she shook her head. "Not exactly. But I guess I'll just be... Telling them the truth. That I can do." She hadn't expected it to go this far, and her hands already began to shake with nerves. But if she didn't do it now, she didn't know when she would. With the reality check that Webby had provided, she realized she had no real reason to fear anyone's reaction.

Webby beamed at her when they hit the bottom of the stairs. "I know you can."

[shadow-light19]

I’ll Give You The Moon: Part 2

Rewritten as of 8/7/20

Notes: The final part of this story. Natssketches made the most beautiful drawing of the Launchpad and Donald from the last chapter and it's wonderful. Please go check them out on their Tumblr if you like this story. I based Scrooge’s reaction at the Money Bin on his personality in the original duck comics. Natssketches made another fanart of this story that I absolutely adore! Honestly, though, I adore all of their art. It's all beautiful! I based Scrooge’s reaction at the Money Bin on his personality in the original duck comics.

Summary: Launchpad has a talk with Scrooge that goes better than it should've, Donald gets some weight off his shoulders, Launchpad is a good caretaker, and the kids ship it.

Part 1: https://shadow-light19.tumblr.com/post/172435439262/ill-give-you-the-moon-part-1

Natssketches tumblr: https://natssketches.tumblr.com/

Artwork: https://natssketches.tumblr.com/post/172436691640/aw-hey-theres-this-cute-fanfiction-called-ill

Launchpad placed all of the supplies at the door of the mansion before heading out to the money bin. He hoped that his boss would be reasonable and allow Donald the rest of the day off, but it never hurt to gain a little extra favor by having everything prepared. Everything except the last few items was now ready to be loaded onto the plane in the morning. Launchpad parked the car and hurried up the steps of the money bin to Scrooge's office. He gave a quick knock, thankful when his boss replied immediately. When Launchpad stepped in, he could see that Scrooge was currently working on some documents. He stopped long enough to take note of who entered before going back to writing. “Launchpad? What are ye doing here? I assume ye went with me nephew to get the supplies, yes?”

“That's actually why I came by, Mr. McDee. We got most of the stuff, and I already put it by the door.” Launchpad

Scrooge glared at Launchpad. He waved Launchpad away with his hand as he continued filling out paperwork. “What do ye mean by 'most of the stuff'? And where’s that lazy nephew of mine? Decided to nae report in with ye? I’ll have words with him for that!”

The pilot became visibly annoyed at Scrooge's dismissal and harsh words for his friend. He took a deep breath to calm down. “Actually, Donald is taking the rest of the day off. I drove him home because he’s sick.”

“WHAT?!” Scrooge bellowed. He grabbed his cane and stood up from his seat. “What do ye mean that deadbeat is taking the day off?! I oughta fire that bum for leaving without permission. And furthermore, since when did ye have the authority to dismiss him from work?!” He pointed the cane at Launchpad’s face, “I oughta fire ye for ye disrespect McQuack!” On his last word, Scrooge slammed the end of his cane onto the ground. It made a resounding thump.

Now Launchpad usually thought of himself as everyone's friend. You could insult him to his face, and he'd only get mildly upset. But Donald was his friend, and he was not going to stand by and let his uncle badmouth him for taking care of himself. He glared at his boss, chest puffed slightly in anger. “Now listen here, Mr. McDuck! This is your nephew you’re talking about, not some random employee in your business. As his uncle, you should’ve noticed that he wasn’t feeling well when he came in and when you visited him earlier. Now I see why Donny refused to go home until I made him. If he had come to you, you would’ve snapped at him and made him continue working until he passed out from his fever. I respect you, Mr. McDuck, but not when you treat your family so poorly! If this is how you always treat him, then I understand why Donald doesn’t get along with you!” Scrooge stared at Launchpad, mouth agape. Launchpad’s shoulders stopped heaving with anger and his face morphed from rage to horror. “M-Mr. McDee! I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me!”

Scrooge held his hand up, and Launchpad flinched at the motion. “No Launchpad, I’m sorry. Yer right. I am harsher on Donald then I should be. I care about him very much, but I’m not good at showing it in the slightest. However, donnae EVER talk to me like that again. Are we clear?” Launchpad took his hat off and nodded vigorously. Scrooge smiled at the acknowledgment before pointing his cane at the door. “Good then. Now get back to work. Aye’ll call ye when aye am ready to head home.”

Launchpad walked out of the office, and the second the door closed, collapsed against it. “… I can’t believe I just yelled at Scrooge McDuck…” His heart was hammering in his chest. He truly couldn't believe he had just done that. But thinking of Donald, miserably walking through the stores with him and collapsing on the couch due to exhaustion, Launchpad knew he would do it again in a heartbeat. Launchpad took a moment to calm down before getting up. He still had to go to that last store, and he needed to make sure that he was done before Scrooge called for him.

  Launchpad had no other incidents for the rest of the day. On occasion, he called Mrs. Beakley to see how Donald was doing. It worried him that Donald seemed to be worse every time he called. The worry was beginning to eat at him, but Scrooge had finally called to say he was done for the day. Launchpad had sighed in relief since he could check up on Donald himself. Upon seeing his boss exit the building, he opened the door for Scrooge and then hopped into the driver’s seat. While the separator was open, Launchpad wasn’t in the mood to chat with Scrooge, like he usually did. A small part of him was still upset about Scrooge’s behavior as well as worried about Donald’s health. However, Scrooge seemed to pick up on the tense atmosphere.“Uhh… How’s me nephew doing?” Scrooge awkwardly asked.

