How I Ship Delpad (Current Timeline, Near Future)

I had been wanting to create an easier way to share my most recent basis for this couple, outside of the fanblog. And since the Speculation Timeline map isn't going to be completed anywhere near soon, the Season 3 installment is still a bunch of scattered notes, AND the fact that both will be very lengthy... putting seven images together was a good option.

I've had a general idea of what people think about my artwork and the ship itself for years and I'm sure a lot of those sentiments haven't changed. The other major reason as to why I put this together, is because I wanted to show people that I'm not oblivious to how Launchpad and Della were portrayed in canon. That I'm not picking two random characters to ship out of boredom. I put a lot of thought into how their dynamic could be and why we ended up with what we got. I was hoping to see a build up to something more meaningful. And now that I've been made aware of the show not getting to follow its initial plan, I'm trying to figure out what that was going to be, while also putting my own spin on it.

In an attempt to make it in time for the deadline I set for the second round of anniversary updates, I took certain portions of the lines I did for older drawings and adjusted them into newer poses. :U 

I revisited the red-blue-green idea from previous pieces too but couldn't get myself to make Della red again. 😂 I love the idea of using it to represent Scrooge's side in the Spear incident, but blue just suits her so much better. Moving red to the background further drives the point I'm trying to make with triangle shapes, so, it still works out. 😄👍🏾 I'm sure that I'll continue bouncing between more than one color with these two...but I'll try my best to keep LP green, heh.

As I was working on the final look for the panels, I thought it would be neat to add little Space-related symbols in the upper corners. I was thinking of something to go with Della's moon and thought of a hurricane swirl to represent Dad possibly going to another dimension. But I couldn't draw it properly. 😅 And it was a little too direct of a hint...I then tried making Saturn since that planet has shown up multiple times in the show and may also be representing how Dad went missing in a more subtle way. 

I added the cosmic storm clouds to help spruce it up, but it still wasn't working out. I had been fighting the strongest urge to go for those clouds the whole time since it was another thing that felt too direct. 

I ultimately had to force myself to stop caring. It matched up with Della's corner way too well and I want people to think about what these types of elements in my artwork mean, anyway.  Yeah, I guess I could have drawn a sun, but the clouds make a stronger connection to the Spear.

Once I settled on that idea, I thought about adding a lightning bolt in and unintentionally happened to place it where the "a" in Della's name is. With the font being in all caps, the letter looks like a triangle and when combined with the bolt, it looks like a simplified version of The Spear getting struck! Everything really came together there! 😄

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Ok, so, more on the basis details: 

    Cover

Dunno if I made it clear enough, but just in case I confused anyone, this is meant to be

set within the same timeline as the show. It just goes a little farther than where the show left off. When I was restructuring my ideas, I was going to make an alternative timeline where Season 3 would be closer to what Plan A could have been. I wanted to see a season revision so bad, but I knew it would never actually happen. 😭 As time went on, I considered what show would be like if it was able to pick up after the finale and I think I might like this case a little more, due to it being the most believable scenario. 

    Della's Pages

 I undoubtedly believe that Della was supposed to have a turnaround with Launchpad and that "Trickening" was a strong indication of that. She doesn't know what LP is truly capable of because she's never around when he's at his best. This feels very intentional because it's one of the biggest things that prevented their relationship from getting the development it needed. Keeping them stuck in this stage prevents anything important, like a father reveal, from happening. 

There's not much of a reason for them to be kept here if there's nothing to hide! They're capable of getting along and Della's assumption about Scrooge hiring Launchpad, would have easily been settled if the characters were given a chance to talk it out. 

In order for them to progress, Launchpad needs to do something amazing to catch her attention. I haven't come up with a solid answer to this in my personal timeline yet; it'll probably have something to do with saving Dewey, Della or both. But can you imagine what her reaction to Suavepad would have been like?! Or talking to Gosalyn about what it means to be a hero? The way she looked at Kit when he was cloud kicking could have definitely been giving us a good idea.

While not openly expressed in canon, perhaps another reason why Della is irritated with Launchpad is because there are things about him that remind her of Dad. Or maybe a bit more generally, how much she hates failure, since she supposedly believes that she failed to save him. She could still be mourning that loss, so, if she began to have any feelings for Launchpad, there's bound to be a lot of resistance.

     Launchpad's Pages

In the alternate timeline, I was going to have him completely stuck in friend mode and not notice anything until Della finally got more comfortable about her feelings. But I think having them both silently struggling to conceal their feelings, is a lot more interesting. 😂

I always thought it was strange that he was never written to show a prior interest in her...or even prior knowledge about her at all. In earlier essays, I noted how odd it was for Launchpad to know who Scrooge was without knowing about The Duck Twins. They were only out of action for ten years. Launchpad was alive before this happened and being that close to someone as popular as Scrooge...he would have seen them from time to time. 

