#(I mainly want to highlight certain portions)

[fuckyeahkurusushou]

Uta-Pri Repeat: October {Cecils Route}

Controlled!Kaoru: What, Syo-chan? Are you planning on getting in my way...? Syo: (*gets scared for a moment but then tightens his hand into a fist and nods with conviction*) Syo: So, I'm going to try too. I'm going to try my best! I'm weak and I can't run fast like everybody else. I'm not good at fighting either... {But...} "Kaoru": Why are you always like this...? You've always been like this. You always work too hard for other people! "Kaoru": You're the one who keeps working so hard, and no matter how many times you keep falling down, you get back up... "Kaoru": You're not even strong enough to keep getting up that easily. Even though your body is much weaker than mine... "KAORU": Syo-chan, you should just let ME protect you!!-- SYO: (*quickly crosses arms in front of face and stops Kaorus punch from getting through TO*)-- Syo: I don't want to... just be protected. I'll fight. I want to fight! "KAORU": But {the enemy} promised that if you do as they say, they'll heal your illness! "K A O R U": You don't have to suffer anymore! Why do you resist? I just want you to get better! Syo: (*Withstanding the attacks to prevent "Kaoru" {the enemy} from getting near Haruka & Cecil, never answering "Kaoru" or the enemy*) ...!!

[dinosaurchurch]

It's hard to believe that it's been six months since my father passed. Six months ago he would've turned sixty. I won't lie to people, it fucks me up to think at the age I am now that he was half way through his journey.

It's one of those things that I can't help but to think about sometimes, there's a lot of little small reminders of him that I get - things or moments that remind me of my childhood and the more simpler times. All though I know that the man I loved dearly was long gone by the time that he passed, I can't help but to have that sense of longing.

When people tell you that you never truly finish mourning for someone I think this is what they mean. It's the heartache of knowing you're still here and you have to carry on without them that hurts the most. I feel like that about a lot of things; I can't help but to reflect on the journey I've taken so far - of the things, places, and people I've left behind. There's certain things that I've tucked away long ago that sometimes I find myself pondering over, the what ifs of how did that turn out or did the people I used to share my path with heal or change for the better? I'll never know but it still makes me curious.

One of the things that I find when it comes to just getting older in general is knowing that the more you age, so does everyone else and that means that at one point you'll have to say goodbye to them or they will for you. No one knows truly when their time comes not even people who've been given a limited amount. Miracles happen just like tragedies, it's the beauty of life - you can't predict everything. The only thing you can do is better the odds by doing your best to try to strive for the optimal outcome.

There's a lot of emotions that I've had over this whole thing, but like a drop of dye into a pitcher of water - it only gets diluted the more you add - it doesn't go away. I tend not to remember much of the bad regardless of how rocky our relationship was for the past few years, maybe that's part of how soft I've become or just the acceptance of that softness that I tried to hide for the longest while. I understand why things happened the way they did as much as I didn't agree with them but I don't think I have it in me to summon up my vindictiveness like I used to. I'm not that person and I don't want to be that person.

It's interesting how a lot of simple choices add up. That's one thing I think about when it came to my father, he had almost the perfect storm unload upon him for everything that he had done. There was a lot of parallels with how the lack good mental health and self awareness inevitably affected him in the most negative ways possible. I mean he's no longer here to say anything but I think his passing very starkly highlighted his flaws and especially of those around him.

People talk about the person who left but they don't talk typically about the lasting effects it has on the people that are still here. How sometimes it's the fallout of when someone goes that's worse than the actual ordeal of them exiting stage left.

One thing nobody likes to talk about or highlight when it comes to someone's death is how a person handles that stress. I know that I had quite the hurricane of emotions overcome me from anger, bereft, longing, sorrow, and even relief over the whole event. I cared greatly as much as I told myself I didn't. Regardless of what horrible things he did, I didn't want him to suffer but he did.

Witnessing what happened with the rest of my family is part for the emotions I felt as well. A lot of drama surrounded him, and the funny part is he wasn't the catalyst for a portion of it. I don't talk about it much since I mainly stick to myself but there's a divide in my family thanks to the actions of a few. I want to say that everyone can get along but the funeral showcased that wasn't at all possible. It's striking what taking one piece of the puzzle out does. Some people absolutely crumbled under the stress and give way to the worst version of themselves.

I think one of the weirdest things was seeing family I hadn't seen since I was a little girl. Bad events really do call people together, it's like everyone shows up for a moment to help out and when it's over they all scatter back into the dark. I don't know if I'll ever see some of those people again but this has definitely been one of the weirder events I've had the unfortunate pleasure of being a part of.

Between the mudslinging and the outright fit some people threw over this or even the will (which wasn't at all fairly split between anybody but that's another entirely separate rant for another entirely separate time) I can say I want to wipe my hands of this whole mess. Just to step back out of the limelight that I was put in being the oldest out of my siblings since people expected me to say something or take up the responsibilities attached has been refreshing. It's tiring always having people wanting to put more weight on my shoulders like I'm going to take up some of his old mantles or whatever.

Call me cold or callused but I don't care to spend energy trying to glue people back together on that side of the family. I'm done with pretending that I gave a shit, or that I should anyway. If I don't talk to them again then that's fine by me.

I'm tired. That's why I almost felt okay with letting the worst happen. Not like any of this was in my hands in the first place, but a lot of unrest went with my father to the grave and what was left will eventually fizzle out. I'm a-okay with that. Some peace and quiet is what everyone needs here.

Ultimately this whole thing has been sad to see. Watching lines blur of what used to be my younger self's rose coloured vision against what's actually there. I can't help but to long for the more simple day where perhaps ignorance was bliss. The truth is harsh but even with that I much rather know than not.

I wish things could've turned better for everyone but that just isn't possible. Some of it has been entirely unpredictable but what hasn't has had a bit of a karmic effect to which you reap what you sow but I digress. I've said enough so I'll leave it here.

Cheers.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Maybe the sudden drop of RG from CRWBY is because a huge portion of the fandom considers this shipping problematic (mainly because we don't know how much Ozpin is involved, which tbh is a fair point in my opinion)? One way or another, it is weird that this is happening now. RG has been criticized for this for years at this point. Little late to drop the ship because of this on CRWBY's part if you ask me.

Hey there Seaberry.

…Yeahhh…here’s the thing with that---a lot of the complaints that the so-called antis made against Rosegarden was denounced in the actual canon and this is inclusive of the whole “Ozpin issue”. 

Part of my main reasoning for never factoring Oz into the Rosegarden equation stemmed from the important fact that despite sharing a body with Ozpin, Ruby has always treated Oscar as his own person regardless of this. From Ruby’s perspective, she has always differentiated the two souls from each other and her relationship with either reflected that. Not once throughout the entire series has Ruby ever treated Oscar as Oz. While everyone else ultimately came to see Oscar as part of the group outside of Oz in later seasons, Ruby has always been mindful of the fact that Oscar has his own identity from the beginning and this point is emphasized by the show constantly drawing attention to the importance of Oscar’s own individuality and his fears of losing that with the impending merge.

Not to mention that the showrunners themselves already denounced the “Oz issue” back during V6 in the Lost Fable episode. 

In V6CH3, I specifically remember a part of Ozma’s backstory that highlighted him sharing a lifetime with a successor who had a family of his own.

As I recall correctly, despite sharing a body and duty to protect the world with an ancient soul---this Wizard---who I dubbed Henkle---was still able to have a life of his own with a loving wife and kids despite Ozma’s presence.

Despite sharing a body, the canon PLOT indicated that Ozma ultimately learned to live in harmony with the men he was paired with by showing one of them with his own family while Ozma looked on in the background; allowing this man to have his own life with his loved ones and never coming between that.

It is for reasons such as this why I always rolled my eyes at the antis who kept using the “Ozpin issue” in arguments against the Rosegarden pair since the show already debunked this and said it wasn’t a problem. So forgive me if the idea of the showrunners listening to these fans now all of sudden doesn’t make sense to me when they themselves denounced this issue in their own writing seasons ago.

This just makes me not understand the CRWBY showrunners even more now. Ever since newcomer CRWBY Writer---Kiersi Burkhart--- felt the need to comment about the Rosegarden moment from V7CH9 in the V7 Commentary, I’ve had a sinking feeling that the showrunners might “change” something about Rosegarden dynamic moving forward for V8. Because of all the RG moments that’s been tossed out over the seasons, I felt it odd that the one that received the most backlash from certain-certain folk in the FNDM was the one to be talked about.

And yet here we are for V8 where it is very clear that the showrunners are toying with this ship. It’s not to say that they’ve actually dropped developing the bond between Ruby and Oscar. We still received some moments with them for this season as shown during the first episode and the last episode.

As a matter of fact, I still get the vibe that the showrunners are low-key pushing the bond between Ruby and Oscar since they still frame their moments like they’ve always done in the previous seasons. However my reason for feeling as if the showrunners have toned down on the RG is because I can’t understand why they felt the need to have their hug be the only one to be interrupted.

As I said in my post---the Rosegarden reunion hug is the ONLY hug to be interrupted for this season that was said to have “many hugs”. Every other hug we got to see in perfect view but Ruby’s with Oscar was interrupted by Emerald. And what’s sad about that is the showrunners didn’t have to do that since they could’ve just as easily let Ruby hug Oscar before taking notice of Emerald entering from the back.

But that’s not what they did. They framed Ruby going into hug Oscar before having her stop right before the two got a chance to hug.

We got to see Ruby hug Penny [multiple times] and Oscar hugged by Jaune and Nora. But their hug is the one to be interrupted out of ALL the hugs for this season so far. The ONLY ONE. Really showrunners?

Why do that? Why tease the fans who like this pairing like this? Why have this hug be the only one to be interrupted from happening while every other gets to happen and be seen by the audience?

 I’m sorry this bugs me so much and what hurts about it is…as a Rosegardener, as I’ve said in the past, my reason for starting to like this ship was encouraged by the show constantly pushing Ruby and Oscar together onscreen since V5.

You pushed them together for three seasons straight and now…just to have them share a hug...no let’s interrupt that. We can’t have them hug onscreen.

And dude, what’s bothering me even more is that it’s just a hug.  It’s not like I’m asking the showrunners to make Oscar and Ruby kiss or even become a couple. It’s just a hug. One hug.

As a Rosegardening Pinehead, all I wanted was a hug between them. Just one emotionally driven hug between these two kids to cap off all the hell that the little prince suffered through on the whale by reuniting with his rose.

After EVERYTHING that Oscar has been through for this season and is going through currently regarding his fears of the Merge, the one thing I was hoping for is for him to get a warm welcoming hug from his closest friend or at least the closest thing to one he has one the hero team--the person the writers have pushed him towards for the past couple of volumes. 

And they don’t do it. Even though they teased they were gonna make them hug. I can’t believe the showrunners set up a hug between Ruby and Oscar and then they don’t do it. They teased a HUG. WHO TEASES A HUG.

It’s not even just that they didn’t do it. They framed it. Made it look like it was going to happen and then it doesn’t happen. So they teased it. I feel like the showrunners are starting to play the same games with Rosegarden that got them in trouble with BlackSun and Bumblebee and I’m sorry but I’m not liking that at all.

Don’t play games with my shipping heart CRWBY showrunners and please don’t play games with my favourite ship. Not these two. Anyone else but these two. Not my two favourite characters in this glorious mess you call an animated series [ that I still love despite how much its writing frustrates me at times]. 

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

[heyheydidjaknow]

Insert interesting AN here. It's like 2 in the morning.

Chapter 13

He finally speaks. “This isn’t going to work if you keep moving around.”

You dig your nails into your palms as he pulls another shard from your back. “I know. Still hurts.”

A pause. “I could ask Master Splinter to let you have some alcohol to numb it if you want.” His voice throughout the whole process has been incredibly soft, from since you woke up in his room until now. “The skin disinfectant is going to sting more than this.”

“I’ll drink myself to death,” you promise, half-joking in an attempt to lighten the suffocating mood. “Seeing how the past couple months have gone, I should probably just get used to pain, right?”

He pulls another piece of blood-soaked glass from your skin, placing it into a can at his side with a clink. “I really hope that doesn’t happen.” You feel him pull another portion of the skin on your back taught. “The pain thing, I mean. Not to say that I want you to drink yourself to death—”

“I get what you mean.” You try to keep an eye on him without moving your neck, not wanting to get blood on his sheets. “I’m the same way about the murdering thing.”

Silence, again.

“How’s the cockroach thing going?”

“It’s going.” He is quick if nothing else; he is already three-quarters of the way done, now at your waist. “It seemed to be working alright this morning, so it should work tonight if I’m lucky.”

You smile gently. “That’s good, then. You’re due for some good luck.”

“Of the two of us?” He leans to the side from his seat on his chair, studying your face. “I think you need it more than I do.”

You laugh. “Most teenagers boys don’t have half-naked girls on their beds because of medical reasons,” you argue. “I’d say you dealing with me is worthy of some good mojo.”

“The portal wouldn’t have been destroyed if not for you.” He leans back, pulling a particularly large piece out of your hip. “We wouldn’t even know what their ultimate plan was, what to look out for, what to expect.” He bends down, and you hear the gurgling of a liquid being poured out. “Besides,” he reasons, “it was as much my fault as yours for not thinking of the glass walls. It’s the least I could do.”

You bite down on your tongue as he starts wiping the blood off. “Shit,” you hiss, “that stings.”

A hint of excitement laces his tone. “Wanna know why?”

Your jaw relaxes as the pain subsides. “Sure,” you chuckle, strained. “Why does it hurt?”

“Well,” he starts, “this antiseptic, like most antiseptics, is comprised mainly of two compounds: ethanol, or just normal grain alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide.” He sounds like a passionate schoolteacher when he goes off about anything science-related. It is absolutely enrapturing, listening to someone so in love with their craft. “Now, ethanol activates vanilloid receptor-one, which is also activated by capsaicin, which is what makes food spicy. But the funny thing about that,” he continued, “is that, usually, the receptor is only activated by really high temperatures—the receptor is what lets you register hot things as hot.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know about medical stuff.” You wince again as he continues to clean your wounds.

“Oh, I’m just not good at applied medicine,” he chuckles nervously. “None of the serious stuff, I mean; I’d never be able to perform a proper surgery or prescribe medications without a ridiculous amount of research, but I know how to set bones and how certain chemicals react to certain receptors.”

“So, you know how it works but not how to fix it?”

“I guess so, yeah.” You hear the chair move as he gets to his feet. “I started looking into it the first night you came here, actually, since I never looked into how burns worked until…” he trails off, clears his throat. “Anyway,” he tries again, “ethanol lowers the temperature threshold to body temperature, making the cut burn. It’s also why it’s painful to drink things with a high alcohol content: your receptors register it as if you’re actually being burned.” He pushes your hair off your neck carefully. “Hydrogen peroxide acts similarly, only it activates a different receptor, known as transient receptor potential ankyrin one, and while not as much as known about it, it’s theorized that it acts similarly, resulting in you feeling pain.” Your fingernails dig into your palms again as you suck in air at the burning sensation on your neck. “But it’s important to note that antiseptics are different than disinfectants. Disinfectants are for non-organic surfaces because they contain higher concentrations of biocides than antiseptics.”

You exhale as the pain subsides. “Have you used antiseptics before now?”

“Of course.” You feel him start to place things—they feel like pads—on your back. “But I made sure to account for the differences in skin types, so unless I made a big mistake at some point, the odds of you getting chemical burns is close to zero.”

“Your confidence is very reassuring,” you grin. “By any chance, do you plan on reimbursing the cost of cutting my shirt up?”

“Nah,” he shrugs. “Was planning on having you walk out of here in the middle of fall in NYC without a shirt to make double sure you get hypothermia. As you said, we have to add to your list of injuries.”

“Of course,” you “nod’ knowingly, cracking yourself up. “No pain, no game.”

“Glad to be on the same page.” He sighs. “Honestly, I don’t have a ton of fabric to fix your shirt or jacket, so unless you have some on hand—”

Your response is immediate. “You take my shirt and fix it,” you interrupt. “If one of them is going, it sure as hell ain’t gonna be that fucking jacket.”

He blinks. Your words register after a second.

“I do not mean it in—I mean—” you immediately backpedal. “I’m not—you get what I mean, right?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah, I know what you—yeah.” He is doing absolutely nothing to help the embarrassment. “I got it; i-in hindsight, I probably should have tried taking the jacket off, but I was worried I’d cut your skin up more.”

You press your face into the mattress as you feel what you assume is tape being laid along your sides. “I appreciate it.” A pause. “I don’t actually remember what happened after the main explosion happened. What…”

No response. You feel his knee sink to the bed as he reaches over, applying the adhesive on the other side of your skin quietly.

“I don’t wanna know?”

“Probably not.” His hand presses the creases flat into the curve of your back, sighing again.

You smile nervously. “I made a fool of myself, then?”

“… I wouldn’t say that.” He applied another pad to your neck. “Just—for glass rain, you were pretty calm, I’d say.”

“For glass rain,” you highlight. “Seeing as I don’t remember it, I can’t imagine it was good.”

He removes his hands. “I honestly don’t know why what happened happened,” he admits. “Just know that the guys are probably not going to give you a hard time for it.”

“Probably?” You finally turn your head to look at him.

He shrugs, gently turning your head back. “Mikey, sadly, seems to get it more than we do, so that’s two.”

You lick your lips absentmindedly. “Hey,” you shrug, “I’ll take fifty percent.”

You feel a heavy blanket drape over your back. “I still have to get the glass out of your hair, and I don’t have anything else for you to wear, so this’ll have to do. I won’t look while you adjust it.”

Your eyes strain to check. Sure enough, you watch him turn around and face the opposing wall.

You sit up, pulling the blanket around yourself to save your modesty. “You’re good. Need me to turn around?”

“Uh, yeah.”

You lift yourself, careful of your leg as you reposition yourself to have your back to him. “Thanks for this, if I haven’t said it already.”

“It’s no problem.” Fingers part your hair, tweezers now attached to your scalp. “You should see the stupid injuries I’ve had to help my brothers with.”

“I bet,” you feel yourself grinning. “I’m surprised you guys haven’t torn each other to shreds yet.”

“There have been close calls.” You hear the clinking of the can again. “Especially after getting our hands on weapons when we did. You would not believe the number of concussions we had.”

You put your hands up for dramatic effect. “Madness.”

“You laugh,” he laughs, “but figuring out our anatomy to any degree of accuracy was hard enough. I’m convinced Mikey messed Raph up with his nunchaku when we were ten.”

You let him move your head. “This I gotta hear.”

“Oh, it isn’t a really interesting story,” Donnie clarifies. “He just accidentally hit Raph in the head too hard during training and almost caved in his skull.”

You try not to laugh. “What counts as an interesting story, then?”

“Well,” he contemplates, “there was that time with the oven.”

You turn to look at him the best you can with the limited movement he allowed. “The time with the oven?”

“Wax paper catches fire if you put it in the oven.”

You nod, turning back. “Was it you or Mikey?”

“A bit of both.” Clink. Clink. “I thought wax paper implied paper made of some sort of wax, and Mikey was trying to make decorative candles. The theory,” he continues, clearly trying to make himself not sound stupid, “was that putting it in the oven would get more consistent heat throughout the wax.”

You try to hide your amusement for his sake. “I take it that didn’t pan out.”

“It did not.” He chuckled dryly, combing his fingers through your hair to feel for glass. “Splinter was so mad, I thought we wouldn’t see tomorrow.”

Your fingers clench as his hand catches. “Not so harsh,” you breathe in pain. “You’re gonna rip my hair out.”

“Oh, sorry.” He removed his hand. “I forgot it was—that’s stupid,” he edits. “I’m not used to dealing with hair is what I meant.”

“It’s alright,” you reassure him quickly. “Just try not to tug so hard.”

“I don’t think there’s any glass left anyways, so.” You hear the chair wheel away from the bed. “That probably won’t be a problem.”

You turn around properly, adjusting the blanket over your torso. “Thank you for all your help.”

His eyes flicker downward for a second before staring directly and deliberately at your face. “You’re welcome,” he nods, not moving his eyes. “You were incredibly easy to work with.”

“You made quick work of it.” Your legs cross over another, your worn sneaker matching the color of the concrete floor. “And don’t worry about my shirt; I have to go shopping, anyways.”

He blinks. “Why?”

“Well,” you reason, “My clothes are already kinda worn, and I’ve been meaning to buy leather gloves for a while, so it would give me an excuse to go look for a good pair.”

“Leather gloves?”

You nod. “I was hashing it out with Casey, and he agreed they would look badass and cover up my hand scars.”

“You know,” he suggests, poorly feigning nonchalance, “I could make you some.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I have the know-how, and I’m pretty good with that sort of thing.”

You shake your head immediately, face heating up. “After everything you’ve done for me, I can’t let you do that.”

“Sure you can.” You can practically see the gears turning as he verbally plans it out. “I’d need measurements, of course, and finding good quality leather might be a challenge, but it would allow a lot of stylistic freedom. If you gave me a sketch of what you and Mikey worked out a sketch—”

“Dude, no.” You feel like such a girl, getting flustered over something like this. “Never mind how much unnecessary work that would take—”

“It would take me an afternoon, tops.”

“—it would be way too much trouble to find all the right materials and everything!” You shake your head more vigorously. “You have enough on your plate already.”

He pauses. “What if I could give it a practical use? Like, for self-defense or something. Would you let me then?”

You blink. “Self-defense?”

“Yeah.” You feel as though you are missing something when he hurries to clarify, “You had a knife next to you when I came to pick you up. Having something more user-friendly might—not that you can’t use a knife, but you don’t have a ton of experience with them, especially using a kitchen knife against the Foot and you get what I’m saying, right?”

