#Donald has adopted them all and nothing with convince me otherwise
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Fluffy follow on from this angst-fest:
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Donald sleeps in the mansion that night. They get back pretty late and frankly, everyone’s too exhausted to do anything other than drag themselves to their respective beds and pass out. There’re more than enough spare rooms for the non-residents, and after a few arguments and coin-flips for the best rooms (courtesy of Drake and Fenton), everyone settles quite quickly.
After dozing off on his shoulder on the plane, Donald ends up picking up both May and June and carrying them inside, tucking them into a twin room next to his. They barely stir, only waking long enough to pull the blankets up further and curl up tighter before dropping back off.
Despite his own exhaustion, Donald makes the rounds, checking in on all the kids and making sure they’re all truly safe and sound. He’s not entirely sure he’d be able to sleep soundly until he’d seen each and every one. Which, with the number of children in the house now reaching the double digits, now takes a little while longer than it used to. By the time he reaches his own bed, the tiredness has really sunk in to his bones, and he doesn’t even bother changing before crawling under the covers and dropping into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Which lasts about forty-five minutes.
Parental instincts are something that will never leave him as long as he lives. Even when the kids are all grown and he’s old and grey, he’ll still be a dad. And those Instincts will forever wake him up at the feeling of someone crawling into bed with him. No matter how deep a sleep he had been in moments before.
They also double as survival instincts. Good luck to anyone trying to sneak up on him while he’s sleeping.
So, when he feels the all too familiar feeling of the mattress sinking as someone else climbs up next to him, it's all he can do not to groan and possibly curse a little. Chances are it was one of the boys, most likely Louie, and honestly, after the ordeal of the day he'd hardly be surprised.
What does surprise him is turning over, blearily opening his eyes and seeing none other than his own sister attempting to get comfortable in the very small space between him and the edge of the bed.
"Dell?"
There’s a long silence, then, "no?" She's got a look on her face that even in the dark, he knows all too well, a weird mixture of guilt, worry and stubborn pride. And after the frankly traumatic events of the past twenty-four hours, he can't really say he's surprised.
"Hold on," he murmurs, shuffling over and giving her more room to get comfortable. She doesn't say anything, but he can see the gratefulness in her eyes as she curls up on her side and faces him. Her hair splays out on their shared pillow and tickles his nose.
"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you."
"It's alright," Donald replies, fighting back a yawn, "are you okay?"
"Couldn't sleep, kept seeing..." she trails off, but Donald knows what's eating at her. She'd barely left his side all evening, always finding excuses to touch, to make sure he's still really there; always linking arms, throwing an arm over his shoulder, or playfully punching him. He didn't comment, knowing how much his near-death experience had actually affected her. But moments like this show her true feelings with no reason to hide.
"I'm alright you know."
"I know you are, but every time I close my eyes all I can see is you falling, and my chest gets all tight and I can't breathe, and you're not there, I keep thinking I dreamt you coming back."
She looks like she's going to cry again, and he wants none of that. His hand finds hers under the blankets and he links their fingers and squeezes.
"Right here," he tells her, "I'm right here, we're all very much alive and safe, you don't need to worry."
She's quiet, looking into his eyes with an intense stare. He can see the anxiety, can see the worry, and the pain. He gets it; he won't pretend he didn't hear her scream as he fell. The sound still echoes in his head, but by miracle and magic, he's still alive, and they're still together. And if he’s honest, he’s definitely had more than his share of sleepless nights over her in his time.
"We should get some sleep," he says eventually, pulling the blanket up over her shoulder. He waits until she's completely fallen asleep, her face relaxing and breathing evened out, before closing his eyes and dropping off himself.
This time he barely gets twenty minutes, the time on the clock by the bed reading 02:07am.
Another body, much smaller, climbs up from the end of the bed, and slowly crawls up between them. It's always harder to tell between them in the dark, but when he had tucked them in he’d noticed they hadn't bothered getting changed. And Donald could just about make out the hood.
Louie then.
"You alright?" he whispers, and the small body freezes, wide eyes staring at him in the dark.
"I- uh-"
"It's alright, c'mon."
Louie relaxes at the soft tone and warm smile, and carefully carries on until he's tucked into the space just under Donald's chin. He wraps his free arm around him and rubs his back like he always used to when they were younger.
"Comfortable?"
Louie just nods into his chest.
Again, Donald waits until the boy has fallen asleep before trying to get a little sleep himself.
He doesn't even get that far.
Huey and Dewey don't say anything as they settle in; Huey tucking himself in between his stomach and Louie, and Dewey stretches out between Della and him.
"We all good?" Donald asks, watching them get comfortable with an amused smile.
They both nod, and Donald grins; they can finally all get some sleep.
An hour later and he's really starting to hate these instincts he's come to rely on all these years.
He has to say he's surprised to see Webby pulling herself up and finding a space to curl up just below the boys. Lena and Violet join her only minutes later, the three of them ending up curled up together in the space between his and Della’s knees. He doesn’t say anything, opting just to let them nestle down and go to sleep.
Next to join the party, and most surprising of all, is May and June.
He’s woken by the creak of the door, and manages to twist his head around enough to see the two girls stood anxiously by the door, hands clasped as tightly as his and Della’s, now squashed under a pile of children. He doesn’t bother checking the time, it’s still dark, and at this point he doesn’t care, he’s just going to stay in bed until he’s no longer bone-tired.
Honestly, he’s not entirely sure where they could fit, it’s not a massive bed, not a single, but not quite a double either. But he’ll be damned if he doesn’t try.
“There’s still space,” he whispers, gesturing them over, “somewhere.”
They don’t move, glancing nervously at each other, then back at him.
“Come on, it’s alright.” He stretches out an inviting hand, smiling when they take a cautious step towards him. “you guys are family now, just find a space and squeeze in.”
They end up tucked into the crook of his knees, curled up tightly together and using his leg as a pillow. He smiles, reaching down and smoothing their hair. They smile gratefully, closing their eyes and settling down.
Again, Donald waits until their breathing evens out in sleep. That should be all of them now, and he’s so very, very tired. He drops his head back to the pillow, takes a deep, calming breath, and closes his eyes.
#Ducktales#DT17#Donald Duck#Dad!Donald#Della duck#HDLW#Lena#Violet#May and June#Donald has adopted them all and nothing with convince me otherwise#The last one was just tears and angst#have some tooth-rotting fluff too#my stuff
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What are your favorite KH headcanons? Just in general, nothing specific :)
It’s funny... I can think of headcanons when I’m writing or whatever--or just at the spur of the moment--but when asked for them, they all disappear from my mind. Uhh... let’s see what I can come up with.
Because Kairi has had a different hairstyle that every year that we see her, I headcanon that she changes her hair every year.
I also headcanon her birthday is September 17th (the day KH1 was released in the U.S. This is also SoKai Day), since Sora’s birthday is the day of the Japanese release and because it makes Kairi a Virgo. She somewhat reminds me of a Virgo. And apparently an Virgos and Aries (which Sora is) can be good together, so...
I imagine that Riku is rich, just because he has a balcony in the KH manga. So is Kairi, for being the adopted daughter of the mayor in my mind (I get into that just below). Sora, however, is probably middle class. For this reason, hangouts with the three usually happen at Kairi or Riku’s house. But sometimes Sora’s still... And these three totally snuck into each other’s houses after dark--through bedroom windows--all the time, and no one can tell me any differently.
And, like most of the fandom does, I headcanon that Destiny Islands’ mayor is Kairi’s adopted father... even though that’s never exactly said. It’s said that the girl who arrived during the meteor shower was at the mayor’s house, but that could have just been for the time and she eventually got relocated somewhere else. But nah. I also headcanon that the mayor adopted her.
I like my headcanon of Xion liking doilies for some reason.
And my one about Roxas being able to cook, too.
For some reason, I adore the idea that Riku can’t cook to save his life.
I also don’t think that Sora is dumb, and I’ll fight people on this. And at this point, I’m kind of stealing another’s headcanon... but I like the idea that Donald and Goofy teach Sora school things he’s missing on their travels together.
I can also get into the headcanon that Sora’s dad passed when he was young (sadly). Since we hear him mentioned in BbS, but don’t hear him calling Sora to dinner alongside Sora’s mother in KH1 or anything like that.
I definitely headcanon that there are a few islands on Destiny Islands--since it’s Destiny Islands plural--but that they’re probably small, so that the kids still feel “trapped there”.
I imagine that Sora and Riku’s parents put up some of the Play Island stuff absent in Dark Road.
