#hortense and della are awesome

[oddballism]

This is Important

*It is to me, at least

Credit under the cut for where I got the images:

Images 1 & 2:

@belphegor1982 : https://www.tumblr.com/belphegor1982/162517819650/belphegor1982-my-aesthetic-is-donald-being-darn?source=share

Images 3,4, & 5:

@fethrybestduck : https://www.tumblr.com/fethrybestduck/164739198636/wanna-read-dellas-debut-story-the-first-one-that?source=share

Direct link to the Imgur : https://imgur.com/a/3iGqH

[godfrey-the-chaos-duck]

I love Hortense I LOVE HER

What do you mean it’s not Hortense on the phone with Scrooge in that one promo pic?

(No, please. PLEASE. LET HORTENSE BE IN THE NEXT EPISODE. P L E A S E)

I’d like to thank my wonderful friend @moonstoneflowers for dialogue ideas and Scottish terms of endearment ;)

[justaboot]

i am currently going insane over the parallels between hortense and della in one of the new comics

so i was reading the mickey mouse magazine in the dentist's waiting room on wednesday and one of the comics for donald's 90th anniversary suddenly dropped hortense mcduck lore

in this canon, she's an adventurer and a scientist and she goes missing while on an adventure

the story is about scrooge trying to find her and bring her home for donald's birthday, but he doesn't find her (and ends up having to get saved by donald, gladstone, and the triplets). donald finds letters that she wrote to him while she was missing and scrooge says that he's sure she's still alive

and while this isn't dt17 canon, it is a danish story so it's the same canon as the comic that introduced the concept of della getting lost in space (it was even the 80th anniversary special)

della herself doesn't appear in the comic (and isn't even mentioned) but she is on the cover for the next issue (along with donald or hortense) and i can't wait to read it

the comics always make such a point of how similar donald and della are to hortense but this case is just so heartbreaking

and specifically with the context of dt17, the parallels of hortense's letters and della's transmission, both trying to contact their kids but not being able to

i think i might actually translate the comic to english if no one already has and if i find it at the store today

Hi sorry for the late reply I’m gonna CRY, no pressure and also PLEASE deliver the translation unto the people, that would be so awesome! It’s always such an incredible reminder how tightly they tie in/snag lore.

[popculturebuffet]

Art of Ducktales Review: Just Ducky

Hello everyone and welcome to an extra crunchy bonus review, as I take a look at something you knew I was going to get eventually but thanks to mom telling me I wasn't getting it for christmas, I bought way sooner than expected: The Art of Ducktales, the art book released just last week from Dark Horse, containing interviews with tons of the crew, mostly Matt and Frank as you'd expect, behind the scenes art, and more good stuff. It was 50 bucks for the standard version but was it worth it? Join me to find out This was something I was jazzed for and for good reason: My love of ducktales is well documetented on this blog having covered the major arcs for season, all of season 3 and some assorted episodes. And i'm not really slowing down as I have a Gizmoduck arc planned for sometime next year (whenever Kev wants to do it), and a review of "last Christmas!" in just a few weeks. While I plan to still pace myself I do want to have reviewed EVERY episode at some point. Ducktales was everything I coudl've hoped for, more and then more AFTER THAT, an expertly crafted show spread over three wonderful seasons that should've gotten a fourth. What we got was still great though, so naturally a book honoring that, especially from disney who RARELY makes merch for older fans of their DTVA shows, and one that's sales could impact us getting one for Owl House, was like catnip. The fact that it was written and put together by Ken Plume, the same great dude who put together the awesome Art of Venture Bros that I still use reguarly for my Venture Bros retrospective was just the cherry on top So did it live up to the hype? Welll... yes and no. The bad news is while I HOPED for some content about what episodes could've been, some new factoids about the characters already.. there wasn't much of that. What we have gotten through tumblr (and Kev sending me posts) has mostly been thorugh the supplemental book that came with the deluxe edition I didn't buy because it was 80 dollary doos. I was already pushing my budget getting this. From that we did find out Hortense and Quackmore are still alive and living on Grandma Duck's farm.. but...

Like... did they meet the kids before Della came back? Why would they go along with Donald's lies? why did they never try to patch the donald and scrooge riff?

What is their relationship with the kids? How would they react to Webby, both pre and post revelation about her being a clone now and the two of her just a hangin around donald adopted? how would they treat Daisy? why are they on a farm? These are questions we fans can answer and i'll have fun doing so, this book reignited my passion and writins for the show so I might just do that, but it's stil baffling to just drop that bomb and not fill it Out matt, and especailly in the delxue edition. We also get conformation it was Matt who clearly missed the queer subtext with Webby and Lena as not only does it never come up but he outright calls them "friends who are sisters". Maybe he dosen't care some fans ship them? maybe it's his interpretation? I dunno and as one of the co creators it's fair for him to interpret it that way.. in a sense

All in good fun of course. I do respect Matt. But I also expect my right to disagree. Anyways, we don't get any new blistering insights into the world itself. But it's MORE than made up for. While this book lacks in what we coudl've had it's a really GORGEOUS celebration of what we did get. For starters we get a LOT of in depth info on the creation of the show, it's themes, and I gained a new respect for a guy I didn't even really know existed, Seam Jimenz who was the shows art director. The stuff he pulled off for the show, the tone he set and everything he and his crew were amazing. A lot of the book is he or other people on the show detailing how they pulled off shit that came off efortless to me and making me love the show even more. From blocking an episode in an enclosed place for Last Crash of the Sunchaser, to how they ONLY used fog for Missing Links of Morshire or the castle eps as a stylistic choice, to the little bits of comic fuz you see in every background there's a lot of cool details. We also get lots of great art, from the protype designs of the kids, to Lena's own evolution, to various concept art for characters. There were a lot of good designs before the awesome ones we landed on. We also get art of incidental stuff like the posters from Terror of the Terra Firmians, the very gay cake from Night on Killmotor hill, the darkwing first darkness poster.. if your a hardcore fan of thes how like I am there's a LOT to love here. So in short, as this is a fairly short review if you love hearing the people who made this show fantastic talk about how they pulled that offf, character stuff, episode ideas and other neat little stuff, this is for you. if your hoping for more of the show.. this sadly isn't it.. but maybe it'll get us more. Either way it's a great insight into the beautiful found family this show created that gave us one of my faviorite shows of the last decade. Woo-Ooo!a

[tomb-bloom-noctem]

saw your post so go ahead and give us all of your DY headcanons

So...whoops this has been sitting in my drafts FOREVER and I deeply apologize anon. I wanted to go into it more but unfortunately it was forgotten and I feel terrible and I just wanna post it instead of leaving it forever again. 😔 my apologies again. So here's some headcanons specifically about Donald and Della.