You hesitate, trying to understand what he said before nodding. “I guess that makes sense,” you concede. “It would be shitty to go out like a bitch after convincing myself I deserve to live so many times. That would be kinda inconvenient.”

Despite the fact he looks like you just put a knife to your throat, he nods. “Yeah,” he confirms tentatively. “Inconvenient.”

You shift the blanket under your arms, folding it so that it would stay at your chest. “Alright,” you sigh, “You convinced me. But!” You aim to accentuate this caveat, “But, not my design. If you’re going to go through all the trouble, you design it to how you think they would look cool, so you feel good about what you’re making.”

“You trust me to not make you look bad?”

“Totally.” You smile. “Looking at the Shellraiser makes me want to vomit, but it’s not from lack of style.”

He blinks. “What?”

“Exactly what I said,” you commit.

Your statement makes him take pause, but, eventually, he seems to get what you mean. “Then… thanks,” he nods. “I should probably fix your jacket first, though. Unless you want to walk around New York in the middle of the night in a blanket.”

“I’d rather not,” you admit. “I feel like that would not be my greatest move.”

He gets up. “Are you alright to be left alone? It’s alright if you aren’t,” he clarifies, “but I’d have to shift the timetable a bit if that’s the case.”

You blink, confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“No reason.” He is lying, you are sure. “Just wanted to check before I told the guys I was good to go.”

Something about that statement seems strange to you. “Wait,” you clarify, “why would you go on another mission tonight?”

He averts eye contact.

You lean forward. “How long have I been weird?”

“Not too long, I don’t think. You were out when I got there.”

You reach over, forcing him to look at you head-on. “Are you lying to me?”

He does not answer.

“Has more than a day passed?”

He shakes his head. “It’s only about seven.”

You let go, resting your face in your hands. “so, I’ve been out for, what, sixteen hours?”

“Kinda.” He fiddles with his hands nervously. “A little less, I think.”

“And how long have I been out of it?”

He takes a moment. “You were crying a lot when you woke up,” he concedes. “At about two in the afternoon. I think you cried yourself out, because when I came to check on you—I thought maybe water would help— you were out.”

“Wonderful.” You look up at him. “And was it loud?”

“Not really.” He looks as though he was being interrogated. “I wouldn’t have come, but I left something in here that I needed.” His voice is back to being soft and calm. “You were mumbling about your hands a lot. I actually tied you up,” he chuckles nervously, “because you were moving around so much and getting the shards farther into your back.”

You sigh, something in your stomach sinking. “Probably not a terrible move. Then what?”

“When you started getting normal again,” he continues, “I untied you and got you to stop moving when I started taking the glass out, and I’m guessing you remember the rest.”

You do not say anything.

He stares intently at a corner. “I know this might come off as rude,” he starts carefully, “and I don’t mean to be rude…”

“Spit it out,” you gesture. “Let’s just… what’s up?”

“I honestly do not know enough about this sort of thing to help you.” He looks back at you. “I wish I did, really, but I don’t. I don’t know how you’re wired, mentally, and it’s really not an area I can help you with.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“But I do know,” he continues, “it has to be hard, trying to find help, given the circumstances, especially after everything that’s happened.”

“Please,” you almost beg, “just get to the point.”

“I think it would be a good idea to start spending more time with Master Splinter.” He looks down at his hands. “I think, given that he knows more about this sort of thing than I do, it would be good for you.”

“So, you’re prescribing therapy?”

“I’m not saying you’re crazy—”

“That’s not what I asked.”

The silence is choking you.

“I don’t know if you have a disorder,” he sighs. “Again, not my area of expertise.” He tries to phrase what he means right, and the next few sentences come out slow and deliberate. “All I know is that the people you’ve known your whole life aren’t around anymore, and you’re having really bad nightmares, and that you freeze up when you get really scared. I don’t want you to suffer on our account.”

You stare down at your feet.

“If not because you’re worried about it,” he tries at a different angle, “would you do it as payment for the gloves? That way, it’s not a handout.”

You smile at that. “Hand out.”

It takes a second. “Pun not intended,” he sighs. “I kinda wish it was, now.”

You look up. “I’ll talk to him while you guys are gone on your mission tonight.”

“Thank you,” he breathes. “I appreciate it, really.”

You smile properly. “Hey,” you say, adjusting the blanket. “You take glass shards out of my back and I scratch yours, or something like that.”

He chuckles. “I should probably go let the guys know,” he gets to his feet. “If you want,” he offers, “you can come with.”

“I’ll take a raincheck.” You get up after him, vision blacking out for a moment as you grab the wall for support. “But I can help you grab all your stuff to move out, if you need.”

His eyes go wide. “You don’t have clothes,” he reminds you.

You almost roll your eyes at this particular concern. “Covers more than a bathing suit,” you reason. “I’ll be careful about making sure it doesn’t slip, I promise.”

“But what if it does?”

“Then they should take a picture of the only pair of tits they’ll ever see in person.” You start to hobble towards the door. “I’ve dealt with worse wardrobe malfunctions. I’ll be fine, really.”

“Your flippancy is incredibly concerning.”

You try not to laugh. You look back at him, grin. “Concerning? Me?” You bring a hand to your chest. “I’m offended, sir. Besides,” You giggle, “I need to have a chat with your brothers if that episode is today.”

--

The look on his face immediately validates your decision. “Could you run that by me again?”

You wrap an arm around his shoulders, hand traveling across the open air as if to reveal your statement. “Cockroach. Terminator.”

“Okay, I’m going to need you to give me more explanation again.”

A sharp grin spreads across your features. “Imagine this,” you explain smoothly. “A giant cockroach—“

“Hate it.”

“— that is also a cyborg—“

“Hating it more.”

“— complete with near invincibility—“

“Sounds like my worst nightmare.”

“— with saws.”

“And it is.” Raphael removes your arm from his shoulders. “I’m sold. No more of that.”

“So,” you confirm, leaning back against the wall, “what is everyone not going to do?”

“I dunno,” Mikey admits easily. “I was too busy watching the horror settle on my brother’s face.”

“I’m not horrified—” he protests.

“You are.”

“Am not!”

“Am too!”

“As a neutral bystander,” Leo pipes up, trying not to openly laugh, “yes, you are.”

You keep your eyes focused on Raphael and not the car. “Look,” you cut in, “are you gonna let him do his job or nah?”

“I’m not promi—“

“The hell you ain’t” He shot a furious look at his younger brother. “You best not breathe on Donnie before the roach is back in the car and as far away from that fuckin’ ooze as possible!”

“Reassuring,” you nod. “Good.”

“If you’re so worried about Donnie messing up,” Leo suggests, “why don’t you use the remote control? You’ve watched him work with it before, right?”

You scoff. “I’d rather chop off my hands with a dull knife than get in the death mobile.”

The other two brothers antagonize each other. “It’s not that bad.”

“Isn’t it, though?” You cross your arms, a sick feeling sinking into your stomach at the thought. “Never mind the fact the lead engineer is a teenage boy, or that it’s made of the finest trash, but it’s also a moving, mechanical vehicle driven by another— and I mean this with the utmost respect— rowdy hormonal teenager.”

“Hey,” he protests, “that’s not true.”

“Karai.”

His face heats up. “It was a mistake that I’ve already owned up to.”

You put your hands up. “Look, man,” you clarify, smiling as the crisis is thoroughly averted, “I don’t blame you. Karai isn’t exactly a dime a dozen, and we can all agree she is an extremely formidable fighter who can thoroughly kick your ass.”

Donnie is getting a run for his money with this blush. “What does— she cannot,” he stammers, “and even if she could—“

“Oh, do not even,” you tease. “We all know that her being a formidable opponent who knows every weapon in her arsenal like the back of her hand and uses them well has something to do with why you like her so much. Raph’s the same way.”

Speak of the devil. “What’d you say?”

“You have a thing for strong women who can probably kick your ass.”

He seems to consider this for a minute. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

“Cool. Anyways.” You turn your attention back to Leo. “The point is, as someone who is also into people who can kick my ass— literally or academically— I get the appeal. Also,” you add, grinning like a moron, “her eyeliner game is on point, which doesn’t hurt.”

He blinks. “Do you like Karai?”

“Absolutely. One hundred and ten percent.” You shrug. “She’s badass.”

“More so than Donnie?”

“Are you guys ever going to get in or are you guys just going to stand out there all night?” Donnie pokes his head out of the vehicle. “We’re losing darkness.”

'Saved by the bell.' “Point is,” you say quickly, “I don’t want in that thing. Couldn’t pay me.”

“Leo! Hurry up!”

“Comin’!” He climbs into the Shellraiser, wheels spinning as the team drove off and out of the lair.

You close your eyes.

You do not want to go to Hamato Yoshi for therapy. You will bet money it does not go well.

‘You promised, though. Might as well have, anyways. Did you promise?’

Your morals and ideologies completely clash.

‘Ninjas aren’t all rendered insane. They have to be doing something right, in theory.’

You use the wall for support, already knowing the walk home is going to suck as you limp towards the dojo.

Table of Contents

Chapter 12

Chapter 14

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 25: Yian Kut-Ku, the Strange Bird

Of all the monsters I’ve talked about so far, I think Khezu is the most popular one due to how much it differs from standard Monster Hunter fare. But Khezu doesn’t have a “holiday” named after it, so I think this next monster beats it out. Let’s talk about Yian Kut-Ku!

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Freedom 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Online)

Appearance: Yian Kut-Ku is a Bird Wyvern, like Gypceros and the dromaeosaurs. I can’t tell what kinda bird has a beak like that, but it reminds me of the shoebill, though obviously their bills are longer. Besides the beak, the most distinct feature Yian Kut-Ku has is the pair of frill-like ears it’s fanning out. According to the wiki, those ears point up like that when it’s angered, so most of the time they’re bent back. It also has big claws on its wings, which have a blue membrane that already earns it points in my book. Other than that, it’s a basic wyvern, but I mentioned that it had a “holiday,” so I’ll elaborate on that here. See, Yian Kut-Ku’s Japanese name is Iyankukku, or イャンクック.  クック is the “kukku” portion, and the word for 9 in Japanese is ku, or  ク. So September 9th, or 9/9, is ku ku, and since Monster Hunter’s so big in Japan, 9/9 became Yian Kut-Ku day. In other words, it’s a pun. Gotta love the Japanese. Back to the appearance, well, like I said, it’s got a basic wyvern body type. The head’s the only thing different about it, but there doesn’t really need to be anything too different, so it’s kinda in the middle for me. 5/10.

Behavior: Yian Kut-Ku mostly live in forests and the like, though they occasionally go to volcanoes to feed on coal...SURE. Okay, the coal’s used as fuel for their flame sacs, while their actual diet consists mainly of honey, nuts, and insects, primarily Neopterons. They try not to get into fights with anything bigger, though, as they’re pretty easy to rattle. If they run into a predator, they’ll try to make themselves look bigger by fanning out their ears, stretching their wings, and making a lot of noise. Considering the monsters that prey on them, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if this doesn’t work a lot, which is why the main Yian Kut-Ku strategy for dealing with threats is “book it.” They get into territorial conflicts with their cousins, the Yian Garuga, which like to play cuckoo bird and lay their eggs in Yian Kut-Ku nests. Speaking of eggs, female Yian Kut-Ku grow feathers on their undersides during breeding season to help them incubate eggs. This breeding season is dependent on the weather, so if the weather in their territory is stable year-round, the breeding season will be that long, too. Once the eggs hatch, the chicks are fed insects and honey until a certain age, at which point they, uh...hm. The wiki doesn’t say what happens next. Well, that’s a let-down.

Honestly, Yian Kut-Ku just seem to be giant birds in terms of their behavior, which is fitting, I guess, but the most interesting thing about them is that they sometimes eat coal. I get that I shouldn’t expect every monster in this series to act totally unlike any animal in our world, but basic bird behavior isn’t that interesting to me. 4/10.

Abilities: Obviously, Yian Kut-Ku can fly, but like almost every flying monster I’ve gone over, they’re not that great at it compared to some other wyverns. They’re still decent fliers, but they do their best battling on the ground, where they can propel themselves backwards with their wings by creating buffeting winds, which kick up a lot of dust and stun (not the status condition) opponents. They use their tough beaks to bash hunters, but they’re best known for spitting fireballs, which are effective at killing small and weak prey/predators, but not very good at killing bigger and badder opponents.

Now, Yian Kut-Ku are pretty basic, but they kinda have to be for how early on you fight them in the first game. Which brings up something you might have been wondering: “why is Yian Kut-Ku so popular?” Well, according to the Twitch streamer I brought up in the Khezu review, Yian Kut-Ku is memorable for those who got into the series with the very first game because of how difficult it is to kill when you first fight it. At that point in the game, the only Main Monster you’ve killed is a Velocidrome, which has no ranged attacks and stays on the ground. But Yian Kut-Ku can fly and spit fireballs, and you have no experience dealing with something like that. As a result, Yian Kut-Ku is the first “wall” in Monster Hunter; the first major obstacle to progress new players face. Because of that, this normally “meh” monster is a lot more memorable to old-time fans.

Now, obviously, I’ve never played the first Monster Hunter game, or even seen any footage of it, but I can respect the legacy behind Yian Kut-Ku’s first battle, so even though the abilities themselves are only “okay,” I’ll be generous here and give it a 6/10.

Equipment: Yian Kut-Ku weapons are what you’d expect; they’re comical because they bear the monster’s design. For an example, here’s a pair of Dual Blades called Twin Kut-Ku:

Awww, they look so happy together. And derpy, but that’s just how Kut-Ku do. But now we get grumpy with the Light Bowgun called Kut-Ku Anger:

I can’t tell if it’s angry or not, but it’s certainly Kut-Ku. Now, most of the weapons are this silly, but there’s one more that I want to highlight: this Great Sword called the Chick Decapitator:

First off, this thing looks fleshy and gross. Second off, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, CAPCOM!? “CHICK DECAPITATOR!?” Are we playing Monster Hunter or “Can Your Pet?” Let’s...let’s just go to the armor now. This is the Blademaster set from Monster Hunter Freedom Unite:

Yeah, this looks about right. Like you’re wearing samurai armor made of spam. Props on giving the girl an actual helmet, though. Not a lot of armor sets do that. I don’t get what that blue rope on the male set’s supposed to do; I mean, I get it, it’s holding up what I assume to be a flap made of the Yian Kut-Ku’s ears, I just don’t know why it’s there. Is it meant to be a loincloth? Why does the guy wearing the armor need one? And why is the rope blue for him, but the little bits of rope on the girl’s armor are dark red? How many licks does it take to get to the end of these questions? Oh, we’re there? Okay then.

The Yian Kut-Ku equipment is fine. Most of the weapons are funny, but again, spam armor and Chick Decapitator. I’ll give this a 6/10.

Final Thoughts and Tally: Seems like a lot of Yian Kut-Ku’s appeal is lost on me, ‘cause I just think it’s average. I guess there’s a bigger difference between knowing its legacy and being a part of it than I thought. Alas, if you gave me the first Monster Hunter game when it was new in the states, then, well, I’d probably suck at it and grow up hating Yian Kut-Ku for stopping me from enjoying the game. Can’t win ‘em all, buddy. 5/10.

[dimpledpran]

#ShowYourProcess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Thank you for the tag @fengqing ! It was very interesting to read through your process! Also huge thanks and special mentions to @lan-xichens  @suibianjie @highwarlockkareena @nyx4 @aheartfullofjolllly for coming up with this awesome idea! It is a great way to show exactly how much work goes into making gifs.

I was tagged to show my process for this post that I made for Wen Ning’s birthday. To date, this is the post that I spent the most time on, also because this has the most gifs in a single post. The date stamp shows 7 days between the first scene saved and the last gif exported. Mainly because it was a busy time and I only had time to work on one gif in a day. This is why i started early as well.

Oh and I use Vapoursynth (tutorial) and Adobe Photoshop 2021 (Paid subscription).

1. Planning

I try to plan as much as I can, but it always ends up that my final versions are never 100% what I started out to do. I saw this poem on a uquiz, and thought it was very apt for Wen Ning and decided to use it for his birthday edit. I was still not sure if I wanted to use the whole poem or just 2 stanzas, so I decided to pull as many scenes as possible. I then spent a Saturday fast-forwarding through all the episodes to find scenes that focussed on WN, and saving them. 

So this is my mess of a folder once I saved the scenes. I usually save them by which gif I would use them for (1.1 would be Stanza 1, 1st half, and so on), and there some extras in case they don’t work well with the gif or I did not like how it looked. My initial plan was to leave the last stanza as the caption, and so the scenes for those were only saved much later compared to the rest. One of the lessons I learnt while making this was to plan better in terms of the size. Initially I cropped the video to focus on WN, but then I realised that I needed a wider gif (540px) if I wanted to use it as a Base for my gif. So I had to go and re-save some scenes or find alternative ones. I also planned out which word from each line I want highlighted, so that I could choose scenes that were more apt for it.

2. Creating

So I knew I wanted something dark, and probably B&W. But everything else was just me tinkering with buttons and adding effects until I was happy. Since I did not save the same number of frames for the scenes, I always import the scene, make it into a smart object and then choose which 2-3sec portion of it I want for my gif. Sometimes I also do cheat by changing the duration of each frame if I want it to be longer or shorter. I do not know what else to say here as what I did differed even for the gifs within this post. Some had to be edited more to get the colouring to match better, and some seemed alright with minimal adjusting. (Now I know that it could all have been edited better). I just realised that I didn’t even use the B&W filter and just adjusted with Hue/Saturation. 

For some gifs, such as 1.1, 2.2 and 3.2, I thought the initial gifs were a bit too plain and missing something, so I added the smoke overlay (on the left half of the right column of images) to give a darker feel. It might not very obvious, but it was bugging me a little that things were empty.

After I am somewhat satisfied with how the gifs look, I save them for web and see how they look together.100% of the time, I am still not totally happy with how things look, so I go back to PS and edit either the colouring or add in certain stuff. In this case I realised I wanted a gradient from B&W to bright colour for the last two gifs (idk how well it came through). So cos of such habits, I always have numerous files saved for one gif.

3. Posting 

Once I am finally satisfied with how everything looks, I type out my caption and save it in my drafts. I come back the next day to make sure I am happy with it, and then I immediately schedule/post it. Otherwise the more I look at it, the more issues I would find with it and it will never get posted. 

So that is the process. I did not expect it to get so long and wordy. 

TLDR; I am a mess with this and I do not have any idea what I am doing. I just click buttons and hope they turn out alright.

I would like to tag:

@suibianjie for this amazing set

@cloudylotus for this gorgeous set! 

@sarawatsaraleo for this set (love the colouring here!!!)

@zuyilong for this really cool  and interesting edit! 