Until proven otherwise, because of the character files, I’m headcanoning that Roxas, Lea, Xion, Isa, and Naminé are all living together now (with Lea and Isa acting as their parents). Probably in the Old Mansion that they fixed up. But on the flip-side of that, I think that Sora and Kairi’s parents accepted their kids’ Nobodies and Replicas as their own, and they sometimes stay there.
I also want to pretend that Isa made a bigger effort to make things up to Roxas and Xion.
I actually don’t think Naminé would jump on the drawing train as most fans seem to think she would. Rather... since drawing is actually tied to traumatic memories for her, I think she’d want to get as far away from it as she could at first. And it would take her friends showing her that she could make good memories with it too, that would finally make her an artist.
Terra and Aqua came from other worlds than the Land of Departure (and how I wish we’d get information on that!). Right now--even though it’ll never happen in a million years, since this series isn’t even Disney--I’m writing that Aqua is originally from “Antar” from the Roswell series, but that’s more fanfiction territory. More likely than not, I want to believe that Terra and Aqua are from worlds that fit their names.
Strelitzia is bisexual. I don’t care that Player canonically is a guy at this point, thus probably making her het. Shh.
Speaking of bisexuality... I think that Sora is. I could maybe even headcanon Riku as that now.
Naminé would totally wear baby blue, if Nomura ever lets her get another outfit.
Xion probably eventually picks up some artsy thing that she can do too, to better fit in with Kairi, Naminé, and Aqua. In the novels, she wanted to make a lucky charm but didn’t know how to. So I can see it.
I don’t think this is a headcanon, so much as it is canon that we haven’t seen yet (since Nomura has slightly talked about this in interviews, even if he’s never going to do anything with it now). Rinoa exists in the KH universe. And it’s because something happened to her during the fall of Radiant Garden--that Leon really is beating himself up about--that he changed his name. And it’ll only seeing her alive and well again, that will get him to change his name back. And he eventually will (or maybe even has in my headcanon). And, yes: the letter he got in the KHII credits was totally from her, telling him that she was alright. Rinoa is also why he has wings on the back of his jacket.
Yuna, Rikku, and Paine aren’t actually tiny fairies, but Maleficent turned them into that... And this is so I can ship KH Tidus and Yuna, yeah. But I swear if you listen to one of Rikku’s lines, it sounds like she might be implying this.
While I think originally, it was Aerith that Cloud was trying to save in KH1 (...for some reason. Since she’s fine in the KH verse), fans have now convinced me that it was actually Zack, so I hope we eventually get the FFVII characters in KH’s story eventually resolved.
Some people argue that all of Traverse Town with the TWEWY characters was a dream--or maybe it’s that they argue Joshua saving his friends through Sora and Riku’s help was the dream--but in my book, it totally happened.
Naminé is an honorary member of the Destiny Trio and Sea Salt Trio.
Kairi and Naminé see each other as sisters, and Sora, Roxas, and Ventus (and Vanitas, if he ever comes back and is redeemed) see each other as brothers. But Sora and Roxas miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight slightly see themselves as more closely linked brothers, and same thing with Ventus and Vanitas.
I also see Xion as a third sister for Kairi and Naminé. Most of the fandom disagrees with this. And I understand why. Most of the fandom sees her as Sora’s sister (and maybe even then sistered to the other boys. And sometimes I now do this--sort of because of peer pressure--but I’ll also have her be a shared sister between the boys and Kairi and Naminé, even though Sora and Kairi themselves aren’t “related”. But I hate that when I do this, it ruins my RokuShi dreams. So it’s probably part of the reason that I usually don’t). But I still see Xion as closer to Kairi than Sora. I know she was supposed to be a Sora clone (but it didn’t really work and she was a failed clone of him), but she mostly defined by his memories of Kairi. And that’s who she chooses to be and how she sees herself. But people then argue that it’s Sora’s memories of Kairi, though, not Kairi herself. And I get that.... But I still think she’s closer to Kairi. Why? Because Sora was actively trying to make her Kairi. And I’m sure some of himself slipped into there, as parts of a writer--so to speak--shows up in all their work, whether they intended it or not. But for example... let’s say that Sora hates chocolate and Kairi loves it. Since he was trying to make Xion like Kairi, he would therefore have her like chocolate, even though he hated it. So that’s one more point for Xion moreso being like Kairi in my book. I also... when I first played Days, she reminded me a lot of Kairi, partly because of some of her snarky lines. It’s only recently that I’ve looked at Days and seen some Sora in her--and realized that also could have partly come from him--but I still stand by what I said.
And while we’re on the subject... after everyone got their own hearts and bodies at the end of KHIII, I don’t think pairings like RokuShi or RokuNami, or whatever else would be insert of self-cest at all. Really, I don’t ever think it was. Because KH rules state that it’s your heart and how you see yourself that governs everything around you... but especially not after KHIII resolved this. So it kind of ticks me off when people still bring up this argument.
Because this plot hole bothers me... Kairi totally remembered Merlin when she trained with him in KHIII.
Most the rest of these will probably be about Kairi. Since you all know she’s my girl, and I think about her a lot.
I pretend that Kairi did somewhat have an edgy stage, and still somewhat is. Maybe because I somehow combine that with tomboy in my head. IDK. Speaking of--though not that this is really “edgy”--I’ve written that Kairi likes Queen at least twice. Just pretend that Destiny Islands has Queen. Haha.
I also believe that even after Kairi became more girly in KHII, she still has some tomboy to her: like how even though she wears a dress in KHII, she still has sneakers on, and how her school bag isn’t decorated at all when Selphie’s is. She’s also a fighter, of course (not that that necessarily makes a girl a tomboy -looks at Buffy-). I imagine out of the three, Naminé is the girliest, Kairi is a mix of tomboy and girly-girl, and Xion is a tomboy.
I think Kairi, Naminé, and Xion would all have great relationships with each other. Naminé and Xion, because they both know what it’s like to be “Nobodies” , told they shouldn’t exist, and forgotten (Kairi knows this, too), and have suffered (though Kairi has too, of course). They’re also both slightly shier. Kairi and Xion because they both can be snarky (though Xion not as much), are more outgoing and both fight, and are maybe pretty evenly matched right now (they’d probably spar a lot). And Kairi and Naminé, because they’re like the extroverted and introverted version of each other. And I imagine Kairi could convince Kairi to try things more, while Naminé would get her to chill the F out about things.
Kairi and Xion are probably both protective of Naminé, since she’s been so abused and they can fight and she can’t.
Sora, Roxas, and Ventus might be protective of Xion. But for me, Roxas is because of shipping reasons.
Back to the girly-girl Kairi thing... While pink probably is for sure her favorite color now, she still likes purple and other colors. And will use them.
I also just... don’t see her wearing makeup. I know other fans do, and that’s fine. But I don’t. Mainly because it doesn't look like she ever is in the game. I think that’s part of her tomboy coming through still. She cares about her hair, her clothes, perfume and whatever else, but she doesn’t care about makeup.
I used to headcanon that Aqua and Xion would become best friends--and they still could--but Melody of Memory maybe hinted at something else.
...I think this is everything right now.
Edit: And pretty much every headcanon that bluerosesburnblue comes up with for the KHUX world is right up my alley.
Edit 2: Destiny Islands maybe isn’t as technologically un-advanced as I and some had originally thought, but it’s still not modern day Shibuya or anything like that.
Edit 3: A lot of Destiny Islands’ culture is based on Japan.
Edit 4: This isn’t a “headcanon” at all. But I love to joke with the fandom, that Naminé and Xion might as well be Sora and Kairi’s daughters. LOL
Edit 5: And because of that one scene in KHII, where Kairi, arguably, hits Riku in the arm, if you look close enough--and that one translation of the KHII manga, where Kairi tells Riku not to be such sourpuss--I headcanon that these two somewhat play off just how much they mean to each other. But really, they love each other of course. I mean that platonically.
Edit 6: And I want to believe Minnie and Daisy could eventually go on an adventure with Kairi or something. I like the headcanon that Daisy’s a magician, too--since Minnie is strong with light magic--even though it’s not true. Haha.
Edit 7: Sora says Kairi’s name over and over again at the end of KHI and tells her “I love you” at the end of KHIII.
Edit 8: Riku is Sora’s best man at Sora and Kairi’s wedding. He’s also the “uncle” and godfather of their kids.
Edit 9: Speaking of, Sora and Kairi have a daughter named “Sakura”. But it’s pronounced like how you would say “Sum” (but drop the “M”, of course) and then “Cora”. “Sumcora” (but without the “M”).
Edit 10: Kairi’s a Disney princess.
