#reminds me also on gladstone gander

[thevaudevilledemon]

Duck Musings: The Tragedy of Magica De Spell

Tragedy and the Disney Ducks go oddly hand in hand, and we have examined this in several characters, Gladstone Gander and Donald Duck specifically. When it comes to the most tragic character though, I may have to put my money on Magica De Spell, and this isn’t just me being a simp, though I’ll admit that is part of it.

The comic that sparked this Duck Musing was this scanlation by lettheladylead of a 2021 comic by Giorgio Cavazzano titled “Magica De Spell: Origins of a Witch”, which is... pretty much what it says on the tin, the origin story of Magica De Spell. In it, we learn about what happened to her parents, why she is interested in the Midas Touch, and even where Ratface came from. It’s... kind of a sad comic.

Magica’s parents were killed in a spell gone wrong when she was just a baby, probably barley hatched, and from some of the artwork, it appears that they were more focused on the spell than on Magica. After, her Aunt and Uncle took her in, but tried to repress her magic, since this is the same magic that took their loved ones from them. Magica left after learning the truth and deciding to finish what her parents began, and never did seem to return to her Aunt and Uncle.

It is worth noting that there is an alternate backstory as to why Magica wants the Midas Touch, in the comic “The Pact of the Moon”, it is revealed that Magica was not originally evil, but she forced to make the Midas Touch spell by, what I’m assuming is the Witch Council. This lead her to becoming greedy and unscrupulous, again, not a very happy backstory. She also laments about her niece Minima, and how she hopes her niece doesn’t follow the path she herself has went down.

All of this ties into the tragic situation of her current life, always after Scrooge’s dime, always outwitted by the old man, always one step closer but two steps behind her ultimate goal. One of my favourite comics is “The Journey is the Reward”, where Magica does steal the dime, but ends up returning it because, she literally does not know what to do when she’s done. It kinda reminds of that scene in Fight Club where Tyler Durden was talking about always calling his Dad and asking him on what he should do next. It adds a lot to the tragedy of having an ultimate goal, when you don’t really know what you’re gonna do once you have completed it.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Magicstone, the strange pairing of Magica De Spell and Gladstone Gander. I’ve mentioned “A Gal For Gladstone” prior, but the big tragedy of the pairing, I think was best explored by, once again, Sarah Jolley, otherwise known as ModMad, specifically in their comic “Enough Time to Fall”, because they’re right, it never would work. Even if Magica stayed in her disguise, it would have to disappear eventually, and what then? It hurts because, in A Gal for Gladstone, they were both genuinely happy, and her plan failed because she was genuinely concerned about Gladstone’s safety. One true moment of joy, and it had to be snatched from her.

I wrote a piece of fanfiction titled “Stuck Together Duck” in which, Magica De Spell and Donald Duck get stuck together, and bond a little, because when you look at the two of them, they are quite similar. Lost their parents at a presumably young age, raised by extended family (Donald in part by his Uncle, but mostly by his Grandma, and Magica entirely by her aunt and Uncle), niblings they look after (Yes that is the neutral term for niece and nephew), honestly, it feels weird that this pairing isn’t more popular, but I digress. It goes to show that, at the core of the evil sorceress, is something a lot more tragic than one might initially think.

It’s also worth noting that Scrooge, doesn’t seem to hate her. In several comics, they work together to stop a bigger problem, like a comet hurdling towards earth, or another magic user stealing Scrooge’s dime. Scrooge has also helped Magica in situations where she would, or has, lost her magic abilities, and in one comic, it’s shown that the two of them send birthday cars to each other. So maybe Scrooge sees something in Magica, and I don’t mean that in a shipping way, though feel free to take it like that.

Well, I made a Magica post that referenced three of Magica’s ships. I think I’m done for now.

To wrap up, Magica De Spell is easily one of my favourite characters, and really getting a chance to explore this aspect of her character was fun, and also a little heartbreaking. Maybe someday, Magica will get a happy ending to her story, maybe her nieces will find a path to follow that she can be happy for, maybe she and Scrooge will become genuine friends, we can always hope... and write fanfiction. Lots and lots of fanfiction.

[krueger4eva]

Random Headcanon for Gladstone Gander

Note: Gladstone’s family lineage varies between authors, so I am going to choose the Duck family tree by Don Rosa as a template for this headcanon.

According to Rosa’s Duck family tree, Gladstone Gander is the son of Daphne Duck, from which he inherited his supernatural good luck, and Goostave Gander, a firm but fair goose.

Due to Gladstone’s mixed heritage, this has been another source of bullying towards him along with his good fortune.

While Gladstone maintained his cool and confident appearance most of the time, there were times when his goose genetics caused some embarrassment for him.

Having a case of the hiccups is very rare for Gladstone. But when he does, a goose-like honking noise emits from his mouth. Whenever he hiccups in crowded places, people think that there’s a semi-trailer truck passing by. He always manages to sneak out, undetected, before anyone can trace the sound to him.

Plus, his hybrid heritage is quite noticeable on the outside due to his goose genetics making him “rounder” in certain areas. While all ducks are naturally plump, Gladstone, while in healthy shape for any bird, has some… extra cargo in the rear.

Ever since high school, poor Gladstone has had to deal with insults from peers and strangers like “Humpty Dumpty”, “Rump Roast”, or “Goosey Caboosey”. Usually, he would remain calm, yet visibly annoyed, when hearing these affronts. But there is one name that could set this bird off: “bubble butt”. On the day his parents died, some students in school called him that name which led to a violent fight that got him sent home for the day. Once he got home, thats when he received the tragic news. Now, every time someone calls him “bubble butt”, he’s reminded of that fateful day of his terrible loss.

Anyone who has survived a goose attack in a park can vouch that these birds are not to be taken lightly. The people who have called Gladstone that dreaded nickname learned the hard way that it takes one push over the edge to cause this perpetually lazy to pull a Donald. He may not be a skilled fighter like Donald, Della, or Abner, but he knows how to deliver some nasty bites with his sharp teeth.

Although, they’re not actual teeth, but rather jagged structures created from cartilage that line up the inside of the bill- referred to as “tomia”. Yet, Gladstone always refers to them as “fangs” just because it sounds cooler. Either way, these appendages can easily do some serious damage.

And like all geese, he lets out a terrifying hissing noise. It sounds like a velociraptor hunting for fresh prey.

Imagine walking through the woods, alone, after dark and hearing that sound! 😰

Luckily, his family (EVEN Donald!) would never laugh at those jokes or tease him about his body. Gladstone and his cousins may trade jabs at each other on a daily basis, but they have an agreement on what lines should never be crossed. Also, he has become comfortable with joking about himself from time to time, but only around family.

For example, whenever the children were caught in a lie, Gladstone has permission from the other adults to threaten to sit on them if they don’t confess. It takes only a MILLISECOND for them to spill the beans. Plus, his tomia saves on fake teeth for Halloween costumes. He even jokes about being secretly a vampire to the kids and that his good fortune protects him from burning in the sunlight. Louie and Lena don’t believe it, but they always appreciated his theatrics.

Despite the grievances he experiences due to his unique anatomy, Gladstone remains proud to be the son of Goostave and Daphne. They were good people and even greater parents. All genetics have their drawbacks and advantages.

He’s a duck.

He’s a goose.

But he’s all Gladstone…for better or worse..🍀

Please tip me at Ko-Fi 💜!!

[the-blorb-system]

I know of casino royale by derivakat because a fucker called Ace wouldn't stop either jamming that, other songs in his playlist, or watch Kakegurui and claim "it's just for the tactics" 😒

- Digi

HEY! when you're the personification of gambling addiction then we'll talk girlie :/

-Ace

At least you're not Holding other things too, but I do know know you already got gawing eyes for a man i know so I'm not suspicious about you being a nasty fan. I would know 😒

Anyway- back on focus. For us emergency fronter functions and works in a myriad of ways and features, depend on level and what can you handle.

Our warriors was an emergency fronter specifically and solely for the purpose of fast responses and reactions to war and warning sirens about bombs and rockets. I can't really explain that well how he worked cause he really was here for a short while, but it roughly was him Fronting to get us out of our freeze response and get our ass to the safe room (+ our siblings too if we're at home), or any other safe area If we are outside. He also held a lot of our knowledge in regards to tourniquets and proper way to bandage and clean a wound and the like so I suppose he was meant to also be out in case of damage physically. Shame I didn't get to see him in action.

Warriors emergency fronter

For us, fronting is more of a chore for most alters as we switch rather easily most instances. Due to this, unless it's a Caretaker, a task doer, or someone who uniquely feels generous at the moment or just can't stand mess, things like doing the bed isn't happening.