@wuxxxian for this stunning art 

@surii for this beautiful set 

@claudiablack for this gorgeous set or this

@blinkplnk for this beautiful set or this interesting edit

@bluelightsaber for this cool edit 

@eyupdaisy​ for this cool edit 

No pressure at all to do this if you do not want to or have already done one before! Can’t wait to see your process if you choose to do it! :)

[oceandetail06]

Next Year Innovative developments by Apple

Apple is considered to be the most innovative company in the world at present. It’s the business to which nearly all others search for guidance. When ever Apple reveals a forward thinking new design language or launches a new product, it generates ripples throughout the marketplace. Suddenly, the whole industry is crafting items in Apple’s look and feel. Nevertheless to state Apple is merely a trend-setter understates the organization’s position as arguably the figurehead of invention in customer technology. Apple isn’t just setting technology trends; Apple’s vision units precedents and starts movements that allow the developments to exist to begin with. As wonderful since it must feel to be Apple in this scenario - and as humbling as it must experience to be the many businesses copying Apple at every change - it’s not absolutely all sunshine and rainbows. Most people can claw the right path to the top of a mountain, but there’s not a lot of stable surface up there. One incorrect step and your toppling back down the mountain, undoing years of the hard work needed to get right up there. I actually don’t want to lower price Apple’s successes in 2018: Apple Pencil program for ipad tablet was a beautiful addition; iOS 12 has provided new life to iPhones as old as the 5S; Apple Watch Series 4 generally is conserving lives; and that’s just a few highlights. Looking back, though, 2018 was a fairly tough year for Apple as certain missteps ended up impacting the company’s bottom line. Among Apple’s most questionable moves in 2018, there’s one I wanted to identify for an important reason: Without second-generation iPhone SE around the corner, it seems Apple has exited the budget flagship market. In fact, I will consider it one step further: I’m certain Apple won’t be delivering any more budget iPhones, and here’s why. Apple’s products portfolio is varied. The business generates revenue from services like iTunes and Apple Music to accessories like AirPods and the Magic Key pad, from home entertainment gadgets like Apple TV 4K to personal processing devices just like the MacBook Pro. Nevertheless product sales for most of these are not that impressive (though Apple’s income unquestionably are). It is definitely the iPhone that accounts for the majority of Apple’s income. Since its debut in 2007, iPhone has pushed Apple’s income to such incredible heights that the business has become the first trillion-dollar firm ever sold. With so a lot of Apple’s revenue riding on the game-changing device, you can wager there would be a significant drop in Apple’s income if people beginning buying less iPhones. And that’s precisely what we’re discovering. After a modest 4th quarter, income for Q12019 - which, to be very clear, is made up of October, November, and December, covering the vacation shopping season - was much lower than Apple actually expected. With the cost of fresh iPhones rising, income would’ve increased also if unit sales experienced only remained constant, but there have been fewer iPhone units sold during the period. The implication is normally that demand offers waned, or it’s feasible there wasn’t very much demand for Apple’s costly new iPhones to begin with. The earliest indicator of trouble was in 2017, the year iPhone X premiered. At a starting price 50 percent greater than the prior year’s baseline model, iPhone X unit sales were reportedly flat although Apple’s income increased. How? Because even though Apple sold approximately the same quantity of products as the year before, the common cost of an iPhone had elevated. When you sell the same number of products but tag up the price, you still visit a bump in revenue. Of course, it’s not just the iPhone that’s gotten more expensive. Apple has elevated selling prices across virtually all of the company’s portfolio. But with the iPhone driving revenue, the implication is this: Whenever iPhone sales and profits remain flat or start to fall, Apple will need to keep raising the price of the iPhone every year to maintain year-over-year income gains. As you can plainly see, it’s not really a coincidence Apple has decided to stop reporting iPhone unit sales publicly. Actually if 2017 was an outlier, the release of new iPhones in the fall is meant to give Apple a shot of income adrenaline in the final stretch, enabling for a solid finish as the business crosses the economic finish line. But also for the second yr in a row, that did not happen. Doesn’t it appear possible, if not likely, that increasing the costs for brand-new iPhones has led to lower demand? In regards to a week ago, Apple CEO sent a document to shareholders. You can browse the document for yourself on Apple’s webpage, but it warns traders that Apple’s 1Q2019 revenue will be $9 billion less than was originally projected. The letter mainly blames China’s overall economy for almost all the year-over-year iPhone income decline while also indicating that individuals remain adapting to the termination of carrier financial assistance. In a recent interview Cook explained many of the same reasons to describe lower-than-anticipated iPhone sales. Beyond slowed development in developing marketplaces and the lack of subsidized pricing through carriers, Cook pointed to iOS 12 and the $29 battery substitute plan seeing that having encouraged users to hold their old iPhones rather than ordering new ones. As you may recall, Apple launched the battery alternative program in late 2017 in wish of masking the stench of the battery controversy, which had garnered allegations of designed obsolescence. According to Cook, many with old iPhones didn't upgrade since they could get brand-new batteries for inexpensive. This would take away the efficiency caps that Apple got imposed to them, restoring their iPhones to their previous glory, especially when paired with iOS 12. In fact, Apple visited lengths to ensure that iOS 12 would make older iPhones faster, so Cook is likely right in hoping the electric battery substitute program and iOS 12 factored in to the weaker sales of 2018 iPhones. Nevertheless, Cook mentioned that complicated trade relations between the US and China was eventually the biggest factor. China represents a huge amount of untapped sales prospect of Apple, so there’s most likely some truth to that, too. You can view the full interview in the video below if you want to hear more of what Cook has to say about it. In the mean time, critics and analysts possess suggested poor iPhone sales are a indication of marketplace saturation; at this stage, most people who would like an iPhone already have one, and that’s a hard hurdle to overcome, specifically with buyers modernizing much less frequently. It’s even certainly possible that Apple valued the 2018 iPhones from the developing markets the company claims to be targeting. After all, if you reside in China and need it a new smartphone, are you going to buy an iPhone XS for $1,000 (¥6800) or more, or are you going to get the most recent Vivo or Xiaomi Android smartphone that’s produced locally and can do essentially nearly anything iPhone XS can do at a portion of the price? And in addition, Cook largely sidestepped this issue of ballooning iPhone prices - an obstacle that we have found across the majority of Apple’s products for that matter - which has been among the primary criticisms of latest iPhones. Latest Asking Price Increases Price boosts for the iPhone used to end up being pretty rare. In fact, after carriers stopped offering subsidized prices on smartphones, forcing us to start paying complete MSRP if we wished to buy brand-new iPhones, we're able to at least count on a constant starting price from calendar year to year. That starting cost used to be $649. With the launch of iPhone 8 in 2017, it leapt to $699, a unsatisfying increase, but it was not too surprising. It had been only a $50 increase after generations of a constant price, a lot of people gave Apple a pass. And, actually at the higher price, iPhone 8 seemed really cheap compared to the $999 price tag on the brand new iPhone X. However apparently, the purchase price increase for iPhone 7 set a precedent because in 2018, the price jumped again. Matching the enhance from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8, the 2018 iPhone lineup began at $749 for iPhone XR. You may argue that iPhone XR is a much better device than iPhone 7 and justifies the excess $100, but value is subjective. While some might say iPhone XR will probably be worth its $749 starting price, especially compared to Apple’s more premium models, many customers will fixate on how each new era of iPhone is more costly than the one before. And at this time, can you blame them? To make matters worse yet, as iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR were being unveiled in stage during Apple’s fall 2018 event, iPhone SE was being discontinued. So not only are iPhones getting a lot more expensive, but Apple has now eliminated the only budget option we had. So if you’re looking to get a fresh iPhone in 2019, there’s very little choice anymore. Buyers are mainly having to simply accept Apple’s higher beginning price in the absence of a true budget iPhone. Naturally, consumers and critics as well are getting more vocal within their demands an iPhone SE successor. Overwhelming Unforeseen Value Apple revealed the iPhone SE , which means Particular Edition, in March 2016 at a particular spring event. Both for consumers and the industry at large, iPhone SE was a very un-Apple device for Apple to release. The iPhone 6 had simply jumped in proportions and received a completely new style from the previous generation. Then iPhone SE was released, featuring a smaller, compact type with its design virtually indistinguishable from the previous-generation iPhone 5. Even more surprising was the fact that iPhone SE remarkably featured the majority of Apple’s up-to-date, front runner-level technologies in spite of the reduced starting price; for $399, you got the same custom A9 processor as iPhone 6S in addition to a 12 MP camera with 4K video recording and a bigger battery. In fact, the just significant compromises were the lack of 3D Touch and the usage of first-generation TouchID instead of the faster second generation. But, again, considering its low starting price (which eventually settled to $349), the iPhone SE provided uncharacteristically great value for a product made by Apple. The challenge was that iPhone SE didn’t turn into a top-selling iPhone. In the course of its lifetime, its defining characteristic was that it provided an affordable point of access to the iOS ecosystem although it eventually gained relatively of a cult pursuing among particular Apple fans. Obviously, after iPhone SE had been the baseline of the iPhone lineup for two years, potential customers were prepared for the customary refresh. Though iPhone SE offered an excellent cost-to-performance relation in 2016, a refresh would connect the overall performance gap that developed as iPhone SE’s A9 processor chip was succeeded and replaced, first by the A10 Fusion chip in iPhone 7, on the other hand by the A11 Bionic in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X . Patiently Waiting for Apple's Latest Launches Affirmed, we heard that Apple was working on a fresh version of the spending budget iPhone. Details varied, but the iPhone SE successor - alleged to be called possibly iPhone SE 2 or iPhone X SE (with suffix and modifiers very carefully arranged)- appeared to have the same purpose as the initial, which was to become a compact, low-cost iPhone offering great performance and most of the latest features. Much of the disagreement encircling the naming theme for the iPhone SE 2 was due to unclear stories concerning whether the gadget might retain its iPhone 5-era style or whether it could embrace the new iPhone X visual. Some insisted (or possibly hoped?) iPhone SE 2 would appear to be an iPhone X from the front with a almost bezel-less, edge-to-edge display. These stories were mainly informed by supposed styles for display protectors and cases; if legitimate, the implication was that iPhone SE 2 would have a bezel-much less, notched display equivalent to iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Of training course, the notch would become among the defining characteristics for 2018 cell phones overall as its was imitated by almost every smartphone manufacturer following the iPhone X debuted in late 2017; nevertheless, for Apple’s purposes, the notch just exists to house biometric sensors for Apple’s proprietary FaceID. Therefore the implication was that iPhone SE 2 would feature FaceID although the high price of FaceID components made it an unlikely inclusion in virtually any budget iPhone. Following these reports, renders were made to show how the device might appear if it turned out to be real. Assuming the case styles and resulting renders were accurate, iPhone SE 2 would’ve been a truly fascinating gadget, the lovechild of the bygone iPhone 5 and the more futuristic iPhone X. Provided Apple could keep creation costs and, by extension, the MSRP down, iPhone SE 2 could’ve easily outsold the original iPhone SE, possibly learning to be a top seller like the original iPhone SE never could. These weren’t simply the pipe dreams of iPhone SE enthusiasts and anyone who wanted cheaper iPhones; reviews from Apple’s own suppliers all but confirmed programs for iPhone SE 2, supplying estimates for possible production schedules and ship dates. In early August 2017, Wistron Corp. - a low-volume manufacturer located in Taiwan that Apple recruits when iPhone demand can be high - was working on expanding its creation base to accommodate a fresh compact Apple smartphone, which many presumed to end up being an updated iPhone SE. After that came a tentative ship day: In late November 2017, Economic Daily News in Taiwan reported Apple had been eyeing a release date in the first half of 2018 for the iPhone SE 2, which would’ve been consistent with the spring release of the initial iPhone SE. January 2018 brought another report of iPhone SE 2 launching in 2018. Shortly thereafter, there was a rumor iPhone SE 2 would include a glass back panel, suggesting the addition of the wireless charging features that the iPhone has had since 2017. Just as rumors pointed to Apple gearing up for the release of a next-generation iPhone SE, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities who is known for predicting Apple’s products with uncanny accuracy, planted among the 1st seeds of doubt. In late January 2018, Kuo reported iPhone SE 2 had hardly any chance of being released because Apple had exhausted its assets on the three flagship versions to be released in 2018. Of course, those three models finished up being iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Nevertheless, rumors persisted - though at a slower pace - in spite of Kuo’s doubt. For instance, there have been specifications and other information on the iPhone SE 2 reported in April 2018. Relating to these leaks, Apple intended to keep creation costs (and, by expansion, the eventual retail price) down by omitting the 3.5mm headphone jack and using iPhone 7’s A10 Fusion chip rather than the A11 Bionic chip found in iPhone 8 and iPhone X. For all intents and reasons, the axe was decisively dropped in July 2018 as BlueFin Research told MacRumors that Apple had nixed all programs to proceed with iPhone SE 2. We’ll probably never know for sure whether iPhone SE 2 was ever actually in the pipeline; however, also if it was planned originally, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get an iPhone SE 2 at all. It’s been four a few months since the release of the 2018 iPhones, an event that coincided with iPhone SE being removed from Apple’s lineup, which, in and of itself, allegedly happened because Apple retired its A9 processor chip. So aside from Apple quickly unloading the last iPhone SE units at a discounted $249 price, which took only 24 hours, iPhone SE is gone from Apple’s catalog, and anyone waiting for a next-generation iPhone SE has little cause for hope. In the event that you ask me, the composing is on the wall structure: Apple won’t be making another budget iPhone. No More Budget iPhone? Spending budget smartphones, or smartphones that price roughly $300 or less, are pretty common today. In some cases, these budget devices offer great value for your money. Some of the more recent notable examples include the Moto G6 for $240, LG Stylo 4 for $250, Huawei Mate 20 Lite for $290, and, of course, the amazing Pocophone F1 for $299. If you have a tad more to spend, you can find a used or refurbished Samsung Galaxy S8 for barely over $300. Or you may get the new Nokia 7.1, an Android One gadget with the design and nearly all of the features that top-shelf Android flagships possess for the discount price of $350. I’m not sure where in fact the phrase originated, but I completely agree: “Good cell phones are receiving cheap, and cheap mobile phones are getting good.” Of program, you might’ve noticed that the smartphones mentioned above are Android smartphones. How about iPhones? When carriers did aside with subsidizing smartphones, we had to start paying full retail cost for new smartphones. So Apple’s decision to create the iPhone SE was extremely timely: Instead of paying $649 or more, you could buy an iPhone for under $400 without producing a huge amount of compromises. Suddenly, individuals who favored iOS to Android had their personal Pocophone. From September 2016 to its discontinuation in September 2018, iPhone SE was never a top-selling iPhones. Even at its peak, iPhone SE hardly ever accounted for more than 11 percent of iPhone sales as the third-best-selling iPhone, and only by a thin margin. Meanwhile, both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus almost tripled the product sales of iPhone SE during that period, accounting for 28.5 percent and 29.5 percent of iPhone sales, respectively. After September 2017, iPhone SE sales dropped substantially, remaining somewhere within 5.5 percent and 8 percent until the device was taken in fall 2018. Suppose you’re Tim Cook seeking at these numbers. Everybody has been asking for a second-generation budget iPhone, but sales numbers display that whenever a lower-cost option is available, the majority of customers keep buying the more expensive iPhones. If customers are willing to pay even more for high-end iPhones, does it make sense to make a cheaper device that, at best, no more than one in ten customers will be interested in buying? With some context, positioning the iPhone more as a luxury item starts to create sense. Like voting on a ballot, Apple’s consumers have already been casting their votes on higher-end iPhones, therefore we can’t actually blame Apple for leaving budget smartphones that do not sell well. If you’re miffed about the loss of life of iPhone SE 2, there are, actually, cheaper iPhones available for individuals on a budget. But you’re not going to discover them in retail stores. Current Market Conditions Apple gave customers the lower-cost iPhone they’d long been asking for, but most of them decided not to buy it. So if you’re Apple, do you produce a second era knowing the first era didn’t sell well, or perform you ditch the budget-iPhone idea altogether? It seems Apple chose the latter. However, it doesn’t eliminate from the actual fact that spending budget iPhones are already available, not to mention plentiful. Specifically, I’m talking about used iPhones on the market. The gray market refers to the investing of used iPhones on the secondhand marketplace. It’s comprised of the countless people selling their utilized gadgets after upgrading, which essentially creates an unofficial marketplace of budget iPhones. Therefore all those listings for iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, and iPhone 8 on eBay, the Amazon Marketplace, providers like Swappa, and yard-sale applications like LetGo are the gray market for iPhones. Apple doesn’t have to spend money on R&D, sourcing parts, production, and distribution for a budget iPhone because we curently have access to all the discounted iPhones we're able to ever want in the secondhand market. And every year when new iPhones are released, millions more iPhones will revitalize the secondhand marketplace as users who upgrade to brand-new iPhones sell their old ones. Plus, any post-2016 iPhone models in the gray market could have better specifications than iPhone SE, and some of these used iPhones would be cheaper than investing in a new iPhone SE from Apple for $349. Basically, Apple doesn’t have to sell a budget iPhone since the current-generation iPhones purchased at complete retail cost today become budget iPhones as consumers utilize them and eventually sell them to on the gray market if they upgrade. And even more devices are shown on the gray marketplace every day, so as long as Apple is offering smartphones, the gray market is a renewable resource for budget iPhones. Of training course, the gray market isn’t the only method to get an iPhone on the inexpensive. Depending about how you consider it, Apple actually offers new spending budget iPhone options every year. With the state unveiling of new iPhones each year, the MSRP of each preceding generation still in creation is decreased. For example, when iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X were announced in the fall of 2017, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus became previous-generation products, which warranted price cuts.

The iPhone SE was still in production when iPhone 7 got its lessen price, so if you wanted a fresh iPhone but didn’t want to invest $699 or more for iPhone 8 or iPhone X, you could choose iPhone SE from $349, iPhone 6S from $449, or iPhone 7 from $549. Though $349 isn’t exactly chump change, it’s certainly more palatable than iPhone X’s thousand-dollar starting price. With iPhone SE discontinued, the least expensive iPhone available is iPhone 7 for $449, meaning the cheapest iPhone available today is $100 a lot more than last year. To be fair, iPhone 7 was a great device at release, and it’s still a compelling option today, specifically for the price. Though it was divisive as Apple’s 1st iPhone without the apparently requisite 3.5mm headphone jack, iPhone 7 is otherwise a full-presented flagship. But if you’re searching for a new iPhone on a spending budget, which would you rather buy: a 2016 iPhone for $449 or an iPhone SE 2 with the latest A12 Bionic processor chip for $100 less? Regarding iPhone SE 2 not materializing, maybe knowing what could’ve been is what makes this thus disappointing for some. Even though the info suggests a restricted audience for spending budget iPhones, there will always be situations in which a low-cost iPhone with current-generation efficiency hits the sweet spot. Where Should Apple Go From Here? It’s a great time to become a lover of tech, particularly cell tech as spending budget and mid-range flagships are slaying in the Android smartphone market. Though priced higher than a $349 iPhone, the OnePlus 6T is usually a primary example of how exactly to offer flagship-level specs, design, and performance at a reduced cost. For better or worse, Apple appears to have evacuated the budget smartphone sector after just one single attempt. Granted, Apple hasn't actually catered to budget-minded customers with almost all the company’s equipment starting at $1,000 or more and a shrinking amount of products, like iPods and iPads, priced lower than that. That is why it was so unusual for Apple to make a budget iPhone to begin with. The problem is that it seems Apple is now trying to close a door that probably the business never should’ve opened to begin with. After all, when you’re offering this inexpensive iPhone on the lineup, all of the flagship iPhones seem that a lot more expensive by comparison. Whether or not there’s a fresh iPhone SE in the future, the prices attached to Apple’s products are climbing. In many markets, Apple is coming dangerously close to pricing the iPhone as well as most of Apple’s other items out of reach. For customers who can’t (or don’t need to) pay such exorbitant prices, the actual fact that Apple offered inexpensive options previously but no longer offers those options now will undoubtedly leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, nearly like biting into a rotten apple. Honestly, I hope I’m wrong concerning this, but if Apple really wants to curb the decline in iPhone demand and for product sales to resume an upward trajectory, 1 of 2 things will need to happen, and sooner instead of later. Apple needs to either lower the margins on iPhones to make them less expensive (or even just less costly), or there needs to be a fresh budget option so consumers in least have the illusion of choice. Because as the figures show, most buyers go for the premium iPhones in any case, but if Apple puts a budget model up for grabs, at least they won’t feel like they’re being forced to pay the ever-growing Apple tax. Apple’s current pricing structure gives consumers only high- and higher-priced models to pick from. But it appears buyers are starting to understand there’s still one other option, which is to save themselves the trouble, and possibly some buyer’s remorse, by not buying new iPhones at all.

[gallantgautier]

Ooc, what are Sylvains most positive traits and strengths?

ooc: I’m so sorry this took me forever to answer, I got distracted. And when the mun gets distracted they forget about things sitting in their inbox. But considering the sheer amount of Sylvain angst I’ve been writing, both in threads and in meta, I feel now is a good time to get into this. Under a cut that I stealth edited in because this got long.

Strangely, this topic is actually a little harder to talk about than his flaws, and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that those flaws are so deeply intertwined with the positive aspects of his character that, as far as examination goes, they get overshadowed by the act of actually unravelling his personality to get to them, it’s what makes Sylvain such an interesting character, really.

That, and I think one of Sylvain’s biggest strengths of character is that, despite it all, despite his disillusions, insecurity, bitterness and inner conflict, he doesn’t let it completely consume him.

Let’s briefly touch on a big aspect of Sylvain Meta I have been focusing on a lot lately, both in previous character examinations and in my head because damn if the bug hasn’t bitten me hard. I won’t get too much into it, there’s a whole lot over here if you’re interested, but it focuses on the negative and that’s not what we’re doing today.

Miklan.

All that stuff considered; it would be so easy for Sylvain to hate Miklan. (He says he does. He doesn’t.) It would be so easy for him to hate the world, and I suppose he does in a way. He hates the world that’s put so much stock into Crests and those who bare them. In general, it would be so easy for Sylvain to hate everything and lash out.

Yet he doesn’t.

Now, an argument can be made that he lashes in, and he does, in a big way. It results in his interactions with people – mainly women – being fake. It results in his lack of trust in people in general, evidenced in that, if we don’t include Byleth seeing as they can reach S rank in all their supports across avatar gender choice, Sylvain only has four supports that go higher than B. Only two of those go to A+, and they’re both with people he’s known all his life.

And yet, Sylvain is very genuine in his friendships. Sure, there’s a colouring of playing around, and while he may not fully trust other people in his life he calls friends and may never let them see the person underneath, he cares and it shows.

I present to you exhibit A; his support with Bernadetta.

Now, this is a subject we’re probably all close to, receiving praise for your writing is forever going to be awkward, but we can see in this conversation that he isn’t just saying “Yeah! This is really good!” Sylvain makes a point of highlighting the details he enjoyed, and more importantly, why he enjoyed them. He also states in his letter that he hopes he inspires Berie to write more, and when we consider how little Sylvain thinks of himself, it’s hard to imagine that he’d think of his opinions as ‘inspirational.’ We can conclude, then, that Sylvain is sharing his thoughts not because he thinks anyone would be interested in hearing them, rather that he thinks having them heard will help.

Let’s move on to his second positive trait. He’s very insightful.

Now, we all know he’s smart, way smarter than he’d like to let anyone think. We see this easily in his supports with Annette, not just how easily he understands the text she’s studying, but also his recognition that the formula is over-complicated. It’s proof that he really does understand the subject and hasn’t just memorised it.

But that’s a display of his intelligence, not insightfulness, that comes later in the support with “Guys like me who hate hard work and sorta get by on our wits? It all falls apart eventually.” Now, I suppose this is a somewhat weak example, as it’s more self-awareness than insight, still, I do think it’s a bit of both, to know that he can’t just get by on luck forever.

Still on this topic, but in radically different context, I’d like to point your attention to Sylvain’s support conversation with Dedue, where he comes to the conclusion that the people of Duscur are innocent. Now, Three Houses intentionally halts certain supports from progressing if they contain story spoilers or if they require certain events to have occurred before them, either because the support itself references those events, or so that the player has context to understand the gravity of what happens in the support.

As such, this statement from Sylvain can happen incredibly early in the game, and potentially is one of the first occasions where a student alludes to a third party pulling some strings. Now, Sylvain doesn’t go that far in his conclusion, doesn’t even have a conclusion, really. But the fact that he even questions it, that he’s looked at the evidence and found that something doesn’t add up, speaks for an insight that, so far, I haven’t really found in the “supporting cast” for lack of a better term.