“Not very well, Mr. McDee. He’s gotten worse. Mrs. Beakley is trying her best, but it’s not helping much.” Launchpad kept his eyes on the road. For once, his driving wasn’t reckless in the slightest. That unsettled Scrooge a little.

'He really is sick… Well, I bet with some rest he’ll be just fine in the mornin’.' Scrooge went back to reading the newspaper. He was surprised that Launchpad was so worried about Donald. He wondered briefly how long the two had been friends. WIth a sigh, Scrooge went back to focusing on his paper, and the rest of the drive was quiet.

When they finally made it to the mansion, Launchpad was quick to park the car upfront by the steps. Scrooge was surprised when Launchpad turned the limo off. “What is the meaning of this?” Scrooge asked in surprise as Launchpad opened the door for him. He stepped out, further confused when Launchpad closed the door and started walking up the steps.

“I promised Donny I would check in on him after work, so I’ll probably stay and visit for a while.” Scrooge raised his eyebrows in surprise. Since when were they that close? He huffed and made his way up the stairs as well.

It wouldn't hurt to have someone else helping his nephew with his cold, and it would give Mrs. Beakley a break. “Alright then, just don’t break anything.”

Mrs. Beakley promptly opened the door for them when they arrived. With a nod of thanks, Scrooge went off to his study while Launchpad stayed behind to talk to Mrs. Beakley. “How’s he doing, Mrs. B?”

Mrs. Beakley frowned at him as she led the way to the kitchen. Launchpad was hoping for some good news, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen. “He was getting better for a little bit, but then his fever spiked again. I moved him to his bedroom so that he would be more comfortable, but if he gets any worse, I will have to call a doctor.” Yeah, that's what he was worried about.

Launchpad sighed, taking his hat off and brushing his hand through his hair. “Was he able to eat anything today?”

The maid shook her head. They didn't often spend time together, but she thought of Donald as a friend. She was worried about how poorly the duck seemed to be doing. “He ate a little but not the amount I wanted him to. I gave him some medicine and placed a wet cloth on his forehead. I’ll take you to his room in a moment. I want to grab another tray of soup and a cup of tea with honey.”

When they entered the kitchen, Launchpad noticed the kids sitting at the dining room table and walked over. “Hey, kids! What are you up to?”

They all looked up at him and tackled him to the floor in a hug. "Launchpad!"

“Aww! I missed you guys too!” Launchpad laughed as he patted a couple of the kids on their heads. They smiled and helped Launchpad up.

“We’re making get-well cards for Uncle Donald!” Dewey animatedly waved his arms around. Launchpad looked over at the table, noticing the crayons and markers scattered all over it. “We were surprised to see him when we got home from school and Mrs. Beakley told us he wasn’t feeling well and we thought that he might like a card so Webby went and grabbed all her craft stuff and we’ve been here since working on them!”

Huey rolled his eyes, his fond smile being the only give away that he wasn’t annoyed at his brother’s rambling. Launchpad laughed at Dewey's enthusiasm before gesturing to the door. “I’m about to head up with Mrs. B to see how your Uncle’s doing and give him his dinner. You should head up now so that you can give it to him before we get there, and Mrs. B shoos you all out.” Launchpad ruffled the feathers on Dewey’s head. The kids nodded, grabbed their cards, and rushed out of the room.

Launchpad heard the sounds of ceramic on metal and turned around. Mrs. Beakley was placing the last of Donald’s dinner on the tray. He offered to carry it for her, but she shook her head. “Thank you, Launchpad, but I'm sure you've had a tiring day. I can handle the tray. Now, let me show you to Donald's room.”

  When Mrs. Beakley and Launchpad arrived at Donald’s room, the duck was already awake and chatting with his kids. Launchpad noticed all the cards were standing up on Donald’s bedside table. The sick duck was holding the kids on his lap while Webby explained some event at school. “So after that, the teacher said I should join the gymnastics team! I think it’ll be super fun! I’ll get to wear a sparkly leotard and do awesome flips and twirls!”

Donald chuckled as her eyes sparkled with joy. “I’m sure you’re gonna love it, Webby.” Launchpad winced at his voice. Donald's voice sounded hoarse and pained.

Mrs. Beakley decided that was a good time to interrupt and walked up to the small group. “Alright children, it’s time for Donald to eat. I don’t want you all getting sick, so go work on your homework and leave your uncle to rest.” The kids all groaned. They gave him one more hug before sliding off the bed and walking out. Mrs. Beakley set the tray down on Donald’s lap and turned to Launchpad. "Could you make sure he eats as much as he can, Launchpad?” Mrs. Beakley flashed him a sly look as she continued. “I’m sure he’ll listen to you better than he’d listen to me.” Launchpad chuckled and sat down on the bed. He figured she meant since they were good friends, and he'd managed to convince Donald to stay at home earlier.

“No problemo Mrs. B! I’ll take care of him.” The pilot waved at Mrs. Beakley as she closed the door behind her. Launchpad turned his attention back to Donald. He was struggling to eat the soup in front of him. His hands were shaky, most likely from his exhaustion. Launchpad wondered if Donald would yell at him for helping him eat, but ultimately decided it was worth the risk. “Here, let me.” Launchpad took the spoon out of Donald’s shaking hand, blew on it, and then held it up to Donald’s beak. Donald hesitated a moment and then slowly sipped the soup. Launchpad filled the spoon again.

“You really don’t have to do this, Launchpad. I can take care of myself, you know?” Donald protested, laying his hand on top of Launchpad’s and keeping the spoon in the soup.

Launchpad gently grabbed Donald's hand and moved it to the bed. “I already told you, Donny, you don’t have to anymore. I don’t like watching you suffer in silence. And I care about you a lot, so please let me take care of you.”

