#Daphne and Velma Series

[scrappedtogether]

i heard velma & daphne series had velmaxfred and daphnexshaggy. what did you think of it? is it worth reading if your a fan of those pariings?

Hi Anon! Thank you for the ask and apologies for the wait. I ended up writing much more on this than I expected. 😅

In theory I think both Shaphne and Frelma work pretty well in the Daphne & Velma books. Spoilers below!!

Personally, I found the Shaphne relationship more compelling. Both Daphne and Shaggy come from a wealthier background. Daphne’s family is relatively new money while Shaggy’s is old. Shaggy’s family has a deep-rooted history with the town and most of their power is centralized there. Daphne’s family (at least her mother) doesn’t have the same connection to the land as the Rogers and yet their fame (again, mostly her mother’s) transcends the town. These create some nice parallels/contrast between their backgrounds.

Shaggy and Daphne both have a difficult relationship with one of their parents. Shaggy’s relationship with his mother is somewhat underexplored (there’s an argument to be made that the only reason he even has a mom is so they can have the classic teen-sleuth show cliche of someone’s parent being a police officer, allowing the characters access to police records, etc. it’s also possibly a reference to APN where Shaggy’s father was a police officer). His relationship with his dad, however, is rocky. Although Book 3 shows that Samuel Rogers has some affection for his son, Book 2 has Shaggy absolutely petrified of him. Daphne has a very tumultuous relationship with her mother, who she’s been estranged from since her parents’ divorce.

Both Daphne and Shaggy have a lot of self-image issues stemming from their relationships with their families. Daphne has a lot of unresolved anger from when her parents separated and Shaggy feels tainted by his family’s blood. Both Shaggy and Daphne feel they’re destined to hurt the people they love. Shaggy spends a lot of his energy in the series trying to make up for his family’s wrongdoings and Daphne spends a lot of it trying to atone to the people she hurt after her parents separation. It gives them a unique connection and understanding of one another.

They’ve also have sort of a push-pull thing going where Daphne is very reluctant to get close to anyone due to her abandonment issues and Shaggy has a hard time letting people in because of his self-loathing. They have trust issues and yet both find that they’re some of the few people the other can trust. There’s even a particularly cute scene in (I think) Book 3 where Daphne reflects that although she has a hard time putting faith in people, one of the foundations of her worldview is that Shaggy would never lie to her.

Frelma works with the two of them being more oppositional. Velma has spent a lot of her recent life feeling invisible (in part due to her parents’ troubles but also because of her lack of friends/popularity). There’s a part of her that enjoys it, because of the security it gives her, while another part of her craves recognition. Fred, on the other hand, craves the spotlight. He loves being the center of attention. One of the cute details about Fred (tho tbh it’s one of the only details abt Fred) is he’s constantly pulling stunts for attention. Throughout the books, he’s usually referenced in the background doing handstands or cartwheels.

It’s sort of implied that this juxtaposition between them drives their mutual interest in each other. Fred doesn’t really understand Velma’s comfort with remaining in the shadows while Velma can’t fully comprehend Fred’s interest in being center-stage.

In a lot of ways, Frelma feels like the more conventional story being told. This is probably just because Fred unfortunately has way, Way less time for development than Shaggy. We never really learn anything substantial about him (besides that he’s attractive, athletic, has a great smile, is fashionable, his hair is blonde and perfectly coifed, has a pool, dresses well, and did I mention he was good-looking?). Because of this, a lot of Velma’s attraction to him seems driven by how good it makes her feel to be noticed by him (handsome, pretty, popular Fred who could have any girl he wanted). As for why Fred is attracted to Velma? It’s honestly very unclear. Again, part of it you could assume is just that he’s interested in how different she is than him but we never get much elaboration. If Fred was a meaner character, you could honestly assume he likes her just because she’s not falling over him like a lot of the other girls, that Fred enjoys the fact he has to *work* for her attention. But that honestly feels a little mean-spirited and I doubt it was the author’s intention.

