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neuroduckvergency · 3 years

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[PART ONE] Huey's character development: season 1 to season 3.

with ducktales 2017 coming to a close in less than two weeks, i thought that now was best of all times to create a post of how i think huey has developed as a character throughout all three seasons. please remember, this post is just based on how I see his character development, and you're free to have your own ideas and/or not agree with all of my points!

1.) learning to adjust to new environments/accepting failures: When we were first introduced to huey's character, one of the biggest take aways was that he's a very "by the book" kind of a person, and has a hard time adjusting to foreign environments or situations that he will need to go with the flow and what he already knows, rather than doing everything by the book.

This was mainly introduced in "The Terror of the Terrafirmians!" in season one, where we could literally see Huey scrambling to make sense of the situation, and at some points, spouting out B.S. to make sense of the situation in his head. While he did end up coming to terms that the Terrafirmians are in fact, very real, he still only decided to believe it once it was documented in his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook.

Progressively throughout the show, we see Huey being put in situations where he has to be able to think quick on his feet rather than anxiously try to sort out all that he knows from the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook. Because of his personality, Huey not only had a hard time adjusting to foreign environments, but it's also been shown that he has a hard time accepting set backs as well. From what we've seen, it's easy to infer that when Huey has his mind set on something, he will do nothing short of achieving that goal: And when said goal is not achieved, or is starting to look like it won't be achieved, he takes it very personally.

This is especially seen in "The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!" and "The Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchuck!": Where in "The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks", even though Huey was definitely more qualified for the position by a significant amount, when Dewey got the position, his first instinct was to get angry instead of congratulate his brother: Granted, Dewey wasn't completely deserving of the position over Huey, and at this point, Huey was just a kid still learning how to manage his emotions, but his instictive reaction tells a lot about his character at the time. Thankfully, we see this progress with "The Challenfe of the Senior Junior Woodchuck!", where Huey is once again put in a situation where the odds were against him, considering that this time around, Violet was more qualified and prepared for the position than he was. At first, Huey does take this badly, getting super anxious that he'll have to do a challenging, dangerous course that no 11-12 year old probably should be doing, on his lonesome without even the help of the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, which has been shown to be a source of comfort for Huey. At one point, he is only surviving through the course by creating a talking Junior Woodchuck Guidebook in his head, but even that goes south as he gets so overwhelmed and anxious to the point where he sets it on fire in his head. Eventually, noticing how far he's fallen behind Violet, and realizing how deserving she is of the title over him despite his love for everything Junior Woodchucks, he is able to come to terms with the fact that he lost, and instead of getting upset or beating himself up for it, he gracefully allows her to be announced as the winner, and shows her his full support. This is meaningful, because if this was season 1 Huey, we honestly can not say that his reaction to his loss would've been the same: He probably would've gotten a lot more upset about it than he actually did in season 3.

"Quack Pack!", despite somewhat being more of a comedic episode, also sheds light on how Huey's learned to adjust with a change in environment: He was the first character (other than Donald, who was fully aware) to pick up on the fact that they are in an alternate universe, set inside of a 1990s sitcom, and becomes increasingly anxious about it as a result, especially since everyone was pretty much oblivious of it at first. However despite this, when the family confronts Donald about the wish, while Donald does make a compelling point of how this scenario gives them a sense of normalcy and security, Huey also brings up the fact that despite the hardships they may face, adventuring is an integral part of their new found family. Even though Huey has always been pretty enthusiastic about adventuring, especially in comparison to Louie and pre-season 3 Donald, there has been times where adventuring has caused him anxiety due to being confronted with new settings or situations that he doesn't immediately know how to handle, so considering this, I think that line alone has shown the great improvement Huey has made with adjusting.

2.) embracing "The Duke": in the first two seasons, while we always had somewhat of an idea that huey was the triplet that inherited the infamous McDuck anger, "The Duke" wasn't something that was necessarily explored much in the first two seasons, leading people to believe that it was just for comedic plot. However, in season 3, we finally got an image of what "The Duke" actually is and represents, alongside with how Huey truly feels about this side of him.

