#velma has them must of the time

[roosterforme]

Stiff Competition | Bob Floyd x Reader

Summary: After visiting your bakery one time, Bob has a crush on you. The only problem is, so do all of the other guys.

Warnings: Fluff and some swears

Length: 2500 words

Pairing: Robert "Bob" Floyd x Female Reader

Check my profile for my masterlist

Bob quietly followed his friends inside the trendy, new bakery that opened near base. He had become so accustomed to the bickering between Hangman and Rooster, he found it almost soothing, even early on a Monday morning.

"No way," Bradley said, shaking his head at Jake. "You're wrong, and now you're just being stubborn."

Jake sighed calmly. "I'm just saying, there's no way anyone, Fred included, would pick Velma over Daphne. It's unrealistic."

Bradley grunted in response. "Whatever. Smart girls are always hot."

Bob just cradled his forehead in his hand and let the rich smell of fresh coffee and baked goods wash over his senses. All three men in their khaki uniforms shuffled forward as the line moved.

"Holy shit," Bradley and Jake muttered softly and in perfect unison. 

"Do you see what I see?" Bradley asked, staring entranced at the sight before him.

"Oh hell yes, I do," Jake confirmed with a nod. 

Bob immediately looked in the direction they were staring, and his breath caught in his throat. All three of them were now eyeing you up where you stood behind the counter. You were smiling at one of the patrons and filling a pastry box with donuts. 

"She's kinda hot," Bradley whispered.

"Better than that. She's fucking gorgeous," Jake replied.

Bob silently agreed with them, noting the adorable smudge of flour on your cheek. He had always been a little shy, a little timid around women. And he was not about to get into a dick measuring contest with Bradley and Jake. He would just let the two of them fight it out, because Bob was never the one to get the stunning girl.

When it was their turn to order, Bob watched the other two men trip over each other to get to the counter first. You smiled at each of them in turn, your gaze lingering on Bob and making him blush. 

"Hi! What can I get for you fellas?" you asked the three of them, and Bob completely forgot what he was going to order. 

"Hey, gorgeous. What would you recommend?" Bradley asked in a deep and raspy voice as he leaned against the counter and peered at you over his aviators. 

You chuckled and shook your head. "I would recommend the citrus muffin with orange zest."

"Perfect, I'll get six of those," he said, his smile twitching below his mustache. "I'm Bradley, by the way."

"And I'm Jake! And I'll get a dozen muffins." Bob watched Jake flash you a megawatt smile, and he wished he could be half as charming. 

"A dozen muffins?" you asked Jake. Your eyes skimmed back over Bob's face with an amused glint in your eye. 

"Actually, I'll take two dozen," Bradley said, changing his order and glaring at Jake. 

"So you want a total of three dozen muffins?" you asked before turning toward the bakery case. "Okay.... seems excessive," you muttered. 

Bob watched you intently as you packed up bakery boxes of muffins and entered them into the register. You must have known what was going on here, but you just smiled at the three of them as you worked. 

"Anything for you?" you asked, flashing Bob a smile that made him feel a little nervous. "You're awfully quiet back there."

"Uh, just a small coffee, please," he muttered, getting out his wallet and trying to stay cool.

"One hundred and twenty eight dollars is your total," you announced, and Jake and Bradley both tried to get you to take their credit cards at the same time. 

"I've got it, I insist," Bradley said.

"Use my platinum card," Jake announced loudly.

"Use mine. His will definitely be declined," Bradley replied, trying to nudge Jake out of the way.

You carefully took one in each hand and said, "Um... I'm just going to split it between both cards. How does that sound?"

When the enormous quantity of muffins had been collected, and you handed Bob his coffee, he forced himself to meet your eyes. "Thank you, miss," he said softly, as your fingers grazed against his. "You have a lovely day."

Bob watched you bite your lip as he tucked five dollars into the tip jar and nodded his head at you.

"Thanks. See you soon, I hope," you called as he turned to leave. Bob glanced back one last time as he exited the bakery, and you were still looking at him.

------------------------------

On Tuesday at lunchtime, Bob was about to eat the sandwich he had packed, but Jake suggested going back to the bakery. 

"I hope she's working again today," Bradley said, grabbing his car keys. 

Jake nodded enthusiastically. "Hot little piece like that, she's gotta have a boyfriend."

Bradley snorted. "Wouldn't be the first time I've stolen a girl from another guy."

"What makes you think she'd pick you when I'm available?" Jake asked.

Bob just tuned them out until they all arrived at the bakery. He was hoping to see you again too, but he just wanted to listen to your voice and watch you smile. He'd let the other two do most of the talking. They were good at that sort of thing.

"Gorgeous," Bradley called you. "How've you been?"

"Fine," you replied, once again smiling at the three of them. "What can I get for you today? Another coffee for you?" you asked Bob, and he just nodded in reply. He didn't need more caffeine today, but he wanted you to hand him the cup again. He'd just give it to Phoenix when he got back on base. 

Bob listened to the other two men once again order more pastries than anyone could ever need, and this time Jake pulled a massive wad of cash out of his wallet and insisted on paying for everything. Bradley had a sour look on his face that he tried to hide when you smiled at him and handed him two bags of food. 

Then he stood to his full height, chest puffed out. "Thanks, gorgeous," Bradley said, sliding his aviators back into place. Bob watched Jake try to stand as tall as Bradley, failing and looking ridiculous in the process. Bob just closed in on himself a little more, trying to blend his tall frame into the background. 

"And your coffee," you said, handing the disposable cup to Bob with another beautiful smile. His hand shook when he accepted the cup, and a little bit of the beverage sloshed down the sleeve of his flight suit and splashed onto the counter.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Bob muttered, setting down the cup and reaching for the napkins. 

"No, it was my fault," you assured him. "I'll clean it up, you don't have to."

"Bob!" Jake called from the doorway. "What's the holdup, man? You coming?"

"Uh, I'll meet you at the car," he replied, mopping up the drink and drying his sleeve.

"Your name's Bob?" you asked him softly. 

He glanced up to meet your warm gaze and nodded once. "Yes. I'm Lieutenant Robert Floyd, but everyone calls me Bob," he said quietly. 

You smiled and told him your name. "Here you go, Bob. These are on the house. Sorry I spilled your coffee."

Bob took a small paper bag from you and picked up his coffee cup once more. "Oh, that's not necessary. It was my fault."

"I insist," you told him. "See you again soon?"

He looked down at his feet and smiled. "Yes. See you again soon."

"I can't wait."

---------------------------------

On Friday morning, Bob was a nervous wreck. He'd been thinking about you all week, but he knew the other guys had been, too. They had been talking about you a lot, but Bob was too shy to tell them he was also interested in you. 

He'd given the coffee to Phoenix the other day, but he smiled when he opened the bag and found a croissant. His favorite. It seemed like you knew. And it was flaky and perfect, and he couldn't wait to see you again and get another one. 

"Bakery time!" Bradley announced. "Time to visit the hottie. You coming, Bob?"

Bob fell into step behind him and Jake, but then Reuben and Javy were joining as well. "Everyone's coming today?" Bob asked, squeezing into Reuben's car along with the other four. 

"Yeah, can't wait to see this girl," Javy said. 

"Heard she's sexy," Reuben agreed. 

Bob just stared out the window and sighed. He was just going to have to get over his crush on you. It was the only way to keep his heart from breaking. He wouldn't look at you, and he wouldn't talk to you. And he definitely wouldn't eat another croissant. 

He shuffled into the bakery behind the others, and there you were. He tried to look at all of the baked goods in the case, but you greeted him by name. You greeted only him by name. 

"Hi," he managed, and the other four guys turned to glare at him. 

"Gorgeous, what would you recommend today?" Bradley asked you.

"Blueberry muffins are good today," you replied, and you started packing up a box full at Javy's request. 

"So, how long have you been working here?" Reuben asked, leaning so far across the counter, he may as well have just jumped over. 

"I'm the owner and primary baker," you told them, and Bob was so impressed. 

"Wow, gorgeous. Your muffins are really famous around here. We can't stop coming back for more," Bradley said, smirking at you. But you were looking at Bob again as he inched forward. 

"Did you make the croissant? It was very good," he told you, unable to look away. 

You beamed at him. "I did. They're my specialty."

Bob swallowed hard, all four guys looking at him in surprise now. "Could... uh, could I have another one? I'll pay for it this time though, if you don't mind. It was delicious."

"Of course, Bob. Anything you want." You turned to get a bag ready, and Bob thought he might faint. 

Jake turned and mouthed at him, "Anything you want?"

Bob just shrugged and made his way toward the register. He was pouring sweat in his flight suit, trying to stay as calm as possible. You met him at the other end of the counter and smiled as you slid a bag and a small coffee his way. 

"Three dollars," you told him softly, as if you could tell he was nervous, but you didn't seem to mind.

"What about the coffee?" he asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"On the house."

Bob quickly paid you for the croissant, as he could already hear Jake and the others getting restless. 

Jake leaned across the counter as you ran his credit card. "You interested in pilots?" he asked with a smirk. 

You just swiped the card and handed it back to him. "You're all pilots?" you asked, smiling at all of them. 

"Nah, Bob here is just a backseater," Reuben said loudly, slapping Bob on the back and nearly spilling his coffee.

"Oh, so Bob's the brains of the operation? Sounds about right," you said, sending a subtle wink in his direction. 

Bob's ears felt a little fuzzy and his collar felt a little too tight. Maybe he had imagined the wink. Yes, that must be it. 

The guys all hooted, and Jake said, "Well sure, Bob's smart and organized, but that's not as exciting."

You just shrugged. "Still sounds exciting to me. Hope you guys all have a safe flight this afternoon. Enjoy your croissant, Bob."

He floated out onto the sidewalk with the others, still in a daze. 

"What the fuck, guys? She likes Bob the best?" Javy said in disbelief as they all walked back to the car. "Hangman and Rooster, you two really dropped the ball."

"Does she?" Bob asked quietly. "She likes me?"

Reuben shoved half a muffin into his mouth and grinned. "You should ask her out, man." 

Bob thought about asking you out the whole drive back to base and as he walked to meet up with Phoenix. When he finally opened the bag to eat his croissant, he saw that you had put three inside. 

--------------------------

Late Saturday morning, Bob paced around outside of the bakery with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He'd peeked in through the window and saw that you and another girl were working, but he'd lost his nerve. He was on the verge of heading back to his car and calling it a day when the door opened, and he could smell the croissants. 

"You can do it," he told himself and rushed inside before he could turn around.

"Bob!" you called with a bright smile. "Back for more croissants?"

He took a deep breath and headed toward you. He noticed you were looking at the flowers in his hand, but you didn't say anything or rush him to respond, which he appreciated. You just smiled and leaned on the counter. 

"Yes, I would like another croissant," he muttered, and you pushed up from the counter to get it for him. "Actually, I would like two. But you need to let me pay for both of them today."

"Okay. Sure, Bob," you said with the tiniest smile as you put two into a bag. But now you didn't look as happy, and he wanted to kick himself. How had he messed this up already?