Edit 11: Max Goof exists in the KH universe, as do the Three Caballeros, who Donald is friends with.
Edit 12: Terra and Naminé are friends.
Edit 13: This is completely unoriginal--and just “Riku” backwards--but in fics, I often call Riku Replica “Ukir” (I pronounce it “You-Kai-Err”, because I’m too lazy to come up with anything else and don’t want to steal other people’s ideas. And Repliku probably did want to be the opposite of Riku, so... -shrugs-
#Kairi was also probably a popular girl and maybe a cheerleader. I also bet aqua was acheerleader#and aqua is a tomboy too of course with some girly qualities. probably more than lionand less than kairi#I don't think any of the kh girls wear makeup usually. maaaaaaaaaaaybe Namine. but I'm not even sure about her#and I headcanon that a lot of the novel stuff is true. like terra whittling wood. and him liking nuts. and aqua loving to bake#and this is more a ship than a headcanon... but I weirdly kind of ot3 Xehanort Eraqus and vor now
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Robert Hubbell, Daily Newsletter
The Sedition Caucus
January 5, 2021
Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021. The Constitution tells us so. Nothing that has happened in the last week will change that outcome. The rest is detail. Indeed, a handful of GOP Senators have made clear that they will not object to the Electoral votes from any state. It is over for Trump.
But we cannot ignore the damage caused by the effort to overturn the election. In yesterday’s newsletter, I called the Republican Party a “cancer” on democracy. After reflecting on my choice of words for 24-hours, I believe I was too soft on Republicans. I failed to mention that the Sedition Caucus of GOP is composed of the same cowards who refused the constitutional command that the Senate shall “try all impeachments”—that is, to hold a trial on the articles of impeachment. Instead, in the face of overwhelming evidence that Trump attempted to bribe Ukraine to damage Biden, GOP Senators refused to allow testimony from witnesses. They refused to admit any documents not presented to the House Judiciary Committee. They refused to issue subpoenas so that House prosecutors could obtain evidence from witnesses who refused to testify unless compelled (like John Bolton). Against that shameful refusal, those same Senators now assert that Trump’s discredited allegations of fraud are sufficient to suspend the Constitution to convene a Soviet-style show trial to overturn the will of the people. Those are not the actions of a cancerous lesion on democracy. Those are the actions of enemies of democracy.
Several readers expressed surprise at my ire over the GOP’s effort to overturn the election by objecting to the Senate’s count of Electoral votes. They are right—I am angry. If you are not, you haven’t been paying attention to what is happening. The reason every American should be angry is not merely because the GOP has attempted to overturn the election; they should be angry because the damage from the failed effort cannot be undone. A sizable portion of the GOP caucus has adopted the view that the party holding a majority in the Senate has the unilateral right to choose the president—voters and the Constitution be damned! We are fortunate that their view will not win the day on January 6, 2021, but there is no guarantee that a different set of Republican Senators will restrain themselves in the future. They have revealed themselves as a party opposed to democratic rule. With a modicum of effort, Trump persuaded Republicans to exalt his desire to retain power over fealty to the Constitution. If that does not disturb you, nothing will.
The betrayal by the GOP Senators deepens with each passing hour. Their initial decision was seditious but became exponentially worse after they learned of Trump’s attempt to extort Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger. Their objection to the Electoral votes on January 6th will make them accessories after the fact. As Jennifer Rubin wrote in the Washington Post,
The Dirty Dozen and reportedly 140 or so House members who also plan to challenge the results are attempting to obtain the same results Trump did by threatening Raffensperger . . . [T]he GOP has become an authoritarian, unprincipled party whose only purpose is to retain power by whatever means possible. It should permanently disqualify these Republicans from holding office.
Trump’s criminal conduct is getting worse by the hour. During Trump’s effort to extort Raffensperger, Trump insulted the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta as a “never-Trumper.” (BTW, the so-called “never-Trumper” was appointed by Trump.) It was an offhand comment but suggested that Trump viewed the Atlanta U.S. Attorney as an impediment to filing criminal charges against Raffensperger for failing to support Trump’s allegations of election fraud. In an ominous sign, the above-mentioned “never-Trumper” U.S. Attorney abruptly resigned on Monday, saying that “unforeseen circumstances” required him to quit his job two weeks early. See Talking Points Memo, “EXCLUSIVE: Atlanta-Based U.S. Attorney Abruptly Departs Office Sooner Than Expected.” A reasonable inference based on the above events is that Trump ordered the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta to file baseless criminal charges against Raffensperger. It appears the Trump-appointee declined to violate his oath and took the easy way out—heading for the exit.
It is true that some members of GOP leadership are speaking out. See Politico, “‘A new low’: Republicans chastise Trump over his Raffensperger call.” Despite the promising headline in the Politico article, the story cites only two sitting Republicans who have made negative comments about Trump’s call (Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger) but notes that several Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, defended Trump.
It is also true that a handful of GOP Senators have said they will not object to the Electoral votes of any state. See The Hill, “Senate Opposition Grows to Objecting to Electoral College Votes.” GOP Senator Tom Cotton issued a lengthy statement explaining that objecting to Electoral votes is at odds with the Constitution. Cotton wrote,
The Founders entrusted our elections chiefly to the states—not Congress. They entrusted the election of our president to the people, acting through the Electoral College—not Congress. And they entrusted the adjudication of election disputes to the courts—not Congress. Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting electoral votes submitted by the states.
Senator Cotton’s statement is correct. But before we give a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Cotton, let’s remember that he voted to exclude evidence in the mockery of Trump’s impeachment proceedings in the Senate. If Cotton had honored his constitutional oath in January of 2020, we might not be dealing with a second call in which Trump resorted to bribery and extortion. While we should all be grateful that a handful of GOP Senators will foil the Sedition Caucus, we should remember that all GOP Senators are responsible for empowering, enabling, and excusing Trump up to this point. They are the reason Trump believes he can act without restraint
Concluding Thoughts.
I promise to return to my usual format tomorrow, with less outrage and more commentary. But we cannot let this moment pass. We must never forget those who have revealed themselves to be anti-democratic autocrats who see the Constitution as a trifle when it blocks their pursuit of power.
I received several thoughtful emails from readers who urged me not to condemn the entire Republican Party because of the actions of GOP members of Congress. One argued that there are responsible Republicans (citing Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney). Another reader said that we must be open to the possibility of healing the rifts between Republicans and Democrats. I previously agreed with those viewpoints. No more. The Republican Party is Trump’s party. Ninety-four percent of Republicans voted for him in 2020. They voted for him after he attempted to bribe Ukraine and his impeachment. They voted for him after he locked children in cages to punish their parents for coming to America. They voted for him after he encouraged white nationalists and neo-Nazis to resort to violence. They voted for him despite the fact that he is a misogynist and racist. They voted for him after he blamed unarmed black men who were shot in the back and slowly executed in public. Virtually all Republicans know exactly who Donald Trump is, and they are just fine with that fact. The leadership in the Republican Party is responding to the base. Let’s not pretend otherwise. GOP leadership is not the problem. The entire party is the problem.
Trump is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and will be for four years, at least. If you are still a Republican, your presence in the Republican Party gives him a veneer of respectability. Get out before it is too late to save your honor, dignity, and reputation. (Italics, o.p.)
In 2020, Biden won the election because he convinced 20% of Independents to abandon Trump. While I won’t try to dissuade readers who want to devote time to healing the supposed “rift” with Republicans, I believe that Democrats have more useful things to do with their time. Like registering new voters, increasing turnout, and convincing Independents their future is with the Democratic Party. The Republican Party has crossed the Rubicon, declaring itself to be an opponent of democracy and an adversary of the Constitution. The only path forward for Democrats is to double-down on democracy and embrace the Constitution's promise more fully. If pursuing a path of greater justice, equality, and liberty means that we bruise the feelings of those who oppose those values, so be it. We have important work to do, and we must not tarry. The mid-terms of 2022 are hard upon us!
About this newsletter. I started this newsletter at the urging of my wife (a.k.a. “Managing Editor”) as a way of providing support and hope for my three daughters and close friends who were shocked and anxious about Trump’s election. This is a private communication among friends and like-minded people who opt-in. I try to be accurate, but I have a definite point of view and sometimes resort to satire (I hope that is obvious). The last thing I want to do is add to anyone’s stress, so read these newsletters only so long as they are helpful to you in making sense of these turbulent times. Otherwise, put down your smartphone and go for a walk. Be well!