It's like a "survive on your own, this is your life, I'm here by accident". And they say that to an Introject or a sourcemate from their world.

I really don't want to talk about politics, it's a topic I despise a lot from the pit of my heart.

- Digi

I think I understand what you mean with the fronting stuff. I'm pretty fortunate to be physically safe most of the time, and for a fair amount of my childhood, but messed up enough mentally to need a bail from time to time.

I know a lot of my headmates struggle with feeling like there's no reason for some of it. Not all of them, Four is reminding me, certainly not, but it's been hard to tell what triggered the split for many of them and why, so it's not too hard to get stuck wondering what the point is.

And about the politics thing, it's okay! We do not have to talk politics. For the most part, I hate it too. I hate both understanding and not understanding, and it isn't pleasant as a topic or in discussion with most people, like. 98% of the time. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable by bringing it up, and I apologize if I did. I'll make certain to steer away from it in the future.

I'm actually a huge fan of Derivakat! I got really into Ain't No Cryin because it's catchy and helps me to vent a lot of my upset in ways different from Raph's favourite (respectfully). Casino Royale also has been such an earworm, and I kinda want to try making an animatic to it at some point. (You ever seen the episode of the rebooted Ducktales where Gladstone Gander gets trapped in a Lotus casino Hotel? 👀)

At some point I was just listening to all her music on repeat for like a month. Revived, Why, Casino Royale, Ain't No Crying, Cycle, Nightmare, Viper, and Toxin are my favourites.

-Lizzy

[kats-randomology]

Aftershocks

It had been a week since his escape from the House of Fortune. He'd since gotten himself a new yacht, and was currently enroute to Duckburg, seeing as Donald and the rest of the fam had flown the coop and left him here. He supposed he couldn't blame them, the whole hotel trap deal had gotten a tad...out of hand. But things had turned out alright, everyone was safe and not enslaved to a luck eating demon, all's well that ends well, right?

 .....at least, it should've been. 

 Despite the fact he was well away from Macaw and the hotel and Liu Hai....Gladstone still found himself on an edge of sorts. He'd be fixing some tea, or sunbathing, or just watching TV, when out nowhere he'd just be struck with an overwhelming feeling like he was being watched. Like a million eyes were on him from everywhere. It set his spine on ice and had him constantly looking over his shoulder and jumping at the slightest movement in the corner of his eye. There were times it got to be so much he'd just retreat to his bed and bury himself in blankets, attempting to hide from the invisible eyes, until either the feeling passed, or he eventually fell asleep; usually it was the latter. 

 It was a familiar feeling that had begun in the hotel, with Liu Hai's numerous constructs watching his every move, and even Liu Hai himself had occasionally popped into his room out of nowhere, or would make comments on his supposed to be secret escape attempts.

 "I have eyes everywhere, Mr. Gander..."

 He thought he'd left that paranoia behind when he left Macaw, but apparently, it had followed him, and that would've been enough to deal with.

 But then the dreams started. 

 The eyes he couldn't see suddenly became very visible; hundreds of glowing eyes surrounded him, watching his every move, staring into his very core. Taunting him, daring him to make a move. The only move he could make was to run, run fast, and try to get away from their prying gazes. But they followed, never blinking, never looking away, just staring, staring and laughing and piercing--

 Worse than the eyes was the large smoky form that would appear before him, its own eyes as large and imposing at itself. Grinning down at him with sharpened teeth and laughing as it engulfed him in its form, swirling around him at a blinding pace, so fast he couldn't make anything out, sucking the air from his lungs as chains and hands weighed him down, everything would go black and--

 He'd wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for air, and heart thumping so loud he could feel it in his head. It'd be hours before he could sleep again, if he even wanted to.

 Other times, he got more physical reminders of the past events. 

 Gladstone scowled at the small marks trailing along his neck and down his upper arm. They didn't hurt, really, but the memories they brought up--

 The teeth sinking into his skin, the hands keeping him immobile in their iron clad grip, the nauseated feeling that washed over him as he was drained to the dregs. The screams and cries for help no one ever responded to--

 He shook his head, attempting to dispel them as he hastily pulled his shirt on. No reason to dwell. He was Gladstone Gander, he didn't let little things bother him, right?

 But no amount of rubbing or scratching would quell the itchy tingling sensation that claimed his arm when he'd think back to those times. It drove him mad, it did.

 He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

 :

:

:

 Docking in Duckburg, Gladstone breathed in the familiar air with a sigh of relief. Being home was good, that would surely drive off all those unwanted emotions and bad dreams.

 Uncle Scrooge's mansion loomed over the city, and the sight gave him a slight twinge of guilt. The fam was probably still a little upset, even a week later; they probably wouldn't wanna see him just yet. Especially Donald....

 But....seeing him would be good for Gladstone after everything....

 Well he'd dealt with Donald's temper before. Once more wouldn't be a big deal, even be welcomed.

 :

:

:

 He'd gotten a less than thrilled greeting from Uncle Scrooge, but it wasn't nearly as enraged as he'd expected. If anything, he was passive, simply directed him to the pool where he found Donald's houseboat. He chuckled at the sight, and approached the door.

 He stood there for a moment, hesitant now that he was actually here. Donald was probably still mad, what with the challenge and him getting stuck there for all of five minutes. And the unintentional embarrassment he caused in their round through the casino.

 But...he really needed to see him. Needed the familiarity. Needed SOMETHING to help him feel normal again. Even if it was anger. 

 And so he knocked. 

 A minute passed before it finally opened to reveal a tired looking Donald. 

 "D-Meister--!"

 And the door was abruptly slammed in his face. 

 Well, he had wanted normality...

 He knocked again, lighter this time, and offered a grin instead as Donald begrudgingly pulled it open.

 "What?"

 "Hey, cous, how's it shaking up here in high society living?"

 "Peachy, thanks for dropping by, see ya--"

 "Wait, wait, wait--!"

 He quickly grabbed the door, keeping it open as he scrambled to find a way in.

 "Look I know you're not my biggest fan right now--"

 "I never was."

 "--but I just wanted to drop in and see how you're holding up!"

 "....so you picked the middle of the night?"

 "It's only....seven thirty, barely sunset hours right?"

 "That doesn't mean I wanna visit, especially with you; also what's with the turtle neck, it's like eighty degrees out."

 "Oh....y-you know me, always on the cutting edge of good looks. Now you gonna invite me in or should I grab a poolchair?"

 Donald only gave him a quirked brow this time, but to his surprise and delight, did finally step aside to let him through. Grinning lazily as he always did, he sauntered his way in, and made his way for the table as Donald shut the door behind them.

 Not much had changed since hed last seen the place. Small, homey, and a bit dated for his liking but otherwise charming. Very Donald, he thought. 

 "So, Spitfire, how are things? Uncle McGruff wasn't exactly chatty in the two minutes he actually acknowledged me."

 "Well we had an exciting unplanned visit to Ethiquack."

 "Oh? That sounds great; how's Selene, the lovely Moondrop?"

 "Dunno, got kinda distracted with not getting killed by Zeus or hugged to death by Storkules."

 "Oh yeah, Zeus...did not care for Zeus..."

 "Neither did anyone else, apparently, they all left."

 Gladstone snorted as he toyed with one of the placemats. Awkward silence followed, broken occasionally by him clearing his throat or making comments on random decor. Donald busied himself making tea, both knowing they'd need it to get through this visit. 

 Gladstone offered a small thanks as he set the mugs down, and sighed in content as he took a drink. 

 "Man, no one makes it better than you, Donnie Boy. Really did miss this."

 "What, they didn't have tea in a big shot, fancy hotel in China?"

 The mention nearly made him choke; he hadn't been expecting that to pop into the conversation so soon. He managed to hide his shock behind another feigned cough, and flashed a stiff grin.

 "Well...yeah but it's not the same, ya know? Homemade and all."

 ".....I think that was literally the most homemade tea you could have."

 "Ok look I'm trying to compliment your cooking, alright?"

 Donald merely rolled his eyes as he took a tentative sip. Gladstone idly twirled the mug, watching the dark brew for a moment before speaking up again. 

 "Look...about the whole accidentally trapping you thing..."

 "Forget it, everything worked out fine, didn't it?"

 "Well, I mean...yeah but not exactly how I wanted it to. No one was supposed to swap with me or bring the kids into the mix--"

 "Like they were going to stay home when I mentioned you calling and Scrooge wanted to take them on a trip to a golden cricket temple?"

 "....ok that's fair. But I really never intended for things to happen like they did; I figured your...complicated luck would either rub off on me or wreck the place to the point Toad would just kick is all out. Either way seemed like a good option."