The final positive trait I want to bring up, one that he doesn’t attempt to hide because honestly he has no need to by virtue of the reasoning I’m about to get into; how important promises are to him, how lightly he doesn’t make them, and how he keeps every single one. He doesn’t hide this simply because it’s a rare occurrence that only happens around people he trusts.

I’ve trawled through Sylvain supports, the word “promise” comes up a grand total of 13 times across all 17 characters (that’s a total of 42 separate conversations.) You’d think for a guy who is personified as being a cheat would make a helluva lot of empty promises, wouldn’t you?

That number isn’t even accounting for the fact that half of the time in these supports, it isn’t even him saying the word.

Let’s discount one of these right off the bat. He says it, but it’s to Hilda, and half of it is a joke, where he tells her to “stop lying, take responsibility, and fall madly in love with him.” He asks her to promise him these things in exchange for forgiveness for taking a tongue lashing from the librarian that was meant for her. None of this is overly important to my point, save the fact that it’s the one time where the word doesn’t carry all that much weight, but it’s not an exception to the rule and still a reinforcement as he’s not the one making it.

Two other occasions I want to bring up next are his supports with Byleth and Mercedes. These aren’t like the previous where it doesn’t carry weight, quite the opposite, but he says the word only once for each. For the former it’s right at the end of his marriage proposal so… Kinda a “well duh” moment, doesn’t really require any analysis. The latter is also at the end of the final support conversation, and it comes in response to Mercedes asking if he will “protect her in turn.” Considering this is a support required for their paired ending, we can sort of take this as a marriage proposal too, but I place more emphasis on the fact that during this portion of the conversation, Sylvain has let his guard down around Mercedes, to the point where he actually cries. That’s pretty significant.

The remaining ten mentions of “promise” come in his supports with his three childhood friends.

Let’s look at Dimitri first, as he only has half of the number of conversations with everyone’s favourite philanderer that the other two do. The word comes up, across both conversations, four times, and only once by Sylvain himself, in which he promises to “do better” and focus more on his studies etc. The other three occasions come from Dimitri, first questioning whether Sylvain will keep to his word, the second is in the B support where he confirms that Sylvain actually did, and the last is Dimitri promising to help Sylvain out with “…something he knows how to help with.” (The last isn’t all that important really, save for keeping count.)

So that leaves the final six, considering we discounted one at the beginning, that’s half. And wouldn’t you know, as well as being part of the Original Childhood Friend Quartet, these two are the only people he can obtain an A+ rank support with. Coincidence? I think not.

Between Ingrid and Felix’s supports, Ingrid’s contain the majority with four, but unlike with Dimitri, it’s Sylvain saying it three out of those four times. However, this time we have the one occasion where he doesn’t completely stay true to his word. Like Dimitri’s support, his first promise to Ingrid is in regards to his behaviour, but, despite his own opinion on the matter, Ingrid expresses exasperation that he’s still playing around. However, it’s worth noting that this promise comes after Ingrid has chewed him out for events that happened a number of years ago, in public, and in a manner that by all accounts is pretty belittling. It’s probably the one occasion he’s made a promise out of frustration and to just end the conversation, evidenced by how he tacks “ Are you happy now?” on to the end. This, I think, is the exception to the rule, rather than the occasion with Hilda, but an exception I think proves the rule.

The second mention is from Ingrid asking Sylvain to stop acting so nonchalant about getting hurt or killed,” and the third is him making that promise right after. It’s never strictly mentioned if he actually does keep it, however, his following support with her involves scenes with him taking his training and combat situations seriously. I believe this is him making an attempt to minimise the possibility of getting hurt in the first place. It’s a roundabout way of keeping his promise, sure, but one that definitely works, dealing with the root cause rather than the surface issue, as it were.

The last comes with “It’s not a joke that you’re beautiful, but I wasn’t trying to hit on you or anything. Promise.” This one, at first glance, doesn’t seem much to read in to, and at face value, there really isn’t. I think this ties in more to the way Sylvain regards promises, and that (hopefully) Ingrid knows that aspect of him too. It’s an emphasis on him being genuine, that he truly means what he’s saying.

Lastly, we have Felix, arguably the most important one. I have a lot of headcannon surrounding this, we’re not going there today, we’re going to stick with what we know.

It’s only mentioned twice, both by Sylvain, and it’s a reference to the same promise, that they’ll “stick together, until they die together.” It’s worth noting that he brings it up specifically on the second mention, but on the first, it comes after Felix being concerned (angrily, because it’s Felix) that Sylvain actually will die, and Sylvain stating “Nah, I won’t die on you. I promise.”

At first, it’s a bit of a throwaway line, until later in the support he talks about The Promise, it paints the first line in a whole new light, that in reality Sylvain is saying “I’m not going to break my promise.” And if you get their paired ending in the Azure Moon route, he really doesn’t.

It’s also brought up outside their supports, if you recruit one and not the other, they talk about it pre-combat if you set them against each other. Please don’t do that. It’s rather poignant, I think, that game mechanics are the only way to get Sylvain to break a promise.

To summarise, Sylvain’s strengths of character manifest in how much he truly cares about people. How he can find the strength to lift his friends up despite the weight he puts on his own shoulders. How he might be crumbling but ultimately will not break. And just how dependable he is by virtue of how he won’t ever make a promise lightly, nor will he break one.

[bagelpyjama19]

Apple Revenue Approach for Next Season

Apple is considered to be the most innovative business enterprise in the globe now. It is the company to which nearly all others search for direction. When Apple reveals an innovative new design language or launches a fresh product, it generates ripples throughout the market. Quickly, the entire industry is manufacturing items in Apple’s image. However to state Apple is merely a trend-setter undermines the business’s position as probably the figurehead of creativity in consumer technology. Apple isn’t simply setting technology tendencies; Apple’s vision models precedents and begins actions that allow the styles to exist in the first place. As great as it must feel to be Apple in this scenario - and as humbling since it must experience to be the many businesses copying Apple at every change - it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Most people can claw your way to the very best of a mountain, but there’s not a lot of stable ground up there. One incorrect step and your toppling back off the mountain, undoing years of the hard work needed to get up there. We do not want to discount Apple’s successes in 2018: Apple Pencil program for iPad was a good addition; iOS 12 has given new life to iPhones as aged as the 5S; Apple Watch Series 4 is literally conserving lives; and that’s simply a few highlights. Looking back again, though, 2018 was a pretty tough year for Apple as certain missteps finished up impacting the company’s important thing. Between Apple’s most questionable movements in 2018, there’s one I wanted to focus on for an essential purpose: Without second-generation iPhone SE in sight, it seems Apple has exited the spending budget flagship market. The fact is, I’ll consider it one step further: I am certain Apple would not be delivering any more budget iPhones, and here’s why. Apple’s product portfolio is usually varied. The company generates revenue from providers like iTunes and Apple Music to accessories like AirPods and the Magic Key pad, from home entertainment devices like Apple TV 4K to personal processing devices like the MacBook Pro. However product sales for the majority of these aren’t that impressive (though Apple’s profit margins absolutely are). It’s in fact the iPhone that accounts for the majority of Apple’s revenue. Since its debut in 2007, iPhone has pushed Apple’s earnings to such amazing heights that the business is just about the first trillion-dollar firm ever sold. With so much of Apple’s revenue riding on the game-changing gadget, you can wager there would be a significant drop in Apple’s revenue if people beginning buying less iPhones. And that is exactly what we are witnessing. Following a moderate fourth quarter, income for Q12019 - which, to be clear, is comprised of October, November, and December, encompassing the holiday shopping season - was lower than Apple originally expected. With the price of brand-new iPhones rising, revenue would’ve increased also if unit sales experienced only remained regular, but there have been fewer iPhone units sold during the period. The implication is normally that demand has waned, or it’s possible there wasn’t much demand for Apple’s expensive new iPhones to begin with. The initial hint of problems was in 2017, the entire year iPhone X premiered. At a starting cost 50 percent greater than the previous year’s baseline model, iPhone X unit product sales were reportedly flat although Apple’s income increased. Just how? Because even though Apple sold roughly the same number of units as the year before, the average cost of an iPhone had elevated. When you sell the same quantity of products but mark up the price, you still see a bump in product sales. Of course, it’s not only the iPhone that is gotten more expensive. Apple has elevated selling prices across virtually all of the enterprise’s stock portfolio. But with the iPhone driving profits, the implication can be this: Whenever iPhone product sales continue to be smooth or start to fall, Apple will need to keep raising the price of the iPhone each year to maintain year-over-year income gains. As you can plainly see, it’s not really a coincidence Apple has decided to stop reporting iPhone unit sales publicly. Also if 2017 was an outlier, the release of new iPhones in the fall is meant to give Apple a go of revenue adrenaline in the ultimate stretch out, enabling for a strong finish as the company crosses the fiscal finish line. But for the second calendar year in a row, that did not come up. Doesn’t it appear plausible, if not likely, that increasing the costs for fresh iPhones has led to lower demand? About a week ago, Apple CEO delivered a document to shareholders. You can read the letter for yourself on Apple’s website, but it warns investors that Apple’s 1Q2019 income will end up being $9 billion less than was originally projected. The letter mainly blames China’s industry for almost all the year-over-year iPhone income decline even while also indicating that individuals are still adapting to the extinction of carrier subsidies. In a recent interview Cook explained most of the same reasons to clarify lower-than-anticipated iPhone revenue. Besides slowed growth in developing marketplaces and having less subsidized prices through service providers, Cook suggested to iOS 12 and the $29 battery replacement plan seeing that having encouraged users to hold their current iPhones rather than looking for new ones. As you might remember, Apple started the battery alternative program in late 2017 in wish of hiding the smell of the battery hot debate, which had earned concerns of planned obsolescence. As outlined by Cook, many with older iPhones decided not to upgrade since they could get fresh batteries for inexpensive. This would remove the efficiency caps that Apple had imposed to them, repairing their iPhones with their former glory, specially when paired with iOS 12. In fact, Apple visited lengths to make sure that iOS 12 would make older iPhones faster, so Make is probably right in assuming the battery substitute program and iOS 12 factored into the weaker sales of 2018 iPhones. On the other hand, Cook declared that challenging trade relations between the US and China was ultimately the largest factor. China represents a ton of untapped sales prospect of Apple, so there’s most likely some truth compared to that, too. You can observe the full interview in the video below if you want to hear more of what Make must say about it. Meanwhile, critics and analysts have suggested poor iPhone sales certainly are a indication of market saturation; at this stage, most people who want an iPhone curently have one, and that’s a hard hurdle to overcome, specifically with customers stepping up less frequently. It is also truly feasible that Apple priced the 2018 iPhones out of the developing markets the business claims to be targeting. After all, if you reside in China and need it a new cell phone, will you buy an iPhone XS for $1,000 (¥6800) or even more, or are you going to get the most recent Vivo or Xiaomi Android mobile phone that’s manufactured locally and may do pretty much whatever iPhone XS can do at a portion of the price? Not surprisingly, Cook mainly sidestepped the topic of ballooning iPhone prices - a concern that we’ve noticed across most of Apple’s products for that matter - which has been one of the main criticisms of latest iPhones. Latest Price Increases Price increases for the iPhone used to end up being pretty rare. Actually, after carriers stopped providing subsidized prices on mobile phones, forcing us to start paying complete MSRP if we wanted to buy fresh iPhones, we could at least depend on a constant starting price from season to year. That starting price used to be $649. With the launch of iPhone 8 in 2017, it jumped to $699, a disappointing gain, but it wasn’t too surprising. It was only a $50 boost after generations of a constant price, so many people gave Apple a pass. And, also at the higher price, iPhone 8 seemed definitely inexpensive when compared to $999 price tag on the new iPhone X. However apparently, the price increase for iPhone 7 set a precedent because in 2018, the purchase price jumped again. Matching the increase from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8, the 2018 iPhone line-up started at $749 for iPhone XR. You would argue that iPhone XR is a much better device than iPhone 7 and justifies the extra $100, but value is subjective. Although some might say iPhone XR will probably be worth its $749 starting price, especially compared to Apple’s more high quality versions, many customers will fixate on how each new era of iPhone is more costly than the one before. And at this time, can you blame them? To create matters worse yet, as iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR were getting unveiled in stage during Apple’s fall 2018 event, iPhone SE was being discontinued. So not only are iPhones getting a lot more expensive, but Apple has now eliminated the only spending budget option we had. So if you’re looking to get a new iPhone in 2019, there’s not much choice anymore. Purchasers are effectively having to accept Apple’s higher beginning price in the lack of a true budget iPhone. Naturally, customers and critics as well are receiving more vocal in their calls for an iPhone SE successor. Significant Unexpected Value Apple revealed the iPhone SE , which stands for Particular Edition, in March 2016 in a special spring event. Both for customers and the industry most importantly, iPhone SE was a very un-Apple device for Apple to release. The iPhone 6 had just jumped in size and received a completely new design from the prior generation. Then iPhone SE was released, having a smaller, compact type with its design virtually indistinguishable from the previous-generation iPhone 5. Even more surprising was the actual fact that iPhone SE remarkably featured most of Apple’s up-to-date, flagship-level engineering regardless of the low starting price; for $399, you got the same custom made A9 processor as iPhone 6S in addition to a 12 MP camera with 4K video recording and a bigger electric battery. The fact is, the only significant short-cuts were the lack of 3D Touch and the use of first-generation TouchID instead of the faster second generation. But, again, taking into consideration its low starting cost (which ultimately settled to $349), the iPhone SE provided uncharacteristically great worth for a product made by Apple. The challenge was that iPhone SE did not become a top-selling iPhone. Throughout its life-span, its defining characteristic was that it provided an inexpensive point of entry to the iOS ecosystem though it eventually gained relatively of a cult following among certain Apple fans. Obviously, after iPhone SE had been the baseline of the iPhone lineup for a couple of years, consumers were ready for the obligatory refresh. While iPhone SE offered an excellent cost-to-performance rate in 2016, a refresh could bridge the efficiency gap that grew as iPhone SE’s A9 processor was succeeded and changed, first by the A10 Fusion chip in iPhone 7, then again by the A11 Bionic in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X . Patiently Looking forward to Apple's Latest Product launches Affirmed, we heard through the grapevine that Apple was focusing on a new version of the spending budget iPhone. Details varied, however the iPhone SE successor - alleged to be named either iPhone SE 2 or iPhone X SE (with suffix and modifiers meticulously arranged)- seemed to have the same purpose as the original, which was to be a compact, low-cost iPhone offering great efficiency and most of the latest features. A lot of the difference surrounding the naming theme for the iPhone SE 2 was because of unclear accounts concerning whether the gadget will keep its iPhone 5-era style or whether it would embrace the new iPhone X visual. Some customers insisted (or possibly hoped?) iPhone SE 2 would appear to be an iPhone X from leading with a almost bezel-less, edge-to-edge screen. These accounts were mainly informed by supposed designs for screen protectors and cases; if reputable, the implication was that iPhone SE 2 could have a bezel-much less, notched display identical to iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Of program, the notch would become among the defining features for 2018 mobile phones overall as its was imitated by almost every smartphone manufacturer after the iPhone X debuted in late 2017; nevertheless, for Apple’s purposes, the notch only exists to house biometric sensors for Apple’s proprietary FaceID. So the implication was that iPhone SE 2 would feature FaceID although the high cost of FaceID components managed to get an unlikely inclusion in any budget iPhone. Following these reports, renders were designed to show the way the device might look if it turned out to be real. Assuming the case designs and resulting renders had been accurate, iPhone SE 2 would’ve been a truly fascinating gadget, the lovechild of the bygone iPhone 5 and the more futuristic iPhone X. Provided Apple could keep production costs and, by extension, the MSRP straight down, iPhone SE 2 could’ve easily outsold the original iPhone SE, possibly learning to be a top seller just like the original iPhone SE never could. These weren’t just the pipe dreams of iPhone SE fans and anyone who wanted cheaper iPhones; reports from Apple’s personal suppliers all but verified programs for iPhone SE 2, giving estimates for possible production schedules and ship dates. In early August 2017, Wistron Corp. - a low-volume manufacturer located in Taiwan that Apple recruits when iPhone demand is definitely high - was working on expanding its creation base to accommodate a new compact Apple smartphone, which many presumed to become an updated iPhone SE. After that came a tentative ship day: In late November 2017, Economic Daily Information in Taiwan reported Apple had been eyeing a release time in the first half of 2018 for the iPhone SE 2, which would’ve been consistent with the spring release of the initial iPhone SE. January 2018 brought another report of iPhone SE 2 launching in 2018. Shortly thereafter, there is a rumor iPhone SE 2 would include a glass rear panel, suggesting the addition of the wireless charging capabilities that the iPhone has already established since 2017. Just simply because rumors pointed to Apple gearing up for the release of a next-generation iPhone SE, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities who is known for predicting Apple’s products with uncanny accuracy, planted one of the initial seeds of doubt. In late January 2018, Kuo reported iPhone SE 2 had hardly any chance of being released because Apple had exhausted its assets on the three flagship models to be released in 2018. Of training course, those three models finished up being iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. However, rumors persisted��- though at a slower pace - in spite of Kuo’s question. For instance, there have been specifications and other details of the iPhone SE 2 reported in April 2018. According to these leaks, Apple designed to keep production costs (and, by extension, the eventual retail price) down by omitting the 3.5mm headphone jack and using iPhone 7’s A10 Fusion chip instead of the A11 Bionic chip used in iPhone 8 and iPhone X. For all intents and reasons, the axe was decisively dropped in July 2018 as BlueFin Research told MacRumors that Apple had nixed all plans to proceed with iPhone SE 2. We’ll probably never find out for certain whether iPhone SE 2 was ever actually in the offing; however, even if it was planned originally, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get an iPhone SE 2 at all. It’s been four a few months since the start of the 2018 iPhones, an event that coincided with iPhone SE being taken off Apple’s lineup, which, in and of itself, allegedly happened because Apple retired its A9 processor chip. So aside from Apple quickly unloading the last iPhone SE products at a discounted $249 price, which took only a day, iPhone SE is gone from Apple’s catalog, and anyone looking forward to a next-generation iPhone SE has little cause for hope. In the event that you ask me, the writing is on the wall: Apple won’t be building another budget iPhone. No More Budget iPhone? Spending budget smartphones, or smartphones that price roughly $300 or less, are pretty common today. In some instances, these budget devices present great value for your money. Some of the more recent notable for example the Moto G6 for $240, LG Stylo 4 for $250, Huawei Mate 20 Lite for $290, and, of course, the amazing Pocophone F1 for $299. For those who have a tad more to invest, you can find a used or refurbished Samsung Galaxy S8 for barely over $300. Or you may get the brand new Nokia 7.1, an Android One device with the design and nearly all of the features that top-shelf Android flagships possess for the bargain price of $350. I’m not sure where the term originated, but I completely agree: “Good cell phones are getting cheap, and cheap phones are getting good.” Of training course, you might’ve noticed that the smartphones mentioned previously are Android smartphones. What about iPhones? When carriers did aside with subsidizing smartphones, we had to begin paying full retail cost for new smartphones. Therefore Apple’s decision to create the iPhone SE was very timely: Instead of paying $649 or even more, you could buy an iPhone for under $400 without making a huge amount of compromises. Suddenly, people who preferred iOS to Android had their personal Pocophone. From September 2016 to its discontinuation in September 2018, iPhone SE was never a top-selling iPhones. Also at its peak, iPhone SE under no circumstances accounted for more than 11 percent of iPhone sales as the third-best-selling iPhone, and just by a slender margin. Meanwhile, both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus almost tripled the product sales of iPhone SE during that period, accounting for 28.5 percent and 29.5 percent of iPhone sales, respectively. After September 2017, iPhone SE sales dropped substantially, remaining somewhere between 5.5 percent and 8 percent until the device was taken in fall 2018. Suppose you’re Tim Cook looking at these amounts. Everybody has been requesting a second-generation budget iPhone, but sales numbers present that when a lower-cost option is available, the majority of customers keep purchasing the more expensive iPhones. If customers are willing to pay even more for high-end iPhones, does it seem sensible to produce a cheaper device that, at best, no more than one in ten customers would be interested in buying? With some context, positioning the iPhone more as a luxury item starts to make sense. Like voting on a ballot, Apple’s customers have been casting their votes on higher-end iPhones, therefore we can’t really blame Apple for moving away from budget smartphones that don’t sell well. If you’re miffed about the loss of life of iPhone SE 2, there are, in fact, cheaper iPhones obtainable for people on a budget. But you’re not going to find them in shops. Current Market Conditions Apple gave customers the lower-cost iPhone they’d always been asking for, but most of them decided not to buy it. Therefore if you’re Apple, do you create a second generation knowing the first generation didn’t sell well, or perform you ditch the budget-iPhone idea altogether? It seems Apple find the latter. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take away from the fact that spending budget iPhones are already available, not forgetting plentiful. Specifically, I’m discussing used iPhones in the marketplace. The gray market identifies the buying and selling of used iPhones on the secondhand market. It’s comprised of the many people selling their used gadgets after upgrading, which essentially creates an unofficial marketplace of budget iPhones. Therefore those listings for iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, and iPhone 8 on eBay, the Amazon Marketplace, providers like Swappa, and yard-sale apps like LetGo will be the gray market for iPhones. Apple doesn’t need to invest in R&D, sourcing parts, production, and distribution for a budget iPhone because we already have access to all the discounted iPhones we could ever need in the secondhand marketplace. And each year when brand-new iPhones are released, millions even more iPhones will revitalize the secondhand market as users who upgrade to new iPhones sell their older ones. Plus, any post-2016 iPhone models in the gray market will have better specifications than iPhone SE, and some of these used iPhones will be cheaper than buying a new iPhone SE from Apple for $349. Put simply, Apple doesn’t need to sell a budget iPhone because the current-generation iPhones purchased at full retail cost today become budget iPhones as consumers use them and eventually sell them to on the gray market when they upgrade. And even more devices are shown on the gray marketplace every day, in order long as Apple is offering smartphones, the gray marketplace is a renewable resource for budget iPhones. Of program, the gray marketplace isn’t the only way to get an iPhone on the cheap. Depending about how you consider it, Apple actually offers new budget iPhone options each year. With the official unveiling of new iPhones each year, the MSRP of every preceding generation still in creation is decreased. For instance, when iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X were announced in nov 2017, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus became previous-generation products, which warranted cost cuts. The iPhone SE was still in production when iPhone 7 got its lessen price, if you wanted a new iPhone but didn’t want to spend $699 or even more for iPhone 8 or iPhone X, you could choose iPhone SE from $349, iPhone 6S from $449, or iPhone 7 from $549. Though $349 isn’t specifically chump transformation, it’s certainly even more palatable than iPhone X’s thousand-dollar starting cost. With iPhone SE discontinued, the least expensive iPhone available is iPhone 7 for $449, meaning the cheapest iPhone available today is $100 a lot more than last year. To be fair, iPhone 7 was an excellent device at launch, and it’s still a compelling option today, especially for the price. Though it had been divisive as Apple’s initial iPhone without the apparently requisite 3.5mm headphone jack, iPhone 7 is in any other case a full-presented flagship. But if you’re searching for a fresh iPhone on a spending budget, which would you rather purchase: a 2016 iPhone for $449 or an iPhone SE 2 with the latest A12 Bionic processor chip for $100 less? Regarding iPhone SE 2 not materializing, maybe understanding what could’ve been is normally what makes this thus disappointing for some. Even though the data suggests a limited audience for budget iPhones, there will always be situations where a low-cost iPhone with current-generation efficiency hits the sweet spot. Where Should Apple Go From Here? It’s an enjoyable experience to be a lover of tech, particularly cell tech as budget and mid-range flagships are slaying in the Android smartphone market. Though priced greater than a $349 iPhone, the OnePlus 6T is certainly a primary example of how to offer flagship-level specs, design, and efficiency at a lower life expectancy cost. For better or worse, Apple seems to have evacuated the budget smartphone sector after just one single attempt. Granted, Apple hasn't really catered to budget-minded consumers with almost all the company’s equipment starting at $1,000 or even more and a shrinking amount of products, like iPods and iPads, priced lower than that. That is why it was so unusual for Apple to produce a budget iPhone to begin with. The problem is that it appears Apple is currently trying to close a door that probably the business never should’ve opened to begin with. In the end, when you’re offering this inexpensive iPhone on the lineup, all the flagship iPhones appear that much more expensive by comparison. Whether there’s a new iPhone SE in the future, the prices mounted on Apple’s items are climbing. In many markets, Apple is coming dangerously near to pricing the iPhone as well as the majority of Apple’s other products out of reach. For customers who can’t (or don’t need to) pay out such exorbitant prices, the actual fact that Apple offered inexpensive options during the past but no longer offers those options now will undoubtedly leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, almost like biting into a rotten apple. Honestly, I am hoping I’m wrong about this, but if Apple really wants to curb the decline in iPhone demand and for product sales to resume an upward trajectory, one of two things will have to happen, and sooner rather than later. Apple needs to either lower the margins on iPhones to create them more affordable (or even just less costly), or there needs to be a fresh budget option so consumers in least have the illusion of preference. Because as the numbers show, most buyers go for the premium iPhones in any case, but if Apple puts a budget model on the table, at least they won’t feel like they’re being forced to pay the ever-growing Apple tax. Apple’s current pricing structure gives consumers only high- and higher-priced models to pick from. But it seems buyers are beginning to understand there’s still an added option, which can be to save themselves the difficulty, and possibly some buyer’s remorse, by not buying brand-new iPhones at all.