He met you at the register, and you asked him, "So, are the flowers for your wife? Or your girlfriend?"

"Oh, neither," he said, lifting them a little higher. "I don't have either of those."

You looked up at him and bit your lip. "Who's the extra croissant for?"

Bob watched your lips as you waited for him to answer. He was sweating, but he was in too deep to turn back now. "I, um... thought maybe we could eat them together. When you're done working. If you're not too busy."

Your smile lit up your face again. "I would like that."

Bob's smile matched your own. "You would?"

"Yeah," you told him with a nod. "You're so sweet. Much better than your friends. Are those flowers for me?"

Bob looked at the floor as he felt himself blushing. "Oh, yeah," he said, handing them to you. "Of course they are."

He watched you disappear into the kitchen for a minute, only to reappear without the flowers or your apron. Then you joined him on his side of the counter. Without any hesitation, you placed one hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

"Let's go for a walk," you told him, and Bob's heart was absolutely pounding for you. "I know a nice bench, perfect for eating croissants."

Bob felt you lace your fingers through his, and he held your hand in his larger one. "Lead the way."

-----------------------

This fic is for my Bobby loving friend Alex!!! @bradshawsbitch

Thanks to Alli @beyondthesefourwalls for giving this a read for me.

I hope I have done our Loverboy Bob justice!

@theamuz

@cherrycola27

@katiedid-3

@mak-32

@je-suis-prest-rachel

@endofdays56

@avaleineandafryingpan

@t-nd-rfoot

@wkndwlff

@eddiemunsonreader

@wintercap89

@the-fever-of-mankind

@yanna-banana

[nanamissuit]

Hi Bestie!

I saw you were looking for requests, and I NEED NEEEEED NEEEEEEEEEEEED more of Soap being perverted. I don’t care what he’s doing, I don’t care if he hides my glasses and air humps me as I look for them Velma style on all fours on the floor, I don’t care if he has stolen every single pair of panties from my dirty laundry to use later, I don’t care if he’s finishing in my primer. I NEED HIM DIRTY, NASTY, DISGUSTING, I NEED PERV SOAP I WILL BE THE FACE OF THIS REVOLUTION IF I MUST! (i apologize it grew hands and typed this out)

Pervert! - John 'Soap' Mactavish

Pairing: Perverted!Soap x Fem!Reader MDNI 18+!!

Warnings: Slight dacryphilia,Pervert stuff!!,Nudes,Anal mention? Degradtion?

Perverted!Soap Who throws your glasses from the counter onto the floor and you bend over to get them and he comes up behind you either A. air humping you or B. Smacking your ass.

Perverted!Soap Who has stolen your panties from your laundry, has a WHOLE drawer that's hidden of your missing panties and bras he just wants a part of you while you're gone :(!

Perverted!Soap Who gave you a new primer, said he got it from CVS but really it was just an empty bottle he filled over the weeks with his nut god he loved when you smeared it all over your face.

Perverted!Soap Who has all your nudes saved and even has some printed out, in his military outfit he even has a regular picture of you then a downright nasty one in his pocket to remember who he’s REALLY fighting for.

Perverted!Soap Who makes dirty jokes all the time, no matter what he's cracking the most out of pocket joke. “Johnny! Come here!!” You yelled for him in the kitchen and he came up behind you, “I know another way to make you scream my name…” You snorted and playfully smacked his chest.

Perverted!Soap Who gets even more turned on when you cry a little during sex, not in pain but in pleasure he fucking loves it.

Perverted!Soap Who has thought about anal. But won’t propose it unless you mention it.

Perverted!Soap Who buys you MASS amounts of lingerie he thinks would look beautiful on you, different colors and prints.

Perverted!Soap Who helps you pantie and bra shop and he knows your cup size by heart like it's some sort of password he genuinely needs to remember. 

Perverted!Soap Who likes when you are cockdrunk all over him, a mess who can’t form words unless it’s his name. He loves his cum dump princess<3.

I actually enjoyed this!! Definitely something new for me! <3

[vivwritescrappythings]

masterlist

updated: 10/25/24

joel miller

yours : you get new neighbors in Jackson, Joel doesn't like how much attention they pay to you so he decides to teach them a lesson. [SMUT]

unfair : an au about Joel attending a wedding simply inspired by Pedro's slutty little fit at the SAG awards. [SMUT]

part 2: good Morning : Mornings with Joel are the best. [SMUT]

saying thanks : Joel is your grumpy patrol partner who doesn’t even talk to you in the streets of Jackson. But one night a man grabs your arm at the Tipsy Bison, and Joel’s decided he doesn’t like it. [SMUT]

set me on fire, i'll keep you warm : you and Joel get stuck in a cabin together during a winter storm [SMUT, a/b/o dynamics]

eddie munson

the boy is mine (viv's version) : a romantic night at the trailer

just love me and eat : you watched Eddie die, so this must be some nightmare in your room

part 2: it’ll heal : Eddie’s perspective on his new life [SMUT]

late night visits : Eddie catches you dropping Max off and invites you over, he teaches you how to smoke weed [SMUT]

velma : You attend a Halloween party with Eddie, things don't go quite as planned when Jason Carver acts like a jerk

twenty-five : You always cry on your birthday, and this is the year Eddie finds out

silence : The five times you asked Eddie to be quiet, and the one time he was [ANGST, NO COMFORT]

squeeze : Eddie is your tattoo artist and long term boyfriend, one night you have an idea of how to spice up your next tattoo session. [SMUT]

simon "ghost" riley

simon riley brainrot : you sit next to him on a plane [drabble]

roadburn : someone hits simon’s motorcycle while you were riding

take it all : you meet simon at a bar and go home with him [SMUT, toxic simon]

small apologies: six months later simon decides he wants to apologize [SMUT]

könig

king of the joust : you attend a tourney with your family, a knight you’ve never seen before wants your favor [plus size reader]

sworn sword : civil unrest in the kingdom forces your father and the king to assign a knight to you for your protection. thankfully he is someone you have already met before

golden linings : the evening ball presents you with an unconventional dance partner

words fall short : you can’t stop thinking about some rude words said about you at last night’s feast, but your knight doesn’t let you worry for long

if she would have me : könig personally comforts you through the news of your betrothal. things get out of hand [SMUT]

anything you ask : despite all odds, it is finally your wedding day [SMUT]

hobie brown

and they were roommates : you and Hobie always toe the line between friends and something more.

other stuff i will write just no inspiration has hit me (so you can request it): felix catton, nate jacobs (but only in the fucked up way—would write dark!fics), recom miles quaritch, jake sully, miguel o'hara, geralt of rivia, thranduil, most pedro pascal characters (but not pedro pascal because i find writing fanfic about real people to be strange).

[the-scooby-gang]

Character assassination and delayed puberty: VelmaHBO mishandling of Fred Jones

As I write the "I watched Velma HBO so you don't have too" reviews for episode 1 and 2, I decided to post this thought process I had regarding Fred's mischaracterization and, specifically, about the choice of giving him delayed puberty.

In the show, Mindy Kaling's self insert (because that ain't Velma in this or in the next life) comes to the conclusion that Fred is such a "spoiled white privileged brat" that his body didn't see the point of growing up at all.

First of all: Fuck that

Second of all: Whose brilliant idea (we all know who, but lets pretend for a second here) was it to turn FRED JONES: cheerleader; net lover; circus enjoyer; himbo friend; golden retriever sunshine boy and "I love my friends and my van so much you guys" into THIS?!?!

Is it because he is white, blond and has blue eyes???? Because it would be easy to make him into a caricature of white supremacy???

Yes. That's exactly why they changed Fred. Because it was easy.

I will go deeper on this in the full review of episode 1 and 2 (god help me) but this whole show is written in the most lazy way possible with jokes that would have fit perfectly in a edgy early 2000s show, where characters become those straw men versions of liberals conservatives IMAGINE exist.

Where people of color complain all the time about white supremacy but don't go deeper into it, its just complaining for the sake of complaining;

Where they bring genuine arguments people make but with zero nuance or though behind them, instead the writers put what THEY imagine it is about and, 99.9% of the time, they attribute it to people being "tOo sEnSiTiVe" and " tRiGgErEd SnOwFlAkEs"

Where people blow things out of proportion and accuse people left and right of being fascists (when they call Fred "Hitler" the background character says "he looks like Hitler. And I'm not just saying that because we call anyone Hitler nowadays") completely disregarding the WHY people in real life are calling out fascist behavior when they see it. Hello rise of fascism happening on the world, how is the INVASION OF CAPITOL IN AMERICA and THE INVASION AND DEPREDATION OF THE PLANALTO IN BRAZIL going for you?!;

This show is Family Guy. I would say it's worse than Family Guy even.

Third of all: Delayed puberty is an Actual Thing That Happens To People. It's something that can happen at random or it can be a genetic disorder shared in the family. It can be a symptom of something way more serious or something benign.

Many people that suffer from delayed puberty suffer from low self esteem because they have to watch their friends grow and develop when the same thing's not happening to them. They may feel like they're never going to catch up.

People are bullied over this, people develop depression.

And now these people are the punch line of this mean spirited joke.

I can even envision a better show where Fred still has delayed puberty, but instead of being the butt of jokes where people keep commenting on the size of the penis of this HIGH SCHOOLER, they treat as the constitutional delay it is. Fred is a late bloomer. It may be caused by a pattern of growth and development in his family, it may be a chronic illnesses he has. Can you imagine Fred with something like asthma or diabetes?

Lets go with that, lets imagine a Fred with diabetes, who is not receiving a proper treatment for said diabetes (maybe because his parents subscribe to that style of parenting where they are more concerned about appearances than the well being of their kid. "No, he has no problem. He is a perfectly healthy Jones."

Or they are the kind that say shit like this: "He doesn't have blurry vision he is just a lazy student, that's an excuse," or "You would stop going so much to the bathroom to piss if you stoped drinking water all the time" or even "I told you to not stay awake all night on those weird net making websites, now you're tired in class. What kind of mother they must think I am..." "But I didn't stay up all night, I swear–" "Don't you lie to me Frederick") and as such the side effects and symptoms are left unchecked.

So the Fred Velma, and we the audience, are introduced too is the heir of this fortune... who can't stay standing because he is constantly tired, has completely given up on trying to apply himself on school because he can't see the fucking board his vision is so blurry, has passed out at least once in gym, drinks water like he lives in a dessert and is so self conscious about his body that even his girlfriend hasn't seen him shirtless even once. The swim team hasn't seen him shirtless even once, so there are these whiplash inducing photos in the year book where is a bunch of guys in speedos nest to this one dude in an early 20th century striped swimming suit.

In episode 1 itself Velma's vision of Fred can start biased, after all from a distance a person that doesn't know Fred personally can chalk his behavior to "rich dramatic boy that knows he doesn't need to put effort into learning since he already has a fortune guaranteed for him after all this, so he is just sleeping and vibing and being dramatic through high school" but as the episode progresses and she gets to know Fred, she notices that the image doesn't fit. Fred, who has such in depth knowledge about physics and mechanics, who clearly loves his girlfriend very much and feels bad about the murder of this girl he considered a friend. The image of "Rich guy that doesn't care" is not fitting.

