A Team Is Formed...

Family

movie night

QOTD: Of course the Duck and Gearloose families will support this relationship. HDL probably are hyped that Donald has a tech bf who can show them how to build cool stuff. And while they seemed to be somewhat indifferent towards Daisy (who was very hot-and-cold to Donald), they like that Gyro makes their uncle genuinely very happy. Scrooge would be all for it, so he can score a "family discount" from Gyro's workshop. As if he doesn't pay the poor guy enough. Newton enjoys this arrangement since he's buddies with HDL at school. They get to carpool! And hang out a lot! Plus, he is probably a huge Paperinik fan and Donald is "Paperinik's best friend"... so...

Day 5: Family for @donro-week

Boats

Fanfiction for Day 3: Boats of @donro-week!

Shape of Change

As he pushed his cart down the street, Gyro Gearloose spotted a curiosity in the front yard of 1313 Webfoot Walk. 

Donald Duck sat on the grass folding a paper boat. 

In fact, he surmised, given the sprinkle of scattered paper boats strewn around him, he had been folding them for some time.

Gyro was of an investigative disposition, so he abandoned his cart of tinkerings and gadgets to uncover the mental mechanisms behind the paper-folding mania.

This sheet of paper had Donald bound in an unblinking transfixation. His tongue stuck out in concentration as he folded it. In this state, the usual nuisances of squirrels chattering above him or the hiss of nextdoor neighbour Jones' lawnmower seemed to roll off his bubble of hyperfocus. He could commit his mind to any little oddity, and that quality always endeared him to Gyro.

He made a cacophony of his entry, knocking the mailbox and exclaiming, "Morning, Donald!"

Donald perked up at Gyro's arrival, as he always did, and waved at him. "Hiya, Gyro!"

“What have we here?” He eyed Donald's fingers pressing a crease into the sheet of paper, folding two symmetrical halves.

With a smug grin that betrayed his bemusement, Donald said, "Why, these things? They are called paper boats."

For the sake of theatrics, Gyro sighed. He joined him in the grass, smiling despite himself. "Very funny. But what for? Helping the kids' with a school project, perhaps?"

Donald's face of cheer unmasked into something morose. "No, I just wanted to get out of the house. A lot has been going on, and it's overwhelming." He flopped backwards into the grass. The paper boat tumbled out of his grasp, joining the rest in becoming bright white lawn ornaments.

Gyro waved a fresh sheet pinched between his fingers and let it rustle. "Shall I take over on boat-making while you rest?"

A single thumbs up popped out from the grass. 

So he started folding, flipping, creasing the sheet of paper with the press of two fingers, hearing it schliff. He transported himself to a time of short desks, tall teachers, and recesses spent in the library, all to access the long-buried knowledge of how to fold a paper boat. No memory was perfect, of course, but eventually, he had a crooked paper boat cupped in his two hands. Some corners stuck out in places and others were dulled by fold retakes. Asymmetry defined each face.

He turned to show his creation of irregular polygons to Donald, who had already sat up with crossed arms and a smug look on his face. Presumably, he had made Gyro’s earnest attempt to create a paper boat into a tragic spectacle.

"Hey, you," Gyro grunted. Possessed by a mischievous urge to get back at the little duck, spurred on by whimsy, he balanced the misshapen boat atop his bill.

It immediately toppled downwards.

Donald snickered, and then there they were. Two adults playing in the grass making paper boats. Donald quacked in laughter, and it wasn’t that amusing, really, but he replayed the moment the boat fell off his beak and maybe it was a little bit funny, so Gyro started laughing too. And was there anything better than sharing a little chortle together on a sunny morning?

When the laughter bubbled down, Donald said, "It's alright."

"Hm?"

Donald picked up a blank sheet. "Folding paper shapes is hard. Surprisingly hard. It requires a lot of attention and precision, and at first it felt like I couldn't ever do it well."  His hands worked deftly as he continued, "The boat looks so different from a flat piece of paper, and I'm not very good at visualising how each fold affects the shape. But, you know? I took it little by little. Even though I don't see how, I have to trust that each fold matters." Presented in two hands, he held a freshly made paper boat with crisp edges and clean faces.

“I see we’re not really talking about paper boats, are we.”

Donald tilted his head with a smile and looked at him teasingly. “Nah, I was talking about paper boats.” He set the new one down on the grass. 

Gyro chuckled. “If you say so.” They were, after all, surrounded by paper boats.

"But… I do feel better. The mess indoors has got nothing on me." Donald flexed an arm for emphasis and winked.

