#and Scrooge is contemplating every move he made that got him into this position

[shewhowantsmouseears]

mermaid/siren duck au

listen i’ve spent the last 3 days thinking about this nonsense so i’m sharing it. also i know i’m combining mermaids and sirens but it’s my AU so I’m going to have fun, dammit.

enjoy some donald/daisy, magicstone, drake/morgana and other couples.

it got ridiculously long, so, under a cut.

it opens with Donald having been stuck on a pirate ship for about a month now. He was snatched off the streets with the pirates having no idea who he was, more like “free slave, whoo!” and donald hasn’t told them either - he doesn’t want his family to get hurt, nor does he think rich uncle Scrooge will pay a penny for any ransom. So he’s been forced to help work and steal for them, which is where our story begins. After the latest pillage, Donald has to take the last rowboat back to the ship with a treasure chest. He grumbles, this rowboat is old and rickety, with plenty of splinters. All the other pirates are far ahead, so he’s by his lonesome as he rows. That’s when he hears...

~*~

“My jolly sailor bold....”

Donald blinked, blinked twice, blinked three times, and sure enough he heard a woman singing. By all logic that shouldn't be happening, as he was so far away from shore he couldn't even see the beach. So where was that music coming from? He then laughed to himself, and it sounded more nervous than he meant it to be. “Maybe it's a mermaid.” As if mermaids existed! And even if they did, surely they wouldn't come for a scrawny loser like himself, no sir! So, of course, there was no mermaid near him!

“My heart is pieced by Cupid...”

… So where the hell was that coming from?! Donald gripped the oars tightly, trying to row faster because, dammit it all, he was not going to drown by something that existed in fairy tales!!! He couldn't be too far from the ship, right? As long as he kept rowing, everything would be fine, and he wouldn't have to listen to this music! This... nice... soft... music...

“I disdain all glittering gold...”

All the tense muscles inside of Donald began to relax, and his panicked rowing began to slow down. For something that was surely made-up and absolutely didn't exist, it was rather... soothing... would it really be so bad, to listen for a minute more...? His head felt heavy, and he tilted to his left, a blissful smile crawling along his beak. Getting back to the ship didn't seem so important now. In fact, nothing seemed important anymore. Nothing mattered but hearing that lovely music... Which was now far closer than it had been a moment ago.

“There is nothing can console me...” He didn't hear the sound of moving water behind him. “But my jolly sailor bold.”

But boy oh boy did he feel a pair of wet warms tenderly wrapping around his chest from behind. It momentarily snapped him out of his stupor, and OH GOD OH NO OH NOOOOOOOOOOOO – he stuck a hand in his mouth to keep the scream out, because if he was going to die, he wasn't going to die screaming like a little girl! But he could shiver and tremble like a little girl, he had no issues with that.

The delightfully feminine voice giggled, her slightly webbed fingers over his racing heart. “What is my darling sailor doing out here all by his lonesome?”

“Aside from having so many regrets in his life?” Donald replied, mostly to himself. From his childhood, he could recall two legends of mermaids. One was the nice version, where she pined for a prince and couldn't win his love so she turned into foam. The other was the not-so-nice version, where they lured sailors to their death. He had a feeling this wasn't the nice version. “If, uh, if you don't mind, I have someplace I need to be...” Preferably alive.

“Why are you so eager to go?” She whispered kindly to his ear, the cold air sending a chill down his spine. She hummed a few bars, and he could feel his mind starting to slip again. “My darling sailor, come with me, I'll make you so happy. Let me take a look at you.” His body was easy to move, and she turned him around – to find his eyes shut tightly. She raised her eyebrows, surprised. “... What are you doing?”

“Oh-ho-ho, I know how this works!” Donald hoped his voice sounded confident when he was scared out of his mind. “If you're as beautiful as your voice is, then the minute I look at you, I'm a goner. I am not  falling for that!” Sure, beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but whoever heard of an ugly mermaid?!

The woman paused for a second, and then she giggled again, amused. “Such a clever one, my darling sailor. But I want so much to see your pretty eyes. And... you want to see my face, don't you?” She hummed again, her breath on his ear, and he knew if he opened his eyes now he'd be gazing directly into hers. “You want to see me, don't you, my pretty one?”

Oh, oh yes, he wanted so much to see her, more than anything – NO, NO – Now that he was aware of what she was doing to his head, he could at least try to resist, but every passing second made that more difficult. She didn't relent, whispering sweet love to him, and oh yessss he wanted to see her, wanted to do anything she asked of him, wanted to be with her, wanted to love her, oh yes, such honey and warmth and -

BONK!

And when you don't have control of your oars, they have a tendency to smack you in the head, especially when your luck was as bad as Donald's. “OW! Why you rotten little, why I oughta...” Unfortunately, much like most people do when they encounter pain, his eyes opened.

And she was gorgeous. Slim and alluring, short white hair that brushed over her shoulders, violet scales  running down in lines on her arms, and worst, worst, worst of all were those damning lavender eyes. “Oh, crud,” he muttered. “Of course she's a knock-out.”

The woman smiled, her fingers finding Donald's shoulders, her long nails lightly pressing into his tattered clothes. “There you are,” she said teasingly, “And such lovely eyes you have, my darling sailor. Yes, they're the most beautiful ones I've seen in ages... so pure and full of sweetness. You're going to be a delicious treat, I can tell.”

This should have scared Donald to high heaven, but her eyes had a stronger effect than her voice. He couldn't look away, and just as important, he didn't want to look away. “A-huh,” he mumbled numbly, feeling himself being pulled closer to her and the water. “I'll be... I'll be anything you want me to be...” He'd do anything for her, as long as he could looking at her, looking at those eyes, it was if he was born only to look at her, existed solely for her...

“You want to come with me now, don't you?” She cooed, and he nodded. “Come with me, we'll be together forever.”

“Together... forever...” And that would have been paradise, and he moved his foot onto... a giant splinter. “OWWWW, WHY, WHY, WHY AGAIN?!” He howled, hopping up and down on the ship while holding his injured foot. “I HATE THIS BOAT, WHY DO THEY ALWAYS GOTTA GIVE ME THE CRUDDY BOAT?!” But once he yanked the painful splinter out of his foot, he remembered the dangerous position he was in. He glanced over, seeing the rather peeved mermaid tapping her nails on the ship's edge.