Donald’s eyes started watering. “Why do you care so much? Besides the kids and a select few, no one really cares about me. You see how Scrooge treats me; even Gladstone treats me better than he does.” The former sailor wasn’t one to talk about his private issues aloud, but the cold was affecting his filter. Launchpad sighed and stared at the soup. He was always really nice to Donald, and he enjoyed being around the duck. But it wasn't fully because of their friendship like he usually let people believe. The truth was, Launchpad was in love with Donald. He loved everything about the passionate, hard-working duck that cared about his family and friends. The kind duck that would jump into danger without a second thought to protect his loved ones. Launchpad wasn't one to lie, though. Frankly, he was horrible at it, and Donald deserved to know the truth.

“… I really like you, Donny.” Donald blinked in surprise. He tilted his head in confusion as he tried to process Launchpad's confession.

“W-what?” Launchpad sighed and moved the tray to the bedside table. He turned back to Donald, hugged him close.

“I really like you. I like adventuring with you and working with you. You care so much about your family that even though you don’t get along with Gladstone and Mr. McD, you’re still willing to help them. You work your tail off for those kids, and I often forget Webby isn’t your niece. You treat her like she was always one of your kids.” Launchpad could feel Donald's body tense before the sick duck cautiously wrapped his arms around him. Already more vulnerable from being sick, Donald couldn't stop himself from crying at the sweet words that Launchpad said. He had always sorta liked the pilot too. He was kind to everyone, slow to anger, and always nice to his kids. He buried his face in Launchpad’s shoulder. Donald knew why he liked Launchpad, but he couldn't fathom why the pilot liked Donald.

“I have a horrid temper. I can never do anything right, and I've lost so many jobs; I was worried I’d never be hired again. If it wasn’t for the houseboat blowing up, the kids and I would still be living in poverty. Scrooge provides for them, not me.” Launchpad comfortingly rubbed Donald’s back. It didn't matter to Launchpad that Donald still considered himself as poor. He didn't make much money either. What mattered to him was that Donald was a great duck.

“Your temper is a part of you, Donny. You’ve got more control of it then you think. I hardly ever see you lose it at work when Scrooge piles you high with tasks or makes a rude comment. Besides that, you gave everything you could for your nephews, and they know it. Living with Scrooge isn’t shameful like you think it is. He needed it. I think the boss was always so cold to everyone because he was lonely. You and the kids have really changed him for the better.” Launchpad really was too kind. Donald just cried harder.

Launchpad was content to just hold Donald. He knew the duck didn't have the greatest self-confidence, so he was determined to let him get all his pent-up emotions out. When Donald was thoroughly drained, he pulled out of the embrace. It meant a lot to him that Launchpad was here. The sick duck looked over at the tray and saw the soup, still full. “I should try to eat the rest of this.”

The pilot felt the underside of the bowl. “It’s pretty cold. Lemme go downstairs and re-heat it.” Launchpad stood up and grabbed the tray. “You know Donald,” Launchpad paused at the doorway. The other duck stared at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. “I’ll give you the moon.”

Donald chuckled, “That was random. You can’t give me that, and besides, what made you say that?”

“I'm sure that I'm not as good as you, but I can steer a ship. I know how much the moon and stars mean to a sailor.” Launchpad walked back over to Donald and set the tray down again. He sat on the bed and leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. Donald was blushed at the motion, still getting used to the idea that Launchpad liked him romantically. “So, I’ll give you the moon. I’ll help you when you need it and stand beside you when you can handle it yourself. I’ll support you through every storm and guide you back to shore.”

Donald chuckled. He never would've thought of Launchpad as a total romantic. “And I’ll drag you back down when you start to fly too far into the sky.” Donald leaned forward and kissed Launchpad. When they broke apart, Donald’s eyes went wide with realization, blushing even harder. “It’s already late, so why don’t you spend the night? There’s a spare bedroom next door.” The sick duck looked away, flustered.

Launchpad laughed at how cute his love was being. “Sure thing Donny! Now let me go heat this up.”

  When the kids woke up the next morning, the first thing they did was check on Donald. They wanted to see if he was feeling better. However, none of them were expecting the sight they got. Donald was asleep on his bed with Launchpad beside him. Launchpad was sleeping on top of the covers, one arm wrapped around their uncle, and Donald was sleeping under the covers, with his head and a hand on Launchpad’s chest. The kids looked at each other before silently closing the door. The group walked stoically to the living room and then sat down on the floor. They took a deep breath at the same time.

“OH MY GOD!” “DID YOU SEE THAT?!” “THAT IS SO CUTE!” “WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!”

Mrs. Beakley, who was cleaning the hallway, rushed into the room at their shouts. “What’s wrong?!” She calmed down when she saw the kids on the floor.

Webby smushed her checks with her hands. “It’s so cute, Granny! Donald and Launchpad are together! Like 'dating' together!"

Huey, Dewey, and Louie jumped up and started bouncing where they stood. “This is great! Do you know what that means?” Mrs. Beakley smirked as Dewey interrupted.

“Not only is Launchpad our Uncle now,” Louie flashed a grin at his brothers.

“But, we need to plan a date for them!” Huey finished with a squeal at the end of his sentence.

Webby squealed as well! She scooped the brothers into a group hug. “Ohmigosh, yes! We’ll get walkie-talkies and pretend to have something to do so that we can follow them on their date and get grossed out at the romantic stuff! Granny, can you help us plan?” She let go of her friends and ran over to her grandmother.

Mrs. Beakley smiled at their antics. She knew from how concerned Launchpad had been that there was more going on. Thankfully, it seemed like Launchpad had finally said something. “If I must. For now, let’s head to the dining room. Breakfast is ready, and you guys need to eat before school.”