Robert Hubbell
Los Angeles, CA 91436
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The Sickly Duckling
The office was cold and quiet. Only the tapping of keys from the various computers could be heard throughout the various rooms and halls. Donald took up this job not even a week ago but he was already bored of it. As he sipped his now cold coffee he continued to read the writing displayed on his computer monitor, he analysed texts and cross referenced the data repetitively for hours until the silence was broke but the fain sound of his mobile ringing. Donald didn’t speak to his family anymore and hadn’t for five years, he had friends but he hadn’t seen or spoke to them much either, not since he adopted the boys, and they where currently in school, so he just ignored its tones and carried on until he suddenly remembered, He’s their emergency contact. Somethings must be up with the boys.
Donald quickly answered the phone and cleared his throat, people struggled to understand him on a day to day basis, having a dry throat wouldn’t help.
“Hello, is this Mr.Duck?”
“Yes, eh, speaking!” He tried to calm his voice “Is everything okay?”
“One of your sons, Hubert, has thrown up in school, you will need to come and Collect Him”
then with urgency “I’ll be there right away”, he stopped himself from hanging up the phone to bring it back to his cheek “thank you”. With that he quickly headed to his Boss’ office.
When Dewey was sick he liked to pretend he wasn’t, he was stubborn like that, and of course that made him a handful to look after.
When Louie was sick he was a lot easier to look after, he was already the laziest out of the three of them and thou he enjoyed playing with his brothers he was also perfectly happy lounging around somewhere, thou when he was sick he tended to like physical contact, constantly leaning against or snuggled up to Donald while he slept, Even just holding his hand seemed to help the little boy relax. This of course was fine, if they where just in the House Boat, but otherwise was hard to manage.
When Huey was sick he was more than happy to be left alone. He read something in his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook that said if you where sick it was best to drink water and get plenty of rest, it also said to have the woodchuck guide look you over (as they are trained in health and Safety) and do as they say as they will know the best course of action to take to ensure your health. Because Donald was his legal Guardian, the role of Senior Woodchuck of course went to him, this meant if Donald said it was best to sit on your own and sleep then Huey would do so. Of course Donald wouldn’t dream of leaving a sick duckling unattended BUT it meant that he could still do his work with Huey present in the Office, if his new Employer would allow it.
After a lot of pleading Donald’s boss agreed to let him collect Huey during his lunch break and bring him back to the office for the rest of his shift that day. He knew in his mind that this meant he won’t have time to eat today but his nephew was more important. He quickly got in his car to drive to the school. As he drove down the road he thought of all the events that had happened that morning to determine if he had missed any signs of an Illness. All three boys got up in the morning when Donald woke them, they then all got dressed, as usual Louie took longer while Huey and Dewey seemed to easily roll out of bed and get ready for the day. They all ate the breakfast Donald made them, all plates where empty. They then wen’t to the bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces. All as Normal. Afterwards Louie And Dewey started playing with their toys cars and Huey sat on the couch, it was his turn to do something for show and tell and he wanted to tell his class about the Junior Woodchucks. He only recently got into them but he was very interested in it and Donald remember thinking how cute it was. No signs of any of the boys being Ill or poorly this morning had occurred. He thought again to last night. They Boys did their homework, ate all their food, played their games as usual, had their Baths and went to bed. Again nothing unusual. Donald replayed all the events from when he picked them up from school yesterday to when he dropped them off this morning over and over again and he tried to find a sign that he had previously missed. Then the realisation hit him.
Huey liked to plan things out, every last detail, and when things don’t go to plan he starts to freak out. Dewey and Louie refer to it as ‘Huey is Broken’, because of how uncharacteristically he starts to behave. Donald figured that something must have gone wrong during ‘show and tell’ and during his little ‘break down’ he worked himself up to much and that caused him to be sick, that of course upsetting him more and making him feel worse.
When Donald arrived at the school he rushed to the main office, the Woman from the phone was the one to greet him and told him Huey Threw up during a talk in class, confirming Donalds Suspicions (he knew his boys). When she let him through to get Huey he saw the chick curled up on a chair with his knees to his chest, and tears welling in he eyes. He was also shaking quite a bit. On the Chair next to him was his School bag, his lunch still untouched inside, and his Woodchuck Junior Guidebook. Donald walked over, crouched down in-front of him and placed his hands on his shoulders
“Hey Huey, You did your best today and that’s what counts” a single tear started to roll down his cheek while he nodded his head. Donald really wanted to reassure him that everything was okay and that it is okay that things don’t always work out how we want but he knew that wouldn’t help and that he didn’t have the time.
“I have to get back to work. Will you come with me?” Huey’s big eyes looked into Don’s worn out ones for a few seconds until he spoke
“Okay”, Donald then leaned forward and gave him a hug before picking him and his stuff up and thanking the Lady before heading back to the car.
Donald set Huey up in the back seat, he took his Blazer off and placed it over the boy to form a blanket. While driving back Huey didn’t speak except once when he muttered an apology and Don had to reassure him he had nothing to apologise for. Once back in the office he pushed a second Chair to his desk and Huey sat on there, still using Dons jacket for warmth until he fell back asleep.
Working at the office was boring, time seemed to stop and Don could almost feel his braincells dying while he typed away at the computer, the rumbles of his stomach didn’t help either, but every time he glanced to his left he saw one of his dear boys wrapped up in his jacket and it made him smile. Being a single parent was incredibly hard and not anything like what Don wanted in his list of dreams and ambitions, but he truly loved them with all his heart and thou the ideal situation would be for Della to still be around, he was still more than happy to have them in his life. He Called the baby sitter at four O’Clock to check with the babysitter and make sure the other two boys where okay, he reassured her Huey was safe with him and that they would be home for Six. Once the Clock struck five donald quickly started to pack his stuff away and turn off his computer, once everything was set he put his blazer back on and put his car keys in his beak. Huey was only six but he still would take two arms to carry back to the car. Donald’s Notorious bad luck happened to strike him in the carpark when he went to take the keys out his mouth while still carrying Huey and they fell to the floor, jabbing his foot first. With a loud Quack and a hop Huey woke up and Donald fell to the floor, He landed on his back so Huey was okay but that didn’t make it any less painful. Huey stood up while Don grabbed the keys and opened the car door, this time he climbed into the front seat so he could sit next to his uncle.
The traffic this time of day was horrendous and doubled travel time, everyone on the road was on a mission to get as far away from work as they could and was in a terrible mood for being stuck in traffic. The muffled sounds of beeping horns and shouting could be heard from outside the vehicle making both males happy that The younger hadn’t tried to sleep on the way home. The car was otherwise in complete silence.
Donalds Parked the car and turned to Huey.
“Listen. I know your talk about the Woodchucks didn’t go how you wanted. And I understand, when you work really hard on something its sad when it doesn’t go the way you want… but it’s okay and it just means next time you can try again” the little boy just nodded slowly and honestly didn’t look too convinced. “When we get home I want you to put you Pyjamas on and go have a nap in my bed okay?”. Another Slow unsure nod was given as response.
That Night on the House Boat was pretty hard work, it’s hard to dote on a sick child a-swell as occupy and supervise two others single handedly while trying to keep them separated, but that was fine, He would do anything for these boys no matter how hard. Huey wasn’t really sick, after-all he threw up with nerves but Don didn’t want to risk the other two getting sick so he did his best looking after him. That night Don flopped into bed and let out a long and tired sigh, he was exhausted and life just wouldn’t give him a break, his body constantly felt heavy and this was one of the few times he’d let the exhaustion consume him. Negative thought about how he’s wasting his life kept pestering him and he hated it. He felt something push up against his side, he looked down and was Huey snuggling up to him.
Being a Single parent was hard, finding a job was challenging, trying to support three unique individuals was draining and the ever growing stress-levels bringing him down was more then he could take, but seeing the boys smile. Knowing that all his hard work was paying off. Well. It was more than worth it.
#Donald Duck#Huey Duck#Ducktales#disney duckverse#I wote this on my phone while on the way to work the past week#I know it's pretty badly written#and the story isnt that great#but Im sharing this anyway#fanfiction
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I’m bored so here
Credits got to @booknrd and @redqueenfandom
Tag is here: https://booknrd.tumblr.com/post/169439591221/this-is-the-most-unique-one-ive-seen-please-yes
1)I don’t have iTunes so I just played my daily mix on Spotify on shuffle:
Body Gold by Oh Wonder
I Still Wait For You by XYLØ
Down in Flames by Ella Vos
We Won’t by Jaymes Young
Superstar by Broods
Phase Me Out by VÉRITÉ
2)My nephew. It’s been a year or so since he was born and I still have yet to see him in person.