So I'm guessing by DY you mean DT so I'm going with DT headcanons and if I misunderstood then I'm sorry anon 😂

Oh boy now I have to figure my thoughts 😂 this is not very organized!

Most of these will make an appearance in The Attempt and the Aftermath but some won't. I'm going to avoid putting ones that I feel will be spoilers.

Tombs DT Headcanons

Donald

He's ambidextrous

His parents taught him and Della the piano and guitar but it stuck better with Donald than it did Della.

His strengths are language, music, and arts. Reading, writing, learning other languages, drawing, playing music, etc. It's a kind of sad irony since so many people struggle to understand him.

He can speak, write, and understand English, Spanish, Portuguese, (courtesy of José and Panchito), Greek (courtesy of Storkules), Latin (courtesy of Quackfaster), and American Sign Language (courtesy of Hortense) also a small bit of Scottish Gaelic (courtesy of Fergus and Downy) and French (later in life courtesy of Daisy)

His voice being hard to understand is due to his vocal cords being underdeveloped when he was born. This causes him pain a lot of times, especially when he's sick or speaks a lot. (Already partially explored in my fic but some more coming up)

He was in the Navy for just under 4 years. (More on this coming up in TA&TA)

He doesn't like flying but his fear didn't really set in until after losing Della.

Donald has depression, anxiety, PTSD, haphephobia the fear of being touched, and selective mutism. Heavily explored in my fic with healing as the goal.

Panchito taught him his "world famous chili"

Donald is actually a pretty good cook when his luck doesn't mess with him and actually has access to better ingredients.

He mostly likes rock and metal music but he's open to all music of course. But he's still got a lot of his grunge tendencies.

His greatest fear is not being good enough for the boys.

Daisy is his first kiss, first really serious relationship, first all of it. He's a little bit embarrassed by it but he's just never really had time or even really opportunity to form romantic relationships before her.

He has the worst temper between him and Della but is more patient.

He used to really like sitcoms but now he can't really stand them. He doesn't watch TV much anymore. He's very tired.

Della

Della is right handed.

Her strengths are more mathematical, scientific, and mechanical. She's actually quite intelligent when she really applies herself. It's just that a lot of time she's impatient and rushes in.

Della has a better temper than Donald but she still has the Duck temper. She is less patient than him though.

Della knows English, sign language, and Greek (courtesy of Selene). Languages don't stick quite as well with her so she relies on Donald more so for language stuff.

If Huey, Dewey, and Louie were girls she'd have given them the same Jet, Turbo, and Rebel names. ("What can I say? These are awesome names and gender neutral.")

Della claims she doesn't believe in astrology and horoscopes but she kinda secretly does.

She didn't go to college but she did attend a private flight academy for a year to get her pilot's license.

Also she isn't completely tomboy. There is a feminine side to her but she will only reveal it when she wants to. This mostly happens with her female friends but the family sees it sometimes. But as a whole she prefers adventure and sports and "masculine" things. (All of which is valid)

Her favorite TV shows are of the action/adventure and mystery/crime genre.

She's the oldest by 2 minutes.

[fantasticenthusiasttale]

I. AM. NOT. OK, and i blame Kari Korhonen and Wanda Gattino for that. First of all, it's an AWESOME translation @3rdexistence , you did such a great job.

Spoilers under the cut!

Second, THE FEELINGS AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

HORTENSE DISAPPEARED AND SCROOGE WAS SEARCHING FOR HER THIS WHOLE TIME!!!! It's his little sister!!! To think of how young she was when she went to study the apes, Donald (and Della) probably were little kids when this happened!

SCROOGE AND DONALD BONDING OVER SOMEONE THEY "LOST"! Don't listen to me Scrooge but she probably died on her way home, sorry. He knows what not having a mother feels like, and he will search under every single grain of clay on this planet for her, not just because he misses his sister – but he also wanted to take her to her son's birthday!! Donald misses her terribly, he can't even express! I BET that he didn't end up this comic emotionally fine, he's NUMB. His arms fell on his body's sides, mouth open, he's BROKEN (the shadow on the last panel was to hide his tears while Scrooge conforts him) (don't blame me for conspiracing this, "Scrooge and Donald's relationship" is my favorite thing ever and point of study).

"At least we have each other" is not the best thing you can hear from the guy Scrooge McDuck himself, but it's the best to hear from dear dad Uncle Scrooge, who will do his best to offer the most confort he can over this situation. Hortense was the best mother she could be, and the apes are on proof of this.

Also this:

They look to Donald so proud (except jealous Gladstone)! And Hortense's big smile!!

This was an excellent choose of comic!! THANK YOU!!!

Donald Duck "Mr. Adventurer" Comic Scanlation

First of all, I need to express my gratitude for Quackie @3rdexistence, who volunteered to help me when I sent out a request to give me photos of this comic. Not only did he buy the comic and send me photos of every page, but he also volunteered to scan and translate it into English! This is his first time doing a scanlation, and he did a great job. He even included some additional notes about the original German text. He didn't have to do this at all, and I'm so thankful he was this generous. You're fantastic, Quackie. Go give him some love! He also gave me permission to post this to my blog, so thank you for that!

This is a pretty recent comic -- it came out on May 10th, and I've been super excited to share it.

Now, what is this comic about?

Well, not to spoil anything... Actually I tagged the big surprise, but I'll try to keep it under the cut anyway.

The story is about Donald becoming upset after he discovers a new TV is stealing its plots from his and his nephews' adventures. Convinced the culprit is Uncle Scrooge, his mission to bring the plagiarizer to justice will take him to realizations he never could have expected...

Gladstone also joins in on the adventure, so that's fun!

Read it here:

Spoiler under the cut!

This comic reveals what happened to Hortense McDuck!!!

[drummergirl231-2]

Thoughts on the Rumored November Episode Titles

A few days ago we got an unofficial announcement for episodes continuing to air through November, finishing with the Christmas episode they promised us back in July 2019 at SDCC. These look pretty legit, and it sounds like the source typically isn’t wrong, but these are still all rumors.

That said, here are my speculations on the episodes:

Nov 2nd, “The Split Sword of Swanstantine!”

This is the one I have the fewest ideas about. It sounds like another episode centered around finding one of Isabella Finch’s missing mysteries. Given this will take place after the family realizes F.O.W.L. is after them (from the plot synopses we have for “Let’s Get Dangerous!” and “Escape from the Impossibin!”), it may involve an antagonist from F.O.W.L. It could be a Huey episode, or a Webby episode. Heck, who knows, Daisy could show up. It’s hard to tell. This is a very generic adventury title.

Nov 9th, “New Gods on the Block!”