I want it to be a Velma and Daphne epiphany. About Daphne talking about all these things Fred has told her or that she noticed about him to Velma as they look for clues and it hits Velma as a she connects all together. The tiredness, the pissing, the thirst, the blurry vision.

Daphne may have not seen it because she is too close but with Velma's outside perspective the pieces fall into place.

Now lets imagine that instead of cop lesbian moms, Daphne could have lesbian doctor/nurse moms. They take him to them and they give him what he desperately needed:

"No, dear. You're not lazy, or broken, or an attention seeker, or any other bullshit your parents called you. You have diabetes. Type 1 to be precise."

After Daphne and Velma hug a crying Fred until he has no more tears to give, the series progresses with Fred now treating his diabetes as one of its recurring plot lines.

I want Daphne to have extra insulin in her purse, I want Shaggy to help Fred with his new diet, I want Fred and Velma to go exercising together and have deep conversations about body image and how they deal with it (Fred with his delayed puberty, Velma with her extra weight)

"Mature" and "Adult" content doesn't need to be edgy sex-violence-and-drugs.

It can be simply a story of a high schooler having to deal with diabetes in a country were insulin is expensive as fuck, some parents are more willing to let their kids suffer than offer any kind of help or even admit that there may be a problem in the first place, of dealing with body image and things that are out of your control.

Just a thought.

This is a post by The-Scooby-Gang, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[amysgiantbees]

Dead Boy Spoilers

Things I'd like to see in Dead Boy Detectives Season 2

Tragic Mick and Monty form an Animals with Complicated Feelings About Being Human at Some Point support group. Maybe the Cat King is there too.

Monty takes on Tragic Mick's "curse" and get's to be human again and Mick get's to be a walrus or at least get's to not be human anymore and is a crow. Monty could even take over his store!

Monty and the Cat King dealing with loneliness together. The Cat King has all the loneliness of being an immortal that Edwin's making him unpack (in particular he hangs out with cats all day like fuck they have even shorter life spans than people god he must have lost a lot of loved ones) and Monty deals with loosing his owner/master/mother/weird aunt figure who's probably been his whole world for better and worse up until he got turned human.

Whoever Monty is hanging out with I want to see him far too earnestly doing their star charts.

Boys and Crystal solving just fun random MOTW cases

The Night Nurse and Jenny tearing their hair out trying to keep the teens in check.

Night Nurse in particular having an aneurism every time the boys refuse to fill out a form, brake a rule, or run off without her.

Although alternatively Edwin getting VERY into the forms and learning how Hell and the afterlife works, and instead pestering her about it.

Jenny focusing more on Crystal - and Niko when she comes back.

Jenny learning she can care a bit more. The Night Nurse learning to relax and care a little less.

Jenny getting a good date. Loving her ship with Death but also I like the idea of them meeting a Cat Queen and her little comment about everyone in town being spinsters with cats comes round to instead be this ancient being who is a cat.

Crystal researching her ancestors and finding out more about them.

Crystal dealing with the demon in her brain hopefully before he does something irreparable to her tree.

Maybe they end up interrogating David about the "something worse" Edwin was sold to.

Crystal learning about her powers!

Crystal trying to repair some of her old friendships. Make amends to a couple of people.

Niko reforming the dandelion sprites and learning to lead/work with them. Helping them all find a way to feed without murdering people.

Nico dealing with needing attention to eat and live despite her coping mechanism when she's sad or scared specifically being avoiding people and hiding from others.

Niko figuring out her dandelion god powers. Doing god like things like blessing people who love, care for, and harvest dandelions. Granting wishes when dandelions are blown!

Niko marriage counseling Kingham & Litty (the dandelion sprites).

Either Crystal and Charles giving being together another shot now that David has been "dealt" with for the time being or Charles figuring out that maybe he's attracted to Edwin too. Or both!

I love that since Edwin is "living" through the modern day he can explore his sexuality finally. In a similar vein a lot of people also see him as autistic, and autism awareness has certainly come a long way from the Edwardian period and now could be a good time for his character to explore this too. Charles in turn could help him by talking about their shared neurodivergent experience as I firmly believe he has ADHD.

Charles opening up more about his parents.

Learning Edwin's family backstory

Cat King having Desire as a sort of absentee parental figure so literally the whole gang can have parental issues. Night Nurse I assume does not have parents so get's to be the mentally stable one in this regard and (try to) help everyone through it.

Niko checking in on her mum. Seeing how she's coping.

Edwin and Crystal bonding over doing magic and getting closer as friends. He maybe even initiates a hug!

Edwin getting to initiate a kiss with someone

Scooby Do episode! (I vote Charles is Daphney, Edwin is Velma, Niko is Shaggy and Cyrstal is Fred, maybe the Cat King or Monty is Scoob).

Despair shows up again.

Maybe now that the boys don't need to run from death they reverse it and actively try to seek her out and talk to her.

Crystal seeing her little ghost friend Emma from the first episode again.

Edwin reading Niko's yaoi. It could even be really funny and bittersweet where when they still think she's dead he's reading it and getting emotional and saying to himself "she really did love love" or "I wish I could read this with her" or something emotional like that and then he flicks to the next page and it's something explicit and he suddenly shuts the book and is like "Enough of that for now" XD

Either Edwin and the Cat King get together. Or become friends. Or Thomas makes friends or something with some other kind of immortal so he's not so lonely. I'm leaning towards them being friends because he would have no issues being the friend that explains what hand jobs and molly is to Edwin. Also since he presents himself in a very ambiguously gendered way I feel like he could get him to talk about why he likes disguising himself as a woman so much. Whether than be introducing him to concepts like gender queerness or drag. It's just honestly both Charles and Edwin are pretty repressed and I think now that the Cat King has started to grow he could continue to really push them in a less intense, healthier way.

Monty and Edwin staying friends. Monty and Charles actually getting to properly vibe.

Jenny figuring out now that the shop is dead if butchering is truly what she wants. Since she did it because she inherited the shop she can really explore her wants without any feeling of obligation to her dad. I love that she's a butcher but I just think it'd be interesting to explore her passion for it without so much baggage.

[roninkairi]

Hey, Remember Those DC x Looney Tunes Comics From A Few Years Ago? (Part 1)

I have seen quite a few vids and posts on Twitter about certain memorable issues. But there is one that has been my personal favorite:

A special issue that focused on Harley Quinn meeting one of the most unusual of Looney Tunes antagonists, Gossamer.

The comic is split into 2 different art styles and the first half is done in the more "traditional" art style (And yes, Harley just broke the 4th Wall there. Don't be surprised.)

A hurricane sweeps through NYC and after everything settles down, Harley finds a curious crate on the shores of Coney Island. Whats inside?

Gossamer.

Apparently monsters in crates are a normal thing in the DC Universe.

I think there are a hell of a lot of guys (and girls) who wants to trade places with Gossamer right now...

To answer your question that is NOT the Iron Giant.

Hey, could have been worse. It could have been some giant marshmallow sailor!

And now its time for Harls to do a little detective work on her own.

...

Me: ...

Harley: I'm just saying.

Me: That is one of MANY images I want to erase from my memory, I must state for the record.

Harley: But the last panel is completely ok.

Me: ...do you really think I'm gonna be against that?

Velma: (saves a copy of that page) I don't think none of us object to that.

Batman always knows just what buttons to press.

So does Joker, quite literally.

Is it wrong that ALL of them have given chuckle inducing dialogue here?

Even Batman?

Me: You ALL have issues.

Harley: We are aware, there are entire YouTube videos detailing our many, MANY personal hang ups. ESPECIALLY HIM.

Batman: I'm not apologizing.

...yeah what IS that guy's name anyway?

Well, all's well that ends well, I guess...(lets not ask about the sheep dog and his wife.)

But of course there is still one unanswered question...

..and the answer is one that has been missing from all of these DC x Looney Tunes comics.

At least we know now what Bugs has been doing while Daffy had to deal with Lex!

(And you do realize, of course, this means that Harley's met Bugs WAY before Multiversus.)

[quitealotofsodapop]

I love how all macaques are just cats also the separate thing of them all wearing exclusively dark colors and then there’s smash. That must have been a fun surprise for everyone lol.

It's like when there's a group of ravens and crows, and a bluejay shows up. The group is still a murder; just one is wearing brighter colors. Also do we forget that Meihouwang!Mihou be wearing almost only pink?

LMK Macaque: Sunset oranges (+red accents), blacks, and purples almost exclusively. He either dresses like Velma from Scooby Doo, or he's busting out the historical-inspired finery.

HeroIsBorn LEM: Royal purple and gray all the time. it's his fave colours. Started wearing royal purple to mock an emperor who limited it's use to royalty, and got way too attached to the shade. Default clothing is a loose purple chiton-style (almost similar to Mihou) dress. Will wear baggy robes/shenyi-style hanfus for the cold/comfort.

Reborn LEM: Mostly dark grays with small breaks of orchid-like pinks and purples. Doesn't even notice that they naturally dress like a goth. Only wears the same kind of gray long-sleeved hanfu - comfort item.

NewGods!Macaque: Old greaser/punk style of all shiny black jackets and jeans with metal accessories. Very rarely has a saturated color on - often something "borrowed" (shirt, hat, tie etc) from his husband.

Netflix!LEM: Dresses like a graveyard. Lots of ash gray and black. Only saturated color is blood red. Either in armor, underwear, or naked, barely any inbetween. Modesty is a human thing after all.

2000sCartoon LEM: Copies whatever his Wukong is wearing. Slowly beginning a goth transformation the more he becomes defined from the shadows. Enjoys leggings and loose t-shirts.

Meihouwang Mihou: Pink! Pink tunics and dresses galore. Maybe the occasional light yellow flowers. No dark tones on this lad.

Smash Legends LEM: Lots of different loud colours in the blue-purple range with black accompaniments + the opposite end in pink and white. Depending on their mood they could be wearing all neon purple and black goth/scene wear, or wearing an unapologetic lilac regency gown while drinking bubble tea. The other Macaques wonder how big their wardrobe is.

NewGods!Macaque: "Going any place fancy?" Smash!LEM: "Nah, just wanted to feel a little Pride and Prejudice today." LMK!Mac: *nods in understanding*

Group of goths with two almost-goths and one brightly-dressed lad. They will steal any free/unused clothing from Smash LEM's wardrobe if given permission.