 "Whatever, it's fine; one more battle scar to add to my collection."

 "Ahhh, a few minor burn marks, you'll still have your decent looks. Ladies eat that stuff up, don't they?"

 "That's not what I meant."

 He set the mug down, and pulled his shirt down as far as it would go.

 Gladstone gaped at the sight of several shallow bite marks in Donald's shoulder.

 "Wha--where'd those come from?!"

 "I'll give ya three guesses and they all smell like soggy mint leaves."

 "....wait did Toad...?! That slimy son of a--- okay that's it I'm dragging him back from wherever he went and ripping him a new one so help me--!"

 "Take it easy, Gladstone, they're not even that deep. He barely broke skin before he started freaking out about my terrible luck. But, that's not why I brought it up,"

 He fixed Gladstone with a pointed frown, and the latter withdrew somewhat as he subconsciously tugged at his collar.

 "So....why did you...?"

 "I want to know why you're really here."

 "What...are you talking about? I-I just wanted to visit."

 "Lemme see you arm."

 "What?"

 "Let me see."

 "Don it's fine--"

 "Gladstone."

 "Look I just wanted to drop in and say hi, not dwell on the past. It's no biggie--"

 He yelped as Donald abruptly snatched his arm and started tugging at his sleeves.

 "Hey cut it out! You're gonna stretch the material--!"

 "Let me see your dang arm--!"

 "No, it's fine!"

 "I WILL LOCK YOU IN THIS HOUSE IF YOU DON'T START TALKING, I SWEAR--!"

 "DONALD, SERIOUSLY STOP...!"

 Donald finally managed to snag his shirt collar, and jerked it down to reveal his neck and part of his shoulder. Like Donald, he too bore bite marks, but his were far deeper and older, scarred over with time. Gladstone froze for a moment, before abruptly lashing out with his foot and kicking the other away.

 "GET OFF...!"

 Donald backed off, riled up and ready to hurl an insult-- but stopped as he took in Gladstone's appearance. The bristled feathers, the defensive stance as he pressed a hand to the injured area, the distant, fearful look in his wide eyes.

 Like he'd been through this before.

 He seemed to snap out of it moments later, and quickly averted his eyes, instead scowling at the floor.

 "I'm leaving, I'll see you around."

 He brushed past, headed for the door at a brisk pace, intent on just leaving all this behind, this was a mistake, he shouldn't have come--

 Donald stepped in front of him, frowning but more concerned than angered. 

 "Gladstone, I don't want to argue with you right now."

 "Neither do I, D.D., really..."

 "Then tell me WHY you're here. Why'd you come to see me?"

 Gladstone didn't answer. His narrowed eyes were looking everywhere but Donald, who sighed and moved closer. He carefully placed a hand on his other, presumably uninjured shoulder, and only then did he finally meet his eyes. His were on the verge of breaking, letting all the pent up emotions spill out, but he forced them back. He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him, not with Don, HE was supposed to be the emotional one, Gladstone was always the one who maintained a calm demeanor no matter what. He didn't stress over things, didn't have worries, didn't let minor problems bother him--

 Donald tightened his grip, and lightly shook him back to the present. 

 "Gladdy, talk to me, please."

 He took a stuttered breath, and swallowed the feelings bubbling inside.

 "I just...wanted to see ya, see how things were going, how the kids are doing. You know, the usual."

 Donald's skepticism remained, and he directed Gladstone back to the sofa bench.  

 "Will you stop with the crud already and tell me what's going on?" he asked, sitting them down. Gladstone hesitated, biting at his lower lip, but Don's hand on his shoulder urged him to respond.

 "I.....needed to see you. Needed something I can handle...I can handle your temper tantrums, and Uncle Scrooge's nitpicking, and people loving and hating my luck. I can handle all that! I can't handle...whatever THIS is. The dreams, the paranoia-- I can't watch TV without feeling like I'M being watched, I haven't had a decent night's sleep in days and it's driving me crazy--!"

 He cut himself off with a sharp inhale; he glanced briefly at Donald, as if to gauge his reaction, before looking away again as a light blush formed.

 "S-so anyway, yeah, just...yeah..."

 "Why didn't you just say so?"

 Gladstone let out a shaky laugh, breath hitching at the end. 

 "Because I'm ME, I don't have worries or problems, right?! So what if I have a few bad dreams or get worked up over nothing being there even when it feels like there is! I've got it all, don't I?"

 Donald stared at him as he went on, before he sighed and shook his head, and lightly bumped him with his shoulder.

 "You dummy, being lucky doesn't change the fact you went through something horrible. You should already know that,"

 He said the latter half of the statement softly, being careful not to sound condescending.

 "If you were going through all that, you should've called me, or Grandma or Uncle Ludwig; you know we aren't gonna turn you away when you need us."

 "Well, you were closer and I just...I knew you were still gonna be mad, so I thought I'd let you cool off."

 "Well yeah I was mad, I don't like nearly getting cooked alive or eaten by a tiger when we could've avoided it all if you'd just said 'Hey, being held captive by a luck demon'."

 "I feel like you and everyone else missed the whole 'under surveillance 24/7 and I literally couldn't tell you without being caught' thing; I mean he even SAID he'd have found out, how did you not get that--?"

 "ANYWAY, the point is yes I was mad but that doesn't mean I'm gonna ignore you when you're upset. Your family, even if you're a pain in the neck half the time....okay a majority of the time. If you needed to talk, you know I'm always gonna listen."

 He could feel Gladstone shaking under his hand, and was still visibly fighting back everything wanting to burst out of him. He sighed, and forced Gladstone to meet his eye.

 "Gladstone, just talk; whatever you want to say just say it."

 Finally he let out trembling sound, some mix of a laugh and a sob, before letting his head drop onto the other's shoulder as it grew into what was most definitely a sob.

 "I was so scared, Don! I didn't know what to do, I'm not like you or Scrooge or.....I-I can't THINK my way out of problems like you guys! My luck always did it for me but it did the opposite there it just made things worse! Every time I got close to maybe getting out of there he'd turn it around on me and I'd be back to square one! He'd get so mad and he was scary when he was mad you don't even know; he'd have me gaming til I dropped or when I really ticked him off he'd get physical and drain me directly and I--!"

 He collapsed against Donald, who remained respectfully silent as he embraced him and rubbed his back.

 "I HATED those times, I hated it, it hurt so much! I tried fighting back but he'd just hold me tighter and I swear he was gonna break my arm once, I had bruises for a week! Sometimes he'd lock me up in some backroom for hours beforehand just to freak me out and I'd get so worked up by the time he came in I couldn't even think I'd just lose it and I don't...!

 "I'd yell and scream so loud, hoping someone would hear, anybody, and come help but no one...no one ever did..."

 He trailed off, heaving out another sob as his grip tightened. As if to keep himself grounded in the present, to remind himself...he wasn't there, he wasn't in that room.

 The next few minutes ticked by in near silence, save for the weeping and uneven gasps. Donald finally spoke, offering soft comforts, that everything was alright now and he's so sorry they left him there, and hugging him tighter, almost painfully so but neither cared. It didn't matter, nothing else did at the moment; their past quarrels, good luck, bad luck, it didn't matter. All that did was making sure Gladstone felt what he clearly hadn't in some time.

 Safe.

 :

:

:

 Huey, Dewey, and Louie approached the houseboat, curiously eyeing it.

 "Why are we out here again?" Louie grumbled.

 "Uncle Scrooge said Uncle Gladstone came out here to see Uncle Donald." Huey replied as they crossed the boardwalk.

 "Exactly, and I'd like to stay as far away from the ticking time bomb as possible..."

 "I mean it's been two hours and the boat hasn't sunk or blown up, sooo...good sign?" Dewey offered weakly, clearly unsure if he even wanted to go in.

 All three sighed, and continued forward; their curiosity was too great. Ever since Macaw, Uncle Donald had been vocal in his displeasure with their distant pseudo uncle. So there was sure to be some crazy antics going on inside...

 Walking with practiced steps to avoid the creaking planks, the triplets gathered beneath one of the windows, and stood on the very tips of their toes to peer inside, finding....

 Their uncles bundled up on the couch, passed out in a sleeping pile. 

 Well, it was certainly something none of them had expected. Pretty soon they quickly and quietly scrambled their way back to the mansion, leaving the sleeping cousins be.

 It was a rare moment of peace for them that no one had the heart to destroy.

