763 - Why is Freddy the leader?

[maarvarq]

I can't really imagine getting it on with Scooby-Doo, part-time biped or not. It's not as if (AFAIK) he ever bathes or cleans his teeth.

Also, Lily is being remarkably civilised about this situation.

[Alex]

Scooby may be rational, and theoretically capable of consent, but his position as "Shaggy's dog" surely means he's effectively a slave to the teens.

[Merle]

It's certainly at least a little complicated.

The issue, I think, is less "does it matter that Scooby's not human?" than "is Scooby physically/emotionally mature enough to consent?"

Yes, he's Shaggy's dog, wears a collar, etc - but that could be just an arrangement of convenience between the two of them to deal with a non-talking-dog-friendly society. We never see Shaggy coerce Scooby in any meaningful way - rather, the two of them seem to be the best of friends, and are more often in agreement on issues than not.

In an episode of Mystery Inc I saw yesterday, Scooby actually says "I'm not old enough to be a da-da" - which tends to imply that, at least emotionally, he doesn't view himself as ready for a sexual relationship. Then again, there's a gray area between "capable of having sex" and "wants to settle down and raise a family".

[masterofbones]

Well I'm 22 and still "not old enough to be a dada". Doesn't mean I'm entirely against having sex.

[Chimerasame]

It doesn't really matter what his nature is in Scooby Doo canon, so much as, what his nature is in the mishmash created by Max's fanfic amalgamation. If Scooby Doo fanfic is in there, would Scooby be written as being able to consent?

... Y'know, I was leading towards having that be a rhetorical 'yes', but come to think of it I'm not entirely sure ...

[GauntletWizard]

I'd argue that, within the fanfiction universe, Scooby's position as Shaggy's dog has already implied consent. Petplay is a thing, you know. There's a whole world of other interesting interpretations to their relationship that I'm certain Max has explored.

[Deepbluediver]

In my experience, for a lot of groups of various kinds, if you just talk louder than everyone else people will mistake that for leadership.

Also somewhat related, you can get away with so much crap just acting like you know what your doing and nothing is wrong. Make peer pressure and the bystander effect work for you and you can be practically unstoppable.

[Truec]

Lily had to try and make it all weird by making Fred a Nazi.

[Strain Of Thought]

The fan theory I've repeatedly heard, and quite like, is that the van is actually Shaggy's. There is apparently considerable cannon support for Shaggy being rich, or at least a trust fund kid, who really just wants to enjoy life and get high and eat ridiculous sandwiches. (For example, there appears to be an actual brand of dog treats named directly after his dog.) So the reason you never see any of the cast working or worrying about money is that they're all living off of Shaggy's money while he gets high in the back of his tricked out custom van hanging out with his talking great dane while his friends chauffeur him around the country and solve mysteries and make his life interesting. Honestly it's kind of heartwarming, because it seems like he'd be easy to take advantage of, but his friends seem to be honestly just trying to keep him company and be a good influence on him.

[yomikoma]

Lily is probably right about why Freddy's in charge actually. Given the cast and a TV executive in 1969 (when SD started), the blonde guy is going to end up in charge. Heck, even in 2000 Wizards of the Coast felt it necessary to shove a white male fighter into D&D 3e over their designers' objections.