[aimwigs]

hey I've been listening to the yard for about a year and a half and I want to get more into it ifywim do I just start watching old vods to catch up or is there any content u can recommend as a baseline must-watch

this is by no means a comprehensive list because i've only really been watching the yard since dec 2022 and my 2021 stint in lud viewing was brief and casual (didn't know what i had) but it is a fucking long list so i'll keep it under the cut. included stuff that maybe i wouldn't classify as a must watch but i wanted to include it so you can pick and choose what interests you

PODCASTS - I know for a fact there are other podcast appearances out there that I don't know of but here are a few:

the yard x wine about it - it's just the four of them and qt which means good times! this is an essential imo

there are a few eps of fear& that they appear on! specifically rec the ep with nick and aiden and the ep with ludwig and aiden. there are also a few eps with ludwig and slime (not at the same time) if you're interested in those

i've watched aiden on three different interview podcasts all are worth a watch to me: karat interview, across the bar, and good griefed (audio a little scuffed on this one but it's cute)

fucking loved nick's ep of across the bar because his outlook on creativity is super relatable to me. he also did something with safety third that i've been meaning to watch but haven't yet!

VIDEOS AND STREAMS - there's a lot here but i'll try to describe what's what

mogul money ft the yard - this is the full vod, there's also a cut down video. extremely fun watch

nick was also on mogul money live (first game specifically) and he and aiden appear in the bts video a little bit

qt posted vlogs from italy! they're all fun watches and there's some good moments. one, two, three, four

qt and aiden halloween gingerbread house video. ludwig and aiden kiss in this one. i think the full vod is in god's hands unfortunately

qt and aiden make shit in an ezbake oven and make the guys eat it. fun little video. idk if the vod is out there somewhere or not

there's a cut down version of this too but the full stream of qt having all the guys do a gingerbread house competition is very peak

lud did a shit load of taste test videos with the guys for a slim jim sponsor. this might not be all of them but here are the ones i cold find off rip (fruit, cheese, chocolate, water, steak)

ludwig has done a shitload of ylyl streams with slime that you can find and honestly i have a horrible mediashare allergy so i haven't watched a lot of them but i have watched the one they did with aiden and the one with everyone but idk where the full vod is for the latter

from ludwig's fortnite mondays, there was a week where slime and nick played with jerma and sapnap. idk if any of the others posted the vod but here's sapnap's

the subathon has a shitload of stuff that i can't even begin to link but if you want the experience of the dcom series without subbing to tier 2 they watched the truman show starting about an hour thirty into this vod, tho it takes a hot minute to get everything lined up with the time stamps

halloween po unboxing where them + qt dress up as characters from scooby doo. nick looks frankly obscene as velma this is a great vod

how many flashlights does it take to cook an egg is exactly what it sounds like. it's lud slime and nick ft a little bit of yingo

they play the family feud game together in these two vods: just them and against miz/otk (can't stand miz but it was still good)

RECENT STUFF - aka stuff you probably know about or have seen because you've been around a year and a half but i figured i'd include them anyway since they happened off the pod

two months ago they all played fortnite on lud's stream and it was awesome

both the show matches of the ludwig tarik invitationals are worth watching if you're into valo! the first one is team mogul v otv and they're split up in the second. if the timestamps are broken it's 2h30 in both vods

the rivals 2 tournament is fun! i don't understand shit about fighting games but i love to see the boys play

cdawgva ski vod with lud and aiden from the japan trip! there's also a cut down version of youtube but i found it a fun watch

recency bias alert: they all played in creator dodgeball

the qt and aiden winter cocktail tierlist stream was so good like genuinely a stream of all time to me. ludwig hangs around for parts of it

the yard doing the dougdoug fast food challenge is a MUST WATCH! they celebrate and they suffer what could be more beautiful

otv's fear pong video with them is so fucking good. SO GOOD!

and finally i guess i should mention beerio because it just happened LOL

[scoobydoominuscoobydoo]

Hi!!! First of all can I just say how much I LOVE your page?!? I don’t really have a question, I just wanted to post some story ideas that I had that I thought you might enjoy.

Story ideas

Shaggy is a typical loner guy at school, not necessarily emo, he just prefers the company of animals (especially his dog Scooby Doo) Daphne is the popular girl (of course) but she sees Shaggy sitting underneath a tree during lunch birdwatching and eating a comically large sandwich. Let’s just say he’s piqued her interest. (Sort of like a Kristoff/Anna dynamic)

Shaggy becomes Commander Cool (for some unexplained reason that I never thought through) and Velma is the only person he tells because Fred is out of town for the time being, and Daphne can’t keep a secret to save her life. Velma agrees to he his “guy in the chair” (think Wade from Kim Possible) and assists him from her desk at home. While he struggles at first, he eventually starts to get the hang of crime fighting. One day, Daphne gets caught in a bank robbery and CC comes in to save the day. After seeing Commander Cool in action Daphne begins to wonder who this masked avenger really is.

Shaggy and Daphne have been dating for nearly a month now and they’re still the hottest topic of gossip at school. “What does she see in that toothpick?” “Ugh, she could do SO much better.” “She must have lost a bet or something.” “Either that or she’s doing it out of pity.” Needless to say, even someone, who can laugh at himself as much as Shaggy can, has his breaking point. But what can his loving girlfriend do if all he can say is, “I’m fine”?

Shaggy and Daphne are excited for Fiction Con (pretty much like Comic Con but copyright friendly, I know I’m so original) Daphne doesn’t tell anyone she’s going (she’s got a reputation to uphold) but Shaggy is letting everyone and anyone know he’s going and he’s proud of it! The day of the con, Shaggy goes in his Commander Cool cosplay and while he’s looking through the different booths and events, he comes face to face with the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen, in a Wonder Lass cosplay (In this universe, there is a female superhero named Wonder Lass who sometimes assists Commander Cool in crime fighting, it’s been a common theory among the CC fandom that Commander Cool and Wonder Lass will end up together.) Will Shaggy find out who this mysterious girl is before the 3-day con ends?

Sorry if this was a long post I just wanted to get these out there and share them with someone who loves Shaphne as much as I do. And maybe (just maybe) it can get other people’s creativity pumping and they’ll share their own stories and ideas.

Thank you so much! Keep up the great work!!

Actually these are all 5 star ideas and I'm honored that you're willing to share them with me. I love the idea of playing with the gang as a vigilante justice squad. I guess that's technically what they are IN CANON but like I would love to write them as like a spiderman type crime fighting gang. Shaggy would absolutely slay as the unwilling hero that is accidentally so good at it that he has to keep doing it even though he hates it. And I am weak for any sort of "helping them patch up their wounds" scene. Like, yall imagine that scene with Peter and Gwen in the first asm but with Shag and Daph??? UGH. That's good stuff.

I HAVE been writing but I'm a crippling perfectionist at like the Stanley Kubrick level, so I keep proofreading drafts to hone them to their ultimate form. These ideas will be stored away in the mental filofax for suuurrrreee but they may not see the light of day until I'm old and decrepit 💅💅💅

Or who knows I may post it tomorrow... you never know how productive you'll be as a fanfic writer 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[ashweather]

Daily RPG Readings

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, Part 5

If you want to read along with me, you can get the demo copy for free on A.N.I.M.'s official site or head over to their Patreon to get a copy of the latest playtest draft for $5. I'm reading the most recent playtest draft and there are significant differences from the demo copy, just as a heads up.

For part 5, I've stopped lying to myself that I'm ever going to be able to keep up a daily schedule. Today, we'll be going over Pages 94-104, finishing chapter 1. This is a short post, but next time I'll be covering the entirety of character creation, and that's definitely going to be a lot to cover.

Today is all about Traits! Traits, features, powers, perks, whatever you want to call them, they're little mechanical bells and whistles that make a character stand out and really pop off the page. In many TTRPGs they're the most fun part of making a character, and I would argue that holds true for Eureka as well. Investigators get three to six of them initially (but usually three). Traits are sometimes purely beneficial, but especially powerful Traits usually have an attached drawback. These are one of my favorite parts of game design, so let's get granular and cover some highlights!

Bumbling Detective lets characters take after Inspector Clouseau (the book might not be able to mention copyrighted characters, but I sure can!) and be a bumbling fool who completely botches the investigation but then saves the day in the nick of time! Mechanically, the character is more likely to fail Knowledge rolls but more quickly accrues valuable Eureka! Points.

Elementary! is a trait that emulates the famous "biography-at-a-glance" of Sherlock Holmes... or, at least, the character thinks they're that good. An investigator with this this trait can have the Narrator make a hidden Social Cues roll (essentially the skill for reading people), and learn two facts about a person - but the investigator has no idea which of these facts is correct or incorrect.

Final Girl gives a small bonus to Physical Skill rolls when facing off alone against supernatural threats, and also allows the character to spend Eureka! Points to hinder a supernatural threat's rolls rather than just boosting their own. Its a very fun survivor's trait, taking after the time-honored tradition of "final girls" in horror movies. Of course, the character taking the trait need not actually be a girl.

Just One More Thing... is similar to the Bumbling Detective Trait, but for Interpersonal Skills instead of Knowledge. If you somehow didn't pick up from the name, its the Columbo Trait. You know, Columbo? You agree. Reblog.

My Glasses! gives a flat +1 bonus to all investigation rolls, but gives a possibility of the character's glasses getting knocked off in any combat encounter. As long as their glasses are off, they become pretty useless but also blind to the stresses of the situation with a +2 to all Composure rolls. A must have for the Velma Dinkley fans out there.

Not Finished Yet is for a bloodied and beaten investigator dragging their body through the dirt to see a case through. The character has double HP, but if they have less than half of that at any point in the story, they succumb to their injuries and die as soon as the story ends. This one's a personal favorite, as I'm a sucker for stories about the irrepressible human spirit.

Unpredictable is a fun one - add a +1 to all non-investigation rolls. However, all rolls are made with a 1d12 instead of a 2d6, making both Full Successes and total Failures far more likely.

[your-phantomfield]

NINE = THE = PHANTOM

i .. ii .. iii circa 2200 for anonymous

Dating the Phantom, Nine...

I.

You would nurture a love at the end of the world? Your time with the Phantom once known as Nine will not be long. Unfortunately, this is a woman who only exists at the dawn of the apocalypse.

Of course, it’s not impossible. On the contrary; perhaps a woman so stubborn, so unwilling to let others in, can only open herself to connections when the world is on fire. Though she never thought about it before, it seems like all those close to her were met during times of crisis. She fell for her first husband while trying to kill him, you know. All those she would call her friends were met under similar circumstances; bonds forged during the end of the world, much like now.

So your love may be brief. Your days may be numbered. But do you find yourself regretting that?

If anything, it may be better to go out like this. Blazing. In love and truly alive.

II.

Nine is a woman of single-minded determination. Now that things have gotten this far, she must see this through. The only way to spend time with her is to offer her whatever support you can. Your ‘dates’ are spent watching her work on Requiem, strategizing with her as all the ‘pieces’ in the Embryo move about the chessboard, philosophizing about the horrible mess of this world and what the one that comes after might look like.

Your relationship will have a real villainous Bonnie & Clyde, or Velma & Louise thing going on. You are in love with a vengeful spirit, back from the depths of hell to destroy- and save- this world. There’s no room for questioning her, certainly no room for trying to stand in her way. You’re either with her or against her on this. To be by her side means to aid her in pursuit of this goal.