Frelma more than Shaphne could have benefitted from some tightening up/editing of their relationship. Honestly, it bothers me that Fred first seems attracted to Velma when she takes off her glasses. It’s not just because this is overplayed (in both versions of the live action and others) but because I’m not exactly sure what the intent was there? Velma’s mentioned by Daphne to be very pretty (while actually she says hot, well ACTUALLY she says “stealth hot” which is an interesting term) but it’s unclear if the dance at the party where Fred first noticed Velma w/o her glasses is the first time he finds her pretty or if there’s more to the story.

This sounds crazy but I was actually waiting for all of Book 3 for Frelma to have a scene where Fred confesses that he’s *always* liked Velma or that he’s had a crush on her since they were kids. In this series, the Gang are all mentioned to have been friends when they were ten before a falling out caused them to part ways. I kept expecting some mention of this to be made by Fred as far as his feelings for Velma went but oh well. I think it also might have added a cool contrast to Shaphne with Frelma being the classic “loved you since childhood but I’ve only just now had a chance to tell you” and Shaphne being the “I’ve never seen you in this light before but I think I love you.”

Probably the biggest flaw of the series for me is the lack of acknowledgment about the history that the Gang shares. I find it super cute and compelling and just a great writing choice on the part of the author to have established this rapport between the characters.

It’s a really clever and fun way of being able to have the Gang all be strangers to each other (effectively) at the start of Book 1 and yet come together very quickly as though they’d never been strangers at all (once they’d reestablished those childhood bonds). But the Books don’t??? Do that.

I understand and respect and LOVE that the main focus of the book series is the relationship between Daphne and Velma. It’s very sweet and well-written and far and away the best part of the series. They have such natural chemistry and affection for each other. It’s perfect.

I only wish it could have been extended more to the rest of the Gang. Like I said, the book series establishes earlier on that Daphne & Velma were best friends growing up and there was one summer where they spent pretty much every day with their two other friends, Fred and Shaggy (and Scooby!) and even formed Mystery Inc., spending the whole summer solving mysteries with each other. Very cute.

Only, Daphne and Velma don’t seem to consider Fred and Shaggy childhood friends, like, at all. There’s several moments in the first book where Velma & Daphne reflect that Shaggy feels like a stranger to them, that they don’t know anything about him and never really have, and Fred never seems to benefit in terms of the progression of his relationship with either Daphne (who he almost never speaks to) or Velma from their shared history. And it’s like, I get it, they were friends when they were kids. Obviously, that doesn’t mean you know them super well as teenagers.

But it’s just a missed opportunity, I think, to not have them be able to benefit from that “sandbox love” like Velma and Daphne do. Daphne and Velma also haven’t spoken to each other since they were ten and yet after five years, they’re able to come back together like no time has passed at all. It’s very endearing and sweet. And while I understand that D&V were said to be the besties of the group while F&S were the tag-alongs, it’s unfortunate they never got to use that history as an excuse for them to “click” in the same way.

Velma and Daphne say in one chapter that they don’t know Shaggy at all but in later chapters they’ll reflect that they had sleepovers with him all the time and still remember his house like the back of their hand. It creates a hollow space in the narrative that I think would have been very satisfying to see be filled, if the Gang could have all ended up as friends in the end, built off of a childhood love and history with one another.

And Daphne and Velma are very close, can almost read each other minds and know each other’s hearts, and it’s a running theme in the books that they can’t trust anyone but each other. I get that and I can roll with it. I just wish there wasn’t so much disconnect between the Gang because of it.

Shaggy & Velma & Daphne & Fred & Scooby we’re all close once but the narrative never really uses this to do anything interesting with the characters (besides V&D) other than giving them a backstory I really love and enjoy.

I think the history could have been easily propped up to bolster Frelma and Shaphne in an interesting way it just never got there.

And don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of cute moments between them (Daph makes Shaggy laugh when he’s upset in the bg of one scene, she holds his hand when he’s upset, they hug, and she blushes seeing him at the beach, Velma and Fred have some cute banter, he tucks the hair behind her ear a few times). It just might have been cute to see a few moments sprinkled in to remind you that these characters have known each other a lot longer than we’ve known them and they have an entire history we haven’t been given access to.

Maybe part of me is so disappointed just because, again, I think the author did such a phenomenal job with the V&D relationship and weaving in their childhood that I would have completely adored seeing how she could have done something similar with the rest of the Gang.