3)Book: Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems, Short Story: ‘The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaaall’, Quote: “April 8th.”
4)That’s a bit of a tough question. I guess it’s usually either my future (I’m a high school senior) and whether or not I’ll ever amount to anything, or about the state of the world (all the things going wrong, how we could have prevented or fixed them, etc.).
5)Lol no I’m not that special
6)Is being scared of just dragonflies a phobia? Like I know it’s pretty silly especially since dragonflies aren’t aggressive or anything but idk it’s a childhood trauma thing that I never got over. I’m less scared of them as the tears go by but still it gives me the creeps.
7)Don’t have one, but I’m very interested in learning about other’s religions.
8)Chilling. Just enjoying the fresh air. Maybe reading. But since it’s always hot here, I rarely go outside of my own accord. I hate the heat.
9)I’m just going to assume this means Western band: Panic! at the Disco
10)That I was gonna go back to sleep but I actually stayed up until 4am.
11)Yes and no. It’s a bit weird. Sometimes karma works magic, and other times it’s nonexistent. I don’t know whether to really believe it’s a thing or not.
12)It’s literally just my middle name and ‘the-fangirl’ written after it. It’s pretty self-explanatory. 👍
13)Greatest weakness is self-doubt. It’s stops me from doing a lot of the things I want to do. Strength is my stubbornness. I know that’s really contradictory, but once my mind is set on something, it’s very hard to convince otherwise.
14)I’m supposed to choose just 1? Cause that’s basically impossible. I’m just gonna day Jungkook from BTS cause he’s my ultimate bias (I know, how basic of me). Gotta represent my man y’all. But if I were to choose a female celebrity crush, for sure I’d say Halsey. Like damn.
15)For me, I always feel like taking out my anger physically through hitting and breaking objects (so that I don’t harm a anybody), or through screaming at the top of my lungs. It helps dispel all that energy so I’m too tired to even think about what I was mad about. But my Hispanic household is very strict on these types of things and I’ve pretty much had to force myself to adopt a passive-aggressive method of dealing with my anger. Just thinking of this makes me mad cause there’s so many things I’ve had to put up with in my family because I can’t express my anger to a figure of authority (since it’s seen as disrespect).
16)I used to have a seashell collection, but now I just collect books and like little memorabilia from different places and events that I feel have left some sort of mark on me.
17)No. I haven’t exactly accomplished any of my long-term goals. I’m pretty stuck since I don’t have complete control of my life with my mother always breathing down my neck.
18)I hate loud talking in quiet spaces, or even just senseless yelling. Many of my family members tend to yell as they��re “talking” on the phone whether they people involved in the conversation are hard of hearing or not. But I’m the bright side, I love the sound of rain and luckily for me, it tends to rain pretty often here (unfortunately that also means it gets really humid).
19)What if all my efforts amount to nothing?
20)I’ve never really seen any conclusive evidence that ghosts exist, so for right now it’s a bit of a middle point for me. Since we don’t exactly knows what happens after death either, there’s still the chance that ghosts can exist. Aliens is something I’m more open about. In a universe so big, I find it difficult to believe we’re the only living things in it. Aliens exist, but we just haven’t found them and they might have not found us. That’s just my personal take on it.
21)Right arm: my nightstand; Left arm: air
22)Coffee.
23)Any one of my family parties (except the one where I ended up winning 8 consecutive games of domino, that was awesome). Or even just a party with people I don’t know. Just parties.
24) 1-Brendon Urie. I just think he’s such a beautiful and genuine person. You don’t find many people that give off the good vibe he does. I admire is vocal skills like crazy, but I’m mainly drawn in by his personality. You can see that he really does care about his fans and appreciates everything they do for him. And he’s not bad on the eyes either. 2-Troye Sivan. He’s another individual that I find beautiful inside and out. His voice is so soothing and he has such a relaxing aura about him that I really like. And the blonde hair works for him like wow, end me. 3-Patrick Stump. Now some people (I’ll fight you), might disagree with my opinion since he’s put on some weight. I’m the kind of person that can find anybody attractive so long as they have a great personality. Patrick, to me, is a gorgeous human being and the fact that he’s chubby doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I find his cheeks to be adorable (which is odd coming from someone younger than him, but bear with me). It’s also comforting seeing someone that’s like me: not your everyday image of a perfect celebrity/person. He’s just an amazing person and I really admire him.
25)To become the best version of ourselves we can possibly be, and to serve others.
26)I’ve finally got my learners permit but I have yet to actually sit in front of the wheel. I’m a bit terrified considering the area I live in isn’t the safest place to drive.
27)I don’t remember the name but I know it was a movie about two lonely elderly people (a man and woman) who find comfort in each other’s company. It was really cute.
28)A broken arm when I was like a couple months to a year old. Not gonna get into details but just know that it was a long ass time ago and I haven’t severely injured myself since.
29)Webtoons
30)Not really.
31)Takes too much energy so no. Doesn’t mean I forget, though.
32)Pisces
33)A ticket to my school’s lip sync battle (students vs teachers). It was definitely worth it.
34)Why not both? 😉 (I lean slightly more towards love, but eh.)
35)No
36)A real, genuine relationship? One.
37)For guys and girls it’s different for me. I’m more shy around guys that I have a real interest in and tend to avoid them at all costs. So I’ve never actually been in a relationship with a guy. I’m slightly more forward with girls. In the end, I’m not too sure what kind of “secret weapon” I have since I’m pretty socially awkward and not typically seen as dating material.
38) My best friends are at their houses being just as unproductive as me.
39) Watching YouTube videos. I can’t even remember which ones.
40) If you’re looking for somebody that’s very spontaneous and blunt, I’m your gal. If not, keep walking. I like to think I’d be friends with me since I find similar qualities that I have in my friends (though that’s not to say I want my friends to be just like me; I need people with differing views to keep me grounded).
41) Fuck the job, I’m saving the dog. And if my boss had even the slightest bit of compassion, he’d understand why I was late.
42) I would tell the people closest to me (my mom, select friends, etc.). But I’d insist they not treat me any differently than if I were completely fine and not dying. I’d spend my remaining days just having fun and doing all the things I’ve ever wanted to do. If I have a month to live, I’m not gonna waste it moping and crying over my mortality. I would like to think that I wouldn’t be scared. Everyone dies at some point, some sooner than others. As long as I am willing to live my last days to their fullest, I’ll be fine with dying.
43) Heavy by Oh Wonder
44) Proper communication. If you don’t talk, then how are you going to work out problems and get anything done?
45) Just be genuine. I hate fake people. That being said, if your genuine self is disrespectful and mean-spirited, I want absolutely nothing to do with you.
46) I like to think it does since you’re in a state of mind that few people have been in.
47) I’d like to say becoming vegan. I feel happier with myself for it.
48) Died from meme overload. I just can’t take myself too seriously.
49) A beating organ. If you were expecting something cheesy, sorry to disappoint.
50) Black, white, gray, green (none of that neon bullshit).
51) The phases of the moon.
52) Tonald Drump (for those specific individuals, it’s Donald Trump)
53) Depends in whose asking me, it could be any question. If my mom were to ask me if I’m straight, I’d hesitate. Still, I would probably tell the truth.
54) Idk, money making power? (gotta pay that college tuition)
55) My time in the Colosseum. It was awesome.
56) Anything to do with my biological father.
57) If we’re talking sex, I’m inclined to not answer since I’m still a minor (*cough* Jungkook/Halsey*cough*), but if it’s like legit sleeping, I want to say Lana Del Rey. Idk why but these are the people that popped up.
58) My bitch ass is headed to South Korea. ✌️
59) Yes.
60) Not even gonna explain:
Jungkook
Halsey
Marina Diamandis
Hayley Kiyoko
Brendon Urie
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Ducktales Della Arc Finale and Shadow Into Light Combo: The Shadow War! or The Last Stand of Lena DeSpell (For at least a year)
Hello all you happy people! And today the two arcs of Ducktales i’ve been covering unite for the season 1 finale! It’s been a hell of a ride: We’ve had a family reborn, gay subtext, a warriors homage, an underground adventure, a vacation with the gods, gay subtext, a giant shark made of money, a trip to old Scotland for some family fun shouting, gay subtext, a trip into Lena’s innermost nightmares that also involved a sasquatch for some reason, a heart stopping reveal, a heartbreaking argument due to said reveal and gay subtext. It’s been a hell of a ride and while the Lena train will go on, I feel both acomplished and happy to have finished up the Della arc in such a short time. Never doing that again mind, as it took up my entire schedule and pushed any other ongoing projects out, but i’m still proud to have pulled it off.
