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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Ducktales: Jaw$! or How Lena Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Webby (Lena Retrospective Commissioned by WeirdKev27)

Trigger Warning: Part of this review contains discussions of abuse which can’t be avoided but I still want to be senstive to my audience and any trauma they’ve gone through. Welcome back weblena world to Shadow Into Light: My Lena Sabrewing Retrospective. And Jaw$ is here, long live Jaw$. Tiffany was a shark who bites the law she was in an episode i’m reviewing called Jaw$.

And it’s the money shark before the storm as next month i’ll be going from two Ducktales reviews a week with the Lena retrospective and the last few episodes.. to three, as i’ll ALSO be covering the Della arc from season 1 in the build up to shadow war. And if your wondering if I expertly planned this to coincide with the finale, to the point the shadow war review and those leading up to it will be on the same week as the finale.... nope. I just got REALLLLY lucky as I already had all of that planned out, and the schedule for the new episodes happened to synch up perfectly, ending just in time for me to revisit the series start and having Magica’s big in person appearance reviewed a week after we get her backstory in Life and Crimes. Though I am VERY happy it worked out this way as I get to properly celebrate the series end with more ducks than ever, and get to cover the pilot the same month as the finale, all things i’d of loved to do anyway and probably would’ve rejiggered my schedule to do. Point is lot of Ducktales content coming for this blog if you like that so stay tuned, but for now join me won’t you under the cut as we dive into a money bin of gay ducks, shadowy machinations, and Bad PR.

We open as Lena and Donald awkwardly sit on the couch, waiting for Scrooge and the Kids to get home. Understandably it’s just.. dead silence.Given their a cynical teenager secretly working for and forced to obey a horrifying shadow monster and a 35 year old man who dosen’t like living in this house due to painful memories of his presumed dead sister.. and painful memories of pain in general, you have a huge awkward bowl of chips and “I really don’t want to be here right now”.

Our heroes return though, and Louie tries to take some of their haul for himself but Scrooge stops that “It goes in the bin not to next of kin. “... Man in a Hurry if you would please.

Thank you. Man in a Hurry everybody. He has to go now, he’s in a hurry.

As you can probably guess I do not like this, as it reminds me WAY too much of Scrooge’s worst “quirk” in the comics: how he’d barely pay his nephews, who are often hard up for cash mind you and one of whom is supporting three children ALONE, take them around the world and reap all the benefit for their hard work. It’s not like he did nothing, he did, but it’s way to exploitive for my tastes and can often sink a story if taken too far. It’s not AS bad... but they all went on the mission they all deserve at least something. I DO get keeping the rarest and most dangerous stuff for himself, as he is bankrolling things and does have two bins and a massive garage to safetly store them. But this just comes off as douchey for this version, who while liable to make mistakes with them, is far more nurturing towards his boys and girls.

Thankfully this was course corrected next season. While Scrooge’s greed was properly restored.. this sort of treatment wasn’t. “Treasure of the Found Lamp” had him undergo character development and realize simply hoarding his treasures isn’t right or fair, and set up a musuem wing so both duckburg and his descendants can see them and get the stories behind them. And on not getting to take things clearly he’s eithe relaxed or stopped the policy as our heroes do have souveneers from time to time. Not a LOT mind, but little things like Dewey having a giant sword or Scrooge outright giving Louie one of his things show he did soften up. Though Della’s return and likely lack of tolerance for this stupid policy in the first place probably helped a lot, I also like to think he did change a bit and realize it was deeply unfair they didn’t get more than a few treasures of their own. So the writers did realize they kind of went overboard here. I suspect this was more to setup for the episode’s subplot and to make Scrooge’s karma at the end feel justified. Speaking of which we get the start of said Subplot as Beakley comes in with a money cart and the news the board called. Why they called his house instead of his phone I don’t know, some things slip through the cracks when you running both a billion dollar company an da trillion dollar fiendish organization for world larceny. I mean they clearly worked themselves so hard the other two apparently died between seasons. That or it was the diet of whiskey, orphan tears and grease in a wine glass both had. Bradford always told them it’d kill them though to his credit he only said I told you so twice at their funeral.

For once no their not mad Scrooge is spending all the money they use to buy fowl jetskis, but because the Company’s having a bit of a PR nightmare now that Scrooge is back in the adventuring game. And we cut to the beanstalk they just adventured on having tore up a good chunk of the town and destroyed large swaths of it just to sell the point this isn’t their normal old man yells at other old man for spending all me money schitck, but a serious problem. As such they’ve booked him an interview with Roxanne Fetherly to improve his image and the companies.

Scrooge scoffs at this, baffled why he has bad pr as his adventuring is GOOD for the city in the long run: He pays for any damages it causes, and likely at a cost no less which is a LOT coming from scrooge, and puts most of the money he makes on these adventures back into the city and his company, creating more jobs and better living conditions. He does get a wakeup call via truly hilarous gag as Launchpad pops his head up to say “Good news mr. mcdee, it missed the orphange!” before getting ready to chainsaw the stalk for him. He quickly realizes MAYBE he needs some PR and agress to the interview.

This whole subplot really plays into one of the series main themes, one Frank brought up a few months back: Risk vs Reward. Adventuring is entirely about this, that adventure is dangerous, can cost you a lot as we see with Della and the aftermath of her terrible decision making, and can hurt people.. but it can also help people, bring money to those who need it, free those who are being oppressed and open new worlds to everyone. This subplot distills it down great: Scrooge is right that his adventures do bring in money, and as seen with the first episode brought in clean water and power with no drawbacks and only asked to be paid for it, which is fair given he still has to run machines and likely help relocate any workers whose jobs are now redundant to other parts of the company and retrain them. But it costs people their homes and jobs, not forever but still as long as it takes to construct, tears up roads and puts people in danger. It’s plots like this that make Bradford the perfect final boss for the series: He’s someone who blinds himself to the reward of all this and only sees the risk, and raises valid points even if he himself is deeply wrong. He’s right Scrooge causes a lot of danger and threat to the world.. but wrong in that he dosen’t see it’s all worth it for the good of everyone.

But enough about future story arcs let’s get back to this one, as Webby excitedly greets Lena and hugs her, realizes she’s not hugging her back then gives her another squeeze anyway after claming to hate hugs when just a LOOK at Webby would tell you that’s false. The two are having a sleepover, Webby’s first ever.. and given Lena’s essentially an Emo Hobo and the closest thing she has to home is that starlight ancient amptheater that’s never properly explained. Seriously ancient ruins near Duckburg dosen’t suprise me, but at least tell me what they are and why Magica chose them. And why Louie hasn’t tried to sell tickets to Dewey boxing a gorilla in them. Or probably a possum I mean their on a budget and gorillas snap necks, but still i’d pay to see that as would we all.

Point is it’s their first sleepover and naturally Webby’s first bit of smalltalk.. is how tucking in can be used for interogation techniques. I’d be more suprised if earlier this season it hadn’t already been shown Beakly regularly enrolls her daughter in the no murder, unless you really want to, hunger games every year. The fact Webby hasn’t become the bat is only because she hasn’t found a costume that’s the right combintion of pinks and purples to instill pantswetting terror yet. That shit takes time.

Lena goes to the bathroom.. to talk to Magica who we properly get to meet. She did speak last time, but this ep is the one that properly establishes her personality for the reboot: she has clever plans, tons of power, if sealed currently, and is a genuine threat.. but she’s also a bit of a ham, in love with the old ultra violence and really short sighted in her plans, something we got hints of last time as her best solution to the Beakly Problem was to just leave her to die and hope scrooge and webby, two people who love solving mysteries and unlocking puzzles, don’t investigate the horrifying death, accident or not, of their only friend and grandmother, and that neither, especially the 12 year old spiraling with grief, would suspect a former spy died. Thoguh in fairness on the spy thing it’s plausable Magica didn’t know that, but still it’s a bad plan. Magica has good ideas but is just so obessed with the brute force way of doing things she forgets the subtle approach works better.. and so far it has well for Lena. Problem is it’s VERY clear by this point that Lena likes Webby, maybe not romantic styles JUST YET but it’s getting there. Webby on the otherhand has been in love with Lena from the freaking concept art which showed her blushing around her.. and that was in her 87 design.. which they thankfully changed. It’s not terrible but it just dosen’t fit well with this universe. Point is Lena is catching feelings and Magica realizes this and tries to gaslight her telling her she’d never acccept the truth abotu her and so on. As we all know and as we’ll see that’s bullshit but it’s an effective manipulation. We also find out Magica’s plan: she had Lena sneak a jewel into the treasure going into the bin, and it’s going to turn into a monster that will seek out the Number One Dime for them. She also vaugely hints that there’s something Lena needs from Magica.

Once Lena returns, and Webby let’s her rabbit know the interogation isn’t over, she gives her possible future girlfirend a gift: friendship bracelets! They both put them on and it’s really fucking cute.. and will be both a tangible symbol of hteir friendship and a plot point several times, something I honestly hadn’t thoguht about till now. Lena, put off by the gesture not because she dosen’t aprpciate it because of the crushing guilt of lying to the one person who cares about her under the insucrtions of a sociopath, goes to Webby’s big old corkboard which is always fun to look at.. especially since it’s clearly the ONLY glimpse at Hortense we’re going to get all series.

We’re not getting Grandma Duck either. Though at least Frank actually regrets that one. But the important part is one of the posts mentoniing Scrooge hates magic, something Webby elaborates on: He hates spells, hexs curses and what not and feels them a shortcut. From the man who has a garage full of them.

I do kid as I did realize there’s a valid expliantion for this: Scrooge will use magical items, protection spells that sort of thing.. but he uses them like anything else as needed. He’s too pragmatic to not say, use the jewel of atlantis to give a city clean energy and water he can montizie, or the split sword against FOWL.. but more often than not he just dosen’t need them. He collects them because it’s fun, oftne profitable.. and their simply SAFER in his museum wing, garage and second bin will get to in two weeks. He’s seen time and time again how people misuse magic, forget it has a price, or just rely on it instead of actual skill. He’s also clearly been on the bad end of a LOT of evil sorcerers and soreceresses, especially magica. Magic isn’t inherently bad, which in itself is a BIG message of Lena’s arc, it’s just somethign that’s the OPPPSOITE OF everythign scrooge is: sacrifcing others for power, relying on something besides yourself, distance attacks versus up close and personal phsycial attacks.. it was never going to be for him and tons of bad experinces with it only cemented it. He’s just not so stubborn outside of the santa thing to avoid something if it’s going to net him a profit or come in a pinch.

So naturally Scrooge has banned any magic books from his house, as he has no use for spellcasting and any he’d need to keep for saftey or history’s sake are likely at the archives, but just as naturally, Webby smuggled one in and wants to try it with Lena ducking it and asking to play some games. I”m sure Huey has a few yugioh decks in his room go bug him. But before they can decide on one, the boys attack for a PILLOW FIGHT.... which is a sweet gesture and them just wanting to hang out, but ends with them all eating the ground and questioning why they thought attacking the duck equilvent of cassandra cain was a good idea. Louie decides to salvage it with a swim.. but since their pool has a boat in it he has a diffrent location in mind: the bin.

So while they head off to get head injuries, Beakly tries to prepare Scrooge as the Media are vultures and looking for the next scandal with public figures and it’s accurate. But given Scrooge’s natural mood is grumpus, this dosen’t go well at all and even a spray bottle dosen’t exactly help.. I mean it is the best method to deal with grumpy old men but it can only do so much.

At the bin we get a lovely bit as Dewey prepares to dive and his brothers treat it like an olympic one, with both doing commentary, Dewey’s apparently response to if he was worried about brain damage was Nerp, and we get the wonderous national anthem of dewdonia. Just nice as well as lovely to see the brothers just having a crack and enjoying each others company with their own weird injokes but without the injokes feeling as forced as they were in “Beagle Birthday Massacre”. Things take a turn though as we see just what magica created with the stone... a giant shark made of scrooges money who eats that fucker in a single bite.. in this case Dewey. Louie and Huey naturally run off panicked.

So while Huey and Louie gain another scarring memory to tell their therapist when their older, Scrooge begins his interview with Roxanne Fetherly who.. honestly just weirds me out. Not for any personality stuff but because she has green feathers. And it just.. really feels WEIRD. I mean green ducks are a thing in real life.. but it just looks off to have such a pastel color on a duck when the other colors are white or tones meant to invoke real world races, allowing ducks to be black, latino, asian and so on and so on coded. That’s fine and blends in fine.. but with that metaphor the green just really dosen’t fit well at all. It feels like an early decision they made, but decided not to retcon or go with for anyone else which makes it all the more weird. We’re 3 seasons in , almost at the end, and the only other green duck we’ve seen was like that because of magic and the offputting nature of it WORKS for magica. Here I just don’t get it and I never well. But naturally Roxanne starts in on invasive, gotcha questions with no real good answers or time to respond, so fox news level questions, and then asks what part of ireland he’s from.

Naturally that sets him off so while that rant goes on, literally next time we see him he’s still going on about it, we cut to the girls playing truth or dare.. and given Webby’s first question is about deepest darkest secrets the boys once again save her by running in... to report on the monster she created that just ate their brother. Lena brushes it off but does get them not to go to scrooge claming he’ll throw them to the shark himself. I mean he’s not comics scrooge so he probably woudln’t but their also two scared 11-12 year olds so it works well enough. They just need a way to go after the money shark. Enter launchapd who in the second best bit of the episode, says he sensed his best friend dewey was in danger. Beck’s delivery is what sells it.. and I’m not going to question it. He’s somehow alive despite presumibly living off a diet of spaghett-o’s, barely avoiding a car accident on his best days, and as we’ll find out later believing children in costumes are monsters he summoned when he was 8. The fact he suddenly has spider sense specifically related to people he cares about is honestly less of a surprise than the fact he’s not in heaven crashing God’s Speedboat into God’s Golden Castle with God’s Golden Lion riding shotgun.

So they do the natural thing and.. steal Donald’s houseboat while he sleeps. He has no more involvement in this episode other than noticing it’s back and not in great condition at the end. I bring this up because this is one of Donalds ONLY apperances this season, and it’s part of the larger more irritating problem that he’s hardly ever used.. despite promoting him as a major part of the series.

I will talk about this more during the Della arc as i’ts more relevant there, but needless to say it bothers me a lot and not knowing how to ballance it’s massive main cast was a constant struggle for the series even up to the final episodes going on right now.

So our heroes head out on the bin late at night, where could the Jaw$ be she’s nowhere in sight. So they decide to use other treasure as a lure they either fished out of a bin or out of scrooge’s bathwater. How bathing in coins gets him clean I don’t know and frankly I dont’ think we want the answers to that and the idea of scrooge fully naked is so horrifying I forgot what I was talking about.

Ah yes our heroes are playing bait the money monster and find out it’s a shark, and Lena.. is not okay with that and goes to talk to Magica inside the boat. Magica tells us she has a name, Tiffany. Awww what a lovely name for a money shark. I would of gone with Rags to Bitches, but I may have brain damage. Lena understandabily does not like the idea of getting eaten by a shark, asked to be informed and while Magica is mad at her for going after the thing, Lena reasonably points out that it was this or Scrooge got involved. Up top Huey tries catching it with a bit of treasure on a rope.. after not shutting up about shark facts because “Facts comfort me when i’m nervous!” Precious angel. But Huey’s leg gets caught and he and Louie, somehow on the latter get thrown up in the air and chomped. Back bellow Webby has a suggestion: using magic. Lena naturally not wanting to blow her cover or really liking magic period is against it for now.

Back at the interview, Roxanne brings on a special guest to prove people don’t like scrooge: GLOMGOLD!

Glomgold may create some issues for the subplot and we’ll get to those in due time, but damn if it isn’t always a pleasure to see him. He’s also on good terms with Roxanne... are.. are we sure this is local news and not fox news? Taking the word of a conservative greedy billionare over a progressive one seems like a fox move. Though I might actually watch fox news if glomgold was a commentator. “I propose a red new deal instead of this blasted green new deal, I throw Scrooge to a tank of sharks connected to a generator, the tank turns red with his blood and that somehow creates power! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT MCDUCK”

So we get the best bit of the episode as Glomgold tries to complain about his building being destroyed which would be fair... if he hadn’t tried to blow up Scrooge’s bin twice this week, with Glomgold going for THREE.. for threee.. for three... it dosen’t go off but it does get scrooge to say he’s glad the building was destroyed. Which is fair but NOT super great PR.

Back at the shark things don’t get better as Webby and Lena argue over the use of magic, I mean as much as they can argue Webby just wants to know why she’s so cagey about this while they go with plan “Launchpad crash into it”. Launchpad also gives a hell of a monologue. Good on you bud. As you can see launchpad’s gotten 100% better since his low point in our last episode. That’s because it’s clear the writers had some struggle ballancing his amped up stupidity with actual competence, making him primarily jokey comic relief in the first few episodes and I wouldn’t be shocked if Terror of The Terra Firmians was written before a lot of the later episodes despite airing around the same time. But by mid-season he’s got his much more lovable charactersation of a dangerous moron..l but one who CAN be competent and is genuinely charming due to how much he cares about his friends and his job. They also dialed down the stupid down to an acceptable homer simpson level: still a danger to himself and others but hilariously so. Point is they fixed it and while i’ll complain about mistakes the show made I will give this crew all the credit for course correcting time and time again and actually listening to fan feedback.

So Webby figures they tried the Jaws option and lost the boat and launchpad, time for plan Magic. They hold hands, EEEEEEEEE, and try a spell.. and it clearly starts working but almost works TOO well, as Lena starts glowing first purple.. then blue. Hmmmm... intresteing. Lena breaks it off and Tiffany breaks out of the bin.. just as scrooge says on the news his adventures aren’t dangerous.

Scrooge naturally goes to face it while Webby wonders why Lena didn’t go for it. To make it a triple Scrooge shows up in time to distract tiffany.. with the number one dime, which as lena found out earlier is on his person rather than at the bin like the public thinks. So while Scrooge puts up a good show.. seriously it’s really awesome and really neat looking, though he also gets VERY upset that people are naturally holding out buckets for the cash shark, which he’s not happy about because well.. he did EARN that money. Most bin money is stuff directly earned by him so fair enough. But while he’s you know, Scrooge Fucking McDuck, and thus puts up a good fight the monster eats him.. and gets the dime stuck in it’s tooth with Magica wanting Lena to grab for it, forgetting that minons, while mildly disposable, aren’t really replaceable when your SOUL’S ATTACHED TO THEM. That’s where Magica’s weakness is. her plans aren’t half bad but as I said, she’s far too bloodthirsty and short sighted. She has better ones than glomgold but ironcially they share the same problem of not thinkign them through. And Magica cares so little for lena she’s blinded to the fact her own personal saftey is tied up in her.

Lena naturally dives for her future girlfrriend and heads into the belly of the beast. And it’s here her REAL moment of truth is. While the one last episode was noble.. it was also easy enough to brush off internal as pragmatisim. Letting Beakly die would’ve brought too much heat and been too easy to quickly go terrible, while saving her got her off Lena’s trail and gave her free reign of the manner. But here? Webby is about to slip into Tiffany’s stomach and whle she hasn’t digested anyone yet given who made Tiffany with it’s likely just because she hasn’t had enough mass to create chainsaws to carve them all up. It’s the Dime or Webby. Lena’s own freedom or the girl she loves. Nothing good comes from saving Webby.. other than Webby. Other than the one person whose truly loved her. I mean think about it: She was created by magica, abused for a good decade and a half. No one but Magica has had a chance to care about her and as we’ve seen Magica only sees her as a weapon to get back at scrooge and not as a person. Webby was the first person she’s ever made a genuine connection with, that’s been there for her, that loves her unconditionally and woiuld be there for her no matter what. And it’s in that moment Lena realizes she can’t sacrifice her for her own good... that after years of having to be selfish to surivive being chained to that monster... she can’t be this time. No mastter what it costs her.. Webby is priceless. So Lena recites the spell, growing bright blue and blowing up tiffany. Lena gladly hugs webby who reciorpates, awww gaybies, and Launchpad hugs dewey. Awww... what it’s still precious he’s a good surrogate uncle. The wacky kind who sleeps in a van on your lawn.

So Scrooge is glad.. though it’s here his subplot falls flat. Him getting attacked by the media and getting a compupance by loosing tons of money from tiffany is fine. Evne if he earned it, his lack of care did bring this on him.. hte problem is they take it too far by having all his nemies show up, him unable to say anything and glomgold blatantly doing so just to steal from him. Otherwise the subplot is fine, a bit heavy on scrooge being a dick but it has to to work and puts him in an awkward situation. But this ending just feels to over the top to realy enjoy. And the series does do over the top humor well so I don’t know what happened here. But having a bunch of outright thieves steel his money instad of a bunch of citizens who didn’t know better and deserved it for the damage, feels wrong and it tastes wrong.

Speaking of feels wrong and tastes wrong we get an INTEINTONAL dose of that as back at the amptheater, Lena and Magica argue about the situation and Magica trying to kill her. Lena tries to walk away but can’t.. phsyically. Magica won’t let her. And this is honestly a very crushing and very well crafted metaphor for how abuse victims sometimes CAN’T escape their abusers. Magica is verbally abusive, treats lena like she’s disposable and constnatly downtalks her self esteem. To Lena magica is nothing but a tool.. but like MANY children caught in horrifcally abusive situations Lena can’t get away. It’s a literal metaphor, an da good one, for how you can’t ALWAYS escape abuse easily, and this especially true for kids who have nowhere to go and hte law on their abusers side more often than not. It’s hard to escape an abusive parent and even harder when they dont’ consider you a person. I thankfully have no personal experince with this but it dosen’t make it any less of a problem nor any less noble of this show to tackle the subject in a frank, if fantastical, way, and a good chunk of Lena’s arc is overcoming this abuse and not letting her abusive past drown her. But for now.. all she can do is agree to do what Magica says till she can hopefully be rid of her. But the light at the end of the tunnel’s coming.. there’s just a whole lotta darkness first.