Right then, a curiosity struck at his heart.

Gyro leaned forwards and nuzzled the tip of his beak into Donald’s cheek feathers. 

They were soft. Donald leaned into the preening and it filled him with warmth, the kind he felt when they shared a hug, he supposed. The moment passed as quickly as it arose, and mid-morning air filled the gap between them. 

Donald moved to stand up, but his legs trembled. For a second, he inhaled, waiting for something to be released, but he only expelled a breath. Then, he smiled brightly at Gyro and extended his hand out to him.

Naturally, he took it. 

“I’ll help you clean up the yard.”  That was all that needed to be said.

Gyro assessed the task ahead. There were many paper boats littered around the grass. Still, he couldn’t imagine the yard without them after everything that had transpired. It must’ve meant something to Donald, because he kept sneaking glances back at Gyro. He didn’t know the shape of this change, or what it meant. But for now, he simply picked up each boat, one at a time.

QOTD: What's your favourite thing about Donald Duck?

If I had to pick one thing, it's his perseverance. In pretty much every iteration of Donald Duck, he doesn't give up when it's his big moment. He'll come close to it, of course, but at the end of the day he pulls through. He doesn't succeed all the time, but that's what makes him remarkably relatable and admirable. This quality is tied with the fact that he is a family-oriented person. I think Donald is at his most charming and likable when his loyalty and love for family is at the forefront.

I've Got You Now, Snow Golems!

Merry Christmas @writebackatya from your Secret Santa for the @duckblrsecretsanta2023 :)

I recommend this show. The art style is eye candy, for one. The show incorporates Chinese mythology with modern interpretations/situations, so even if you don't know much about them, it is still easy to connect with and understand the characters.

Additionally, the gags in this animation are playful and visually interesting; the jokes are creative and fresh. Each episode has unique instances of exaggerated depictions of emotions, visual punchlines, and recurring jokes that appear in unexpected ways.

The show is starts off as a slice-of-life with a "monster of the week" structure that contributes to worldbuilding (a new mythical creature needs help, and we learn about their powers + why they are struggling in the modern world), but hints of deeper secrets and lore are dropped throughout. As the series progresses, layers of secrets are unraveled which seem to be building up into a larger narrative.

Finally, there is yuri.

Title: Fabulous Beasts

This is such a cute show. I love the animation! It’s about the modern lives of many of the Chinese mythical creatures. Just sharing in case anyone else thinks it looks interesting.

Also, it’s got the option to turn on English subs. For those like me who need them.

Here’s a link to the official free eps playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBakWosU0sfj_-XZSlGy-IOnDNplD3Ttj

the only thing more embarrassing than cringy poetry is being so afraid of feeling embarrassed that you don't even try to make anything at all

The opening theme for Parvey: The Interdimensional Singer! (An indie cartoon coming in the far future...!)

been a while since I drew some wigglytuff n chatot, sketched out some backstory headcanon things. I think Chatot started out working for the Pokemon Exploration Federation in a back-of-house role, as a cartographer or some other detailed work processing lots of information. he met Wigglytuff on an excursion for work, and Wigglytuff, being the affable person he is, convinced Chatot to team up for the day. They hit it off well, and Wigglytuff didn't want to let go of this connection. So, he approached Chatot and convinced him to form an exploration team together. Chatot was quite a stickler to his duties and refused at first, but as the days passed by, he realised his heart truly belonged out on the field with Wigglytuff, not stuck inside.

i'd like to expand on it later but for now, this is what i got.

tldr: drawing my adoptive gay grandparents

My hypothesis is that in like 10 years gen z is gonna have a big cult boom the way the boomers did in the 70s

so i'm actually doing it.

i'm putting my own spin on it but this was the spark that set off the flame.

me and @darkwingsnark were talking about “What if there was an Adult Cartoon™ (on level with every animated sitcom on FOX rather than Adult Swim) about Donald Duck learning to become a parent?”

and I’m honestly loving it way too much.. mostly because we all know classic disney characters swearing and doing adulty things such as swearing, drinking beer, having a sex life, losing loved ones and having the occasional existential crisis is high class comedy. (I mean it’s not a new concept, but it would be fun to actually have it be a longer story instead of just a joke or an art-project)

happy 413 everyone!! 15 years felt like a significant number so i wanted to do push myself to do smthg over the top for this one haha

this comic has had me in a chokehold for over 10 years waow.. still lookin forward to see what comes from the new team! anyway happy anniversary sweethearts <333