When we last left off.. yesterday, The truth came out, the boys lashed out at Scrooge, Scrooge lashed out at everyone, and we all cried. Now Magica looms, our family is broken again and it’s up to two unlikely people to bring them together again. So join me under the cut for some parent trapping, some adventure and even more Weblena subtext than usual, as we enter the Shadow War.
Part One: Night of De Spell!
I”ve come around on the episodes being treated as two parts in reuruns and on Disney +. They were BUILT to be chunked up later as there are clear breaks between episodes, said chunking is to make reruns on tv easier.. and it makes my job easier as it gives me clear act breaks. I’ll still cover them all in one article, but it makes it easier to recap it when I have two clearly defined acts, something that’s been a struggle when reviewing episodes that just aired like Let’s Get Dangerous! and the Last Adventure!, hence why I switched to breaking down the episode instead for the latter. So I really can’t gripe about something that dosen’t really affect anything negatively, at most it just adds credits to both episodes, and HELPS me a lot.
And it really helps with this one as like most of the episodes for the Della arc... the first half of the finale is two plots that don’t really intersect that much aside from Magica mimicking Scrooge on the phone to keep him from going to the dinner. Other than that they don’t really impact each other until the end of the first part. So i’ll be covering both plots separately, and then just the episode as a whole for part two.
Good. Let’s get quackin.
Everyone But Scrooge and Lena in Parent Trapped:
It’s three days after the end of the last episode and everything still sucks: Webby is desperate to try and get her family back but none of them are hearing it and Dewey and Huey are taking it an extra mile and throwing their mementos from their adventures in the bay. Louie however dosen’t want to and it’s the one bit of an otherwise great episode that does not work for me as he’s not keeping it for sentiment: it’s a solid gold Kopesh. As someone who makes about 30 bucks a month and gladly sells stuff he doesn’t need, this annoys me on a fundamental level. Sell the damn thing and buy yourselves some food or some ninja turtles dvds like me.
So Webby is worried they might leave soon and she’ll be back to almost no one but Launchpad assures her they aren’t going anywhere.. right as Donald, desperate to help the boys cheer up and relating to what their feeling, offers to take them where they always wanted to go: Cape Suzette! Spin it!
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The Sea Ducks’ even on the flier. Baloo was a legend.. I hope he enjoys his retirment on Cocaine Island as Secretary of Goodtimes under President Snowflame. So our dynamic duo spiral into panic at the thought of loosing their family and best friend respectively.
Webby: Someone’s gotta remain calm here
Launchpad: So you?
Even Launchpad knows he isn’t the adult in the situation between him and an 11 year old girl. So they come up with a plan. It’s time to parent trap those sons of bitches. They’ll host a heartwarming dinner reminding them of all the good times, invite Scrooge as the suprise guest and then spring the parent trap. Probably also sing Let’s Get Together given the two people we’re dealing with and given Beakley’s age she likely showed Webby both. Sidenote... I really wish we’d seen more of these two. It’s a team up we only got this once but both Webby and Launchpad being friendly weirdos with a lot of heart but not a lot of common sense made them the dream team and make this part of the plot hilarious and help lighten the mood given the heavy stakes.
So later that day, we cut to Huey and Lewey who are looking into Cape Suzette.. and find themselves not as excited anymore. They wanted to go all their lives.. but it’s clear that traveling the world.. it’s just another port town, not much more or less adventuerous than Duckburg, and was likely only appealing because it wasn’t here. They’ve flown higher now, seen more and while they won’t admit it... they probably really DON’T want to leave Scrooge forever. it sounded good a few hours ago, it sounded great 6 months ago but now.. it’s just not the same. Dewey is all for it.. but that’s because Dewey was the one who took everything the worst. He put all this effort into finding his mom, into this whole big hunt... and also put all his faith and love and future into scrooge, so having that all puleld out from under him without the maturity to get that he lost a lot too, combined with his natural stubborness, has lead him to dig in. But before hec an convince the other Webby and Launchpad slip them the invitation. The boys accept, probably because with a child’s handwriting it could only be either Webby or Launchpad.. Donald set out traps for Doofus after the last time.
So they take over the kitchen with Donald confused and upset and then just grumpy after.. they explain their making a farewell dinner. And one of them is his friend. And the other one is his boys surrogate sister. And their offering to make him free dinner and brought all the fixings when he’s out of a job
So naturally their attempt at a parent trap is about as subtle as a Killdozer through your living room, with Webby having made replicas of all their adventures out of food. Launchpad provided drinks.. that are melted popscilces (”There’s a riddle on the stick”). God bless you thoughtly dumb thoroughly beautiful man. So naturally this really isn’t working at all, not helped by Scrooge not showing up thanks to Magica, and Beakley showing up because Webby made the crucial mistake of thinking Launchpad could think bout anything but Darkwing Duck, Planes or a Darkwing Duck Shaped planes clearly so he gave her an invitation telling her NOT to come.
Webby’s attempt to get them to remember Scrooge fondly gets no-sold, though in a very touching way as Dewey, clearly sensing what she’s trying to do instead picks Uncle Donald, with Huey, Louie and Launchpad all joining in saying he’s Loyal (Dewey, who also uses it as a jab at scrooge because he’s being a little shit this episode, and not in his usual fun way or Louie’s usual fun way), Thoughtful (Huey), Passionate (Louie) and that he likes his sailor suit (Launchpad). It brings the duck to tears and as a big fan of Donald, I love this a lot and it shows that, even if Dewey is doing it to take a jab at his uncle, they really do love and apricate their uncle and all he did despite perferring scrooge for the last 6 months. They may love their rich uncle.. but Donald’s there Dad and nothing can take that away from him.. not that a lack of an emphasis on his role as their adopted dad in season 3 didn’t try. They love him and wether they realized that because of what happened with Scrooge or always felt this way and just never expressed it, i’ts sweet. For the record I feel while they loved him it took till this for Dewey and Louie to appricate him while Huey, being a sweetheart and the most like him out of the three, always did. Launchpad attempts to use a bouncy castle to fix things for some reason.. the inner machinations of his mind are an enigma.... or just this on a loop.
You make the call. Beakley naturally, being a spy with decades of experince and someone with half a brainn, figured out their parent trapping them.. but to the suprise of both and the audience she agrees. The family’s been apart too long and she’s fully on board with keeping it together. It makes sense both just in the context of season one and with the reveal of the finale. For the former, she’s watched Scrooge be miserable and withdraw for a decade, and was the one who acitvely encouraged him to spend time with the boys. Sure she wasn’t happy about them moving in, but that settled quickly and last episode she was every bit as worried about the boys as she was her own daughter. She WANTS her best friend to be happy and knows he and his family are stubborn as hell, and knows that our dream team’s heart is in the right place.. but they have about a third of a brain cell between them when it comes to social situations. The finale just adds to it by not wanting Webby to loose her dad or the rest of her family because her dad’s being an idiot. And as a third I just thought of, now we know Beakley’s only ever had one family member before joining the McDuck family, she likely wishes she’d had one and dosen’t want Scrooge to loose that. It’s also a VERY touching moment: Webby forgave Scrooge easily out of desperation, Launchpad did because he’s nice.. but Beakley while justifably pissed at the time and pulling Webby out of there til lhe stopped being a shithead, given the “your not family” comment, despite having EVERY reason to shun him too.. she gets that right now her best friend needs her to keep his family from running off.
She also wins easily, making a pie that scrooge liked and taking it away saying they don’t want a reminder of that “awful man”.. before giving them Scrooge’s side of the story, if through double negatives Launchpad dosen’t get. She points out he spent nearly all his money, that their mother was her own woman who made the decision, and that Scrooge spent TEN YEARS looking for her, the entirety of her lives and only stopped because he was on the brink of loosing everything. That starts to turn the boys minus Dewey, but the killing stroke is her pointing out a very simple fact: he lost someone too and all their doing is cutting out their family and costing him more people for something that wasn’t ENTIRELY his fault and he spent a decade trying desperatly to fix.
This gets Donald, whose the first to say they should go home. “This family has been apart too long.” To me, while I wish the show had built it up more.. i’ts Donald realizing how WRONG he was. He shunned his uncle and while he was right to be mad.. Scrooge did everything he could to fix things, and not trying to reconcile cost him a decade with the only family he has left that he cared about. Cost the boys their uncle and is NEVER what his sister would’ve wanted. And now he’s enabling the boys to make the same mistake he did, his own anger in the past making them think their resitment and shunning is okay when it’s not helping anyone. All he’s done is hurt someone he loves, someone who is easily his second father and teach his boys to do the same. That has to stop. It’s a great bit of character.