As the kids were herded into the dining room, Scrooge ducked his head back into the hallway unnoticed. He had come to investigate the yelling as well but was still in the hallway when he heard Webby’s explanation. “That explains yesterday.” Scrooge chuckled as he headed back to his study. “Aye nephew, you’ve found a good one.”

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Reviews: The Town Where Everyone Was Nice! or Scrooge Is the Lindburgh Baby

Saludos Amigos! The Ride of the Three Cablleros has at long last come to the last stop before it’s final phase. It’s been a hell of a ride so far: Our boys have tried to woo some ladies, performed some black magic, had some sort of drug trip, dealt with Donald’s ego, helped goofy ungoofy himself...

“SEASONS CHANGE, TIMES CHANGE BUT UNGOOFY IS FOREVER AND ALWAYS HE IS ALWAYS THERE” ... I created this magificent stalion.. kinda I think he came out of a styigan hole in the universe from the darkest dark in the dark of the dark... I can’t be sure. Our heroes fought an arrogant prince, found a lost city and helped donald get his smile back. All culminating in our heroes going to Spain for some reason, soundtracking Goofy’s win against Horace in Flamico Dancing, somehow that wasn’t a Covid induced fever dream I had but the actual premise of the episode, and then played some soccer with Daisy’s cousin and Pancho Pete. All in all we’ve had some good times getting here and I feel acomplished having made it this far. While I’ve still got quite a ways to go, getting this far means I really made something.. and not just the 80 something dollars it took to comission all of this. And I genuinely just want to thank all of you for reading these as these have easily been some of my most popular reviews and @weirdkev27​ for comissioning all of this. It’s been easily one of my faviorite projects so far and I look forward to the final leg of it soon. For now though we have one last adventure before the biggest one starts.  But before we can dive into it you probably have a few questions, and since I don’t really need to give Ducktales 2017 a lavish introduction as unlike most stuff so far this show is well and familiar: it’s what got me started reviewing animation on this blog, it’s what got me into the duck community as a full member, and it’s what caught Kev’s attention leading to this entire series. So I have time to answer the questions your probably asking and if your not.. well here’s the answers anyway Wait aren’t you going to cover Louie’s Eleven?: Nope. While I love that episode, I already did a full review of it earlier this year.  I saw no reason to completely and utterly redo the entire thing when my opinions toward the episode haven’t really changed. That being said since I didn’t touch on the boys characterizations in that one too much and since I do want this retrospective to be comprehensive, I will talk about Panchito And Jose’s characterization there briefly during this review at the right time as a compromise. 

Wait why isn’t THIS the last stop since it came out AFTER Legend of the Three Cablleros: Simple.. it felt unsatsfying to both me and kev to end on this one. While their apperance here IS a good one and a big deal... it’s also ANOTHER guest apperance. It’s something I didn’t quite realize for now but outside of the movie.. every apperance after is them guest starring in another series. Their aperances in Don Rosa’s Duck Comics, while awesome and treating them with proper respect, were still them showing up to shake up Donald’s stories and formulas. They were LITERAL guest stars in House of Mouse, and Roadster Racers was entirely just “let’s shove them in there because we can”. Legend.. is their story. Their moment in the sun after too damn long with all three as main characters and while being a lead is normal for donald, Jose and Panchito really HAVEN’T had that shot outside of their home countries. To be the hero of their own fully realized epic adventure. So it just fits best to have the road lead there instead of have all that happen.. then go back to yet another guest appearance. The other major factor.. is that while Legend came out around the same time as ducktales, to the point many compared and contrast both shows treatment of Donald, this episode is what most non-latin american audiences saw first as it took Disney WAY too damn long to air the series over here.. i.e. until Disney Plus launched, finding it somewhere online was the only option despite the series being produced in america with some really big american names voice acting wise. Point is this came first to some people, so i’m using that as a flimsy excuse to put it ahead so we get a better finale. 

Now all that’s settled, let’s dive into “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!” and see what one of the best duck propeties period makes of our boys. 

We open in a remote town in Brazil. It’s the Festival of the Flower.. which is a bit off to me. While it DOES kind of make plot sense.. the problem is the lure was written to Panchito and Jose.. Jose whose a brazil native and could’ve possibly been supscious that a tourist invintation wasn’t in Brazilian Portugese, the countries national language and something I specifically researched just to see what it’d be called. For the record it’d be O Festival da Flor acording to google translate, which still sounds neat, Webby could’ve still said it means festival of the flower. It just feels like a missed opportunity from a creative team that’s taken such pains to make the series feel as authentic as possible and clearly put a lot of hard work and research into making each location feel like it’s real world counterpart.  But it’s a minor thing and we soon get our two plots for the episode: Our B Plot.. is that Dewey can’t stay the fuck off his phone and is taking pictures rather than actually getting experiences with Louie enabling him, while Webby gets increasingly frustrated at Dewey not actually botherting to experince this unique and obscure culture. We’ll get back to this in a bit. 

Our main plot naturally concerns the reason our heroes are here: Donald is reuniting with The Cabs, who in this continuity are his old College friends who Scrooge hates due to having to listen to them practice constnatly and tells the kids they’d hate it worse than his playing the bagpipes. 