III.

Call her Nine- never Phantom. Phantom was a tool used by the Imperator. A tool created by the man who killed her. Others may see her as something changed, corrupted from the woman who fought to save the world years ago, Nine sees herself as the same person she has always been.

Even those she thought knew her best now look at her as a tragic perversion of the woman they knew. If you can see her purely as Nine, it will mean the world to her. She’s grateful that you can accept the decisions she’s made and love her regardless, rather than trying to write off her sins as the influence of some outside force.

She’ll answer most questions you have about her life before all of this, happy to tell you about her homeland that doesn’t exist anymore and the origin of her strange name. She did have name another before it, but she never shares it with you, explaining that she never liked it anyway. She’s just Nine, take it or leave it.

IV.

Though she views herself as the same person she’s always been, she does seem to want to keep her life ‘before’ and her life ‘now’ separate. It makes sense, considering her circumstances. Everyone she once fought beside is now her enemy.

She’s always been extremely family oriented. She can’t help but talk about her sister, her daughter, her marriage. She wants you to meet them one day, but not under these circumstances. As independent as she is- she’d never leave you no matter what they think of you- she still desperately wants all of you to get along. Unfortunately, there’s no way to make that happen now.

She’d rather you meet them in the next world.

V.

She’d like to imagine you all go out for coffee together. She’d alternate between talking to Celica about how good looking you are, and talking to you about how cute Celica is. She imagines her ex-husband would tease both of you, offering you advice about how to deal with her difficult personality or her temper, and she’d pretend to get mad at him over it.

But her dream is impossible in the present. This fucked up, unfair world that insists on torturing her. If you met her old family and friends now, you'd be meeting as enemies. They might try to kill you. You might have to defend yourself. You might…

She can’t stomach the thought. So please- just do what she tells you, and stay out of her way. She’ll handle any loose ends from her past on her own.

VI.

The situation is hard on her, but she covers it with a snappy sense of humor, picking on you and herself in equal measure. Despite still being so young, she talks about herself as an old woman, and often jokingly ‘questions’ your taste.

She’s been married before- are you into married women? You naughty thing~ Do you prefer your women more experienced?

She does have a little daughter of her own, you know- well, maybe not so little now. The girl must be… well into her nineties by now? Making Nine practically a great-grandmother, as well as the queen of deadbeat parents. Isn’t that a bit of a red flag in the dating scene? That, and the whole ‘deicide’ deal?

This can get even funnier if she's actually younger than you. Sure, she was born much earlier, but from the time of her 'death' to the time of her revival, she wasn't able to age. She's still in her early twenties.

Despite this, she always acts as if she's older than she is. She insists on taking on a caretaker role in your relationship. She doesn't know how to be vulnerable, and sometimes the way she expresses her love crosses the line into bossy or patronizing.

VII.

If you try to check in on her, she will always insist that she’s perfectly fine. She’ll tease you relentlessly for worrying about her, redirecting with sickeningly sweet condescension; poking at your cheeks and baby-talking about what a sweetie pie you are~ She’s done this before, you know! Though it was a hundred years ago, from her perspective it seems as if it was no time at all- the days when she fought on little to no sleep, never certain that tomorrow would even be there to greet her. She’s the great Magister Nine of the Six Heroes! Saving the world is what she does!

As if her familiarity with the crushing weight softens it at all. Don’t let her distract you. For all her ego, all her power, all her stubbornness, this is still a woman who has been fighting for the future since she was barely out of her school days.

She never cries, of course. But there are other signs. The way she trails off in conversation. All the jokes she makes with a tone that starts out biting only to slide end halfheartedly, with the smile never reaching her eyes and the laugh sounding forced. A visible wince, one she hopes you don’t notice, when she talks about Celica. The way the starts with her arms crossed, only to adjust the pose inch by inch until you realize she’s hugging herself like a scared child.

VIII.

You wish she could trust you enough to let you hold her. You learn from experience that if you try to offer her a real hug, she gets defensive, either turning the conversation to flirty teasing or getting angry when you try to push. That kind of open vulnerability is just... too much for her right now. Maybe if you had more time together, you could prove to her that it would be safe.

There are other ways you can be there for her, though. More subtle ways that she finds easier to bear. Let her insist that the hug is for your sake, not hers, and she’ll be able to accept it. She always has to be in control, holding you to her chest and petting your head- but she seems to find genuine peace in it, judging by the way this ‘one quick hug for her needy little lover’ always ends up lasting until something interrupts you, and by how reluctantly she pulls away.

She prays that in the next world, she'll never have to.

[frogsndogs]

I feel like if they were to make another Scooby Doo series, they should reboot the 13 Ghosts (properly this time). Lemme tell you why:

(Also Note: I have not seen the 13 Ghost movie in it's entirety so pls just keep that in mind)

okay so first we could have that found family dynamic that everyone loves and that the 13 Ghosts had amazing set up and some execution but i don't think reached it's full potential.

Dad!Vincent parenting a bunch of wack kids who insist on helping put the demons back and they keep showing up at his house how did they even find this address I live at the top of a cliff in the middle of nowhere what do you mean you brought my Chinese food - that delivery person gave you my adress didn't he I always knew he was a bad egg

Next I think that we should get a proper Flim Flam and Vincent backstory - how did they meet? where? Why is Flim Flam staying with Vincent? and we could have some added depth there

And an cool aspect of Flim Flam and Vincent's relationship is that Vincent is a real-deal wizard where Flim Flam is (like his name suggests) a con artist. I think this could bring an interesting facet to their relationship and maybe even drive the inner conflict of at least one episode

Then I think that we should have more lore abt the Chest of Demons, like where it came from, how they were trapped originally, etc, etc,

Explore the magical community and Vincent's place in it

along these lines ppl in the magic community must have at least heard of the Scooby Gang and their exploits - watch Scooby become a celebrity in the Magic world and have one of those cliche "fame is dangerous episodes" while building lore

Daphne leadership role!!!

I always kinda went with the idea that Daph, Shag and Scooby didn't tell Fred and Velma abt the chest bc they wanted to protect them from the demons

Like when they were originally going after the demons they weren't just tracking them - they demons were tracking them back and it often got dangerous, so we could have some tension with Fred and Velma thinking that the trio is lying to them and a heartfelt episode with that

Then I think that Weerd and Bogel deserve a redemption arc

They were always treated badly by the demons and i think that the one episode where they pretend to team up with the gang could be a turning point where they realize how teams are supposed to work and how the gang shows them (their enemies) genuine compassion

They're funny and they also have a complex dynamic that I would have liked to explore

I think that Daphne's sister (either an older one from SDMI (prob Delilah) or a younger one, like the one that was pitched with Scrappy to be his owner(kinda leaning towards this)) would be a good edition

Depending on if she was older or younger she could be a mentor or a good friend for Flim Flam and Scrappy

I see this Daphne as being more of a leader than her goofy BC self(who I love don't get me wrong) but I think that Daphne's sister could bring a goofier element with Flim Flam and Scrappy

AND

BRING BACK SCRAPPY

He was such a good boy in this series - such a good friend to Flim Flam and so supportive of his uncle

There is so much wasted potential with his character, in my opinion but that's for a whole other post probably - this has already gotten longer than i expected

anyway that's most of my ideas - i probably have more somewhere in my head

[a30somethingslookatpopculture]

Top 5 Animated Scooby Doo Movies 

Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island

What happens when the monsters are real? The Scooby-verse is flipped on its head in this one, as we discover exactly that. And what an amazing soundtrack! Seriously, “It’s Terror Time Again” is an absolute banger! 

2. Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost

Three Words…The Hex Girls! This is the debut of the all female, goth rock group we all know and love! So for that alone, it’s a MUST for me. But I also really love the story of Sarah Ravencroft and the Autumn theme. It’s a delightfully witchy good time! And let’s be real, Ben Ravencroft is totally Stephen King inspired! 

3. Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase

Full disclosure, this one is probably only one of my most favorites because of nostalgia. It is the Scooby film that my family and I watched religiously. I recall when it was coming out, and how excited we were .Scooby was (is) kind of a big deal in my family. This one is a fun, cyber filled adventure where the gang has to progress through a computer game in order to defeat a phantom virus. It’s complete with cool Scooby Gang cyber versions, and an eventual face-to-face. 

4. Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School / Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf

I put both of these together because I love them both for the same reason…their inclusion of the classic movie monsters! The Wolfman, Dracula, The Mummy, The Frankenstein’s Monster, etc. Or in the case of Ghoul School ,their daughters (with small appearances from them). I’m Dracula obsessed, and to see the character in the Scooby Doo franchise makes me so happy! Ghoul School has its moments. Any time it focuses on the ghouls, it’s fantastic. I just think it has a pretty wonky, all over the place plot. As for the Reluctant Werewolf, I love the Wacky Racers-esque story. And shaggy himself becomes a werewolf! How cool is that! 

5. Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders

Shaggy and Scooby get abducted by aliens! And they both fall in love with a hippy girl and her golden retriever (who turn out to be the aliens). It’s just really fun to see how this all plays out, and how those two handle it. As well as how Velma, the brains of the group, copes with the idea of alien life existing. 

(I moved one of these around as I was typing this, because I realized as I reread it that maybe I liked some others just a bit more. Either way, these are still my most favs from my childhood!)

[scoobysfriend]

This is my ideal scooby gang. Explanation and scooby doo character analysis under the cut

I think Scooby Doo is a character driven show actually. Every time there is a mystery, and everytime we aren't always interested in what the mystery is but how the characters investigate it. Most scooby doo episodes and movies aren't about the mysteries themselves but are about the character shenanigans the gang get up to while solving that mystery.