Frank said on January 26th 2020 that we will meet one more Greek god. Not sure why the title says “new gods,” like plural if we’re only meeting one new one. He also said we’d see Della and Selene hanging out. Maybe more Greek gods are moving to Duckburg? Like Selene and this other god we haven’t met in the show yet and they’re the new gods on the block? 

On March 4th 2020, someone asked him if we’d meet any other Olympian gods on Ithaquack, to which he replied, “Not on Ithaquack.” So that sounds about right.

Nov 16th, “The First Adventure!”

I’m just gonna leave this here:

I mean, Frank did say Scrooge was a frequent caretaker of the twins and that we’d find out why. And when someone asked when Donald and Della moved in with Scrooge I think he said “Spoilers,” or something to that effect. I think all that awesome stuff we’ve been waiting for will be in this very episode.

Nov 23rd, “The Fight for Castle McDuck!”

I’m guessing this is another episode that deals with the past. After all, Castle McDuck only appears once every five years, and it appeared in Season 1. So maybe this was some sort of family feud between Scrooge and his sisters over their ancestral castle? 

Frank said that Hortense and Matilda are not both dead. So either one or both of them are alive. We haven’t seen Scrooge, Donald, or Della interact with or mention Hortense or Matilda in all this time, and if at least one of them is alive, maybe there’s some family drama going on there.

But I am 95% sure Hortense and Matilda will appear in this episode. 

Nov 30th, “How Santa Stole Christmas!”

Frank has confirmed we’ll find out why Scrooge hates Santa, and from Scrooge’s perspective it is a very serious reason. Since we’ve known about this episode since July 2019, the speculations I have now are the same speculations I’ve already posted about on this blog. 

Final Thoughts

Now, I’m a little skeptical about the airdates of “The Fight for Castle McDuck!” and “How Santa Stole Christmas!” Those are set to air (based on this rumor) a few days before and a few days after Thanksgiving. 

In Season 2, we skipped the Saturday that was closet to Thanksgiving. “Storkukles in Duckburg!” aired Nov 17th and “Last Christmas!” aired Dec 1st. In Season 1, there were no new episodes in November. So to get new episodes in Season 3 three days before and four days after Thanksgiving? Hmm... I dunno... it’d be a Thanksgiving miracle.  

[spacedpanini]

Request in Tumblr!

Heist AU for Ducktales with Scrooge and his siblings! I thought it’s hilarious and awesome with a bunch of middle age people going on dangerous heists.

Donald’s parents are alive in this one. No one is happy with Scrooge uppending everyone’s peaceful lives for his adventure high. XD oh Scrooge, you dumbass.

Scrooge is both the Thief and Mastermind

Quackmore and Hortense are inside man/espionage and Hacker/Getaway lady (she drives recklessly) respectively.

Gideon is the Architect/Point Man

Matilda is Grifter and Spy (her penmanship and acting skills are surprisingly on point but she did fall in love with one Mark *cough* Ludwig*cough cough* They had to “kidnap” him.) Ludwig becomes their chemist

Magica is their (Scrooge’s) harried secretary/magical clean up. Mrs. Beakley is Ludwig’s former secretary/Agent for SHUSH and is hellbent in arresting them all. Donald and Della (and their cousins) are only around 12 here

If Eider or Daphne join in, Eider is the muscle and Daphne is another inside woman/actress.

Anything to add @robinine-blog @miilkyprism @donaldtheduckdad ?

[peachhoneii]

Board Meeting Baby:

Wanted to write this for a while now. It’s such a fun concept to think about, and it’d be awesome to see what would’ve happened if Scrooge had ever done this (with Donald/Della/both).

There’s a reason the board didn’t voice a single complain to Louie’s presence at the board meeting.

Scrooge had done it before, but they’ll admit it wasn’t as destructive.

@peeka-boo-blogs, @donaldtheduckdad, @humanityinahandbag (it ain’t angst), and @robinine-blog

Happy New Year everyone!

Santiago Reyes preferred the comforts of his uptown office.

These comforts included his desk, his table, his vending machine, his secretary, and the fifteen-minute drive to and from home. The last was consequentially vain of him, he knew, but he was of the opinion that his office was far more aesthetically pleasing compared to the titanium-cinder block rock that was a rock blotch on the puny if usually lovely island.

Scrooge McDuck was not the sort of man to hold a board meeting where he didn’t want to. He was known to avoid such meetings if he could, which was frequently, and preferred to meet at his expressed approval, a habit that had become exceedingly rare in the past five months.

The decision to make the forty-minute drive to the Money Bin was not made easily. He, Alcides, and Frankie made the terrible drive from the safety of their offices, and settled into preparation for what was to come.

Santiago prepared the balance sheets. Alcides took upon the income statements. Frankie bit down into the cash flow statement, right eye twitching at the numbers. He felt for the slightly younger buzzard. It must be difficult, so recently incorporated into the board.

“What do you think he’ll say this time?”

“I’m not sure.” Santiago answered, “He isn’t the type of man to give excuses, just answers and demands, but,” he sighed as he straightened the balance sheets on the table while Frankie prepared the presentation along the wall, “he has been…distracted as of lately. My secretary has informed me all calls from my office have been put on indefinite hold.”

Alcides sniffed loudly, “As you may know why.”

“Alcides,” Santiago warned.

Frankie’s turned to stare wide eyed at them, “What?”

“Oh you know,” Alcides straightened his papers on the table, “it seems he has become reacquainted with an old friend from his prospector days,” he sent a chilled glare down the table, “we’ve discussed this, Santiago.”

“As I am well aware, Alcides.”

“And what did you say about the rumors?”

“I said it was best to ignore them.” That alone did not sway Alcides, “It would only fan the flames if he or any of us gave comment, and we don’t want the flames to grow.”

“Why are we worried about flames,” Frankie dug through his suitcase.

Alcides sneered, “As long as Mr. McDuck stays true, we may not have to,” and even quieter, “fortunately, we may not have to worry about this matter today.”

“Fortunately.” Santiago glowered in Alcides’ direction, “Let us focus our attentions on what is important.”

“And this is not important?”

“It is not relevant.”

“And who are you to say it is not relevant?”

Santiago sighed, “It is not pertinent to financial business, and knowing Mr. McDuck,” a dark tremor passed along his beak, “if we were to bring it up, it’d make him even more adamant. It is best to let it pass its natural course, and as it did not come to fruition previously, we can be safe assured it will not now.”

Alcides glared tightly. His right eye bulged as if it would shoot right out of its socket. He sighed, collected his papers, and faced Frankie, “It’s a waste to flatter him. Be direct, blunt, and to the point, he respects that.”

“Yes, yes, I am well aware of it.”

“Duckworth, inform Quackmore Ah’d like ta' take a look at the books for the renovations.” A powerful timbre of Scottish origin drummed to the meeting room, “Please remind Matilda and Hortense we’ll be visiting this afternoon.”