[desourceful]

my gladstone gander theory

okay due to the HUGE amount of support i got on my post mentioning this i thought i’d go ahead and write it out?? like omg.

so, when i found and posted the wips for the family tree i was reminded of something that i’d wanted to talk about REALLY badly but just hadn’t ended up doing!

if you don’t know, gladstone has 2 different family stories. carl barks originally stated that gladstone was born to daphne duck and luke the goose, but they both died overeating and a free picnic. he was then adopted by scrooges sister, matilda mcduck and her husband goosetave gander. 

however, don rosa when making the most well-known duck family tree, didn’t feel comfortable implementing this story both due to how he’s treated in canon (you know, you don’t really want your main characters constantly pledging their hate to an orphan) and also added complexity to an already confusing chart.

luckily for him, carl barks also made a more simplified version of the story, which don rosa used instead of the adoption story.

now that you’re caught up on all of that, i can talk about how it relates to my theory!

in the first episode for the show, webby has a chart that’s been the cause of.. so, so many theories at this point. but this is one that i don’t think has been talked about yet!

(webbys chart for reference)

(don rosas most famous family tree for reference)

frank has stated at some point that, for the most part, they are following don rosas family tree for ducktales 2017.

so...

why is this a thing?

obviously we have to give webby some room for error, but for a character that you have a picture of and feel confident enough pinning into the clan mcduck part of the family? she wouldn’t do that on a whim!

the chart is complicated, so i won’t ask you to try and interpret it, but gladstone is NOT related to scrooge directly in anyway. he is directly related to donald, but not scrooge or the mcducks. 

donald and dellas parents were the connection between the mcducks and the ducks, so... why is gladstone, very specifically, being connected to the mcduck family name when he shouldnt have any connection?

well, in that case then there’s a chance that frank and the team is actually using the adoption story!

i don’t think it’s too complicated to explain that being the adopted son of scrooges sister would make him part of the mcducks.

i also think that it’d explain why he’s there even more? webby wouldn’t know that he’s adopted! he’d just assume that he was blood related since, well, he’s apart of the family and he’s matildas son. why would she guess that it’s more complicated then that?

...i also think that it would give hdl and donald more of a reason to let him be referred to as their uncle, despite just being their cousin, and donald hating him.  because otherwise gladstone is on the exact same level as fethry, who, they just call cousin. 

but that’s just a theory! (...no, really, it’s just a theory. alternatively, maybe gladstone, donald, and della are all siblings in this adaption. but i REALLY doubt that? plus i think that they directly say that they’re cousins at some point. if someone could rewatch that episode and tell me though?? because that would be an even wilder theory i just don’t have enough proof to back it up. do they ever call donald and della twins in the show???)

[drummergirl231-2]

Do you have a writing choice in the show what you really dislike? I personally think the Shadow War had a much more better set up than the Moonvasion. The last two episodes before the finale should have been more about the conflict and the relationships between the characters. The Richest Duck In The World was a great development for Louie but the GlomTales episode left a very bitter taste in my mouth, expecially after such an intense episode like the Timephoon. What's your thoughts?

I was definitely disappointed after certain things that happened in the show, but I have to remind myself it’s not the writers’ fault I’m disappointed; it’s mine.

I had so many ideas in my head for what I wanted to see. Then I was straight up waiting for those things to happen. Then they didn’t, and I was bummed. But the writers never promised me those things would happen. I made an assumption, and I was wrong. I have to own my disappointment.

What helps me deal with my disappointment is I try to keep in mind that I am an amateur writer, while the writers of this show are professionals. And it’s also up to them where they go with their own characters and stories. What’s supposed to happen or what should happen in the show is exactly what does happen, for reasons we have no idea about. Sometimes the writers have to reluctantly cut things for time reasons, but then they try to work those things into the show later (Gladstone Gander singing his own praises, for example XD).

The writers can’t please all of us all the time. We all want different things. I totally understand feeling disappointed, but if they’d written everything the way I had wanted it, it’d disappoint someone else. 

They all worked insanely hard on the end of the season though, and Frank, who saw the way they all agonized over it, is super proud of them.

Part of me does want to post all about the things that left me feeling disappointed just to process them or see if anyone else feels the same, but I’m worried people who didn’t think twice about those things will suddenly be bothered by them, too, or people who feel the opposite about those specific things will feel like I’m picking on them for what they like. Or worse, what if people who worked on the show saw my complaints? Artists don’t lose their sensitivity when they start making a living off what they create, and I wouldn’t want to make them feel like all their efforts led to garbage. What we got was far from garbage, even if it wasn’t exactly what we wanted.

I’m still trying to master this mindset myself, so I hope I don’t sound obnoxiously preachy or anything. :/ I always feel like I’m a day away from sneaking my complaints onto the internet somehow, but reminding myself of all the things I just typed out really helps me.

[turtleduckdog]

Happy Father’s Day Donald!

Yes, Donald Duck is stuck with all the bad luck! And I would say his sister getting lost in space and him being left to raise her children has been the worse luck yet. When people go missing, it’s horrible for the person who is missing, but for those left behind it’s just as hard, if not harder. The unknown is the worse part for the family of a missing person; which is why they stop at nothing to find their loved one. Dewey makes a comment in “The Great Dime Chase” that the only thing Donald has told them about their mother is that “she is gone”. I find this terminology very telling and something that families of missing people who still have not found their loved ones say. They don’t speak of their loved of as dead, but as missing or gone. For us the audience Donald not telling the boys that she is dead, but rather just “gone” foreshadows that Della might come back. I don’t believe that Donald thinks that she will come back, she went missing in space and the chances of survival are very slim.

So Della goes missing and what does that mean for Donald? It means that Donald has lost his sister and that he has three nephews who are about to hatch who have no mother. Donald is so consumed with grief and anger that he turns his back on the one family member who could support him and his nephews. Donald lost his sister, and he also lost the future memory of the life that he was expecting to have once his nephews were born. Donald, like Della and Scrooge all imagined that they would raise these three beautiful children together and be a big happy family, but that future memory does come to fruition and very often our future memories don’t turn out the way that we expect. Donald expected to be a part of his nephews lives, but he certainly didn’t expect to be the only parent in their lives. Donald imagined himself as the uncle, and he still does as he gave himself the title of “Uncle Donald”. He doesn’t refer to himself as their father (and yes, yes he is), but he keeps the familial title of uncle because this is who he is to them on the family tree, but it’s a sad title, as it is a reminder to the boys that they do not have a mother and father present, they are being raised by “Uncle Donald”. In many ways it doesn’t matter how much a part of their lives Donald is, and he is everything to them, he still holds the title of “Uncle” which is a degree of separation from mother and father. It doesn’t make his relationship any less valuable, but the title it is coded in a way that tells everyone that he isn’t their father.

Now, that I have said all of this, I want to turn it around a bit. I believe that Donald referring to himself as “Uncle Donald” is him still holding on to the future memory of being the uncle that he wanted to be. Yes, he is their uncle, but he didn’t expect to be the uncle who raises three boys by himself. He could have chosen a different title for the boys to call him, not necessarily father, but a different title like pappy, or papa, the possibilities are endless, but he kept with the title that he always wanted to be, and that is uncle. In “The House of the Lucky Gander” we see that Donald has a contested relationship with his cousin Gladstone (needs to be noted that Donald seems to have a contested relationship with most of his family…). 

Donald very obviously isn’t too fond of Gladstone and we see a hilarious flashback sequence of events of Donald growing up with his cousin. I think there is more to their relationship than that, the boys call Gladstone “Uncle” not cousin, and yes Gladstone is their cousin once removed. I have cousins once removed and some of them I call uncle and many of them I am close to like aunts and uncles, thus this is not unusual, but it is significant. I think that Donald envies Gladstone’s relationship with HDL a little. Gladstone gets to be the fun uncle who the children look forward to seeing and Gladstone gets to lead the life he wants because he has not taken on the responsibly of raising his nephews. Donald accuses Gladstone of trying to embarrass him in front of the boys, showing that Donald feels threatened by Gladstone, and since Gladstone is not as invested in the children that Donald is he doesn’t get it. I am not saying that Gladstone doesn’t care for his family because in his own way he does, but he isn’t the most aware person. The scene when Gladstone tells Louie: “I don’t want you, I want him!” Crushes me every time. Poor Louie just wants to have an uncle nephew relationship with this person and gets shot down. Gladstone doesn’t realize he hurts Louie, and because he is under pressure I don’t think that he intended to either, but his comment is insensitive and shows his unawareness. Louie says to Gladstone earlier in the episode: “you’re the best thing that’s ever happen to me!” But by the end Louie realizes that Donald has been the best thing that ever happened to him, and he comes away with a greater appreciation for his uncle Donald from this visit with Gladstone. Yes, Donald has bad luck, and even though I think that Donald envies his cousin just a tiny bit, he knows that he is pretty lucky to get to raise his nephews, even if it wasn’t how he planned.