“I'm getting rather impatient, darling sailor.” She warned, one eyebrow raised.

Donald knew any second now she would use her combo of voice and eyes to trap him again, and he backed up, feeling the treasure chest – an idea struck him! “Waitwaitwait!” He flailed one arm, using the other to point to the chest. “How about, instead of eating me, I gave you this treasure? We just robbed a noblewoman, there's lots of jewelry and gold and stuff in here!” He shoved the top off, revealing the glittering booty. “Take whatever you want, take all of it!” Sure, the captain would be mad enough to kill him, but...

… Well. This was one of those “stuck between a rock and a hard situation” deals, wasn't it?

The mermaid paused, contemplating the offer. She mulled this over, strumming her fingers on the boat. After a moment or two, she made a decision. “Very well. Let's make a deal. You'll choose one gift for me, and if I like it, I'll leave you be.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Donald leaned on the edge of the boat, grateful that for once in his life, he'd caught a break.

“However...” Now she was instantly in front of him once more, her soft hands on his cheeks, yanking him in hard so he got a good eyeful of her. “If you chose wrong... you'll come with me, and be mine forever. Understand?”

In seconds he was mush again, chuckling stupidly, wanting to go with her right that second. “Yours, forever, and ever, and ev-TREASURE YES!” He managed to break free for a second, but it was all he needed, slamming his body into the treasure chest and digging frantically through it. How was he supposed to know which item would be perfect for her? If he did his best and got it wrong, he was fish food! And he had so much to live for! Like... uh... “This is a fine time to learn my life has no meaning.” He slapped himself and resumed searching. As he dug, it all seemed hopeless, until one piece caught his eye, and with it, an idea. “A-ha! Got it!”

Donald cupped the life-saving trinket in his palm and knelt down in the boat to offer it to the woman. “At first, I was thinking a ring, but that wouldn't work with webbed fingers, right?” he explained as he looked at her – and no longer saw that urge to jump over and do her bidding. He pondered if she could make her eyes turn off or on whenever she pleased. “But this necklace will work perfectly!” He turned it around for her to see, an amethyst stone smoothed down into a flat circle. “See, the chain is small enough so it won't strain your neck, and this material won't rust in the water! And the stone is heavy enough so it won't bob up and down in the water. And the colors match you, see, purple and white, just like you!” He babbled on about the advantages of such a trinket for a mermaid, oblivious to her shocked face.

Once he was satisfied with what he said, he reached to gently tie the necklace around her throat, and then pulled back, waiting for her approval. “All right, so, uh, what do you think?”

The mermaid said nothing right away, rubbing her thumb over the stone. Eventually she lifted her head, and this smile was less predatory. “I accept it. You've made a very good choice, pretty one.”

“Thaaat's a relief!” Donald slumped forward, his arms and head hanging over the side of the boat. Maybe now his heart would stop pounding so hard. “Thank you for... not eating me.”

“It is a pity.” She sighed, letting the stone rest on her body. “You would have been so delicious.” She then lifted her eyes. “What is your name, darling sailor?”

Donald was surprised to hear her ask, and even pointed at himself, just to be sure. “Huh?” Well, he supposed a mermaid learning his real identity would do little harm. “Name's Donald, Donald Duck.”

“Well, then, Donald, thank you for this gift.” But before Donald could say he was welcome, her lips found his cheek, and after a kiss that seemed sweet and sugar, she purred, “Be careful, darling sailor... for if I see you again, I will definitely make you mine. That's a promise.” Her nails playfully scratched the underside of his beak, and then she splashed into the water, vanishing.

Donald slowly sat back into the boat, trying to understand what the hell happened in those last five minutes. No one on the ship would believe him. Shoot, did he even believe it?

~*~

Donald manages to return to the boat without anymore mishaps, and tells the pirates what happened, but no one believes him... except the wicked captain. Who needs gold when they can capture a priceless mermaid? He decides to use Donald as bait, but Donald refuses – too bad Donald doesn't have much of a choice. The next night he's tied up and sent back out on the same rowboat, with Donald telling himself that surely the mermaid won't come back for him since there's other handsome guys out there for – jolly sailor bold – OH COME ON!!! Yep, it's her again, but when she tries to get up, Donald violently shoves her out of the way, telling her that the pirates are after her!

Indeed, the captain's been watching and sends his men out to their boats to capture her, his gun aimed at donald from the master ship. He's more than willing to shoot Donald dead if he doesn't cooperate, but Donald refuses, trying to urge the girl to leave. She silently looks at the ropes holding him, then at the pirates, and simply says “I'll take care of this.” She dives under... and then...  MASSIVE KRAKEN BREAKS THE MASTER SHIP IN TWO goodbye pirates. Donald's jaw drops, and when the girl pops up again he says WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU JUST DO THAT ALL THE TIME??? Because that's no fun, she replies as she unties him.

He thanks her for saving him – and with those pirates gone, he can try to sail home! But... he has no treasure this time, crap, what can he give her her??? She smiles and tells him her name, Daisy, and gives him a kiss – and also places a spell on him, without him knowing. She has him promise to come to her again, and then swims off, much to his confusion. Oh well, time to go home! His family lives (and technically owns) an island, where he's reunited with the family. Everyone's happy to see him, and he's happy to see everyone... until he hugs his twin sister Della, and he gets a nasty electric shock. Turns out the spell was to hurt Donald every time he touches another woman. GODDAMMIT DAISY -

Donald begs and pleads with Scrooge to give him a piece of treasure so he can convince Daisy to undo the spell, but naturally the miser won't hear of it (until Della yells I HAVE NOT SEEN MY BROTHER IN OVER A MONTH AND NOW I CAN'T HUG HIM YOU GIVE HIM WHATEVER HE NEEDS YOU SON OF A BITCH) and so off Donald goes to the water again. Yes, Daisy appears, and he demands the spell be taken off. She says she didn't think he'd come back to her otherwise, but Donald says a sailor always keeps his promises, and he will definitely see her again SO KNOCK THIS SHIT OFF. Daisy undoes the spell.