[bolddeducktionneverfails]

Launchpad’s Association With Della Duck: Ballads of Dangerous Chemistry

Part 1 | Part 2 || Part 3 | Part 4| Part 5 || Continued from Part 6

One of the many things I've noticed in DuckTales is that certain elements from earlier episodes tend to return in the later portion of the season. Sometimes as a running gag or an Easter egg, but other times, they end up revealing to be an important concept that's extremely relevant to the story. 

The Season 1 finale was a good example of this: The boys hijacking Donald's Houseboat in the pilot to go to Cape Suzette comes back as Donald wanting to move there when the boys no longer want anything to do with Scrooge. The bag of marbles Scrooge gave the boys when they first arrive to the mansion comes back as a way for Scrooge to reminisce about having them around. The silly cutout of Gyro from "Beware of The B.U.D.D.Y System!" is seen floating around in the underwater lab after the area was destroyed by the shadows. 

Sometimes it doesn't even take that long for the early elements to reappear; they can be contained within the episode itself by giving us hints in the very beginning of it and later come into play towards the ending. Scrooge was right from the start when he blamed Glomgold in "The 87 Cent Solution!" and the ending of the Darkwing Duck series finale basically foreshadowed the entirety of "The Duck Knight Returns!". If Della paid attention as she was attempting to fix the rocket on her own, she would have known about Gold Tech way ahead of time.

Two years ago at the D23 Expo, it was announced during the DuckTales panel  that Duckworth was already shown, but no one had found him yet. Many of us searched around for the butler dog and every character we guessed was rejected by the show-runners. It wasn't until "McMystery at McDuck McManor" that Duckworth was revealed to be the ram-headed spirit we've been seeing in the intro! The answer to the mystery was right there in front of our faces! But we didn't realize it because the appearance of the person we were looking for was altered.

Bᴇғᴏʀᴇ Dᴜᴄᴋᴡᴏʀᴛʜ’s ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟ, ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ʜɪɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴜᴘʟᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇs ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜɪs ʟɪᴋᴇɴᴇss ᴡᴀs ᴏʙsᴄᴜʀᴇᴅ: Tʜᴇ ɢʜᴏsᴛ ᴄʜᴀsɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅs ɪɴ Mʀs. Bᴇᴀᴋʟᴇʏ’s sʜᴏʀᴛ , ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜ ᴏғ ᴀ ғʟᴏᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴏʀʙ ᴏғ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴏɴ Wᴇʙʙʏ’s ʙᴏᴀʀᴅ

Sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʟʏ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ, Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ᴡᴀsɴ'ᴛ ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ ɪɴ "MᴄMᴀɴᴏʀ" ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴅᴇsᴘɪᴛᴇ ʟɪᴠɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴀ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴsɪᴏɴ' s ɢᴀʀᴀɢᴇ...

This proves that we don't always have to look too far to figure things out, so, after thinking about amnesia, I had to take another look at "The Ballad of Duke Baloney!". It features a confirmed case of the condition and a good example of applying one similar character to another.

The episode begins with a flashback to the happenings of "The Shadow War!", a pretty significant event. Glomgold fails to prevent his shadow from flying off and ends up falling into the marina. He loses consciousness and is eventually found by two fishers, trapped in their fisher net. He can no longer remember the whole ordeal that caused him to take on his false Scottish persona and reverts back to who he used to be: Duke Baloney.

The name Duke Balony, derives from a completely different character named The Duke of Baloni. He comes from an old Carl Barks story that predates Glomgold's character and was the first to be titled "Second-Richest Duck in the World". The show-runners used this similarity as a part of giving an in-universe explanation to why Flintheart Glomgold went from South African like he was in the earlier Scrooge McDuck comics, to Scottish like he was in the original DuckTales series.

Four months later, after Flintheart is reported to have gone missing, Webby and Louie stop by Bait 'N' Such to find him as a completely different person: His demeanor is much kinder, he talks with a different accent, he sports a real beard and now wears a fisherman outfit.

Speaking of which, Duke and LP share a lot of similar colors. Even Young Duke wears teal and green; something that was mainly exclusive to both Launchpad and Della.

The kids aren't exactly sure what to think. Was this really Glomgold? Or were they mistaking a random stranger for him? Was he genuinely suffering from amnesia? Or was this another one of his crazy schemes? As they try to figure out his true intentions, they discover Duke has a suspicious, gold money clip in his possession. This causes Webby and Louie to start an investigation where they discover Duke Baloney's records are non-existent and Flintheart Glomgold's records do not extend past his arrival to Duckburg in the 80's.

Meanwhile, Duke's evil persona slowly starts to re-emerge after one of Scrooge's fishing boats roll into the dock. He can't remember Scrooge's name, he can't even remember his face when they meet, but he suddenly grows negative feelings towards the boat and he's not exactly sure why. He starts coming up with elaborate plans to outrank it and he ends up having a dream full of subliminal messages about his past.

As Duke starts to question who he really is, he notices that Webby and Louie are out at sea as a thunderstorm is approaching. He plans to go out and rescue them but a boat crane hits him on the head, causing him to fall into the marina much like he did before. It's in his second time of unconsciousness where he remembers why he started his Scottish persona in the first place: When Duke was a child, Scrooge failed at teaching him a sense of self reliance by only paying partially for his shoe shining services. Feeling cheated, he secretly stole Scrooge's money clip and vowed to do whatever it takes to out-best him at everything and steal his title of "Richest Duck in the World".

When Duke comes to at the surface, he reverts back to his evil ways. He displays this as he tricks Webby into giving him her hand only for him throw her out of the boat to make room for himself. The other fishers are very shocked to see their friend act like this.

Glomgold makes his way back to his office to reclaim his company from Zan Owlson and to challenge Scrooge with the fiscal year bet. Scrooge refuses until Glomgold taunts him with the money clip he had stolen from him. McDuck becomes surprised, and angry, that his greatest rival has a significant connection to his past.

So, if Launchpad has amnesia, what could Glomgold's situation be telling us about his?

Glomgold's amnesia was tied to a big event as well as LP's could be if he was involved with the cosmic storm.

Glomgold goes missing in the sea, an environment that is very similar to outer-space.

Following his disappearance, Glomgold ended up looking like a different person with a new profession. Launchpad is completely unrecognizable to Della in spite of many signs that they could have something to do with each other's backgrounds and there are also possible signs that he might not be a legitimate airplane pilot.

Glomgold had Scrooge's money clip on him. Maybe LP has some sort of mysterious item or something like a scar or a birthmark that could help prove that he's the father.

Information on both Duke and Glomgold is extremely limited. Launchpad's records probably don't go very far either. 

Duke's sudden hatred for Scrooge's boat reminds me of Launchpad's sudden attachment to Dewey. The triplet hasn't done much to or for Launchpad prior "Terror of The Terrafimians!”; he caused a trap to dump a pile of snakes onto Launchpad without apologizing. Dewey doesn't show any concern towards him until he comes back from his search in "Gander"...and yet, Launchpad established him as his best friend. He may not even be sure why he does. I've been theorizing for the longest time that Dewey could be reminding him of Della. 

In the Theme Song Takeover, Launchpad sings about being on the Houseboat with Dewey specifically without acknowledging that Scrooge, Donald, Huey and Louie are there too. He did a similar thing in “Jaw$!” when he simplified Huey and Louie as “Dewey’s Brothers”. Aside from giving us potential clues about Della, Issue 18 highlighted Launchpad’s friendship with Dewey as well. When he realizes the severity of the tsunami alert, he immediately grabs Dewey and wants to head to safety instead of thinking to grab both Dewey and Webby at the same time. The retail incentive cover for this issue features a bunch of Dewey photos with Launchpad facing them.

Duke has a dream full of symbolism revolving around his Scottish persona. Launchpad’s line in “The 87 Cent Solution!” when Scrooge causes Gizmoduck to accidentally shoot the Sunchaser with a torpedo, reminds me a bit of this. He said the situation reminded him of every nightmare he’s ever had....why is he having dreams of accidentally hitting Dewey with the plane? What does this mean? Is he afraid that there will be a day where he hurts someone he cares about? Has this already happened in the past?

Was the mishap reminiscent of what happened during the cosmic storm? Scrooge accidentally causes Gizmoduck to fire his torpedoes (lightning?), they hit the plane (spacecraft?), smoke fills the vehicle (radiation clouds?) and he comes close to hitting someone he cares about (Della?)

After seeing the boat, Glomgold's old ways start to creep back into his mind. I think after being exposed to Della's presence for the first time in years, Launchpad will start to act a bit like his older self and do things that Della will recognize.

Glomgold had to get knocked back into the sea to return to how he normally is. Will Launchpad have to have another stressful incident or head injury to help him remember who he was?

 There's a line from "The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest!" where he says "NO! This is not the end of Launchpad McQuack! It WILL be by plane crash, or not at all!" Was that possibly hinting towards this?

Duke actually says a line a bit similar to this where he says “All I need to know, is that I came from the sea...and I’ll die buy it...”

 A thunderstorm was involved and a rescue was underway, just like how Della could have been trying to rescue the father while she was caught up in the cosmic storm.

Glomgold's beard gets zapped with lightning from the storm, burning it into nothing. Launchpad possibly implied that he himself survived a lightning strike of some sort.

This episode was about a villain turning back into a good guy after losing his memory. Did Launchpad use to be a bad person? Or someone who was generally good, but made a bad decision? Or just unknowingly caused a bunch of bad things to happen? If Launchpad was the reason behind Della taking the Spear, then it’s partially his fault for Della getting stuck on the moon, losing her leg, Donald and Scrooge's separation, the boys growing up financially unstable without a mother, the depletion of the Money Bin, almost making Scrooge go bankrupt, Scrooge's retirement and depression, the family splitting up for a second time, Donald being sent to jail and the upcoming invasion. Even if the incident was beyond his control, he'll still feel horrible about causing such a chain reaction.

Not really counting on this, but if amnesia caused Glomgold to revert back to his original accent, could breaking out of amnesia cause Launchpad to revert back to his? In the original DuckTales series, Launchpad had more of a Northeastern accent. There are certain points in the cadence of Della's voice that reminds me of how Launchpad speaks in the reboot; more notably when she slips into a lower register

"Iiiit's fiiiine, I'm sure the flavor will wear off soon…"

"I've activated my distress beacon, so you can pinpoint my location and COME GET ME."

"I bet the boys have hatched by now... I'm not even sure what they look like…"

"I was gone for a decade and everyone was just fine…"

Glomgold's change in voice was brought on by copying off of Scrooge. Perhaps Launchpad is emulating Della in that way as well.

There are a few other lines in this episode that reminded me of some lines Launchpad has said in the previous season:

When Duke shares his crazy plans to outdo Scrooge's boat by over-fishing, Mann makes a comment.

 "...But it's like you always say, 'sharing is caring'."

 Duke takes a moment to think about this.

"That does sound like me...or does it?"

This reminds me of the scene in "The Spear of Selene!" where Scrooge orders Launchpad to get the plane back in the air after crash landing on Ithaquack. Launchpad responds.

"Sorry, Mr. McDee, gotta figure out what this flashing red light means. I always say: Better to be safe than... whatever the opposite of safe is!" 

He then looks off to the side with uncertainty afterwards, like he's not exactly sure where this phrase came from, but he could have sworn he said it at some point.

"Yeah, I do say that.”

But then Scrooge fires back.

"WHEN HAVE YOU EVER SAID THAT?!"

Could this little break in character be implying that Launchpad was a safer person at some point in his life?

When Duke notices Webby and Louie out at sea when the storm is about to start, he begins to speak.

 “I'll save ya! Or my name isn't--” 

But then he gets hit with a crane and falls into the water. This reminds me of LP's quote in “The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!” when he's trying to help Scrooge win his parents’ approval. In disguise, he says

“He's a real family man or my name isn't Launchpad Mc...Donald Duck.”

We all know he isn't Donald and he was close to saying Launchpad McQuack wasn't his real name.

This may not count, but When Duke reached out to Webby and said “Give me your hand!”, it reminded me of when LP said the same thing to Dewey in “B.U.D.D.Y” as well as Scrooge in "Last Crash" when he's going after Dewey outside of the plane. Duke pulls Webby into the water and the limo rides over a rock causing Dewey to come out of the self-driving car and fly out of LP's grip.

After developing my new theory about Della and Launchpad's connection, I later realized how the two episodes I’ve been zeroing in on the most, are next to each other in order of production. One dealt with the ideas of genetic mutation in a space-like environment, combined with the concept of going on a secret trip to meet up with a family member and a lover. Then right after that, there's the idea of someone having amnesia after a big event causes their long absence and then struggling to figure out who they really are when elements from their past start to seep back into their life. A connection between the two is looking very likely. Both stories were set in aquatic places and may have even occurred around the same time. I came across a theory that Huey, Dewey and Launchpad visited the Mid-Atlantic ridge while Webby and Louie went fishing, which would explain why they weren't present in the other's episode. __

If Launchpad was affected by the cosmic storm, what else could it have done to him aside from changing the way he looks?

I've put together a list of abilities he may have gained from this:

Immortality

In "The Most Dangerous Game...Night!" Louie tells Huey that he's convinced Launchpad is immortal due to the amount of plane crashes he's survived.  LP doesn't respond to this comment and later refuses to answer Huey about how he survived the Tower of Infinity when it collapsed.

I think there's enough weight to Louie's remark for it to be more than simply a one-off joke because there are multiple times where he's shown to be pretty resilient.  Launchpad can get sick or hurt, but he recovers incredibly well to injuries and has, as Fisher said when he was describing Duke,  "a freakishly high tolerance for pain".  

After the snakes from the Atlantean trap bit him, he brushes the situation off like it's not a big deal. He's hindered by the venom, but he's still conscious enough to climb down the bridge when it breaks (for the most part) and helps Webby to lie to her grandmother by posing as a Swedish person. When Glomgold announced that he's about to blow up the city, Launchpad’s facial swelling suddenly goes down and he’s well enough to quickly drive the sub to safety. Also, when Launchpad returns to the Sunchaser after looking for Ziyi, a bunch of arrows are pierced through his armor and he has an eye-patch over his eye. He’s winded by having to run to the to the plane in time and escape the danger he went though, but he isn’t wincing from his injuries. He isn’t really fazed by them at all.

Sᴛᴏʀᴋᴜʟᴇs sᴇᴇᴍs ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇʜᴏʟᴅᴇʀ ғᴏʀ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ᴡʜᴇɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴇ's ɴᴏᴛ ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄɪᴘᴀᴛɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴ ᴇᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇs. Pᴇʀʜᴀᴘs ʜᴇ ʀᴇᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛs Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ's ɪᴍᴍᴏʀᴛᴀʟɪᴛʏ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴡᴀʏ.

Strength

“The Missing Links of Moorshire!” is a good example of Launchpad’s strength. Towards the end of the episode, he’s shown to lift Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby and Scrooge with ease. Even earlier in the episode, he’s able to push a water-logged golf cart out of a lake, which on average is somewhere between 900 to 1100 lbs when it’s dry.

The cosmic storm may have increased his strength, but the workout equipment in his room would indicate that he needs to maintain it to a degree. Maybe it's a Hercules-type situation; even during his weaker points, he’s still pretty strong, but working out just makes him even more abnormally strong. 

Agility 

As seen in “Shadow War” and “Duck Knight”, LP is a very capable fighter. He has good reflexes, allowing him to dodge most attacks. Even though the venom from the snakes impaired him, he was still able to defend himself from Glomgold’s henchmen. In “Last Crash”, he ran on top of falling items to keep himself from falling out of the plane. And when he was fighting off the shadows on top of the plane, he never lost his balance.

Speed

I'm not really sure with this one, but in "Game Night" Launchpad was able to make it over to Louie and Huey after getting struck with the shrink ray. Perhaps this was ignored for convince, but running fast would explain how he was able to survive the collapse of the Jenga tower.

Aquatic Respiration

I think this is starting to become more apparent. After "Whatever Happened to Della Duck?!" aired, I started to wonder if Launchpad may have used Oxy-Chew when he went to visit Oceanika. But after "Friendship Hates Magic!"....I don't think this is the case. In the scene where he's drinking pea soup through a silly straw, one of the peas gets stuck and he struggles with it until his face starts to turn blue. He faints and all the air in his lungs exits his body before face-planting into his bowl. Then he makes a muffled inhaling noise without choking…

Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ sɪᴛs ɪɴ ғʀᴏɴᴛ ᴏғ ᴀ ᴘᴀɪɴᴛɪɴɢ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴀsɪᴅᴇ ᴀs ᴛʜɪs ɪs ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ.

In “Neverrest”, Launchpad keeps his mouth open as he falls into the hot spring and doesn’t gasp for air when he bursts out of it. When he comes back to the lighthouse in "Depths", he simply resurfaces with no problem. He isn't panting for air until he has to climb up onto the platform, which can be a bit tiring after staying in the water for so long. So, uh...I guess Launchpad has gills somewhere on his beak...? Granted, if he did have Oxy-Chew at some point, he could have ended up swallowing it; I mean, that stuff is pretty powerful when you chew it alone, but I'm leaning on mutation with this one.

Electrical Powers

After getting caught in a cloud full of radiation and lightning, it would make a ton of sense for Launchpad to have some sort of connection to electricity. But what kind of connection exactly? Can he generate his own? Can he bend and levitate metal objects to his will? Does he serve as a special conductor?  It's really hard to tell since there aren't any on obviously examples, but perhaps there could be something with the latter option.