Huey and Louie are natually easily convinced while Dewey refuses to at first and cries.. before joining in, letting go of his anger too forced to finally realize the truth, or at least what I feel it is: He attacked scrooge because he didn’t want to admit his mom wasn’t perfect, that after all this time he found out she DID do something bad, if not villiaonous, by leaving them and taking the rocket before it was ready, something reckless and selfish, and admitting Scrogoe wasn’t the only one responsible.. was admitting she left him. He finally lets go... just in time for a giant eruption of purple from the mansion. Wuh-oh.. as for why let’s go back a few hours. Boys?
Scrooge and Lena in Night of De Spell!
So a few hours ago Magica is still using Lena’s body, to the point that when Lena is able to force her out for a second she genuinely FORGOT she was there. That’s horrifying..nothing to add there that entire sentence was just really fucking terrifying.
So naturally she plans to use Lena’s body to get back to the mansion only to find out the kids left from Launchpad (this is before he entered the other plot), but gets in anyway by manipulating him by faking that webby said something about him being weak.
That being said.. he is in a VERY bad place, beginning the series running gag of characters eating nothing but Pizza and having pizza boxes everywhere as a sign of depression, as the mansion is littered with it despite, as mentioned before everyone only having been gone three days. He’s not even wearing his robe, instead wearing a dirty undershirt and rolling around. He’s so horribly depressed and miserable.
Magica being kind of nuts can’t fathom why he’s miserable and keeps trying to make him Tea.. which leads to something like this for about 7 minutes.
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Granted i’ts more by accident he avoids Magica poisoning him but still. Also before we move on I have to give props for the animation here and Kimiko Glenn’s performance. She plays Magica perfectly (as Magica only uses her own voice when not around scrooge), and the animation shows off the diffrence between owners of the body incredibly well.
Eventually Magica realizes he’s not faking it and dosen’t want an easy win. She’s waited a decade and a half for this she wants at least some fight. So she manipulates him, talking about family (Not that sh’es a good family member but we’ll get tot hat), and how it weighs you down.. likely also beliving given what we know about her backstory, that he belivies that. That what he said to poe back then was accurate, not realizing.. he changed.
So he decides to go back to baiss and get rid of everything.. except the dime and Magica being too eager for it gives the game away, so she simply bites him and takes it and... frees herself with the power of the eclipse. After 15 years Magica is free, at full power and quickly imprisons our heroes.
Scrooge naturally tears into Lena before blaming his family for it.. before she shuts him up, pointing out that Magica got in here BECAUSE his family was gone. Had Webby been here she would’ve realized something was off and stopped her, as would the rest of the family. With no one left to watch his back and his insincts dulled by misery, he was an easy target. She WISHES she had his family. She realized too late that what she wanted wasn’t freedom.. it was somewhere to belong, somewhere where she’s loved and people care about her. Actual parents or parental figures, a warm bed, and a place where no matter how much you argue your welcome at the end of the day. To have a home. Scrooge takes both things in and thanks her for making him realize he was a moron, she was right.. and that if she helps him get out of this.. she has a place in said family.
Naturallly though given this is only part one their beaten easily once they escape: Magica turns Lena back into her shadow, more on that in a minute and traps Scrooge in the dime, and so part 1 ends with Magica ascending at full power and Donald giving the natural response “Aw Phooey”. Time for an intermission...
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Part 2: Day of the Ducks!
So we pick up where we left off.. with Magica’s manical laughter and Dewey wondering.. who the hell is this? Webby fills him: Ancient sorceress, mortal enemy of scrooge usual stuff between them. Except in this version she’s leagues more powerful. She’s also voiced by Comedic Actress and Former Doctor Who Star Cathrine Tate who I haven’t complimented enough int he roll but will now. She easily rolls between comedic and thretaning in an instant and was perfect casting, able to be delightfully hammy.. and unspeakably vile and abusive.
Back to the plot Magica proceeds to make things worse by moving her base from the Mansion to the bin... and summoning ALL the shadows of the citizens of duckburg. We also get a few neat scenes as a result: Glomgold tries to force his to stay but gets dropped in the bay.. and suprisingly is not a throaway gag but a gag that leads to the setup of his plot next season and the introduction of Kev, who comissioned this episode,’s faviorite character. More on that someday. Fenton does some stargazing.. and naturally when his turns into an evil shadow ghost tries to summon his armor.. and instead his shadow steals it.
Finally Gladstone’s... gives him 20 dollars because of course it does. All nice littlle nods and in fentons’ case setup for later.
So while Magica begins her gloating, she had a long speech prepared, our heroes back at the boat try to come up with a plan. They do end up getting unexpected reinforcements: Gyro, Manny, and Little Bulb all show up as their shadows emerging destroyed the glass in the underwater lab. “That’s it no more underwater labs! it’s volcano’s and abandoned castles from now on!”. Well the last one worked for the Mads for a while. i’d of gone for it. Though fair play while they do keep Gyro’s cool underwater lab next time we see it and the windows break security shutters activate to prevent another flooding. Likely Scrooge wouldn’t pay to move the whole thing i’m betting. Fenton also shows up so with most of the supporting cast at this point in the show present, they can begin the raid.
Donald does try to squak out a plan.. but it’s here an intresting idea of the series pops up: No one can understand donald. Well some people can, but not everyone can and even the boys mostly take it from context.. or at least Dewey does. This causes Donald to angrily chase Dewey around
So Gyro, not having the time for any of this, shoves a thing in his mouth, phrasing. This is the Barksian Modulator, a nod to Carl Barks and how Donald could speak in the comics and thus gives him a Don Cheadle voice.. wait.. does this mean comics Donald is voiced by War Machine too? I’ll table that. The point is he can speak clearly and in the sliky tones of Don Cheadle. Not as sexy as Keith David but i’ll take it. I also appricate Cheadle being fully game for this, doing a silly promo video about his roll here, likely taking a bit of a pay cut to do voice acting, and even doing donald’s trademark untitllegble raises. I do WISH donald got to give his badass speach in his own voice as Anselmo would nail it, but he got plenty of good performances before and after this and the gag of having an academy a golden globe and sag award winning actor with tons of charsima as Donald’s intelligble voice was too good to pass up. He even gives out an ah phooey! Such a legend.
So he gives a big inspirisng speech and a new motto of “Ducks never back down” that Dewey uses afterwords to diminishing returns. Andddd has the kids stay on the dock for their saftey SEEMINGLY having leanred nothing. Seemingly being the key word. Just to jump ahead a bit his assault team of him and the other adults goes decently: They are overwhelmed, but Fenton is able to improvise a ray gun, and then uses little bulb to turbocharge it. It’s awesome and shows the guys got talent with or without the suit. Beakley keeps the boat safe as she can (and gets as frustrated as donald, which is great, showing i’ts not so easy is it?)< and Gyro gets captured and is disapointed when he tells magica he’s only an aquantince when asked instead of a friend, though let’s be fair here... Scrooge REALLY does value gyro and did not want him to die. Are they friends... eh I dunno, but I do think he’s more than aquantince. Gyro also deserved it after putting Manny and LIl Bulb up against each other for the job. That will teach you to try and unemploy keith david! Launchpad also gets the awesome task of crashing into the bin as a distraction, though Magica keeps tossing him back, which at least does the job... he also gets a TRULY magnificent moment where he leaps onto the plane, singing his own version of the darkwing duck theme song. Fucking amazing and a shame they never called back to this at any point once Darkwing was introduced. I’d pay money to see them both do that.
So meanwhile with the kids, they naturally say nerp to staying behind. But they need someone who could help them bring them in. In Webby’s actual words, which I am not paraphrasing nor manipulating
“Like a noble teen ne'er-do-well who can break into anything, including your heart?” And just in case you think i’m reading too much into things this is her face after saying that.
That my friend is a face that just SCREAMS
There’s no straight explination for this face or this line, and for anyone whose going to bring up the sisters thing in the finale 1. Sisterhood is complicated and sometimes not literal and 2. she was trying to keep Webby from walking into what she thought, correctly, was a trap. I’m doing this NOW because I forgot to in the review, and want to make it painfully clear i’ts okay to ship them as long as you don’t do sex stuff. Their chlidren. It’s gross. Don’t. It is precious.