“Yes, Mr. McDuck.”

The door opened. Scrooge entered, and a deathly silence ensued.

Scrooge huffed as he dropped his luggage to his right. He sat at the head of the table, deep scowled, and ready to work.

Santiago flinched.

Alcides’ mouth was left agape.

Frankie stared bright eyed, a nervous grin passed on his lips. He wasn’t able to identify immediately what was wrong, but knew something was not quite right.

Three sets of eyes fell on Scrooge’s chest, unable to turn away.

“ ‘Suppose it’s that time of the day.” Scrooge pointed to the oversized projection screen behind the three men, “Ah don’t have all day.”

“What is that?” Alcides’ muttered, scandalized.

“What is what?”

“That.” He repeated, gesturing hotly at Scrooge’s chest, “What is that thing hanging around your chest?”

Scrooge frowned, glanced down, then back at up wearing the most obvious expression on his face, “Ah don’t know what ye’ talkin’ ‘bout, it’s just a baby.”

“And may I ask why is there a baby hanging around your neck,” Santiago asked.

“It isn’t a baby.” Frustrated, Scrooge shifted the wrap the child was carefully swaddled in, “It’s my baby, and her name is Opal. She’ll be joining us from now on.”

As if this was the cue for introductions, the small infant cooed loudly for all to hear. To his horror, Santiago saw a pair of tiny, little fingers reach for Scrooge.

Scrooge’s obstinate scowl cracked under gentle smiles and warm eyes as he cooed gleefully in return, “There she is, me wee bairn, now, now, say hello to the Executive Board, yes, yes, ye’ll be comin’ with Poppa from now on, won’t ye?”

“I suppose this explains your frequent absences, sir.”

“Yes, Mr. -,” Scrooge peered curiously at him, “may Ah ask which one are ye, Condor is it?”

“Frankie Condor, yes.” He smiled at the baby, “Congratulations, sir.”

“Thank ye.” His scowl returned, “Now, that’s out of the way, let’s get on with this.”

Santiago stared at his downcast reflection on the table. When he raised his head, his flabbergasted irises met with Alcides’ incensed pair glowering back at him.

Her preferred not think of what his call to his secretary would sound like.

“Mr. McDuck.”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

Scrooge looked up from his task, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“I wish it wasn’t, sir.”

“She needsto be changed.” He flicked his chin towards them, “And Ah’m listening, ye said what about the renovations?”

Alcides’ straightened his tie, “I said there was no need for the amount of money spent for the renovations of the mansion.”

“Ah did say renovations.” He lifted Opal’s tiny feet, gently wiping the poop off of her bottom, “It was for the nursery.”

“Nursery?”

“Yes, nursery.” He flinched at the odor, “Me darlin’, Ah must say, this formula makes ye a monster.”

The child’s giggles grated on his ears. Alcides' teeth grinded loudly, “Sir, you must say, the funds used for this nursery are atrocious.”

“Ah, yes, yes.” He said dismissively, “But do ye have any ideas how many revenge curses and diabolical plans have crossed me head over the past ten years?”

“I doubt these curses and plans cost $250,765.75.”

“Who knows?” He powdered the baby’s bottom, “Ah don’t know what it’s going to be like in the future if Ah keep going the way I do. Ah might have tae’ start some kind of magical defense.”

Alcides sat down quietly, “You had to hire Von Drake for this?”

“Certainly, Von Drake is a man out of time, beyond time.” He scrutinized the standing man, “Not like Ah’d expect ye to understand it.”

“And why is that?” Alcides drawled, “An infant doesn’t need so much protection.”

“Aye, she does.” He strapped the diaper and cooed proudly, but Alcides glared at the steady gleam over the man’s gaze, the warning that didn’t need to be said aloud, “When her poppa’s Scrooge McDuck.”

He sucked in a sharp breath, “Moving on, may we discuss the revenue reports, Mr. Reyes.”

“Yes.” Santiago coughed, “Lets hurry, there’s much to discuss.”

Scrooge’s crooked brow lifted slightly, “Ah’m not surprised.”

A self-proclaimed man of cleverness and crippling astuteness, Alcides was at a loss for his next action. Scrooge’s penetrative gaze mocked him, tested him as he divulged critically in the statements they prepared for the meting. He listened carefully, making harsh comments when he felt necessary – rapid defense of specific purchases, and harshness slipped into tenderness whenever the child was concerned.

The quick spasms from unforgiving businessman to doting father was baffling, maddening, and potentially dangerous.

“Light o’ my life, don’t drool on Poppa’s coat.”

“Something needs to be done quickly.”

Frankie didn’t understand what was so wrong.

“Alcides, there isn’t much we can do.” Santiago massaged his temples, “The child is here, there isn’t more to be done.”

“So you say!” Alcides passed back and forth, forth and back, his hands twisted anxiously, “A lot of things can be done.”

Santiago dismissed him with a roll of his eyes, “We’re talking about a child, Alcides. Scrooge isn’t going to announce the baby’s birth, but surely, reporters are going to notice.”

“I don’t see the problem.” Frankie packed his things into the suitcase, “I think it’s…progressive for him have brought her here, to think she may take over one day.”

Alcides growled, “I highly doubt it.”

“It’s certainly possible, bringing her to board meetings, saying it’s going to be something we’ll get used to.” Frankie frowned at each of them, speaking softly, “It’s just a baby, Alcides -,”

“Just a baby!”

“And he isn’t the only one doing it.” Frankie added, “Flintheart Glomgold brought his own daughter to a diamond mining expedition, and I don’t think she’s much older than little Opal.”

“He also had a nanny,” Alcides huffed.

Santiago cocked his head debatably, “And what of the Rockerducks?

“The young heir recently had a daughter of his own.” Frankie explained testily. This was information they should have acquired far earlier, “He and his bride welcomed a daughter into the family a few weeks ago.”

Santiago leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping softly against each other, “Excellent points, Frankie, but Mr. McDuck’s scandalous circumstances have made this…complicated.”

“Exceptionally so.”

“Can anyone inform me before he returns?”

Santiago nodded, and Alcides sniffed, “His old acquaintance was a harlot in Dawson City…the Klondike.”

“My sources say she was a dancehall girl at a saloon.”

“She drugged him and robbed him.”

“Maybe, he's into that kind of stuff,” Frankie whispered, “I’ve read articles about it.”

“About what?”

“About certain activities couples indulge in.” He closed his suitcase, “I find it extremely interesting. Human sexuality is a marvel.”

Alcides glared, “We are not dealing with a mere human. This is Scrooge McDuck, and when this gets out,” he pinched the skin between his eyes, “consider the damage to his reputation.”