The best way to possibly ever write fred is make him laios but with an ascot and for traps instead of food. You don't even have to change the monster part! A heart of gold and a specialized skill set. Can fred make a phone call? no. Can fred turn all the wheels on the mystery machine into suction cups so it can go up a wall to chase a tentacled bird demon? yes. He must also be kind, all the scooby characters must be, but fred most especially. Plus trap making is such a niche hobby, and mystery incorporated explored this a little bit, but doing that even more is great. Funny enough I also really loved mystery incorporated's stance on fred's family life. Being raised by someone who doesn't understand who you are fundamentally and wants you to change, poetic cinema. I also want Red Herring to be Fred's childhood friend turned nemesis turned weird I know you better than I know myself thing, my password is your birthday and yet we don't talk there's this distance. Like when kids are young and they bring their friends over to their house, and that friend never really leaves cause they aren't getting parented at home? That's red herring bringing fred to his house, and make his mom a mechanic and suddenly so much stuff fits. It also explains his mechanic skill. Traps and cars are different things. Fred is a crazy inventor who emotionally bonded to the mystery machine and learned mechanics from someone who was the closest thing he ever got to a parent. Fred is a crazy smart inventor. He makes traps and contraptions and rube goldberg machines for the thrill of it. We call a man boring who probably has twelve bear traps in his bedroom and he's so confused on why people don't want to live this way so more for him he guesses, but that also means he always wants to share it with his friends!!!!!!! He's a huge gentle soul that loves his people and his mysteries and his traps. In that order.

i think daphne should get to have a character arc actually?? There's been enough iterations of all the scooby doo characters that if you just mix and match them you have character development. She should start as danger prone daphne always getting in trouble. Then she should decide she doesn't want to be the one getting saved all the time. She starts learning skills to get her out of danger first lockpicking cause whats new scooby doo was my scooby growing up, then learning martial skills to the point where instead of getting rescued she is the one running into danger to rescue others. Someone who protects and never shies away from trouble. I also think it would be cute to make it so she's really into fashion from the 1960s, so that you could modernize the world but keep the old designs cause the gang wants to go matchy matchy with daphne. She does love fashion and knows about it, but just saying "loves fashion" is very 2 dimensional. Saying Daphne loves vintage clothes and using those clothes in the modern era especially clothes from the 60s opens a lot of opportunities to explain why the whole gang is going to this super duper spooky estate sale, Daphne heard this woman had an extensive collection. It also lets the gang have cool outfits and character models. On top of that by having the gang match Daphne, shows that she loves them enough tom share this part of herself with them and that they love her enough to be a part of it with her. Daphne also is almost always the backbone of the gang. Fred, shaggy, and scooby would give a stranger the shirt off their backs, velma and fred don't always recognize what is socially expected so can take advantage of because they are trying to fit in an uncomfortable social situation, but Daphne? Daphne is a fiery redhead who loves her friends more than breathing, no you can't have fred fix that for you, no you can't say that to shaggy and no velma won't do your homework. We are also bringing scooby in with us, if you don't like it that sucks. This combination of traits is stuff she already had, in one iteration or another, and gives a solid character. Also making her the youngest daughter of like twelve in a wealthy family slaps.

Velma, oh velma, JelloApocalypse put it best "A bad Velma is the worst thing that happened to Scooby-doo". Velma often suffers from being the workhorse of the narrative. Donatello of the tmnt often suffer similarly. Velma I feel like, even in character, should reflect this. Velma is the smartest person in the room, and due to her knowing this, she often feels responsible for doing something with that knowledge. The gang takes a lot of that pressure off. Velma is not a master of every single science, but she is one of the most gifted researchers alive. Yet, she is also compassionate, she feels responsible, because when seeing something go wrong and be awful, she believes that she could change it. She, maybe the most, benefits from having the scooby gang all together, because they give her permission to have fun. Velma will see a bad guy and already be twelve steps down in her thought process on how this will affect the carnival's income, while shaggy yells that they need to "Run, Man!". Velma is one of those characters where you could imagine her being very successful in dusty stacks for the rest of her life, but she gets color added to it, and first hand knowledge, by going out with the gang. She's curious to a fault, and wants to know about everything, and often thinks she can just find out from books and the internet, and is often right! But is just as often wrong! Velma will be twelve review articles deep trying to find the best place to eat and shaggy will say I know a guy and they'll be eating out of an illegal taco boat moored in the middle of the harbor. Or velma will be trying to make what is objectively the best decision in a given situation when Dpahne will come in and ask "Why are you in this situation in the first place, let's leave" or velma will be curious about the reproductive cycle of the three toed sugar cane frog and fred will show up with a cooler, night vision goggles and two plane tickets. The gang give velma the freedom to make choices without worrying about which one is the "right" one. This also extends to mysteries, because velma wants to prove that ghosts and aliens and werewolves and everything exist, she wants to prove it so so so badly, but she's been told intellectually her whole life that it's a load of hogwash, but with the gang, they all go get to prove if it's hogwash or not together and have fun doing it! Even when it's all fake, it's a puzzle, it's so much fun! And this is what makes Marcie Fleach such a good foil. Marcie is also gifted, beyond gifted, in robotics, but she doesn't have anyone to get her out of her own head. So Marcie is stuck in her own dark thoughts trying to make it work while velma is trying a sandwich that scooby made that has circus peanuts in it. There can be no knowledge without experience and that is what velma really proves. Her research skills provide such a strong base for the gang, and her observational skills are second to none, she might not always know what to do with those observations but that's what she can talk to the gang for. This responsibility she feels to the world and the people living in it and even just the ideals of the truth, all form this core facet of her personality that she gets to explore and uphold in a fun way through the solving of mysteries. She has a book for everything and a try anything thrice while documenting the results for science kind of attitude. Plus this pull between what she has been told it right, what she thinks academically is right and what she feels is right, all fighting in her head for dominance makes for great character motivation. Like in where's my mummy she dresses up as the bad guy because she thinks it's the right thing to do, and she's shown by the narrative to be right! Also velma should get to, and be required to, get up to as many goofy shenanigans as the other members of the scooby gang. They all take turns being the straight man and on particullarly goofy days, it's scooby.

SHAGGY IS A GODDAMN ANTHROPOLOGY MAJOR. And a wizard, but we have known that one. Shaggy is a nice witty guy, who likes helping people, but even more than that he likes learning about people. Like, he's the kinda guy who ten minutes after meeting him you bring him home to your family and they adopt and feed him. He's charming and snarky and a good listener. He's often a coward, but he's brave for scooby. Scooby will be scared out of his mind and so will shaggy, but shaggy will crack a joke so scooby will laugh and scooby will dance so shaggy will laugh. They are best friends. Shaggy also loves old horror flicks, the cheesier the better and video games that people don't think are very good. Shaggy as a character is like a celebration of things everyone trashes put into a lovable package. Shaggy is a coward who runs away and eats too much and loves b grade horror flicks and trashiest video games ever produced. Shaggy is the one who wants to go to the puppet museum or accordion camp or the world's most giant ball of yarn. There's this love and wonder toward everything in the world that many of the iterations of scooby doo miss. Shaggy wants to go and solve the mystery as much as any of the gang, because he loves every part of it. If shaggy is not scared, he is smiling and laughing and engaging with the locals and going dumb skits and reading comic books. Shaggy will work as a stage hand or carnival ring master or manager of a famous doll customizer's youtube channel for a summer because he likes hanging out with folks and likes the food. And people notice this trait about him and respond in kind. There's this curiosity that all the gang needs to share, that always gets surgically removed from shaggy and I don't know why. It's just that shaggy's curiosity is more about fun happy things. Like even in ghoul school, there were monsters and he was scared, but he realized they were people and immediately tried to be friend to them. Maybe it's my own bias, but if shaggy went to college he'd be an anthropology major, because wanting to know everything about people and eat their food and hang out with folks eternally, that is applied cultural anthropology lmao.

(Also i could do a whole thing on how the members of the scooby gang each represent a different branch of applied anthropology. Scooby as primatology, Fred as biological anthropology/Forensics, Velma as archeology, Daphne as linguistics, Shaggy as cultural anthropology, another day, another day.)

Finally last and certainly not least. Scooby Dooby Doo. The dog, the myth, the legend. It's really interesting to talk about scooby and the way he evolved, originally scooby didn't have that many words. He was like a parrot, had a certain number of set phrases but had to pantomime the rest. I like scooby talking, I like knowing his thoughts, but that pantomime. I'm so irrationally obsessed with it. I really think we need to bring it back. So much of his slapstick comedy and personality is removed when you removed that. Scooby isn't making quips, scooby is dressing as a cancan dancer while shaggy's thar barman and making the evil chicken ghost blush so much it bends over backward to buy them a drink that he throws in it's face so they can run again. Scooby has so much emotional intelligence and cares so deeply for the gang, to reduce him to a shaggy clone is a crime. Scooby has that classic dog mentality, Shaggy is his boy. His best friend and his everything, if scooby could go everywhere with shaggy he would and wait he does! Scooby wants to go on adventures, and go with his people, and for scooby an adventure could be a trip to the dog park or bowling alley or solving a why ghost pirates are attacking their cruise ship. And of course scooby's scared! He's a scaredy cat! He'll jump and yipe and be afraid, but he'll stick by his people even if he is afraid. He provides such tension relief and emotional solace, he is an emotional support animal. Anytime the gang is stressed or worried or sad or anything there is scooby doo! Either feeling it right along side you or comforting you through it, like that one scene in little miss sunshine when the kid has a breakdown cause he's colorblind and won't be able to fly and then gets comforted by that little girl. Scooby is that little girl. I really cannot emphasize enough how loyal scooby is, and there is no better illustration of that than scrappy. Scrappy was just a puppy but he thought his uncle scooby was the bravest dog in the whole world, and that's the thing scrappy never saw any different!! Scrappy would picka fight with a monster or someone bigger than him and everytime, without fail, there scooby would be to pull him out of it. Scooby is a loyal beyond all other things, even beyond his fear, and has an emotional breadth that can only come from not only being the heart of the show but the heart of his little family too! And shaggy is his best friend!!!!!!!! They do everything together and he loves him so much!!!! And sure he's clumsy, but so is daphne, and sure he can get jealous, but so can velma, and sure he's a coward but so is shaggy! Scooby does this thing where whenever he is there, everything is a little better, the sun a little brighter, the avocado toast a little more scrumptious, and he's smiling and cheering and so then is everyone else. I also thought of a hilarious bit, where since scooby is a dog and they like eating all the time they keep running into stuff that is poison for dogs so shaggy can't share it with scooby and he begs with the biggest possible eyes, and rests his head on shaggy's lap and shaggy feels so bad that he gets three scooby snacks and the bacon from fred's plate.

Really though. These are all goofball young folks who like solving mysteries together and traveling together and bonding over random activities. They love each other, they are all best friends, and it would be relatively easy to give them all character arcs based upon things that previously happened to them.

Fred as this guy, getting recognized for his achievements and hobbies even if they aren't what is considered normal. All his friends hyping up his most complicated trap or cheering when he makes the mystery machine a boat or being willing to tell his automatic breakfast machine. That transition from hiding everything about yourself to showing a little bit and then a little more and the relief each time from being accepted fully!

Daphne as the spoiled youngest daughter of a wealthy family to damsel in distress to danger prone Daphne to being the emotional backbone of the time to as many skills as a bard to having enough skills to protect herself to throwing herself into danger with these skills she's acquired to help other people.

Velma as this cloistered researcher always trying to make the 'right' decision and having her open up about her desires and fears, and what she wants to research and investigate, where she starts investigating and having fun and experiencing all these things till she is this well of knowledge and uses that well of knowledge to have fun and help people

Shaggy who drifts from group of people to group of people, finally having a group to call his own. Getting to stay with people, and have them really learn him and really express himself. Building up confidence, and if you believe the wizard shaggy theory like I do, using magic as a metaphor for that and having him come into his own as a powerful wizard. Or even just having him come into his own as a masterful people person or as an excellent chef or as a world class detective or all of the above. Letting shaggy acknowledge his skills and his growth in them and letting him be proud.

Scooby would also reflect shaggy. Scooby with his trust issues, opening up to someone who wasn't just shaggy. Being supported by others and supporting them in turn. Being understood and listened to. Having someone tell the hotel front desk, no scooby is coming inside, no you do not get an opinion and if you do we can take our business elsewhere. This relationship with other people making him braver, and happier, and bouncier, and sillier. Having fun with everyone you love always!