Based on my perception of "The Split Sword of Swanstantine", Huey sees The Duke as an entire separate entity from himself rather than just how far his anger can really go, decides to completely reject this side and keep it locked away in his brain. Of course, we've had our early season moments where The Duke "slipped out", but for the most part, leading up to The Split Sword of Swanstantine, we never really got a full glimpse of what exactly the Duke is: and given his personality, it makes sense as to why Huey was rejecting this side of him instead. Not only does The Duke represent one of Huey's most vulnerable states, but knowing how far his anger can go, goes completely against the side of his personality that he does allow to shine: Being orderly, being well put together, and being the brain of his sibling trio, which being blinded by anger would all deter. Despite the strength that embracing his anger gives him, Huey obviously still sees it as a weakness, because it's the side of him he doesn't want people to see, especially those closest to him, because before the events of The Split Sword, Huey didn't exactly have the greatest control of his anger, so while nobody would want to think of it, no one knows how far he could really go if he's pissed enough.

However, thanks to the encouragement of Lena, Huey was finally able to embrace that side of him, and fully gain control over his anger which is something we don't typically see with the infamous McDuck Anger, given that the only way he could defeat Steelbeak who had an obvious advantage, was to tap into his true strength. The biggest takeaway Huey got from this situation, is that his anger shouldn't be treated as if it's a separate entity, or as if it's something to be embarassed of, but to truly embrace that side of himself, and learn how to control it, all things that he was able to accomplish by the end of "The Split Sword of Swanstantine".

3.) building new relationships:

Since season one, it's been hinted that Huey does struggle a bit on the friendship aspect of things. He does have very close relationships with his brothers and Webby, but even these can be hindered by clashing personalities and differing interests. Even though it's fairly obvious that HDLW all love and support each other like family, Huey has never really exactly been shown to have a bond with someone where he shares completely similar interests: Now, this isn't really important in friendship, often times opposites attract even down to the friendship aspect, but it is nice to have someone where you can just sit and chat about similar interests, and do stuff together that you'll both enjoy.

The first time we've gotten a hint at Huey struggling with making friends was in "The Day of the Only Child!", where, if the Beagle Brothers didn't show up, Huey would've been out of luck with finding two other participants for the three-man cookout, considering that everyone else was already paired up and Louie and Dewey were already off doing their own things for the day. Also hinted in that same episode, is the fact that Huey make struggle with loneliness as well (Huey "Be horribly alone." Dewey: "For once!"), given that he's spent most if not all of his life constantly with his brothers and Donald, so even if him and his brothers did have fall outs every here and there, he could always rely on them to be there given that outside of them, he didn't rely have any other friends.

Now, this somewhat turns around in season 2, when we're introduced to Fenton, who Huey not only idolizes as Gizmoduck, but looks at like a genuine best friend and most likely, as an older brother figure. Besides Huey's admiration of Gizmoduck, it's been shown that they bond over their similar interest in science, and in general, Huey is constantly looking out for Fenton and always wanting to protect his best friend from any danger or hurt that he himself can prevent. Despite Fenton undoubtedly being Huey's closest friend, I think that it's also important to shed light on the friendships that he's made that are more in his age group.

Following the events of Astro BOYD!, we are introduced to Boyd and Huey's friendship, two characters that existed in the show prior but never had any interactions. Huey and Boyd bond over their interest in the Junior Woodchucks, something that we once again see Huey get backlash for from his fellow Woodchucks, for being too "by the book" and not just "relaxing and being a kid" (even going as far to label him as a "robot"). Even in Boyd's malfunctioning, Huey is determined to stay by his side until the end, not only because of their shared interests and the bonding they began to do at the very beginning of the episode, but also because Huey understood what it was like to be cast away and treated as less just for being different (or in Huey's words, "wired a little differently"). Even though Fenton is Huey's closest friend by a margin, I would consider Boyd's friendship with him really meaningful, at least given the circumstances of how they became friends in the first place: Two people who were cast aside, for not being what society considered the "perfect/normal kid", and instead of people working with them, they were just cast aside easily. Considering how fast Huey probably had to grow up given the circumstances of living with Donald who, despite being an amazing father figure, dealt with poverty pretty often, it's no wonder why he's very mature for his age and very "by the book", but it's also no wonder why kids who probably didn't have to grow up with those circumstances, would easily be turned off. Louie and Dewey are a lot more understanding considering they grew up in the same setting, but even they dealt with it differently, often leading to their personalities clashing, which is even lampshaded in this episode as another insecurity of Huey's when building relationships ("Are you sure you want me to continue? My brothers are usually *begging* me to stop.).