“He already seemed to have damaged his reputation.” Frankie shrugged, “He is known for his terrible temper, unyielding obstinacy, and savvy business skills…I doubt the fact he has produced an illegitimate child will do much harm to him that he hasn’t done already.”

“Do you think this will help?” Alcides slammed his hands on the table. The roar of the projector drowned his heavy breathing, “It is our job to protect Mr. McDuck’s best self-interests.”

“And his daughter isn’t?”

His cold glare sent a tremor up his spine, “No.”

“You can do what you like, sir.” Frankie said quietly, “But I think this is one battle you cannot win. The Hippie Movement is in full swing, and it is not unheard of for unwed mothers and fathers to take charge in raising their children these days.”

Alcides slid into his chair, “Damn hippies. We cannot allow Mr. McDuck to be associated with them.”

“And he won’t,” Santiago declared.

“How do you know?”

Frankie stood from his chair, “He’s a capitalist, and one of the greatest known to the world. He represents everything they hate,” he thought for a moment, “most of the things they hate," he turned around with a bored sigh,"this meeting has been adjourned.”

“I must say,” Santiago placed his papers into his briefcase, “you are in a hurry, Mr. Condor.”

“Well, Reyes.” He grinned as he looked back at their mildly interested and disinterred faces, “My wife and children are waiting for me. We’re going to Funso’s Funzone!”

He ran out the door, leaving his two colleagues dumbfounded.

Santiago blinked at Alcides, “What is a Funso?”

“I don’t know.” He glared at his briefcase, shutting it with a definite click, “But I hate it.”

Opal kicked.

“Ah know, my darlin’.” Scrooge strapped the belt around and under the baby seat, “Ready ta’ go, ready ta’ sleep, but we’ll be at Auntie Hortense’s soon.’

He grunted as he readjusted the strap. This never did get easier.

Duckworth stood to the side, watching carefully as his employer struggled with the seat belt, “Mr. McDuck, do you require assistance?”

“Nah, nah, Ah donnae any help.” He grunted and pushed the metal into the slot, and cackled when it clicked – locked, “Good riddance ta’ ye!”

Opal giggled, legs kicking towards him, suddenly excited.

“Ye ready to make noise, are ye?” He sat beside her, and stared across the seat, “And did ye’ have fun watchin?”

Quackmore shrugged, “It was more comical than I was expecting the work day to be,” he smiled at Opal, “but it’s also far more cuter than I expected too. Nice to meet you, Opal.”

He offered his finger to her, and laughed when she took hold of it, “Yes, I’m your Uncle Quackmore.”

“Not married yet.”

“Will be soon.” His stare flickered to Scrooge, “And what of you and Miss O’Gilt?”

Scrooge huffed, “There isn’t anything to say.” He glared guardedly at his soon to be brother-in-law, “My board nearly had a heart attack when they saw her, and with her being in the Andes for the unforeseeable future, I

Opal craned her head to look at Scrooge.

“Here ya’ daddy, don’t ya’?” Quackmore eased back into his seat, “It’s amazing that the cheapest, stingiest, most miserly, turnip-squeezingest, penny-pinching tightwad on Earth could help create a precious, darling, adorable, and divine little creature as you.”*

She giggled and coughed. Scrooge raised his head for that, and started to dig into the diaper bag.

“Ah didn’t want to use this in the meeting.” He placed the pump above her mouth, “Ta’ think what else they’d have to say. Was positive Vultur was about to have a heart attack right then and there.”

“Can they do anything about it?”

She fought him for several moments, “No, they can’t,” he pumped gently, relaxing as her breathing eased, “but that doesn’t meant they won’t try to convince me other wise.”

“I don’t know why you decided to get a board.”

“Ah need to make sure Ah’m not wasting money, to make sure it’s circulating as it should.” He counted each pump, “Ah know they don’t like the sound of her.”

What they thought of the baby and her mother didn’t faze Scrooge in the slightest. Quackmore had never seen a man, as more in love with a child, not even his father was as tender with Daphne when she hatched.

But after all, Daphne’s extraordinary luck had soothed the majority of his parents’ fears.

“Boot’ it doesn’t hurt to give her an early lesson about business,” he returned the pump to its diaper bag, “an’ who knows, she may want to run her poppa’s financial empire some day.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“A possibility.” The future was a long way from the present, “But we just want her to be happy…that’s all…and healthy too.”

“But…”

“Boot’ Ah donnae think it’d hurt to learn early about earning your money fair and square, and the work need ta’ become a success.”

“That’s extremely thoughtful of you.” Quackmore glanced down and softened his tone, “Extremely thoughtful. I think she’s going to be fine, even if it’s a bit too soon to say.”

Scrooge peeked over her head, “She’s asleep?”

“Yep.”

“Good.” He grinned and reclined in his chair, “She was never going ta’ go down for her twelve o’clock, but Ah hate the board and their meeting.”

Had they been drinkers, they would’ve drunk to that.

[into-september]

Ductales Reboot ep. 1 reaction or something I guess

Thanks to  the the distribution of TV liscences around here and no cable when I was a kid, the original Ducktales was the one I never saw. I had some VHS casettes with other Disney Afternoon shows that had Ducktales trailers, and I think there might’ve been a tape with a booklet. I knew the theme song. I knew it was everything I dreamed off when I was seven. But I never saw it.

I did, however, grow up on the Disney comics that inspired Ducktales, and very specifically: I grew up to love Don Rosa’s epic take on Scrooge’s life. I know a lot of people consider Barks the greatest Duck artist, but it was Don Rosa who nearly drove me to tears with Matilda and Hortense. And then almost again with Matilda, because he’s awesome.

Yes, you should watch Ducktales 2017. It’s clearly a different world from both the original and the comics, and I spent all fifty minutes of the first episode grinning with glee. It’s funny and it’s clever and it’s modern, it’s great. 

Reactions in detail below, including spoilers for the last minute setting up what I hope will be a plot.

 - St. Canard is mentioned. I’m not taking it to mean much yet because apparently the other place mentioned is the setting of Goof Troop, ETA: AND DARKWING WILL SHOW UP oh boy oh boy oh boy if they were to let Launchpad have a backstory here. 

 - Dear God but I love Webby here already. Yes, young adventurer fangirl, go out and eat that hamburger.

 - I also love Mrs. Beakly of totally not a secretary. 

 - It’s... weird to see that degree of animosity between Donald and Scrooge, but I’m actually hoping it persists even though the end of the episode seems to make it all okay. 

 - Weaned on the comics as I was, I’m delighted that Donald is a main character this time around.