You fools! The whole time Scooby doo was about love and hanging out with your friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And how no matter how evil or weird or scary everything is, you can figure it out together!!!!!!!!!

[los-ninos-tortugas]

I get what you are saying about the 2003 Turtles being too serious for the Scooby Doo crossover... HOWEVER! What if they are the straight men?

The Gang accept everything going on as PERFECTLY NORMAL, because to them, it is. But then you have the 2003 guys just completely perplexed and out of their league because WHAT THE HECK?? The dog talks, and everyone is fine with that. What the heck is going on with those doors? Why do Shaggy and Scooby's terrible disguises trick the bad guy every time? Heck, if you get the right version of the Gang, they would be fine with 5 foot talking turtles immediately with the weakest of explanations!

Raph hates all of it. Mikey immediately makes friends with Scooby and Shaggy and joins them in being terrified. Donny is spiralling. Those clues make no sense - how the heck did Velma figure it out?? That trap should not have worked - it didn't even obey the laws of physics!! WHY IS EVERY BAD GUYS' PLAN TO DRESS UP AS A MYTHICAL CREATURE??? Leo is flummoxed; he has no idea what is going on and no idea what to do about it. Also Fred keeps trying to get him to wear a matching ascot because they are both leaders and leaders wear ascots!!

WAIT OMG YOU’RE RIGHT 🤣🤣🤣🤣

It’s got mild Turtles Forever vibes where the 2003 turtles are utterly bemused by these stranger’s abilities to bend the laws of the physics. But I’m just imagining it now, Mikey being buds with shaggy and scooby, being scared and also making impossibly tall sandwiches together. (Maybe shaggy is low key convincing Mikey to become a vegetarian)

Donnie both admiring Velma’s intelligence and also wondering how she comes to half the conclusions she does and is correct nearly every time?? How does she do it???

Lmao even Raph deciding that this is above their pay grade but he keeps getting dragged along cuz they’re in too deep now. He keeps spotting trapdoors before Daphne does and keeps pulling her out of the way just in the knick of time and is like “how do you almost keep getting captured every few minutes!?”

Leo must just be wondering “why does Fred constantly suggest splitting up? Why does it work??” And also the image of Leo with his own little ascot… too cute.

Love the idea that maybe this is one of those versions of the mystery gang where they’re just kind of an amalgamation of all their previous iterations so they’ve seen both sides of the spectrum of mysteries having real human causes or having genuine supernatural causes, so mutant turtles in the sewers? Yeah, nothing compared to those soul stealing cat demon ladies.

[switchedandbewitched]

Switched and Bewitched

Chapter 1: Scoob, like, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore

Read more on AO3!

“Uh, like, fuck.”

“Well put, Shaggy, thank you,” Velma said. She rubbed the back of her neck and adjusted her dirt-smattered glasses. She was missing her right sock and shoe. 

Somewhere off to the side they both heard Fred groan. “Have either of you seen Daphne?”

“I’m up here, Freddie.”

The gang looked up to see Daphne haphazardly dangling from over them from a tree limb. A cut on her cheek dripped blood onto Shaggy’s green tee. 

“Like, how you doin’ up there, Daph?” Shaggy asked. 

Daphne rolled her eyes. “Can you just help get me down?” 

As Fred and Velma helped Daphne down from the tree Shaggy began to call out Scooby’s name. “Scooby-Doo, where are you?” 

“Ri’m rover here.” Scooby was several yards away in a bush but thankfully uninjured. The Gang reconvened under the tree and looked around. “Ruys, rhere rare re?” 

There was an initial pause until finally Fred said, “I... I’m not sure.”

“We need to figure out what is going on. Immediately,” Velma said. She smoothed her skirt, took a deep breath, and looked up, her mouth set in a hard line. “This is completely abnormal. We have never experienced anything like this before while solving a mystery. That witch must have drugged us and staged this to scare us off.”

“Velma, that doesn’t feel right. I don’t feel like I’ve been drugged. Remember that one time I was roofied at Red Herring’s party?”

“You mean that one time Red Herring roofied you,” Fred stated. 

“I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again, Fred, Red Herring did not --”

“Well, what would you propose as an explanation, Daphne?” Velma asked. 

“Arguing isn’t going to help anything. If the witch did move us, we need to figure out where we are so we can go home,” Fred said. “We seem to be in some kind of park so there has to be a road nearby.” 

“Like, Scoob and I are starving. It feels like we haven’t eaten in decades.” 

It was near evening already and it took The Gang another two hours to hike through the park, eventually locating an access road that led them to a paved street. When they reached the street, there were few clues as to where they were. Thick trees blocked out any light there might have been from a town and the street lights flickered on and off at random. 

“Now what?” Daphne asked. 

“I guess we just wait until someone drives by,” Fred responded. 

“Someone who is willing to pick up all four of us in this state and a 70  pound dog? Doubtful. We should pick a direction and walk until we get our bearings. We can’t possibly be that far away from home. The North Star is there.” Velma pointed. “The swamp we were in was to the east of Coolsville so we should travel west to get home but that would take hours.” 

“Right,” Scooby said. 

The Gang started off, silently. It was clear none of them were in as good of shape as they thought. Once their adrenaline wore off, they noticed hidden sore spots and bloody patches. Daphne’s face clearly needed stitches, much to her chagrin, and she could feel her stomach bruising from where she landed on the tree branch. Velma decided she must be missing a sock and shoe because they were ripped off when she twisted her ankle somehow. Shaggy was under the impression he and Scooby were fine until he reached down to pet his faithful companion and not only realized his arm was nearly immobile but Scooby’s ear was ripped and his face full of thorns. Fred kept it to himself so as not to worry the rest of the group but the longer they walked, the more painful breathing became. 

After about forty-five minutes of walking along the road, they saw headlights behind them. The Gang waved their arms in the air and shouted for the car to stop. The car slowed to a stop and The Gang squinted into the bright lights. The large pick-up rolled down its window to reveal an older woman with a kind face. 

“What are you kids doing all the way out here so late at night?”

The four hesitated before Daphne said, “Thank you for stopping, ma’am. We got lost during a hike and seem to have injured ourselves.”

“You couldn’t use a cellphone to call someone?” She asked. The Gang looked at one another, confused. “I s’pose service is spotty around here. Why don’t ya get in?” Shaggy, Velma, and Daphne got into the back seat and hauled Scooby over their laps. Fred slammed the back door and got in the passenger’s seat. “So, where can I take you guys? I’m driving through the center of town on my way home.”

“Uh, like, I think the hospital might be best, ma’am,” Shaggy said in a sheepish tone. 

“Coolsville Memorial is about fifteen minutes from here. I don’t mind dropping you kids off there. You can call your families, right?” 

“Uh, yes, ma’am,” Fred said. “Thank you so much.” 

The woman reached forward and turned the volume up on the radio. Country music started playing. The Gang fell silent and laser focused on the radio. It was not the country music that caught their attention, but instead the way the radio lit up, the number of buttons, and that the dashboard had little diagrams of people and high-low settings. They each stiffened up and looked at once another, but did not say anything in front of the kind woman who had picked them up. 

“So, my name’s Greta. What are all y’all’s names?” 

“I’m - I’m Fred.”

“My name is Velma.”

“Like, my name’s Shaggy and this is Scooby-Doo.”

“And I’m Daphne.”

“Well, I am pleased to meet’cha.”

The rest of the ride went quietly, just country music, Greta’s humming, and a growing tension among The Gang. 

Shaggy, in true Shaggy fashion, was already convinced something spooky was going on here. Many may confuse his over-indulgence in a certain herb and severe panic disorder with stupidity, but Norville Rogers was no idiot. He considered that monsters had been real in prior instances and saw no reason why the case they were working on couldn’t have led to an honest-to-god witch who could cast real magic. Whether the rest of The Gang could be convinced remained undecided. 

Velma, on the other hand, was entirely against a supernatural explanation. The Gang had not been in Coolsville at the time they located the so-called “witch”, but about two hours away in a neighboring town. If the masked individual drugged the entire Gang, loaded them into a vehicle, and transported them back to Coolsville with paid actors like this Greta woman it would have taken several hours. According to the clock on the truck’s lighted dashboard it was 8:27pm, approximately three and a half hours from when they arrived at the witch’s cabin. Velma ruminated on the situation for a few moments more. 

Jinkies, she thought to herself. We’re on a movie set! That explains everything! 

Fred was nearly unable to think through the unbearable pain in his chest. He believed The Gang to have been kidnapped somehow and transported back to their hometown. On the other hand, it did not make sense for the witch to have known where they lived. Despite his effort, the Scooby-Doo Detective Agency had not yet become a household name. 

Daphne felt incredibly off-put by the entire situation, not just due to the pain or strange circumstances. Every now and again a memory that didn’t truly belong to her appeared in her mind’s eye. She tried to shake the feeling that the witch had done something sinister to her but fragments of people, places, and cases she previously had no knowledge of bobbed to the surface. Daphne had already determined she was not drugged, regardless of what Velma had to say. The more she considered their predicament the more she thought about being hypnotized by the Ghost Clown. 

“Here we are,” Greta said, spooking the whole Gang. “Y'all get home safe now, ya hear? Toodaloo!”

The Gang unloaded themselves from Greta’s strange truck with much groaning and grunting. Fred stumbled and dropped to his knees. 

“Freddie!” Daphne cried. “Are you alright?” 

Fred stood, shaking and out of breath, and waved Daphne off. “Fine. I’m just a bit light headed. Who knows when we ate last.”

The Gang stopped and stared up at the glowing Coolsville Memorial Hospital sign. Shaggy’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “Um, like, guys this doesn’t look like the same hospital where they took my appendix out.”

“I have come up with a theory,” Velma declared. “The witch was clearly using advanced special effects, like the kind you would see in a movie, and makeup to stage her cabin in the swamp. I hypothesize that she did not transport us back to Coolsville but rather dropped us on to some kind of movie set, albeit a very large movie set. The doctors and nurses there are probably paid actors. We aren’t going to get any medical attention.”

“Velma, that is absurd,” Daphne responded. “We drove 15 minutes in that woman’s truck, down a mountain, and into town. There is no movie set in the world that big. You must have hit your head.”

Velma glared at Daphne, and her rationality. She was right, of course, but so far that was the only non-supernatural possibility that fit the equation. 

A hospital staff had seen The Gang standing in front of the ER entrance, clearly injured, and came outside. “Are you kids looking for the emergency room?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Fred huffed. 

“Okay, you should come on in, but the dog has to remain outside,” The nurse said. 

“Rog? Rhere?” Scooby whispered. 

“Understood, thank you. Scooby, you’ll have to wait outside.” Velma pointed to some thick flower bushes and hedges and whispered to Scooby. “Hide over there, we don’t know what is going on.”