I've also noted how LP was connected to Della from the first time we meet him. His conversation about the snowstorm on the Drake Barrier Reef and the Atlantic trip as a whole, reflected the Spear incident. The way he was talking to Scrooge, sounded a lot like he wanted to encourage him to come out of retirement. That would mean that he did know something about Scrooge being an adventurer. So, how would he know about that without the Donald and Della portion?? It's the most recent part! He would have grown up with this! Either he has amnesia, or this is one serious plothole...

Scrooge is in retirement because of losing Della, which would partially be LP's fault if he's Dad...no one in the show ever bothered to ask him about her during the investigation...he gave zero input on Della's decision to take the rocket...and while his name carried over from original show, it's still very related to rockets. Why wouldn't the showrunners want to incorporate that into something bigger when the show has such a heavy space theme?! All this stuff feels a little too conveniently ignored...🤨

Speaking of the original, LP's family is full of pilots! If the reboot was going to borrow more from LP's history, that's yet ANOTHER way he should know who she is!! If one of your fellow aviators were related to the richest duck in the world, and they're travelling all over the place with him, surely their name and exploits would be brought up multiple times...Heh, if Della appeared in the original, I think it's safe to say he would immediately have a noticeable crush on her. 😂 The reboot hinted that Launchpad's romantic side is just about as active as it was in DT87, but it's a lot more private in comparison. It's really odd to have him dating around without extending any of that to Della...maybe there was something more subtle in "Coot" where he wanted to impress her...but c'mon, that's a fishy thing to do.

Anyway, I got the impression that LP found out about something having to do with Dad when the Timephoon sent him to the future. A lot of people took his delayed reaction to Louie's remark as taking too long to realize he was talking about Della. But I think it was because he wasn't initially thinking of her. The remark was said as if Louie's actions were hereditary. If not Della, then who else could Louie have "gotten" the idea of taking off with a powerful machine? 

Della's recording in "GlomTales!", warned Louie that he needed to stop his plans and schemes if he wants to be a part of the family. Dad doesn't seem to be part of the family. Could he be missing due to a plan or a scheme in relation to the Spear and the cosmic storm? In "Coot", the characters discussed how something valuable was being sought after on the non-McDuck side of the family and how everyone related to the family were frauds and cheats. If Louie was after valuables in his situation, and his situation was compared to Della's, then couldn't Dad fall under both of these categories?  

When thinking of what Launchpad could have seen during the end of the world, I amused myself with the thought of seeing them kiss, but it doesn't make sense for him to crush on someone else after that. If it was anything romantic, it would have to be a lot more subdued.  (I still do believe they were supposed to share a kiss in the original finale plans...)

    Ages

When it comes to considering Launchpad as the father of the triplets or even becoming their stepdad, shippers tend to be met with comments about Launchpad being too young. This is largely because of some statements from one of the showrunners and how they were perceived.

• When I had asked  the showrunner on their blog about whether Launchpad was around the same age as Donald, the answer confirmed this, and that it may have been agreed amongst the writers that Donald was little older.

• In the following year, someone else asked for exact ages on Drake and Launchpad and were told that both were in their late 20's to early 30's. It was also mentioned that the twins were in their mid 30's for comparison. 

• A month later, there was a question that mentioned the twins being a few years older than LP and Drake with no correction from the showrunner.

• Later in that year, another fan asked for Donald and Della's ages and were given the answer "36".

• The year after that, someone asked for the age difference between the twins and Launchpad. They were told "About seven years, I think.". 🤨 

This was a really strange thing to say after the information I was given, but once I thought more about it, I realized this was pretty much just another way to reiterate the late 20's to early 30's range that was said before. It does...not sound like Launchpad's age is set in stone. And even though we got a precise number for the twins, it may not have been chosen with sincerity. The same showrunner had said in another age-related answer regarding the kids, that they didn't want to give them canon ages, only age ranges. This might also extend to the other characters in the series. Maybe any number in the mid-30's could be correct for Della's age and 36 was chosen at random for that question...

Similarly, some fans are proclaiming that Launchpad was officially confirmed as 31 because of a "Duckburg Life" podcast episode. But this takes place during an earlier time in the show, that wouldn't be his current age. (I remember hearing things that implied the first season, while others say it takes place in the earlier half of the second. I don't feel like checking right now, lol) How do we know the writer for this ep also wasn't just picking any number within LP's age range? Because it isn't part of the main show, this audio series is either semi-canon or not canon at all. And it wasn't helmed by the regular showrunners, so, we can't take the events and mentions too seriously without their confirmation.