So they head to Lena’s and find the place deserted and kinda messed up.. and find her Journal which reveals her secret origin: 15 years ago, though her age is not exact and even frank’s said that and while we do see her fully formed as a teen, that might of been an artistic thing we don’t know. Point is 15 years ago Lena was born when Scrooge sealed Magica’s phsyical form away in a dime during their final battle on Mt. Vesuvius, her base in the comics and original series, so she constructed Lena out of her shadow to act as her minon.
Webby of course is heartbroken, feeling Lena used her and all that bad stuff, though the boys comfort her, saying she’s still got them.. not getting the diffrence between familial love and romantic love but point is they know how Magica got out and what she did with scrooge, but they still need to get inside.
Huey, I think, Gets an idea and they swim underwater to emerge from Gyro’s flooded lab. Louie also gets his Kopesh back.
Naturally though their own shadows go after them but Dewey cleverly disapates them: since their shadows they need light to exist, and a simple hit of the fuse box disapates them. Presumibly since Magica was forced to make Lena into a more indepdnent and unique being, she’s immune to this hence why this has only happened to magica’s shadow before.
So they continue making their way up, facing Louie’s old nemisis THE STAIRS in a whopper call back.. only to find the bulk of the shadows, inclduing ShadowdGizmoDuck, waiting.. only for Donald to show up just in the nick of time. Turns out het PLANNED for all of this: he knew they wouldn’t stay put if he told them to and would find their own way in, thus allowing his force to be the bait. Fucking brilliant.
So our heroes head inside while Donald takes on an army single handed.. if with his modulator bugging out.. and given he and Beakely enter the bin via the office entrance later, he BEAT THE GIZMODUCK ARMOR. If you needed proof donald is a legend, there you go. Goodnight.
Anyways our heroes head inside, and when asked what they do, Dewey manages to give his own badass line “Do what we do best make trouble”. What follows is an awesometastic final fight with every one of the kids using their own talents against Magica in one epic clash. Huey simply asks the questions he has while dodging Magica, throwing her off ballance, and nearly getting her weakness out of her. Louie uses his faster speed at burrowing in the gold to easily dodge her and to get her to break a mirror and claims it was a curse. While she dosen’t buy it he eventually uses his silver tounge to wear her down... and leave her open for a kick to the ribs. “Ow my ribs”.
Magica drops the dime and it’s clear our first two boys were just the warmup. This is the headliner and she is pissed, coming at Magica with everything. While we’d seen how badass Webby was all season.. this is her crowning glory. The moment that shows she’s not just the best of the kids she EQUALS Donald and Della in martial combat, if not in experince and easily keeps the pace with Magica, railing at her for taking her family and her friend away. Magica tries gaslighting her by saying Lena wasn’t real.. only for lena to come back.
In one glorious moment, Lena shows off how far she’s come, defying Magica at FULL power to return and fight back, keeping her off webby and giving Dewey, who magica kept from getting the dime seconds earlier, heads for the dime. She’s gone from going with her aunt for her own selfish reasons.. to fighting her with everythig she has left knowing she won’t surivive.. and Webby gets proof that Lena really did love her. Wether she tricked her or not.. she loved her.. and sadly enough to die for her as Magica, after telling Lena “your not family” after Lena calls her aunt, seemingly destroys her and a furious webby attacks in grief and rage. The “your not family part” also gives horrifying context to magica’s abuse: she likely abused Lena.. because Lena wanted family.. and Magica just wanted a minion.. and now we know her backstory.. she already LOST the only family she thought she had and hardenred herself, refusing to loose anyone again and thus took it out on an innocent child like the heartless monster she is.
However while Lena’s temporary death didn’t stop Magica.. it gave Dewey a dewstraction and he got the dime back. He tearfully apologizes to Scrooge.. before having to run again, but both have genuinely and finallyr econclied, putting away their own anger and pride and hurt and restoring the family good. Dewey uses the dime to block as Magica corners him.. and that desepration move frees Scrooge. We then get another hell of a fight as Scrooge easily counters her, uses his cane as a sword.. and THANKS HER. As far as he knew without her he’d of lost his family..w ith her , and with Lena, he found the strength to welcome them back in and they came for him when he needed them. This , given the Poe thing, infuraties her MORE, though this time she deserves him making her feel bad and using his douchebaggery against her, and he disarms her of her staff, which breaks on Donald’s head. Magica is dewpowered without her staff and without her amulet which was absorbed into Lena. Laucnhpad also gets a moment by bodyslamming her from the plane. She escapes, why they don’t go after her I have no fucking clue seriously guys what, but the point is for today our heroes have won. The bin, mansion and most of the city may be damaged.. but the family is whole again, cemented by scrooge callign out his nephews names (Minus dewey.. but intetoinally this time) and saying “Curse me kilts i’ve missed you”. After years of pain, hurt and sorrow..the family is whole once more and as they enjoy a midnight swim together, the future is all ahead of them.
But there’s only one thing.. or rather one person missing. And as we close out the episode and the season we cut to the moon.. where Della is watching a newscast.. and sees her boys for the first time. And we hear her for the first time. SEQUEL HOOK BITCHES.
Final Thoughts on The Shadow War!:
Shadow War is an EXCELLENT capper to the season and both it’s arc, tying both together beautifully by having Scrooge’s misery over his family leaving him vunerable to Magica. Any complaints I can muster are minor nitpicks, it ties in everything that had happened up to this point into a neat bow while leaving two big sequel hooks for next season for each arc. Though it’d take their sweet time, and some weird rescheduling from Disney , to get to the Lena one. It’s heartfelt, satisfying and awesome in every measure and is only the weakest of the three finales because the other two had even more shit to work in after seasons of hard work building up this world, with larger stakes and what not. It also has great symmetry with Woo-ooo and had the series ended here, and taken out the stinger.. it would’ve been decently satisfying. Thankfully it didn’t and we got two more knockout seasons after this and a whole other arc to cover at some point. It’s still utterly fantastic and still worth your time. Now for something new as this is the first story arc for a series i’ve finished, and as such ...
Final Thoughts on The Della Arc:
I”ll get to the Lena arc, both for this season and as a whole, once I finish this retrospective. But for now how does the Della Arc hold up after all this time? Decently. It does have i’ts problems: The pacing is pretty bad: the arc is staggered out fairly but the size of it’s mystery coupled with the lack of any real info about Della for the entire goddamn season when this is her first big roll in anything, is annoying and will never not be even though we now have all the answers.
So while i’ts not perfect.. it’s still pretty damn good. They took one of Disney’s greatest lingering questions that went purposfully unanswered.. and answered it.. turning it into a masterful series of character pieces and using it to drive Dewey as a character. This was his arc and it shows depth to him: in most episodes he’s mostly pluck and adhd, but the arc shows off the hole left by not knowing his mom, his determination.. but also his selfishness and stubborness. It really fleshes the kid out and makes you root for him even when he’s fucking up a lot. The character work with EVERYONE, from Dewey in general to Webby and Donald in Ithaquack, to the other boys on the sunchaser to Scrooge in the last two/three eps, to Beakly in the same.. ther’es just lots of great stuff in this arc and way too many great moments to dismiss it. The pacing may of been shot, we may not have learned mcuh about della.. btu sometimes adventure is about the journey not the destination, and the journey AND where it took us were both phenominal so yeah. It’s a good arc. Not the series best, but a good start.
As for the Lena Arc i’m saving my throughts on that till we finish it as unlike this arc, which leads into the next but isn’t 100% connected to it, her arc extends for the rest of the series character wise, story wise and weblena wise. So we’re not done with this retrospective and i’ll save my thoughts for when we get to season 3. But Covering the della arc was a lot of fun, exausting but fun, and again any future arcs that aren’t paid for will be staggered out and any interlocking arcs that are paid for will have both paid for. Now with that out of the way..
NEXT TIME ON SHADOW INTO LIGHT: Lena gets SO JEALOUS as Webby makes a new friend and everyone gets a new faviorite as Violet is introduced! Meanwhile Beakley is desperate to prove to her 11 year old grandaughter she has friends and decides to befriend launchpad. Shenanigans insue. See you next week!
Next Time on this blog: It’s back to Amphibia! It’s time for some Zelda action as our heroes go to the first temple. I’m expecting either a giant spider or a shadowy ghost version of andrias. Don’t let me down show!
Until then, stay safe, follow me on patreon and on this blog and i’ll see you at the next rainbow.
#ducktales#the shadow war#scrooge mcduck#dewey duck#webby vanderquack#lena sabrewing#weblena#magica de spell#huey duck#louie duck#donald duck#fenton crackshell cabrera#gyro gearloose#many the headless manhorse#little bulb#bentina beakley#gladstone gander#flintheart glomgold#della duck
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