Days later, the family is having a “welcome back” party for Donald, but not many people believe Donald's story, save for Scrooge and Della. Della says he should try living it up now, since he had a second chance at live – like, hey! That beautiful girl is giving you 'the eyes', go say hi! Donald, stunned that any beautiful woman would want him, turns to see and DAISY HAS LEGS?! Wait, wait, maybe it's just a coincidence... Donald approaches... “Hello, darling sailor~” OH FUCK ME IT IS HER. Donald stares, and then panics, scooping her up into his arms and running out to the gardens with her.  (Della: ALL RIGHT, BRO, GO FOR IT!!!)

Turns out Donald panicked because he thought Daisy was in extreme pain – like, in the fairy tale??? The little mermaid's feet hurt like cut glass whenever she walks???  Are you okay??? But Daisy laughs it off, she's totally okay. In fact, any mermaid can turn into a 'human' whenever they want, but their magic decreases considerably. But she wanted to see him again, and Donald still doesn't really get why, but, hey, if it makes her happy. And so, she lives with him, and they live happily ever after HA YOU THOUGHT SO, BUT NOT!!!

Cousin Gladstone, extra smarmy and slimy in this verse, is APPALLED that Donald get this babe out of nowhere. Even worse, when Gladstone tries to make a move on Daisy, she calmly grabs him by the face, inspects him, and then lets him go. “You'd taste disgusting.” HE IS OFFENDED AND CONFUSED. Scrooge is also having issues – his business ships have been attacked by kraken, the gold on them being stolen! Suspicion immediately falls on Daisy, but Donald defends her, knowing she has no reason to do it! And Daisy admits that she relinquished control of the kraken when she became human.

Donald asks if Daisy could try to control it again to stop what's going on, and she agrees, because he's her darling sailor~ So Scrooge, Daisy, Donald, Della all head out to sea... and Gladstone is dragged along as well because he needs to learn how to work, dammit. But Gladstone throws a hissy fit and locks himself in his room on the ship. And at sea, they are indeed attacked by the kraken! Daisy hangs onto the railing, trying to command it to stop, but whoever has it now has more power than she does. It's another mermaid, this one by the name of Magica De Spell! Daisy demands she stop, but Magica wants the gold for her magic spells. Why should Daisy care? “Because my darling sailor wants it.” Magica scoffs – Daisy doesn't think they're actually in love, does she??? Humans are food, end of story, any “love” they have is fabricated by their spells. Why, she could steal him away easily with her song!

~*~

It occurred to Donald then he had never seen Daisy angry, actually angry, until now. And boy howdy was she angry – her veins seemed to pop up in her skin, her fangs glistened in the moonlight, and the wave of magic that surrounded her crackled like hot electricity. “You... you would dare...” Her voice snarled, primal and threatening, her fingers bending the steel railing beneath her. “You would dare... try to take... MY DARLING SAILOR?!”

“I think she likes you,” Della quipped.

“Kind of getting that idea, yes.” Donald replied. Any further sarcasm would have to wait, because he knew what was coming. “Everyone, plug your ears, as tightly as you can!” Della and Scrooge immediately clamped their hands over their ears, Scrooge's flintlock pistol dropping to the floor. As expected, the woman in the water began to sing, her voice darker and more sinister than Daisy's, but still beautiful and captivating. Della fell to one knee, and Scrooge shook harshly, but Donald – strangely, Donald didn't feel anything. Was it because he heard Daisy's song before? He had no clue. The ship was then rocked again, the kraken slapping it hard with one of its many tentacles, trying to make the crew listen to his mistress. Daisy held her hand out, trying to will the kraken to her.

Inside the small cabin room, Gladstone fell onto the floor, although he was on his feet in seconds. “All right, who keeps interrupting my beauty sleep?!” He stomped to his door and slammed it open. “Excuse me, SOME of us are trying to...”

Come here, my sweet one, come here to me, for I am everything that you want in the sea...

… Ooooh. That was... niiice...

Donald dropped his hands, still confused as to why he wasn't affected, but he certainly wasn't complaining. But if he was free, then maybe he could help! “We've got this!” He said with pride... until he saw his cousin speeding past him as fast as his little legs could take him. “... We don't got this.” He chased after Gladstone, trying to grab him. “What are you doing?!”

“She's calling for me!” Gladstone yelled, his voice giddy and hysteric, aiming for the ship's railing. “She wants me! I have to go to her, I have to!” Oh gods, was there anything as wonderful as this? He'd never been filled with such desire before! It was destiny, a call from a goddess! He grabbed the railing, trying to jump over.

Donald jacked his arms under Gladstone's armpits, trying to drag him back. “Don't be stupid, it's a spell! Gladstone, listen to me! It's a trick!” Oh, sure, now Gladstone believed mermaids were real! Were was this idiot's good luck?!

“SHE'S CALLING ME!” Gladstone refused to hear otherwise, barely acknowledging Donald's presence, only seeing him as some force preventing him from getting to HER!!! He needed her, needed her now, needed her more than air and life! He'd give her everything she wanted, so long as he could be with her!

“Gladstone, will you just-” But the kraken struck again, and this time the force on the ship was so hard Donald was sent falling backwards – he heard a splash, and saw that his arms were empty. “... I need to emphasize that was not my fault.”

Magica, meanwhile, only paused in her own singing to gloat at Daisy's failure. “Your magic's nowhere near enough to beat me!” She failed to hear the very speedy swimming headed her way. “I'll have the kraen destroy all of you! There's nothing that can get in my way-”

“I LOVE YOU!” Gladstone interrupted extremely nosily, tackling Magica in the water. “I love you I love you I love youuuuuu!”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Magica snapped, trying to push Gladstone off as he clawed eagerly for her. “Get off me, you fool!” Magica's voice was very powerful, powerful enough to keep a man captured even when she had stopped – including when she wanted him to get away. “Knock it off! I'm trying to do an evil monologue here!” But no matter how hard she smacked him, he refused to let her go, eyes delirious and mouth rambling about how much he loved her.

Donald rejoined his family as they watched over the railing. “If that was anyone else, I'd find this kinda funny.”

“It's a little funny now.” Della conceded.

“Well, yeah, but I didn't wanna be rude.”