Whatever the matter is behind the confusion and hesitancy surrounding their ages, a three-year age gap between the pilots could still work with how I want to see them.

• It's uncertain when Della was born, but if she's three years older than Launchpad, her birth year is no later than 1984. According to his driver's license, Launchpad was born on September 30th, 1987. (This is in reference to the premiere date of the original show.)

• If Dewey was eleven years old when he time travelled to meet The Duck Twins at the same age, "Last Christmas!" took place in 1995. If this was the same year as Launchpad's "Trickening" flashback, he was eight years old. (This is the maximum age limit for The Original Big Wheel his trike was modeled after.)

• It was said by the showrunner that Della went missing a day after the iPhone was announced. This was January 9, 2007 but had to have been closer to HDL's birthday, April 15th in the show's timeline. This would make her almost 23 when she went missing.

• Della could have started her relationship with Launchpad's past self, as late as 2006, making them 22 and 19 respectively. It's very likely that he went missing before he knew Della was expecting, so, it also depends on how long it takes for birds to hatch in this universe. 

• (Since they're like humans, I personally headcanon that it takes four months for the egg to form and five for the baby to finish developing, making it nine months in total. :U That would mean that Dad was missing since July of that year.)

• At the start of the first season, it had been 10 years since Della crash landed on the Moon. By "Neverrest", this would make her 33, and Launchpad, 30, in 2017.

• "Last Christmas!" in Season 2, indicated that a year has passed. This makes Della, 34, and Launchpad, 31, in 2018.

• "Stole" in Season 3, indicated that another year has passed. This makes Della, 35, and Launchpad, 32 in 2019.

• The series finale occurred in the following year after that, making Della, 36, and Launchpad, 33 in 2020.

So, yeah, while the age range we were given for Launchpad could make him several years younger than Della, that doesn't automatically mean that his is. He could be a lot closer; if he's HDL's dad, he would have to be. That window of possibility could easily have been shut. And what helps to keep it open, is that there are multiple characters who have been placed in unusual situations that affected their aging process. Dating a mermaid, all the way out in Mid-Atlantic Ridge somewhere, sounds pretty unusual... who's to say it's impossible for him to be part of this trend in some way?

Maybe his suspected amnesia could have caused him to forget his age. We've already seen him time travel, and timeless dimensions exist in the show. If he went missing in Space due to a dimensional doorway, he could have been transported to a place where the passage of time works differently. And if Bubba, a secret member of the family, didn't follow the theory of being melted from an iceberg after a storm, who else could this have applied to? We've been given at least three examples of characters being frozen, and this mention is just kept lingering...a little bit like Huey's questions about storm...and how a wormhole is good explanation for a disappearance. 🤔

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I would have loved to see a natural progression for Delpad in the show, but now that's it's over, I don't have the patience to completely follow this timeline in chronological order. For the most part, I'm just going to elaborate on whatever points I feel like and work on organizing them later. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (🎶 can we skip to the good part 🎶 lol)

But don't worry, I'm not going to keep you too in the dark on this. I'm working on the first draft of the Speculation Timeline Map! Each section has been broken up into eras and will be tagged accordingly:

Past

Pre-Spear

Pre-Spear, Childhood Era (PreSp-CE)

Pre-Spear, Pre-Dating Era (PreSp-PDE)

Pre-Spear, Dating Era (PreSp-DE)

Pre-Spear, Separation Era (PreSp-SE)

Cosmic Storm Era (CSE)

Post-Spear

Post-Spear, Separation Era (PostSp-SE)

Present

Post-Spear, Unfamiliar Era (PostSp-UE)

Future

Post-Spear, Friendship-Crush Era (PostSp-FCE)

Post-Spear, Dating Era (PostSp-DE)

And I guess anything I'm not sure about adding to my headcanons in general, 

can be labeled "Up in The Air" (UiTA)

Will there be anything about my basis or these eras that are subject to change? Maybe. Will I create more "How I Ship" pages with other parts of timeline? There's a good chance! Did I purposely exclude an era somewhere in here for a secret reason? I'm not going to answer that. 😶

Whatever happens, I'll be sure to let you guys know through the Updates post! 😁

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Tools Used: Clip Studio Paint EX.

i cited my sources in the ages list, you'll have to hover over certain words

i thought i saw posts saying that LP and del were five and eight years apart

couldn't find anything like that, so, i must have gotten that mixed up with other fan comments, oops