Next Time: We take a break from the episodes to cover some Lena related comics for a double feature; The first Spies Like Us has everyones faviorite lesbian ducks go on a spy adventure that was never printed in the us for silly reasons we’lll get to and then the 87 ducktales comic dime after dime which features Lena’s predecessor Minima.

Later Today: Close Enough Season 2 is here! I”m going to talk about it! Exclimation Points!

If you liked this review feel free to follow for more. And if you have an episode of Ducktales or another animated show you’d like me to cover just hit me up via my asks or direct messages on here and comission it. And if you’d rather just support me on a monthly basis, head over to my patreon. THE LINK IS RIGHT HERE. Even a buck a month would help and the more of you that donate the closer we get to my Duckcentric stretch goals. The current closest ones are 15, which would lead to reviews of The Goofy Movies and Treasure of the Lost Lamp, and 20 which would lead both to a review of the Super Ducktales mini series, and monthly darkwing duck reviews! So if you like me talking about ducks and want to bolt some duck reviews to the schedule, even a dollar a month would inch me closer to that goal. Eveyr bit helps. But money or not, it’s been a pleasure and i’ll see you at the next rainbow.

#ducktales #weblena #lena sabrewing #webby vanderquack #scrooge mcduck #bentina beakly #donald duck #launchpad mcquack #dewey duck #huey duck #louie duck #magica despell #tiffany despell #jaw$#jaws

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kookies2000 · 4 years ago

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My thoughts on the final. 8 out of 10 for me and here's why.

Positives first.

The villains. I love Bradford as a villain and his plan really was flawless. To me, Bradford is the scariest type of villain there is. Scrooge trusted this man for almost his whole life. Trusted him enough to be in charge of his money, and secrets. Only to get betrayed at the end. This is an actual thing that happens in real life. People we love, people we know for our whole lives, could just suddenly become horrible people and our love and trust in them breaks. And it hurts like crazy. And that's Bradford right there. He was close to Scrooge and betrayed him. Now the fact that Bradford never saw himself as the villian adds more to why these types of people are horrible. They blame others for their misfortune or for their bad traits. Like how Bradford told the family to look what they made him into after he grew into a monster. He's trying to put the blame on others instead of acknowledging that he's doing this to himself. Like at least the other villains like Glomp Gold and Magica know their villains. They're self aware unlike Bradford. Bradford doesn't like the thought of being a villain so he blames those that see him as the villain. Like dude! You imprisoned Gandra for indefinitely, trapped Ludwig Von Drake who just wanted to talk things out with you, imprisoned innocent people like Panchito and Jose. Why those two? Just because they were tricked into performing a concert at The Feast of the Flower? He straight up murdered his agents, and threw Donald in too. Not to mention he played a part in tearing the family apart once. And he keeps justifying it by saying "I'm not a villain". Which makes it worse! You can't just say you're not a villain or that others are trying to make you look like the villain. If you're not the villain then there's no need to say it. So yeah, I enjoy Bradford as a villain because he's the most realistic of the three main villains we had. Someone who has some good points but executes them poorly.

I also enjoyed the other villains like Phantom Bot and Pepper. I ship these two so much. 💖. Pepper being her talkative self and speaking her mind while Blot is being the strong silent type. My favorite line is also from Pepper "Look Blot! He's a full grown man with the strength of a baby!" I LOVE YOU PEPPER!!! And Blot being his aggressive self is enough for me. And thank you Lena for setting Gene free! Rockerduck being his spoiled self was also a treat. Having his servant fight for him and ordering a drink while he fought. 😂 Don Karnage was his lovable singing self, also he is dead now right? No way he survived that plane crash. Congratulations Dewey, you murdered a man while singing just like I always knew you would. Heron was also great. There's no doubt in my mind that she had some kind of attraction to Bradford after that "Oh Bradford, how villainous 😏" before dying. There's just something hilarious about Heron gracefully accepting betrayal and death like that. 😂 Steelbeaks was great. Finally using that smart ray on himself and still being the imbecile he is! Glomp Gold, Magica and the Beagles special appearance was also a treat.

Ok so our heros! I have to talk about Drake, Fenton and Launchpad! I love Drake for his balance of goofiness and heroicness. He's clearly a man who wants what's best for everyone and loves to be in the spotlight as well. Not to mention just how much fun it is to watch him being all goofy. He may have a child-like side and loves being the goofy hero he is, but he has his serious moments. Showing that just because you have a child-like personality doesn't mean you're not mature enough to handle serious situations. Just the way Drake comforted Fenton by telling him he isn't alone on this, to let others help him warms my heart. He knows Fenton so well and grew a personal connection with him. To the point where he refuses to believe Fenton is Gizmoduck. 😂 Poor guy is in denial. I feel bad for him because he's always in GizmoDucks shadow, which is why I screamed so loud when he and GizmoDuck shared the spotlight in the beginning of the fight with Steelbeaks. Great moment! And Fenton! I adore him and I love him so much more after this episode too! He was always the man with a heart of gold and always put others first. And they added even more to his character by making him such a romantic towards Gandra. I'm 100% sure she was on his mind throughout this whole adventure. Just the fact that he says it out loud that he wants to rescue her and his first reaction when they landed at the Lost Library was to rescue the prisoners was adorable. We all know he wanted to go save the prisoner's to find Gandra. Yeah I know he also cares for everyone else just as much but Gandra will always hold a special place in his heart. And then we have the moment with the two in the end credits. Just pure adorableness! Falling together, Fenton becoming GizmoDuck and catching her like he always does!!! Ah I can't help it! These two are cute!!! I also like how Fenton never did get to rescue her but it was Huey and the others that did and then she helped on rescuing the others. Breaks that whole damsel in distress cliche. I'm so sorry Fenton that you didn't get your shining armor moment, maybe next time? Then we have Launchpad. That guy finally had his shining moment. He was so insecure about not being a superhero that he couldn't see he was the one that inspired Fenton and Drake to become heros. That moment was so sweet and the fact that Launchpadpad became Gizmoduck was what made it perfect. And I loved how he crashed the suit too. 😂 and even the Gizmo Suit has an attitude "Eh, close enough."

Then we have the kids. Each one had their moment and I loved it. Violet was under used I'll admit, just wish they used her more. Like her woodchuck knowledge or her book smarts to find their way out of a maze, open a certain door to another room or help Lena out. Lena had her moment as well, making the airplane invisible showing just how powerful she has become. And let's consider that she nearly got killed by Phantom Blot in the first battle but this time she was able to battle him much better. Friendship really is her magic. Boyd is my favorite! I just love how him being just a head didn't even bother him one bit. Instead, Lil Bulb just uses his body to create a bobblehead Boyd. Let's not forget that "Take care of your brother." line. That one line made my heart sing. Louie was very realistic, "That is not at all comforting. I do not want to die." and he was also the same sharp boy we all know and love. I love the scene where he's pep talking Dewey into winning the battle against Don Karnage. And then we have Dewey flying the Sun Chaser by himself, fully embracing his talent. I'll talk about Huey and Webby later. Scrooge, Donald and Della also had their moment to shine as the original three! Loved it so much, just watching these three fight one last battle together was enough to almost make me cry. Beakly also had her moments like getting the chance to tell Webby the truth, even though it was a trick. I love how she wanted to make sure everyone was safe and went to fight F.O.W.L on her own only to learn her lesson near the end. The lesson that she can't keep secrets forever and she has to have trust in her family in order to win. And sure enough this lesson came from her oldest friend Scrooge Mcduck.

The humor was also the best! I loved the fact that Manny is actually some world ending monster and what does he have to say? "People change man! I just want to live a normal life!" 😆 I never expected Manny to talk let alone his voice sounding like that. And then we have the Gargoyles reference "I live again!..... Again!" Loved that, gold right there. Then we have Von Drake who admits that he isn't dead all because he doesn't have time to die! Oh if only life were that easy! Gyro was comedy gold as well with his line "When they do something right, they're heros! When things get too hard, we're children!" 😂 Love you Gyro!

Ok so one thing I have an issue with. You all know what it is so I'll make it as short as possible. Webbys backstory. I didn't like it. I have no issue with her being a clone and that Beakly found her, but Scrooge's daughter? It was unnecessary and here's why. Scrooge was already her father. He took care of her as his own, protected her, kept het happy, and was a wonderful role model to her. She was already his official none blood daughter. Making her Scrooge's blood related daughter does nothing to improve her character. If they wanted her as a clone, they could've done something else. Like maybe she could've been the clone of a well known F.O.W.L agent that died or disappeared. So F.O W.L tried to clone that agent by creating Webby. Nothing would need to change either, Beakly could've still found her, took her in and kept her safe with Scrooge. Webby would still have an identity crisis thinking she's the clone of a F.O.W.L agent and is destined to be a F.O.W.L agent. If they wanted to add June and May in, then use that same reason. Cloning F.O.W.L agents and raising them to be the evil like them. Or what about this? Use Beakley's story about her daughter. How Beakley wasn't there for her as much as she wanted to and maybe one day F.O.W.L talked Beakley's daughter into joining them. Making Beakley regret not being there for her daughter more. When her daughter tries to leave F.O.W.L she disappears all of a sudden. But then Beakly finds a baby clone of her daughter (Webby) and she takes this as a second chance to raise her daughter again. I'm just saying, anything would've been a better back story for Webby other than being Scrooge's clone. And as for Huey, he should've been the one to find the papyrus. Branford had him in his grasp. He had managed to manipulate Huey into helping him, so why not have him grab the papyrus. He is a direct descendent of Scrooge so why complicate things by having Huey talk to Webby? They weren't even sure if the papyrus was going to show itself to Webby!!! HUEY WAS RIGHT THERE BRADFORD!!!! It was so easy!!! Kidnap Huey, manipulate him into helping, then lock him up with Gyro, Drake and Gandra!!! I'm not saying I didn't enjoy Huey and Webby here, I did. Huey using his woodchuck knowledge allowing his brothers to find him and Webby using the skills her granny showed her made me proud. I love seeing these two using the skills they learned while living in the mansion.

Other than that, the final was great and I loved it. I just wish Webbys background was different and more unique than being Scrooge's daughter. Oh! And the end credits were wonderful! I love how the poster was basically a foreshadow of it!

8/10 I loved the finale!

#ducktales #ducktales 2017 #dt17 #ducktales spoilers #dt spoilers #dt #dt 2017

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tomyo · 4 years ago

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Ducktales 2017 is gonna have me crying.

I haven't been able to watch the series due to college taking away too much times but I've been happy to finally get a chance to catch up and I'm slain. What gets me the most is the casualness of the world. They keep it fantastical and immediately fill it with a wide cast ranging from greek gods, superheros, and the supernatural but it never feels zany. Gearloose has been a favourite example of this, he is literally a mad scientist unable to really function with greater society. He has almost no empathy, curses society for misunderstanding him while also trying to appeal to investors and reasonably attempts to fire his intern when he's out of order. There's just something so bizarrely grounded in a way I can't fully place, sometimes it's show don't tell being well used, sometimes subtext, and sometimes just that they don't pause for dramatic effect. Before you know it, the horse with a statue head or the ghosts of Christmas just feel natural.

In interesting ways that feeling reflects the Duck family. When I think about it, Ducktales 2017 is pretty align with Venture Bros. A family known for adventures and the real ways the out there can be normalized. Everyone in the cast is capable of fighting and out manuvering their opponent. Season one's finale really shows it off as you watch chauffers, trained spies, and office workers quickly turn into a specialized tactical unit. I remember before being able to watch it being mystified and going frame by frame through webby's fighting. Remember Sokka's iconic fight against his master, how the master highlights each skill that makes the choreography so beautiful? Weeby and Magica are doing all of that and it's not even the focus of what they're doing. This is someone she's never even faced and not only keep low to stay out of range but even uses Magica's own barrier against her and slide behind her. There's something just so ingenious about that.

What particularly stands out to be too is Donald. I've always understood Donald Duck as the character who will get his comeupits in the end. Short tempered, self serving, cocky, and likely to be bested by the smart allec foil. He's the don't of the do/don't example. While he's certainly kinder I'm Ducktales, he's now presented as the helicopter parent who spoils everyone's fun. The text of the show says Donald isn't seen as cool, at least in the eyes of his nephews. The triplets are clearly now the main character (as apposed to scrounge in the previous interaction) and we can even see this by the fact they've now been given normal voices to be easier to hear. The juxtaposition the reboot is presenting us is how they as newcomers see their mudane uncle against the adventurous, eccentric, and wealthy head of the clan great uncle as well as other family members or associates.

But what's mostly crazy about this is they continue to see him as that. Even as they continues to learn not only of Scrooge but Donald's exploits, his casual greeting to a Greek god that idolizes him, taking command when there's a reason to fight, etc. He's still the lame one in their eyes.

So then we get to the latest episode I saw, Last Christmas, and it overwhelms me.

The boys have not known what it was like to grow up in the duck clan and we can really see that gap in this episode. Mind you, Dewey recently took part in defeating a witch out for world domination. He immediately drags Teen Donald along to find his mom and something to note is he leaves through the window of a stories high mansion and makes it to the ground in a few leaps. So it sets the standard for Donald's much higher skill.

The most obvious difference is how Donald's just willing to lick what could be his sister's blood. He's not even speculative, he's just unimpressed. Like he says, adventuring is juvenile to him. Where Dewey tumbles down a hill of snow, he slides with ease; when Dewey hides from the monster, Donald climbs up a tree like it's second nature and begins attacking the wendigo. The one that especially gets to me is when Della cuts them down. The striking image of his arms apathetically dangling, the hair flip, how I bothered he is at the idea of fighting with a guitar shifting around on his shoulder. It's really such an anime sense, like the slightly unhinged OP character you find.

I also want to deviate a moment to talk about Della's appearance, how she grapples the net trap with ease and talks about capturing one of the most well known fairy tale figures like she was trying to find just some rabbit or such. The twins almost kind of have the feeling of kids of doomsday preppers. That uncanny feeling of watching children feel so familiar with survival skills and tacticion even adults have lost touch with.

The dropdown shows not only the twins skill level over Dewey but also their relationship in their lineage. Again to gush over teen Donald's animation, he drops down with hardly any brace for impact, only briefly having his hand on the ground before getting up in a limp relaxed stance and an unfocused expression. Della on the other hand immeadia adjust herself into a proper fighting position showing her eagerness to fight as she delivers a challenge. It really solidifies what we know about them, how she always is after the next journey while he kind of sees it as there's better things he could be doing. And this carries through how he prioritized raising and keeping the triplets safe even more so than their mother had.

Like I mentioned before, the mcduck clan and the Ventures share a lot in common with how a famous patriarch defines the identity of the family as well as how each family member takes to that role laid out before them. For a lot of shows, the spectacle of concepts brought up in Ducktales would big it down and I actually see it a benefit to characters often being nonplused and capable when faced with daunting obstacles. But in some ways that suggests a general ennui for the clan. The mcducks/ducks are estranged from the rest of duckville and have numbed themselves over time. We see Rusty Venture deal with the consequences of having an unstructured and unsafe upbringing but rarely is it brought up in Ducktales (which to be fair it's a kid show even for as emotionally mature as it is). Della's disappearance was just the one tragedy where things went too far.

By the end we see the twins not even theorize but call out Dewey as a future relative and know protocol enough to stop him from revealing anything. I saw another user point out how sad it actually is when it's shown Donald remembers this night and what it must of meant as he raised the kid he met. But it also says a lot that in that moment as kids that Dewey clearly was emotional over Della and how foreboding it would be to have an unknown they needed to be warned about with not even a when to put it to. When you think of how even Webby says she's hardly known other kids before the boys, it apparent how isolating this home must be. When Dewey first finds Donald, the hallway he's in looks rundown, like the room was out of the way in a less used section of the house. That maybe the twins rarely saw other people.

At the end, Dewey returned along with his uncle as both realize how nice it would be to stay with all their loved ones singing carols next to a painting of Della's legacy while Donald and Della only have each other to be with as the huge portrait of Scrooge hangs over them.

#ducktales #ducktales 2017 #della #della duck #donald duck #i could've also brought up how the isolation shows why Donald not being around on xmas upset della so greatly #and how his gift is a mainstay of her design #but thats probably a given

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adamarinayu · 4 years ago

Note

Can you tell us more about your author au, back in action au, and Notre duck au? Sorry if I'm asking for a lot but I just saw them on your AU list and they caught my interest 😅

Haha sure! I haven’t worked on any of them in a while but here we go! It’s a bit long, especially the Back in Action section....

In the Author AU, Donald is an author who works under a pseudonym, so that he and the triplets can have some normalcy in life while also being able to support them comfortably. He’s the author of a best selling series, which is the Paperinik series (maybe in this AU it’ll be called Duck Avenger, idk).

He began writing the PK stories during highschool, and they were published as shorts regularly in a small magazine. Of course, being a teenager, it began as a fantasy- it was how he vented his frustrations. Gladstone, of course, figured it out, as did Della, but Scrooge had no interest so no one else outside of Donald’s closest circle (that is to say, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy and Goofy) knew. It soon grew to be a hero story, rather than a story about vengeance. At this point there are no nephews in the story.

After highschool, his story got picked up by a publishing company and Uno was his agent. He ended up including the character ONE based off of Uno, which Uno is equal parts amused and exasperated by (”Honestly, I thought you said you wanted to be anonymous.”). The two don’t officially become friends, however, until a couple of years later, when Della went missing. Donald had taken a surprisingly dark turn in the story which would have resulted in killing off the main characters, at which point Uno decided to intervene and talk to him. With Uno’s support and growing friendship Donald rewrote the story, keeping the darker tone but ending it on a higher note with all the characters alive and happy.

Donald also gave PK a family of his own, having him be a single father to three children (hinted heavily at them being adopted, after PK saved them as eggs), a decision which forever changed the direction of the books from being about a duck who fights because it’s all he’s good for, to being about a duck who fights because he has something worth fighting for. He and Uno obviously become very close over this time.

Gladstone reads every book that comes out. He always wins a free edition but insists on buying it, as his way of helping Donald out. He uses the tone of each book and the events that happen in them to determine whether or not he needs to come and kick a little sense into Donald.

Donald ultimately concludes the book series after Della comes back, with the story having a happy ending all around. Which definitely includes ONE getting a physical body and joining the family. Unsurprisingly he and Uno get married. Scrooge and the kids find out he’s the author of PK after Scrooge announces his studio bought the movie rights to the film lol. Della and Gladstone are just like “wow seriously, you guys didn’t see the writing clear on the wall?”

The Back in Action AU is basically, PK was a TV show and Donald was the titular character, PK. His co-star was Uno, who lent his voice and face to the character ONE (the names of all the characters in PK are changed, ofc, their real names are the actors’ names now, except for Uno and Xadhoom). The entire cast (yes, including Angus Fangus) were a pretty tight-knit family, of a sort. So while Della and Scrooge were adventuring (as he had left the adventure life behind, feeling as if he wasn’t contributing or seen as an equal among the group) he became part of a family of his own. Daisy also played PK’s love interest, though the two of them are actually more like Best Pals. They went to highschool together so. Daisy wasn’t in the main cast and was just a recurring character, as she had a main role in another series.

The triplets in PK were just babies, but PK wasn’t their primary caretaker. They were more like background characters, but occasionally PK would get roped into babysitting them and having to balance watching the children and saving the world because “oh god even if I stop the Evronian invasion if any of their feathers get singed my sister will kill me!” (Note, PK’s sister was only seen in photos and was a blonde, like in the original comics. You can hear her voice now and then though)

Donald was close with everyone (oh the bloopers he and Angus had.... and of course the Evronians, something ALWAYS went wrong with their costumes!) but Uno became his best friend (and his almost-more). The series was the most popular thing on TV for a while, and Gladstone and Fethry were so proud of their brother cousin and so sad that Scrooge and Della were missing the best moments of his life. Gladstone and Fethry are much more involved in Donald’s life than Della and Scrooge are in this AU. That isn’t to say they don’t all love each other very much, it’s just Della and Scrooge’s interests laid elsewhere.

Anyway, every series hits its end, and more often than not it comes much faster than planned. PK ended a whole season sooner than expected, due to the sudden buyout of their studio and the new owners choosing to shut PK down in favour of one of their own shows (couldn’t afford both at the same time, and their own show had a smaller budget). So the series ended on the cliffhanger of PK losing ONE and (Lyla’s character), the Evronians being defeated and PK choosing to hang up his cape because of just how much that final battle cost him. It was an ending that angered many people, extremely upsetting especially knowing that it hadn’t been the planned ending of the series.

The entire cast and crew split up, most still staying in acting but a few leaving. Donald went back to adventuring with Scrooge and Della while Uno went back to Italy with his brothers (Due and Tre, the former of which played a major part in 2-3 episodes) to work in their father’s lab. They ended up falling out of contact (not by their own choice, just due to the nature of their jobs). Then a few years later Della went missing and Donald was left caring for her three children- it was a bit ironic, perhaps.

In the 10-12 years Donald was taking care of them, a “sequel” movie and a spinoff came to be with different actors and stories, but neither were well received because they lacked the “spirit” and charm of the original series. Especially the spinoff, which was animated in a very Saturday-morning style.