 - THERE IS NOT ENOUGH CAPSLOCK IN THE WORLD TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS ABOUT DELLA DUCK BEING SOMETHING MORE THAN THE MUM WHO DISAPPEARED. HOLY FUCK. I’d hoped there would be something about Matilda and Hortense, and that was kind of killed by Hortense having a clearly different design here than in the comics. But Della. Della, the one that never even had the comics to back her up. Della, the obvious hole that was just the excuse to explain children being present in a world where no-one ever has sex.

This is so, so, SO promising and oh god my expectations are probably going to be let down but I love it. Here’s to hope that they’ll follow up on what they’ve established already.

[mrs-goldie-mcduck]

Ducktales, a-woo-hoo!

I jotted down my thoughts while watching the premiere of the new DuckTales.

Those thoughts, and big spoilers, are below.

TL;DR version:  I still have a few reservations, but overall I enjoyed it quite a lot!  :)

The backgrounds are textured like comic book paper!  There are even polka dot screen print patterns!  That, along with the comic book panel layouts for the opening and closing credits, is a really cool nod to the characters’ history.

They mentioned Cape Suzette right off the bat!  TaleSpin reference!  AAAAH!  (And St. Canard later on.)  I’m not usually a huge fan of crossovers and shared universes, but my love for TaleSpin is so immense I’ll make an exception this time.  There’s a reference to air pirates on Webby’s bulletin board, too. 

It’s hard to understand Donald.  I know that’d kind of the point, but I really did have a hard time understanding what he was saying.  I’ve always been a bit biased because my dad read his old comics out loud to me when I was a wee tyke, and he read both Donald and Scrooge with normal voices.  No quacky gibberish for Donald, no Scottish accent for Scrooge.  Through the years I’ve come to accept and even like Scrooge’s accent, but I still have trouble thinking of comic-verse Donald as having that voice.  Cartoon-verse Donald, sure, fine, that’s a different continuity, but the Donald who is Scrooge’s adventuring sidekick has a normal voice in my mind.  Oh well, I know I’m in the minority and it’s just because that’s how I was first exposed to the character.

Moving on!

I’m not sure why they moved the Money Bin to an island in the harbor instead of up on Killmotor Hill.  It’s not a matter of “everything has to be just like in the comics”; I just wonder why they felt the need to change its location.

The Barks oils on the walls of Scrooge’s mansion are every bit as awesome in context as they were in the preview.  I spotted the left third of “Nobody’s Spending Fool,” which is one of my favorites.  (Alas, the part with Goldie on it was cut off.)  I also loved the portrait of Fergus and Downy in the dining room.

Quackmore and Hortense showed up on the family tree on Webby’s bulletin board.  Hortense didn’t look much like Rosa’s version of her, but it’s still cool to have them acknowledged as Donald’s parents.

When Scrooge launched into the “tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties” speech I got a little shiver.  :)

I spotted lots of easter eggs in the museu---er, garage.  The head of a robot robber and a disc of the Gold Sun from the original DuckTales, and an ugly jade idol that I recognized from Barks.  Plus the genie’s lamp.

Scrooge said “What in Dismal Downs...” instead of “what in the world,” and my Barks/Rosa-loving self was like YESSSSS.

I LOLed when Scrooge jumped into action vs. the ghost and one of the kids yelled, “No, get back, you’re old!”  Oh, they have a lot to learn.  ;)

Another good laugh was when a nephew was barking orders and Launchpad said, “Yes, sir, random kid I just met!”  I’m really liking their version of him.  I was never a big fan of Launchpad, but I think a lot of that was resentment over the way he seemed to take Donald’s place on the first DuckTales.

Yay, they got “Curse me kilts!” in there.

OMG Donald got a job with GLOMGOLD?!!?  Ooooooops.  Nice twist.

From the first time they mentioned Atlantis I thought to myself, “Gosh, shouldn’t they save a huge legend like that for later on when things are more established?”  And then, lo and behold, Scrooge said something like, “Maybe Atlantis was a bit ambitious for a first outing.”  Exactly!  LOL

I was surprised by how much of the premiere episode was in the promos and previews.  On one hand, that was a bit disappointing because a lot of the bits and gags were things I’d seen/heard before, but on the other hand it means the rest of the season will be truly uncharted territory. 

Scrooge, re: Flintheart:  “The poor man’s version of me...which to be fair still makes him insanely rich.”  LOL

I will always wish they’d gone with the South African Glomgold of the Barks/Rosa stories, but the idea of “I’m going to out-do Scrooge in everything, even being Scottish!” is rather clever.  “I’m wearing a kilt!” he bragged.  Heh.

Scrooge:  “Your new job is with my sworn enemy?!” Donald:  “I can’t keep track of all your sworn enemies!”

That was funny.

And thennnnnnnn...CLIFFHANGER WITH DELLA!  She’s in the picture of Scrooge and Donald fighting pirates!  WHAAAAAAAAAAAT????  WHAT DOES IT MEAN?  WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?  AAAAAAAAH!!!!

Ahem.  Anyway.  I’m cautiously optimistic about the show.  It’s not a straight, point-by-point adaptation of Barks and/or Rosa, which I never expected it to be.  But the influence is definitely there, lovingly squeezed into practically every scene.  For the most part, Scrooge was in-character, and his badassery definitely came through.  Donald’s noble, self-sacrificing, paternal side was in evidence, which is important.  Webby was somewhat exhausting but endearing, and she had some great reaction takes in the background.

So far my fears about the kids hogging the spotlight are not entirely extinguished, but the balance wasn’t bad.  We still got some nice moments of Scrooge and Donald, both together and separately.

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, and I think I’ll like it even more when I get used to the voices and other changes.

P.S. My opinion on the entire series will ultimately hinge on what they do with Goldie.  If I like their version of her, I will be a fan for life.  If I don’t, I’m going to be endlessly bitchy.  ;)

[donaldtheduckdad]

OK FIRST OF ALL BIG THANK YOU TO @wholoveschu FOR SHOWING ME THIS BECAUSE THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME THING I'VE EVER LAYED MY EYES ON.... FOR SEVERAL REASONS. ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU.

1. GOLDIE AND SCROOGE. THE ULTIMATE OTP IS T H E R E

2. MY GIRL HORTENSE

3. DONALD AND HIS DAD FIGHTING GOSH THIS IS E P I C

But do you know what really gets me?? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I AM CRYING OVER???

4. DELLA.

AND LAUNCHPAD.

FRIKKING SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

I MEAN IT'S MY OTP. AND THEY S I T N E X T T O E A C H O T H E R

I will talk about nothing else than this now. I'm sorry. I'm TRASH. D E L P A D T R A S H

From the Villa Donaldo at Tokyo Disneyland comes the most awesome thing a Disney Duck fan will see all day…

[drummergirl231-2]

4 Days ‘Til the Season 3 Premiere!

Almost 3 because I’m so late on this. XD

So next on my countdown of favorite moments is:

“Timephoon!”