Scrooge didn't find this as enjoyable. “Gladstone! Get off that woman and get back here this instant!”

Daisy's eyes widened as she came to a sudden realization, and she grabbed a fistful of Scrooge's sleeve. “Wait, stop!”

But Scrooge didn't stop. “I said get back here, nephew!”

Magica froze, hearing that special word. She slowly turned her head to the family, and a devious smirk graced her lips. “Nephew?” She repeated, her own fangs showing. “So this little fool is yours?”

“Uh-oh.” Scrooge, Della, and Donald gulped at the same time.

Uh-oh was right. Magica reared her head back and let out a nasty laugh, snapping her fingers. The kraken obeyed, using one of its tentacles to raise its mistress and Gladstone up like a raised seat, so now everyone could see them perfectly. Now that she could sit, Magica stroked Gladstone's hair, letting out a pleased sigh. “Well now... that certainly changes things, now doesn't it?”

Things were going from bad to worse. “Let him go, Magica!” Donald barked, amazed he could be so afraid for his annoying cousin's safety. “He's got nothing to do with this!”

“Oh, on the contrary. I'd say now he has plenty to do with our... conversation.” Once she made herself comfortable, Magica pulled Gladstone into her arms, letting him gaze into her dark, hypnotic eyes. “You're going to be a good fool and listen to whatever I say.”

“Yes...” Gladstone agreed happily, nuzzling his beak to hers in bliss. “I'll listen to everything you say... I want to listen to you...”

“Good boy.” She nestled his head to her chest, letting him kiss her arm and shoulder. “Let's make this simple for everyone. Either you hand over all the treasure you have on that ship, or...” She cupped Gladstone's cheeks. “I'll take my little fool with me to the sea, forever.”

“Yes, take me, take me forever,” Gladstone merrily moaned, pressing his forehead to hers.

Scrooge ground his teeth, his blood boiling. “How do I know you won't hurt him even if I do give you the gold? For all I know, you could keep him around and take all my ships!”

“STOP GIVING HER IDEAS!” Donald had to be restrained by Della so he wouldn't smack his uncle. What were they going to do? There was no way Gladstone would break out of the spell by his own free will. Donald had only managed to snap out on his own by pain – his eyes widened, and he saw the fallen pistol. He jumped out of his sister's arms and snatched the weapon up. “We're not done yet!”

Della stared, aghast. “What do you think you're doing?!”

“I know two things in this world!” Donald announced, holding up the pistol with both hands. “Uncle Scrooge never cleans this thing-”

“Costs too much!” Scrooge insisted.

“-And I've got really lousy aim!”

~*~

And Donald fires, missing Gladstone and Magica and hitting the kranken instead – but the unclean gun makes the gunpower blow, burning Gladstone's hand hard, breaking him out of the spell. Magica tries to force him back under, but with her distracted, Daisy finally regains enough control of the kraken to make it obey one command – leave all of Scrooge's ships alone! But that drains a lot of her magic, making her faint. The kraken leaves, dumping Magica and Gladstone. Magica swims off, swearing revenge, and Gladstone is left wondering the fuck just happened.

The group returns home, and Scrooge does have to explain what happened. He gives a bare-bones version... which Gladstone takes over, making himself the hero, much to Donald's aggravation. As for Daisy, when she wakes up, Donald is at her side, having been worried. Awww. Maybe a happily – NOPE STILL NO. Weeks later, Scrooge discovers someone has been stealing from his vault, but no one knows who. Again, he blames Daisy, and again, Donald defends her. As everyone tries to puzzle it out, Gladstone's been looking more exhausted every day...

… As it turns out, Magica still has her hooks in him. By day, he can ignore her, but at night, she completely takes control, making him steal. He even tries to handcuff himself to his bedpost to prevent it, but she makes him unlock it, her voice stuck in his head even when they're miles away. Every night he takes what he can and sneaks out to the shore where Magica is waiting for him. He begs her to let him go, but she laughs – why let go of such a loyal servant? She also points out that her spell wouldn't be so strong if a part of him didn't want to obey her.

Turns out Gladdy's got some serious self-loathing issues, believing everyone hates him and no one trusts him. But he knows Magica trusts him, as sick as it is, and so the spell works twice as hard. But she promises once she's eventually done with him, she'll take him into the water as a sweet, delicious meal, so he can belong to her forever. One night as he's out to meet her, he's assaulted by robbers who have caught on that he's been stealing from Scrooge, though they don't know why. As Magica watches from the water, it's clear Gladstone could use her as a distraction and get away... but doesn't do so.  He refuses to hand over the treasure, and gets stabbed deeply as a result.

Magica still has some control over the kraken, which beats the shit out of the robbers for daring to hurt her little fool. She holds him, asking why he didn't point her out, and he replies that he just didn't want her to hate him like everyone else does. Magica reluctantly uses her magic to heal him, at the cost of her power over him. Gladstone is sent home, and he blames all the stolen stuff on the robbers. As he heads out, he sees MAGICA WITH LEGS. She still plans to rob Scrooge blind, and it turns out she still has some hold over Gladstone, albeit much weaker than before. Gladstone, amused, scoffs that maybe she has a spell on him, but if she made that much effort and gave up so much power to come on land, then he's certainly put a spell on her.

Jump to a month, with cousin Fethry home to see his family after traveling for a while. Boy, his cousins have some strange girlfriends, but they seem happy enough. As he mills about in the martketplace, oh no, that wagon's gone loose, and it's gunna hit that girl! He manages to push her out of the way, although his arm gets cut in the process, ew blood. The girl's a blonde beauty with big glasses named Gloria, with a timid voice and a shy gaze. She's shocked that he got hurt but to him it's no biggie. She's new to the island, and gosh, he'd love to give her a tour! She's kind, she's nice, she loves plants and animals he's pretty much a smitten kitten. The following day he asks Donald and Gladstone, gee, how did you get your girlfriends to like you?