The triplets don’t really know about the OG PK, only knowing it by the spinoff, or that their uncle used to be a big name actor. However, 10 or so years later it’s announced that PK is coming back.... with the original writers and actors (except for the kids). Including Donald Fauntleroy Duck, the actor who played the titular PK. They are shook.

The original children who played PK’s nephews were unavailable (”We were like 2 during all that, we really don’t care”) and, besides that, had already aged out of the roles (the comeback was a Ten Years Later kind of deal, and it had been more like 14 or 15 since the end of the show, so the original kids were already mid-late teens. Therefore, when the director discovered Donald was now caring for his three nephews (convenient that there were three) he suggested they play the role of the triplets. Donald left it up to the triplets, under the stipulation that they would have minor roles (as the triplets always did) and this wouldn’t interfere with school.

They actually made a whole new role for Webby in the show! Because the triplets agreed on the condition that Webby gets to join them. And that’s how Webby began to play the triplets’ younger sister. The director decided to take a page out of Donald’s real life and wrote PK’s sister out (this was also partially because the actress had died) so PK was now being a full-time father to his kids who had no idea who he really was.

But then Donald finds out that not only is Lyla there, not only is Angus there... so is Uno. Uno and both of his brothers. It’s quite a reunion. And of course everyone expects Donald’s most emotional reunion to be with Daisy, but no. It’s Uno. And Uno is the one he ends up on the front of a magazine with lol.

Also yeah they get married :3

Man I think I may have overspoke about this one XD But I really enjoy this one what can I say jkkghfdsjlk

Notre Duck!! That’s another one I enjoy though it isn’t as in-depth as the last. So basically Everett came to Earth, and it’s kinda like.... a Duck version of medieval times. He came here for inspiration, then ended up building Uno, who became like a son to him. However, when other flesh-and-blood ducks realized he was an android, they became fearful and called him a monster, and tried to attack and run him out of town.

After that, Everett hid him away in a tower attached to a church, where no one but the church staff would go. He didn’t want to lose his android son. But Uno watches the world below his tower change, dreaming of a day when he could go out there too.

One day he meets Donald, who is a street performer with an association to Scrooge McDuck, a king in a neighboring kingdom. Donald finds out very quickly that he is an android and doesn’t judge him for it, instead encouraging him to leave the tower because “life is about the adventure.” This, of course, does not sit well with Everett, who forbids Uno from leaving the tower or seeing Donald.

Donald is wanted by the lord of the city, who wants to use him against Scrooge (and earn favour with his own king). There’s no creepy old men lusting after young women and no slurs being used casually so.

Also anyway this actually spawned from me imagining Uno to the song Out There so yeah.

#Ask #DT17 AUs #They're all DUno

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rayllumkissing · 4 years ago

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Ducktober Day 1: Fall

So hey! I'm actually gonna do the Ducktober prompts from @ducktober2020 and let's see if I can stick with it for the whole month

Ao3

It was a peaceful morning in McDuck Manor, and Webbigail Vanderquack woke up to the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. She hopped out of bed and looked through the nearest window and sure enough, the leaves on the trees were slowly turning into darker shades, soon becoming yellow, orange and red over time.

She silently gasped to herself as her eyes grew wide. This could only mean one thing!

She hopped into the nearest vent and crawled through the tunnels and jumped through the vent which led to the dining room.

Scrooge, Mrs Beakley, Della, Donald and the triplets were almost ready to start breakfast, they were just waiting for Webby.

"Hey guys! Do you know what day it is?!" Webby exclaimed in her usual peppiness.

Louie nearly fell out of his seat because in terms of the mood that he generally has in the morning, he was the exact opposite of Webby.

"Well good morning to you too Webby" Louie managed to get out after his initial shock.

"Oops! Sorry Louie! Anyway, guys, fall is finally, finally here! The season of autumn leaves, pumpkins, and the highlight of the month, HALLOWEEN! WOOO- oops! Sorry again Louie!"

Louie gave a simple thumbs-up in response.

"So Webby, what do you want to dew after breakfast? Since it's the first day of fall" Dewey quipped, earning a collective groan from his brothers.

"Oh my! I haven't even thought about that!" Webby exclaimed with a mouthful of pancakes, earning a look from her granny.

"Well I'm not really sure! We could carve pumpkins, pick apples off the trees, ooh! Maybe we could do some halloween decora-"

Scrooge was sitting at the head of the table alternating between his pancakes and reading the newspaper, and as soon as he heard that dreaded word -halloween- he tilted his head out the side of the newspaper so Webby got a good look of his scowl from where she was.

"Okay, so no halloween stuff in the house" Webby backtracked. Scrooge gave a nod and returned to his pancakes.

'For now' Webby thought to herself, determined to make the duck enjoy the spooky holiday.

Huey cleared his throat and raised his hand.

"Huey, you have the floor" Webby said.

"Thank you Webby. Since the leaves have been falling at an increasing rate, I propose we could help out around the house and rake them up-"

"Boo! You know I can't do anything in the morning Huey. Also, I'm lovably lazy. Enough said." Louie groaned as he finished up his pancakes.

"Oh! Oh!" Dewey suddenly exclaimed. "What if we dew rake up all the leaves like Huey said-"

Another groan from the green-clad triplet.

"But! After we're done, we jump on them! You know, roll around, let loose and have fun! It would look really cool on my TikTok account! Ooo! Maybe I could start a whole fall aesthetic on the account, and the grand finale being on halloween night itself!"

"OH MY GOSH THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!" Webby squealed. "Granny can we please please do that?"

"Well, that is one less chore for me today. Thank you kids for helping out."

"You're welcome Granny!" "No problem Mrs Beakley." The kids chorused together as they stood up to put their plates in the sink and head outside.

"Well if I'm gonna be a part of this thing you gotta let me advertise Louie Inc. on your account Dewey" Louie said, more of a statement then an ask.

"Anything for my little bro!"

The kids got their rakes from the garage and with the four of them working together, it only took a little over an hour to get as many leaves as possible into one big pile.

And just for that one day, there was no monster or villan to fight, or any big adventures to go on or the need to rewrite history.

Today, it was just four kids laughing,goofing off with one another and being a family.

And as Webby looked fondly on the three boys trying to take a selfie with Dewey's camera, she was amazed at the fact that her family grew so big in such a short amount of time, compared to when it was just her and her Granny against the world. She didn't think that she could handle all the love she got from her new family.

Good thing her heart was big enough to do just that.

#ducktales #ducktales 2017 #ducktober2020

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sirena5 · 4 years ago

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Who did this?

Italics-thoughts

“words”- speech

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who did this? Who hurt him?

It was early. Too early for him. Morning sunlight leaked through their bedroom window. It was quiet.

It shouldn’t be quiet right now

The only sound that could be heard were the shallow breaths of a sleeping duck.

Well sleeping isn’t exactly the right word.

Louie was currently slouching on a chair next to his bed. Hoodie covering his head, arms wrapped around himself, tired eyes concentrating on the hard-wooden floor beneath him. Next to him was an empty chair and an empty beanbag. It’s been a few hours since they were last occupied.

He was tired. Both emotionally and physically. Never in his life had he felt so many emotions in the span of 14 hours. These emotions were starting to take a toll on his body as well. His muscles ached from hours of sitting. His eyes were sunken from lack of sleep. His stomach grumbled from hunger. His head hurt from crying so much.

With a sad sigh Louie looked over to his unconscious brother. There on his bed lay Huey. Bandages were wrapped around his head hiding the fact that he was sporting a bad head injury. There was a pained expression plastered across his face.

Every time he looked at his brother a feeling of sadness and anger overwhelmed him.

It’s been 14 hours since the incident. It’s been 14 hours since he was last awake. It’s been 14 hours since someone hurt his brother.

Who did this?

This was all Louie could think of.

Yesterday sure was eventful

The day prior, the family had traveled to Castle Brujedry to look for the All-knowing Mirror. According to Finch’s journal, this mirror had the answer to any question you asked. However, only one question could be asked per person.

On their way to the castle, Huey seemed extremely stressed. Louie was about to ask what was wrong when a sense of annoyance overtook him.

For the past several weeks Louie had noticed Huey becoming increasingly more and more anxious. This anxiety only grew once Uncle Donald moved out of the houseboat and moved in with his girlfriend Daisy.

There were several instances where Louie had asked what was wrong, but he never got an answer. Every time he asked, Huey would nervously dodge the question and flee.

Frustrated with his responses Louie gave up. He had put in too much effort into trying to find out what was wrong just for his brother to keep blowing him off. Heck he had even asked Dewey if he knew, but Dewey also didn’t know what was going on in their older brother’s head.

For some reason he had the suspicious feeling that Huey’s previous odd behavior was connected to the castle incident. Now he really wished he tried to pry a bit more. He wished he had asked what was wrong back on the plane. He wished he asked him a few more times these past few weeks. Maybe if he had kept on pestering him Huey would have told him what was going on.

Back at the castle, Huey hurriedly suggested that they split into groups to look for the mirror. Uncle Scrooge didn’t think much of it and agreed.

Louie stayed with Uncle Scrooge and Webby to search around the west part of the castle while Huey and Dewey went with their mom too look around the east part.

Things had been going normal. Scary monsters appeared, they fought them off, Louie screamed. Same old same old. Everything had been fine until Louie and co heard Dewey’s panicked shouts coming towards their direction.

“Guys we need to leave now! Huey’s really hurt!”

A few seconds later Dewey came into view with Della right behind him. However, something wasn’t right. Both Dewey and Della were decorated in bruises. Dewey’s didn’t look very serious, but they didn’t look pretty either. Della on the other hand seemed to have a large bruise forming right under her left eye and on her cheek. Huey on the other hand looked worse off. Huey was unconscious in Della’s arms. Upon closer inspection you can see a nasty gash along with a nasty bruise forming on the side of his head.

Who did this?

Dewey looked frightened. Something not commonly seen. Della on the other hand looked furious. Something also not commonly seen. She was protectively holding on to her oldest son while anxiously looking around.

“Lets go” she demanded.

No questions were asked before they started heading back towards the castle entrance and onto the plane.

On the plane, Della and Scrooge tended to Huey’s injuries as best they could. They also tended to Dewey’s more nastier bruises which were located on his arms and back. Uncle Scrooge tried tending to Della’s bruises, but she insisted she was fine.

After they finished tending to both kid’s injuries, they asked the children to look after Huey while they went to start up the plane. Once they were allowed to get near Huey, Dewey instantly curled up next to him. Not wanting to leave his side.

At the sight of his brother, Louie just started silently crying even harder. He tried to cover up his tears with his hoodie, but it was no use.

Who did this?

Louie could hear faint whispering coming from the cockpit as they flew but couldn’t make out what the adults were saying.

Mom’s probably telling Scrooge what happened.

Louie also wanted to ask what happened, but the only other person who was there during the attack was Dewey and right now Dewey seemed extremely upset.

Naturally they were all scared for Huey. Back at the castle, Louie automatically started tearing up at the sight of his big brother and since then couldn’t stop. Webby had been able to keep it together until she looked at Huey’s unconscious form on the plane. That’s when she started sniffling and crying. Dewey on the other hand had been shaking since getting on the plane. His face was scrunched up, his brows furrowed, his shoulders were hunched all while his teary eyes looked heatedly towards the floor.

“I’m sorry” Louie heard Dewey quietly whisper to himself.

Sorry about what?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First fanfic ever

What do yall think? Constructive criticism welcomed!

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the-mystical-aquatic-gay · 4 years ago

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Okay so this theory is linked to this theory on Webby’s real motives and this theory crossing over the movie Coraline with Black Friday, no I did not think I’d be connecting these two when I wrote them

Thanks to @marymyself for going into the replies on the second theory and giving me the base for this idea

So this is the idea that Webby could be the Other Mother. Which I know, I know, that’s heresy. How dare I suggest that everyone’s favorite magic spider from outer space could be one in the same with a child eating monster.

But everyone who’s read the first of the two theories I linked knows I’m not exactly sure of Webby’s motives and allegiances.

Just like the last Coraline related theory, this is based largely on the movie and I am fully aware that there is no way this would be canon, but it’s fun to think about. Now for my reasoning behind the accusions towards Webby:

On a base level, they share the spider aesthetic, but that alone isn’t enough to declare Webby’s guilt

Webby and the Other Mother seem to both be able to peer out of their world and into Coraline/Hannah’s world. Look at Hannah’s warnings about the government storyline, warnings which technically aren’t confirmed as being from Webby but I think we’re all pretty sure they are from her, and at Webby explicitly telling her Ethan’s dead. On the other side, look at the Other Mother knowing about the gloves Coraline wanted, her being annoyed by Wybie, and being able to kidnap her parents

Next we have their targets. I’m near certain Hannah’s older than Coraline, but both of them are young girls who at least feel ignored by their parent(s). And yes the Other Mother has claimed more kids than just Coraline, the specific of the kids depending on if you’re looking at the book or the film, but who’s to say that Hannah and Lex are the first people born with a connection to the Black and White in the Hatchetfield universe? This could be where you decide to rope McNamara in but I’ll leave that to y’all for now

Webby and the Other Mother both seem to enjoy vague clues, and possibly games too but I don’t really have backing for that for Webby. See warnings like “ stop, two doors not one” and “bad blood” for Webby, and for the Other Mother you don’t need to look any further than her little speech about finding one of the eyes in each of the three wonders she made just for Coraline

You could make the argument that Webby acts as a pseudo mother figure for Hannah. Obviously she’s got Lex, but Webby can give her warnings and keep her safe in ways that Lex sometimes can’t. But since we know that Hannah and Lex’s mom is really bad at minimum, coming right out and calling herself Hannah’s Other Mother probably wouldn’t be the best idea. So it’s not to hard to think that she’d just give herself a different name for this kid

I said this is mostly based off the movie Coraline, and it is, but these next two points will touch on my knowledge of the book. Feel free to tell me if I get something wrong here because I’ve only seen reviews and stuff of it I haven’t been able to read it myself

First: from what I understand, Coraline doesn’t act completely like a normal kid in the book. I don’t know many specifics, but I do know that she wasn’t automatically scared of the Other Mother (for those who haven’t read the book, the Other Mother never looks like a regular human but with button eye in the book, she basically starts off at her sorta stretched out and pointy look that she only gets in the movie when she gets mad and throws Coraline behind the mirror). So maybe Coraline has a connection to the Black and White too? Maybe a connection to the Black and White makes people, or at least children, more willing to accept the somewhat unsettling nature of things like the Other Mother?

Second: in the book the tunnel is... rather different from the movie. The door is an ornate full sized door instead of the tiny little thing hidden under wallpaper we see in the film. It opens to a dark hallway with a cold, musty smell coming through, like something very old, and very slow. Coraline describes walking through the tunnel as feeling like she’s being watched by something powerful and older by far than the Other Mother. When she leaves the other realm for the final time, the corridor is hot and damp, like the inside of a mouth

Why include all of that description of the tunnel? Well that ties in with my other Coraline and Black Friday theory. Since that one states that the Other Mother is a being from the Black and White, let’s say that the other realm where she lives is a part of the Black and White. What other being do we know of in the Black and White, who is immensely powerful and, almost certainly, equally as old? Wiggly. If Wiggly and the Other Mother/Webby are both from the other realm/Black and White, perhaps being sort of two sides of the same coin, it’s hardly surprising that they’d peek in on each other

This would also explain why Webby tries acting through Hannah to stop Wiggly instead of just stopping him herself. If she is the Other Mother and he the unknown thing watching Coraline in the tunnel, then we know Webby is no match power wise for him, so she’d have to get creative in any attempts to stop him. Enter Hannah

Conclusion? We might need to save Hannah

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memories-are-mine · 5 years ago

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We Survived the Crisis, Babe

This week on I Like Hurting My Characters: We have Chapter 3!!

Here are some handy links so y’all don’t have to go digging: Chapter 1, Chapter 2

ao3

Lemme know if you want to get on the taglist, as always!

Chapter 3 - Ethan

Ethan tried to sit up but immediately gasped in pain and laid back down. Apparently, the Friendly Black and White monster’s powers did not extend to healing cuts, bruises and stab wounds, though he figured he shouldn’t be ungrateful. After all, he was alive. However, he was currently lying in a concerning puddle of, presumably, his own blood, which did not bode well for his future survival.

Think. He had to think. Take stock of his situation. It had never been Ethan’s strong suit, but now it was necessary. For Lex and Hannah’s sake.

He took a few deep breaths, enjoying how good it felt to be able to breathe again.

He lay on the ground, near the bench where he and Hannah had sat after he’d gotten thrown out of the Cineplex. His head still felt fuzzy but didn’t hurt quite as much as it had before, so that was good, maybe he hadn’t suffered permanent brain damage. It really hurt to move his left arm, though not his right. Okay. One out of two wasn’t bad. The gaping knife wound in his side: definitely a problem. He needed to stop the flow of blood, or he would pass out, or worse, die again. Friendly Black and White Voice had helped him once, but Ethan knew instinctively that it was up to him now. If something happened, she wouldn’t be able to bring him back a second time.

His hand brushed his flannel, still somehow wrapped around his waist. Not ideal, but it would do for a bandage until he could find something better. His fingers fumbled with the knot around his waist, and after a lot of painful fiddling, it came undone.

Now for the hard part. Ethan bit down on the sleeve of his leather jacket, hard, and slowly, excruciatingly, pushed himself up into a seated position, so that he could tie the flannel around his stomach. He peeled his t-shirt off of the wound, nauseated by how much effort it took to pull it away. He made a point not to think about the fact that the wet sticky stuff was his own blood.

Slowly, very slowly, he wrapped the flannel around the wound and pulled it tight. It killed his bad arm, but the pressure helped to ease the pain in his side slightly, and hopefully, it would stop the bleeding.

Ethan scooted so that his head rested on the bench’s armrest and sat there for a few seconds until the pain went from pure torture to, well, less torturous, then, using the bench for support, he staggered to his feet. He had to find Hannah, then Lex.

Oh, God, Lex. Toy Zone had been where this mess all started, and she was caught in the middle of it. She might not even be alive.

Ethan pushed the thought from his head. He would see Lex Foster again. She could take care of herself, and he had promised her to look after Hannah. That was a promise that he was going to keep.

“Hang in there, Banana.” He said to the empty mall. “I’m comin’ for ya.”

Ethan set off in the direction of the Marshall’s.

When he was closing in on the Playplace, he heard Hannah scream. He picked up speed, going as fast as his tired, beaten body would allow.

“Banana Split?” He called desperately as he reached the entrance. No reply. Ethan’s heart sank. “Hannah? Are you here?”

He saw hesitant movement at the back of the McDonald’s. A small figure, with a backpack, a hat, crawled out of the kiddie tunnel and stood on the opposite side of the ball pit from him. Ethan’s heart soared. She was okay! She was here, and she was okay!

He reached out with his good hand and smiled. “What’s shakin’, Banana!”

Hannah yelped and moved back. “No! Bad!”

Ethan furrowed his brow. Hannah had never reacted to him like this before, not even the first time they’d met. Then he remembered that he probably looked like a zombie extra on The Walking Dead, which may have been a little bit scary for a small child.

“Sorry, Banana Split,” Ethan said, going to move around the ball pit to get to her. “I know I probably look kinda scary right now, but I promise that I’m gonna be okay. We gotta get going. Stick together, you know? We gotta find Lex and get the heck out of this mall.”

“No! Not Ethan! Bad Double!” Hannah screamed. “Ethan died! Webby told me Ethan died! You’re not getting Wiggly!”

Now Ethan was even more confused.

“Hannah, what do you mean ‘Bad Double?’ I know you’re scared, but it’s me, it’s Ethan. I gave you that hat this morning!” He put his hands up in a placating gesture. “I don’t want Wiggly, Hannah. I just wanna get you outta here.”

Even as he said it, the Wiggly doll that inexplicably lay on the ground was whispering in his head. Telling him that if he just took the doll from the little brat, then he could make it to California and beyond. He could go anywhere he wanted.

Focus, Ethan. Nice Black and White Voice returned. Don’t listen to the doll. Focus on Hannah.

Ethan shook his desire for Wiggly off. He didn’t understand how, exactly, but he knew that Wiggly was causing all of this. The men who had attacked him were after a Wiggly doll. Wiggly was bad, and the thing wasn’t worth seven thousand dollars. Hell, it probably wasn’t worth seven.

Ethan mentally told Wiggly to go fuck himself, and he could feel the doll’s presence begrudgingly retreat from his head. He had more important things to do than worry about a stuffed tentacle monster. Like get Hannah out of here.

“You can’t trick me again!” Hannah screamed. “You died!”

“I did.” Ethan didn’t want to scare her, but he had to tell her. “But… But something brought me back so I can save you and Lex. Hannah, I think it might have been Webby. If you don’t trust me, ask her. She’ll tell you.”

If Hannah was going to reply, she didn’t get the chance, because two other people entered the McDonald’s, crazed hunger in their eyes.

One of them was Ethan’s shop teacher - the only one he’d ever actually liked, and the only one who’d ever actually liked him: Mr. Houston. The other was a lady in nursing scrubs that Ethan didn’t know. They both had their eyes fixed on Hannah.

Oh, shit.

“Hello, little girl,” the woman said, as she and Mr. Houston began to snake their way around the edge of the ballpit opposite Ethan. “Why don’t you give us that doll.”

Hannah moved back a few steps.

“Woah, woah, where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?” Nursing Scrubs asked.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Mr. Houston promised, taking another step around the ball pit and toward Hannah.

Ethan felt useless. He was leaning up against the wall of the McDonald’s. He could feel that the knife wound in his side had started to bleed again. Mr. Houston was taller and stronger than even Ethan in the best of times, if he had to fight, he wasn’t sure if he could protect Hannah, he wasn’t even sure he could limp fast enough to make it to her.