And if y’all are just gonna use this post to drag up the old controversy surrounding it... don’t. Just don’t. Just move along.

First things first:

pffft... Della’s face. XD Come on Beakley, you know you want one.

Also

Ben Schwartz’s line delivery. XD

I agree. What a morbid analogy, Mrs. B. For shame. hahaha

This doesn’t get talked about enough:

And I love how a little later they referenced the old Bubba song without doing the whole thing. XD The whole thing woulda been a bit much. 

It must be all Della can do to keep herself from constantly hugging her babies. I love how she takes every opportunity to be physically affectionate in ways her boys wouldn’t be uncomfortable with.

We’re about to get a season focused on this neurotic li’l pumpkin-noodle and I can’t wait. XD

And skipping ahead to these two:

Okay the development in their relationship is probably my favorite part of the episode, so get ready for the paragraphs.

Beakley wasn’t exactly... awesome with Della when she first came home. I think it probably came from a few things... 1. The fact that she likely lost her own daughter, and she and Scrooge were kind of in the same boat in that regard before Della came home. It’s not that she’d wish for Scrooge to stay in the child-loss club, but seeing him get his baby girl back when she could never have hers back must have brought up some feelings. And 2. She was probably angry at Della for everything Scrooge (as well as Donald and the boys) went through after she disappeared.

Who knows what happened between “Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” and “Timephoon!” Maybe Scrooge had a chat with Beakley, pointing out that she has a chance to be the mother and mentor Della needs. Or maybe Beakley really began to see how hard Della was trying and it tugged on her heartstrings a little. Whatever the case, I loved seeing her try to take Della under her wing in this episode, and how Della eventually learned to respect her advice. 

While all in-show clues point to Donald and Della being around Scrooge since they were five, Frank has said they spent a lot of time with him and had their own room at his house even before they came to live with him full-time. So we really have no clue how old they were when Hortense died or disappeared or what kind of mother she was or how she influenced Della. But it’s a fair guess that Della wasn’t mothered enough. And it’s lovely to see Beakley stepping into that role for her. <3 I think they could both be a source of healing for each other.

[drummergirl231-2]

I’ve been wanting to analyze the crud out of this for weeks. XD

Okay, so Della loves her babies, and she’s doing her best to be an awesomesauce mom. 

From the few hints we’ve gotten, we know she grew up with Scrooge from the time she was about five-ish, in the 3-7 range. So she didn’t have a mom to teach her how to be one (I’ve got a bunch of headcanons of Hortense not being the best model of a mother, either, but those are just placeholder headcanons of mine until we learn what the writers have in mind for Hortense).

So Della’s primary example of an awesome parent? Her beloved adoptive daddy/uncle Scrooge.

Scrooge seems like he always believed Della could do anything.

He was supportive of her becoming a mother.

And he continues to encourage and empower her.

Now it seems that Della has gone from a little girl who copies her uncle’s alliteration habits...

...to a woman trying to copy his parenting strategy. 

And while it’s important for parents to encourage their kids and voice that they believe in them, there can be a few negative side-effects without proper communication: the child can become overconfident, and/or feel they need to prove themselves to their parents and meet high expectations.

I’ve been headcanoning that Hortense tried to make Della the perfect golden child she could brag about - the child that would reflect well on her - and because of that, Della always felt like she had to perform to win Scrooge’s approval. I could be totally wrong about the Hortense part, but I still think Della could have been the kid always striving to make her parent happy - always trying her best to be the sort of adventurer that would make Scrooge proud. And with Scrooge always praising her, she probably gained a lot of confidence over the years.

Frank did say that her confidence she could succeed, a trait she got from Scrooge, was her downfall. Some interpret this as Della being confident she could fly the rocket, or make it through the cosmic storm, but I believe she was confident she could bust a conspiracy surrounding the rocket on her own.

Whatever the case may be, getting stuck on the Moon for ten years really shook her confidence.

But I don’t think she made the connection between Scrooge’s parenting and the rise and fall of her self-esteem... not until “Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!”

The whole episode, Dewey was trying to win his mother’s approval.

He did some pretty crazy things in an effort to prove he was a son Della could be proud of. 

Della did her best to keep cheering him on, but her maternal instincts took over and she tried to protect him from making a terrible mistake.

Still, it was too late to straight up tell Dewey he couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to psych him out. If he panicked, he’d freeze until his muscles hurt too much to hold on anymore, or he might faint. So she had to swallow her fear and try her best to keep encouraging him.

Look at her face after Dewey says, “I can do anything! Just like you told me!”

That’s the moment it hits her that her encouragement wasn’t received in the way she meant. Is it also the moment she connects it to her own upbringing? Does she realize here that the way Scrooge raised her might have made her a little too confident when she was younger? That maybe trying to parent exactly like Scrooge wasn’t the best move?

If she did, it looks like she made the right steps to correct her mistake in the end.

She communicated what perhaps Scrooge never did: that her love is unconditional, and that Dewey doesn’t have to earn it or her belief in him that he can accomplish great things.

Della’s learning not just from her own mistakes, but Scrooge’s, as well. She’s learning so much so quickly, and I’m so proud of her. <3

[drummergirl231-2]

Are there any characters you are hoping to see in season 3 and or any actors you would enjoy guest starring? Personally I hope we are getting Daisy.

*deep inhale*

YAS OMIGOSH I WANNA SEE DAISY I WANT HER AND DONALD TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP I WANT HER AND DELLA TO GET ALONG SUPER WELL AND I WANT DAISY TO BE THE MOST EPIC AND BA GIRLY GIRL AND OH MY GOSH I’M LISTENING TO THIS RANDOM YOUTUBE PLAYLIST AND IT JUST STARTED PLAYING A SONG THAT REMINDS ME OF DONALD AND DAISY AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

*clears throat*

I imagine Tress MacNeille will still voice her, but I’m having a hard time imagining Daisy with her usual voice not sounding shallow, since so many shows and movies have made her a ditsy drama queen. The only awesome Daisy I’ve ever known was voiced by Kath Soucie in Quack Pack. It’d be a shame not to have Daisy’s official voice actress since the late ‘90s voicing her, though. 

Also, here are a few other people I’d like to see or learn about:

1. HDL’s Father

Frank said they’re primarily working from the Don Rosa Duck family tree, and while Don Rosa didn’t give the father a first name, he did say Della’s husband was Daisy Duck’s brother, which to me makes a lot of sense. I wonder if the show is gonna go with that?

And would it mean DT17 Donald has already met DT17 Daisy? That they knew each other back when Della and what’s-his-face’s-name were together? Did Donald like Daisy but not have the guts to ask her out back then? Did they date but go their separate ways because they both had different plans for their lives and they weren’t sure how to make their dreams work together at the time?