The ending to “The Spear of Selene!” was very baffling. During my first viewing, I thought Launchpad was scared to leave the plane for some reason, but he ends up disassembling the plane; preventing the family from leaving and bringing him out in the open. Then, during my latest viewing, I realized that the plane isn’t simply taken apart, it looks like it was ripped apart. The pieces are damaged...one of the engines are chipped and dented, one of the propeller blades are also chipped, the tail of the plane has a cracked wing, the control board is all dented with the yoke snapped off...was he really that obsessed with figuring out the problem that he couldn’t just use tools to separate the plane properly? This made me wonder if there could have been an explosion from inside of the Sunchaser. Could another lightning bolt have hit the plane and it was strong enough for Launchpad to react to it? The first time the plane was struck, he’s quickly able to engage a control to stop it from affecting the plane.

The plane parts don’t seem to have any burn marks on them and Launchpad’s clothes aren’t singed or anything, so perhaps there was a different kind of electrical mishap or something that resulted from another side effect of the cosmic storm.

Sixth Sense

Maybe this is purely for meta humor, but LP seems to have this underlying fourth wall-y awareness. At the end of “Moonshire”, the camera is gone, but he still faces the audience and addresses the lesson to be learned. He then undercuts himself as if he didn't want us to know how insightful he is.

In "Terror of The Terrafimians!", he questions if Huey, Webby and Lena were the only three missing from the group when Magica technically counts as a fourth person. 

Good Hearing

You would think that after constantly hearing the sound of breaking glass and denting metal on a daily basis, it would take a toll on Launchpad's hearing, but he seems to be a good listener. 

Even though we weren't able to see his reaction to Scrooge's story about the Spear of Selene, he must have heard it in spite of being all the way on the other side of the plane and being sorta barricaded by a bunch of stuff to help balance the weight. If the boys informed him about what happened, he would have taken their word for it when he was talking over the intercom in "Shadow War", not point out how they’re the ones who blame Scrooge.

After "Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!" aired, I've been trying to figure out how Launchpad knew that Della was in the houseboat. She wasn't being very loud and he said "Thought I'd come over to introduce myself," implying that he knew about her being in there and stalled afterwards. He could have seen her as she was walking to the other side of the pool to board the houseboat, but it would have to have been somewhere where she wouldn’t have been able to notice him. Maybe looking out the window from inside the house. If not, he could have heard her in the boat as he was passing by. She didn’t start talking until around the time he came over, so if this were the case, he would have already known whose voice it was coming out of the houseboat. If he knew about Della being in the mansion this whole time, why did it take him so long to talk to her?

Weight Manipulation?

Part of me sorta wonders if LP has the ability to make himself lighter when he needs to be; holding back so he won't hurt anyone. This would explain things like how Scrooge was able to save LP from falling out of the plane in “Last Crash” without dislocating his shoulder and how Webby was able to knock LP down in “Shadow War”. 

But then again, determination, anger and stubbornness act a bit like super powers to some of the characters. It gives them a boost of strength when the stakes are high and allows them to do things they wouldn’t normally be able to do or shouldn't be able to do based on their body type. Scrooge was able to throw everyone off of him in “87 Cent Solution”, and enjoys swimming around in one of the most heavy metals in existence. Huey dragged LP back to the log in “Only Child” even after he wasn’t able to lift any part of that log. He was also able to lift three kids along with his uncle in “Moorshire” and was strong enough to keep the demon dog at bay in “McManor”. Then there's both Drake and Jim who can go through a bunch of injuries and still get back up after them.

This guess, along with the others I've discussed in this list, might just be part of cartoon logic and isn't meant to be an indication of anything outside of humor or convenience.

The Ability to Be Manipulated?

As I was putting this list together, I suddenly thought: If there's a Greek connection to the cosmic storm, what if Zeus is able to manipulate LP similarly to how he was able to manipulate Storkules with the siren? If Launchpad does have good hearing, what if he heard the siren and that's what caused him to destroy the Sunchaser? Launchpad loves music and, as seen in "Sky Pirates", gets easily distracted by it. The plane was fine when Donald was trying to leave the lightning barrier, but then after the singing and fighting continued, it's in shambles.

Zeus used the siren because he knew it would affect Storkules directly. Scrooge, Huey and Louie were not affected by the singing after later taking their hands from over their ear...holes. Dewey, Webby and Selene couldn't be affected because the temple was way up high on the island. The Sunchaser, however, was located right around the corner. Since Zeus wasn't affected by the siren either, perhaps there's something in the lyrics that affects immortals who rank lower than himself.

__

Back in April, I observed the Spear manual scenes in “Whatever Happened” and noticed that “DT-87” and “DT-18” were mentioned. These are abbreviations for “DuckTales 1987”, the year the original series came out and “DuckTales 2018”, the year Season 2 premiered. The numbers  “7-15”, “7-16”, “7-18” and “207” were also featured. 

“207” as well as the other 7’s refer to “Whatever Happened”’s production code, so I figured 15, 16 and 18 were also referring to other Season 2 episodes that might relate to 7. So far, Episode 15, "The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!"  and Episode 16, "The Duck Knight Returns!", have provided things that could be leading up to why Della took the Spear and how it could have to do with the father. Launchpad was present in both episodes, and both shared some similar themes. 

Episode 15 opens up with a thunderstorm storm. Gizmoduck is facing off against an evil scientist named Dr. Atmoz Fear, who's taking advantage of the storm by using one of his devices to manipulate the lightning. When he tries to zap Gizmoduck with it, it reminds me a bit of Gyro and his shrink ray in "Game Night".

Dʀ. Aᴛᴍᴏᴢ Fᴇᴀʀ sʜᴀʀᴇs sᴏᴍᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀs ᴡɪᴛʜ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ: Hᴇ ʜᴀs ʀᴇᴅ ʜᴀɪʀ, ᴀ ɢʀᴇᴇɴ sʜɪʀᴛ, ᴀ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴍᴀsᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀs ᴏғ ʜɪs ғᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴀʙ ᴄᴏᴀᴛ, sᴇᴇᴍ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴠᴇʀsᴇ ᴏғ LP's ғᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ғᴜʀʀᴇᴅ ᴄᴏʟʟᴀʀ.

After the villain is defeated, Fenton meets Gandra, someone else who also works in the scientific fields. Unlike Fenton, who's more professional with his work, she's more on the rebellious side. A similar thing can be said about Della and Launchpad when it comes to aviation.

Fenton schedules a science date with Gandra, but he's very hesitant to call it such. If Della took the Spear because she was trying to save the father and failed, I can see her being very hesitant about getting back into a romantic relationship.

On their way to pick up Gandra in the limo, Launchpad conversates with Fenton by going down a list of special someone’s he’s previously dated. A couple of mentions in this list caught my attention; the first being how Launchpad claims to have dated a clone of himself. I think this is a meta thing we aren't supposed to take seriously. Because...why would this be suggested if a legitimate clone of yourself is basically your twin sibling, your child or somewhere in-between that...?  Maybe it’s just me, but he blinks rather oddly right after he says this. There's also a pause as he stops the limo and begins to furrow his brow. Either he’s thinking really hard about everyone he's dated or he's a bit confused to where these more weirder memories are coming from.

What makes it even harder to take this clone claim seriously is that this is the same character who thinks Fenton is an actual robot because of the Gizmo suit and who also confused someone for a yeti in “Neverrest”. The word "clone" does have a non-literal meaning, so if we consider this and break it down...LP previously dated another goofy pilot who tends to wear teal and green, has a positive outlook on life in spite of all the hardships they face, never gives up, loves adventure, loves family, and doesn't like the idea of being replaced...?

I’ve joked to myself in the past about Della sort of being a female version of Launchpad due to their colors and how they have a similar way about themselves. Della's character pre-dates Launchpad but she was never described as a fearless pilot until the "Family Ties" comic was released in 2014, twenty-seven years after DuckTales debuted. (This comic is where the reboot got its inspiration for Della's character and story arc.)

If LP really does have amnesia, he can’t remember Della as a person, so it would be easy for him to consider her as a copy of himself. Scrooge made it extremely difficult to get information about Della after she went missing so anything that Launchpad is emulating from her had to be based on knowledge prior to that point.

Another reason why this could be a sly reference to Della is because every time we get information about Launchpad’s love-life, we’re always given something that can be traced back to Della: Della isn’t a deadly ninja, but Ziyi’s situation in “Gander” involved her disappearing and possibly leaving her offspring behind. (I’m assuming Ziyi was being referred to due to the order of  the list and being the only previously mentioned lover with an Asian background. Perhaps she has some Japanese origins as well as Chinese.) Della isn’t a forbidden mermaid, but Oceanika’s situation in “Depths” involved her calling out to Launchpad in a sing-song manner, wearing similar colors to both Launchpad and Della, and ended with Launchpad returning with a golden spear and trio of color-coded sea creatures that come from eggs. One of Launchpad’s lines in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” involved his true love giving him “eleven planes a-flying”. Regardless of how strange that statement was, it still planted the idea that there are two Launchpads, which technically, may be true persona-wise.

Tʜɪs ᴍᴀʏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ Tʜᴇᴍᴇ Sᴏɴɢ Tᴀᴋᴇᴏᴠᴇʀ, ᴀғᴛᴇʀ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ʜɪᴛs ʜɪs ʜᴇᴀᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏɢᴏ ᴄʀᴀsʜ, ʜᴇ sᴇᴇs ᴀ ʟᴀʀɢᴇʀ ᴠᴇʀsɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ʜɪᴍsᴇʟғ ᴏᴜᴛsɪᴅᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡ. Nᴏᴛ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴇ ʀᴇғᴇʀʀɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀᴍ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ɢʀᴏᴡ ʙɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀsᴛ.

The second mention in Launchpad’s list of lovers that caught my attention was the talking cloud of energy. Similarly to the pause after talking about a clone, he gets cut off right after he says this. A cloud of energy is basically a cloud full of lightning and that reminds me a lot of the cosmic storm. Since the cloud had the ability to talk, could this claim be based on a memory of Della trying to contact him while he was in the cosmic storm?

Fenton and Gandra’s date takes place at night in Gyro’s underwater lab. The moon is mentioned and it’s likeness is sort of shown through the string of lights used to decorate the room. Outside of the lab’s window is a starfish that is colored with a shade very close to Fenton’s purple shirt. He sits on the side of the table where the creature is located. The scenery is reminding me of the sea-space connections the show has been making. The starfish not only reminds me of stars in general but how the blue starfish attached to Launchpad at the end of “Depths” was a similar color to Della’s teal scarf. I’ve noted in another post that the starfish could have to do with Della because it also shares traits with Dewey and he’s constantly being compared to her, but what makes Della even more like the starfish is her ability to adapt. She lost her leg, but she was able to make a new one. Starfish can regenerate their limbs when they lose them.

When Fenton shows Gandra his Fentonium project, he described the invention as "An innovative generator from a mild-mannered source." If Launchpad has any electrical powers, this makes me wonder if they'll eventually be put to scientific use.

It’s later revealed that Gandra is a spy working for Waddle. Her main objective for going on a date with Fenton was to get him to say his Gizmoduck passcode to activate the nanite serum she made for Mark Beaks. For Gandra, the nanites gave her the power to deliver electrical shocks. For Mark, the nanites enhanced his body by giving him a muscular physique, a more prominent chin and gruffer voice to go with it.

Tʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛs ᴏғ ᴇʟᴇᴄᴛʀɪᴄɪᴛʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇ ᴘʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʀᴀɴsғᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴs sᴇᴇᴍ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴀsɪɴɢ. Tʜᴇ ᴍɪᴅ-sᴇᴀsᴏɴ ᴛʀᴀɪʟᴇʀ ғᴏʀ Sᴇᴀsᴏɴ 2 ғᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇs ᴀ ᴄʟɪᴘ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴀɴ ᴜᴘᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴇᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ Hᴜᴇʏ ᴛʀᴀɴsғᴏʀᴍs ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀ Sᴜᴘᴇʀ Sᴀɪʏᴀɴ ɪɴsᴘɪʀᴇᴅ ᴠᴇʀsɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ʜɪᴍsᴇʟғ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ʟɪɢʜᴛɴɪɴɢ ʙᴏʟᴛ ʜɪɢʜʟɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴ ʜɪs ʜᴀɪʀ. Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ᴀɴᴅ Mᴀʀᴋ ᴀʀᴇ sʜᴏᴡɴ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜɪs.

After the secret plan unfurls, Fenton turns into Gizmoduck. He responds to Mark's mutation:

“You've always been a monster, but now, you are a literal monster!” 

This reminds me a lot of the monster stuff in "Terror". I always feel weird when I try to make sense of that portion of the plot because I feel like I haven't figured it out yet, but something is definitely going on. Since that episode has aired, there have been multiple cases where a character is considered a physical or figurative monster and whether that makes them a good person or a bad person. And there's always an "M" alliteration tied to it:

Mole Monster and McQuack in “Terror of The Terrafirmians!”

"I can't believe my best friend is a mole monster..."

"Wait...am I a mole monster? But I'm a good guy! Then that means...mole monster can also be good guys."

Magica and Monster in “The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!”

"They'll turn on you; call you a monster!

“You’re the monster here!  And I know just the hunter to take you down...”

Monstro and M’Ma in "Who Is Gizmoduck?!"

"Eres un monstro, Diego!"

Monster and Mitzi in "The Depths of Cousin Fethry!"

"She's not a monster, she's a Mitzi!"

Moon Mite and Mother in "Whatever Happened to Della Duck?!"

“The mite isn't a monster, it's a mother!"

In an earlier post, I began to wonder if it would end up circling back to Launchpad since he's the one who started it. I thought maybe he'd feel like a monster in a figurative sense for accidentally abandoning his kids, but now it could also be something involving his genetic mutations. Maybe even a betrayal or theft of some sort since those concepts seem to be lingering in the background.

With all these M's going on and the high possibility of Launchpad's foreign names being used for Huey and Dewey, perhaps Launchpad's real name is Maxwell as in his Danish name, Max Motor. Joseph as in his Spanish name, Joe McQuack could also be another possibility. Since HDL went from more outlandish names to more plausible names, it's likely Launchpad's real name is something more standard.

Lᴀsᴛ ʏᴇᴀʀ, Dɪsɴᴇʏ ʀᴇʟᴇᴀsᴇᴅ ᴀ sᴇʀɪᴇs ᴏғ sʜᴏʀᴛs ᴄᴀʟʟᴇᴅ Wᴇʙʙʏ Rᴇᴀᴄᴛs, ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ sʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴄʟɪᴘs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ Dɪsɴᴇʏ Cʜᴀɴɴᴇʟ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅʀᴇᴡ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀɪsᴏɴs ᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ sʜᴏᴡ. Dᴜʀɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ Bᴇx's sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ ғʀᴏᴍ Aɴᴅɪ Mᴀᴄᴋ, sʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴏ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ᴀs sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ's "ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴍɪsᴛᴀᴋᴇs". Tʜᴇɴ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅs ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ, ɪᴛ's ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ Bᴇx ᴡᴀs ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ Aɴᴅɪ's ᴏʟᴅᴇʀ sɪsᴛᴇʀ; sʜᴇ's ʜᴇʀ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ. Tʜɪs ᴄᴀᴜsᴇs Wᴇʙʙʏ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀ ᴡʜᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ɪs.

When Fenton and Gandra make amends and try to come up with a way to stop Mega Beaks from wreaking any more havoc, Fenton points out that in spite of Mark's body being altered, he's still the same weak, ego-fuel person underneath those alterations. A similar thing can be said for Duke; even after he forgot about his Scottish persona, he was still Flintheart Glomgold and this became evident as he began to revert back into him.

When Mega Beaks is able to catch the Fentonium-laced paddle ball Fenton throws at him, he's amazed.

"Wow, I never actually caught a ball before! Well, who's the loser now, coach DAD?!"

This is the second time someone's father was mentioned in the episode. Before the date, M'ma mentions Fenton's father when she gives her son his suit to wear. Perhaps Della has one of the father's belongings that she'll pass down to her sons too.

___

Episode 16 was about two different people sharing the same alternative persona: Jim Starling as the original Darkwing Duck and Drake Mallard as the new one. Jim is outraged that he’s being replaced on a new Darkwing production after years of trying to make a comeback. Being disappointed by the gritty direction of the reboot, Launchpad sees Drake in a negative light and agrees to help Jim sabotage the movie. It was supposed to be for the greater good, but when Launchpad tries to go with the plan and lock Drake in his own trailer, his heroism is questioned. Drake isn’t a bad person and it turns out that he’s a huge Darkwing fan much like Launchpad himself. Was crushing the dreams of playing his childhood hero the right thing to do? 

Once they find common ground, Launchpad devises a new plan where all three of them work together to help make a Darkwing Duck movie that new and old fans can enjoy. Unfortunately, Jim is too full of obsession and desperation to finally give the show a proper conclusion, that he becomes selfish. He ignores Drake when he tries to propose LP’s new idea to him and locks him away. He then refuses to follow the script and ends up destroying the movie set with his defiance. Drake soon breaks free and challenges Jim, leading Darkwing into fighting with himself. Launchpad tries to snap Jim out of it and remind him of the hero he’s supposed to be. While it does cause Jim to literally reflect on what he was becoming and helped him to save both Drake and Launchpad from the surging lightning tower before it exploded, it ultimately wasn’t enough. The one who was presumed to be bad turned out to be good, and the one who was presumed to be good, became bad, leaving Darkwing as both the hero and villain of his own story.

Ok, so, there’s a lot of identity struggle going on along with frustration over getting replaced after years of trying to get back into the spotlight. This seems like more supporting evidence that Launchpad will be faced with a situation where he’ll be confused about who he really is, but could this also be hinting that Della might go a little too far with her rivalry against Launchpad? 

A lot of DW episodes so far seem to contain LP’s fear of being fired...but he’s considered honorary family; it’s hard to imagine Launchpad getting kicked out to take a permanent leave to St. Canard in this continuity. Launchpad wasn’t working for Scrooge in the original Darkwing Duck series because it took place in an alternate universe. Even with DW’s world integrated into the reboot, it’s still DuckTales at it’s base. It wouldn’t feel right for Launchpad to suddenly get removed from the main cast. I think similarly to Drake, Della will find some common ground with LP before anything is able to get out of hand.

When Dewey expresses his ideas to make the Darkwing film better, he mentions aliens, Megavolt and lightning towers. When Jim threatens to zap Alistair Boorswan with Megavolt's lightning ray, Launchpad steps in between them; willing to get hit to protect the director. Drake displays a high tolerance for pain as he survives a box of explosives going off, getting a piano dropped on him and getting zapped several times. 

As Dʀᴀᴋᴇ ɢᴇᴛs ᴢᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ, ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ's ᴀ ᴠɪsɪʙʟᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴄᴋ ɪɴ ʜɪs sᴋᴜʟʟ; ᴀ sɪɢɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ's sᴜsᴛᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ᴀ ʜᴇᴀᴅ ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ.

...ᴡᴀɪᴛ ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ, ᴡʜʏ ᴅɪᴅ Dᴇᴡᴇʏ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟ ᴡᴇᴀᴘᴏɴs ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ?!

An artificial thunderstorm is created when Launchpad turns on the rain machine to stop the movie set from being on fire. When he delivers his speech about how heroic and important Darkwing Duck is as a character, he stands in front of one of the lightning towers. At the mention of the word "light", there's an upsurge of power as the camera pans from Launchpad to the top of the tower. The structure sends sparks everywhere, but Launchpad is completely unfazed by this and continues his speech. 

A tattered image of the moon and a starry sky hangs in the background as this is going on... could this scene be proving that Launchpad has some degree of electrical manipulation? Is it only evident when he's extremely passionate about something? If this was purely the result of the rain machine being activated, wouldn't it have taken a much shorter time for the lightning tower to react?

Tʜᴇ ʟɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ's sᴘᴇᴇᴄʜ ɪs ᴄʟᴏsᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ɪɴ "Tᴇʀʀᴏʀ"'s sᴜʙᴡᴀʏ ᴄʀᴀsʜ. Iɴᴛᴇʀᴇsᴛɪɴɢʟʏ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ, ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ's ᴀ sᴘᴀʀᴋɪɴɢ ғɪxᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏɴ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ's sɪᴅᴇ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ʜᴇ ᴇxɪsᴛs ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʜᴇ ʟɪᴛᴇʀᴀʟʟʏ ʀᴇғʟᴇᴄᴛs ᴏɴ ᴡʜᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴇ's ᴀ ᴍᴏʟᴇ ᴍᴏɴsᴛᴇʀ ᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛ, ᴛᴡᴏ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ's ᴀʀᴇ sʜᴏᴡɴ.

When Jim and Drake notice the lightning tower is growing unstable, they both run towards Launchpad to save him. In a hassle to be heroic again, Jim pushes both of his fans out of the way and suffers from the explosion. The rescuer is believed to be dead but he's alive and takes on a new persona: Negaduck. The event figuratively turns him into a monster. 

So, there's a rescue, an electrical based event, survival from that event, a re-branding of oneself and someone is considered a monster. If Launchpad truly is responsible for blowing up the tower, he's the one who "killed" Jim. Drake blames himself, kinda like how everyone blames Della for the Spear incident when it could have been due to her going after Launchpad.

Wʜᴇɴ Dʀᴀᴋᴇ ᴀɴᴅ LP ᴀʀᴇ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ DWD ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ғɪɢᴜʀᴇs, Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ᴘʟᴀʏs ᴀ ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴄᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛᴀʟʟʏ ᴋɴᴏᴄᴋs ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀ ᴄᴜᴘ ᴏғ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ʟᴇᴀᴅs ᴛᴏ Dʀᴀᴋᴇ ʜᴜʀᴛɪɴɢ ʜɪs ғᴏᴏᴛ.

This episode made me realize a loose pattern that seems to be going on with two similar character that rival each other. One pretty much stays consistent (Scrooge, Lena, Drake), while the other goes through a major change that emulates the other (Glomgold, Violet, Jim). There’s usually an event and or a disappearance tied to their change (Scrooge’s Africa visit, the Shadow War, the tower explosion). The changed character is seen negatively and could be considered a monster. And at some point, one of the rivaling characters realize that the other has a significant connection to their past (The money clip, the amulet, the table signing).