“California.” Hannah’s voice pulled him out of his stupor, and if he hadn’t been so terrified, her determination would have warmed his heart. “I’m going to go to California. And you shouldn’t listen to Wiggly, he’s bad. He’ll trick you.”

“Mr. Houston, she’s right!” Ethan chimed in. “That Wiggly doll is corrupting people, you don’t actually want it.”

The two adults completely ignored him.

“Don’t worry, little girl.” Mr. Houston gave what Ethan figured was supposed to be a reassuring smile, but it just looked like a grimace. “We’re grown ups, we don’t get tricked.”

When Hannah took another step back, Mr. Houston got impatient.

“Listen, kid. I’ve been through hell today tryin’ to get one of those dolls for my son. He’s about your age.” Mr. Houston’s polite mask dropped, and he seemed to grow bigger in the darkness. A monster straight out of a children’s nightmare. “I’d do anything for him. ANY goddamn thing. Even if it means pounding the guts out of a little TWERP! NOW GIMME THAT FUCKING DOLL!”

He wheeled on Hannah, who screamed and ran deeper into the McDonald’s, disappearing into some dark corner.

“Leave her the fuck alone, you assholes,” Ethan cried desperately. He managed to push himself off the wall and started to move toward Mr. Houston and Nursing Scrubs. “I’m the one you want!”

Again, they ignored him, now consumed in an argument with each other.

“You let her get away!” Nursing Scrubs snapped. “You really are a fucking idiot, aren’t you?”

“Well, I didn’t see you coming up with any ideas, cheer captain!” Mr. Houston shot back.

“Oh, fuck off!”

This was good. If they were consumed with their argument, then maybe Ethan could sneak Hannah out without them noticing.

“Hannah,” He whispered as loud as he dared. “Banana, we gotta go!”

He saw her peek her head out from behind a jungle gym in the back. He gave her an encouraging nod that he didn’t know if she could see, then started forward as quietly as he could, hoping to meet her halfway.

Abruptly, Hannah stopped and ducked, and Ethan turned back to Mr. Houston and Nursing Scrubs, who had finished yelling at each other, and were now scanning the Playplace.

“You see, Tom.” Nursing Scrubs said. “You don’t scream at a child, it frightens them.” She turned with a blissful, insane smile directly towards Ethan, who had to fight the urge to scream like a five-year-old and run away. She almost looked through him.

“You lure them in delicately,” she said as she fished in her pocket. Triumphantly, she pulled out a syringe filled with some kind of blue liquid. Ethan assumed it was a sedative. “And you put them to sleep.”

Oh, hell no. Ethan was the only one that would be doing drugs here.

“Little girl?” Nursing Scrubs called out in a sickly-sweet voice. “Sweetheart? California?”

Ethan reached down to the ball pit, wincing in pain as the movement agitated the wound on his stomach, and closed his fist around one of the rubber balls. Straightening, he chucked it at the wall farthest from Hannah as hard as he could. It gave a satisfying thwack when it hit, and Mr. Houston and Nursing Scrubs twisted towards the noise and made their way towards it,

“Do you want to play with me, lovely girl?” Nursing Scrubs said in a soothing, singsong voice. It could have been mistaken for a lullaby if not for her sinister tone and the needle she so subtly hid behind her back. “Do you want some candy, my lovely girl?”

Ethan saw Hannah poke her head out, and he gestured to her to hurry up. She hesitated, obviously still wary of him because of whatever she had seen. She closed her eyes for a moment.

Somehow, Ethan heard her thoughts.

Webby? Is it Good Ethan?

Yes, Hannah, it is. The same female voice that had saved Ethan in the Black and White replied to her. Ethan had been right, it had been Webby. Apparently, since he had died, he now had some sort of connection to the Black and White.

Hannah opened her eyes and smiled at him. She didn't need words for Ethan to know that she trusted him again. They were back on track. She started to move towards him, but her hesitation had been a second too long.

“Hey, Becky,” Tom said, turning back from the wall where they had found nothing. The woman with the syringe turned to look at him. “There she is.”

“Hannah!” Ethan cried desperately. “Come on! Hurry! I gotta get you out of here!”

Hannah made up her mind and sprinted towards Ethan. As she began to run, Tom and Nursing Scrubs, who apparently was named Becky picked up speed and started to gain on her.

“Come on, Hannah!”

Hannah reached Ethan, and he moved aside to allow her to move past him on the edge of the ball pit. She scurried past the ball pit and to the entrance and turned to wait for him.

He started after her, stumbling as fast as he could. He had almost made it to the entrance when Hannah’s eyes widened.

“Ethan!” She yelped. “Run! Fast!”

He didn’t need to turn around to know that Tom and Becky were right behind him. He tried to run, though every step hurt. He wasn’t nearly quick enough. Even in the best of times, Mr. Houston was faster than he was.

Ethan cried out as Mr. Houston grabbed his bad arm, as all the pain that had been subsiding came flooding back. Mr. Houston’s other hand pinned Ethan’s arms to his sides.

“Aww,” Becky Nursing Scrubs said in that same sickly-sweet voice. “Poor boy. You’re hurt. Let me help.”

“No!” Ethan struggled, but to absolutely no avail. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hannah, once again frozen in shock. “Mr. Houston, please, let me go,” he begged. “It’s me, it’s Ethan Green. Ethan. You know me, Mr. Houston, I was in your shop class, snap out of it! Don't do this! Mr. Houston -”

“I don’t know you!” Mr. Houston snapped. “All I know. All I want is Wiggly. Now shut up.” He turned to his partner. “Becky, would you hurry up and stick him? He’s keeping me from Wiggly and it’s pissing me off!”

Ethan was absolutely helpless as Becky jammed the needle into his neck. He felt his eyes closing. The world going dark once again, and that same rush of panic that he’d had before welled up. Mr. Houston dropped him like a sack of potatoes on the mall floor.

“Run, Hannah,” He murmured. He had no idea if she could hear him. “Run.”

“No!” Hannah started running back toward them. Wrong direction, Hannah. “Not leaving again! Gotta stick together!”

Mr. Houston grabbed her just as easily as he’d grabbed Ethan, locking her in his arms so she couldn’t escape.

The last thing Ethan saw before he blacked out was Becky raising the needle over Hannah’s head, he made a noise of despair as she brought it down. Then something surprising happened. She missed Hannah completely and stabbed her own leg with the needle, immediately collapsing next to Ethan.

Huh, that was weird.

Then everything faded.

Taglist: @hurricanehellion, @asshole-gay-797, @ethngreen, @just-a-side-kick, @theirishhufflepuff, @somegeekychic, @curse-brekker, @unusual-ly, @softotacoo, @believeinasmilinggodtoday

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babywonderlandwerewolf · 4 years ago

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My theory on Donald and Della’s husband

Now we've got various headcannons from many fans ranging from Donald being in the navy to him being Duck Avenger to some that consider the DT 2017 prequel comics canon (Granted, I don't and Angones said they only take em with a pinch of salt when writing episodes). I've decided to combine them into one solid theory.

While Donald was in college, he was going on adventures with Della and Scrooge. However as time went on, he started getting more frustrated at how things tended to go bad for him in the adventures to the point where he reached a limit. Rather than give up adventure entirely though, Donald decided to strike on his own and express some of his anger about this by taking on the Duck Avenger role (inspired by Darkwing Duck since he could've seen it at some point) in order to prove to himself he could be a great adventurer in his own right. Donald proved to be very successful at the Duck Avenger hero business despite never telling anyone his secret.

Wanting to go further and prove to Della and Scrooge he could be as capable of an adventurer as them as well as already having dreams on being a sailor, Donald enlisted in the navy shortly after graduating college at the age of 22. Thankfully he was stationed at Duckburg so he was able to visit Della and Scrooge very frequently and go on the adventures. As Donald rose up the ranks in the navy and improving his luck in adventuring as a result (which led to him proving to be very badass at several points such as in Ithaquack (according to the Sphere of Selene flashbacks and Last Crash of the Sunchaser flashbacks) and a fight against Captain Peghook (seen in a painting in many episodes) and being more in line with Webby and Storkules' claims of him being one of the most daring adventurers of all time), he ended up meeting the person that would become Della's husband (who I will nickname Duckband).

Donald wound up being close enough friends with Duckband that he ended up introducing him to Della and Scrooge. As time went on, Della and Duckband fell in love and eventually getting married a year later with Donald as the best man. There would be a good amount of adventures where Duckband participated in though he likely had a hobby as a photographer so he would take pictures of the adventures which would explain why he wasn't in the pictures.

By the time the Duck Twins reached the age of 24-25, tragedy struck. Donald and Duckband were attacked by a dangerous giant mutant fish monster (hey, it wouldn't be that out of place in a world like this) with Duckband ultimately sacrificing himself to save Donald. Heartbroken by the news, Donald sadly informed Della who was devastated and developed a hatred for fish. One day after that, Della found out she was pregnant with three babies on the way.

Determined to honor his close friend, Donald decided to take up the mantle as the boys' father figure and even quit the navy as a result. As for Della's state, she got even more engrossed in adventures to try and numb the pain of her husband's death and as they went on more adventures, the mysteries started to become less and less. This of course led to Della wanting to go to space.

Now we all know what happened after that (Scrooge built the rocket, Della took it and got stranded on the moon, and Donald cut off all contact with Scrooge as a result to raise the kids on his own). As for the Duck Avenger thing, Donald gave up the role since he was too busy raising the kids and didn't want to put himself in more danger and leave the kids without a parental figure.

To get a more safer outlet for his anger than Duck Avenger, Donald decided to seek anger management from Mr. Jones.

Now, I could be wrong or I could be partially right. Please feel free to comment on this theory. But hey, it's just a theory, a DUCK theory!

#ducktales #donald duck #della duck #della husband #ducktales scrooge #duck avenger #navy #theory #ducktales theory

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ducksmode · 5 years ago

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Launchdad

Drake admires what a good dad Launchpad is.

Part Three of the “A Father, a Daughter, and a Launchpad” series.

Drake groans as the morning sunlight hits his eyes, turning over in bed to hide his face in his fiancé’s chest, only to find the other side of the bed empty. Peeking an eye open, he lets out a quiet ‘Hm?’, confused for only a second until he catches a glimpse of the clock on Launchpad’s night stand, he was probably dropping Gosalyn off at school and picking up Scrooge.

He wakes up with a tired sigh, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep unless it was in Launchpad’s arms. Taking a moment to admire his engagement ring, Drake smiles to himself as he twiddles with it, and decides to pass the time by looking for deals on decorations and suits.

When he finally hears the front door open and shut he looks over at the clock, noticing it took him a little bit longer than usual to get back home. He can hear him fussing about in the kitchen, and he pouts when he realizes he’s not coming back to bed just yet.

Putting the wedding planning on hold, Drake gets up and finds one of Launchpad’s shirts from off the ground, slipping it on before stepping out. He finds Launchpad putting away groceries and starting on some pancakes, and his growling stomach gives him away.

Launchpad turns once he hears him, his bright smile practically blinding Drake as he gathers him up in his arms and smothers him with kisses, the smaller duck weakly protesting with half-hearted punches to his chest.

“Unhand me, fiend! I’ll have you know I have a fiancé!” Drake grumbles, giggling when Launchpad pecks at his neck, tickling him.

“Lucky guy,” Launchpad chuckles, setting him down on the kitchen counter.

The domestic mornings they share now fill Drake with more love than he ever believed he could experience in his lifetime. As he watches Launchpad move around the kitchen getting the ingredients while chatting about the drive with Gos, he wonders what his and Gosalyn’s life would have been like if Launchpad McQuack had not crashed into it (and onto him).

Every morning, like clockwork, Launchpad gets up after a quick two hours of shuteye after Darkwing patrol to shuttle a usually zombie-like Gosalyn off to school. But not before a quick kiss to the forehead and a quiet ‘I love you’ from both fiancé and daughter, then they’re off to make sure she gets to class on time.

Drake watches them go each time with a fond smile before passing out, too exhausted from a night of fighting to struggle with sleep.

“Noooooo… don’ go…” Drake whines, clinging to Launchpad’s arm as he tries to leave the bed, frowning when he pulls himself free easily but grabs his hand.

“Gotta take Gos to school and Mr. McD to work then I’ll be right back, ok?” he reassures, kissing each finger gently. Drake snatches his hand back, opening one eye to glare at his ‘too-handsome-for-seven-in-the-morning’ fiancé.

“Traitor… I’m calling off the wedding,” he sniffs, turning away from Launchpad and nestling further into the bed. Launchpad chuckles behind him, nuzzling into the back of his neck and kissing his shoulder.

“Aw come on, don’t you care about our daughter’s education?” Launchpad hums, smiling into Drake’s palm when he pushes it against his face, shoving him away. “Just go, leave me to sleep all by myself…” Drake sighs, unable to keep his beak from quirking up when Launchpad pecks his temple, whispering a soft ‘I love you’ into his feathers before he leaves.

“How are you never tired waking up this early?” Drake yawns, watching Launchpad bustle about the room from his comfy spot on the bed.

“I gotta take my baby girl to school,” Launchpad says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, smile full of love. “How could I be tired when I get to spend more time with the best daughter in the world?”

“I heard that! Flattery will get you nowhere, Pops!” Gosalyn shouts from somewhere in the house and they both laugh.

It’s a terribly hot weekend in both Duckburg and her sister city, and so Launchpad suggests a visit to the beach to cool off. After a quick call to Donald to see if the kids would like to have a beach day as well, during which he finds out they were just about to call him to ask the same thing, the station wagon is packed up for a day at the beach then they’re off.

Gosalyn bounces excitedly in the backseat, singing along loudly with Launchpad to whatever garbage the radio is playing, and Drake shakes his head at their antics but he wouldn’t trade his family for the world.

Once they get there, they walk along the beach for a minute, Drake grabbing Launchpad’s bare arm with one hand and holding Gosalyn’s hand with the other, finding Donald and the kids after a bit of searching.

“Launchpad!” Dewey yells when he sees his best friend, taking a running leap at him and making him drop everything to catch the triplet.

Drake lets Gosalyn go so she can run and give Webby and the other boys a hug, watching them all with a smile. Donald comes up to give him a tight hug, and Drake didn’t realize how much he missed the other duck. They really needed a break like this, between wedding planning and crime fighting there hadn’t been much time for just being with family and relaxing.

After helping Launchpad set up the umbrella and beach chairs, he makes both him and Gosalyn sit down to make sure they put on sunscreen, fussing over Gosalyn a little more just to mess with her before letting her go play, watching her go with a wave.

Drake is suddenly pulled back into Launchpad’s lap with an indignant squawk, laughing when his fiancé nudges at his ticklish neck.

“Launchpad!” Drake scolds, turning about to fix him with a stern glare that quickly falls apart into a smile.

“Think you missed a spot, babe.” Launchpad chuckles, “Right here on my beak,” he says, puckering his beak for a kiss but Drake just snorts at him, pushing his face away.

“You dork, get away from me and go make sure our daughter doesn’t somehow set fire to the beach.” Drake chides, giving in and settling for one peck when Launchpad doesn’t let him go. Looking pleased with himself, Launchpad gives him one last kiss on the cheek before throwing his crop top off and running after the kids.

Watching him go with a happy sigh, Drake settles down next to Donald, taking the wine glass offered to him with many thanks.

“Wait, should you be drinking? Didn’t you drive here?” Drake asks, raising a brow as he sips his drink.

Donald shakes his head, making a show of taking a big gulp, “Storkules dropped us off before he went to work. He’s gonna pick us up when he gets out.”

“I was gonna ask where your man was,” Drake teases, nudging Donald with his elbow, “When did he get his driver's license that's awesome!”

They talk for a little while about this and that, catching up on each others lives and how their kids were doing until said children all run over complaining about being hungry. They chow down on the fruit and sandwiches they brought like the little monsters they are before settling down to make a sand castle all together. Launchpad lays down on the sand next to Drake, resting his head in his lap, who leans down for a quick kiss, ignoring Gosalyn’s yell to ‘Get a room!’.

Launchpad grabs Drake’s left hand to kiss the ring there, smiling up at him and Drake can’t not give him one more kiss, snorting at the dazed expression his fiancé gives him when he pulls away. Seeing how tired Launchpad was in the way his eyelids droop, Drake threads his fingers through his wet hair, “Go ahead and take a nap, babe. Donald and I have got the kids.” he whispers, kissing his forehead.

He quickly does just that, snoozing in Drake’s lap, who takes the opportunity to practice his hair braiding skills, tying different little braids throughout his locks. Sensing something evil afoot, Drake looks up to see the kids have gotten closer, Launchpad in their sights.

“If you let us bury Pops I’ll clean my room!” Gosalyn whisper-shouts, and Drake hums, pretending to think over the proposition.

“Do the dishes tomorrow, too, and you’ve got a deal.” he offers, and Gosalyn pouts before nodding and shaking his hand.

“He drives a hard bargain…” Louie notes.

Gosalyn hushes him before they all get to work quietly burying Launchpad in sand, his sleeping fiancé none the wiser. Once they’re done they make little designs in the sand covering him, giggling as they give him a mermaids tail and write messages in the sand.

Deciding they’ve had enough fun, Drake nudges Launchpad awake, relaying the situation to him quietly while the kids are distracted. When the kids least expect it, Launchpad bursts from the sand with a monster roar, chasing them about before scooping up as many as he can get in his arms, throwing himself into the water with them.

Drake admires how good Launchpad is with the kids, able to make them laugh just as easily as he can comfort them when they’re down. Donald watches him stare fondly at his fiancé with a smile, “Soooo, when’s the wedding?” he asks.

Drake turns to him with a blush, “We haven’t decided on a date yet, things have been pretty busy.” he sighs, “But we’ve been planning out decorations and looking at venues-” he pauses as Donald snorts into his drink.

“Venues? As if Scrooge would let you guys get married anywhere but the mansion.” Donald laughs, and Drake raises a brow.

“Really? I didn’t even think about asking him, he’s done so much for us already.” he shakes his head.

“He loves you guys! He may seem all grumpy and hardheaded, which he is, but he’s got a soft spot for anyone in his family and would do anything you guys asked in a heartbeat.” Donald smiles.

The conversation turns to wedding talk and Drake doesn’t miss the dreamy eyed look Donald gets.

“What about you and Mr. Adonis?” he asks, smirking when Donald turns bright red, sputtering and stammering through his words.

Before Donald can try to formulate words, Launchpad comes jogging up, and Drake is too distracted by how he looks without a shirt to notice him reaching down to pick him up, and he’s suddenly in his arms getting kisses pressed all about his face. Laughing embarrassingly loud, Drake tries to squirm out of his hold.

“It’s been a while since I told you I love you, just wanted to make sure you don’t forget.” Launchpad says after one last kiss, and Drake feels so in love he wants to get married right here and now.

It’s a Friday night, which means its one of the rare nights they let Gosalyn come out on patrol with them. They’re cruising through the streets of St. Canard, stopping a few petty thefts and purse snatchers, leaving a cookie crumb trail of criminals for the inept police to pick up. It’s a pretty calm night, Gosalyn whooping from her seat in Launchpad’s lap in the sidecar while they ride around, until the sound of a store alarm catches Darkwing’s attention.

He finds the source of the alarm, a jewelry store which is currently in the process of being robbed, and parks the Ratcatcher in a nearby alley, telling Gosalyn to stay put. He and Launchpad rush over, throwing down a smoke bomb to catch the thief by surprise.

“I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the ugly broach on the lapel of crime, I am… Darkwing Duck!” he shouts, flaring out his cape as he emerges from the smoke, Launchpad at his side. The criminal is a dog of average build who looks more scared than villainous, and he goes to make a run for it but Drake tackles him to the floor, struggling for a bit until a sharp pain in his hand makes him flinch back with a hiss, giving the dog the opportunity to kick him off and run out the door, too quick for Launchpad to grab.

Looking at his hand to assess the damage, he finds a bloody cut there, not too deep or dangerous, just annoying and painful.

“You alright, DW?” Launchpad asks, picking him up off the floor.

“Yea, yea, let's just get after him!” he urges, taking off after the dog, finding a couple of dropped pieces of jewelry headed in the direction of the alley they left the Ratcatcher in. A sick feeling in his stomach has Drake pick up the pace, turning down the alley to find the criminal, and Gosalyn.

“S-Stop right there!” the dog cries, holding Gosalyn tighter around the beak, closer to his chest, and the glint of the knife under her chin makes Drake’s blood run cold. Launchpad soon appears next to him, about to ask why he’s stopped when he takes in the scene. Gosalyn kicks and squirms in his hold, her muffled cries making Launchpad see red.

“Just-just throw over the keys to this thing and leave us and nothing happens to her!” he demands, gesturing around wildly with his knife hand. Gosalyn has the keys but this idiot obviously doesn’t know, so Darkwing begins acting as best as he can.

“Alright, alright! My partner here has the keys, right?” he says calmly, glancing over at Launchpad, who looks more serious than he’s ever seen him. He catches a glimpse of the crowbar at Launchpad’s feet, which he has been slowly inching toward unbeknownst to the criminal.

“I’ve got the keys alright, DW…” Launchpad grits out, nudging his foot under the crowbar, getting ready.

“Well hand em over already!” the dog cries, waving that knife hand around again when he speaks and Drake gets a good idea of what Launchpad is planning.

“Put the girl down and I’ll toss them, ok?” Launchpad tries, but he doubts he’ll follow his demand, is counting on it actually.