Bagpipes are objectively the worst insterument on earth. They are loud, unharmonic and generally just obnoxious. I do respect how important they are to Scotland, home of David Tennant, Grant Morrision and .. Alan Cumming and James Macavoy? Wait what? that’s awesome! Point is Scotland is great but I do not like the bagpipes except when Bugs Bunnny is murdering them. Honestly Donald’s college band was probably more like this. Nothing bad at all just mildly pathetic and mildly pathetic is what got Donald a girlfriend, so it’s not a  bad look

That brings me to another point: Scrooge is pretty obnoxious in this episode. It seems like his sole reason for coming was to bitch about Donald’s old college band. He could’ve just sent them a stern letter like the pros at being a cranky old geezer do. 

I do GET why he’s here as there are some REALLY damn funny bits with him in the a-plot, it just feels like they could’ve justified it better. But on to better things as Jose and Panchito enter the scene after Scrooge claims they “weren’t so cool”.. with Panchito diving from a plane and drifting down on his umbrella

And Panchito shows up dramatically playing the guitar. A truly awesome and worthy intro to our boys. So let’s talk about them in this series. Honestly the two really aren’t that diffrent from usual, though Jose’s lady chasing is given to Panchito, his footloose world traveling lifestyle remains in tact as does his genuine charm while Panchito remains the peppy one, just with his outbursts gone as his guns are replaced with cell phones.. 

Yeah while I do get replacing the pistols because let’s face it the mexican of the group being a gun nut was pretty damn unfortunate, though Don Rosa toned it down and justifed it well, and frankly guns are a hard no for family shows these days unless their laser guns so replacing them I get. But instead of I dunno giving him knives or turning his holsters into pouches carrying his stuff.. he just has two Cell Phones. It’s weird. It dosen’t really make sense other than for him putting on a big shot act and even big stars probably don’t have two phones on them at all times. It’s just a VERY weird update that makes not a whole lot of logical sense and I belivie is thankfully gone by the next ep. The only real issue I have is the two just sorta blend together personality wise instead of being distinct like usual, but that’s also happened in other apperances, so it’s not exactly a new or unique problem, and the two’s voice actors do a great job making both feel like they should. 

Speaking of which let’s just go ahead and discuss that elephant in the room: The Cabs were recast for the first time in ages, which didn’t sit well with friends of legend as Eric Bauza, who’d replaced rob Paulsen, was himself replaced by Arturo Del Puerto and Bernado Del Paulo replaced Jamie Camil and Carlos Aquazi as Panchito. And I have mixed opinons on this one: Replacing Eric was a no brainer: while he’s a terrific voice actor.. he’s not brazilian and the crew of Ducktales 2017 perfer to cast actors who match their characters backgrounds, which again adds to the authenicty of it’s globetrotting and scope. They don’t ALWAYS, Cree Summer isn’t, as far as I know, Egyptian and Catherine Tate, while wonderful, isn’t italian. But for the most part it adds a nice flavor to things and frankly I personally prefer it when Jose is voiced by an actual brazilian man. So that change i’m fine with. Not using Camil though... I do not get. Jamie Camil is a throughly talented voice actor, having done TONS of great work lately , vocing Globgor for star vs and not getting nearly enough screen time as the loveable demon dad, and stealing the show as Don Carnage earlier in the series. While that episode is one of the series weakest, he’s still easily the best part of it and I hope Carnage shows up one last time before the finale. 

So it really makes.. no sense to me to replace him. Not only is camil a bigger named actor, but he was already on the show and even the defense of “well they don’t want actors playing multiple rolls” ended up utterly destroyed by the end of the season, as Christ Dimatopolus not only reprised Storkules, but went on to play Drake and Melon, and picked up a FOURTH role in season 3 as Hades. My point is the show has no real issue with doubling up on voice rolls, so I scratch my head as to why Camil wasn’t given this part too despite being the obvious choice. Del Paulo isn’t a bad actor and is great in the role.. I just scratch my head why he was needed when a perfect actor for the part was right there and already had experince with the character. 

I do think Puerto and Paulo are terrific and do the characters justice, issues with Paulo being there at all aside, and they do a great job and more than earned the roles and I don’t think the mass critcisim of this version of the characters is entirely warranted.. for this episode. This episode while they can meld into each other... that happens in most of their apperances anyway, so it’s not unusual or unique to this series. I will say however that the way their written in their next apperance is utter garbage: they aren’t really given any chances to be distinct, are basically written as one person even worse .. and that one person is a greedy asshole who takes advantage of their friend and never apologizes. I do get why people did not like them in that episode. I do think it has no baring on this one and people should stop bashing these versions as a whole for one terrible episode, especially when Louie has been written pretty badly for the bulk of season 3, yet is still not a bad character. It’s unfair to paint the series as painting them soley as selfish jackasses when it didn’t at first and hopefully wont’ again when they presumibly show up for the finale’s big avengers endgame sequence I hope is coming. For now they aren’t bad and the colors are crisp and the animation nice and bouncy on our boys. 

Since we have two plots here, I’m just going to go ahead and split em since honestly, the b plot dosen’t really impact the a-plot until really the last minute and is basically happening right along side it and in concert with it. Sooooo... 

The Trite B-Plot: As you can probably gather I didn’t really like this one. It’s basically 5-7 minutes of me wanting to punch a child in the face. Or rather Webby wanting to have fun experinces and actually take in the culture while in town, while Dewey just wants to take pictures of everything, make it seem like he did stuff, and generally is obnoxious to webby while Louie supports him wholeheartdly. That last part is really one of the few good parts of the plot as it’s nice for one of the brothers plots to NOT be about them being in conflict or squabbling but just hanging out and having some fun, doubly so since i’ve had to spend a season watching Louie , outside of a few good exceptions be an absolute dick to Huey and also Dewey once. It’s nice to just see him and Dewey bond over a shared intrest: posting shit online and getting good photos. 