… DO WE TELL HIM THEY'RE ACTUALLY MERMAIDS THAT TRIED TO EAT US? Noooo we do not tell him that!!! As they bicker over what to do, Fethry just up and asks Daisy what she likes about Donald, and she replies his eyes were pure and gentle, and she knew he was the one. Fethry takes that to mean to just be himself! Thanks, miss! He meets up with Gloria again, but when she trips and falls, her glasses come off. He picks them up, she shrieks for him “not to look”, but of course when someone says that you're gunna look, and he does, at her. He's suddenly entranced, and feels an intense desire to kiss her, until he hears one of his cousins calling for him. Gloria snatches her glasses and runs away sobbing.

Fethry blinks... WHAT WAS I JUST ABOUT TO DO??? He has no idea he was placed under a spell and just puts it under stupid male hormones, blaming himself for making Gloria upset. But it turns out she wasn't upset at him – she's actually being threatened by a “higher power” to infiltrate the Duck family and get Scrooge's treasure. Her voice has no power, but her eyes make up for it, hence the glasses. She can't turn away the “higher power” or else she'll be harmed, and thus, 'makes up' with Fethry so she can invited to the big household. Once inside, she separates in a crowd, locating Scrooge. She tries to seduce him with her eyes, but ultimately can't go through with it because she loves Fethry too much. She breaks down sobbing, admitting what's going on, and the “higher power” tries to take control over her body to kill her.

Daisy and Magica arrive on the scene to help (Daisy for her darling sailor, and Magica just because this is a pain in the butt), using what's left of their magic to help her break free, and Fethry's true love nonsense finally undoing it. Yay! But Scrooge has had enough of these goddamn shenanigans!!! One mermaid, he could believe, but three??? That's not a coincidence, someone is after his family! Daisy says no, but Magica and Gloria admit that the all-powerful Mermaid Queen sent them. The Mermaid Queen is the supreme ruler of the mermaids, and is probably after Scrooge's treasure because gold/silver/the like can be used to increase the power of magic spells. She's so strong she can even affect Gloria, Magica and Daisy, and if she wants to, she can come after any of them! There is only one man who has ever known to have faced the Mermaid Queen and lived... Darkwing Dubloon!

Scrooge sends an invitation to the King and Queen, as rumors say that whenever they're around, DD is sure to follow. Indeed, Drake Mallard, humble servant, and his daughter, less than humble Gosalyn, arrive as well. The local children (huey, dewey, louie, webby, lena) love Gosalyn's stories about the famous DD, but Lenna is consistently annoyed that Gosalyn takes up all of Webby's attention. Not only that, Lena's been getting some weird headaches lately...

DD meets up with Scrooge and the others, and admits that... he actually doesn't exactly remember the fight with the Mermaid Queen. Once during a bad storm he fell overboard, and after that, he only has the vaguest details – he knows he was with the Mermaid Queen, but for the life of him he has no idea what she looks/sounds like or how he even managed to get away. All he knows is that he thinks he snatched away a blue pendant that he now wears around his neck, and he assumes it belonged to her. Also, at one point, his ship vanished while he and his crew were off it. Weird!

The mermaids inspect the pendant, and suspect that it's a powerful magical artifact that will give any mermaid untold power. Maybe if they return it to the Mermaid Queen, she'll leave Scrooge alone? But how do they find her? They decide to hold a strategy meeting on DD's latest ship ( they=DD, Don, Daisy, Glad, Magica, Scrooge, Della, and the kids stowing away because this is so cool???) But as they plot, the ship is attacked by, you guessed, it, kraken! Magica swears it wasn't her – to become human, she had to give it up, remember? They go outside, and there is the queen herself , Morgana McCawber, walking onto the ship – she's so powerful that it doesn't matter what form she takes! She demands for them to give her “that which I desire most”, and even sends out deadly sea monsters to take “it” back! Time for a fight!

Now they're worried – if they give her the pendant, will she become even stronger and cause more havoc? Things get worse as she begins to sing, and Donald tries to stop DD from hearing it, but...? While Donald, Gladstone and Fethry turned into love-slaves before, DD just goes still??? Gosayln, having enough of this, whips out her bow and arrow and shoots the pendant off her dad. Donald catches it, and then throws it to Morgana, demanding she leave them alone!

Morgana glances at the pendant... then tosses it away. “You think I came here for some little trinket? I will not leave until I have my desire!” Well the fuck is that??? DD doesn't have anything else on him! … Unless...?

Della suddenly understands everything – this was never about Scrooge's treasure, but his power and influence. Only someone as wealthy as Scrooge could invite the King and Queen personally, thus bringing DD here – and he needed a reason to bring them here, hence Magica and Gloria! Morgana doesn't want the pendant – she wants Darkwing Dubloon! And DD finally remembers what happened! FUCK ME SIDEWAYS, I GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE! He grabs his daughter and runs, with everyone realizing there's no way they can defeat the Mermaid Queen right now. After a few choice distractions, they manage to get away and return to land. So, DD, the hell happened?

As it turns out, on that stormy night, as he was drowning, he saw a shadowy figure in the water and begged them to save his life, saying he'd give what he values most. The figure saved him, taking her to her lair, and of course it's Morgana. Turns out he injured his leg while he fell, so he's forced to stay several days, but as he does he weaves his tales of heroism on the seas, managing to delay Morgana trying to eat him. When his leg is fully healed, he remembers what he promised. So, what does he value most. His daughter – UH, NO, I MEAN, MY SHIP! Take the ship, it's full of treasure! Morgana agreed, and so she would return him to the surface. On the next full moon, he would take his ship out for her to take. She gave him the pendant so she could keep track of him and make sure he kept his promise, because if he doesn't... well, you know the spiel by now – she'd take him down below forever and ever~

So DD returned to land, reassuring his crew everything was fine without telling them what happened. On the next full moon, he sails off alone, promising Gosalyn he'd return, sans a ship. Morgana is a little surprised he kept his promise, but DD's a man of his word! She also expected there to be some kind of trap waiting for her on the ship, but nope, he's not like that. So, a deal's a deal. “Yes, I'll take the ship... and you.” Of course Morgana's decided to keep her precious captain, and on went the hypno-voice/eyes combo. DD was almost lured in, until he remembered the promise he made to his daughter, and jumped ship. He just barely managed to escape with his life... then something grabbed him and dragged him underwater. Now whatever happened THERE, he doesn't remember, but he woke up fine on the shore, unable to remember anything at all.