[ducktales-wco-oo]

{ Past, future whichever >:} Glad/Panch } [taste] - to have my muse taste themselves on your muse’s fingers  - ✩ { @bitofsin​​​ } ✩

✩ { Meme​ } ✩

{ ☆ } It was everything Panchito thought it would be... No, it was more than that. Everything he thought it would be, hoped it could be, and hadn’t even dared to dream it should be. Gladstone was- incredible. In every sense of the word. The brags and crude stories that sometimes leave the gander’s beak were FAR from exaggerated, as Panchito often good-naturedly joked they must be. ‘Please, amigo... If you expect me to be believing any of this, then you’re gonna have to show me!’ Well, his hypothetical(?) jokes have finally became a reality. A sense of... tension has been building up between them for a while now.

Perhaps Panchito was more aware of it than he thought, despite Gladstone’s proposition noticeably taking him by surprise at first. His jokes could be considered rather flirtatious, if not borderline coming-on-the-other-male. Flustered and fumbling but VERY intrigued, surprisingly so... he had agreed to the idea, to the terms, to sharing the experience with one of his closest friends. To putting THIS experience in the hands of someone he trusts.

The first thing they tried was FAR from adventurous, and with an entire three days ahead of them, Panchito doubts that it is even the tip of the sexual escapade iceberg. But it was important to break the ice, to ease into things... and Panchito appreciates ensuring that he knows what’s going on down there now, not that he mentioned that to Gladstone. But although it was ‘basic’, it still was the most incredible moment Panchi has shared with someone. He can feel Gladstone’s touch lingering on his body, caressing and exploring his every nook and cranny. Seeing what he’s going to be ‘working with’ for the weekend. 

The warmth of Glad’s seed still coats Panchito’s stomach, making his feathers clump and bunch together. Not that he minds in the slightest. After all, the night is far from over... This was merely a warmup before the main events begin. By the time they've TRULY exhausted themselves, Panchito has a feeling that the splattering adorning his stomach will be a mere drop in the bucket of what he’ll be washing off himself later. The same can be said for Glad, hand dripping with the rooster’s seed as he collapses onto Panchi’s body with a soft huff. 

Panchito has never felt a burst of euphoria like that before... and worrisome as it may be, he’s not entirely certain the PERSON he was intimate with didn’t have a lot to do with that. If it had been anyone else making him climax, anyone else sharing this bed with him... he doesn’t know if he’d feel nearly as content as he does right now. Nearly as excited for what is next. But this is merely a ‘taste-fest’, and as Panchito steadies his labored breathing, back arching to lightly rub his bare feathers against Gladstone, he reminds himself of this. 

They need a bit of a breather, a moment to regather their strength, to allow their bodies to warm up to the idea of going for Round Two. Something that Glad says shouldn’t take too long for him, but Panchi has yet to know his own limits... so he decides to offer some form of entertainment for the gander while they wait, and perhaps help speed up the process. Arms wrapping around the other male’s back, he grins and abruptly rolls them over so that he is laying atop of Glad. Cheekily smiling down at the other’s surprised expression, he captures Gladstone’s beak in a kiss. Slow and thorough, tongue curls and caresses the other male’s, running over that wonderfully textured tongue, feeling its every unique edge.

Hands slide down Gladstone’s chest, running through his feathers before Panchito moves to splay his palms to either side of the gander. Sliding downward, kisses trail from Glad’s beak to his jaw, his neck, his chest... Biting and suckling his flesh, Panchito gets to work marking up the gander, leaving behind a light trail as he does so. Tongue shoves aside silky feathers, damp with sweat and lightly hinting his tongue with salt. Noticing how Glad shivers beneath him, head angling back and a hardness forming between his legs— rubbing against Panchito’s still-awakening member —he chuckles lightly against Gladstone’s form.

Moving his head down teasingly slow, eyes peek upward at Glad, meeting the gander’s gaze for a mere moment before he ducks down and abruptly flicks his tongue against the head of Gladstone’s semi-hard dick. Grinning at the soft moan he hears from above, Panchito slowly drags his tongue from the head ALL the way down its length to the base. Pulling up for just a moment, tongue continues its steady trek up the gander's body, back to his chest where he began. Hips lightly grinding against Gladstone’s, his own cock awakening thanks to the stimulation, Panchito continues to pepper kisses against Glad once more. 

Nibbling his collar bone and sucking on his neck, a hand moves to caress the gander’s arm, sliding down to grab his hand and bring it up to his beak. Still slick with seed, aside from what rubbed off onto the bed, he teasingly brushes his tongue against Glad’s palm. Sliding it up to his fingers and swirling around one of them, before beginning to suck on it. Humming around the digits, Panchito’s tongue swirls and dances with movements that bode well for... other uses, heavily-lidded gaze roaming to Gladstone’s face as he pulls it out with an audible pop. Without further ado, Panchito gets to work cleaning up Glad...  

It’s salty, with a hint of bitterness that might be whatever soap Glad used earlier. There’s also a distinctly sweet taste, that he assumes must be HIM... But amongst the normal tastes, mingling into an experience that is both intriguing and rather enjoyable, a small nagging voice in the back of his mind asks whether he can taste his own desperation for this to last more than a mere three days... With yet another lewd pop, Panchito chooses to ignore it. { ☆ } 

[bolddeducktionneverfails]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The featured relative is compared to one of the kids

Dewey wants to name something after himself

Launchpad goes on his own adventure involving someone he previously dated

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

The Family Goes On An Adventure to See A Duck Relative

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Does Della reunite with an unexpected friend from her past?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The family rides back home reunited in a spacecraft? 

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

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

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

The Featured Relative is Compared to One of The Kids

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

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

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

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

Dewey Wants to Name Something After Himself

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

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

Launchpad Goes on His Own Adventure Involving Someone He Previously Dated

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

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

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

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

What could this information possibly be suggesting about the future?

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

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

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

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

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

Will he join the main adventure the third time?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Will we see the third lover up close?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Sᴏᴜʀᴄᴇ 1) (Sᴏᴜʀᴄᴇ 2)

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

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

Let's take a closer look at Cover B:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[spam-monster]

I was watching the Tokyo DisneySea Halloween show, and Donald is supposed to be imitating Hades here (all of the main crew were dressed in villain-inspired outfits and chilling with them), but those golden curls remind me of someone else...

Now I’m not saying that they intentionally made Donald look like comic-verse Gladstone Gander when dressing him as a bad guy, but it’s a heck of an amusing coincidence. (And also possibly the closest we’ve gotten to having a Gladstone in the parks?)

The show is here for anyone who want to watch it btw, and I would highly recommend it; it’s pretty awesome. 

[shewhowantsmouseears]

yandere magicstone/badstone AU

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No! You're serious?”

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

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

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

“Leave me alone.” I was in no mood.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It went about as well as can be expected.

“Are you calling my boy a thief?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I watched her, and smiled.

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

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

“I take thy name, I take thy soul,

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

From lady's luck you shall always drink,

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

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

But I blacked out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Servant,” she cut in, “Come here.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I could make her beg.

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

I smiled. “You have no idea.”

[tandicoofficial]

Headcanons and stuff for the Feeling Blue!AU

Reactions:

First and foremost, providing this AU occurs during a living with Scrooge which it does in my brain— although after the boys know about their mother, so possibly after forgiveness is reached if it is— if not in the show, then it is in the AU. A period of living with Scrooge. They definitely all move out. There are definitely arguments. It’s very possible that Webby, Mrs B, Duckworth and Launchpad would also leave. Again.

Low blow for Scrooge. The second family member lost to his adventures— not only that, Dewey took HIS advice, just like his mother. More painfully, Dewey was a child and Scrooge watched him take his last breaths because of him. And then arguments ensue and everybody leaves. Again. And Scrooge is left with nothing but bitterness and a familiar grief that tears him apart. He spares no expense for the funeral either. But there’s no bringing Dewey back. He sends cards and such, birthday presents addressed to his family and former employees. Bitter as he is about them leaving him, it’s different than Della. He got his chance to say goodbye. He learned his lesson once. He wouldn’t let the boys slip away and lose all of his family once more. He never gets replies. He doesn’t even know if the letters get opened.

Webby still hangs out with Huey and Louie but they’re different. Webby gets lonelier and sadder— nothing is the same. She eventually stops coming over apart from on special occasions. It’s half-hearted. She retreats to her granny because she’s the only semblance of permanence. Webby also slightly blames herself-- She was there, so despite the blame falling on nobody as a whole, and definitely not partially on any of the kids, she feels she could’ve done something to protect Dewey-- she spends most of her time in grieving flitting between bargaining, denial and depression.