And it’s not without GOOD gags: Dewey’s obnoxious captions at one point while Webby continually looses her shit, Louie continually saying “that’s so wise” at Dewey’s bullshit philosphies, Webby’s continued annoyance is delivered great by Kate as always, and the best bit is Webby, utterly pissed at Dewey for refusing to eat Local Cuisine, wolfing down the entire fucking plate, all the dumplings in her mouth at once while Dewey, naturally, takes a picture. Otherwise this is just.. grating. It’s utterly grating to watch Webby GENUINELY try hard to absorb the local culture and really enjoy a once in a life time experince.. while Dewey jackasses about and basically acts like she’s wrong for it and treats his best friend like garbage. Just because i’ts nice it’s not Louie this time doesen’t make one of the kids being a dick without any nuance or character stuff suddenly great. It’s just tiresome. 

And SOMEHOW , despite already not liking it the first time watching the episode.. it’s even WORSE now afterlast years. No not because I watched it while having to put up with Coronoavirus induced Chills, but because another show did this plot 100 times better: Close Enough. One of the best new shows of the year, Close Enough had a plot where exes Bridget and Alex, aka yet aother great set of Kimiko Glenn and Jason Mantzokus characters, went on vacation together, but their attempts to have some ex sex fell flat due to longstanding issues we found about through this plot: Bridget has a bad habit of doing what Dewey did, focusing way more on her social than actually enjoying her vacatoin while Alex has a bad habit of befreinding random weirdos who agree with his worldview. Keep in mind this is the same worldview that spent an afternoon connecting garfield to jesus while pissing in a jug for some reason. Point instead of a character just being a smug dick, it ties into actual character flaws that helped us not only learn more about them but lead to a really heartwarming scene where the two admit they jsut can’t sleep together casually with allt heir baggage, and that they still have a lot to sort out. Before given the show their on having their friends show up from the a plot and all of them getting kidnapped by a robot because Josh skipped a bunch of ads and a 5 year old has to solve some issues and prove she’s not dumb to blow up said robot. What i’m saying is it’s even more insufferable watching this after seeing it done a thousand times better, and fucking watch Close Enough. Thankfully unlike Inifnity Train it’s not reliant on you to get a second season as it’s been renewed proving that even in a cluster fuck like 2020 miracles can happen, but it’d still be nice for it to get more fans during the presumably long wait for Season 2. Let’s move past this, i’ll get to the plot relevant bit for the climax when we get to the climax, and onto the reason your all here. 

The Main Event: A Life Not Wasted

Okay onto the actual plot. Rewinding quite a bit, the boys meet our boys, and we get some good bits. The boys cool new handshake leaves Huey wanting one only for Louie to simply lick his hand. See this is Louie dickery I can get behind because what did Huey expect? I do take comfort in the fact he has actual friends now who will likely do a handshake, fenton very much included. I’m sure Gyro didn’t want one either so he’s had plenty of time to workshop. We also find out one of the boys was dropped as an egg and well.. given Dewey opens and closes his eyes one at a time for this one moment, the ohter triplets just sorta.. silently agre it’s Dewey. IT does explain why he thought Champ Popular would get over..that and Santa Claus is Going to Highschool being his favorite movie. 

So both Jose and Panchito claim to be sucessful: Jose being a sucessful jetsetter and trendsetter, and Panchito being a world famous pop star, never stop stopping. So Donald being donald panics and runs into a alley where Scrooge and Huey join him.  Donald is fully convinced he’s wasted his life and has nothing to show for it. Huey rightfully points out he raised three wonderful children and isn’t that enough? Naturally given Donald clearly has some issues related to this subject and Scrooge has develoved into old man yells at cloud, he agrees it’s not important as money. So Huey decides to help his uncle because he’s the good son.. and because the two are easily the most alike out of Donald and his Kids. It’s something I haven’t really been able to bring up before so I was delighted to realize i could now: Besides the obvious people bring up constnatly, I.e. Huey having inhereted the most of the family rage out of his brothers, there’s the fact both are kind of obessive, both tend ot spiral into panic when a situation goes wrong, both are awkward with women, both are frequently ignored or taken for granted by those around them, and both are awkward adorable dorks who I will give my life to protect. It’s why I think Huey has the best relationship with his uncle of the bunch: He’s the only one who at least TRIES to empahtize with him and support him. While the other two do love him, and Webby of course likely has an insanne and horrifying shrine of him, and scrooge and probably della now in her closet.. and of course lena but that’s less out of hero worship and more out of her insane, over the top, very webby version of love. Point is, he’s the one who genuinely sees his uncle as a person who needs help and love. This was best demonstrated in the scene at the bank back in “Who Is Gizmoduck” as Huey tries to get his uncle a loan using the guidebook and is there soley to help the guy and taking time out of his day to visit the bank. Let’s face it though this is huey: he probably loves visiting the bank. They just got new pens! So Huey decides to put his improv badge to good use... so far the only use he’s gotten is Louie laughing at the fact he actually earned an improv badge and urges donald to simply ACT like he’s sucessful. Scrooge balks at this, because as Wonder Woman 1984 taught us nothing good comes from lies.. or from  banging your ghost boyfriend while he’s possessing someone’s body without said body’s consent and plan to fully live out the rest of your lives togehter without ever considering how fucked up this is. I will..deal with that movie ... soon. But he soon changes his turn and agrees to go along with it to avoid Jose getting upset and them having to pay for everything. 

So Huey suggest Donald keep the lie small, but belivable. Given the law of sitcoms when it comes to anyone saying that and the fact this is Donald, he instead panics and lies that he’s taken over McDuck industries and scrooge has gone full abe simpson in the other direction. 