“As if! Just throw them-” he begins, waving his knife hand, away from Gosalyn’s neck, just like Launchpad had hoped, giving him the couple of seconds he needed to kick the crowbar up into the air, catching it with one hand and throwing it with deadly precision. The dog doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence or react as he’s thwacked with a face full of metal, crumpling to the ground with a curse.

Darkwing and his partner sprint to their daughter, Drake plucking her out of the criminals limp grasp with his good hand and holding her close, making sure she wasn’t hurt. Launchpad kicks his knife away before picking the dog up with one hand curled in his shirt, slamming him into a nearby wall and raising his other fist in case he still has any fight left in him. The criminal groans, glaring up at Launchpad, nose bloodied, and likely broken, thanks to him.

“You messed with the wrong family, bud.” Launchpad growls before punching his lights out, Drake and Gosalyn watching with wide eyes. Dropping the dog to the floor, Launchpad turns around, that angry look in his eyes gone in favor of concern, coming over to fret over Gosalyn and hug both she and Drake close.

“Pops that was awesome! That guy didn’t even know what was coming, and the way you-” Gosalyn stops as Launchpad pulls back from the hug, looking down at her with an expression so serious she wilts in her dad’s arms, going quiet.

Launchpad looks at the sky and the slowly rising sun, “Let’s go home.” is all he says, going to tie up the criminal and place him in front of the jewelry store. Gosalyn and Drake share a look at Launchpad’s unusual behavior, and Gosalyn gets the feeling they’re gonna have a “serious talk” when they get home.

The ride home is unbearably quiet, Launchpad’s arms squeezing the slightest bit tighter around her the whole way.

Once home, Drake tells Gosalyn to go get ready for bed before following Launchpad as he walks silently into the bedroom. Closing the door quietly, Drake comes up and wraps his arms about Launchpad from behind. He grabs his hands from where they wind around his chest, and Drake gasps at the sudden flare of pain.

“Your hand… why didn’t you tell me?” Launchpad asks, turning in his hold to give him a stern look. Drake rubs at his neck sheepishly with his free hand, “To be completely honest, I forgot about it.”

Shaking his head but smiling at his fiancé, Launchpad leads him into the bathroom to get him patched up. He cleans him up with care, making sure the cut is properly disinfected before wrapping it up slowly, a far off look in his eyes.

“What if we lost her tonight?” Launchpad whispers, stilling his movements save for a slight shake in his hands.

Drake had a feeling this conversation was coming but it still makes his breath hitch in his throat just at the thought of something happening to Gosalyn. Grabbing Launchpad’s shaking hands in his own, Drake looks up at him, waiting until he meets his eyes to begin speaking.

“We didn’t, that's what matters. You’ll drive yourself crazy thinking about ‘what if’, so let's just focus on ‘what is’, here and now. You and I, and our daughter safe at home.” he says, reaching up to cup his cheek with his good hand.

Launchpad leans his face into his palm as tears spill from his eyes, and Drake frowns as he only shakes harder.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you… either of you…” Launchpad whimpers, gathering Drake up into his arms to cry into his neck. “I love you both, so much… I can’t lose you…”

Drake tries his best to not start crying as well, just holding on tight to Launchpad and rubbing his back to calm him down. Launchpad’s sobs slow until he’s just sniffling against Drake, calming down and pulling away.

“Sorry… sorry, I just-” he begins, but Drake leans in to kiss him soft and slow.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Drake soothes with a small smile when he pulls away, wiping at his cheeks with his thumbs. “We’re here now, ok? At home, safe, and Gosalyn is safe, too, thanks to you.” he reassures him, and Launchpad nods, taking a deep breath and leaning down to press his beak to Drake’s forehead.

They go through the motions of getting ready for bed, leaving the bathroom to curl up on the bed facing each other, Launchpad wrapping him up tight in his arms. A knock at the door makes Drake turn to call over his shoulder, “Come in.”

Gosalyn comes padding in slowly, climbing up onto the bed and over Drake to nestle between them, and both dad’s lean in to preen at her feathers, making her giggle.

“Am I forever banned from going on patrol?” she asks once they stop, looking up at them with her best puppy eyes.

Drake hadn’t even considered not letting her go on patrol anymore, but looks up at Launchpad to get his opinion as he was the one most shaken up by tonight. His brow furrows in concentration as he thinks, chancing a look at Gosalyn and automatically losing any internal battle he was going through. He could never deny her anything and they all knew it.

He sighs as he leans down to kiss the top of her head, “No, we just need to be more careful is all.”

Gosalyn cuddles closer to Launchpad, wrapping her small arms about his neck, “I will be. Thank you for keeping me safe, Pops.”

“A fight?! Gosalyn, sweetheart, we’ve talked about this before you can’t solve problems with your fists, you have to-”

“They called me a dyke…”

Drake’s shock causes him to pause in his cleaning of her bloody nose, meeting her eyes for only a second before she looks away, tears threatening to spill. He can sense Launchpad shaking with rage next to him and he places a hand on his arm to calm him.

“They what…?” Launchpad seethes, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Gosalyn sniffles, wiping at her eyes, “On the playground… these boys asked me why I never wear skirts or dresses… and-and why I played hockey… then… then one of them said ‘You must be a-’” but Drake stops her with a hand on her knee, leaning in to pull her into his arms, letting her cry into his shirt for a moment before pulling away.

“I’m so sorry sweetie… I’m-” he takes a calming breath, “Your father and I are gonna talk to your principal right now and make sure this never happens again, alright?” he says, holding her by the shoulders and giving her a strained smile, hoping it was comforting. She nods jerkily, wiping at her eyes again.

Leaving her in the nurse’s office, they head over to where the principal is waiting for them, Drake holding onto his fiancé’s arm the whole time to try and remain calm, taking note of the way the principal looks at their joined arms.

“Now I’m sure this must all be very upsetting, no one ever wants to see their child fighting over some simple schoolyard ribbing.” he says, which immediately gets Drake’s blood boiling.

“That was no ‘schoolyard ribbing’, that was bullying, and bullying with such an awful word attached to it that, to be quite honest, I’m glad my daughter maybe taught those boys a thing or two about what kind of words are acceptable today.” Drake rants, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Those boys are traumatized over what happened! You should have seen the black eyes your daughter gave them!” the principal huffs, and Drake feels a small rush of pride but tries to keep it from showing on his face.

“Good! Gosalyn should have done worse.” Launchpad laughs, and Drake gives him a sharp look.

“Excuse you? You’re lucky their parents aren’t pressing charges!” he says, giving them both an incredulous look.

“I’d like to them try! Sue my daughter, hah!” Launchpad shakes his head, and this conversation is not going as well as Drake would have liked.

“Your daughter? As far as I’m concerned, she’s Mr. Mallard’s child, and an adopted one at that…” he says the word like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth, and Drake has to act fast to hold Launchpad back when he surges up from his seat.

The principal looks effectively cowed, pushing his seat back to get as far away from Launchpad as possible. Launchpad opens his beak as if to say more but shakes his head instead, turning to leave with a quick, ‘We’ll go wait in the car.’ tossed over his shoulder, shutting the door with a slam. Flinching at the loud door, Drake turns to the still terrified principal, “My fiancé is a very… passionate man…”

It was common knowledge that Launchpad was wrapped quite tightly around Gosalyn’s little finger, willing to do anything and everything for his little girl. It became a problem when they had bills to pay and Launchpad would spend entire paychecks on whatever Gosalyn wanted, like her archery set or top of the line hockey equipment.

All Gosalyn had to do was give Launchpad her tried and true puppy dog eyes and he would be toast, bending to her will as if she wasn’t half his size and also 11.

She needed a lemonade stand for her up and coming business? Launchpad was already done building it before she could say ‘Please’. She was craving Hamburger Hippo and would absolutely die without it? Launchpad was there and back in fifteen minutes.

Needless to say, Launchpad thoroughly spoiled Gosalyn, and Drake too at times, but he never expected anything in return, never asked for anything.

As his birthday approached, Drake and Gosalyn were at a loss, working feverishly to figure out what to get him.

Something Darkwing Duck related? He was going to marry Darkwing Duck, what more could they get him in that department? Something related to planes? Drake and Gosalyn couldn’t build anything to save their lives.

They accepted defeat the day before his birthday, waiting until they were all sitting in front of the TV with the latest kids movie popped in to admit how awful they were.

“We don’t know what to get you for your birthday and we feel really bad ‘cause you always do stuff for us and we never do anything for you.” they say in unison, hanging their heads in shame.

“Buh?”

“Just tell us what you want so we can get it for you! Anything!” Gosalyn begs, climbing into his lap and shaking him by the front of his jacket. Launchpad gives them both a big smile before pulling them into his arms and kissing at their faces, his favorite thing to do.

“You guys… the only thing I could possibly want for my birthday is to spend as much time with you guys as possible.” he says once he’s done kissing them, setting them back down on the couch and getting into their usual movie night set up. As Launchpad wraps his arm around him, Drake looks over at his daughter, an idea brewing in their heads.

The next morning, Launchpad wakes up with a smile, excited to spend his birthday with his family, and he gets to start it next to his beautiful husband who is… not in bed next to him? Wondering for a second if he’s somehow slept in, he looks over to the clock to see it’s six in the morning, his usual weekend wake up time. Before he can begin planning his revenge in what is surely a kidnapping situation, the bedroom door bursts open.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear, Launchpad (he’s pretty sure he hears Gosalyn say ‘Launchdad’) Happy birthday to you!”

In front of him are his fiancé and daughter, both looking very tired and ragged but smiling and excited nonetheless, holding a homemade chocolate cake, his favorite.

It takes him a while to stop crying but his family hugs him the entire time, and there’s no other way he’d rather spend his birthday.

Pulled from his reminiscing as Launchpad gives him a sweet kiss, Drake sighs, wrapping his arms around his neck until he picks up a weird smell.

“Mr. McQuack I do believe the pancakes are burning.” he mutters against his beak as he pulls away, doubling over with laughter as Launchpad rushes to salvage their breakfast.

After a slightly singed breakfast, Drake tugs Launchpad back to bed to try and get a little more rest, practically lying on his chest to make sure he can’t go anywhere.

“Hey I thought you said you had a fiancé?” Launchpad scolds when he leans up to preen his neck feathers, and Drake snorts before sitting up, looking down at the love of his life with so much fondness it makes Launchpad blush.

“Yeah I do, he’s the whole package. Handsome, funny, good with kids… I think he just might be the one.” Drake smiles, pretending to lean in for a kiss before going back to laying on Launchpad’s broad chest. “You guys should meet, I think you’d be good friends.”

Launchpad chuckles as he wraps an arm around him and stokes his back, kissing his temple, “I love you, Drake.”

“I love you, too.” he whispers, curling up close until he’s draped all over him. Thinking back to his reminiscing earlier, Drake sits back up to give Launchpad an earnest look.

“You’re a great dad, Launchpad, you know that?”

Launchpad’s hand stills and he gives Drake a small smile, “You really mean that?”

Drake rolls his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief, “Of course I mean it! You’re the best thing that could have ever happened to Gosalyn and I! You’re so good with her and she loves you so much, and you love her ten times as much and I just… you’re a good dad.”

When he looks up from his ranting Launchpad has tears in his eyes, sniffling before cupping Drake’s cheek, “I can’t wait to marry you.”

It’s the last thing Drake expects to hear but it makes his heart swell and tears of his own spill down his cheeks.

They get married two weeks later in a flurry of planning and excitement, completely unexpected but those close to the couple could only say ‘It’s about time.’

#mobs fics #drakepad #launchwing #dt17 #drake mallard #launchpad mcquack #ducktales 2017 #ducktales #my fics #my writing

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Ducktales Della Arc Reviews: The Spear of Selene or THE INCREDIBLE STORKULES, GOD OF HOMEROTIC SUBTEXT OUT OF MYTH!

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to my coverage of the Della arc! It’s our last 2017 episode before the Finale, and it’s a huge one as we delve into a fan faviorite that introduces a pair of fan faviorites, a drum of tzatkiki sauce worth of gay, an asshole so odious getting sent to the bowls of hades and laughed at for all enternity after being cast out by eveyrone he knows really was getting off light, and at last some plot progression on this arc. At the time it aired mind you at this point Dellas been a beloved cast member for three years, and we’ve known what happened to her for longer than that.

At the time though.. it’d been 8 MONTHS since the Great Dime Chase. Let that sink in. The Della reveal was the biggest hook of an already exceptional pilot: It not only promised to flesh out a character who’d had all of one story in the comics at this point in present day, but solve the mystery of why she was gone. Not only that but Scrooge and Donald’s feud clearly stemmed from this exact moment. And the first full episode in the arc confirmed it: Della had taken whatever “The Spear of Selene” was and apologized to Scrooge for it. So why had she taken it, why did Donald blame scrooge, why did Scrooge not blame himself, at least outwardly, where was she, what was the spear of selene...

As I pointed out last time airing order didn’t help and due to airing the arc episodes really close together, gave the impression the arc would not only move fast but take up more of the season than it did. In practice both arcs take up a fourth of the season not including the finale, which would take both up to about a third. The expectation on how much of the season would be taken up by the arc.. was on Disney for airing things badly. I will give credit where it’s do as they moved this episode up in the order to try and make up for it (and give themselves a huge mid season opener).. but then for some reason shoved the last episode before last crash, ie. the only one they coudln’t move, way back to right before that episode. “ Here’s an actual photo of the person who made this decision

As I said they did get better next season with only a few swaps and only for good reason. So props.

HOWEVER.... this episode still has some flaws with pacing and revealing info, with or without Disney drunk driving the schedule. The wait between episodes in this plot is an episode LONGER in production order... and dosen’t move the plot forward by much. I will get to that when the time comes.. and that DESPITE this treatment of the fans.. this episode is still one of the seasons best. How are both things true? Join me under the cut to find out.

Thunderstormy to be precise and the Sunchaser is natrually encountering loads of turbulence with Launchpad barely holding int here while Donald’s buffeted around the back. Why Donald’s with them...

But it’’s one of his only five starring episodes in the season, out of 9 appearances total the rest of which are cameos. Yeah now seems as good as time as any to talk about Season 1′s Donald Duck problem.

See Donald was promoted as a major part of the series, rightly so since he was reduced to a guest star for the 87 series due to a combination of Disney not wanting to overexpose the characters, people possibly not being able to understand his voice and thus making plots hard to understand, and Tony Anselmo being new to the roll at the time. So the reboot went all out promoting the fact Donald would be in it, front and center and gave him TWO character shorts to the rest of the casts one. Disney really went out of their way to show he’d be in there so as a certified Donald Fanatic, I was sure he’d actually be in the show a lot and on the adventures a lot. The crew were not blameless as both promotional arts featured him. Launchpad and Beakly conversely were asbent, so the impression given by all of this was that Donald would be central to the series and in a lot of episodes, given equal focus to scrooge and the kids.

This.. didn’t happen as you all know. Instead as stated he’s up front and center for 5 episodes, and makes cameos in others, but generally is hardly around. Now there is KINDA an excuse to this as he doesn’t want to adventure, be in the mansion or any of that.. but it’s a REALLY weak one. He still at least could’ve made more cameos, the fact he was working on the boat all that time isn’t made clear till last crash, and his two spotlight episodes both have him dragged along on the adventure anyway, so it’s not like his not wanting to be there meant he woudln’t be forced to join in anyway. There were ways to include him, still have him in a supporting role instead of leaving him back at the mansion.. and even the second episode proved there was still comedy to be mliked from that.. and pathos don’t forget the pathos. So yeah this was easily the biggest mistake of the season and one season 2 largely corrected: He got four dedicated plots, and was around a decent amount in the first half of the season and while he DID get shot up to the moon... it was for valid reasons. They wanted to focus on Della and the kids, give her room to breathe as a brand new major addition to the show, and thus him being around and the elephant in the room of his and scrooge’s feud that was never dealt with on screen, would’ve distracted from that. And even with that they still gave him a focus episode that somehow added more depth and MASSIVELY advanced the main plot, and a sizeable roll in the finale. Season 3 likewise had things better: while he shows up as much as in season 1, the episode count is lower by one, and he’s a major part of the plot in every one BUT Last Christmas, with four of those having the spotlight on him in some way. They eventually did figure out how to use him far more ballanced. So yeah credit where it’s do it got MUCH better, but he still felt like a recurring character in his own series, that was still bad, and I still needed to give out about it.

But Webby and Dewey have a mission even if Dewey dosen’t quite get what’s going on so they flip a switch to turn on a warning light of some kind forcing Launchpad to make an emergency landing on a gorgeous tropical island. To Huey’s amazement, as the place was apparenlty only a myth, though naturally the guidebook did have it’s aproximate location listed... Ithaquack, home of the gods. Naturally Scrooge and Donald want to leave as soon as possible for reasons we’ll get into but Launchpad , for once is being a responsible pilot “Better safe than.. something right? Scrooge is of course irate that Launchpad picked NOW of all times to be safe, and the Kids.. don’t listen because Huey sees a beautiful realm of myth, Louie sees a beach vacation and Dewey and Webby.. have work to do. Webby eventually fills Dewey in on why their here, having wrongly assumed he got why they were going to a mythical greek island. As Dewey delightfully puts it later “Don’t assume I know anything. “ So she pieces it together for him: Selene was the greek goddess of the moon... Della took the SPEAR of Selene. Ergo this island is the best place to find the Spear and failing that, Selene herself to get more info on it and Della.

So we have our two plots. Scrooge and Donald dealing with their pasts and the gods, and Dewey and Webby diving into his mom’s past. And unlike the last review where a genuinely unsettling story about an abuse victim forced to manipulate her girlfriend not going into a murder vault was paired with Louie having to deal with a Sasquatch while Huey catches a case of Dewey’s stupidity somehow, these two plots are perfectly paired: Their both perfectly thematically connected, both dealing with the past, Della’s absence and Scrooge and the Twins past encounters with the gods.. but both being self contained outside of that, entirely unconnected but stilll necessary to be in the same episode. THIS is how you do two plots. But since they don’t really synch up again till the end, let’s cover each one at a time shall we?

“What if My Mom was a Bad Person?”

The plot is pretty straight forward but expertly done: Dewey and Webby first check your standard Zelda dungeon which apparently has a cursed weapon at the end. We also get an utterly adorable and sweet shot of Webby comforting Dewey after he’s clearly shook from it. Awwww. Turns out it’s the SWORD of Selene. and quickly turns into a game of put the Cursed Sword back before we all die.

Next up is a monster who nearly kills both protecting it’s spear.. the spear of POSIDEN. (Look at meeeeee). And since they aren’t going to be on a boat that isn’t a house boat anytime soon, they don’t need that and the monster cheerfully redirects them, with Dewey apologizing for calling it ugly.

So all pretty standard stuff for the show and really good stuff.. but it’s the building tension underneath that truly makes the episode and leads to one hell of a climax for this plot. All the while Dewey is DESPERATE for some explination for his mom’s disapperance that isn’t her betraying Scrooge, maybe returning the spear because it was cursed or getting eaten by a monster. Just ANYTHING but the mounting and horrifying suspicion.. that his mom was a bad person who destroyed her family and betrayed her uncle and laughed all the while. Webby.. does not help, backing that side of things and constantly voicing hte idea Della betrayed Scrooge, so obsessed with solving the mystery of her life.. but so unfamilliar with people she dosen’t see the very real toll this is taking on her best friend. To her she’s just making a logical counterpoint.. to him it’s just another idea in his head about the way his mom could’ve betrayed everyone she cared about.

So that climax is where it explodes. Our heroes find a scale model of ithaquack (Complete with Tiny Maniticore! It’s so cute Webby just wants to slay it) and an opening.. with an ominous message about incurring the wrath of the god seemingly conforming the worst. So Webby prepares to find out the whole story.. only for Dewey to stop her. No one’s finding this out, whatever it is, no matter how far they’ve come. And given this is the biggest mystery of her life and she simply dosen’t understand WHY Dewey dosen’t want to know.. both sides are ready to fight for this. And Webby DOES try to back him down, pointing out he really can’t beat her in a fight. But Dewey’s already grown leaps and bounds form the pilot and is working smarter not harder. Beat Webby, who spent a good chunk of her life being honed into the most badass child on the parent, one who can take on several of scrooge’s worst foes one on one? Not on his life. But hold her off long enough for the gate to close? He can do that.

So the result? One of the best fights of the series... and given the sheer amount of great ones we’ve gottten since this one it still says something it holds up THIS well. It’s an even, furiously paced fight, with Dewey using every advantage he has including tossing said manticore to keep up, but not slowing down one bit. It’s heartbreaking to see the two come to this but it’s an delight to watch. Webby DOES win eventually, though time’s running out to get in and she finally asks WHY. And while the stakes have been crystal clear for both this whole time.. we get them laid out in the most painful way for both.

Webby: We're so close to the truth! Why won't you let us find it?! Dewey: Because...*his voice cracks* what if my mom was a bad person?

It hits VERY hard. For Webby this has been a puzzle something to solve the greatest achivment of her life, her chance to make her mark... and her best friend just wanted to abandon it. But in one swift response, he disarms all of that.. and makes her see how insnstivie she’s been: He may not know his mom.. but he can’t bear the thought she was a bad person. That she left or WORSE, because she didn’t care about him, or scrooge or ANYONE. Knowing nothing is better than knowing she was a monster.

Webby realizes what she’s been doing to her friend and is horrified and offers to back out. The answers.. aren’t worth destroying her brother. But her willingness to back down.. finally gets Dewey to see the light. His fear was valid.. but at the end of the day, it’d never go away. it’d just keep eating him for the rest of his life, every time she was mentioned or he found something else out he’d just wonder if it was a lie and wonder wht he COULD’VE learned this day. And if Webby’s willing to sacrifice THIS MUCH to give him peace of mind... then he can sacrifice that peace of mind for the truth, for her, and for himself. So he pulls them inside.