Daisy explains that mermaids A) don't handle rejection well, at all, and B) they also don't understand familial relationships. When a baby mermaid is born, they're tossed aside. So Morgana genuinely can't grasp the concept of a father loving his daughter, and she's going to keep coming after them until she gets what she wants. What to do? Gloria has an idea – truthfully, Morgana hasn't fully become the Queen yet – the former Mermaid Queen is still alive, and Morgana is her apprentice. The former queen is the most powerful mermaid in the world, and keeps herself secluded in an island. Only she has the power to strip Morgana of her strength. So the gang decides to sail there and and beg for help – but DD is perplexed. Yeah, Morgana's got issues, but she seems way worse than last time. What happened? The kids sneak aboard as well – although this time, Lena is a bit more reluctant.

Turns out Lena is a mermaid, but even she didn't know it! Most baby mermaids are abandoned in the sea, but she was left on land, and thus she assumed she was a normal person her whole life. But now Morgana can manipulate her into being her mole, watching the group, and trying to use her jealousy about Gosayln and Webby's friendship to kill Gosalyn. Thankfully Daisy catches wind of this and takes Lena under her wing (so to speak) to help her fight off Morgana's power. At the island, they are attacked by Morgana, thanks to Lena helping her find out where they were going. Just when things couldn't get any worse... pirates!

Not just any pirates – the pirates who kidnapped Donald, AND Darkwing Dubloon's arch-nemesis, Captain Negaduck! He's been giving Morgana gold to increase her spell power... but also poisoned the gold to drive her insane. An epic showdown ensues until one very old, annoyed voice WILL YOU ALL KNOCK IT OFF, I AM TRYING TO SLEEP – it's the original mermaid queen... Goldie O'Glit! She's goddamn sick of this nonsense, and has a solution to make sure it all stops... erasing everyone's memories! In fact, she was the one who erased DD's memories to try and keep things peaceful, but, welp, guess now she has to make EVERYONE FORGET EVERYONE. Naturally NOBODY WANTS THIS except nega who's a dick and surprise surprise, she and Scrooge have a history.

Long ago his ship crashed and he lived on an abandoned island with Goldie. He lived with her happily, but he assumed that as a queen, she must have greater responsibilities. He lied about having a fiance, assuming she'd just leave heartbroken and they'd both move on. Nnnnope, she tried to kill him, and then willfully erased her own memories to try and forget him. Scrooge managed to escape, and hence he's been bitter about mermaids ever since. But, uh... I guess they make up, and... yeah the imagination died around this part, so happily ever after I guess, or make your own ending XD I even debated about a sidestory with Panchito and Jose, if anyone's interested.

So, I hope you liked all that weirdness, and maybe someday I'll write out more scenes. I dunno, man, I just really liked hypno-stuff I HAVE ADDRESSED MY PROBLEM

[arborroadpartnerships]

DECEMBER 2017 Updates

TOM & KAREN VIRTUE

We love celebrating Christmas. We love seeing it through our grandchildren’s eyes as it brings fun, humor, and is simply life-giving in every way. BUT, the main reason we love celebrating Christmas is because of how much truth is refreshed in our minds during this season. It is renewing to our hearts. One of the things that has caught our attention this year is the how often “King” appears in Christmas carols. Why don’t we think of Jesus as King throughout the year? Life takes on a whole different character and significance when we acknowledge the reality of Jesus as King. That’s why this time of celebration is so valuable! Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord That hath made Heaven and earth of nought And with his blood mankind has bought. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King of Israel! (“The First Noel” - vs. 6)

Merry Christmas from our family! We don’t get to be together often but were able to get a photo together in July!

It’s a privilege to bring the news of the incarnation to students together! Tom & Karen

Thanks so much for your care and prayer for us. We wouldn't be able to invest in college students without your prayer and financial investment! Donate here! give.cru.org/0054578 

Our mailing address is: Tom & Karen Virtue 3842 San Anseline Ave Long Beach, California 90808

CAROL POSTHUMA

Greetings! For some reason, last year I decided to actually read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, rather than simply watch one of the many movie versions. You may already know that Dickens was a Christian, “I have always striven in my writings to express the veneration for the Life and lessons of our Savior.” But I had not previously realized how many Biblical themes are in this enduring story! For example, as Stephen Skelton, author of A Christmas Carol: Special Church Edition, writes: “Dickens established the first part of the story to deal with the principle of sinfulness, specifically selfishness. This would take us from the start of the story all the way up till the ghost of Jacob Marley appears. “Next he moves into the principle of regret, which Scrooge experiences with the Spirit of Christmas Past. Then, Scrooge experiences repentance with the Spirit of Christmas Present. And finally, Scrooge experiences salvation when he prays for forgiveness as the Spirit of Christmas Future leaves him. So the story takes you from sinfulness to regret to repentance to salvation—which is not only Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey, but it’s our journey as well. “…The stories that use that biblical language, such as A Christmas Carol, continue to be celebrated and embraced—which allows an excellent opportunity for Christians to reveal what biblical meanings actually call people to that story.”

Speaking of the Bible, did you know this about Bible translation progress?

There are 7099 living languages in the world

670 languages now have the complete Bible + 1521 have the New Testament + 1121 have portions/stories of scripture = 3312 languages with some scripture

1.5 billion people still do not have the full Bible in their first language

2584 known active translation/language programs are currently in progress

Additional Bible translation programs are needed in 1636 languages

Faith Comes By Hearing audio scriptures are in over 1100 languages

The Jesus film is in over 1500 languages

The impact of this is incalculable. A Chatino man (from Mexico) said shortly after the dedication of his language – the West Highland Chatino NT, “This book is telling me so many good things about God that I never understood before… This is God's Word for my people, I cannot leave it now.”

It isn’t possible to count how many lives have been positively affected as a result of Bible translation. Speaking on behalf of millions of lives across the world,  Thank you!  --  Merry Christmas!  as well as we celebrate Christ’s coming and the stupendous message of salvation that He brought with Him.