I think Della and Launchpad could be following this pattern too. As noted by Scrooge in “Nothing Can” and “Raiders of The Doomsday Vault!”, Della’s hasn’t really changed at her base. Thus, making Launchpad the one who has most likely gone through a major change. Launchpad was established as Della’s double when she considered him to be her replacement and views him negatively. We know for sure that one of them went missing during an event and there’s enough potential hinting to suggest that they have a significant connection in their past.

Tʜᴇ ʟᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴘᴏʀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀᴛᴛᴇʀɴ ᴡᴀs ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ ɪɴ "Lᴀsᴛ Cʜʀsɪᴛᴍᴀs!" ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇɴᴅɪɢᴏ ᴡᴀs ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇ Gʜᴏsᴛ ᴏғ Cʜʀɪsᴛᴍᴀs Pᴀsᴛ. Iɴ sᴘɪᴛᴇ ᴏғ ʜɪs ᴍᴏɴsᴛʀᴏᴜs ᴇxᴛᴇʀɪᴏʀ, ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs sᴛɪʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴsɪᴅᴇ.

Another number featured in the Spear’s manual was “800”. I couldn't figure out what it could mean at the time, but it could stand for "Friendship Hates Magic!". WDTV press has it listed as Episode 8 in order of production.  This episode featured concepts of taking a dangerous risk to bringing someone back from the unknown, Launchpad bonding with a co-worker, possibly displaying one of his special abilities, hinting towards “Duck Knight” and the idea of someone who was thought of as being gone but they’ve actually been hanging around this whole time. When Lena is back to her solid form, Launchpad appears soon after the magical clouds of smoke begin to clear.

The number 17 is missing in the sequence that was highlighted in the manual. Perhaps there's something secretive about Episode 17. Or maybe the plot could be dealing with something or someone that’s missing. It could be when the family realizes Donald is missing or how his jail time is going on the Moon. It could also be something regarding the father; like Della opening up to the boys about him. I guess it could mean that this episode isn’t relevant to Episode 7, but that feels a bit less likely.

In my next post, I'm going to discuss how the arrangement of a scene can give us subtle hints about the future; starting with a closer look at Donald's family photo wall.

Are you up for even more reading? Continue here.

[hummelinthenorth-archive]

HOLY SHIT IS THAT [ CHRIS COLFER ]?! Oh, wait it’s just [ KURT HUMMEL ]. Damn, [ HE/HIM ] looks good for [ 26 ], good thing that they’re [ HOMOSEXUAL ], I might have a chance. I hear that they call them the [ BROADWAY FASHIONISTA ] of the [ NORTH SIDE ]. I guess that’s because they’re [ SARCASTIC ] and [ STUBBORN ]. But I don’t think a lot of people know that they’re also [ DEVOTED ] and [ PASSIONATE ].

01.  BASICS

Full Name: Kurt Elias Hummel

Nickname: He doesn’t really have many nicknames to be honest; people used to call him ‘Porcelain’ in high school, but that doesn’t really bother him much anymore

Sex/Gender: Male

Birthday: May 4th

Age: 26

Astrological Sign: Taurus

Occupation: Actor, Singer, Photographer

Spoken Languages: English, French, ASL

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Birthplace: Riverdale, MA; Northside

Relationship status: Single

02. PHYSICAL TRAITS

Hair Color/Style: His hair color varies from dark to light brown depending on whether he’s in the sun or not; he wears it cut short and well-coiffed

Eye Color: Glasz

Face Claim: Chris Colfer

Height: 5′11

Weight: 163 lb

Tattoos: Three, small stars on inside of his left wrist

Piercings: None

Unique Attributes: Small scar just above his left collar bone; his ‘countertenor’ singing voice; his eyes

Defining Gestures/Movements: He cracks his neck a lot more than he probably should

Posture: Healthy; sits up and strands straight

03. PERSONALITY TRAITS

Pet Peeves: People who interrupt, bullies, homophobia, people who walk slow, overly confident people

Hobbies/Interests: acting (though this is his occupation, it’s also a hobby he loves), cooking, fashion design, singing, dancing, reading, drawing

Special Skills/Abilities: His singing voice is definitely one of the most unique things about him; he also fluently speaks French

Likes: Broadway, Harry Potter, cooking, sex, fashion, animals, singing, dancing, spending time with his friends, NYC

Dislikes: Ignorance, homophobia, bullies, people who are mean for no reason

Insecurities: He has a fear of failure and not being good enough, despite the success he has managed to achieve

Quirks/Eccentricities: Knows how to use sai swords, can’t sleep without some sort of background noise

Strengths: consistent, resilient, reliable, honest (to a point), devoted, responsible, versatile

Weaknesses: can be a bit manipulative, stubborn as hell, snarky, a little blunt at times

Speaking Style: Depends on who he’s talking to; generally, he’s articulate, though a little rambly at times (especially when he's talking about something he's passionate about)

Temperament: He tends to keep his head in most things, though there are certain things that immediately set him off; overall, he is a generally happy person

04. FAMILY & HOME

Immediate Family: Burt Hummel (father), Elizabeth Hummel (mother), Aaron Hummel (adopted brother)

How do they feel about their family? coming soon

How does their family feel about them? coming soon

Pets: None as of right now; in New York, he wasn’t home enough to take care of a pet even though he really wanted one. He has no plans to move home to Riverdale, but when he finally does (and we all know he will) he’s going to invest in finally getting himself a furry little family member.

Where do they live? He owns a small one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, but he lives at home in Riverdale while his father is healing/in the hospital.

Description of their home: Neat, organized, open. Many bookshelves.

Description of their bedroom: Airy and open. Many earthy colors. King-sized bed that takes up a good portion of his bedroom, though he also has a walk-in closet for all of his clothing. Part of his living room serves as a work-space for creating and designing his own clothes, which he does in his spare time.

05. THIS OR THAT

Introvert or Extrovert?

Optimist or Pessimist?

Leader or Follower?

Confident or Self-Conscious? A little of both, depending on the situation.

Cautious or Careless?

Religious or Secular?

Passionate or Apathetic?

Book Smarts or Street Smarts? That being said, he also knows how to pick a lock and can defend himself in a fight

Compliments or Insults? Bit of both, truthfully

Pajamas or Lingerie? Bottoms only, but only in the winter; otherwise, naked

06. FAVORITES

Favorite Color: Dark green

Favorite Clothing Style/Outfit: Anything he considers to be fashionable; he is almost always sharply dressed unless he’s at home without anyone to see him. At home, he’s usually in sweats and a loose-fitting shirt.

Favorite Bands/Songs/Type of Music: Anything and everything Broadway, Pop, Top 40′s, R&B, Jazz, Piano, Violin, Classical; honestly, he has a fairly wide taste in music

Favorite Movies: Romance, Comedy, RomCom, Horror as long as he’s not alone

Favorite Books: Harry Potter, anything dystopian, mystery novels; honestly, he’ll read anything that keeps his attention

Favorite Foods/Drinks: Pizza; red wine.

Favorite Sports/Sports Teams: He’s not much of a fan of sports, but he can follow if someone else he’s interested in has interest

Favorite Time of Day: Early Morning

Favorite Weather/Season: Fall

Favorite Animal: Penguins

07. MISCELLANEOUS

Fears/Superstitions: coming soon

Political Views: Liberal

Addictions: Coffee. Tea. Britain.

Best School Subject: Languages (English & French); he taught himself ASL

Worst School Subject: Maths

School Clubs/Sports: He played football for a few months in an attempt to fit in, but that was the extent of his high school athletic career. He broke his arm during a game once, and he was done.

How does he get money? Through his acting jobs. He’s also a secretary at Vogue.com

How is he with technology? Very adept.

08. PAST & FUTURE

Fondest Memory: Making Christmas dinner with his mother the first year Aaron was adopted

Deepest, Darkest Secret: When the casting director for The Book of Mormon hit on him after auditions, he caved and slept with the man to give himself an upper hand to finally get on the big stage. He was upset (mainly with himself) when the man cast him as Elder McKinley instead of Elder Price like he had promised, but he accepted the role regardless. Kurt dated the casting director for a very short time after this, in an attempt to ease his own uneasiness with what he’d done, but it didn’t work out.

Dream Vacation: France

Best thing that has ever happened to this character: Moving to New York and making a life for himself.

Worst thing that has ever happened to this character: His mother dying

What do they want to be when they grow up? A successful Broadway star as well as the owner of a successful fashion line

Perfect Date: A nice dinner (home cooked or in a restaurant), walking under the stars to get to know each other; he also wouldn’t object if it ended in sex, though it doesn’t have to.

09. HIGHLIGHTS OF HIS LIFE

Growing up in Riverdale wasn’t a picnic, but he knew that there were others who had much more difficult lives than he had

He had always been closer to his mother than his father, emulating her in many ways (including adopting some of her habits and passions as his own), and when she passed away it absolutely devastated him. He didn’t speak for nearly two weeks, and when he did he would only speak to his family. It took a few more months and much more therapy before Kurt finally started returning to his old self.

His father was and is unaware, but after Aaron ran away when Kurt was 17, he has kept close contact with his brother on a fairly regular basis; he doesn’t agree with the way Burt treats Aaron. Kurt might not understand Aaron’s desire to be in a gang or put himself in dangerous situations, but he also knows his brother wouldn’t be involved in anything he couldn’t handle. In the last year or so, he hasn’t been able to talk to him for as long as he would like because of his own busy schedule (employed as a secretary at Vogue.com as well as auditioning for shows), but he still makes sure to carve out time in his schedule to keep tabs on his little brother.

Being the son of the Sheriff didn’t exactly make him popular in high school, but he didn’t let the bullies stop him from being himself. That being said, after a particularly hard year being bullied in his Junior year - he spent much of his Senior year keeping to himself. He didn’t voice his opinions as much, but he instead chose to set his sights on his future. New York City and the New York Academy for the Dramatic Arts. Auditions for the prestigious school were brutal, with only fifteen people around the country being accepted to the program he wanted each semester, but Kurt was over the top excited when he received his acceptance letter.

In the eight years since leaving Riverdale in his rear view, Kurt has truly come into himself. In recent years, all his hard work has finally started to pay off, and he’s managed to make a name for himself in the Broadway circuits. It took him a bit, but Kurt finally managed to land a leading role for himself in the Broadway show Newsies, where he’s been playing the role of Davey. Before this show, all of his roles had been in Off-Broadway productions, ranging from extras to leading roles.

As much as he loves New York and Broadway, though, when Kurt received the call in the middle of the night that his father was in the ICU at Riverdale General, having suffered a massive heart attack, he put his life on pause and came home to Riverdale to help take care of him.

[quixsilver]

So I read online that there’s a part of the cell that’s actually called ectoplasm and it just sort of got me thinking on how that figures into ghost stuff until I ended up crafted a Frankenstein’s monsters of headcannons that I decided to post on the internet at 2am for no reason. Heavily inspired by jay Eaton’s ghost physics by Enjoy?

An essay no one asked for

Okay so in biology, ectoplasm is the clear outer part of cytoplasm in a cell. So if a ghost is comprised of ectoplasm that would make them giant cells or basically amoebas. They are however supposed to be dead things so from there I started building this web of bullshit.

In this head cannon, ghosts are an inter-dimensional species of entities that are almost indistinguishable from the single celled organisms called amoeba. Ghosts however do have several distinctions that highlight their dimensionally foreign properties such as the fact they do not posses any sort of substance comparable to endoplasm.

Ghosts are comprised of a sort of cytoplasm that has the non-granulated and clear properties of ectoplasm in regular amoeboid cells, thus bringing on the general term for the material “ectoplasm”. Ectoplasm has several anomalous properties because of the fact that it originates in an alternate dimension; it has the capacity to quantum tunnel (phenomenon where a particle passes through a potential barrier that it classically cannot surmount.) and contains microfilaments composed of an unknown material that can act as programmable matter, which is matter that has the ability to change its physical properties (shape, density,conductivity, optical properties, etc.) in a programmable fashion based upon user input. This programable matter has also been observed to be able to generate gravitons and thus manipulate the forces of gravity.

Ghosts in their unstable premature state have the appearance of an giant amoeba, being a gelatinous blob like entity with transparent qualities. Ectoplasm from the ghost zone is electroluminescent, this means a ghosts ectoplasm is constantly lit up as a result of their ecto-signature. They seem to function off of unstable pseudo-nucleus that will eventually give out and self destruct, causing the structure of the ghosts exterior to destabilize and thus the mass to fall apart. Because of this, ghosts require a source of memory to keep in a stable imitation or copy. Most ghosts however will never find a suitable donor of memory as there are no none sources of actual DNA in the ghost zone.

When introduced into the environment of this dimension, ghosts will seek out decaying organic material to “consume”. This is not done to gain energy for locomotion or any other process, but to gain the genetic memory of cells by more or less created a copy of the the DNA comprised of the ectoplasm’s programmable matter;ectomatter. This Ectoplasmic DNA is kept in an imitation of a nucleus known as the ghost’s “core”. The core carries an electric system that stimulates memories to keep them active. This self contained electric matrix is known as the ghost’s “ecto-signature”. Ghosts are able to create imprints of somatic memories in recently dead organisms, essentially allowing a certain portion of an organisms personal experiences, wants or ambitions to pass on to the ghost. After genetic memory has been gained and a stable form established ghosts will not seek out anymore decaying organic matter. Because the “DNA” is merely an imitation of actual DNA, ghosts do not have the capacity to remember things such as bone or muscle structures or interior organs, but these are not needed anyway. Instead, ghosts will adopt exterior features such as skin, nails, cartilage, and even hair.

They also adopt useless features such as a mouth that leads directly into the ectoplasmic mass and eyes that are not required to perceive light. Somatic memory of the ghost (the ghosts experiences, not the imprints) are stored in an imitation brain, that’s just as meaningless as it’s eyes or mouth. Things such as chemical processes or cellular reproduction do not occur instead a ghosts brain is only capable of simulating a single chemical emotion learned from imprint memory with the emotions typically being fear or anger as adrenaline is the most common chemical ghosts can simulate.

Ghosts are capable of absorbing new ectoplasm to increase mass. As a result, ghost have the ability to create a copy of themselves with excess ectoplasm. however this copy is incapable of prolonged existence because the memories they have are imitations of imitations. This is the beginning of a new ghosts “life cycle”. The copy will either imprint and become semi sentient or destabilize. Because the only components of a ghosts makeup are ectoplasm and programmable matter a ghost will never truly age or reach a point at which it is unable to function.

Ghosts “feed” through radio-synthesis or the capture and metabolism by organisms, of energy from ionizing radiation, analogously to photosynthesis. Ghosts can also feed off of actual chemicals such as adrenaline or serotonin.

Because of a ghosts limited range of intelligent function they would classified as semi sentient as they are not capable of pain or truly experiencing emotions. Their mindset is entirely focused on a sole emotion or even subject or activity that they learned off through random happenstance or the somatic memories of their imprint.

abilities of ghosts include:

Duplication: the ability to asexually create copies of themselves, typically with only a simplified copy of a ghosts core, mainly to achieve a purpose beneficial to the source. After which the copy will destabilize or go on to become an entirely new ghost.

phasing: a ghosts use of ectoplasm’s ability to quantum tunnel.

heightened senses are a result of the fact that a ghosts entire body acts as sensory organs, Being sensitive to vibrations, light, and chemical contact.

invisibility: is an ability that stems from a ghosts ability to absorb and interact with radiation around it, with light being a form of electromagnetic radiation that a ghost can manipulate. This light manipulation can also be used to appear human. the ability to manipulate electromagnetic radiation is also associated with a ghosts ability give its form different colors as ghosts exteriors are entirely comprised of the same material.

Ghost rays: plasma discharges are when a ghost absorb and pump a massive amount of thermal radiation into a small portion of their ectoplasmic mass until it disassociates into ions and separate the ectoplasm from themselves to direct at a target. The discharges behave in a manner similar to extremely hot ionized gases.

possession or “overshadowing” is the process in which a ghost will override an organisms brain function by overriding the nervous system with electricity from the ghosts ecto-signature. The ectoplasm mass of the ghost is condensed and phased into the organisms integumentary, muscular, and nervous systems. Prolonged possessions are generally not healthy for the host organism as the ghost forces itself onto the neurons of said organism. Faulty or incompetent possessions can cause permanent brain damage or even catatonia.

flight is the use of ectomatters ability to generate and manipulate gravitons

ghosts bodies are classified as amoebas and such limbs such as arms, legs and even heads are purely aesthetic because the cores memories require input to be comprehendible to the imprint sources senses, meaning ghosts are capable of body distortion also known in common amoebas as pseudopods, with the only limitation being that the mass needs to stay in one piece. It should be noted that body distortion is entirely different than duplicating as duplicating is when a ghost becomes two separate masses with their own cores.

Ghosts are only classified as amoeba because their general structure is incredibly similar. They are not however actual living organisms as they do not biologically age, traditionally reproduce or have actual physical DNA. They are merely imitations of actual organisms, spawned from other ghosts. they once existed as an actual species of reproducing amoeba that had a similar ability to create duplicates without physical stable nuclei, so the first ghosts imitated the DNA of the actual amoeba. Existing in the cycle of creation and imitation for millions of years with only occasional ghosts slipping through “portals” to imprint on organisms in this dimension. But the species of amoeba went extinct and thus the only source of new ghost now is the duplication of stable ghosts and imprinting in this dimension.

The ghost zone itself is actually a pocket dimension that exists between the fourth dimension (time) and the fifth dimension. Because the ghost zone exists outside the timeline, time works has varying affects in different parts of the ghost zone. It doesn’t follow the conventional laws of time in our dimension (third dimension). The ghost zone is entirely comprised of ectoplasmic particles the exist extremely far apart, similar to the state of outer space in this dimension. The ghost zone absorbs radiations across several dimension as the free floating ectoplasm carries an almost insignificant charge. The exact form of radiation is unknown but seems to be a previously undiscovered form of cross dimensional radiation. Because of ectoplasm’s ability to adopt new properties as a result of intelligent programming the ghost zone is full of structures and environments created, wether consciously or unconsciously by the ghosts themselves. As for actual environment, there’s an actual planet like structure orbiting the ghost zones version of a sun (a mass of ionized plasma similar to ecto-rays). The planet itself was struck by a large object, causing the planet to shatter into a cone like configuration. Momentum doesn’t seem to have affected the debris which still orbits in a synchronized fashion with the largest mass.

the destruction of the planet is what caused the extinction of the ghosts source species. And because of the extinction level event ghosts had to rely on solely imprinting on dead organic material.

I may do another essay about how Danny, portals and ghost weopons work.

[sanjiafsincedayone]

One Piece 902 - Review/Thoughts

Chapter 902 – End Roll - What an emotional chapter… I really liked most of it, but I think it was a little bit weird. I’ll just jump in and give my main thoughts about what happened this chapter.

First, I loved the scene with Sanji thinking about Pedro and the kind of solemn expression Oda drew. I am so glad for all the serious moments we have gotten with Sanji this arc.

Then Carrot coming along to comfort him. It is probably the sweetest moment we’ve seen this whole arc and I think it says a lot that Sanji doesn’t keep on blaming himself after Carrot talks to him. It feels like progress to me, even though Sanji does blame himself, he still understands that it’s not really his fault so to speak. 

Carrot crying after trying to comfort Sanji just went straight to my heart. It’s also really cute with them patting each others heads for comfort. A genuine moment that just makes me wish for two things; 1. That Carrot stays with the crew, if not forever at least in a similar manner to Vivi or Law. 2. That Sanji could act like this more often, especially with women. I love his soft side, and I think we have gotten to see it more often this arc due to the seriousness of the situations that Sanji has been in.

Either way I really loved their interaction and both characters are so soft and sweet it makes my heart ache. The scene is really emotional and it was probably my favorite part of the chapter if I’m being honest.

Then we get to hear Big Mom and her homies sing a song, as we see an overview of what’s going on. 

Amongst others we get this´scene of Sanji and Purin, which is mostly build-up for later, it’s all very bittersweet actually. Especially since we have Sanji with Carrot seemingly having mentally left Purin behind, while she obviously is still thinking a lot about him. It’s a weird kind of romantic angst for Oda to write, but more on that later.

I’m not going to lie but I am so tired of Big Mom at this point… She’s back to normal and nothing changed, they’re still going after the strawhats and basically Oda spent years of the manga writing a plot that only delayed Big Mom. Of course I think Oda has some purpose left with Big Mom, and it’s possible the whole divine cake thing will be relevant again then, but at this point I feel like we spent a lof ot time dragging a plot that didn’t make much of a difference. Honestly, things changed so fast between last chapter and this chapter I almost got whiplash. Is the crew suddenly all safe and ok now since they are out of the territory? I can’t be that easy right?

Not to mention both Germa and the Sun Pirates are still fighting, so it feels off to see the strawhats being all content and happy at the same time.

Anyways, moving on to emotional scene part 2 in this chapter. Purin gets a flashback, and we see some of her inner struggles throughout the arc. I genuinely feel bad for her, but I still wish Oda would have played things a bit differently for her. I understand that she was bullied and felt horrible about herself, and I do sympathize with her, but some of Oda’s decisions when it comes Purin’s story actually feels a bit rushed and forced. I think Oda wrote some scenes for her that mostly just complicated things without any real purpuse in the end... Especially with her doing unnecessary damage to Reiju just for a dramatic effect when it didn’t really lead anywhere in the end, and also how long the time of the readers not being able to trust her was. I don’t know, I really like how Oda has written her after a certain point, but it was so much harder to enjoy her character when I didn’t know where to place her. Personally I wish Oda wouldn’t have used her so much for shock value so that I instead could have developed a better understanding and bond with her sooner. I understand her switch, but it all happened really fast and especially if this is supposed to be genuine romantic development it’s been way too rushed for it to develop a strong foundation.