We're also introduced to another friendship at the very beginning of season three, with Violet. Even though at the beginning, things were a bit rocky considering how anxious Huey was getting from the Senior Woodchuck competition, and his determination to beat Violet, even to the point of leaving him behind when she probably needed him the most, by the end of the episode, we see both Violet and Huey not only reconcile, but start to actually bond. During this high stress situation, Violet was a great source of relief for Huey, using her own experiences of failure to inspire Huey to not give up, and that even if he does lose (which he did) in this specific situation, there'll be more opportunities because he is great when it comes to the Junior Woodchucks. Even when Violet wins, instead of being bitter which would definitely be expected considering that Huey is a child and how much he was anticipating winning, he is able to put his grievances aside and congratulate her because she helped him greatly during a point of weakness. Even if Violet and Huey's friendship didn't end up as closeknit as his and Boyd's, or as prominent as his and Fenton's, I think this was still a meaningful connection for him as Violet was great balance for the anxiety that he was feeling at the time, and despite him leaving her behind, she beared no ill will towards him.

This is only the first part, where I examined what I felt were the key component to his character development over the last three seasons, and the next post will focus on other aspects that weren't as focused on during the series!

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neuroduckvergency · 3 years

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was going to write this as an entire fanfiction but i got too occupied with college lol rip

"You're such a nerd."

"You know, I was probably listening for a good 20 seconds, but I just learned to tune you out when you start going on your tangents."

"The world isn't some Nerd Science Convention, you know."

Deep down inside, Huey knew his brothers didn't mean it when they made these comments. Or, at least, that's what he always tried to convince himself so that he wouldn't get too upset or hung up on them. But the reality of it was, it hurt him a lot. Being the oldest, Huey always just wanted to be of use to somebody, especially to his younger brothers, but as they got older, there was more of a disconnect between Huey and his other two brothers. Growing up moving house to house with Uncle Donald due to his financial issues, having to help Uncle Donald deal with said financial issues since he was a lone parent, made Huey gain a sense of responsibility, and maybe he grew up faster than he was supposed to. Huey was alright with that, because in his mind, he felt that he could still have fun and enjoy himself like a "normal kid" would do. Della coming back in the picture, and them moving in with Uncle Scrooge definitely took a lot of weight off of Huey's shoulders, but between all of the dangerous adventures the family would embark on almost weekly, it was hard for Huey not to step up and be the "adult" of the group at times. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

Except when Dewey would say that Huey would almost obsess over the idea of being the oldest triplet by 3 seconds, and Webby would make comments of Huey "living out of a book" rather than just living day by day, experiencing life as it comes along. Now, Huey always disagreed with this perspective of himself, and for good reason. He wasn't obsessed with being the oldest, he actually had experience being the oldest dealing with Dewey almost always putting his life in danger, and getting Louie out of whatever sticky situation he couldn't get himself out of.

But the more Huey tried to disagree with Webby's point about his "over usage" of his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, the harder it became to find good reasons to argue against it. Sure, the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook offered a worldwide viewpoint of survivor skills, and knowledge about history, mysteries and the way the world functions, but there were times where Huey was disappointed from his usage of the book: Whether it was debunking things that were eventually proven true, denying the own historical research he had (granted, it was very outlandish and if one did not experience it with their own eyes, it would be hard to believe), or not being able to function without being able to use it. That's what really struck out to him when he did the Senior Woodchuck challenge a few months back, how anxious he had gotten once he wasn't able to go through the course with his book on hand. Deep down inside, Huey knew that he could've fared well in the challenge had he not gotten so caught up in not being able to have his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook on hand, but having it with him was what he was used to. In a way, it provided a sense of security for him, especially when facing the unknown, which was undoubtedly his biggest fear.