It also might have been interesting to see Fred & Shaggy interact a bit more. There’s a REALLY good scene in Book 3 where Fred is in danger and the Gang’s not sure if he’s alive where they demonstrate so much distress and horror. I just would have really loved to see more moments like that or some smaller moments between them. Fred & Daphne don’t interact much which is interesting just because they run in the same circles so they seem to have less estrangement between them, yet they never really talk to each other. You don’t get much insight into Fred from Daphne’s POV, nor does she really reflect on their relationship at all. There’s quite a few moments (esp in Book 3) where Velma sort of observes how Shaggy & her have this special connection because they’re both on the outskirts of the social circle (Velma through exile and Shaggy through self-imposed exile). It would have been cool to see some sort of parallel with this for F&D where they also could have experienced a special connection because of their shared social standing.

It’s odd too because Daphne is able to remark pretty confidently on the fact that Fred is interested in Velma (tho later she mentions how he cycles through girls because he’s always going after whoever briefly catches his interest) which seems to imply she knows him but it’s never explored. Daphne and Fred also don’t have history between them even though Fred has been said to date around and Daphne is in with the in-crowd. It seems like she’d have more insight into him than Velma does but he remains somewhat of a mystery.

Shaphne also ends up in sort of an odd place in Book 3. There’s a subplot I didn’t particularly enjoy in Book 2 where Daphne becomes very interested in a college-age intern, Ram (mind you she’s fifteen in the book), and talks about how she’s finally ready to let someone in and break down her walls. Long story short, Ram ends up breaking her trust which hurts Daphne.

While I didn’t love the Ram plot line, I did think it was a very solid jumping off point for Shaphne to begin in earnest. When Daphne starts thinking romantically about Shaggy, she always distracts herself with thoughts of Ram, though she’s interested in Ram she can’t help but reach for Shaggy and think about him even when she means to be thinking about Ram. I thought the Ram plot line would conclude with Daphne recognizing her interest in Ram had been driven largely by her interest in Shaggy. She tries to start a relationship with some random guy but can’t because someone else is always occupying her thoughts. She tries to let someone in but gets her trust broken. Maybe the right person for her is someone she trusted all along. I think there’s even an argument to be made that her feelings for Ram are somewhat of a cover. She pushes herself into liking this conventionally handsome, stalwart, uncomplicated guy to distract herself from the feelings she’s beginning to have for Shaggy, a person that she really cares about. Daphne has abandonment issues and it’s clear she’s afraid to consider starting anything real with anyone she actually cares about because she’s afraid of losing them/of them leaving her (once they see the “real” her/the monstrous side of herself she hates).

BUT, these all become sort of moot in the end. Ram returns in Book 3 full-force (seriously, don’t like him, get him outta here) begging for Daphne’s forgiveness, continuing to flirt with her, until at the end of the book Daphne forgives him. It does end with Daphne commenting that Ram’s charms no longer work on her (choosing instead to keep Shaggy’s secret instead of telling him) and her final thoughts being that she do “pretty much anything” to protect Shaggy. I’d call it a win, though I do wish Ram got shot down a bit more brutally (sorry to anyone who likes him, I’m just not into it at all) and Daphne was a bit more assured in the flavor of her feelings about Shaggy (romantic). It also would have been cool for Shaggy to get a few more scenes where he seemed interested in Daphne. Tbh, he’s just a ball of stress in Book 3 so I don’t blame him, but it could have been cool. I was Really, Honestly expecting Daphne’s revelation/confirmation of her explicit romantic feelings about Shaggy to be the scene where he gets upset and Daphne remarks something along the lines of how she’s never seen this side of Shaggy before but she’s drawn to it. That would have been a good place, I think, to pin it shut, but the author had their reasons for leaving up to a bit of interpretation which is fine.

ALTHOUGH, while on the subject of Shaggy’s feelings for Daphne, I do think they could have used his complicated relationship with Marcy to expand on it. He clearly had something with Marcy and it was interesting to note how both Shaggy & Daphne were drawn together because of a mutual love for her but it doesn’t get too much attention outside of Book 1. Also pretty bitter Shaggy never got to give Daphne a forehead kiss like he did with Marcy smh.