Huey is snappy. He rambles a lot to fill the silence without Dewey’s hyperactive babbling. Mostly nobody listens and he’s okay with that. But occasionally one wrong comment sets him off. He has more tantrums than ever— The Duke is always waiting to wreak havoc. Usually Louie and his uncle don’t set him off, but anybody else does easily. He gets told off at school a lot. Eventually gets expelled for punching a boy who made a comment about Dewey. Donald tries to talk to him on the way home, but he’s quiet, and when he goes to his room, he just cries. He’s always dry-eyed when Louie gets home, though. He’s still got one little brother to stay strong for. Eventually he withdraws from social groups— skips JWC meetings, fakes sick home from school, even makes excuses to avoid Webby and even on the rare occasion his brother. He becomes detached because he has no other way to deal with all his emotions in his eyes. The therapists don’t get anything out of him. He won’t talk to his uncle or brother about it. He just sucks it all in and isolates himself.

Louie is quiet. So quiet that therapists call it selective mutism. He only ever makes sounds when he cries. Which is a lot. Often spontaneously, in public or otherwise. He seemed fine, but Donald took him to the mall, he saw a mannequin with clothes similar to Dewey’s and completely broke down. He gets carried a lot more often. Sleeps more. Has to be reminded to eat, drink, bathe and otherwise function. Most of his time is spent sleeping or staring blankly into space or crying. He’ll drop a spoon and start sobbing and collapse. It gets to a point where Huey gets frustrated with his brother often-- Not to tantrum-level, but enough to cause arguments. The thing is that Louie never argues back. Whenever Huey yells, he usually just cries more. It becomes an issue with Donald struggling for money again-- He’s out at work often, so there’s nobody to intervene if Huey goes off. Most babysitters wouldn’t know how to handle it. Louie can’t help going quiet, really-- Three months after they moved, Huey blows up bigtime because of combined stress. He’s the first one to get a word out of Louie since their brother passed...The words are a hoarse, whimpered repetition of “I’m sorry.” It quickly snaps Huey out of it, and he apologizes profusely. Eventually they both calm down, and Donald walks in to a crying mess of boys on the floor. He scoops them up and sits them down on the couch and talks it out. In the end, things are okay...Huey tries not to get frustrated whenever his brother won’t speak or gets upset. A lady who takes Louie out told him he can’t help it. Huey doesn’t really understand why. But he won’t lose his youngest brother too. 

Huey and Louie blame themselves a lot. They were out with Dewey when he got hurt. Despite the blame really falling on so many people, they both, unknowingly to each other, direct it inwards. For similar reasons to Webby, but to more intensity. They both feel they should’ve been able to protect their brother-- to figure it out together. Donald knows that feeling all too well. The social workers and the therapies and the doctors all do their best to get it out of the boys, but it’s pretty much futile. They don’t want to improve. They feel they deserve to suffer for the death of their brother.

Uncle Donald is still Uncle Donald. Which is to say, on the surface, things seem normal. He works more to pay off hospital bills, therapy bills, bills in general. Dewey’s death left them in debt even though most of the emergency care was administered by Gyro and Fenton. He always makes sure the childminder feeds the boys and puts them to bed. Neither of the boys sleep till they hear him open the door at midnight and the insomnia returns when he gets up no more than 5 hours later. He acts relatively like himself most of the time. Except. Except sometimes. A shudder. Watery eyes and choked sounds masked like the clearing of his throat. His brain doesn’t seem to process his boy is gone. One Christmas morning, he makes them pancakes-- as they usually had-- and puts down an extra plate, and calls...”Dewey, hurry u-” And then he catches himself. The boys freeze. The last thing they heard out of their uncle about their brother was his scream after his death. Donald freezes and grips the back of the fourth chair at their table so tightly his knuckles turn white under worn-thin-with-work feathers. He lets out a shaky laugh. “S-Silly me.” He puts the pancakes in the fridge. A couple days later, Huey’s the one who throws them away. He knows his uncle couldn’t bring himself to.

This kind of denial shows a lot in their uncle. Buying clothes or gifts for a trio and then remembering. Cooking food for three kids and then remembering. Introducing his triplets, Huey, De-...And then remembering. He doesn’t cry. Not when he thinks the boys are watching, anyway. But the strain and shake in his voice as he corrects himself is enough to show them their uncle isn’t as fine as he’s trying to act. 

Donald gets tireder and tireder and tireder. To the point where it’s a problem. To the point where Uncle Donald keeps falling. Sometimes even going unconscious for minutes...He always says it’s fine, that he just needs to rest, and the boys let him rest. They didn’t realize that anything was really wrong till Donald didn’t come home on a day when he was meant to be in early. They rushed to answer the knock at the door with desperation, but didn’t find the Uncle that they were looking for. No, instead, it was Gladstone. “Hey, kids. Your Uncle Donald had a little accident at work, and he’s a bit sick, so you’re gonna come stay with me for a while, okay?” As willing as the goose is, he isn’t Donald, and he has no idea to answer the questions the boys give him on the way to his house. 

The boys find out their uncle hasn’t been eating much. Or sleeping much. Or doing anything but work much, really. They find out that the social workers wanted to take them away from their uncle for good, including Louie’s, and in his panic, he’d clicked the first contact near Duckburg that wasn’t Scrooge. Louie doesn’t hang around with the lady after that. He doesn’t trust her. Every time they come to talk the kids into a home, they put on the puppy-dog act and beg to be left with their family. A lot of tears. They pretend they’re fake, but a lot of them aren’t. When they say they think it’s best if Donald stays in hospital for a while, the boys absolutely LOSE IT. Gladstone doesn’t know how to help. He hugs and pats backs but doesn’t know what else to do. He experiences something he never thought he would-- The feeling of being a bad guardian. It’s crushing. 

Donald isn’t allowed child visitors. The boys don’t even know what’s wrong. Gladstone does. His cousin stopped functioning. He had a nervous breakdown. But he’s getting better, insisting to get out, insisting he’s okay, insisting he needs to see his BOYS. He runs Gladstone lists on how to take care of them, how they like their lunches, their routines, their hobbies. Gladstone’s so swamped he considers-- he shudders at the thought-- actually WORKING. His luck was enough to keep him afloat, but with two very-hungry-children-stomachs to feed plus his own, it was becoming a struggle. Gladstone Gander, actually struggling-- Despite it all the idea makes his cousin giggle, and he’s happy for it. 

The boys lost it when they found out it’d be a while. They’d already lost all semblance of normal, already lost their brother-- and now they’d lose their uncle too? Louie barely makes sounds at all now, and Huey acts out CONSTANTLY. Gladstone has never heard of the eldest to misbehave this badly. He has no idea how to handle it. 

Huey feels that, with his uncle in hospital, one of his little brothers gone, and the other one barely functioning, he has failed his family. He feels responsible more than ever for everything going wrong. He tries his best to pull things together, to plan family outings, to make things okay, but...No. It’s unfixable in Huey’s eyes and it’s all his fault. 

Louie runs away. More than once. Gladstone always manages to find him (he thanks his luck more than he ever thought he could), but he’s pretty sneaky. The longest he was missing was for a week-- hiding out in Lena’s old place, despite the creeps-- It’s the only place he could think to go. 

In the time Louie goes missing, Huey blames himself more and more and more to the point where he’s not tantrumming. Gladstone recognizes the far-off stare with the dead eyes and troubled expression, the bags and the tiredness and the resign. He recognizes them from his cousin way back when, and it terrifies him to no end. This time, he’s the one who insists Donald comes home. 

Gladstone probably got help from anybody he could think of, but they wouldn’t talk to Scrooge, so that’s a nonstarter, and the family was in pieces. Fethry ended up helping a lot, but he ended up being the only one who could for a long while. Other family members offered days or two at best. 

Fenton wasn’t the closest with the kids but it definitely hurt him to see a child so young die. He probably hysterically tried to save Dewey long after his boss had given in, told him he’s gone, that there’s no way of bringing him back. He tried so hard that he’s one of the only people linked to Scrooge that continues to visit regularly. The boys are awkward around him, but his chatter about Gizmoduck perks them up a lot. And Gladstone appreciates it especially. He rarely sees the boys smile nowadays.

Launchpad checks in regularly, too. It’s less awkward, certainly-- They hug him with, if Gladstone would dare say it, more affection than they did the goose himself. Launchpad always lifts them up on his shoulders, takes them out, tries to make them smile. He’s like a stand-in Donald and he wears the label proudly. 