Inside they find Selene who suprises them.. and is then confused. Their not della. Also I guarantee mentally she’s thiking “Thank me I didn’t do it naked this time. “. After some confusion as to who this is, Webby explains that IS Selene, and Dewey begs for answers about the spear... only to find out she dosen’t have one. Nope. The sword seen before and a SPHERE, yes.. but no Spear. So the poor boy breaks down, back to square one. It’s hard not to see why... all this effort, all of this sacrifice.. and he’s no closer than when they first set down.

Selene does help though... giving him an idea of who his mom WAS: one of her closest friends (And let’s face it Della named the ship after Selene and Selene casually uses Della’s shower. If they didn’t go out at least once, I am an outer god. And I very much am not and they very much banged hard. Goodnight. ) , a good person who brought fun to everyone, and loved her family more than anything. Wether she betrayed Scrooge or not, she wasn’t a bad person. And her own orb shows it showing Della in her prime, brightly smiling next ot her family. Selene encourages the boy not to give up, that his mom always loved a mystery.. and he can solve this one and gently hugs the sobbing child.. with Dewey quickly pulling webby in. It’s genuinely touching and a satisfying ISH ending.

The ish... is because while this is a VERY good plot, i’ll gush more about it at the end, it does have one supreme flaw: the mystery dosen’t progress. And with the huge gaps between this episode and hte next one, in BOTH airing orders... it’s unforgivable to not have EITHER plot give us any hints about what happened. I don’t ask for much, but they could’ve found a clue in the sphere Dewey got, or saw a memory of her that brought up the next place they look, just something a little. While it’s still a very fine story, the main plot suffers a bit by having one of the ONLY three episodes delving into the della mystery before it’s fully revealed in sunchaaser have almost no progress. Della was probably a good person, which comes from her ex who clearly still loves her so that’s not really reliable, and the spear isn’t literal. While the lack of progress works for the story in the episode itself.. it comes at the cost of any actual plot progression. We end up exactly where we started and have to wait SOME TIME before we get to the next spot on the tour. Well we did, you guys will find out Monday or Tuesday depending on if the finale goes up in the morning or Disney holds it till the actual airing. Please don’t you bastards. Point is it’s VERY good plot, but it’s hampred by not really progressing the arc.

The arc progression for this storyline is painfully slow, and tha’ts not on disney. In either order there’s a MASSIVE gap of 15+ episodes between what we learned in the great dime chase and what we learn in castle mcduck. It’s sloppy writing and I expect better from this team, especially since the Lena plot the same season is far tighter paced: each one builds a bit, both on Lena as a character (Why she’s doing this etc), her development as a person, her relationship with webby growing and Magica and her growing more and more spiteful with one another. They could’ve had at least ONE MORE subplot to build this up, especially since we really dind’t need the sasquatch episode but just.. didn’t for whatever reason and it’s still frustrating. But as always credit where it’s due.. the next two seasons were better about it.

Season 2 while not perfect, and we’ll get to it’s plots someday.. and I do say plots as not alternating between the two plots for season 1 was a mistake if a well meaning one as not to drive up the price for Kev but for future refrence if any of you want me to cover an arc for something I WILL have to cover all of it or any adjacent to it that flow into it. Point is they move faster and both Glomgold and Louie’s are pretty lowkey and low stakes so while enjoyable, their not moving incredibly fast dosen’t hurt the show. And the Moon plot has the best pacing of the three and possibly of the series plots period: We get filled in on Della fairly quick, getting answers on her WAY faster, get introduced to the moon and it’s people right away, get a whole episode on them, and the most importantly in sharp contrast? She returns HOME halfway into the season.

I will probably go into this again when I get to nothing will stop della duck but Season 1′s pacing and general wisdowm made me think she wouldn’t get home anytime soon and she’d return in the finale. Instead? We get a whole half a season fleshing her out further, seeing her connect with her kids, all that good stuff, WITH an episode advancing the moon arc, without that arc feeling unimportant, but still having the slow pacing.

Season 3 meanwhile while again not without bugs, the last few episodes before the finale having no real build up to it really wasnt a good idea and I question why these two episodes were the ones leading into it, has two seemingly barely related plots.. that EFFORTLESLY merge into one, with one hell of a huge twist in impossibin that ratchets up the stakes. I don’t know how it’ll payoff.. but we’ll see.

So they did get better, i’m still hard on it because it happened.. but I will never stop stressing how this crew usually corrected a mistake. If they fucked up, they LEARNED FROM IT, course corrected, and made it better and they listened to US. IN the good way, not letting fans run the series but listening to valid concerns and adapting to them. And given how fucking rare that is and how hard it must’ve been with the tight schedule, I.. I really appricate it and i’m going to miss it. And I can’t think of a segue so enjoy this picture of a turtle hitting a trapper in the face with a bat instead.

“Someone Always Gets Hurt”

So let’s take it back a few hours. Hit it boys!

Donald tries getting the boys back on the ship, clearly fearing something coming for him.. and we soon meet that something. Yes it’s the hero of legend, the stork out of myth, the star of a LOT of Donald Duck Slash FanFiction only half of which he wrote, STORKULES!

In case I didn’t make it clear when I reviewed New Gods on the Block! I love this guy. He reminds me a LOT of the marvel version: Boisterious , horny (if in a far more pg version), Gay (Pansexual for the marvel version), flawed but still immensley likeable. Stork is a bit diffrent, a bit more naive, a bit peppier and entirely blind to the fact his father is a terrible person. But my love of the marvel herc means Stork was an easy sell for me and Chris Dimatopolis’ performance is second to none, only topped in this series by his later work as Darkwing where he got a bit more range than “Joyous ham who wants to bang”. Also I’m 100% convenced he’s made this memetic expression to donald at some point...

If someone hasn’t redrawn that with Storkules yet, we have failed as an internet. And if someone has please show me.

His crush on Donald is also endearing even if I don’t ship the two. And if your curious as to why it’s simple: Storkules is attracted to a version of Donald that no longer exists. Storkules craves a Donald whose a brave daring hero who loves adventure. And while still a brave hero when the situation calls for it as this episode will bare out.. he just.. dosen’t have the passion for adventure he did as a kid. While a LOT of that is loosing his sister for a decade, even once he makes peace with that and later gets her back... he just wants a normal life. His greatest wish was for one. He apparenlty “wishes for this every day”. He dosen’t hate adventuering anymore and by season 3 has come to terms with the fact he’ll never get everyone else to stop.. but I also think it’s always been obvious he clearly wants to one day. To have a normal life, settle down, find a girl, and if she wants to get married. Get old , fat and happy. I honestly think that’s the direction the finale’s heading in judging from the previews. I don’t think he’ll ever stop entirely, his family life’s too insane for that.. but he just dosen’t want to keep going forever and Stork, being an immortal hero does. They want diffrent things entirely and that just won’t work. Though that’s also JUST me and if you ship them or have a way around that, feel free. This is just my opinon.

Anyways Donald’s not happy, the kids are confused and Scrooge. has problesm bigger than simply not knowing how to say i’m not into you.... aka Zeus, king of the gods and of all assholes. He was originally supposed to be a swan due to a certian myth.. but they realized since that myth is both really fucked up and really not for children to not do that because why the fuck would you. Point is Zeus in myth is an asshole, a rapist, a cheating husband, and a vengeful, petty dick and that’s with barely any knowledge of Greek Myth on my part. He’s played by Micheal Chiklis whose famous for The Comissh and the Shield.. but whose famous to me for playing the ever loving Blue Eyed thing in the Tim Story Fantastic Four movies.. and honeslty, at least till marvel takes a crack at it soon, is the best screen version of the character. Look the film is flawed and I don’t remember a lot of it.. but his stuff in it just NAILS the character perfectly, at least the first one, and while the look is.. eh, he was the perfect casting. He just wasn’t in the right movie. So he’s naturally awesome here as history’s greatest douchebag.

As for why Zeus is pissed at him unlike say Donald (The whole Spear of Selene fiasco) or Magica (Who while even worse than Zeus still lost her brother because of his callousness), or others he’s wronged.. Scrooge did absolutely nothing wrong here. During a beach party Storkules intiates, he reveals he used to be king of the beach and loved and worshipped by the people of ithaquack, which last time the adult ducks visited was a lovely hideaway for heroes. Scrooge naturally did a bunch of heroic and cool stuff, and upstaged him, and then bested him in various games and what not. Zeus claims they ran off because of this and because they didn’t want to party with a god bested by a mortal.. but scrooge reveals pottery showing it’s because Zeus threw a temper tantrum aka “a year long lightning storm”. So yeah for once all Scrooge did was just upstage someone who was already objectively horrible and who brought all of htis on himself. Scrooge even points it out perfectly “They didn’t leave because they liked me, they left because they didn’t like YOU. “

Pissing off the god who already didn’t like you for stupid reason goes about how you’d expect and when Storkules tries to cool things down by suggesting a game, Zeus turns it into a contest. His son against Scrooge’s nephews. Because he uh dosen’t want to lower himself. Yeah that’s it, totally not that Scrooge would kick his ass and then fucking kick his ass. Yeah that’s the ticket.

So our boys don Toga’s, and gear up for the first challenge: grabbing the bag of winds. In case you thought Spongebob just made that up. Zeus of course opens it so Donald can’t just leave, but Huey simply thinks his way out and wins , Zeus demands best 2/3 and we soon get a montage of various events from chariot racing to sculpture where we get our title picture, lest you thought I was kidding abotu Storkules obession with donald. I mean there’s subtextually having a character have a crush on another and then ther’es making a naked muscular statue of him. I.. I don’t even have a joke here. He made a naked muscular statue of Donald. The only way they could be less obvious without just coming outright and saying it was if hte statue was of hima nd storkules making out. And i’m 100% sure Frank, Matt and Dana, yes Dana Terrace was involved in this one i’m as unsurpised as you are, only didn’t do that because Disney said no.

Zeus declares one final round because he’s tired of this..e ven though he CLEARLY won the last one while Donald once again tries to just leave and Storkules finally calls him on it wondering why he’s given up adventuring and wondering what della would say if she could see him like this, having just given up and not caring anymore about any of ths stuff. “Well she can’t! Someone always gets hurt....”

And that one very sharp and painful line both outlines Donald’s arc here, and for the season, and makes it VERY clear why he retired and why I felt like he was already on his way and the spear of selene was simply the final straw. He gave up.. because he was just tired of it. Tired of being the one who got hurt.. and devistated when it wasn’t him that time. When he lost his sister for what he felt was NOTHING. Sure hte stars would be great but they’d done everything and gone everywhere..w asn’t.. wasn’t that enough/ Couldn’t they just be done? Couldn’t he just stop. The spear gave him an excuse to do what he always wanted, but it also caused him to harden up and view EVERYTHING about his old days of adventuring as bad when like most things i’ts not that simple., There were good times, sunshine, giant sized gay men obessing over you.. okay maybe the last part isn’t a plus in his book, but point is there was good and his arc is seeing that and realizing he can’t just cling to his pain. He has to let go so he can move on heathliy.

As for said final challenge Zeus tasks the boys and Storkules with stealing the golden fleece from a little girl. While this is part of a whole scheme... he undereistmaed his son’s valour and Storkules is naturally sent spinning over having to steal from a child and is sent into a crisis. Louie however has no such qualms, as he is a children.. and he’s also louie.. but as he tries to the child starts singing. As Scrooge puts it “nothing good happens when creepy children start singing. “ Very true, it’s usually a sign freddy kruger’s about to show up or your about to be taken by a miltiary orginzation obssed with The Doctor.

The boys plug their ears.. and Zeus’ plan becomes horrifically clear. Turns out he had no real interest in an actual contest this time, and has the child take control of Storkules to murder them. And gives the doucheist shrug imaginable when his OWN SON IS BEGGING HIM NOT TO MAKE HIM MURDER SOME CHILDREN.

Scrooge naturally gets involved. Meanwhile Donald is trying to escape the lightning cage Zeus is using to make sure no one leaves... when he hears the boys cries of terror. He may hate this kind of thing.. but there’s one thing and only one thing that can make him snap back into who he used to be like it was yesterday. And that’s harming his boys. So Donald snaps into action and it’s a glory to see as Scrooge snaps back with him “Just like old times”. The two once again get a little closer to reconclisation by wrestling a golden pansexual to prevent him from brainwashdely murdering two children. God I love this show and this job.

Huey however is more of the aim for the head sort and Louie simply uses his natural talent to talk the siren into working with him, with him as her agent. As he puts it Zeus just wants to use her.. he wants to use her too.. but to make them BOTH rich. She agrees, Louie wins, and Donald finally accepts storkules is his friend. Scrooge TRIES to use this to mend fences with Zeus.. but Zeus being a petulant dick wants another game and Scrooge simply throws a game of billiards or something like it to get this over with.

So we get our wrapup. Dewey and Webby return, and Storkules and Donald say their goodbyes. Donald finally admits he’s his friend.. and in that one act finally admits he can’t just bury his past because parts of it are painful. And as Storkules puts it he may be done with adventure.. btu adventure’s not done with him. He’s got more of his old self in who he is now than he thought. Dewey also accidently wins and our family finds launchpad took the plane apart. There.. there’s no real ending. I can only assume Selene said knock this shit off when she found out or beakly later came in guns blazing. I don’t know.

Final Thoughts: This episode is excellent. It has it’s fault: there’s no plot progression, and the ending is just stupid and is the only one of the series that feels like nothing was resolved. That being said.. the rest of the episode makes up for it. It’s filled with great gags as usual.. but the real meat is the character work. Dewey’s worries about his mom, and Donald’s attempt to literally leave his past behind, it’s really amazing stuff that elevates the episode past it’s flaws and into one fo the series best. Wheras revisting Other Bin reminded me it had a bad subplot that drug it down.. revisiting this one showed me just HOW near perfect it is with only a few things holding it back. Even with the dispaoitnment factor.. this one’s still excellent, with Ben, Kate and Tony all at the top of their games. Great stuff.

Next Time on this Arc: Dewey has to face the future when the truth comes out. And Scrooge.. bitches with his dad for half the episode. Sure beats his dad sadly btu sweetly passing on to be with his wife huh?!

Next time on this blog: Amphibia time! Speaking of facing the consequences of lying to your family, Hop Pop’s FINALLY forced to face hiding the Box from Anne, and we also get an ivy episode. Super fuckin shooters.

If you liked this review, consdier joining my patreon, link’s in the blog and next stretchgoal is a darkwing duck episode a month. Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure.

#ducktales #the spear of selene #delene #della duck #dewey duck #donald duck #storkules #zeus #scrooge mcduck #huey duck #louie duck #webby vanderquack #ithaquack #reviews #della arc

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nodesiretogrowup · 5 years ago

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I LOVED THIS EPISODE! It was nice to have a kid-focused episode. The past few have focused a lot on the adults, so it was nice to see the kids in the spotlight again. It was SO COOL to see the kids playing off each other. We NEED more of it next season. Lena is my daughter, so I was happy to see her back, though I’d rather she not have to suffer.

Spoilers and more detailed thoughts below:

YAY NERF GUNS! Also, it was super sweet of the boys to reassure Lena that they know she’s a good guy now.

LOVED all the different jammies on display. I usually rock something similar to Lena and Violet. Dewey in the footie pajamas gives me LIFE. And Huey with his hat. I’m surprised he didn’t say something along the lines of “Warm head, warm dreams.”

Super cute that Lena set this all up. My baby wants friends.

“Self defense weapons, all manner of booby trap.” I feel like Violet would have suggested having those no matter what. I love my slightly feral nerd daughter.

Beakley for BEST bodyguard.

“Nothing weird is gonna happen at this slumber party.” Webby, babe, you’re just ASKING for trouble.

Lena’s little song and cake! MY HEART! I think Huey may have drawn some inspiration from that cake, lol

“Time loses all meaning in the infinite night of the shadow realm.” HELP THIS CHILD! And again, I think Donald would be the perfect parent for her.

“You are a wordsmith!” Webby LOVES her shadow gf.

THE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS! AND THEY MATCHED EACH KID! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS GIRL!

Of course Louie is suspicious. He was wary of his mom AND just spent the last episode getting betrayed by Goldie.

“You literally sound like that now.” Huey, you need to learn how to read a room.

“That’s just my voice, I can’t help it!” I feel ya there. And a nice bit of foreshadowing

“I’ve found it’s clearer to convey no emotion whatsoever.” Also not a good way to talk to people.

Aw, Lena. Like Webby said, you don’t have to prove yourself. That seems to be a running theme this season. Dewey wants to prove himself to his mom, Louie wants to prove himself to anyone, and Della wants to prove that she is a good mom and fits into this family.

“That makes you super-extra-good, right?” “Math checks out.” You two share one (1) brain cell and that’s adorable.

Webby has no table manners and that is valid.

“LET’S EAT PURE SUGAR!” That is just a bad idea in general, much less for Huey.

What happened to Huey? Why was his mouth all grey?

“You know who my best friend is?” “Me.” “Sleep.” A.) Mood, B.) Dewey’s face is PRICELESS! You can’t win them all.

Sleeping Beakley is TERRIFYING.

“It might be sleepy-time.” Webby, you are TOO PRECIOUS!

Anyone getting some Nightmare on Elm Street vibes? Specifically the third one? I guess that was what they were going for, what with the title and all.

Concerned girlfriend is concerned.

MY POOR BABY! HASN’T SHE SUFFERED ENOUGH?!

“Do you need, *whispers* you-know-what paper?” Not sure if Beakley told her toilet isn’t something you should go around saying or if Webby doesn’t want to embarrass anyone. Either way, cute!

Lena pulls of Dewey’s do well.

One of the most precious moments ever! And a reminded that they are still pretty young.

WEBBY IS SUCH A GOOD FRIEND/GIRLFRIEND! *happy tears*

LOVED the shot of Lena with the stars reflected in her eyes.

Heck, the animation for all the dreams is AMAZING! I love how you can INSTANTLY TELL whose dream we’re in.

I’m glad they figured out that they were in a shared dream early. Gives us more time for wacky dream shenanigans!

Webby/hamburgers is otp

I like that they used the “you can’t read in dreams” thing. Nice touch. It looks like at least Launchpad, Scrooge, and Donald had a corresponding emoji.

“Why are you dialing a banana?” DREAM LOGIC!

SWORD HORSE!

Webby CANONLY kins Scrooge!

EXTREMELY EXTREME OBSTACLE COURSE

Louie putting a stop to unicorn shenanigans before they begin.

Those directions. Better than Penny’s at least.

Violet is blunt and to the point. She’s probably a Virgo.

LIVING for all the cartoony sound effects!

POOR LENA! AND YAY SUPPORTIVE WEBBY! Also, love Louie in the background being confused as fuck.

That cute little smile! I WOULD DIE FOR LENA!

I don’t think the whole “don’t wake a sleepwalker” thing is actually valid in real life, but here it’s probably a goodish idea. Magic is weird and unpredictable.

“LET’S FLY, BECAUSE WE CAAAAAAN!” I like the way you think. I love that Louie’s wings have dollar signs. And Lena’s bat wings are DOPE.

“I HATE WALKING!” Louie is MOOD.

Huey and Dewey crashing, lol

That unicorn got DEEP. And I now crackship him and Manny.

Lena walked into Snow White.

“I probably grew horrible bat wings for non-evil reasons.” It’s because you are a baby goth.

“I ATE A BUG!” Dewey, you are a special boy and that’s valid.

��Ew, Webby, why is there a school in your dream?” Again, Louie is MOOD.

Ugh, I wish I could make out what the sign in front of the school says. I see EXCELLENCE though.

Dewey CONFIRMED HSM fan. And I’m getting some Saved By The Bell vibes. He’s binged ALL the high school classics. This is probably how Mabel dreamed high school would look like before the crushing slap of reality hit her.

His hair and jacket. Too cute, expect for his hair being alive. That was freaky. I fear for him when he learns what high school is actually like.

His song. Dewey is in for HEARTBREAK. LIVE YOUR DREAM WHILE YOU CAN!

I know most people are going with Dewey is bi after the whole romantic interest thing, but I feel like he might be aro/ace. Dewey is threatened by choosing a romantic partner. I’ve kind of always seen him as ace though, so it might just be me. Or it could be him trying to figure out his sexuality, which is cool. I love that the crew threw that in. The boy is not straight in any way though.

I love that Dewey’s singing rivals are Beagle Boys.

“Who knows what that’s about?” “I have some theories.” SYMBOLISM!

Dewey Dude is upsetting even BEFORE it turned into Magica.

The balance between comedy and STRAIGHT UP HORROR was handled well.

Lena has watched Wizard of Oz.

“You ruined my big dance!” Priorities, Dewey. Louie looks relieved though.

Dewey’s hair looked super cute when it was wet.

Why did he and Lena taste the water? Is there some sort of significance there?

“I just failed a class called Dew-ology.” “Well I’m the class Dew-torian.” That’s stretching it, Dewey.

“I gotta get outta here.” Haha, Dewey’s dream is Huey’s nightmare.

Louie-field. I WANT PLUSHIES. Also, Louie confirmed furry?

“This is your dream? To be even lazier?” Don’t be a hater, Huey! Louie’s got the right idea.

Wonder if Beakley taking care of Louie-field means anything.

Seriously, Huey is SUCH a hater! He wants out of Dewey’s dream and he mocks Louie’s.

“HOW ARE YOU SLEEP-SLEEPING?” Don’t hate cause you ain’t. Also, I have napped in a dream once so....