This isn’t to say that Shaggy’s feelings for Daphne are never implied because I definitely think the vibes are there (laughing together, touching each other). Shaggy is pretty much powerless to say no to her and the scene where it’s reflected that Shaggy would do anything to protect Velma and Daphne (when he has the knife to his throat in Book 2) is cute parallel to Daphne’s final thoughts on Shaggy, tho his protectiveness extended to Velma as well so it’s not a one to one.

Overall, super enjoyed Frelma and Shaphne. All the Gang was written to be very kind, caring individuals. Shaggy, Daphne, and Velma had a lot of complexity (sorry Fred but I love you bby) and I think any shakeout of relationships between the core four would have worked well. They were all just sweet and the heart of the Gang’s dynamic was definitely there.

In another timeline, this would be a Vaphne book with Fraggy coding but alas.

TL:DR: Yes!

TL;DR Yes! If you really like Frelma and/or Shaphne, (or Vaphne!!!) give it a try!

Sorry for the extremely lengthy answer. If you read this far, I hope it helped and interested you at least a little. Thank you again for the ask! Ask box is always open. 👋

[singing-telegram]

Anyone looking to make a proper Scooby-Doo adaptation please remember:

Fred is the charismatic face of the group and the strategizer. Later adaptations made him a massive himbo who chugs respect for women juice and those have become necessary parts of his character.

Shaggy is cowardly but also incredibly resourceful; let us not forget his skill at ventriloquism. Make Shaggy the skill monkey, who every episode mentions some weird skill he has that's previously unmentioned; that'd be an amazing running gag. Also, bring back the dry humor Casey Kasem injected into the og character.

Scooby is Shaggy's best friend, the other half to his two-man comedy routine. Independently of Shaggy, Scooby is also prone to be a bit mischievous and just kind of a little scamp. Play up both of those things.

Velma is the smart nerdy one, who also had a really dry sense of humor. I don't know why she was turned into the "I'm surrounded by idiots" character because, while as I stated, she always had a dry sense of humor, she was never mean to her friends and never talked down to them, or anyone else. Bring back the chipper Velma from like Witch's Ghost or Zombie Island. Let Velma be a little cutie pie. Also keep her as a lebian

Daphne was... originally really just "The Girly One" but later adaptations have fleshed her out, like making her essentially the muscle of the group, which is just amazing and should continue. She's also been cast as the oddly resourceful one. Shaggy is the skill monkey, Daphne is the one who has a tool for literally any job. Human Swiss Army Knife, which again, would be an amazing running gag.

Have Shaggy and Daphne bounce off-the-wall ideas for a plan together, Fred steps in to ground them, while still using their ideas, and incorporating Velma's theories about the case.

Make references to Flim Flam and Hot Dog Water

A Scooby-Doo adaptation should not be difficult, and must be done with love.

[meiloorun-notthefruit]

The Scooby gang are friends. The Scooby gang are BEST FRIENDS. THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH. THEY TRAVEL AROUND SOLVING MYSTERIES FOR AS LONG AS THEY CAN BECAUSE THEY HAVE A PASSION FOR IT AND BECAUSE IT MEANS THEY GET TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER WITH EACH OTHER. THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS.

They don’t hate each other. Maybe they get annoyed and cause they’re together all the time it might get a bit much sometimes but at the end of the day, they really deeply care about each other. They live out of a van most of the time and are on the road constantly out of CHOICE. TOGETHER. for crying out loud.

They are four teenagers and a Great Dane. They’re a family.

[papa-m0thman]

I actually really like the idea of a Scooby Doo prequel centered around the Mystery Gang before they became friends.

Velma is your typical nerd who's interested in true crime. She started off solving small mysteries around her neighborhood, like where someone's missing cat went or who stole someone's bike. Then, some sort of really big mystery happens that the police completely overlook. Maybe students are ending up dead or missing or something like that.