Carole Posthuma

209 Whitehaven Cir, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 303-250-3957 carole_posthuma@sil.org

CHARLES & CHERYL WARNER

Merry Christmas from the Warner family! We've attached two items to this email: 1.  Our Christmas prayer letter, and... 2.  The latest update of our "Back to Ukraine" Fund.  Currently we're at 13% of our goal. In honor of his 85th birthday Cheryl's father, Dick Anthony, has had a Wikipedia page created covering his over 50 years in music ministry. The web link is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Anthony_(musician) As we contemplate the incarnation of the Lord Jesus this Christmas season: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." (Romans 15:13) Kind regards, Charley and Cheryl

BRIAN & CHRISTINE VIRTUE

Prayer Requests & Pig Heads!

We’ll keep it short and let pictures do the talking as we come into the Christmas season. But here’s a few updates for prayer as we wind down our second trimester.

An unexpected challenge this fall was Brian being appointed as the interim Executive Director of IGSL this past September through January. He has been leading the school day-to-day and overseeing the IGSL Leadership Team in addition to his regular responsibilities of teaching and overseeing Leadership Development & Human Resources. It’s been pretty demanding, but he has been able to provide timely leadership to IGSL during some critical and strategic moments. He has a few more weeks leading out of these dual roles so pray for wisdom and some needed rest and space to catch up on doctoral studies.

We celebrated Christmas last week with our small group “ISG” families (see above). Families from Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Korea, 2 from the Philippines, and us :)  We had a great time celebrating 2017 and celebrating the joy and power of the incarnation. We had a beautiful time of sharing as we shared with one another how our lives have been transformed through incarnating with one another over the last year. Four couples graduate at the end of the year so we wanted to have a special time together for their last Christmas with us. Please keep praying for them!

I (Christine) wrapped up this week our ministry communicationclass (see below). I love this class because I get to coach women on how to tell their stories in ways that communicate the gospel. These stories always humble me how God works such beautiful redemption through tragically painful stories. I am starting to prepare for my evangelism and discipleship class that begins in January.

The big family news is that Morgan and Colin both got braces this fall which is a new chapter of life for us. The most difficult thing is getting them from their school to the orthodontist through Manila traffic. Not easy!

A highlight for me (Christine) was being able to help put on a day of prayer and intercession for Asia and the world. As you can tell to the right, it’s just powerful to meditate on the name of God, worship, and pray together for Asia with women from all over.  The need is great and the workers are few, but what a blessing to be a part of training and sending workers into the harvest. For the next few weeks I'll be serving as the interim director of our Partners in Ministry Program so pray for wisdom.

We are so grateful to have been sent here by you and to be prayed for consistently by you. God continues to use us here in ways beyond our wildest expectations for what He is doing in Asia and you make that possible. We pray you have a blessed Christmas season!  

If you have ever wondered what Filipino's do to celebrate Christmas, well - the answer is "A lot!"  But big celebrations here tend to involve "Lechon" and here is the aftermath of our big annual Christmas party for the IGSL student body.  

  Merry Christmas, Brian & Christine

MARK & LISA SUDMAN

Dear Family and Friends,

One year ago today we said good bye to Stephanie as she left for her assignment in DR Congo to help the church train up Sunday School teachers and to help them develop youth programs. It was very hard to see her go but now that we see how well she is adjusting and all the connections she is has been making it makes things a bit easier for us, and perhaps a bit proud . She has even gotten into eating locusts!

In other news, Merry Christmas! We are looking forward to spending Christmas in Texas with Rebekah and her family. We also have plans in January to take some international students skiing (if there is snow locally) and then we’re planning a trip to Kenya for a bit of a vacation and some AIM meetings in January and February.

Our hope is that this month you will have an enjoyable time as you celebrate our Savior’s birth. We are reminded each year that Christmas is not about the decorations, the parties and the gifts. It is about God becoming a man who became our perfect sacrifice so that we might be free from death and sin. May we all be like the Magi who believed and worshipped Jesus.

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” … 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  (Matthew 2:1-2; 9-11 NIV)

Merry Christmas! Mark and Lisa Sudman

mark.sudman@aimint.org / 562-304-6304 lisa.sudman@aimint.org / 562-308-7272 AIM donation website Click Here Christ Centered Churches Among All African Peoples with a priority for the unreached http://www.aimint.org/usa P.O. Box 3611 Peachtree City, GA 30269-7611

STEPHANIE SUDMAN

Bonjour! I am not sure if this is a very late Thanksgiving letter or a Christmas letter. I sat down to write a Thanksgiving letter but I never finished it so I’m adding Christmas to it. Here’s a short list of what I’m thankful for: 

I am thankful for my first year in Congo! Yep, that’s right - it has been almost one full year since my arrival in Congo! It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year. There is a lot that has happened and it has gone by so fast. 

I am thankful for my language teachers. At the end of October, I changed my language lessons from 3 hours of Swahili a week to 6 hours of Swahili and 2 hours of French. Yep, that’s 8 hours a week! Some days my head doesn’t know what language my tongue is speaking. 

I am also thankful for the friends that do life with me and have become like family here. I am thankful but I do miss my family every day. 

I am thankful this year for my dad’s health. It has been over a year with no major health incidents and he is currently tumor free! 

I am thankful for every Congolese who has patiently talked with me and given me advice as I stumble through speaking French and Swahili with them. 

I am thankful for the two churches who have been willing for me to come in and help them with their Sunday Schools. And for the faithful teachers who come to our weekly pre-Sunday School training/ Bible Story Study. 

I am thankful for your constant prayers. I know without them this year would have been entirely different. 

I am thankful for your faithful financial support. It would be impossible for me to be here without it. 

I’m thankful for a baby that was born to unlikely parents and in an unlikely place. Against all odds he survived and grew-up to do the unimaginable (to our human minds) (It’s Jesus if you haven’t guessed it). I am thankful that through him, though I am imperfect, I still can have a relationship with a perfect Father and God. I am thankful that no matter how many times I mess up he is always willing and able to forgive me. 

I am thankful that no matter how hard a situation seems, He is there with me each step of the way. 

American Thanksgiving in Congo is just another ordinary day so this year for Thanksgiving (actually celebrated on the Friday) I made tacos and pumpkin pie for some friends (none of them are American). The pumpkin was picked from our garden, and the tortillas and salsa were all homemade. It was a lot of work and I am thankful I don’t have to do it every day. 