But maybe, it wasn't normal for him to have reacted the way he had when he was told he couldn't even do as much as make eye contact to his book during the competition. Other past competitors, especially Violet, seemed to fare well without it. So why couldn't he? Maybe he wasn't as good as a woodchuck as Violet, but he definitely knew in his heart that he had the rules of the Guidebook memorized in his brain as if it was implanted into it. So why couldn't he go, I don't know, maybe 2 or 3 hours without it?

That's when Huey decided to do some research.

Of course, his first resource was from the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, but it didn't exactly deliver the answers that he personally needed. One thing about Huey, that all of the adults in his life have credited him for time and time again, is that when he's looking for answers, he always knew directly what kind of response he wanted, and he wouldn't allow himself to stop until he gets that desired response. So when the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook failed him, he went to the source he almost hated the most: The Internet.

Now Huey knew that the Internet had a tendency to overcomplicate, or overexaggerate certain things, but for some reason, when Huey found a certain answer, it almost resonated with him.

"repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body"

"not seeming to understand what others are thinking or feeling"

"liking a strict daily routine and getting very upset if it changes"

"finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on their own"

"having a very keen interest in certain subjects or activities."

The keen interests, and liking a strict daily routine struck out to him the most. Huey never thought anything of them, but now seeing those words on a screen, linking to autism, a developmental disorder, made Huey put them into a whole new perspective. Made him put his whole personality in a new perspective, even.

Huey was used to other kids telling him that he was different, an outsider, an "old man in a child's body". But hearing that from a Doctor? Huey wasn't sure if he was ready for that kind of reality. Yet, at the same time, if this was something that Huey actually had, he wanted answers, and he knew that if he didn't reach out to a Doctor and get those answers, all he would do is obsess over the thought of it, and get even more anxious and stressed.

His research online told me that while there weren't any medications that were prescribed for autism as it's not something that can be treated with medication, there is therapy available for it. Huey remembered Uncle Donald and his Mom having Louie start to go to therapy for his anxiety attacks, but he also remembered how they reacted when they finally realized something was wrong with Louie.

Now, don't get him wrong: Uncle Donald and his Mom were two of the best parents that a kid could have, especially a kid growing up in the conditions that he and his brothers did. Huey knew that no matter what, they loved their boys with all of their hearts, and will do anything to make sure they're okay. But when Louie started having his anxiety attacks, it was as if a light switched, and things went from 0 to 100 rapidly. Constantly checking on Louie, not allowing him much personal space, almost treating Louie as if he was 5 years old again. Huey knew that this was only out of love, but Huey could also sense Louie's growing annoyance with it and imagined himself being annoyed as well if he constantly had the two breathing down his neck. Even in times when Louie would call them out for it, it wasn't long before they were right back at it again.

At the same time, Huey knew that he needed some adult to accompany him if he were to get diagnosed, as minors weren't allowed to go to appointments without the presence and permission of an adult. And Huey knew that at some point, his Mom and Uncle Donald would have to know, if they didn't find out themselves.

But what if they didn't have to know right now? What if Huey had another adult figure accompany him to the appointment, found out whatever answers he needed and worked through them, and then once he was ready, tell his mom, Uncle Donald, Uncle Scrooge, his brothers, Webby, and whoever else needed to know?

The idea sounded good in theory, but he definitely needed a plan of attack, especially since Della and Uncle Donald were the only ones who were legally on his documents. He also needed to figure out who he felt comfortable with taking him.

Huey already knew Uncle Scrooge was a hard pass. Not that he didn't trust him, because he did, but the only experience Scrooge had with raising and taking care of children was occasionally baby sitting Uncle Donald and his mother as kids, and Huey didn't know how exactly he'd handle the situation at hand and didn't want to risk it. Beakley, on the other hand, had tons of experience with raising and caring for Webby on her lonesome, but would also probably encourage him to confide in his parents about it, if not telling them herself. So another hard pass.

That's when another idea came to Huey's mind, and he almost immediately ran out of the mansion to find the source.

"So you... want me to attend your doctor's appointment with you?" Fenton asked.

"Please," Huey begged, "You're the only person I trust with this."

--- @neurodihuegent

#huey duck #fenton crackshell cabrera #ducktales #neurodihuegent

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