She goes to the same school as Fred, Daphne, and Shaggy, but never talked to them due to personal assumptions. Fred is a popular jock, and a lot of his teammates bully Velma and force her to do their homework for them, so she doesn't trust him either. Daphne is a pretty rich girl who hangs out with a group of mean girls who also make fun of girls like Velma. Even though Fred's group and Daphne's group overlap, the two of them have never really spoken to one another before. Then, there's Shaggy who always shows up to school late, never knows the answer to teachers' questions, and sleeps through half of his classes.

Eventually, one of Daphne's friends get kidnapped. So, one night, she sneaks into the school to find some clues at the same time as Velma. Fred's there because he forgot his uniform, and Shaggy just likes hanging out at the school to do his homework in peace and quiet. They all team up for a while until security gets involved, and Fred helps them into a speedy getaway as the only one with his driver's license.

With Fred driving them home, the group decides to at least have a temporary team-up. Daphne and Velma have a shared goal, Fred likes having friends for the first time in forever, and Shaggy doesn't want to be the odd man out.

They get closer as they solve the mystery together. Fred isn't a jerk, and is super sweet and amazing at building all sorts of things, especially traps. Shaggy always brings the gang food he made, and eventually introduces them to his talking dog who may or may not be immortal. Daphne invites everyone to her house for sleepovers, helps Velma explore her style in a way that's still comfortable to her, and reveals her endless knowledge about every single person in the entire town.

The mystery gets solved, and the four stays friends. The End :)

[scooby-doobert]

idk if anyone has already done something like this but hear me out:

[dangerprone2000]

They are just a bunch of jagaloons

[dommnics]

I’ve never drawn them so I thought I’d join in on the fun! 🔎👻

--

Check out more of my work on other platforms!

https://www.instagram.com/dommnics/

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[enthusiastic-nimrod]

Scooby Doo, and Sonic Too!

A Sconic crossover I've been fiddling with for fun! My favorite designs are definitely Scooby and Velma. I was trying to really make the characters feel accurate to the Sonic style while still being recognizable, but they definitely need one or two redesigns to work. Still, I'm glad I did this! It was a cool exercise!

[kabishkat19]

My Fav Poly couples🖤

(Both Canon/Non canon)

1. Tulio x Miguel x Chel

I think this goes without saying, this is the starter pack of Poly couple ships; the chemistry and banter alone.

2. Sour x Jenny x Buck

These three self proclaimed outcasts caring about each other deeply; say no more

3. Gene x Courtney x Alex

I just feel these three have potential and there’s no way Gene will end up in a conventional relationship.

4. Rey x Po x Fin

Might get hate but I preferred this over the Rey x Kylo ship, this just makes my heart melt.

5. Scooby Gang (Not Scooby himself)

This goes without saying; each one of these characters as chemistry with each other and it’s the 70’s.

[the-betterbaur]

If you told me that the entire team behind “Velma” had never seen any Scooby Doo media besides the first 10 minutes of the 2002 live action film I would believe you

[scrappedtogether]

Just binged the Daphne and Velma series since the third book came out recently. I really enjoyed it! It was a lot better than I thought it’d be. There’s definitely things I would have changed and the writing was a little juvenile in places (totally understandable given the target demographic). There were elements about the setting and the characterizations of the Gang that I found very compelling and would be excited to see adapted or explored in other media. I might write a bit more after I gather my thoughts but I’m really glad I gave it a read. What do you guys think? Have any of you read it? Let me know your thoughts and feel free to ask me for mine. 👋

[peach-el]

Mystery inc 🔎

[i-j0s]

[the-scooby-gang]

Welcome once again toooooo

Velma by Me!

Watch me rewrite this show one 3AM idea at a time

[Part 1]

Shaggy is now Brazilian because I said so! AFRO LATINOS FOR THE WIN!!!!!

They are friends your honor, the Velma show is lying to you

Toxic masculinity? Never heard of him and neither did Fred

[jkriordanverse]

𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓱𝓪𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓮 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓼 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓱𝓪𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓫𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓮

Marellinh art creds to @sasharcyreal | Genya & Zoya art creds to @kolarpem

[dangerprone2000]

Daphne Blake it’s the absolute heart of mystery Incorporated, like an engine she keeps them together, working well, she’s close to all of the gang members and she also has this FABULOUS intuition that makes her find most of the clues through the series.

I personally think that she’s extremely smart and one of the most wonderful female characters in cartoons💕