Louie’s sleep face is MAJESTIC. HE’S BEAUTY, HE’S GRACE.

“I just am.” Louie is so wise.

Wolf Lena is BEST

Violet, there is a better way to talk about people’s psychological issues.

Why would you choose the litter box?

“WHY, HUEY, WHY?!” No arguments here.

I’m the eldest sibling like Huey and I’m the shortest of the three of us, so I get you, Huey. But there are better, cooler, less upsetting ways to manifest that dream. Like switching bodies with a tall person.

His legs make rubber band noises when he moves.

“Don’t listen to him! Follow your lame dreams.” What a supportive brother.

Huey’s dream is Dewey’s nightmare. Nice.

I too use my feet to do things, like opening doors or getting stuff off the floor. But opening jars of FOOD?! UNSANITARY AND YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER.

Someone is a Spinel fanboy.

Or is he Slender-Huey?

“And it’s my dream to be in a montage.” While it is pretty dope, why does Dewey get two dreams?! Greedy little bastard. Are we sure he’s not the evil triplet, lol.

HERE’S HOW PHOOEY CAN WIN! Liked that they implied he’s the evil one. He’s a yellow, less 90s Dippy Fresh.

JUST SAY NO TO PHOOEY! His name means the f-word.

MORE DRAGON BALL Z!

NERD ALERT!

Huey has found a kindred soul.

I like that Violet even has Quackfaster as a librarian.

“It’s almost 6am!” Your old man is showing. Sidenote-I tend to wake up around 6. I’m old.

“Go get some jobs!” Scrooge, do you know about child labor laws?

This is the second episode of this set that Scrooge comes off as a bit of a prick.

POOR LENA! At least all the kids care about her. The poor girl needs some friends.

“She’s gonna be cold without her sweater!” His heart’s in the right place.

I love that all the kids jump in after Webby immediately. NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND.

Louie just spinning in the background.

“I think this is more nightmare.” Thank you, Captain Obvious.

I want that castle as a playset.

Good lord this scene was hard to watch. It reminded me a lot of Raven in Ever After High (and Teen Titans Raven too). She’s so afraid of being predestined to become evil that it’s consuming her to the point that she can’t see anything else and feels stuck. Some of this really hit close to home for me because I deal with depression and anxiety and when a big episode hits it’s hard to find my way out. Luckily, just like Lena, I have a good support system.

Magica gaslighting Lena was really upsetting to see.

Lena becoming Magica then a literal monster? LET MY DAUGHTER HAVE PEACE!

“Ugh, why does everything I say sound sarcastic?” Callback

Was that a hint at a Gargoyles reboot? I JOKE TO EASE THE PAIN!

#youtriedDewey

Dewey’s spinny eyes, lol

Webby is most competent fighter

Poor Louie. The past two episode have not been kind to him physically.

Lena will ALWAYS be there for Webby.

POOR LENA!

HURRAY FOR SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS!

FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, BITCH!

“It’s fine, FINE!” Just wait for puberty, Huey. It will be slightly less disturbing.

I TOTALLY CALLED THAT THIS WAS A PLOT FOR MAGICA TO GET HER POWERS BACK! YAY FOR BEING RIGHT!

Magica is meth aunt.

“I don’t need you. You need me!” THAT’S MY GIRL!

FERAL

I bet Magica is gonna lie about still having powers so she can get close enough to Lena to regain her powers and stab everyone in the back. Whether or not she succeeds...

Boyd and Lena should start a club. The “I thought/felt like I was a real, flesh and blood being, had an existential crises over it, and am trying to deal with my evil relative” club. Huey’s the moderator, he’s working on his consoling badge.

#ducktales #dt spoilers #MORE KID EPISODES

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spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia · 5 years ago

Text

“Forgiveness”: A Ducktales Fanfic with Lena

Dedicated to lenasmagic, a blog on Tumblr.

“Gary, are you SURE you haven’t forgotten anything?”, Pricilla asked with that tone that implied that she was 100 % sure that Gary had most DEFINITELY forgotten something.

Gary rolled his eyes as he approached the pod door of his golden spacecraft that shined and glowed in the bright noon day sun.

“Pricilla, for the last time, I HAVEN’T forgotten anything!”, he complained, fishing in his golden pockets, his tongue sticking out in concentration.

“Really?”, she asked in disbelief, hands on her hips. She was taller than him, so it always gave him the impression that she was disappointed in him when she did that.

He was right.

“I’m telling you, I haven’t forgotten…”, Gary started, when suddenly it snapped and he realized that…

“…The keys.”, he sighed, resigned to his fate.

Pricilla closed her eyes, triumphant. “Yes, the keys. I told you so.”

“Hey, uh, your keys are here.”, a different voice suddenly rose up from the crowd of moonpeople walking around looking for their earthly… Or, well, moonly possessions.

You’d think that spotting a voice in a crowd of blue and purple aliens clad in golden armor would be difficult.

But hard as she tried, Lena Saberwing (formerly Lena De Spell, niece of one of the most evil people to ever live, but who’s thinking about that) couldn’t NOT stand out.

The teen duck with pink dyed hair that heavily contrasted with her mood, a black and grey striped shirt over a mint collared shirt that gave her a very different feel to the more simply dressed inhabitants of the planet, and most noticeably, purple eyeshadow that gave her a haunting or haunted look, depending on your perspective, stood in front of the moon people, a golden key chain in the palm of her hand.

If Gary and Pricilla knew the years of pain, suffering, self hatred and resentment buried deep in those black black pupils, they may have taken pity on the young girl, who held aloft their way back home.

But Gary and Pricilla didn’t, and space traffic WAS busy this time of year.

“Give me that!”, Gary snatched the keys, momentarily scraping Lena’s feathered palm, making her recoil for a second.

“What you deserve…”, a voice whispered, as it always did when she got hurt.

She had learned to mostly tune it out.

…Mostly.

“Hey!”, she protested, annoyed at the shabby treatment. “How about a thank you? I just helped you get off this crummy planet.”

Pricilla waved Lena’s protests off, as if they were some annoying fly or something, and not a living, breathing person… Er, Duck, in front of her.

“Whatever, young one. Let’s get out of here, Gary.”

Gary unlocked the pod and mumbled under his breath as Pricilla entered their craft.

“Gary do this, Gary do that…”, he muttered, and he lumbered inside, the door closing and the shuttle flying off into the deep unknown of space.

Gone.

Forever.

“Good riddance.”, Lena thought, and she frowned at the departing space crafts, all of which had moments ago been trying to kill her and all her friends.

Her family.

Her only family.

And they were going off scot free!

She kicked a pebble with her left green and white sneaker, annoyed at the injustice of it all!

What if someone she cared for had been hurt by these monsters?

Someone like Scrooge McDuck, or Mrs. Beakley, whom had given her another chance after all the damage she had caused?

Or someone closer to her, like her new friends Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck?

Or even worse: Her new adopted sister and lovable pain in the butt Violet Saberwing?

And Violet’s dads…

Correction: Her dads.

…Her dads. That felt… Weird.

And worst of all: What if Webby had been hurt?

Her best friend had been at the thick of the fighting, literally part of Earth’s last defense!

“But…”, Lena admitted, as she walked up to a hill overseeing the moon men spaceships. “I can’t exactly criticize others for nearly hurting my friends and family.”

Lena shivered for a moment as she got another intense flashback: A regular occurrence, but never a pleasant one.

“After all… I nearly did too.”

Oh no. She was sinking again.

And she was hearing a weird sound again.

One negative thought leads to another. Soon she’d be thinking about lying to Webby about their friendship, which would be followed by trying to steal Scrooge’s number one dime, followed by losing her body to her “loving” Aunt Magica, followed by being trapped for a YEAR as a shadow, followed by almost becoming Magica…

Lena suddenly realized that the weird sound she was hearing was her own hyperventilating, and, not wanting anyone to see, she clasped her beak with her right wind and clenched her left wing’s fist, hoping that she could force it out.

It didn’t really work, but thankfully, a distraction arose.

“So… Moon people.”

Lena had heard many distinct sounds in her life, but perhaps the driest (and right now, most thankfully distracting) sound she had ever heard was the voice of Violet Saberwing, her aforementioned adopted sister/giant pain.

Lena smiled in relief as she approached the hummingbird with a mint green shirt and average expression (though Lena had lived with her enough time to know that there was a small smile that was only reserved for her), and the two sisters stood face to face… Sort of.

Lena was very tall.

“Should that be something I should be worried about? Most kids my age are around her height.”, Lena thought, and she cringed. “Am I seriously getting angsty over my height as well?”

Violet nodded at the disappearing space craft with an educated sniff. “Must say, not only did I think that no one lived on the moon, but I didn’t think they’d be such…”

“Jerks?”, Lena offered, still frustrated with their behavior and conduct.

“I was going to say inhospitable invaders, but sure, jerks in laymans terms works too.”, Violet dryly joked (at least, Lena thought it was a joke. You could never tell with Violet).

The two stood in silence for a moment as the ships continued to lazily leave. There were MANY, MANY ships, so the evacuation would take some time.

Some people, like Lena and Violet, opted to stand and watch the ships go by. There were even those who sat on the grass and ate sandwiches, waving goodbye to the would be conquerors.

Others, though, were preparing to leave back to their homes and their sort of but not really normal lives.

Off the corner of her left eye, Lena spotted the McDuck family entering a number of sleek black limosuines.

She could see Scrooge, Webby still clinging to his chest, stepping in to the vehicle, or at least, trying to, since Dewey tried to backflip in.

She couldn’t hear anything, but she didn’t need to to see Scrooge humorously chide the energetic boy, or Webby giggle that lovable laugh of hers.

Huey was excitedly jotting down something in his Junior Woodchuck guide book (for sure all the “thrilling” moon facts he had learned in the last few hours), Della and Donald were laughing together for the first time in a decade, and Launchpad was trying to reattach the car door he had just broken.

Lena could see multiple faces in that crowd, faces she sort of recognized from the last few days, like that Darkwing what’s his name, and Gizmoduck, or faces that she had known for a long time, like Mrs. Beakly and Duckworth.

There were even faces she was only vaguely aware of, like Qucakfast and Gyro Gearloose.

But even those she didn’t recognize made her feel almost…

At home.

Like they were all one big family.

But Lena was honestly unsure if she could ever belong to that family.

What with…

“No!”, She demanded, furious with her mind. “No, I DON’T want to think about this!”

“I’m better now…”, she said to herself, but less assuredly.

For a few minutes, Lena and Violet sat silently as the ships departed, saying nothing, Lena lost in her thoughts, Violet trying her best not to think about the fact that her adopted sister was clearly suffering again.

Finally, Violet stood up and clicked her tongue.

“Welp, I’ve had all the fun one can possibly have from watching aliens enter spaceships.”

“Zero?”, Lena asked with half a smirk, looking up at her new little sister.

Violet again unleashed that small smile that only Lena got. “Around that amount.”

She looked back at her dads, who were waving at her next to the mini.

“Dad and Dad want us to come home and have a “Post Moonvasion Goulash”.”

“What the heck is that?”, Lena asked, humor laced in her words.

“Whatever it is, it’s going into our beaks. But they’re good cooks, so…”, Violet shrugged, and she started walking out.

Suddenly, she looked back at Lena, whose back was hunched and her shoulders were slumped as she stared at the lonely wet grass.

“…You… You coming?”

Hesitation could be heard, a rarity from Violet.

Not much phased the girl; she was a bit of an emotionless girl (which worried her fathers endlessly, much to her chargin).

However, if there was one thing that upset the bookworm, it was the sight of her new older sister depressed yet again.

Violet, however, was a smart kid; she knew that she wouldn’t be able to talk to Lena yet.

And if anyone could, they’d have to be particularly stubborn.

Violet knew that right now, that wasn’t her.

But she still asked an empty question, one she knew the answer to, hoping against hope that Lena would just come instead of spend the next few hours…

“You go ahead. I’ll… I’ll catch up.”, Lena breathed out breathlessly, her voice as distant as the moon that had brought upon her mood.

Violet nodded, knowing that this was to be the answer. “All right.”

She turned her back to Lena, half a sad look back.

“I’ll… I’ll keep a seat warm for you if you want to play Smash Bros.”

Lena nodded wordlessly.

“Cool.”, Violet remarked, and sighing, she began to walk up to her dads, trying to calculate how she would explain to her dads that Lena needed to feel bad again.

And for now…

Lena was alone.

Like always…

Lena was alone.

As she would always be…

Lena. Was.

Alone.

A light breeze blew gently, tickling her beak, making her wrinkle it.

Her eyes closed as she tried to breath deeply like Mrs. Beakly had suggested once.

Breath deeply, count to ten, and try to ignore the all encompassing guilt of existing.

Easier said then done.

But Lena never did do things easily, now did she?

Entering a lotus position (sort of. She needed to work on that, it wasn’t easy), Lena tried to focus only on good things.

“The past is behind me. The past is… Behind me.”, she said, shivering as she tried to ignore.

She tried SO HARD.

And she was SO TIRED.

“Think… About what you have.”, she said to herself, and she breathed deeply.

The wind blew through her hair, and she thought of Violet.

“I have a sister… And I have two dads. That’s cool. Some people have no dads. I’ve got two. Beat that.”

She took another deep breath, her words unsure.

“I have… Mrs. Beakly and Scrooge and Donald and Della and Launchpad looking after me. And I have Huey, Dewey and Louie.”

She took another deep breath, trying to ignore the terrifying feeling of inevitable depression.

“I have… Webby…”

She imagined herself grabbing hold of Webby’s hand, the friendship bracelets glowing…

Only for a strange yet familiar hand to grip her arm hard, removing the friendship bracelet in the process.

“Ow!”, Lena cried, and suddenly she saw herself back at the beach, contacting Aunt Magica.

“Aunt Magica…”, she had whispered, almost triumphantly. “I’m in.”

“This… Is your fault…”, a voice whispered.

Lena’s eyes widened and she turned to the voice, the waves crashing oddly muted, but her heartbeat pounding like a rocket launch in her ear. “Who said that? I’m… It’s not my…”

Suddenly she got smacked by an invisible hand, which flung her somewhere else.

Somewhere dark and cold.

“IT IS YOUR FAULT!”, the voice screeched, echoing and disappearing suddenly.

Turning around, Lena saw herself underground, lying to Mrs. Beakly over her allegiance.

“You lied…”

Lena looked around, searching for the voice that wasn’t there, yet also was.

“No I didn’t! I mean, I did, it’s just…”

“SILENCE!”, she got hit again, her beak throbbing now, forced tears dropping, lying on the ground, completely helpless.

“No… I…”

Suddenly she heard the tracks and the whistle.

The train was going to hit Beakly, just like last time.

“Beakly, look out!”, Lena screamed, but when she jumped at Beakly, she got hit by the train.

Waking up, she found herself in the shark she had created.

She had created.

Her fault.

Her fault

Her fau…

“Shut up!”, she shouted, eyes closed shut, but it wasn’t enough. The fingers kept pointing, pointing, pointing, changing, transforming, until they became…

“We’re friends, you beautiful idiot! I don’t care what you did!”

Lena wanted to believe that.

She HAD to believe that, it had to be true!

“Look at what you did for a body…”, the voice whispered again, leaving feedback in her ears, but Lena didn’t have time for guilt!

She had to save Webby and herself!

Sliding down like she had, she chanted “With the hand of my best friend…”

Lena glowed blue like she had then, and she could see Webby falling.

An excited smile popped on her face, redemption was right there for the taking!

“I bring about…”

But as she reached towards Webby, the invisible hand choked her, lifting her up from the ground.

Lena grasped and throttled, barely calling out Webby’s name as the duckling fell down and down and down and down…

“WEBBY!”, she screamed, tears falling, her vocal chords nearly damaged, as she got dropped down to the ground…

“TAKE. THE. DIME!”

And here she was, in the other bin, Scrooge’s fabled Number One Dime almost at her grasp, Aunt Magica ordering, demanding her to seal the world’s fate…

Her hand slowly and surely reached…

“NO!”, Lena screamed, taking her hand away, but the invisible hand pulled her back towards it.

A tug of war occurred, Lena desperately trying to go away from the coin, the invisible hand dragging her back.

“Hands off of me, you… Hand!”, Lena shouted, and with a swift tug, she got out of the hands grasp and rolled away just in time to…

It glinted in her palm, just like last time.

“…Oh no…”, Lena whispered, failing to believe that she had done it.

“But why is it so hard to believe, Lena?”, the voice echoed in her mind as she went to her knees and held her head in fear, shame and panic.

“After all…”

Webby’s body fell from the money shark down to the ground next to her.

“WEBBY! Are you all…”

But Lena couldn’t finish the question. As she turned her friend around, the haunting image of a Webby doll stared right back at her.

Lena backed away in fright, barely reaching the wall behind her, gasping and hyperventilating.

“STOP IT! LET MY FRIEND GO!”, Lena screamed at the invisible hand.

“Stop what? What you’ve been doing?”

Another smack and Lena found herself in Magica’s hands, the witch’s face turning into her own, maliciously grinning at her.

“You’ve been using her, pulling her strings…”

Lena tried to escape, but the invisible hands held her tighter as Magica forcibly entered her soul and…

All was black.

All was lost.

Her eyes, her mind, her heart…

Poisoned to the core.

And here she was in the mansion.

Nearly destroying Scrooge’s life, the once great man laying distraught on the ground.

“Mr. McDuck? You don’t have to…”, Lena tried again to help, but the shadows came tumbling down around her, a vortex opening between her feet.

“It’s your fault they almost DIED!”

A kick to the chest nearly stopped her heart and her eyes rolled up to her head and…

Silence.

Shadows.

Nothing.

Seconds turn to minutes turn to hours turn to days turn to weeks turn to months…

“YOU HURT BEAKLEY!”

A punch like a train collided with her beak.

She tasted blood in her mouth and recoiled.

“YOU HURT SCROOGE!”

Her knees tripped and she smashed down to the ground, coughing out blood, her arms wobbling as she tried to stand up.

“YOU HURT THE McDUCK CLAN! YOUR CLOSEST THING TO A FAMILY!”

Multiple punches, kicks, pokes in the eye, scratches and slaps collided, hurt everywhere and nowhere, instantaneous and everlasting, inducing hot tears of shame that melted her face, retching out her soul.

The ethereal brightly lit soul, looking like Webby, reached out her hand, and Lean, desperate for redemption, reached out her hand in return.

The friendship bracelets returned, glowing brightly, Lena’s smile returning with joyful tears, hope seemingly back…

When Webby reached in and removed her heart.

“YOU HURT ME!”, Webby screeched, and pushed her off a cliff, Lena knowing she deserved it…

“No… That’s not true… It’s… Not my…”

Wake up.

Go to sleep.

Wake down.

Go to rest.

Wake on.

Go to the light.

Wake off…

DOWN TO THE DARK.

Lena crashed down, eyes braced for impact, only to be caught by…

“Violet?”, Lena asked, Violet right there, as ever, holding her back.

Lena burst into tears and cheered, nearly squishing Violet.

She smiled gratefully as her tears made Violet’s shirt wet, the hummingbird still silent.

“Violet! Oh my god, thank goodness you’re here! I almost…”

“ALMOST WHAT? HURT VIOLET?”, The voice returned, and Lena got held back as Violet was moved away, her eyes blank and lifeless, next to Webby, her Dads, Huey, Dewey, Lewie, Scrooge, Mrs. Beakley, Donald, Della, Launchpad…

“NO! I’D NEVER!”, Lena screamed back, when suddenly she saw a giant hand reach to hurt her family.

“STOP!”, She ordered, and she shot a blinding magic blast, purple light fizzing everywhere, sparks entering her eyes.

But at least the blast…

“…No…”, she mouthed, as she saw…

Empty eyes…

Limp hands…

Cold, unmoving bodies…

They were…

Dead…

“Because of you…”, the invisible voice whispered, this time almost gently.

Lena sobbed and sobbed as she got to her knees and held her face in her hands, crying tears, crying black magic, crying blood…

“Your fault… You killed them… You always did… It was you… From the very beginning…”

Lena suddenly felt herself changing, yet somehow staying the same…

She felt different, yet familiar…

A mirror was propped up between her and a wall, and Lena looked in to see…

“YOU were the villain.”

Magica’s face stared back at her, cackling.

Lena screamed, and anger and rage consuming her, she shouted “THAT’S. NOT. ME!”

She punched the mirror, but instead of the glass shattering, Magica’s face shattered, turning into…

“Me.”, she breathed out.

“You’re right, Lena…”,the voice said, taking shape as…

“You’re not Magica…”

Lena turned around to see…

Herself.

“You’re you.”

Lena stared back at the other Lena and vice versa.

The first looked like Lena always did, but the second was… different.

Her tears were black, her eyes were soulless, and her body was scarred beyond repair…

For some reason, Lena felt compelled to touch the other Lena’s hand…

So she stepped towards her…

And…

The two put their palms together…

“You’re you…”

Lena, smiling bravely despite it all, tried to wipe the black tears off of the other Lena…

WHOOSH!

It took a moment for Lena to realize that the weird wet thing she felt on her shirt was blood…

Spewing and gushing down from a gaping hole in her heart…

A diamond knife twisting harder and harder into her chest…

The other Lena crying and laughing, smiling and frowning, joyful and distraught…

“You’re you…”, the other Lena said…

“And that’s even worse than Magica.”

Lena tried to speak but no words formed.