(That’s all I’ve got for now. Go wild with the idea if you want! Make your own headcanons!! Decide how things end!! It’s up to you!! The next few animatics for this AU are in the workings.)

[the-splatoon]

((Some details on the names of the characters on this Blog.))

Name: Sango Kanshiki

Hypothetical Japanese name: The same

This name is in Japanese. The fact that Marina got to keep her Japanese name for the most part made me decide to go for something similar here.

The name “Sango” literally means “The Third”, which is pretty obvious. It also sounds similar to “San-gô”, which is what Agent 3 is called in Japanese.

The name “Kanshiki” means “Orange Tree”, a reference to her signature color (I plan on making icons with her tentacles in that color as soon as I can.) Her nickname, “Sunny”, is also a reference to the color orange, which is generally considered a “sunny color”. 

Name: Cephalus Miramare

Hypothetical Japanese Name: Kai Aozaki

“Cephalus” is the name of a hero from greek mythology, which references Ceph’s ambitions. It’s also a reference to the word “cephalopod”, the order of mollusks that squids and octopi belong to. 

“Miramare” means “Ocean View”. His signature color is aqua-blue. 

“Kai” is the On-Yomi pronunciation of both the Kanji characters meaning “ocean” and “Seashell”. 

“Aozaki” literally means “Blue Peninsula”

Name: Clover Irida

Hypothetical Japanese Name: Yoshino Midorigawa

“Clover” is obviously taken from 4-leaved clovers, referencing her being Agent 4. I also kind of tie it to the haircut she wears, since it reminds me of the leaves of a clover. I tied this into her character, by making her very cocky and happy-go-lucky. A bit like a female version of Gladstone Gander from the DuckTales universe.

“Irida” means “Rainbow”. I mostly chose it to go well with her first name, and because the term “clover” already implies the color green. I didn’t need the reference to her signature color twice.

“Yoshino” means “The fortunate one”, which is very obvious. It also contains the sounds “Yo” and “shi”, both of which can be pronunciations of the number “4″ in Japanese.

“Midorigawa” means “Green River”

Name: Eve Hallows

Hypothetical Japanese Name: Yasuko Takahachi

“Eve Hallows” -> “All Hallows’ Eve” -> “Halloween” -> Most popular celebration in October. Yes, I went very round-about with this one, but I really liked the idea of it, right from when Octo-expansion was revealed, so I went with it. Related, it’s because of this that I decided that Halloween is, in fact, Eve’s favorite holiday. You’ll see this pay off in about 2 months, I guess~

“Yasuko”, with the spelling I have chosen for it, means “The girl with 8 (long) lives”, which both references her number as well as how she’s survived the insanity that is the Deepsea Metro. 

“Takahachi” actually means “wasp”, but it contains the word “hachi” which can mean either “honey bee” or... “eight”. Incidentally, in the Japanese version, “Hachi” is Pearl’s nickname for her, so it suits very well. 

As for characters with canon names...

I made Callie and Marie’s full names “Callisto Cuttlefish” and “Annmarie Atwater” merely for the sake of alliteration and to keep certain themes, like water-based names or the fact they’re related to Capt’n cuttlefish. There’s not much deeper meaning to it.

As for the (tentative) full name I gave to Pearl (until her real full name is revealed), it’s “ Sarah-Pearline II D'Nausicaä”, though she avoids having anyone use it. I wanted it to sound as needlessly posh as possible. The name “Sarah” literally means “Princess”, so why I chose that is obvious. As for “D’Nausicaä”, Nausicaä is a princess who appears in the Odyssey who loves music far more than her status. The name “Nausicaä” also means “burner of ships”. I consider that badass enough for Pearl, similarly to how her Japanese last name “Houzuki” is a reference to the Collosal Squid.

[waveypedia]

Fighting his Luck

What do you think you’re doing to him?

Gladstone Gander was the luckiest duck in the world. Nothing bad ever happened to him.

He had absolutely no qualms about walking through a dark neighborhood at night, alone. He whistled. He walked through dark alleyways for shortcuts. He tucked his hands in his pockets and kept his posture relaxed.

Nothing bad could happen. Not to him.

He turned his head at the sound of footsteps, but it was merely curiosity and not fear.

Nothing.

Most people would have been alarmed by this, but Gladstone simply shrugged and continued on his way, not glancing back once.

The light of the next street came into view, the streetlights’ glow spilling into the alley.

Just before he could cross it, a large, broad-shouldered figure leaped in front of him, blocking the light.

Gladstone jumped back, surprised, and surveyed the stranger. He was a large grizzly bear wearing ripped black clothing, spikes, spiky black dyed hair, and silver rings on his fists.

He also wore a mean grin on his face.

Gladstone raised his eyebrows. He still wasn’t scared. He was the luckiest duck in the world. Even if this bear tried to rob him, he wouldn’t be successful.

“You’re blocking my way,” Gladstone told the stranger, cool as ever.

“Am I?” The bear replied, his voice a deep growl. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t move.

Gladstone raised an eyebrow.

The bear examined him, smiling slyly, and Gladstone couldn’t help the feeling that he was being put under a microscope. “You wouldn’t happen to be Gladstone Gander, would you? The luckiest duck in the world?”

Gladstone blinked, caught off guard. He wasn’t recognized often. It was nice to keep a low profile.

The beginnings of fear began to grow in his belly, and he fiercely reminded himself of his luck. I’ll be fine. There’s no way this could end badly for me. Nothing ever does.

“That would be me,” he replied coolly. “And you are?”

The grizzly smirked. “Oh, that’s not important. I just wanted to know if you were at the Golden Cricket Casino three days ago.”

Gladstone nodded, the uneasiness growing. Luck. Luck. Luck.

The grizzly cracked his noticeably large knuckles in front of Gladstone’s face and he cringed, stepping backwards slightly only to bump into something large, warm, and slightly soft. His blood ran cold and he spun around.

A second grizzly grinned down at him, and two more stepped out of the shadows on either side.

“Oh, great!” Gladstone gasped, injecting fake cheerfulness into his voice. “You brought friends!”

“Mister Gander,” the first grizzly interjected, grabbing Gladstone’s attention and bringing it back to him. “You cheated me out of my thousand dollars at that casino. I’d like it back, and my friends would like their fair share of interest.”

Gladstone gulped. “Ah. Well, I’m sorry to inform you that I don’t keep money on me. Certainly not thousands of dollars. If I need money, it’ll find its way to me. Hey, twenty dollars!” He darted between two of the grizzlies to grab the dollar bill.

His fingers grazed the paper before he felt a large hand grab the back of his shirt and he was yanked back into the group, his feet grazing the uneven concrete.

“That’s not for you!” the head grizzly yelled, his smug smoothness gone.

Gladstone scowled, rubbing at his foot. There was a little blood, but it was nothing more than a scrape. “Well then. You should know that my luck would never allow something to happen to me, so you’d best leave before you embarass and hurt yourself.”

The bear glared at him and before Gladstone knew what was happening, something huge and brown made connection with his face and he was flung backward into the belly of the grizzly in the back.

The bear raised his eyes at him. “Wow. I’m so embarassed and hurt.”

Gladstone glared at him, but said nothing. Luck, what are you doing?! Don’t fail me now! Blood was seeping out of his mouth and his cheek stung like nobody’s business. “Why on earth do you have such a big hand?! And those rings! They’re completely unnecessary!”

“Ah, well I’m sure it was necessary to hurt you,” the grizzly replied, unfazed, before swinging another punch.

Gladstone wondered briefly whether the ring had an anti-luck charm on it, but the bears didn’t seem like the magical type. Either way, he was preoccupied with doing his best to defend himself from the assault of four angry and very large grizzly bears. He could throw a few lucky punches, but it wasn’t enough.

He flung his arms over his head and slammed himself into one of the grizzlies on the side, but they weren’t fazed. Of course they weren’t fazed.

That was just his luck right now, after all.

Is Magica back with her luck-stealing charm? He wondered dazedly. Or did I somehow switch bodies with Donald?

He suddenly felt a crushing weight on his hand, and glanced up as much as he could to see one of the grizzlies leaning on him. Leaning! How humiliating.

Clenching his fists, he summoned every once of strength he had left and pushed himself upward, but with no avail. Exhausted, he stumbled back and landed down on his knees.

Glancing upwards, he had a very good view of the four towering grizzly bears, as well as the sky, where a smoke trail from a nearby plane, now long gone, hovered. He gritted his teeth. Usually the plane would have seen him and stopped.

But not today, I suppose.