Christmas, however, is celebrated here. Most of the celebrating is done within the church, usually with an especially long church service with lots of choirs and maybe a performance by the kids. This year for Christmas we currently have planned a Christmas party for the kids at Senga Nzambe and Fichama. Both will be the weekend right before The Sunday School teachers and Pastors of Senga Nzambe December 2017 Christmas. The churches are planning a full meal (bbqed meat, rice, and french fries), games and a telling of the Christmas story. 

Please pray for each of these events. Pray for the pastors and teachers who will be hosting and telling the story. Pray for the children who are going to be hearing the story, that they grasp the importance of the Birth of Jesus and all that he has done/is doing for us. 

Happy belated Thanksgiving and Joyeux Noel! 

Stephanie Sudman  Stephanie.sudman@aimint.org AIM Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3611 Peachtree City, GA 30269-7611 DRC Mailing Address: c/o CECA-20 B.P. 143 Bunia, Ituri DRCongo (**PAPER LETTERS/ CARDS ONLY! It will take at least a month to arrive) 

To see even more pictures, go to my Instagram page (even if you don’t have Instagram!!) http://www.instagram.com/stephsuds/ 

If you are interested in joining my financial support team, please go to: https://usgiving.aimint.org/missionary/1057300

BRIAN & CHRISTINE VIRTUE

FROM NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES FOR GOD’S GLORY!

In celebrating Thanksgiving far away from home we took time to give thanks for you - for your prayers, partnership, generosity, and faithfulness to the Lord. As many here express their thanksgiving for our family living here and serving at IGSL, that thanksgiving quickly is reproduced in our own hearts with you in mind.    This past month, my team and I (Brian) hosted an IGSL alumni couple for three weeks as part of an immersion experience that is central to our process of recruiting and accepting new IGSL faculty members. We are excited about potentially adding another Southeast Asian couple to our faculty team, but we want you to hear their story because it’s an amazing testimony to God’s power and sovereignty.        Prateep grew up as a Hmong refugee in Thailand, when his family fled Laos shortly after the Vietnam War. He could not get an education because he did not have Thai citizenship and his father, when given an opportunity to settle in America or Australia, chose to stay in Thailand. He finally received Thai citizenship 17 years after arriving in Thailand and immediately enrolled at a Bible College while also taking night classes to earn his high school diploma.        Phailin, also from the Hmong people group and an animist family, worked in the fields from the age thirteen on. When she had enough money after several years of working in the fields she found a school to attend in Chang Mai. After several years of schooling she was introduced to Christ and upon graduating she enrolled at the same Bible college Prateep was attending.         They connected over a common passion to serve as missionaries to different marginalized ethnic groups because of their own stories. Several years later, they had the opportunity to attend IGSL. Prateep enrolled in the MA Divinity program and Phailin took the Partners in Ministry program that Christine teaches in. They have shared how life-changing their time at IGSL was for their marriage, leadership development, and ministry vision. Upon graduation, Prateep was offered the position Dean of Students at the Bible College they both attended. As the school was drawing more and more students from Hmong, Ahka, Lahu, Khmu, and Karen tribes from Laos, Thailand, China, and Vietnam, they returned to serve together.       In their time as Dean of Students, Prateep and Phailin passed on many of the things they learned at IGSL. They developed small group mentoring for their students based on their experience in IGSL’s Iron Sharpening Groups and began mobilizing students for field ministry as part of the curriculum as well to the point where multiplying discipleship became part of the culture and they were sending out pastors and church planters with that vision.        Phailin was inspired by the Partners in Ministry Program (PIM) at IGSL and felt led to start a similar program at their Bible School. She asked the IGSL PIM Faculty for help and she launched the first PIM-Extension (PIM-EX). In 2015 they saw their first batch of PIM graduates - 9 women that wanted to be equipped to partner with their husbands in the ministry.      Just this past term, Christine helped champion PIM-EX training for our current PIM women and as a result there are now several dozen women from Pakistan to Vietnam with vision for providing Bible and ministry training to women whose husbands are in the ministry, but who have lacked the education, training and vision to support them and better yet, partner with them. Phailin’s vision and faith has now expanded IGSL’s own vision for what PIM’s impact could be in Asia and there are multiple PIM-EX ministries now being conducted by IGSL alumni throughout Asia!                      Now, Prateep and Phailin have sensed God might be expanding their ministry and impact again as IGSL Faculty. When we met with them on their visit, they shared that they saw God use them so much as a result of their IGSL education and the mentoring they received, that they want to multiply their impact through students just like them when they first arrived at IGSL. Prateep will be joining me in the Leadership Department and Phailin will be helping teach the PIM Bible courses.

“I want our story to show how great God is in raising nobodies like us to become somebody for His glory.” — Prateep W.

We’re so excited about adding this couple to our faculty team, but they also serve as vision and as a great reminder that IGSL students are really bearing fruit back in their ministry contexts after graduation and multiplying the ministry.  This is what you are giving to and what we are praying for!            As we come to the end of the year we want to invite you to make a year-end gift unto the Lord towards our ministry at IGSL to missionaries, pastors, and leaders like Prateep and Phailin who are living boldly for Christ and multiplying their lives for God’s purposes.        In addition to the expenses of Brian’s 2nd year of PhD Coursework ($3000 for 4 classes), we have been invited to attend CRU’s Asia Midyear Conference for missionary care and spiritual refreshment and to reunite with the families we coached and connected with at X-Track this summer. We will help coach our CRU mission teams in Asia and contribute by giving seminars on conflict resolution in an honor shame context. Attending this conference was part of our “well-being” action plan from X-Track. The cost will be about $3000 for our family to fly to Chang Mei, Thailand and attend the week long Conference.      Would you prayerfully consider giving a year-end financial gift of $100, $300, $500 or other amount towards these expenses?      If God leads you to give, please follow this link to our online giving page to make a one time gift.      We are so grateful to have been sent here by you and to be prayed for consistently by you. God continues to raise up Spirit-filled laborers for all parts of Asia in ways that bring Him glory. We pray you have a blessed Christmas season!      

Merry Christmas, Brian & Christine

Watch an Online Presentation of Our Ministry Vision!