The Gang followed the woman to the hospital desk and checked each of them in. Flatscreen TVs played the 9 o’clock news and only increased the Gang’s confusion. The weather reports listed today’s date as August 21st, 2022 even though it was December 6th, 1969 when they woke up this morning. 

Daphne and Shaggy felt panic set in. Fifty-two years? This didn’t make any sense. Velma felt an increasing anxiety as she continued to lack a rational explanation for this. Fred could no longer process anything beyond the pain he was in and collapsed to the floor. 

“Triage, STAT,” played over the loudspeaker. “Triage, STAT.”

Suddenly there were nurses swarming over Fred and they whisked him away on a stretcher. 

“Where are you taking him?!” Daphne cried.

“Ma’am we need you to stand back, a doctor will update you shortly.” 

Defeated, The Gang slumped into waiting room chairs. Each one was taken back one by one, in order of severity of injury. Shaggy was taken back next and found to have a dislocated shoulder and some cuts and scrapes. Daphne was taken for x-rays and an ultrasound to check for internal bleeding, which were clear. Eventually a plastic surgeon came and stitched up her face. Velma, in the best shape out of everyone, was taken for x-rays of her ankle and found to have a severe sprain but no fractures. 

A doctor came out to the freshly patched-up Gang and informed them Fred would be taken into surgery as he had two broken ribs, one of which had lacerated his liver. 

“When can we take him home?” Daphne asked. 

“He needs to stay in the hospital for a few days but you can take him then. He will need serious rest. He must have fallen very hard from a great height to get the breaks he did.” The doctor’s tone told them he didn’t believe the injuries were caused by a fall while hiking but The Gang kept their mouths shut.

The Gang shuffled outside and found Scooby still hidden in the bushes. Shaggy pulled out some tweezers and gauze he stole from the hospital and began pulling thorns out of Scooby’s face.”

“Rouch, Raggy.”

“Like, sorry, ol’ buddy.” 

“August 21st, 2022,” Velma said. “This is quite the elaborate plot.”

“Velma, I think this is August 21st, 2022. Look around. This isn’t fake,” Daphne insisted. 

“Then offer me a rational explanation for how this happened,” Velma countered. 

Daphne kicked a rock down the sidewalk in frustration. “There isn’t one.”

“Like, let’s start walking home. I’m sure everything will be fine once we see our parents and eat a triple decker salami, peanut butter, and anchovy sandwich. I’ve been meaning to visit my parents for, like, two months,” Shaggy said. Shaggy had spent the last several months partying his way through his freshman semester at Wetherby University before eventually dropping out. He’d been too embarrassed to visit his parents since. 

With no better option, The Gang limped off towards home. New buildings they had never seen lined roads they had never been on. People wandered in and out of restaurants and bars in strange clothing with their noses practically glued to lighted screens. The Gang got lost more than once when they turned down a new side street. There was far more trash in the streets and graffiti than they remembered. But then again, by all accounts this version of Coolsville was a true city. 

After at least an hour and a half of missteps and wrong turns, they reached the Rogers’ residence. The house was the same except it had been painted and a new fence was erected. Scooby’s doghouse no longer sat in the yard. 

“Like, here goes nothing,” Shaggy said and, with more confidence than he had had all night, he marched up the stone walkway and knocked on the door. 

A light flicked on inside and a disgruntled man in his PJs opened the door. “Can I help you? Do you know what time it is?”

“Um... like, I’m looking for my parents, Colton and Paula Rogers.”

“You’re joking.”

“Like, no, sir, I’m not joking. They live here.”

“I’m sorry, but we bought the house from Colton ah... well, I’d say going on 25 years now,” The man responded and pushed his glasses on his face. “You do look awfully familiar though.” 

“I’m their oldest kid. Norville, Norville Rogers. Did they leave a forwarding address?” A lump was growing in Shaggy’s throat, getting heavier by the second. 

“Well, I have to say again: you’re joking. And I don’t have any patience for pranks at this time of night.”

“Like, wait, I’m not joking!”

“Son, Norville Rogers, his friends, and his dog went missing on December 6th, 1969. It was one of the biggest missing person’s cases in the history of California. Norville Rogers would be nearly 70 years old by now and you look barely 20. Have a good night.” The door slammed in his face. 

Shaggy’s face blanched and he turned around to face The Gang. “Like, I’m with you, Daph. We’re actually in 2022.”

“There has to be another explanation. Let’s try Blake Manor.” 

Seeking out Daphne’s parents was an even worse result. Where the beautiful mansion Daphne grew up in once stood was an expansive parking lot and massive shopping center. 

Velma gritted her teeth, “Fine. My house, then.” 

They trekked all the way to the Dinkley residence where new people were living with their kids, based on the look of the front yard. They didn’t even bother knocking. It was clear from the exterior of the home that the Dinkley’s were no longer at the residence. The tree where The Gang’s treehouse was  had been cut down and in its place was a large, flat stump. 

“Wait a minute,” Velma muttered. She stood up and hobbled in her aircast over to some shrubs lining the home and disappeared behind them. 

“Velma! You’re trespassing!” Daphne hissed. “Come back -” CLANG!

“Let’s go,” Velma said and disappeared into the earth. 

Shaggy, Daphne, and Scooby followed Velma down a short ladder into a hole in the ground. The hole opened up into a small room, no more than 6x6x4 feet and supported by an impeccably designed wooden framework. There were dusty trinkets on shelves mounted to the walls, molded books on the ground, and some miscellaneous documents on the floor. 

“Like, what is this place? It looks like no one’s been down here in 100 years.”

“Fifty-five years to be precise. The last time I was down here was three years before we visited the witch’s swamp. No one knew about this but me.” Velma picked up a dusty beaker and then set it back down immediately. “Fine. You’re right. We actually experienced time travel somehow. Now we need to figure out how to get back.” 

“I think we have more basic concerns than that, Velma. Food, water, clothes, somewhere to sleep. Clearly none of our family is still here. We could try the Jones’,” Daphne said with a gentleness in her voice that hadn’t previously been there. She must have realized Velma was an inch from a breakdown. 

“Tomorrow,” Velma responded. She laid her sweater on the cool earth, laid down, and curled into a ball. “It’s after midnight. We need to sleep.” 

“Rown here?” Scooby protested. 

“Like, sorry, Scoob. It’s all we got.” 

In the morning, the reality of their situation set in a little bit more. The light of day made the differences all the more noticeable. Coolsville might as well have been a completely new city The Gang had never lived in. 

“Okay, we need a plan,” Velma stated flatly after they crawled out of their hole. “Money, a place to stay, IDs, food --”

“Like, yeah, food,” Shaggy sighed wistfully.

“Any ideas?” Velma finished. 

“I could try my bank account, though it’s probably closed by now,” Daphne offered.

“We should all try our bank accounts,” Velma agreed. “And anyone who might be alive still.”

“Red Herring?” 

“Red Herring.” 

The first order of business, money, required The Gang to travel to the Coolsville Savings Bank on the east side of town. They walked through business with strange names, selling products they’d never heard of before. 

“What is ‘bubble tea’ and why is it $8?” Daphne asked. 

“Like, man, some of the food in this era seems fantastic,” Shaggy said. 

“I have no intention of getting used to this whatsoever,” Velma said. “We are getting home one way or another.”

Just as Daphne had thought, her bank account was long since closed. The bank teller informed her the Blakes had made a sudden move to the Cayman Islands some decades ago and hadn’t been seen or heard from since. 

Shaggy, knowing he had about $5 in his bank account at the time of their disappearance, was not feeling particularly hopeful. 

“Like, hello, ma’am, I’d like to make a withdrawal.”

“Do you have the account number,” the teller responded. 

“No, but it would be under Norville Rogers.”

The teller coughed and straightened up. “Excuse me, could you repeat that, please.”

“Norville Rogers, please.”

“Do you have an ID, sir?”

Shaggy pulled out his wallet and presented the teller with a 1967 California state driver’s license and smiled sheepishly. “I know this may not make a lot of sense, but --”

“Wait right there,” the teller said briskly. 

Shaggy widened his eyes at Daphne and Velma and tried to telepathically communicate something along the lines of Oh, shit, man! They’re gonna get the cops! Let’s make a run for it! But neither Daphne nor Velma moved an inch. 

Maybe 20 minutes later the teller returned with every higher-up in the bank on her tail, no police in sight. Several men in suits passed Shaggy’s ID around and glanced back and forth from the scrawny teenager and the card. 

The man in the fanciest suit handed the license back to Shaggy. “Can you please confirm the names of your parents.”

“Um, like, Paula and Colton Norville.”

“Can you please confirm the name of your dog?”

“Scoo...Scooby-Doo?”

“Prior to residing in Coolsville, California, where did you reside?”

“Plymouth, Massachusetts... Like, man, if my account is closed, just tell me and we’ll be on our way.”

“Can you please...” the man looked at a paper in his hand and cleared his throat. “Confirm the name of your coolest and most handsome uncle?”

“Uh, well, that’s a tough one... I have a lot of uncles... I guess I would have to say my uncle Albert. Shaggleford. Albert Shaggleford.”

“That is correct,'' the man responded. “You do not have an open bank account here at the moment but we are fully prepared to assist you with all your financial needs after you review this letter, Mr. Rogers.” The man in a suit handed Shaggy a trifold letter, sealed with a red wax stamp marked with a filigree ‘S’. The group of men collectively nodded and dispersed back into the bank. 

“I thought that old man was crazy,” remarked one man, just loud enough for Shaggy to overhear. 

Shaggy turned the letter over but there was no marking on it other than the wax seal. He handed the letter to Daphne and she immediately handed it back. “A creepy letter waiting for you fifty-two years after we went missing? Uh-uh. You open it.” 

The four walked outside and held their breath as Shaggy popped open the letter to reveal distinctive handwriting. 

May 19th, 1996

Shaggy, my boy!

If you’re reading this then I suppose you’ve found yourself in a bit of a predicament. When they told me you and Scooby and your friends went missing, I couldn’t believe it. Savvy, crime-solving sleuths such as yourselves, missing or kidnapped? Hogwash. I suspected something a tad more complex happened. More, shall we say, scientific? Supernatural? Same thing. 

Regardless, I do not believe we will be seeing one another again. I write this on my deathbed. Giant lobster man mortally wounded me, I'm afraid. 

I have made arrangements for you should you return after my demise. Please find your way to the address listed below. All arrangements have been made, including access to the Shaggleford trust. I do wish I could answer more of your questions but like you, I truly do not know what happened on December 6th, 1969. 

I wish you luck navigating a new decade (possibly a new millennia!). 

With love, 

Dr. Albert Shaggleford

2010 Crystal Cove Ln

Coolsville, CA 95401

Gate passcode: 12061969

Ring (555) 427-1932

Shaggy handed the letter to Daphne wordlessly and she read it to herself, her eyes widening at the particularly strange parts. 

Velma handed the letter back to Shaggy. "I don't know where that address is but we need to check on Fred and speak to Red Herring before we do anything else. This is becoming stranger by the minute."

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