The other Lena suddenly pushed Lena off the cliff, her family suddenly appearing, waving goodbye as she soared down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down no hope no hope all is lost all is lost it’s over it’s over I’m lost I’m lost life lost life lost love torn love gone love lost love found love taken pain granted wishes of pain slit and desist and stop and never come back the guilt is you and you are the guilt and your actions never lose their impact you try to swim but you sink because the depths of your shame know no limit and the folly of redemption is but a tick an illusion a n empty promise like your meaningless existence daring you to be anything more than what you are but you know you can’t because to your great and everlasting fault you are no one but…

“Me”

But just before Lena can finally sink to the bottom of the sea and gain everything by losing it all…

“Hey, Lena.”

Violently waking up, as if nothing had happened, Lena gasps and turns around suddenly, the voice now not belonging to herself but to…

Louie Duck.

“…Sup?”

Lena takes a moment to visualize her surroundings.

The Moon men ships are soaring in the sky, the grass is blowing softly near her feet and Louis is standing next to her, hands in his pockets.

The nightmare is over. She really is back.

But was that a good thing?

Right now, though, she didn’t have time to process the raw trauma she had just experience, since Louie was next to her, and she wanted to get rid of him before he caught on.

Taking a deep breath and trying her best to hide the terror and resignation from her voice, Lena said “…Hey Louie.”

Louie kept his hands in his hoodie pockets, a blank expression on his face.

It was hard to tell what he was really feeling, and usually that blank expression was accurate, but one got the feeling that this time it was an act.

“So… You watching the moon people leave?”

Lena nodded, hoping that would be good enough of an answer.

“All alone on this hill?”

Apparently, it wasn’t good enough of an answer.

“I’ve gotta get rid of him!”, Lena thought, calculating options quickly. “Maybe a barb will shut him up.”

“What’s the matter?”, she asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Aren’t you busy taking over McDuck Enterprises and sending it down the toilet?”

Louie took it in stride, but Lena could tell that he was hiding his true feelings about that day. “Hey, that was last week. I’m a changed duck!”

“Wow. New Louie is only one week old and already as disappointing as old Louie.”

Lena knew she was being a jerk, but right now that was easier than sharing… All that.

Besides, she didn’t really have a relationship with Louie.

Sure, he had helped her with her nightmares, and she’d forever be in his debt for that, but that was about it.

“Oh, man.”, Lena thought, the hole in her chest hurting. “I sound like such an asshole.”

Louie however, did not take the insult that hard.

“Mind if I sit down?”

Lena did mind.

But it seemed like Louie would not take no for an answer.

Besides, she could just avoid it, she’d done it before!

So Lena patted the ground next to her, not daring to look at Louie out of fear that he’d see through her mask.

“Sit down, the grass is fine.”

So he sat down next to her, albeit with his back to her.

And for a while, the two ducklings did nothing but sit and breath, Lena’s heart hurting and Louie’s mind working overtime.

There were still a few moon people embarking their crafts, but they would all be gone soon, and Lena would have no excuse to stay.

She tried to come up with some kind of way to kick Louie out, but her mind came up with blanks, instead continuing to quietly and slowly hurl more and more guilt onto her.

Suddenly, Louie broke the silence. “…Why are you really sitting here?”

Lena didn’t want to answer.

So she said nothing.

Louie sighed. “Silent treatment?”

Lena still said nothing.

Louie sniffed for a moment, blinking at the clouds. “…Look, if you’re not going to tell me what’s on your mind, then I’ll tell you why you should tell me.”

Lena barely stifled a dark chuckle. “I should tell you? No offense, Louie, but I find it hard to believe that you of all people hold the key to making me feel less shitty.”

Louie objected to this, of course. “Come on! You’re not even willing to give me a chance to prove myself?”

“Well, let’s see: You broke the timestream, nearly losing your family, you scammed Glomgold out of his entire company, NOT that he didn’t deserve it, and, oh, there’s the little thing of taking over Scrooge’s company and almost running it into the ground in a day.” Lena scoffed and counted on her fingers.

Louie, half jokingly and half seriously defended himself. “Ok, ok, so mistakes were made…”

“Title of your autobiography.”, Lena quipped.

“I was thinking something more like “Louie Duck: Lit and Fit with Moolah in the Mint”, but sure, “Mistakes Were Made” works too.”

And again, silence fell.

For a moment, Lena thought she had avoided it for good, but then Louis spoke again, this time with a little more emotion.

“…I really could help you. If you’d let me.”

Lena sighed, knowing that the youngest duck triplet’s intentions were good, but misguided. “Look, Louie, it’s really cool of you to try, but…”

She left that sentence hanging, but Louie didn’t need the rest of it to interpret its meaning.

That didn’t stop him from insisting. “I’m telling you, I can at least try.”

Lena, tired of waiting, turned to him, anger in her eyes. Louie could also detect damp spots in said eyes, but he decided that he’d rather not die like that. “Louie, I’m serious: Stop trying.”

Louie knew that messing with Lena was a bad idea: She could get pretty mad, and he knew that he was no match physically for her.

But it didn’t stop him from staring right back, eyes narrowed with determination.

“Why? I’m tired of taking the easy route.”

Lena laughed. “Since when?”

“Since last week!”, Louie shouted back, slight emotion crawling into his voice.

“You can’t. Change. In a week!”, Lena emphasized, talking more to herself than to Louie.

“How are you so sure? How are you so sure that you can’t?”, Louie turned the tables.

Lena groaned, frustrated with his stubbornness. “Louie, you can’t help me!”

“Why?”, he shouted back, not expecting the following event.

Lena, finally out of patience, shoved him to the ground, angry tears flying off her eyes, a red face and a shaking body above him now.

“I. CAN’T. BE. HELPED!”

Realizing what she did, she turned her back to him, clenching her fists and looking down at the ground with shame.

She wished it could swallow her whole, leaving no trace.

But to her great misfortune…

She was still alive.

Louie slowly got up, dusting himself off, not averting his gaze from her hunched back and slumped shoulders.

“…No. You can’t be helped.”

Lena knew it was true, but it didn’t stop the shiver that emcommpassed her entire body.

But Louie wasn’t finished.

“You can’t be helped if you never let yourself be helped.”

“Sometimes, I really just want to deck that kid.”, Lena thought, and she turned around, pissed.

“Louie, for god’s sake, shut up…”

“No. Not until you hear me out.”

The two were in an unofficial stand still, a sort of unspoken staring contest, both refusing to break.

Lena desperately wanted to kick him out…

But at the same time, she knew that he wouldn’t leave without having his say.

Sighing, she turned her back again, and, muttering, she murmured “Fine. What do you want to say?”

Louie cleared his throat, knowing that he was now in the homestretch. He had to nail this or he’d lose his chance to help her.

And hard as it was for even him to believe, he wanted to help her.

Twiddling his thumbs, his usual confidence absent,, he started to make his point.

“As I’m sure you know, I can be kind of… Selfish and manipulative.”

Lena shook her head, failing to believe this. “Are we seriously talking about you?”

Louie quickly intervened. “Wait, wait, hear me out!”

Lena sighed and motioned for him to go on.

Louie kicked some grass and continued. “What I was trying to say is, as you know, I can be a real jerk.”

“Real asshole.”, Lena added.

“Yeah, that too.”

“And a dick.”, Lena added, now with a dry smile.

“Ok, that’s a bit much.”, Louie protested.

“And a prick, moron and cock.”

Louie dryly looked back at her. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

“Oh, very.”, Lena admitted, enjoying the moment of relief.

Louie sighed. “Oh boy. Anyway, what I was trying to say, is that yes, I am all those things. And for a long time, I didn’t really think of the consequences of my actions.”

He started to get a little more serious, the memories of his past mistakes still a touchy matter.

Lena knew this, and she started to feel a little bad for barbing him so much. He too had regrets.

“I regret that. I regret tricking my family, I regret the timephoon, and I definitely regret taking over the company.”

Emotion broke into his voice, and Lena swore that she could hear a tear or two, but she refused to turn, still rejecting help.

That, and she didn’t want to embarrass him.

“I… I fucked up real bad.”

Lena snickered. “Gee, what a dirty mouth. You kiss your mother with that mouth, Lellwyn?”

“Oh, you bet! That dirty mouth didn’t even have that privilege until about 3 weeks ago! I’ll kiss her with my disgusting mouth as much as I want!”, Louie retorted jokingly, but Lena could tell that Louie really had missed his mom.

She wondered what that felt like.

Louie resumed his talk. “Anyhow… I… I didn’t realize I was wrong. I was sure that there was only one way in life for me: To scam everyone in my way, make it rich quick and live the easy life. But I see now that…”

He sighed. It was never easy to say this, but he had to for Lena’s sake.

“I see now that I was wrong.”

Lena sighed too. “Louie… You don’t have to be hard on yourself.”

Louie disagreed. “No. You’re wrong. I should be. I made big mistakes. And I need to fix them. And it will take time.”

Louie then smiled hopefully, a little at himself and a little at her. “But… Here’s the thing.”

He closed his eyes, feeling the wind in his hair. “The reason I’ve been able to live with myself… The reason I’m not just lying in my room hating myself for being suck a dick… Is because I took the first step towards redemption. Something you haven’t done.”

Lena raised an eyebrow, turning towards him. “…What are you talking about? What did I not do?”

Louie smiled softly, sympathy present in his eyes. “You didn’t forgive yourself.”

Lena gulped. In a way, she knew he was right, but at the same time…

“Louie… I can’t.”

“Why not?”, he asked, pressing her.

“I… I just can’t!”, Lena shot back, turning again, clutching herself, feeling cold.

“I… I’ve done too much. I’ve… I’ve fallen too far down.”

“No. You. Haven’t.”

Lena growled. “Louie, you don’t know what I’ve gone through.”

“Of course not. But answer me this: Did you choose to steal the number one dime?”

Lena turned to him, hands on her hips. “Uh, duh! Of course I did!”

“No, Magica did. You only did it because she told you to.”

“That doesn’t change what I did!”, Lena protested, attacking herself.

“Yes it does! You were being led astray by an abusive family figure! It’s a perfect excuse, ‘cause it’s not an excuse! It’s fucking abuse!”

Lena shook her head, not wanting to fool herself into believing. “Louie, even if that’s true…”

“Did you choose to make the money shark? Or the shadow war? Did you choose to let your body be taken over?”, Louie asked, disgust laced in his voice.

“Well…”, Lena had to admit, he was making a good point.

But she still felt so guilty.

“Well, I guess I…”

“No, no guessing. Yes or no.”

“But…”

“Yes or no.”

“Wait, I…”

“Yes. Or. No.”

“Listen, ok, it’s not that simple…”

Lena was spiraling, and Louie refused to budge.

“Yes or no, Lena! It IS simple!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Answer me!”

Lena shook and her head throbbed and her heart pounded and…

“Did you choose to be made?”

That was it. That was the million dollar question.

But the prize was most definitely not cash.

“NO, OK? I DIDN’T CHOOSE IT! I DIDN’T CHOOSE TO LIVE!”

Lena collapsed to her knees, weeping, not caring anymore who saw.

“I…”, she started weakly, her breath cold, her body aching.

“I didn’t choose to live. I didn’t ask for all of this.”

Louie stepped up to her, a look of pure sympathy painted on him. “…Exactly.”

Louie knelt down and embraced her, which surprised her. They were not huggers.

“Don’t dismember me.”, Louie asked, and Lena couldn’t help but smile at that.

“No promises…”, she said, through the tears.

Louie separated from the hug and gazed into her eyes.

“Lena… I get why you feel guilty. You almost hurt all the people you love, you helped an evil witch, and you nearly became her.”

He smiled encouragingly. “But you’re not. You were forced to do all this. You were being manipulated. Hurt. Controlled.”

Lena started listening, almost willing to accept it all.

“None of that was your fault. As you said, you didn’t ask for any of this: Magica did.”

Lena shook her head. “So what? That doesn’t absolve me for life.”

“Of course not. But…”

Louie nodded slowly. “You have something you didn’t have before. Something Magica never gave you.”

Lena stuttered out a question. “…W-What?”

“…A choice.”

The wind blew and the birds chirped and Lena took a deep breath.

“A choice?”, she asked.

Louie nodded, sitting down next to her. “I could choose to keep scamming. But I want to work hard from now on. I want to earn my riches. I want to do it the right way.”

He shrugged. “And if I don’t choose to do that, if I choose to revert to type, well… I’m choosing to be what I hate. I’m choosing to be the version I’m ashamed of.”

Lena nodded.

“I’m not saying you’re bad. ‘Cause you’re not. But if you decide that you are bad, well… You’ll never have a chance to be good.”

Louie smiled. “We’re all willing to forgive you, Lena. You’re family. But… Are you willing to forgive yourself?”

Lena hated to admit it… But he was right.

“Wow. You actually said something that didn’t piss me off.”

Louie laughed. “Yeah, I know, shocking.”

Lena suddenly hugged him.

“Woah.”, he exclaimed, surprised by this.

Lena now had happy tears. “Thanks for talking to me.”

She wiped the tears away as she separated herself from him. “…I know that… That I didn’t choose to do these things.”

She looked down in shame. “But I can’t help and feel like I did.”

Louie nodded. “The only way out is to forgive yourself. You’re not even giving yourself a chance to get better.”

Lena fearfully asked the question that terrified her: “…What if I still go bad?”

Louie sighed. “You won’t. You’re better than you think you are. You helped us all eve under Magica’s control. You’re a great person. Now it’s time to let yourself be that person.”

Lena looked back at the clouds.

Forgiving herself couldn’t be easy..

She still felt all the things she had done… No. All the things she had been forced to do.

Well… If that’s the case…

Then she hasn’t had a chance to actually BE bad.

Which mean, in a sense…

“I have a blank slate.”, she uttered quietly.

And if that was true…

Then…

Then there WAS hope.

If she had a blank slate, then she had just as much of a chance of ending up good as she did ending up bad.

For the first time in her life…

Lena had a choice.

Lena could try again.

One more chance.

Tears flowed down as Lena realized she could be who she wants to be.

She COULD.

And, despite spending so many years in the company of magic, that was the most magical thing she had ever seen.

“There really is still hope…”

Lena slowly stood up, following the last alien ship as it began to leave.

Closing her eyes, she projected all the mistakes she had made.

All the terrible things that she was forced to do.

Magica wasn’t her…

She was an illness.

To fight an illness, one must accept that it isn’t who they are.

But also…

To choose to fight it.

Lena could see that she could be good.

But she could never be good, be happy…

If she didn’t forgive herself.

A hand softly landed over her heart.

“…I didn’t choose to be like that. And I choose not to be.”

She closed her eyes tight. “From now on… I choose to be me. The real me.”

She smiled.

“I give myself… A chance.”

And that’s what she did, as her guilt flew away to the moon, far far away.

And as one last tear flowed down, Lena felt it.

Hope.

It would take time… Time to heal. To discover herself. To shut the voice down.

But…

One day…

She’d be good.

And she’d be happy.

And she’d be… Herself.

And that was truly magical.

#ducktales #ducktales fanfiction #Lena #lena ducktales #ducktales louie #ducktales season 2 #violet sabrewing #lena saberwing #saberwing sisters #moonvasion #lenasmagic

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lorewytch · 5 years ago

Text

Scene from Fragments

Hey there everyone! I haven’t gotten anything else really new lately sadly. I’m not feeling good today so I may be taking a few sick days if this continues. :( However I did want to post this. I had this lying around and I sadly haven’t done much more on this fanfic yet. But, this is another fanfic I will work on, its just not a priority right now. Also, I love this opening scene I wrote for the characters XD It’s one of the first scenes I wrote when I branched off from the Consumed by Shadows series into other one-shots and such and I really enjoyed writing the kids older. If no one really remembers, here’s the summary for Fragments:

Fragments- At 16, the triplets and Webby have formed tight bonds. Louie is slowly earning his first million from Louie Inc, Webby has become a part time spy with SHUSH and part time explorer. Dewey has his pilot’s license and is often seen going on adventures and spy missions with Webby, and Huey is busy developing new technology to help his family in any way he can as well as the world. But when Louie is offered a cool deal for a new kind of fuel that may help Duckburg and the world, he seeks the help of Webby, Lena and his brothers. All five go this mysterious island that only appears once every 500 years, keeping this a secret from their guardians of course! But this island becomes much more than even they can handle. Split up and quickly running out of time, each group has to rely on their strengths to face the trials the island throws at them. But the clock is ticking and they must escape this island, even at the cost of one of their own. So, this is in fact probably the opening scene I’d be introducing the story with. Anyways, thought I’d give you guys a sneak peek. This probably would be roughly in the middle of the projects I currently have going on since this one is one of the stories I have the least amount of written material on at this time. Anyways though: Enjoy!!

Webbigail Vanderquack dodged an incoming blast from an energy cannon. Smirking, she slid easily under the blast, pulling forth her grappling hook and launching the pronged end into the air. Catching the nearby tree, she swung easily behind her target. Black Heron let out an infuriated yell as Webby threw the capsule to the ground. Exploding in a sticky web, it surrounded the villain and trapped her within it in seconds.

Laughing, she jumped fearlessly to the ground, just as Dewey crashed next to her, rubbing a sore spot on his head. Glancing up, he winked. “Hey Webs!” His long legs kicked the next goon that approached the duo, sending said unnamed man through the foliage. Once he stood up, his back pressed against hers as they surveyed their surroundings for more enemies.

“I thought you said you could handle those 20 enemies?” Webby teased with a chuckle and pulled out a few more capsules.

Dewey rolled his eyes at his partner and gave her a dashing grin. “Well, I did get 19 of them.”

Shaking her head at her best friend, Webby attacked. Throwing several capsules at the foliage, several explosions of color erupted from the trees and suddenly four enemies dropped to the ground, captured in various ways due to those capsules.

“Did I ever tell you that those things are really cool?” Dewey commented in awe.

“You should know more about these things than me. Your brothers helped create them.” Webby shrugged her shoulders and a sudden beeping from her watch alerted her to an incoming message from…Huey?

Making sure there were no more enemies nearby, Webby pressed a button and a hologram of a sixteen-year-old Huey with his arms crossed appeared before them. Dewey brushed a hand through his already messed up hair and grinned at his older brother by three seconds.

“You do realize those capsules only come in finite quantities, right?” Huey asked with a dry tone.

“Yeah and how crazy expensive they are!” Yelled a voice from nearby offscreen. Huey rolled his eyes.

“Louie? What’s Louie doing there?” Dewey asked, confused. “I thought he was at his office.”

The green clad triplet appeared within the hologram, wearing a gold necklace and dark green tinted suit with black lining. “I was when I happened by something I think we all could get behind. One of my contacts brought a business proposition…”

“Couldn’t this wait until we got back?” Dewey asked.

An enemy crept up from behind the duo, but Webby pulled out a frying pan from nowhere and slammed it hard against the assailants’ face.

All three triplets watched the poor enemy hit the dirt. Louie even winced.

“It’s sort of a time crunch deal.” Louie continued once their attention was back on him. “Y’see the place we need to go to is….remote and the window of opportunity for this only lasts a couple days. But the payoff would be massive! Enough to fund those capsules galore I might add.” Louie wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Huey, who had his arms crossed rolled his eyes and sighed. “Anyways its up to you two since you’d be doing most of the hard work.”

“Hard work?” Webby inquired, spinning and drop kicking another approaching enemy.

Louie laughed nervously. “Well, it is on an island with an active volcano…”

Webby and Dewey shared a look.

“Anything else you are failing to tell us?” Dewey asked, his arms were crossed and eyeing his brother skeptically.

“And well it might be guarded by a few monsters and highly elaborate medieval traps…” Louie rushed.

“And there it is..” Dewey sighed and glanced at his partner, who turned to him with a raise eyebrow. “What do you think Webs?”

Webby thought a second. “What’s our cut?”

Louie seemed to have hope shining in his eyes. “Were splitting it even through and through! Whatever we get you guys will get an equal cut.”

“25 percent huh?” Webby thought about it. She shrugged. “Fine as long as it doesn’t interrupt my spy duties or on Friday.”

“What’s on Friday?” Dewey suddenly asked and Webby grinned mischievously.

“Wouldn’t you like to know..”

“Yes, I would actually!” Dewey seemed more curious now.

Rolling her own eyes she glanced back at the holograms.

“Now I’m curious as well.” Huey commented.

“Dewey are you in too?” Louie asked.

“Huh? What? Oh yeah I’ll go too.” Dewey was still eyeing Webby though as if distracted. “C’mon Webbs tell meee..” he draped himself over her shoulders with a dramatic sigh and Webby was trying to keep a straight face.

“Great, I’ll see you all on Saturday then. Well leave first thing in the morning. Also, don’t tell Uncle Donald, Scrooge or Beakley.” Louie frowned a bit. “I’m sure Scrooge would want a cut and I’m pretty sure Beakley and Uncle Donald would try to stop us.”

“True that.” The others replied.

“Okay we’ll keep it from them for now. But we have to have a cover story which will fool Granny.” Webby commented.

“True, I don’t think the ‘over at a friends house’ lie will work with this.” Louie hummed.

“Not that it worked before.” The bow clad female duck smirked.

Raising a hand, Louie opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. “Touché.”

Sounds of rustling intensified behind the duo and instantly Dewey spun around to face ten more enemies surrounding them.

“Whoops got to go!” Webby spun and punched an approaching enemy from the right. “Call you as soon as were done here! Byeeeeee!” Webby smiled brightly and waved before pressing a button on her wrist and pulling out her nunchucks.

“You have nunchucks?!” That comment was supplied by Dewey as Webby launched into the battle.

#Ducktales #fanfic #fragment #Webby #huey dewey and louie #I loved this scene #Webby is so awesome #part of chapter one #I will finish this..one day #I'm tired #maybe a nap would help?#They are teens in this #all grown uppp

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