Which is why i’m not enitrely annoyed by Scrooge’s presence: while they don’t even handwave him being here, Scrooge putting on an old man act, and sometimes getting back at donald for it is solid gold the whole damn time and some of David Tennat’s best comedic acting on the show, so it makes up for him being a grumpus.  And while i’m not usually not a fan of liar revealed plots, this one works for me.. mostly because it’s rooted in character. Here Donald is lying.. but because of deep seated neurosis he’s yet to fully tackle. While he loves his boys and is proud of htem every day... it’s very clear Donald hates his life and how it turned out. We got bits of this back in House of the Lucky Gander, with Donald’s first thought upon thinking he’s about to die is “I wasted my life” and feeling entirely like a looser. This episode brillinatly builds on that: it shows a Donald who simply feels.. he acomplished nothing. It’s easy to see why as his parents were happy and sucessful at whatever they did from the looks of it and how well taken care of the kids were, his uncle is the richest duck in the world and it’s greatest hero and explorer, his sister is the only one who could rival that record, and his cousin constnatly gets riches and fame handed to him. Donald.. by comparison.. is just a normal guy whose house is in his rich uncle’s pool, who has no job, no partner, and only really the love of his family. He spent his life on adventures he didn’t want to have living int he shadow of someone he grew to resent before the Spear of Selene incident blew things up for a decade. And then when he was free instead of becoming a big sucess... he blew the rest of it being overprotective of his boys and bouncing from dead end job to dead end job. It’s easy to see why he sees himself as a failure despite having lived a good life: compared to everyone else, even his sister who mooned herself, in his life.. he feelsd far behind. And as someone whose felt they were far behind countless times and only now is realizing they haven’t and it’s a marathoon ot a sprint I naturally relate. So his wanting to play big shot for just ONE day, to be the big hero like scrooge, teo be a sucess for five minutes with his best friends.. it’s understandable and relatable. 

So Donald continues the ruse, leading to a great bit where the cabs all try to avoid picking up the check “WE can’t all keep whistling nonchalantly” before Scrooge is forced to give Donald the money to in the best joke of the episode.. and I mean FORCED. He and donald get into a fight with their hands under the table and Huey eventually gets fed up with that and has to BITE his uncle’s hand just to get him to do what he shoudl’ve done ruse or no given he’s the richest person there. The reason I take special offense to this.. is that my fairly wealthy grandpa and grandma, my mom’s dad and his wife for the record, would buy us dinner EVERY TIME they were near town, a nice steak dinner with whatever we wanted to most of the time. They knew we couldn’t afford such luxury half the time and wanted to treat us and spend time with us. Since my grandpa’s passing, my Grandma and her New Husband have continued the tradition since then, if obviously not this year for damn obvious reasons, thought hey sent us a really nice dinner to cook for christmas in the same spirit. What i’m saying is when you know your relatives arne’t as stacked as you , you pay for the fucking meal especially since i’ts a special occasion, and even for someone as stingy as scrooge, it comes off as a dick move. 

We then get the best scene with the episode, just inching out the climax as the three simply talk, remince on old times, have a good rib like old friends would. It feels natural and wonderful to watch and gets even better when the three hear the radio and end up having an impromptu dance and musical number. Also Jose’s umbrella is also a flute somehow. 

Point is the boys have a good time and Donald gets carried away, with the boys planning a world tour. Huey, while happy to endulge his uncle in a badly needded ego boost, isn’t happy to endulge this and scrooge is unwilling ot pay, more resonably this time. Huey eventually talks him out of being a moron and tells him he has to tell the honest truth and while that dosen’t work this does. 

So as Donald goes to face the music, we have come to our climax. Phrasing. 

The Finale: Ay Carumba

So we come to our finale. Backing up a scene or too to the B-Plot, webby is interviewing a local about the festival when she gets stuck in a loop. So far in the episode we’ve had hints something is up with the people as they go all yellow eyed.. and webby finds out why as she notices the “person” she was interviewing is, in a hilarious and disturbing review.. a horrignly realistic hand puppet.. and upon stealing Louie’s phone, she points out there’s no shots of anyone’s feet.. and the reason why is that the giant flower the feast is about is a mean green mother from outer space and he’s bad. And Webby finding that out’s got him fighting mad.  Webby and the boys naturally run to warn the remaning boy and scrooge and they all run out only to get blocked out of town and captured. Dewey looses his phone inside the plant monster.

In a great joke, Scrooge ended up actually throwing his back out with the old man act, so our heroes are all captured and it’s up to our stars to save the day.  So while his family is in peril, Donald finally comes clean with Jose and Panchito naturally being upset.. for a second before Jose admits he lied to and an irate panchito.. is forced to admit he also lied. Jose is a flight attendant, hopefully he’ll get his own mini series where he accidently murders a dude on disney plus, which is a nice update of his globe trotting ways, as it’s a resonable way for someone with no money to get around the world these days and Panchito is a birthday party muscian. They all however chuckle over this realizing they haven’t come as far as they thought.. and they still have each other. It’s a nice way of modernizing Rosa’s jobs for them and their hard luck lives he set up and I love this. IJt’s just a sweet emotoinal scene that makes donald, and his friends, realize they aren’t faliures and life isn’t just about reaching some arbitrarity goal.. just like Soul taught me aka the actually great movie I watched on Christmas Day.  But since Donald’s family is in peril Jose suggests theys till play the gig.. just like they did ion acapulco thus we get the second best scene of the episode and another worthy rendition of The Three Caballeros as our heroes beat the shit out of the plant, free the kids and the plant straighens out scrooges back. 