The grizzly leaning on him shifted his weight so most of his weight rested on Gladstone. He carried on a casual conversation with his buddies, probably meant to annoy Gladstone. It would’ve worked, but the words were blurring together as his exhausted body struggled to keep the bear’s weight and stay conscious. His hands slammed into the concrete, supporting him.

He gulped as the bears turned to face him again, and squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation.

He tasted blood.

Gladstone gripped the loose rocks in the pavement and struggled not to cry as the bear slammed his head into it. I am Gladstone Gander. The luckiest duck in the world. Nothing bad ever happens to me.

Well, that sure was a bust, wasn’t it?

He thought he heard footsteps, but surely it was his mind playing tricks on him. He desperately tried to remember anything on hallucinations and mind tricks. He knew he’d heard of them somewhere. He had been everywhere at one point.

But then he saw one grizzly, the one closest to where he figured the sound was coming from, turn their head, and then there was a blur of red, black, and white as Scrooge McDuck slammed into the grizzly.

He was swinging from an electrical line by his cane, and the sheer force of his jump and weight knocked the grizzly clean over. But Gladstone knew it wouldn’t keep him down for long.

Scrooge McDuck. Scrooge McDuck. Uncle Scrooge is here! Intervening in the fight! Gladstone had to repeat the name several times in his head to fully process what had just happened.

In their shock the grizzlies took their weight off Gladstone, but he remained on his knees, frozen by shock and exhaustion. The world was blurring at the edges, but it was sharp as a knife as he focused on Scrooge, stepping into the circle of bears with his fists clenched and his sleeves rolled up. The look in his eyes was murderous, and Gladstone saw one grizzly take a step back.

Scrooge took him in, on his knees, bleeding and beaten and nearly unconscious, and his eyes were blazing in a way that Gladstone had never seen.

“What d’ye think yer doin’ ta him?!” he spat, his Scottish accent thicker than usual.

The head grizzly straightened, crossing his arms. “We’re only takin’ what’s due.” The bears were stiffer now, not quite so smug, but they didn’t back down.

Surely after beating the crap out of the luckiest duck in the world, a rich old man wouldn’t be a problem?

Wrong.

Scrooge creamed them. He was everywhere. The famous McDuck temper shone in him, making him fly from one bear to another, giving them no time to defend themselves and leaving them stunned. And in no time he was back, continuing the cycle.

It was getting harder and harder for both Gladstone to stay conscious, and both Scrooge and the grizzlies noticed. Before Scrooge could do anything, one of the grizzlies scooped him up. Gladstone smacked at him in protest, but it did nothing.

“Thanks for the fun, McDuck,” the bear smirked as Scrooge glared at him, fists clenched. “But we have an appointment to get to.”

“Sir,” one of the other grizzlies whispered. “I don’t think this is a good ide-”

Scrooge backed up and kicked himself off the alleyway wall, slamming into the grizzly holding Gladstone and forcing him to stumble back. In his shock, his grip on Gladstone loosened, and immediately Scrooge was in his place and shot off.

“Actually, Ah’m the one with an appointment! Take that, ya scumbags!”

The Sunchaser was waiting a few blocks away, and with the grizzlies in pursuit, Scrooge yelled at Launchpad to start his takeoff before they boarded. He used his cane to hook onto the bottom of the plane and yanked them both inside, and they were off.

The last thing Gladstone saw before he faded from consciousness was Scrooge’s worried face, so different from the murderous rage in the fight and the contempt he usually got from his uncle.

~

He didn’t stay down for long.

When Gladstone woke up, the first thing he noticed was the quiet rumbling of the plane, and then the aching all over his body. It took him a moment to remember what happened, and to realize why he wasn’t engulfed in the soft comfort of a five star hotel bed.

Alley. Bears. Fight. Scrooge.

Scrooge.

He jerked awake, accidentally kicking his uncle lightly, who jumped back with a surprised “Aaaah!”

Gladstone turned on his side, wincing. “Uncle Scrooge!”

His uncle picked himself off the floor, no worse for wear, but Gladstone noticed the bandage on his cheek. “Gladstone! Lad! Yer awake!” He looked relieved. Yet another unfamiliar expression between the two.

Gladstone rubbed his head, finding bandages on him as well. Glancing back, he realized that Scrooge had been finishing up bandaging his leg. As his uncle sat back down, Gladstone turned again slightly to face him.

An uncomfortable silence passed between the two as Scrooge picked up the bandages again and continued, an awkward jerkiness to his movements.

“Are ye all right?” he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off of his work.

Gladstone nodded. “Yeah, I am now.”

Another moment passed, and then he added, “Thanks.”

Scrooge only nodded. “Launchpad was the one who noticed ya.”

Gladstone glanced at the pilot, who was actually piloting for once. “Yeah. But really, uncle, I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t show up.”

Scrooge glanced up at him. “Ah couldnae jus’ leave ya there.”

Gladstone smirked sadly. “It’s happened before.”

Scrooge took a deep breath. “Well. It won’t happen again.”

Gladstone jerked his head up. “Really?”

Scrooge sighed. “Gladstone, ye truly need a work ethic and ta let go of yer attitude, but yer me nephew, and Ah wouldnae let anything bad happen ta ye if Ah could help it.”

Gladstone couldn’t help the grin that sprouted on his face or the tears that sprouted in his eyes, and after a moment, when Scrooge looked up at him again, a small smile formed on his face as well.

I see what you did there, luck. And I appreciate it. I really do.

--

oh wow this took me a while! It was fun to write though. I can’t seem to write Gladstone without fitting family angst in there somewhere :P This is request 2/3 for @adamarinayu. I hope you liked it! did you guys catch the Golden Cricket thingy? also I headcanon Gladstone’s luck sends him into bad situations so he can bond with his family because that’s the one thing he never has, and if he could only bond with them his luck would make them meet in better situations. It would take a lot to make a lone Scrooge actively go out of his way to rescue Gladstone, but those guys beat him up pretty badly :P The Magica thing was from this one Italian(?) comic where she took away his luck and disguised herself so he’d fall in love with her and she’d use him to get the dime.  I’m pretty sure it’s the root of all Magicstone :P

[adamarinayu]

Hi once again. I just wanted to know what You Think of Gladstone.

Canonically almost everywhere, excluding DT87 and some of the non-DT comics, he’s a bit of an ass (please excuse the language).

However, I don’t think he’s a malicious ass in DT17. He is in a lot of the comics (though sometimes he’s shown to be as much a victim of his luck as anybody else), but in DT17 I think he just doesn’t realize how his actions and lackthereof affect those around him. At the House of the Lucky Gander, he brought his family in not with the intention of switching with them but of leaving with them, thinking Donald’s luck (or lack of, as it may be) would be enough to break Liu Hai’s spells. When Scrooge switched them out (though he knew Liu Hai could not survive off of Donald’s bad luck), even Gladstone was like “That’s messed up,” and wanted to help save him. (”The kid’s not wrong, Uncle McDunkle. What do we do?”)

So I think he’s unintentionally a bit of an ass, but he does love his family and didn’t want Donald to end up a prisoner in his place. I’d also say a bit selfish, but we don’t even know how long he was kept in the House of Lucky Fortune before finally calling his family as a last resort. He came close to having a realization about himself at the end, though it was wrecked by that golden boat.

That being said, I won’t solidly know how to feel about him until we see more of him, but overall I like him and his potential as a character. He’s a character that needs a “personal growth” story that I think Donald would be vital to (as he’s the victim of Gladstone’s luck, more often than not) before he can be considered a “good guy,” but he’s certainly not a bad guy.

And at the end of the day, I live for seeing him and Donald work together and prove that they’re family and therefore still love each other despite everything. Honestly, their relationship reminds me a lot of very competitive siblings rather than cousins, but if they grew up together from a young age that wouldn’t be surprising.

[syndrxme-blog1]

♕

♕ ━ which fictional characters are your favorites?

     I think it’s safe to say that Syndrome is one of my favorite fictional characters.I also favor Lucius (frozone) I was actually caught between rping him or syndrome but ended up making this syndrome blog instead of him, I like gladstone gander; lucky goose, I enjoy the Joker from batman. Certain jokers, as there is different kinds depending on who it is he is being portrayed and written by, king dice from cuphead as he was a blast to fight and had an amazing boss battle, cyborg from the teen titans show; man you know how much I looked up to him when I was younger? I wanted a robot arm cause of him.speaking of robo arm, I like Junkrat? but mainly too cause he reminds me of the Joker, and on overwatch related stuff, Lucio, doomfist (but I cant play as him cause he makes me lag) still like him, roadhog, and reinhardt.