I am so in Donsy mode right now.

But I’m really curious about Della and what’s-his-face’s-name. Were they newlyweds when he died/disappeared/whatever happened? What was he like? What was their love story? What happened to him? Was it after Della laid the eggs, or while she was gravid? In what ways do the boys take after him?

2. Dickie Duck

Would the show go there? Write in that Scrooge and Goldie once had a lovechild that Scrooge doesn’t know about and doesn’t hear about until Goldie introduces their granddaughter to him? 

Probably... Disney goes a lot of places these days. 

If they introduce Dickie, I wonder if they’ll also introduce her mother? And I wonder how the show would re-imagine Dickie? So many possibilities! 

3. Gosalyn Mallard

Back when we thought Darkwing Duck was just going to be a show within a show, I was trying to figure out where Gosalyn would fit. Would she have been DW’s daughter in the show LP watched growing up? Would that have made the child actress who played her an adult now?

But now that we have our real Drake Mallard, it looks like she’ll fit in quite nicely as his real-life adopted daughter.

Frank answered this ask a while ago, and at first I thought it was going to be about Scrooge and Lena. Now I’m thinkin’ Drake and Gosalyn (though it could be both... I wanna see Scrooge being a daddy to Lena, too). 

I wonder who will voice her since Christine Cavanaugh passed away? I know Nancy Cartwright can do a pretty good Chuckie Finster voice. Maybe she can do a Gosalyn voice, too?

4. Grandma Duck

Traditionally, Donald Duck was raised by his paternal grandmother in comics and such. Since Donald and Della seem to have been raised by Scrooge in DT17 from the time they were five-ish, I wonder what role she had in their lives? Della mentioned her a couple times in DT17 IDW prequel comics, so maybe Scrooge sent them away to her farm now and then? 

5. Hortense and Quackmore

I have SO many headcanons about these two, and they’re probably all wrong, but if they’re not... holy shoot dang.

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to finding out more about these two, and what happened to them, and how the heck Hortense got gravid when she was over 100. If they’re keeping her canon birth year like they kept Scrooge’s, she would have hatched the year Scrooge left for America: 1877. And if Donald and Della are in their mid-thirties in 2017, she’d have been over 100 when she had them. 0.o There’s something weird about those McDucks.

6. Matilda

I hope she’s the sweet one like she was in the comics. She was the least temperamental out of the McDuck siblings. I like to imagine she was Scrooge’s favorite sister, being closer to him in age, and I like your idea of her being a scientist. 

7. Abner/Whitewater 

I’m almost scared to see what they’ll do with his design since he was a lumberjack or something and the whole lumberjack look has become... such a look in recent years. XD One day our generation’s children will look at pictures of men from today and grimace the way we look at our fathers’ mullets. lol 

Or maybe Abner will be some kinda wayward son, a little rough around the edges and not at all the cinnamon roll his baby brother Fethry is. I’d love to know more about their brotherly relationship. Also, there were comics where they also had a sister, and that sister had a little boy Fethry wound up taking care of. 

Basically I wanna see the family tree in the show. haha

[peachhoneii]

@robinine-blog and @donaldtheduckdad (I hope your birthday brunch is super tasty and filled with good times!)

Cause I feel bad for the lumberjack. I had this in my mind for a while

Abner and Fethry lost their mother at a young age. Eider had to work to support the family, meaning he was consequently away from home a lot due to work. 

Quackmore’s temper was a special case for the family similar to how Hortense’s was for the McDucks.

Grandma Duck was around, yes, but she had her hands full with Della and Donald. She had Gus around too. She juggled the responsibility supremely well, but Abner didn’t want to overload Granny.

At home, Abner took on the majority of the responsibilities when it came to Fethry and the household. He was brother, protector, and defacto parent most of the time. His father passed on Grandma Duck’s recipes to him. He’s no Donald, but his food is known to be tasty.

Was this stressful? Absolutely. He was always getting into fights because he constantly defended Fethry from bullies. It was good to have Donald, Della, and even Gladstone around because they may not always get along, but the number one rule was that no one picks on Fethry. 

It’s easier to be close to your cousins when you’re kids compared to when you’re adults, but if they were still in contact, Abner would know more about Scrooge McDuck than the average person. He would know that this old man got on the down and dirty when it came to his adventures, and his cousin Della spoke highly of him, so did Donald.

Abner works as a lumberjack and a truck driver. The trucking company he works for, which he’s been working for since he was 18, is owned by Scrooge McDuck. He has to drive through Duckburg on the daily. He has to drive through all over on the daily, and similarly, he has a work schedule like his father although he has no family to provide for. 

He has heard of Opal O’Gilt. He has heard of Opal McDuck. He assumes she may be this stuck up, rich class girl who knows computers, but then he remembers Donald and Della’s descriptions of Scrooge and thinks...If McDuck could do that to my cousins, wonder what he did to his kid?

Abner has a resting bitch face. Yep. I said it. He has a resting bitch face and isn’t a talker. Fethry understands his silences 100%. Donald, Della, and Gladstone get him too, although they don’t see each other as often. Same for Grandma.

Opal has a fear of objection? I’m going to capitalize on that. It creates anxiety. When she meets Abner at the family reunion, and based on his resting bitch face, she makes assumptions. Her past with friends and lovers have burned her, and she automatically assumes something that isn’t.

So she’s...standoffish, which sort of confirms his supicisons, but his expressions are just rude.

I think...ultimately, when they’ve gotten themselves in trouble, she asks him straight up.

“What did I do to you?”

“What did I --- you nearly drowned us.”

“Well...you said...I...,” it’s then she realizes he hadn’t said anything at all. She was jumping to conclusions, and it’s a oh crap what have I done.

Abner shrugs, “I ain’t much of a talker. Fethry always says nobody can read my mind like he can. And he’s right.”

I think the main part is that they realize they kind of suck at communication. Opal vaguely remembers him from work because she had to work on the system update at the logging station in Duckburg. 

Maybe their relationship works a little bit differently. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe they work it out because he doesn’t live as far, and yeah, there are arguments.

Abner isn’t Donald, but he does have a temper. 

Opal can have a temper when pushed.

 Their first real one where Opal didn’t call for three days. Abner decides to make the change and visit her for once, so they manage to talk through it.

I’d say their relationship is unorthodox. She lives in the city. He lives in the country, but the commute makes it worth it. And she really enjoys going visit him. He enjoys visiting her.

Opal can still have that awesome broship with Fenton and even, Gyro. 

A lot of people are stunned that they work out. He’s this solitary loner lumberjack. She’s this cheery if sometimes cool IT specialist, and she occasionally fights crime.