Either way I think Oda has written Purin and Sanji’s relationship with some odd decisions. I still don’t know where this is going, or if it’s now the end of it all together. Somehow this really feels like an end, but at the same time it would be weird for Purin to just disappear crying like this. I like how Sanji’s kindness was highlighted again, to make a change in Purin, just like it did in Gin so many years ago. But at the same time if Oda truly wants Sanji and Purin to happen I think he should have handled it differently, mainly because Sanji has been so strangely detached and unresponsive to a lot of Purin’s interest in him. I don’t really know why Oda would do that if he really wanted to develop Sanji and Purin as a true romance. So, that leaves two options, either Purin’s part in Sanji’s life is over and she will now go on a journey of her own to discover the world isn’t as cruel as she might have thought. Or two, she will come back, but to me a setup for Purin to come back and perhaps be Sanji’s true love-interest in the series I think Oda should have handled a lot of things differently. But enough about general Sanji and Purin discussion and back to the chapter.

I feel the kiss was pretty obvious, and also Purin taking away the memory of it, since Sanji had no reaction earlier. I feel bad for Purin, but that being said, it really does feel like the end for this plot… At least for now.

Also, just a small side-note… I really hate the nickname “Jiji”. It’s what Sanji usually call Zeff (only with shitty added before it), so I don’t see why Oda would pick that name for Purin to call Sanji. Unless it’s with the intention to draw some strange parallel to Zeff, but that in itself is such an odd idea… It’s basically her calling Sanji “Old man”. No, I’m kind of hoping there is something wonky with the translation on this one. Moving on to emotional part nr. 3!

Now, I did not expect this scene with Katakuri and Brulee, but I really liked it a lot. It’s a sweet moment between them and I loved the quiet support and understanding from Brulee and the highlighting of their bond. Seems like yet another case of enemies possibly turning into allies of the strawhats later on too.

The flashback was nice too, though I think we already recieved the message of “being loved for who you are” both in Katakuri’s and Purin’s story even prior to this chapter and even though it was unexpected to be shown their childhood like this, I did like Oda’s inclusion of it. Oda deciding to develop these characters more now when it’s seemingly the end of the arc just makes it all the more likely that they have future roles to play.

And then we are back to Big Mom’s song again and showing the battle still going on… Seriously Oda, it makes me feel really uneasy to end an arc like this. Big Mom is still a huge threat and their allies are fighting for them, so it’s just weird to have the strawhats really be out of the picture when everything isn’t over… The jump to the strawhats on the next page makes it even worse.

I mean, it’s nice to have some lighthearted crew interaction again, I’ve really missed it. And it’s also nice to have Sanji be truly happy again and the parallel with Zeff was a nice addition and I loved the line of father and son. It’s just a little out of place in my opinion. The ending of this arc was just too rushed, especially compared to how Oda has really dragged some portions of the story this arc. To me Oda is making it seem like the arc is over when it can’t be over. I am looking forward to Wano and not having to deal with Big Mom for a while though (hopefully).

So, all in all lots of great moments this chapter, and plenty of emotional scenes, some of which truly touched me a lot. But the timing just seems off, and with the sweet and touching scenes being mixed with crazy Big Mom and the fight still continuing this chapter is just and odd mix which leaves me feeling a bit uneasy about the development and pacing. 

So, an ok chapter with some really great moments is probably my final verdict. Thanks for reading, hope you had fun and feel free to discuss further and explain your thoughts on the chapter!

[hunterstream591]

Best Free Writing Software For Mac

Book Writing Software For Mac

Script Writing Software Free Mac

Best Free Music Writing Software For Mac

Best Free Novel Writing Software For Mac

Best Free Writing Software For Mac

Check Writing Software For Mac

There are many people who are just fond of writing and for their writing, they just need the right tool. The combination of a perfect writing tool and the writer can deliver some of the best and unique forms of writing. There is an enormous amount of writing tools present which can help you to reach your destination. Today we will be discussing on some special writing apps for MAC devices. These apps are leading in the MAC world and many of the users are using this.

The main reason why this app is on our list is it is free to use. But the pro version of this app will cost you $14.99 per year. Conclusion on Best Writing Apps for Mac. So, these were some of the important writing apps for the Mac. Many people across the globe are using those apps and came with some of the best of the writers. Offline Scriptwriting Software for Mac 6. Highland Software. Highland software works with the Fountain file format, a text-based file compatible with several of the best screenwriting software options. Fountain documents are plain text, so when you write one you don’t fiddle with formatting, and can write it anywhere (GoogleDocs, NotePad, etc). Ulysses is one of the most sought after novel writing software programs today but it also caters to any type of writers. The software can transform the text into stunning eBooks, PDFs and Word documents- properly styled & formatted. It will even export the works into HTML format so.

The writing apps for Mac which we will be discussing today comes loaded with different types features and people using those apps gave very positive reviews. So without doing any further delay let’s start the discussion.

Remember this app won’t elevate your writing skills it can just modify your writings.

Here are Best Writing Apps for Mac

Listed below are some of the best writing apps for Mac which you should check out in order to get the best of the writing experience.

1) Ulysses

Ulysses is a multitasking writing app for Mac where you can write different types and patterns of writing like if you want to write short things you can do that or if you want to go for big things even you can do that too. As soon as you open this app you will be greeted with a beautiful interface which is very advanced looking.

The design of the interface is so nice that you can easily get into the system instantly. The app is divided very smartly into three division. The middle pane, the left pane, and the right pane.

The left pane of the app consists of the library place where you will get different types of things like your menu, folders, trashes etc. Here you will also get the option to store your writings on the cloud storage. Coming to the middle pane which is also known as sheet where you will find all your individual documents.

The right pane is the most important part it is the text editor place where you do all your main works. This app supports different types of formats which can help you to get the best of the writing facilities. This app is not available for free it will cost you around $44.99 which looks quite a decent with a feature loaded like this.

Interested Read on How to do movie downloads free

2) Scrivener

Talking about Scrivener this app is very close to Ulysses and comes loaded with different types of features. But if we take a deeper look at this app then only we can explore the lacking of this app. The first thing which should be developed is the user interface. The user interface looks quite complicated and many needs time to get familiar with this app.

Many people find this app not much comfortable. Now let us find out some of the best and important features of Scrivener. The most attractive thing about this app is that they come with the best of the organization facility which really helps you to maintain your works.

Even finding your document gets very easy as they come loaded with the dedicated search bar which helps you to find your documents instantly.

Just like the previous app this app too can support different types of formats which help you to elevate your work. Even sharing your works gets easy with this app. At Scrivener, you can even add different types of layouts like underline, border, margin, Bold etc.

First on our list of 20 best accounting software for Mac is FreshBooks, a popular. ZipBooks is the best free accounting software for Mac. Sign up for a free account and gain access to our professional design, simple invoicing, and time tracking capabilities. ZipBooks can help your business accomplish its financial goals today. For small and medium sized businesses or personal users that are seeking a seamless. Business accounting software for mac freeware. Accounting Software for Mac Free Download Get started using best-in-class accounting software for student Mac with a free 30-day trial. FreshBooks lets you test out our easy-to-use features for a full 30 days before committing — no strings attached and no fine.

All these things elevate your work experience. To use this app you have to pay $44.99 which is just the cost of the previous one but with all the features loaded here this price worth it.

3) I A Writer

This is a very simple looking writing app which gets a bunch of features on it. The user interface of this app is very simple not like the other apps mentioned above. It is a bright and attractive looking app which gets easily connected with the users.

The main focus of this app is given mainly in writing so as such no fancy coloring is given on the app. coming to its user ability.

The app is very comfortable to handle and many writers recommend this app for writing. Here you can put different types of formats as the system supports all. Even saving any file gets easy with the help of this app.

If you want to get in the navigation portion of this app just slide right and you will be into the navigation portion. The searching portion is advanced as the system gets its own searching space which can help you to get access to your files and documents easily.

The most attractive part about this app is that, while you are writing anything the line which you will be writing get the highlight and the rest of the line above will be in a gray color which helps you to concentrate on your work more.

The price of this app is far less as compared to that of the previous ones. It is priced around $9.99 which is quite an affordable and reasonable.

4) Bear

This is the last and the most effective app for writing. With the help of this app you can write both small and long notes and it as effective as the previously mentioned apps. There are many people across the globe who are using this app at an extensive rate.

The user interface of this app is even very attractive looking and works well as compared to that of the other apps. The most important features of this app are it is very simple and support almost all kinds of formats. The main reason why this app is on our list is it is free to use. But the pro version of this app will cost you $14.99 per year.

Conclusion on Best Writing Apps for Mac

So, these were some of the important writing apps for the Mac. Many people across the globe are using those apps and came with some of the best of the writers. The apps mentioned above are best in class and comes loaded with different types of features. Some of the apps might cost you but with features loaded the price worth it. So, what you are waiting for use one of those apps and give your writing a new flow.

Share Your Thoughts on this article by Commenting Below. If you liked this content do share it on your social media now.

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Writing is fun and it is considered to be the best way to express your thoughts and feelings. There are lots of tools that can help you organize, edit and modify your notes or stories. If you’re on the lookout for a certain tool which helps you modify and organize your writings, then the Free Writing Software is the best one for you. Some of the widely used writing software tools and their main features are mentioned here in this article.

Related:

Libre Office

Libre Office is the most powerful office suite which comes with a Free Writing Software tool in addition to the other office tools. The writer can be used to create simple memos and complete books with diagrams, index, and content. Use this tool to get good looking documents and various templates.

Ywriter5

The word processor yWriter5 helps to split your novel into separate chapters and scenes. This Free Writing Software tool can be considered as a novel writing software which lets you organize your story into different sections. Use this tool to edit and add new scenes to your novel.

LitLift

Book Writing Software For Mac

LitLift is a Free Writing Software tool which lets you write, organize, save and share your stories. It comes with features such as full-screen editing, friendly interface, library, storyboard, etc. This tool helped to promote writing and so you can depend on it to complete your story.

Scribus

Abiword

Novlr

LaTeX

JaLingo

WordPress

Writer Duet

Writer’s Block

OMM Writer

Script Writing Software Free Mac

The Novel Factory

Apache Office Writer

Free Writing Software for Other Platforms

Look out for the various book writing software tools that are available online. Search for free writing software download to get access to the number of tools that are available for download. Use the best tool to get optimum results.

Trelby for Windows

Best Free Music Writing Software For Mac

Trelby is a Free Writing Software tool or screenwriting program which is specially designed for Windows users. It comes with a screenplay editor, supports various platforms, includes multiple views and helps to compare scripts. Other features include a database, PDF generator, report generator and options to export or import files.

Byword for Mac

Byword is one of the easiest writing tools that is available for free download. Free dna sequence analysis software for mac. Although this Free Writing Software application doesn’t have rich features, it is quite handy when it comes to clean and fast writing. It works fine on all Mac devices without any hassle.

Jotter Pad – Writer for Android

JotterPad is a writing application which is designed for creative writers. This Android application is all that you need for writing novels, poems, essay, screenplays, etc. Use this Free Writing Software application to focus more on your story and write without any distractions. The extended keyboards, phrase finding options, syntax highlighting and night mode are some of its features.

Evernote – Most Popular Software

Evernote is the most popular workspace which helps you do all kinds of tasks. The handwriting tool is a Free Writing Software tool which lets you express your thoughts in a clear manner. Just tap the pen in a note to start writing. It also comes with a camera, an app center and also provides search options.

How to Install Free Writing Software?

Best Free Novel Writing Software For Mac

Free Writing Software tools can be downloaded for free from the official websites. The tools come with all the necessary features that help in the easy modification of your story, memos or quick notes. With the rich features, you can concentrate more on your thoughts and work a lot faster. Install the best Free Writing Software tool to start writing in a professional manner. You can also see Novel Writing Software.

Best Free Writing Software For Mac

Free Writing Software tools let you manage your writings in an effective manner. These tools can be installed on all the latest smartphones and devices for quick use. Writing stories is made simple using this free writing tool.

Check Writing Software For Mac

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[ericvick]

Mayoral candidates discuss "Mass and Cass" solutions

The six candidates operating for mayor of Boston met for the second time this 7 days in a discussion board hosted by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Section Wednesday in which they honed in on prison justice, compound abuse condition, mental overall health, and homelessness.

The race for Boston’s top rated occupation is set to enter its remaining stages this summer time with the preliminary election set to take location on Sept. 14 and the common election on Nov. 2. Candidates have been showing at a spate of discussion boards over the previous months and have commenced to pitch comprehensive plan proposals in an effort to entice voters.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, the host of Wednesday’s function, claimed the pandemic and previous presidential administration have highlighted inequities in the metropolis. Tompkins mentioned it is significant to hear what variations candidates would make to provide equity to men and women dwelling in the city.

“We utilised to guide the way. We really don’t anymore, we are falling down the ladder. And so we are looking at each and every and each and every just one of you, or whichever 1 of you wins, you are gonna have all of our help because we need to have these variations to materialize,” he mentioned. “We need fairness, we need to have fairness. We need clarity, we need to have homes, we need to have work. It just isn’t really proper. More than enough is enough. We can’t stand it anymore.”

A portion of the forum turned into open up discussion on how to greatest offer with substance abuse dysfunction, mental wellness, and homelessness difficulties close to the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.

Metropolis Councilor Andrea Campbell proposed employing what she calls a “Mass and Cass main” to work with a special device of general public wellness, legislation enforcement, mental well being, and recovery professionals to deal with the spot.

“Appropriate now you have people who are going out supporting individuals get into supportive housing, serving to folks get a restoration, operating on probably decentralizing providers,” she reported. “It really is all disjointed. Everyone’s in a silo, no one’s sharing information with each other. So I am declaring place with each other a unit exactly where it is the very same folks displaying up that consist of psychological overall health clinicians, recovery experts, individuals who operate in supportive housing to enable individuals who are homeless.”

Performing Mayor Kim Janey explained her administration is “managing this the exact same way we did with COVID.” She mentioned she is setting up a performing group with stakeholders in the restoration local community, folks of color, and company associates, between other people.

“In conditions of decentralization, I do not see any communities increasing their hand to say, ‘Hey, we want products and services and procedure right here,’ ” she reported. “So a lot of persons can place their fingers, I don’t see anyone increasing their hand to say indeed, we want to embrace people who need support and services. We have got a whole lot of function to do.”

Talking immediately after Janey, former Boston Main of Economic Development John Barros claimed “we require to strike the streets now. We have to triple the group on the streets now and get products and services on the streets suitable now.”

“And we require to do it like not in some meeting or some new team, we have to have to do it by undertaking it now,” he claimed.

Campbell stated the metropolis would not need to have an additional system or performing group.

“We require motion,” she reported. “… No one’s heading to increase their hand. That’s a actuality. No one’s heading to increase their hand. But leadership is significant to say even if you will not raise your hand, it is critical that each neighborhood in the town of Boston answer as a collective to handle these difficulties.”

Responding to both Campbell and Barros, Janey pointed to get the job done that “is happening on the floor,” expressing public wellness officers are reversing an average of four overdoses a day.

“This notion that very little is occurring, regrettably, it can be not real,” she explained. “I suggest, individuals want to speak about that mainly because folks really don’t like what they see. And the fact is, this is a quite complicated situation. Individuals are not magically acquiring properly and getting employment and receiving housing. There is a system in location.”

Prompted by a concern inquiring candidates what they would do with the judicial system and its cure of African Individuals, Barros expressed help for raising funding for community defenders and civil legal support companies that deliver very low-cash flow individuals going through civil difficulties with authorized illustration.

“We got to make sure that our community defendants have the assistance that they need to have,” Barros explained. “If they have issues handling scenario flows, that we get the suitable variety of advocates in the courts for us. And then we obtained to have individuals in the correct place that can vouch for us.”

Campbell reported it is vital to make certain men and women are afforded because of approach and good legal professionals when navigating the criminal justice technique. She recalled when her twin brother cycled via the prison justice program and finally died when in custody “as a final result of acquiring insufficient wellness treatment.”

“My twin brother, the cause he was in custody for two years, he in fact cycled by a good deal of community defenders who weren’t that terrific at what they do,” she reported. “And so I imagine that is amount just one.”

Responding to the exact same concern, Janey said the town requirements to provide instructional and financial chances, dismantle the faculty to prison pipeline, and handle trauma.

“We have to keep on to thrust and use this system as elected officers to ensure that we are doing anything to dismantle the university to jail pipeline to make guaranteed that we are not continuing to criminalize our folks,” she said. “Yesterday was the anniversary of the killing of George Floyd and we know that the conditions that led to his loss of life still persist to this day and so it is really up to all of us to go on in that battle.”

Metropolis Councilor Annissa Essaibi George explained the metropolis requirements to husband or wife with condition and federal governing administration to conclude violations of civil rights in the judicial program. Extensive just before residents conclude up interacting with the judicial or court docket programs, she mentioned, they are interacting with “programs of treatment continuum that are now broken.”

“Whether it really is our education process, irrespective of whether it truly is our health and fitness care process, no matter if it can be our transit technique, irrespective of whether it really is our housing procedure, all of people factors happen at the starting, and we have to root all of these units ideal to their core, root out that racism that exists within people programs,” she claimed.

Town Councilor Michelle Wu claimed she supports diversion intiatives to aid maintain people out of jail. At the exact time, she stated, there is substantially to be completed at the metropolis degree.

“We know that the deck is stacked presently because of the way information and facts is flowing,” she reported. “Our Boston law enforcement, for instance, maintain a databases the place most normally young gentlemen of shade, Black and brown boys, if you’re in the erroneous location, you are sporting the completely wrong colour, you’re with a team of people, all of a sudden, you get factors immediately after factors, and you will arbitrarily in this database being viewed.”

Rep. Jon Santiago, an unexpected emergency place physician at Boston Healthcare Heart, explained when he treats a client coming into the unexpected emergency place with gunshot wounds, “it is pretty much always a failing of the process.”

“It is generally, almost generally, a youthful Black or brown male. And for me, I have to inquire myself, is this a coincidence? The answer’s no,” he said. “It truly is a failure of the procedure, of our govt.”

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[broomsick]

Foregoing regional differences was wilful on my part since beginners in the faith may need broader definitions before they encounter them during their research. You’re right, the old faith presents vast differences from one Scandinavian region to the other. However back in the day, the “norse religion” was just as scattered and diverse as it is today. Regrouping it as a general set of beliefs was a choice made by historians in light of certain similarities. I’m aware Ásatrú has become in many European countries a term to encompass the whole faith, but I preferred to highlight the difference with Vanatrú, mainly because the term “Ásatrú”’s use changes vastly outside of Europe. I could have, indeed, specified that it was used in Europe as a general term for the old norse religion. However in the Americas, it’s sometimes used in that context by extreme right groups, which is why I wanted to take the term as is and to explain its basic meaning. I better liked to define it using its roots in order to avoid confusion— I hope you’ll forgive me the choice. Now, I think it’s obvious modern Scandinavia doesn’t practice the old ways as it used to and certain practices have either changed or disappeared with time after the arrival of Christianity. For this reason, reconstructionists such as myself usually tend to base ourselves off of historical research instead of modern practice, though the latter sometimes helps consolidate certain scholarly theories. I’d say archeological findings and historical texts are what I use most— granted, with a critical eye, to build my set of beliefs. So no, I’m sorry to say current Scandinavian practices are not a lone reconstructionist’s primary source, though they are interesting to study and incorporate into one’s practice, in certain cases. I admit some of these words may not share the same definitions in the Americas as they do in Europe but what can we do, language changes all the time and heathens here may indeed have started transforming the context in which some of them are used. Just like in Europe, norse belief here varies vastly. Not only from one region to the next, but from one person to another. That’s what motivated me to write down a few terms a beginner to the faith might encounter along their journey and to give a general explanation of how they are used (from the perspective of someone who lives in the Americas, given that it’s the case for a good portion of my heathen following). I gladly welcome your contribution though, I’m always open to hearing about somebody else’s experience with the faith!

Clarifying some terms really quickly because some of them are not, in fact, interchangeable

Ásatrú refers specifically to the worship of the Æsir Gods, with it literally translating to “Æsir belief”.

Vanatrú refers to the worship of the Vanir Gods as it translates to  “Vanir belief”.

Norse paganism does not always refer to polytheism, as some of the people who identify with the term don’t practice deity worship. Norse paganism can be better described as a general spiritual mindset which often encompasses the worship of spirits of the land and ancestors, among others.

Heathenry is similar to the last term. It appears often in older historical sources such as the sagas. Of course, it was originally used in a somewhat derogatory way since it was mostly passed around by Christian monks/scholars. However, heathens today loosely use it to label themselves since the old Nordic and germanic religions didn’t really have names. Atheists have also been using it from time to time, namely in podcasts or atheism-centered talks.

Odinism = white supremacy, moving on. Ok no seriously, I’ll just dive into that one real quick. It was supposedly first used in the 1820′s and was later claimed by american folkish groups such as the OR (Odinic Rite). At its core, the term refers to the worship of Óðinn— but let’s be honest it’s a symbol of bigotry and archaic discriminatory social stances. Ok moving on.

Forn Siðr translates to the  “old way”, as the term was used in contrast to Christianity (the “new way”). It is now used mainly in Denmark, where it was claimed by a danish Nordic religion revivalist group. As such, it encompasses both Ásatrú and Vanatrú.