It’s beautiful, psycadelic, and utterly awesome. Seroiusly the bright boldend colors are awesome and so’s this sequence. Easily one of the show’s best.. and it’s a show that contiains the greatest scene in television history

So that masterclass concludes with Donald signing.. badly.. and blowing the plant hte fuck up. Our heroes win and head off in the sunchaser. No idea what Launchpad is up to, probably has another ex in the area. Point is our heroes win, Dewey deletes his photos because “If there was no pics it didn’t happen” (So wise) and Donald decides to get the band back together, prompting scrooge to do an animal house on Panchito’s guitar... you.. you know you have to pay for that right? you aren’t a loveable frat man and he wasn’t ‘singing and I gave my love a cherry. Your obligated to get him a new guitar. You know that right?

So with that the episode wraps. This is a pretty good episode. While the subplot is bad and it should feel bad the main plot is emotional, well done and really adds more depth to Donald’s character while giving us a hell of a show with the cabs. The College Band background gives the boys a unique flavor this time around, not musically but in how they know each other and helps set it apart from the countless other reunions. It’s a truly bright, colorful and fun episode with some great gags and great performances. As I said Puerto and Paulo really knock it out of the park as the boys and while I would’ve preferred Jamie Camil, Paulo was still utterly excellent, though Puerto was the clear standout of the two. While their second apparence would be disapointing characterization wise, overall this was a fun introduction to two of disney’s best into it’s best universe and one of Season 2′s Standouts. 

Next Time on the Ride of the Three Cablleros: we begin our massive finale look at The Legend of the Three Cablleros. Donald gets dumped by a nightmare of a person and finds an inhertance, new friends, and some sort of hot adventure god in his new cabana. Good times. Until then goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. 

[popculturebuffet]

Fine/Not Fine

Lena: We came as soon as we got the call. How sick is she?

Violet: (Wearing a medical mask) Also two things. 1) Nice medical mask, and two why are you all wearing eyepatches.

Huey: Webby clawed me in the eye while we were trying to handcuff her to the bed.

Lena: Okay silly question.. why were you handcuffing my girlfriend to the bed?!

Dewey: Because she kept breaking out of her room to try and join us on our adventure today. Duh.

Lena: Oh okay, makes perfect sense.

Violet: And you two have eyepatches because she clawed your eyes?

Huey: No it's because Dewey wanted one because he was jealous and Louie put one on purley to tick Dewey off.

Dewey: He dosen't pull it off as well.

Louie: Please we all know I pull it off better.

Dewey: How dare!

Lena: Ugh... okay only one who's actually trying to be helpful, take us to her. I"ll try talking her down before she...

Webby: (Clearly has a bad cold, with a blanket over her shoulders holding up her handcuffs triumphantly) HA HA HA

Lena: Does that. (Sighs) Hey Pink... the boys told us you were sick.

Violet: Actually Huey did the rest of you were no help whatsoever.

Louie: Accurate

Dewey: Excuse you i'm rocking this eyepatch.

Webby: Oh no did I claw you guys too? I tried to be gentle.

Huey: no he..

Lena: Forget it we don't have time for this! Webby you need to rest. And GETTING TACKLED BY YOUR GRANDMA WON'T HELP

Beakly: (Has been hiding in the rafters) Shhhhh

Webby: Please I know she's there. I dispatched her minutes ago....

Lena: nope

Webby: Curse you halucinations!

Lena: Webby come on, what's this really about.

Webby: I .. er don't want to miss out

Lena: You know if he could postpone whatever he's doing he would.

Webby: I er... really like giant clockwork apes that need their handle turned or they'll destroy all of Finland?

Louie: Wait that's what this is about? Pass (walks off)

Lena: Pink i'ts me. I'm not going to hurt you but i'm not going to swallow another lie.. did my hiding my problems help me?

Webby: No

Violet: And from what I saw on the news did not admitting he needed bedrest help scrooge NOT go mildly insane?

Webby: (Groans) No.

Lena: Then be honest

Huey: Your among family.. and friend.. and your girlfriend.. your in a safe place.

Dewey: Relatively.

Webby: I do leave a lot of bear traps around the mansion...fine.. I just don't want to be forgotten. Scrooge HAS his sorta daughter back. He dosen't need me.

Scrooge: (Hoping down from the rafters) What kind of nonsense was that... I was plan C. Beakly holds back, I don't.. only because I owe her one.

Webby: Awwwww.

Scrooge: When would I NOT need you? I only have one niece. Your it. But you need to rest. If it was just a simple start of a cold you'd be fine but this? You need rest. I've already lost a niece once. Never again.

Webby: (Tearing up) Okay...

Lena: you could've done that any time!

Scrooge: not without a massive chase sequence. She wouldn't belieive me or beakly.. she needed to ADMIT she was wrong.

Beakly: It was the only way

Violet: well played

Dewey: Wait so sending us in first was...

Scrooge: My first attempt to get her to open up. I didn't think it'd result in a sore eye, a scheme and .. why ever dewey thought this was a good idea.

Dewey: How dare...

Lena: Come on. (Scoops webby up) I'll take care of you.

Violet: I'll do the same while giving you two plenty of space I have mastered the art of invisiblity and the art of being a third wheel.

Beakly: I"ll do the cooking part on the grounds that I only taught you as far as cake. I'd rather not tempt fate.

Scrooge: Come on lads let's go kill an ape. I promise i'll bring you back it's head

Webby: .... that's the second best thing you've said all day.

Dewey: Ape murder ape murder ape murder! (Runs offf into the distance)

Huey: The plane's.. that way

Dewey: (Runs back in that way)